June 6, 2007

market report

I’m back! Market was a whirlwind of activity, as always. This year it was doubly enjoyable because I had the chance to share it with my daughter, Liz. You can read her account of the weekend at Manning Knits.

I took several classes during the weekend, but the highlight was meeting Lucy Neatby and learning double knit techniques from her. She’s an amazing designer and teacher. This sweater she’s holding is one of her fair isle designs — it would be a lifetime project for moi.

So what did she buy, you ask. Lots, and lots, and lots. So much that I have to tell you about it in more than one post. I’ll start with what’s coming in this month.

• from Trendsetter, more Merino Sei, their dk weight merino wool, in colors to make Jane Slicer Smith’s new Mitered Drape Vest (so easy and so colorful!) and a jacket that’s edged in mitered squares.
• from Schaefer Yarns, lots more Anne sock yarn, and their new bunny kit, which is absolutely adorable.
• from Aurora Yarns, we’ve already received a shipment of Garnstudio Silke Tweed. I’ve loved this yarn for years, and decided to bring it back this year, only to learn that it won’t be available much longer. What we have on hand should last for a while (unless y’all get really greedy), in colors that will work well for sweaters, or for the Latifa Scarf from Knitty a few seasons ago.
• from Cookie A, her collection of sock patterns. You can see them on the sidebar on her blog.  These are patterns for adventurous sock knitters — I can’t wait to get my hands on them.
• from Louet, refills of spinning fiber, both dyed and undyed, and almost a dozen shades of their Gems Sportweight wool.  This stuff is so incredibly soft.  I love working with it, and it’s machine washable, so it’ll be perfect for kids stuff as well as adult garments.
• from the Yarn Place, a new laceweight cashmere blend.  I only ordered a few colors, to see how it goes over, but I’m betting I’ll re-order before the summer is over.
• from Kollage, I ordered two new yarns — Luscious, a stretchy cotton/nylon sock yarn, and Cornucopia, made from corn.  Both should be here soon, Kollage is just down the road in Birmingham!
• from Crystal Palace, more needles, new shades of Panda Cotton, new shades of Taos, and two new yarns — Kaya and Maizy.
• from Colinette, more shades of Tao silk, the Arboretum book which has patterns combining Tao and Parisienne lace mohair, and Jitterbug, their very popular sock yarn.
• lots and lots of books and patterns from our friends at Iknitiative, Up North Fiber Art Supply, Infiknit, and others.  Lace is the thing for this warm season.  We’ll have lots of new patterns and some old favorites on the shelves soon.

Come back tomorrow, when I’ll tell you about a special book signing we’re going to have in August.

Filed Under: Market News

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