TNNA Part 4, Saving the Best for Last

29 01 2012

It has been exactly a week since I attended the TNNA convention and I’m still can’t believe that I had the good fortune to go.  On a late Thursday evening, I received a message from someone asking if I was attending as she wanted to meet me in person.  That someone was Cornelia Hamilton.

Cornelia has been such an inspiration to me, not to mention encouraging, generous, giving and so very kind.  I was trilled that we were going to finally meet and that I could show her in person the scarf I designed using her beautiful Heaven’s Hand in Wool Classic !

Even after a week has gone by, I’m still so very excited that I got to meet this remarkable and talented woman.  Even if she doesn’t realize it, she has made a huge impact on my life and has been such a huge motivating factor for me to try to succeed in the knitting world.  From the bottom of my heart, thank you Cornelia!!!

Cornelia Hamilton

About:  Cornelia Hamilton’s career started in New York where she developed her talent during the early 80’s. There she designed for the better knitting magazines and to a private clientele. The high point of her time in NY was a handknit collection under her own label that was sold to select boutiques in 20 states from Florida to Alaska.  A move over the Altantic to Mariefred, Sweden has given her the peace and harmony to live with her family and develop her artistic creativity even further. Here she has a small boutique, runs her business Hamilton Design and writes articles on knitting for American and Scandinavian publications.

 

For those who would like to know more about Cornelia’s Heaven’s Hand Classic Wool, please visit Clara Parkes, Knitter’s Review, where Clara did an in-depth review of Cornelia’s yarn.  You can find Cornelia online at Raverly, FaceBook and online at her website, Hamilton Designs.  I personally can attest that this yarn is quite lovely to knit with, holds it’s shape and is soft to the touch!

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The scarf I was designed based upon the sand paintings created by many of our Native American Indians, especially those in Arizona.   Unique in design, this scarf is completely reversible. One side gives the appearance of cables with a touch of lace, while the other side echoes a raised textured design mimicking designs of the southwest.   This scarf is created in two panels and then grafted together using the Kitchener Stitch.

This pattern will require approximately 300 yards of Cornelia Hamilton’s Heaven’s Hand Wool Classic ( or any worsted weight to match a gauge of  22 stitches = 2 inches in stockinette), a pair of  US  size 8 (5.0 mm) and a tapestry needle.

Finished size: 6”/15.2 cm x 70” /177.77 cm (fully blocked)

This pattern is available for $4.50 USD





Wednesday Pattern Spotlight: TNNA Part 3, The Fickle Knitter

25 01 2012

Michelle Miller and Me

 

I had the sincere pleasure of meeting a very talented designer at the TNNA convention this past Saturday, Michelle Miller, a.k.a  Fickle Knitter.

Michelle’s designs are even more fantastic in person and I’m simply in love with her shawl designs.  The one particular thing I truly love about this designer, she creates designs that only require one skein of yarn.  That is a big plus and it a great way for knitters to stash bust.

Courtesy of Michelle Miller

Did you know that Michelle just launched her very first book?

Leaves, features eight projects using only 395 yards of luxury yarn or less.  Each pattern is very well written, provides charts, offers tips, abbreviations and includes gorgeous photos of each design.

Inside you will find projects for  four small accessories that are perfect for newer knitters and four shawls for more advanced knitters.   The great thing about Michelle’s designs, each pattern has been tech edited and test knit for accuracy as well as clarity

Patterns include:

You can purchase a signed hard copy of Michelle’s book or purchase a PDF version.  Either way you will not be disappointed!  You can find all of Michelle’s design online at her Website and online at Raverly. Be sure to stay informed and join her Raverly group,  Fickle Knitter Design and follow her on FaceBook.

About:  Michelle Miller graduated from West Virginia University in 2003 with her first degree in Physics with an emphasis in Astrophysics.  She then attended California State University at Long Beach while studying Physics and doing Materials Science Laboratory research, graduating with her Masters Degree in 2010.

Michelle has been writing knitting patterns professionally since 2008.  She combines her love of mathematics and knitting and takes joy in her knitting (almost) every day.  Michelle has been published regularly with articles and knitting patterns appearing in magazines and books since 2009.  Michelle specializes in writing knitting patterns that only requires one skein of luxury yarns.





The National Needlearts Association (TNNA) comes to Phoenix ~ Part 1

22 01 2012

I had a very rare and unique opportunity to attend the TNNA convention here in Phoenix for one spectacular day.  A very warm and special thank you to Karen Sadow, owner of One Planet Yarn and Fiber, who generously offered to give me a badge so that I could attend this event.  I had a blast tagging along with Karen and Terri, owner of the Fiber Factory of Mesa, all day on Saturday.  I can honestly say I was in pure heaven and cannot believe that I as able to see so many gorgeous skeins of yarn, braids of fiber, needles and accessories all underneath one roof!  It was almost overwhelming.

Since I was there for only one day, but took so many photos and met so many wonderful people, I’m going to do a four-part series of my experience at TNNA.  This is for a couple of reasons, one, there is some much to tell you about and two, there are a few folks that just need a post dedicated to them.

It was very exciting to be able to finally see and even touch a few of the fibers I have heard about and that have received great reviews.  There were also fabulous hand-knits that had been knitted up for samples to show case these wonderful fibers, and many were simply amazing.

Each photo that follow will have the company name and simply click the photo to be taken directly to their website.

Are you ready for a fiber adventure?  If so, here we go!!!

Hand Painted Knitting Yarns

Mountain Colors Hand Painted Yarn - By the way, that's Cat Bordhi wearing the shawl

Be Sweet Yarns - Karen of One Planet Yarn & Fiber and Terri of the Fiber Factory

Jade Sapphire Yarns - Gorgeous Knitted Samples

The Fibre Company - In the back is Hannah Fettig co-author of Coastal Knits

Anzula Luxury Fibers - Yarn and Fiber for spinning

Imperial Yarn - American Grown Wool Yarn Company

Alchemy Yarn - Alchemy Tweedy ... this was stunning!

Beautiful display by Kollage Yarns

Lorna's Laces Hand Dyed Yarns

Red Barn Yarn

A beautiful shawl display by Manos del Uruguay Yarn

Aurora Yarns

Berroco Yarn - A yarn bar hosted by designer Norah Gaughan

Norah Gaughan was hosting a fun event, a knitting bar where you could sample the new lines by Berroco Yarn.  After you knitted a bit, you could take one of the containers that contained samples.  Norah was a lot of fun and was enjoying all the knitters that were gathering around.  She was also a good sport when I asked her if I could take a photo.

There are many more photos to share but I will save those for another day.  Until next time, happy knitting, crocheting, spinning and crafting!








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