Columbus Ohio is not a place I look forward to visiting. However, once I'm there I remember why I like it so much. Great restaurants, thought-provoking galleries and nice, friendly, mid-Western ambassadors. And Yarn, YARN, YAAARRRNNNN!!!Columbus hosts the industry's largest and most influentail NeedleArts Show. It's the show where the best and the brightest present their latest idea, trends, designs and merchandise. It's the Mecca for all Yarn Afficiandos. The Show.
My comrade in purchasing, Miss Tanya and I meandered from aisle to aisle, scouring hundreds of booths, in search of the best to bring to South Florida's Gourmet Knitting Stores. And here's our review.
There's a hell of a lot of sock yarn out there. For those of you that enjoy a feet-first project, you go girls and boys, because there's a lot of that weight just a-waiting for you. Hand-dyes, space-dyes, washable, blends--we got it for you. And kilos of it, friends. In Florida we wear Steve Bonnanos--that's sandals, folks. However, for those of you that enjoy a thin needle, then you have the best selection ever. Our faves--Araucania has a new machine-wash sock. Soft and pretty. Koigu, while it's a sock-weight yarn, has multiple uses and here in SoFla, we like it for summer-weight sweaters, gives us a hearty array of monotones. Love it and bought it. Same with Colinette Jitterbug. A great selection of "Kolours" that is machine-washable. We see a variety of kid's garments knitted in Jitterbug for that reason. New and tempting and certainly in demand is Malabrigo's Merino Sock. We love Tobi and Antonio and look forward to getting all the flavors as soon as our amigos are back in biz after their devasting fire. Look for their luscious yarn soon as they are determined to deliver.
Debbie Bliss and Louisa Harding have been busy Brits over the year. Louisa has some really fresh designs which you'll see soon and Debbie has a new magazine set to debut in a month or so. Our dream would be to have these two lovelies visit our stores--you never know....!
