Sleepy in Seattle

This morning, Alex woke me up at 3:30 a.m. so we could catch a 7:00 a.m. flight to Seattle -- via Atlanta. When you live in Colunbus, Ohio, you always have to go someplace else before you get where you really want to be. Do you have any idea how bad I look when I wake up at 3:30 a.m.? Lots of people at Columbus International Airport now do!

We're here to attend the Yarn Market News Conference...and, not only that, we're here as sponsors! Our other sites, Yarndex and YarnMerchant, provide services to help yarn shops better assist their knitters, so we thought we'd sponsor this important event that helps yarn shops better serve their customers.

It's the first night of the event and we've already met a lot of wonderful people from shops across the U.S. We've also caught up with lots of old friends like Della Q, Stacy Charles, Hal of Universal, Shannon of Cascade, Cecil of Buffalo Gold and all the folks at Soho -- Doreen, Jessica, Trisha -- but we've also met some terrific new people we know will become good friends in the future.

The first night kicked off with a cocktail party with quick speeches by Trisha Malcolm and Debbie Macomber, who has a new line of yarns available through Universal. It didn't take me long to corner Debbie and ask her to participate in an interview in Knitch Magazine.

Alex and I are enjoying this chance to speak with other yarn shops and to learn more about what's going on in our industry throughout America. I have to tell you that the ladies who run the yarn shops are bright, enthusiastic, and filled with creativity. Of course, this event only attracts the BEST! You should see the phenomenal designs they're wearing. Their knitting talents are amazing. Oh...that reminds me. On the flight from Atlanta I started to knit a pretty little lace piece with Qiviut. I don't think I've earned the right to knit with Qiviut yet because I've been trying to improve my skills just for this project...but Alex insisted I give it a try. I love it!!!

Anyway, we're here with all the people who make this industry so much fun. It's wonderful to be surrounded by so many others who share our passion for yarn and knitting. We're sure to return with lots of great ideas...and a few extra pounds because the food they're serving is really, really good!

Keep your eye out for some new Universal yarns we'll be offering in the future...and don't forget to sign up for Knitch because we're going to be launching our Spring edition as soon as Jenny and Jan declare this issue completed. They're busily pulling it together and it's looking absolutely fantastic!