TNNA

Thanks for your kind words on my pathetic stitching progress. I swear my needle takes out rather than puts in stitches.

Kathy - yes, those stocking are needlepoint. Somehow when I think stockings I think needlepoint or the quilted one with the funky fur cuff and giant pompom my mom made me. I even have several xs stocking patterns that I love, but I never get to them.

Cindy -- I tell you what, in your honor I'm digging out Gathering of Hearts today. Want to stitch with me? I mean all you have left is those little ole sqaures.... you can do it!

Ok, I WILL do the TNNA report today. I WILL!

Here's my version of the grand entry:

It's not the main door, but even that didn't have the usual fru-frus this year I don't think. I was shepharding my buddy Jenn and she'd done something to her ankle so we weren't walking far or fast... and I'm sure you all understand limping through a needlework show as preferable to resting your banged up ankle for faster healing. Oh come on, you know you'd limp rather than miss a minute of the show.
Anyway, just inside the door you see the edge of Danji's booth. Maybe this picture will serve as a reminder to me that I really, really want to do some of her pots. Trust me they're stunning. For instance here's a couple--


I actually have several Danji canvases already in my hoard including this one which I had highlighted yesterday as a possible in my planning for the year:

She has a sample of it stitched in her catalog:

I can only hope mine can turn out as nicely!

Be that as it may, I need to say that no photos are allowed inside TNNA. Now some vendors when politely asked let you take pictures of canvases you are considering for clients so I do have some to share.
Here's TNNA's own shot of the exhibit florr:

It's enough to make you drool, right?

One designer we always spend a lot of time with is Sew Much Fun. They are from Canada and do the most amazing dimensional animals and soft color palatte pieces. Jenn and my shop's teacher have a tradition of doing one of the animals every year. So far I think they've done a cow, lion, turtle, poodle, and something else. This year's purchase is the kangaroo---

But imagine how hard it is to pick when you have all those options. And that's only half of their dimensional animal series!

That's yours truly taking a really goofy picture of herself. For the record, I want to do that vases canvas above the mirror.

We spent a while chatting with a new exhibitor Barbara Bergsten. She had one of my favorite canvases of the day:

I have to do it. It's just wonderful.
Barbara also has a blog where she has pictures of her booth (but not her charming mother who was helping her at the show), and she also posts stich guides and tutorials on her blog. It's a place of great wonder and delight, trust me! Go visit her and say "hi."

It was a successful weekend for the shop in terms of shopping (looks like we're going to get the full line of dellica beads, and we checked out Baroque Silk which has a great lustre, matches perfectly with the Soy Lustre line, and can be used unstripped(!!!) or stripped at the needler's preferance), but also at the end of Sunday they announced that my owner had won one of the silent auction gifts-- a basket of goodies from the designer Alice Peterson--

Alice Peterson has amazing needlepoints one of which I simply have to have:

Those are Johnny Jump Ups and I HAVE to have them!
They also have many, many other wonderful canvases. Say, for instance, this one:

Imagine that all workedup with special stitches and hoards of cool fibers! It make me swoon..... but ti'd still take me forever to put that first needle in. lol

Now for those of you having to shovel stuff right now, here's a little San Diego jealousy for you. Our hotel room was on the very end of the hall so when we entered we were facing walls of glass. ie. we had stunning views! (pardon my fingers)






That giant building with the spiky mether end is the convention center, and yes, it has tennis corts on its roof--

A sculture on the upper level of the convention center:

Sorry, I didn't make it up there to find out what it was called.
The convention center fronts the marina which makes for lovely ocenfront walks--

And views of our hotel:

We were on the point facing away from where I'm standing to take this picture in the tower closest to me.

The convention center has a nifty way of controlling the advance of creeping vines. Sure they get trimmed by a crack gardening crew too, but the edging is brilliant:


And they use their vines to emphasize thier sculptures:



There's this nifty walkway between the hotel and the convention center -- it's thin and winding and planted like a jungle. It would be claustraphoic, because you are wedged in between the giant walls of the convention center and the hotel, just you on this winding path with lots of plants, but it's really well lit and half way through there's this:

... hanging waaaaay up there. And it makes this....

... along the walls and across the walk depending on the time of day. It's really, really cool.

Finally here's my gleeful friend, Jenn fending off my attck when she smuggly pointed out that all she did to "fix" my camera (which I was sure I'd broken because it stopped showing me what I was picturing in its image screen) was hit the button labeled quite clearly "disp."


She's allowed to crow. I felt like quite the idiot, relieved, but an idiot nonetheless.

Toodles for now. All this talk of stitching is making me itch to get needling!