TKGA Knit and Crochet Show (Part II)

The TKGA is an annual event of classes and a marketplace for knitters. In recent years it has co-sponsored the event with The Craft Yarn Council of America (CYCA), which seemed the perfect partnership as many knitters are also crocheters and visa versa.

Many classes were offered at this show, but since my husband and I only spent the weekend and time was limited, I wanted to focus on the Marketplace, which had about 54 vendors, to see the newest yarn offerings and gadgets to knitters and crocheters. I probably spent more than I should have but displays were very inviting and inspiring. Here are just a few of them….

Dragon Lady Designs,Rolling Hills Estates, Ca. A beautiful Entrelac-like sweater but it is crocheted. A nice project for some scrap yarn.

Foxy Knits, Los Angeles (I hope this is correct). Of course the Koigu booth is always very popular.

Adelas Yarn, Castro Valley, CA. I just loved this beaded knit sweater. The yarn was very intriguing with beads in it. I was wondering how I could make something like this.

Village Spinning and Weaving Shop, Solvang, CA. This is always one of my favorites. They had luscious alpaca wool yarn, knitting, spinning, weaving, and crochet tools, and a wealth of every book you can imagine. I bought the books Knitted Gardens by Jan Messent and Everyday Crochet by Doris Chan.
International Freeform Crochet, Sherman Oaks, CA. This was an amazing piece of artwork.


There was also the Fastest Knit and Crochet Time Trials. Here is just one of the participants. I’m afraid I didn’t get her name but she was very fast.

Finding that perfect yarn to add to my stash was a difficult choice. I have dreamed of buying some Koigu, but I am just not yet ready for it. I am already knitting a scarf with some alpaca/silk and I was afraid I would be too impatient to start another. I finally did purchase some skeins of cashmere/merino and angora/merino/rayon wool from Newton’s Yarn Country.

I also promised my Dad to make him some socks with “Tofutsies”. This is a sock yarn that is made of soy silk, superwash wool, cotton and chitin (made of shrimp and crab shells) by Southwest Trading Co I purchased from Sheep City. This is what I call super “green” knitting. Everything is natural and biodegradable. My dad got a tickle out of the name. He loves Tofu and now he’ll have a pair of black and white socks to brag about! My other purchased treasure was a cute hat pattern from Knitwhits called the Flore Hat. It’s a really nice hat that looks like layered leaves. My granddaughter will look so adorable in this.

I’ll tell you more about the progress of my projects and Ravelry in my next blog entry. Yes!!! I got an invite! More to come……..

By the way Thank you Sharon, from Sheknits for your comment. I love to listen to your podcast! Keep up the great work. I love hearing about your knitted bags and family adventures. Although I’m now a somewhat empty nester, I remember those days of trying to juggle family, work and hobbies and trying to be remain sane. Hang in there. Someday, all too soon, they will be on their own and you will wish for these good old days.