HOME, POORER BUT HAPPY

Home at last. Boy, that was a long trip. Denver was nice but hotter than it should have been. Plus with my gimpy leg, the walking was a bit challenging. The conference went extremely well and everyone seemed to really enjoy it. My coworker was loads of help which made it much easier on me. In past years I had to do it all myself. I loved having help.

I then went on to TNNA in Ohio. That was like nothing I have ever been to. The size alone makes MD S&W seem tiny! There is no way you could see it all in one day. We did our best, though. The first day they had a meet and greet where some of the vendors had little things for sale. I bought two skeins of cashmere from Jade Saphire to make a cowl. The kit was $20, a great price for cashmere. I also bought a shawl pin for $20 and a skein of black yarn with flowers in it for $10. We got in at the tail end, though, so we did not get to see all the vendors.

Saturday the real thing opened at 10 am. We were there at 10. I was surprised by not only how large it was but by how scarce the buyers were. I thought it would be jammed but it was far from that. We later learned that a lot of the retailers had left employees home, where as in past, flush years they used to bring them along. Thus sales remained good but the crowd was way down in numbers.

It was all a bit overwhelming so I let Linda lead me around. She knows way more than me so she took me to what she thought were the best vendors. Shock number two was that most vendors were dropping their minimums for designers/teachers, something they have not done in the past. A lot of vendors said no minimum while others had a very low amount. This meant we spent and spent. I bought cashmere from Jojoland, lots of pretty yarn from Tilli Thomas, lambs wool so soft it felt better than cashmere, Namaste stuff and Lantern Moon stuff. Then I saw a toy vendor (toys for knitters) and she sold for cash on the last day. Got lots of good stocking stuffers there! I also bought two Nantucket bags, one for me and one for Sandy. Linda and I bought Sandy a 'sorry you couldn't come with us' gift.

Next time we know we don't need to go for all three days. Sunday and Monday would have been enough. I also need to bring a little restraint along. Whatever I did not spend at the S&W I made up for here. It's hard to control yourself when the prices are so much cheaper than you can get them at home. I certainly could have spent way more but thankfully I was keeping a running total!

I got cashmere for two friends and Mel and I was also able to get Berrocco to drop the minimum on the last day. They had said no the day before but on Monday we got a salesman who said he would do it.

All in all I had a fantastic time and would love to go again. Maybe in a year or two!