A TNNA wrapup in brief

I was in San Diego from Friday afternoon to Monday night. People who know me well know how busy we were because of the following statement: I never made it to a drugstore. Even when I went to Rhinebeck, I managed to sneak into a CVS to stock up on Jujubes and Aleve before we left town. :-)

Okay, so the summary, without links [after writing a url-filled post yesterday that got eaten by the internets, I am going the lazyass route now]

- There was hugging of friends old and new.
- I got to meet Cat Bordhi, Mags Kandis, Ann and Kay, Melissa Leapman, Lexie Barnes, Margrit from Morehouse Merino, Jordana Paige, Beth from Lorna's Laces, Iris from Artyarns, Kristine from Knit Happens, Shannon Okey, Kim from Crochet Me, Clara Parkes [from Knitter's Review], the cool Louet dudes, Kristi Porter, Kristine Brooks, Amylovie from the Knittyboard, Mercedes from Tennessee and so many more that I'm certain to have forgotten people. Sorry.
- Jillian and I breakfasted daily with Ann & Kay and can state categorically that we are BFF!!!!!! [ :-) ] Sorry. It was a bit of a theme this weekend. But really, those two women are more fun than a barrel of drunk monkeys.
- I got to read their book, and Fiona Ellis' and Cat Bordhi's...and they're all really, really good.
- The publisher people -- the folks from Potter Craft -- were fun, and took great care of us. We loved the hotel we stayed in [Hotel Solamar], too.
- As A&K mentioned, we shared a convention center and hotel with the cool skate/surf/ski dudes of the piercing/tattoo/black hoodie kind and damn, if a lot of those boys aren't cute. I managed to contain myself and only indulged in skate wannabeness when I bought a black Quiksilver hoodie to wear on the last day. [I ran out of clothes, seriously. First time I've ever underpacked.]
- And J and I signed a big big pile of bound galleys of our book, cause the actual printed one wasn't ready. There was a long line of people waiting for a copy. It was very, very nice, it was. And so were they.

And as for TNNA, I got to see stuff you guys may not even know exists...yet.
- Really cool SILK yarn from Tilli Tomas, which will be blogged soon.
- The entire Mission Falls line, back in full, and looking as good as ever, if not better. I could not stop hugging Mags. I love that woman.
- I got to see Lexie' and Jordana's new bags. Excellent!
- I got to see bags from companies I hadn't heard about before. Wait till you see what Namaste has coming. I think the spring edition of Cool Stuff will be the covety-est ever.
- I continued my browbeating of Beth, trying to get her to do a 2-ply silk in the Lorna's Laces colorways. If you agree with me on this, write her.
- I handpicked patterns off the show floor for Knitty at Artyarns [you'll have to wait for fall to see the treat Iris has for us] and at Kristine's open house for her Curious Creek yarns [also for fall].
- Speaking of Curious Creek, I have it on good authority that silk hanky fetishists like me will soon have a new source of fiber. Stay tuned.
- I got to fondle a skein of Handmaiden Sea Silk, but had to give it back. And then when I got home, there was one for me! You'll see the results of that soon. It's an AMAZING yarn -- even shimmery-er than Handmaiden Silken, if that's possible. Just a little finer gauge. Yummy.
- I have a skein of Debbie Bliss' new silk yarn, thanks to Ms Kristine, who pilfered it on our behalf. It's very sexy stuff.
- Company who wasn't there who I most wished would have been: Blue Moon Fiber Arts. Maybe next time?

Weirdest sighting: four really serious young dudes in skateboard shoes and baggy jeans with bandanas on their heads. Wearing, and I am totally not kidding, coordinating floral-upholstery-covered bomber jackets. Like you'd see on your mom's couch 15 years ago. Their demeanor made it clear exactly HOW cool they thought they looked. I wonder if that look will catch on?

And finally, since my camera was too bulky to stick in my pocket, I'll leave you with a pic of our last night in SD, also courtesy Ms Kristine. This is the JBar on the 4th floor of the Hotel Solamar. It was overrun by skaterboys and girls the first two nights, but it was all ours on Sunday. As you can see, a good time was had by all.