I am not a shopper. I once told the guys at Higby's, my favorite feed store (that carries some clothing), that if either they or Ace Hardware carried underwear then I'd never have to shop anywhere else. Shopping for yarn and fiber related toys is another story. That's what the TNNA trade show is all about. It is where shop owners go to find all the products they want in their shops for the coming year. Every year I meet up with my friend, Irene, of Cotton Clouds and we spend the weekend shopping and working on weaving ideas and solving life problems.

This year's show was in San Diego, but the show was in the Convention Center so no scenic outdoor photos. You don't get to buy things in the main trade show hall because its set up to place orders for items to be carried in stores. However, the first night they have Sample It, where vendors can sell one or two of their new items and us hungry shoppers can go away with yarn and other goodies. This is the line to get into Sample It. This is the Yarn Wall where you can fill pages with samples of all the distributors newest yarns.The Spinning and Weaving market segment now has it's own group under the umbrella of TNNA. Spinzilla was a very successful promotion that began in 2013 to raise funds to bring the spinning craft into the Needle Arts Mentoring program. Meridian Jacobs hosted a team last year and will do so again in 2014.There are also opportunities to take classes. I took a class to learn about making felfs. Wouldn't these be nice in Jacob yarn with a horn button?  

I found sheep without even going outside...…in all colors...…and styles...…and things in colors of sheep. Some will be arriving in my shop soon!Yarn is presented in a variety of ways.Hungry?This one reminds me of gummy worms but I don't think that is the intent.Unusual colors were inspired by a yarn enthusiast who is involved in cat rescue.But the best thing about going to TNNA is getting together with friends...   …during the show...       …and after.