There and back again...

So much has happened in the last week or two it feels like a blur.  There has been much coming and going here in The 'Castle, hither and yon.  First there was this happy journey...

...the much anticipated trip to retrieve my dear girl from her first year of college.  She did swimmingly this year and we couldn't be prouder of her, but that joy is completely dwarfed by the happiness that I feel over having her with us once again.  Sooooooo happy!!!!
After we got back from that whirlwind trip {22 hours of driving, packing and loading in 48 hours}, I was only home for a day before getting back on the road.  This time to Columbus, Ohio for TNNA.

Aaaaaahhhh...this is the entrance to the convention hall {a mecca of sorts for yarnies} where I spent three busy, blissful days among gorgeous yarn with lots of incredibly talented and serious knitters {and when I say serious, I mean many of my idols in the knitting world were there. Can I tell you how difficult it was difficult keeping one's composure with all of those big time designers roaming the halls?}.
This was my first time to visit any kind of trade show, it was an absolute blast, and I owe it all to the lovely Brandy and Allegra of Petite Purls.  I was lucky enough to go as a designer for Petite Purls {maybe you remember this and/or this?} along with my roomie, the talented Angela Tong, whose darling Mao was included in this summer's issue.  Here you can see the lovely Brandy, coding away before the big release of the Summer 2011 issue {they put the final touches of the issue while at TNNA~it was a thrill watching these talented women work!}...

 By the way, if you haven't seen the new issue, you should pop on over to check it out.  Brandy and Allegra have really outdone themselves with this one.  It is absolutely beautiful and is as full as can be of adorable toy patterns {this issue is their 2nd anniversary issue and it's all toys...TOYS people!...darling knitted toys!...pure summer knitting fun!...love!}, in addition to all the toy cuteness there are lots of great reviews, articles and interviews included in this bigger-than-ever issue.
Here is a shot of Angela, Allegra and me right before leaving the conference {sadly we had already said our goodbyes to Brandy}.

There was a lovely dinner with the good folks from Wiley, along with some of the other Wiley authors at the conference—the incomparable Carol Feller of Stolen Stitches {I cannot wait to get my hands on her soon to be released Contemporary Irish Knits}, Kristi Porter with more Knitting in the Sun goodness, and Melissa Morgan-Oakes with her new book on circular knitting.

And there was swag, and book signings {can't wait to dive into the projects from these beautiful books}, and goodies galore!...

I met scores of amazing women, saw countless skeins of gorgeous yarn, and left the conference even more convinced than ever that knitters really are some of the nicest, most generous people on the planet.  Phew!...quite the weekend!  And now I'm home again, back with my loves, with summer in full swing and with my head swimming from all of the inspiration of last weekend. I'm looking forward to taking all of that knitterly magic with me right into the heart of summer...

Mmmm...

~xox
alison