TNNA Recap

It has been three weeks since the Anzula team returned from TNNA Phoenix. Things have been busy at the yarn factory as we immediately started dyeing the orders we received in Phoenix and preparing for Stitches West.

After a long drive from Fresno to Phoenix on Thursday, we got up early Friday morning to set up the booth and prepare for Sample It! We nearly sold out of both pattern kits --  Al Fresco by Faina Goberstein in Oasis and Seaweed Scarf by Grace Akhrem in Cricket -- in only half an hour.

TNNA officially launched the next day with the fashion show, where Sarah Wilson's dress Principesa, designed out of Breeze and Milky Way, created huge interest in both Anzula and The Sexy Knitter.

Eunny Jang of Interweave Knits and Jennifer Burt and Megan Smith from Love of Knitting stopped by on the second day of the show to see Sarah in the dress, talk to her about her design process, and to check out not only the Breeze and Milky Way but other Anzula yarns. They posted two photos to their Facebook page: one of Sarah in the dress, and another of Sarah and Jennifer in the Anzula booth. Be sure to go out and see them!

The Anzula booth became a popular place to hang out, with many designers and shop owners stopping by to chat and see our new colorways.

Despite the hectic pace, we still made time for knitting! Sabrina finished more hexipuffs than we could count.

We all made time to go and see our designers' booths as well, including Laura Patterson of Fiber Dreams's Starshine (made with Sebastian) over at the Bryson Distributing booth.

We sampled some amazing food in Phoenix, including Sam's Cafe, a southwestern-style restaurant we were introduced to by Jennifer and Megan of Love of Knitting. We also tried the Tilted Kilt Pub and Eatery, where the waitresses really do dress like this and apparently firearms are not allowed.

It was a very successful show. We added several new shops to our roster, and we were able to take orders from many of our established clients. If you visited our booth, we were very glad to have met you--and if you didn't, we hope to see you next time!

TNNA Phoenix

Team Anzula is currently preparing for the TNNA Winter Trade Show in Phoenix this weekend, where we will be showcasing a number of exciting new  products and patterns, including some of our most luxurious spinning fiber and all our new colourways. We very much hope that you will come by to see us at Booths 439, 441, 538, and 540!

We have two new patterns for you to choose from at this year’s SAMPLE IT!: Faina Goberstein’s hat, Al Fresco, in Oasis. And Grace Akhrem’s Seaweed Scarf in Cricket.

You can purchase them both at SAMPLE IT! Booth 24.

You can also go and check out our wonderful alpaca and silk-blend yarn, Mariposa, at the Great Wall of Yarn, along with a photo of Miriam L. Felton’s Clustered Vest design, which was made with Mariposa.

Our incredibly soft Camel and Silk Spinning Fiber will be available to see and feel at the Spinning and Weaving Display. Like all our spinning fibers and yarns, it can be dyed in any of our available colorways.

Sarah Wilson, aka TheSexyKnitter, has designed an amazing new dress for us, which you will see in the TNNA Fashion Show.

According to Sarah, designing this dress was quite the adventure! In an email interview with her, she had this to say about her inspiration and design process:

“The original inspiration was a piece from Dior's Spring 2011 line, which was this dreamy, floaty, pouffy extravaganza. After many sketches, head-scratching, and discussion, in the end both Sabrina and I wanted to go with something that would be more wearable, without losing the showstopping qualities of the original piece. I started looking at photos of my current style obsession, the Duchess of Cambridge. I thought, ‘what would Kate wear’? A slim fit, conservative hemline, and plunging back trimmed in delicate lace seemed like the perfect fit! This pattern is written in six sizes and would be perfect for a bride to wear to her engagement party, or any confident lady to flaunt her curves at that big event. The main dress is worked with one strand of Breeze and Milky Way held together, while the cowl is comprised of just one strand of Breeze, worked on a large needle. The construction is fabulously interesting, which helps prevent the miles of stockinette from becoming dreary.”

Sarah is planning to publish the pattern in time for the show, so keep an eye on her Ravelry page! She has designed for Anzula before, creating Miss Brooks with Sebastian and Mermaid, which was our entry for last year's TNNA Winter Fashion show; and more recently, the Army Hat out of For Better or Worsted.

We have seven new colorways. TNNA will be their debut, and you can see them in Dreamy at the What’s New! Display.

If you missed us at TNNA's Summer Trade Show in Columbus last year, you'll be able to come see for yourself the previous seven new yarn lines we debuted there: Haiku, Dreamy, Milky Way, Mariposa, Kern, Inyo, and Echo; along with the three new colors we launched at the same time: Elephant, Hyacinth, and Petunia!

We are excited to announce the new designers who have created so many patterns using Anzula yarns in the past year. In addition to those featured above, there are three new hat patterns: North Lyme by Woolly Wormhead in Oasis;  Dear Baby Francis by IrishGirlieKnits (Squishy suggested); and Amanda Scheuzger's Arabesque Beret in For Better or Worsted, which was featured in Interweave Knits Accessories 2011.

Purl Soho, and their blog, Purl Bee, also have a hat pattern, Jen's New Sweetie Pie out of For Better or Worsted. In addition, they have designed the Perfect Fit Socks out of Cloud, and three items for infants: a crib blanket, Hudson Bay Inspired, out of For Better or Worsted; the Little Baby Sweater in Sebastian; and the Forever Baby Blanket in For Better or Worsted.

Kate Oates, owner of Tot Toppers, created Hansel & Gretel in For Better or Worsted for babies and toddlers.

There are an amazing number of new socks from two designers. Claire Ellen has created four sock patterns for us in Squishy: the Legolas Sock, Pippin Socks, Samwise Socks, and Susie Asado.

And three new designs from Suzanne Bryan: the Emerald Sock in Squishy and Sebastian, Red Mosaic Sock in Squishy, and Pretty Socks in Sebastian.

Last, but definitely not least, there are four beautiful new shawl designs: Anna Dalvi used Milky Way to create her double-knitted, fully reversible La Toupie; Cloud is wonderfully showcased by Mary Catherine Black in her lace triangle design, Aecor; Francesca Murphy of Slow Knits used Wash My Lace to design Fragile Hearts; and Laura Patterson created Starshine using Sebastian (be sure to go and see the real thing at the Bryson Distributing Booth).

That should have whet your knitting appetites. If you can't make it to the show, be sure to check out our newly updated Where to Buy page. Can't wait to see you all in Phoenix!

Press Release

On Sunday, The Fresno Bee – Anzula’s local paper – ran an article with photos about the prospering yarn and knitting culture in our home town.   The piece focuses on Fresno’s three local yarn shops: Janna’s Needle Art, SWATCHES, and The Knit Addiction, which expanded their premises exponentially in November. Reporter Bethany Clough spoke to various members of Fresno’s many knitting groups about what they knit … and what they knit with, like Anzula yarn. Clough visited the Anzula factory, and Fresno Bee photographer, Craig Kohlruss, captured a rare photo of Sabrina in mid-dye.

The article has a feature on Anzula, as the only large-scale local dyeing operation in the entire area. In her interview with Sabrina, Clough reported on how Anzula has grown from being a hobby, to being a small business out of Sabrina’s home, to the yarn now being carried not only in the three yarn shops locally, but to 60 shops all over the continental United States and Canada.

The piece is a wonderful showcase of how one small community can support not just one shop, but three, as well as a full-scale dyeing operation. And the entrepreneurial benefits knitting and craftsmanship can bring to just one local economy.

Make sure you check it out!