World Candle Congress and Trade Show

ALAFAVE (AsociaciÃ³n Latinoamericana de Fabricantes de Velas) and NCA (National Candle Association) are gearing up for their second world candle congress in CancÃºn, Mexico, June 25-29, 2007. It’s a great opportunity to see what’s new in the candle world, gain new knowledge, business and network. There will be plenty of trade shows, buyers, suppliers and speakers attending.

The National Candle Association represents US suppliers and is widely recognized as the leading technical authority on candles and candle manufacturing. Shown here is a picture of a wedding basket, courtesy of NCA. Nearly three quarters of women surveyed from NCA stated that candles were present as a key element of their ceremony.

Membership in the NCA gives suppliers and manufacturers the opportunity to learn about new products and services. 90% of candle companies in the US are members of NCA and adhere to strict ASTM candle standards. They publish a directory of their members annually and include background information, plant locations, descriptions of products offered, and contact information. If you don’t want to spring for the printed directory, it appears most of the manufacturers and suppliers are listed on the NCA site.

I enjoyed reading their facts and figures on candles. According to their stats, US sales of candles are estimated at 2 billion annually and over 95% of the purchasers are women.

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns!

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil.

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn.

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point.

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up.

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.

Have you read?