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YARNMARKET.COM NEWS ISSUE #11
In Issue #11:
Keeping Your New Year’s Resolutions | Expanded Free Patterns Department | Time for Valentine’s Projects! Projects! Projects! | Gorgeous New Yarns in Stock Now | Knitting “Purls” of Wisdom | Congratulations to Our Talented Customer for January | Customer Service
Keeping Your New Year’s Resolutions OK, it’s the beginning of 2005, we’ve all just indulged ourselves for Christmas and New Year’s, and what’s on everyone’s mind? You guessed it – ways to improve ourselves. So have you made your list of New Year’s resolutions? Maybe already broken one or two? Well, did you know research shows that knitting and crocheting can help you and your friends and relatives keep two of the most common resolutions? Losing weight is a top pick and worthy goal for many right now, but have you thought about how you can use knitting as a diet aid? As reported in Redbook magazine, Dr. Tom Farley of Tulane University comments on a primary “weight-loss wrecker”—your couch while you’re watching TV: “Your heart rate, blood pressure, and metabolic rate all slow down while you’re watching TV—even more than if you were sitting in a chair doing nothing.” Farley advises you watch just your favorite show but stay busy then too— “chew gum, knit, or exercise”—to keep your metabolic rate up and therefore burn more calories. More than anything else though knitting keeps your hands busy and can distract you from a bad case of the munchies. Prevention.com refers to “eating amnesia or forgotten nibbling” especially while watching TV and lists knitting as their first choice for preventative measures. As Jane Seymour, TV and movie actress and star of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, points out, knitting helped her stick to her diet when she was trying to lose weight after her twin boys were born as noted in First magazine. Yarnmarket customer Mary raised this exact same point when placing a recent phone order. She mentioned she was teaching her 20-something daughter to knit both for fun and as a diet aid. They plan to knit together each evening after supper to stay occupied and enjoy some quality mom-daughter time while they relax. Speaking of relaxation, dietbites.com attests that relaxation activities are “as essential as Activity Time when dieting. Knitting, sewing, crocheting, quilting, playing chess or electronic games are all fabulous ways to unwind and add richness to your life while dieting.”
Singer Maryanne Shaffer agrees in her article “Knitting your way out of a bad habit” on quit-smoking.net: “The calm, rhythmic movement of the needles and tactile sensation of the wool helped curb my craving. By helping me unravel my addiction, knitting gave me back my lung stamina.” The University of Chicago even lists knitting in the top 10 “Ways to Quit Smoking” bulletin available online from Student Services. The succinct list points out that knitting and other handcrafts are great ways to keep your hands busy and also serve as new activities to distract many from cravings. And for those afraid they’ll gain weight when they quit smoking? Since knitting and crocheting help with both losing weight and stopping smoking, you can’t beat them as aids. Several websites also mention that stopping smoking can save you money you can then use on your favorite activities like knitting. As one British site puts it, you should take up knitting to occupy your time and your hands and gain British “pounds” in your wallet not pounds on the scale. As Maryanne Shaffer so aptly sums up, “Pull the wool over cravings!”
December was a very busy month for all of us, but we’ve made the time to expand the Free Patterns department you enjoy so much. Check out 6 new free patterns for winter and spring accessories. Two are new as Yarnmarket freebies, and the others are from Crystal Palace. Be sure to look at the Big Wool Ribbed Scarf, a great option for both men and women and a quick & easy product using a popular winter yarn from Rowan.
From Crystal Palace, we now offer fun, new novelty scarf patterns including the Soiree & Mikado Ribbon Scarf, the Wide Rib Scarf, and the Whisper & Mikado Ribbon Scarf. Also create the lovely Easy Glam Poncho for a favorite someone or even for yourself from the beautiful ribbon yarn Glam by Crystal Palace.
We’ve all gotten in the gift-giving spirit over the past few months, and with Valentine’s Day coming up soon, it’s time to decide what we’re giving our special loved ones to celebrate the holiday. A special friend or relative will love the Making Tracks Shawl you’ll create from just 2 hanks of Silk & Merino DK from Cherry Tree Hill. Or wow her with color and softness in the Ingenua Color Block Pullover. The Colore Collar with Shawl will quickly become her new winter favorite, while the British Flag Sweater will help her make an outstanding fashion statement any time. Or go all out and make the Fringe Collar Caldo Jacket for her to wear to dressy events, to the office or even for everyday with jeans. Valentine’s Day is the time to remember the little ones in your life also, and the Funky Fur Teddy Bears just seem to whisper “great Valentine’s Day gift” to us (there are even hearts hanging in the background of the main photo!!!) Or make that favorite little girl the Button Heart Bag with the traditional Valentine’s motif or the Child’s Heart Top featuring the Shadow Knitting technique created by innovative Vivian Hoxbro. And what little one could resist the crocheted Crocheted Party Princess Cardigan in the traditional Valentine’s colors of pink and red, or for an older child, the Beth Cabled Jacket? Or for something truly special, take a look at the Kureyon Bear & Rabbit.
Or maybe you’re going out for a romantic evening with your special someone and would like to add some new glitz and glamour to your wardrobe. For a sensational “ooh-la-la” factor, create the Julia Evening Halter using Berroco’s fantastic Metallic FX yarn. Or combine Pleasure and Mirror FX, also from Berroco, to create the Starlet Halter and shimmer and shine even more. The Hopla Poncho from Filatura Di Crosa is a truly sensational evening accessory, or do you want to add quick glamour to any outfit? Then create the Obi Quest Belt as a fun new wardrobe addition.
A glitzy standout is Bling Bling, a cotton/acrylic blend with plenty of attitude. This yarn is well named because each strand shimmers and shines like fine diamonds. Following the jewelry theme, we’ve added Gem, a beautiful, variegated, nylon blend that sparkles like exotic gemstones, and Metallic FX, the silver, gold and copper tones you need to accent your eveningwear. Completing the Berroco additions are two more extraordinary yarns: Lullaby, a supersoft, velvety, variegated ribbon that’s ideal for children’s delicate skin, and the classic, ever popular Cotton Twist, the superior cotton/rayon yarn arriving just in time for creating your spring wardrobe. We’ve expanded two other of your favorite yarn collections—Cherry Tree Hill and Crystal Palace. From Cherry Tree Hill, we’ve added the outstanding, truly unique Zebra Caribe, so popular when first released last spring it was an immediate sell-out and is only now available once again for sale. Cotton Boucle and North Country Cotton are two outstanding lightweight spring/summer additions to Yarnmarket and will be featured in the next major book release from Cherry Tree Hill called Rainbow Knits for Kids. As for Crystal Palace, we’re never surprised by how many lovely new yarns they introduce each season, and we’ve gotten two in just this week—Fizz Stardust, a gorgeous new sparkly version of Fizz, and Raggedy, a fun, fringed acrylic/nylon blend with a touch of wool. Well, for all you knitters and crocheters out there, we’ve been discussing lately the different characteristics of yarn so that you can use the Yarn Finder on the Home Page most successfully. After defining yarn weights in November and overviewing yarn textures in December, we’re now focusing on yarn fiber types usually classified as either natural (of animal or plant origin) or synthetic/manmade (we’ll save the synthetics for next month’s article). Some of you already have very definite preferences as to fiber types, while others are debating the pluses and minuses of each option. Here’s a brief overview of the primary natural fiber choices, their best uses and main advantages and disadvantages. Wool—Most often people think of “wool,” made from the fleece of sheep, when they hear the word “yarn,” and many more types of wools are available today than ever before—merino, superfine, virgin pure, superwash. So what are the differences between the various kinds? When your yarn label says something other than just “100% wool,” you’ve probably noticed a heavy emphasis on merino wool, sometimes with adjectives like “superfine” or “ultrasoft” and sometimes not. The fleece of merino sheep, raised primarily in Australia and New Zealand, is prized for its very long fiber strands and high quality. As with most wool, it’s durable, flexible, snuggly winter warm and comfortable because it absorbs moisture and keeps it off your skin. Other terms like “superwash” are referring to the machine washability of the yarn as with Karabella’s Aurora 8, which can be a great advantage especially for children’s clothing and for those with wool sensitive skin, but this type of wool isn’t recommended for felting projects even if it’s listed as 100% “pure” wool. Also some knitters have experienced pilling with some types of wool when with extensive wear and incorrect laundering, balls or “nits” of wool fiber form on the surface and sometimes mar the drape of the garment. Examples of 100% merino wool yarns at Yarnmarket are Rowan’s 4 Ply Soft, Big Wool and Big Wool Tuft and Supersock Merino and Supersock Potluck from Cherry Tree Hill. Those listed as 100% wool include Noro’s Kureyon and Big Kureyon, SoHo and Aran Tweed from Debbie Bliss, Katia’s Nordic, Crystal Palace’s Labrador and Musique, and Colore, Caldo and Caldo Print from Lana Grossa.
The percentage of mohair can also vary such as in those with 70%+ mohair like K1C2’s Bon Bon, Kidsilk Haze from Rowan, GGH’s Soft Kid and Ingenua from Katia or with those in the 20 to 40 percent range such as Noro’s Blossom, Ritratto from Stacy Charles, Rowan’s Kid Classic, Fumo from Lana Grossa, and Karabella’s Gossamer. Angora—Principally produced in China, angora comes from the angora rabbit known for its luxurious, silky but short hairs. Because of its softness and short fibers, angora is usually spun with other fibers to add durability, drape and body to completed garments. Such is the case with Cotton Angora from Debbie Bliss where its 80% cotton provides durability, Berroco’s Pleasure with wool and a tad of nylon added to its 66% angora, and Kochoran from Noro with 50% wool and 20% silk for extra strength and drape. Alpaca—Known as a luxury yarn, alpaca is spun from the fine, long, wooly hair of a type of llama raised in Bolivia and Peru. It is similar in softness to cashmere but less expensive and also less furry than mohair. Because of its long strands, alpaca is usually added in yarns to other fibers for a particular effect and slight sheen. Yarnmarket carries a variety of alpaca yarns including Karabella’s Brushed Alpaca (100% alpaca), Cherry Tree Hill’s Glitter Alpaca (99%), Alpaca Silk from Debbie Bliss (80%), K1C2’s Temptation (50%) and Rowan’s Polar (30%) , Plaid (28%) and Felted Tweed (25%). Cashmere—Often referred to as the most luxurious fiber, cashmere comes from the undercoat of a goat found primarily in Tibet and Central Asia, and China is the world’s leading manufacturer. Cashmere is far softer and less hairy than mohair or alpaca but also more expensive. It’s often combined with wool to give a stronger, less expensive strand or with silk to add sheen and luxurious strength. Examples of cashmere blend yarns are two from Noro—Cash Iroha and Lotus—and several choices from Debbie Bliss including Cotton Cashmere, Cashmerino Baby, Cashmerino Aran, and Cashmerino Superchunky.
Mercerized cotton is the superior choice because it has high luster and greater strength; holds more dye for brilliant, long-lasting coloration; and resists shrinkage when washed. Some of the most popular cotton yarns at Yarnmarket are several 100% options from Rowan such as Handknit DK Cotton, Denim, Cotton Glace, Cotton Tape and 4 Ply Cotton along with cotton blends like Cotton Cashmere from Debbie Bliss, Gedifra’s Distrato, Meilenweit Cotton and Meilenweit Cotton Fun from Lana Grossa, Katia’s Mississippi 3 Print, and Cotton Twist from Berroco. Silk—Often noted as the strongest of the natural fibers, silk is produced in a continuous strand and thereby spun into very fine yarns. It accepts dyes extremely well and can produce yarns in a wide range of rich, lustrous colors as demonstrated in Noro’s 100% silk yarn Hana Silk. Because of its density, silk is often blended with other fibers to give it improved drape and elasticity as with Silk & Merino DK and Possum Laceweight from Cherry Tree Hill, Rowan’s Kidsilk Haze, and various Noro yarns such as Silk Garden, Cash Iroha, Sumile, Sumile Multi and Iro. For more information on natural fibers and for 25 related projects, check out Beyond Wool by Candace Eisner Strick.
We know you’ve been patiently awaiting our announcement of the next talented customer profiled in this month’s “Showcase Your Talent” column. Our congratulations go to Barbara Hilinski of Winhall, Vermont. Barbara describes her project for us: “I made a sweater for my grandson with yarn I ordered from you. It was Sirdar Snuggly Bluebell Mix #354. It was such a hit with my daughter-in-law that now my other daughter-in-law requested one for her daughter in a shade of purple!” Just like many of our talented customers, she modified a pattern she found (Jaeger Handknits Book #JM07) because she thought of a better way to do it: “They had done the heart [and text] in a seed stitch, which did not show up enough for me. So I changed it to a contrasting yarn.”
Isn’t it about time you submit one of your projects to the “Showcase Your Talent” column? Haven’t you been reading about other people’s successes long enough? Stop being so humble and e-mail us at photos@yarnmarket.com with the details of what yarn, pattern, etc. from Yarnmarket you used along with a digital photo of the finished project. Who knows? You could be the next one recognized for your accomplishments and receive a $30 gift certificate!
As you’ve come to expect at www.yarnmarket.com, we pride ourselves on our customer service. Each order is packed with pride by Alma, Susan, Christine, Phyllis or Yuki – and we’re happy to say that although we have the occasional glitch, we have an almost 99% accuracy rate. If something does go wrong, we’ll do everything we can to make it right for you . . . right away! Just send us an e-mail at orders@yarnmarket.com or call us at 1-888-996-9276, and we’ll take care of it for you. Our customer service hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, or you can leave us a message.
Thanks for reading and Happy Valentine’s Day to you and your family and friends. Your Yarnmarket Knitting Store Staff |
