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YARNMARKET.COM NEWS ISSUE #21
Classic Look Is Back in Sweaters Both Long & Short | Luxurious, Rare & Exotic Fibers are Hot, Hot, Hot for Upcoming Winter | Major Expansion of Free Patterns Department | Upcoming Holidays Mean Planning Projects for Travel & Gift-Giving | Check Out New Emphasis on Crochet Books, Magazines & Calendar | Yarnmarket Continues to Support Afghans for Afghans Project | Knitting in the News | Customer Service and Yarndex.com
Well, with the arrival of the first frost already over for many of us and cooler weather staying in the fall forecast, our attention shifts to what Harper’s Bazaar calls the “mainstay” of your fall wardrobe – the sweater. Whether short as we featured last
month in the newly revived bolero jacket or long as seen in the sweater coats showcased in the fashion spreads of Vogue, classic sweaters are your must-haves for the next 6 months. Of course, we have ready for you all the projects & patterns you’ll need to stay up with the trends yet “feel good in comfort" as Creative Knitting points out on the November 2005 cover.
According to Vogue Knitting, classic cables in particular are making a comeback, and don’t be afraid to try something new because the holiday edition of Family Circle Easy Knitting features a mini-workshop on cabling for all you newbies. You can even start with something smaller first like the Cabled Hat & Scarf set crafted of Karabella's Aurora 8, the Cashmere Cable & Rib Scarf or the Cashmere Rib & Cable Hat, all three of which are suitable for women and men. Then for a little inspiration about your sweater choices, take a look at our “Top 12” list of lovely cabled sweaters for women including the:
Simple Musique Cable Pullover designed by Susan Druding for Crystal Palace;
Sporty Cable Jacket with Hood from Debbie Bliss;
Lana Grossa’s quick-to-knit Caldo Cable Pullover;
Classic Flood Cabled Sweater beautifully muted in Rowan’s variegated Plaid;
Karabella’s spectacular Travelling Cables Cardigan;
Easy Kim Long Sleeve Sweater from Needful Yarns with its cabling at the waist for subtle shaping;
Pashmina Cable Sweater beautifully crafted of the lovely merino/cashmere blend Pashmina from Lana Grossa;
Cherry Tree Hill’s fast & colorful Potluck Bulky Cable Pullover;
Hail Cabled Sweater finely crafted of Plaid by Rowan Yarns;
Graffiti Cabled Turtleneck using the newly released, fun & funky Katia creation -- Graffiti;
Temptation Cable Pullover that's so very lovely & simple designed for K1C2's Temptation, a yarn so temptingly soft; and
Classically styled Supercashmere Cable Sweater from Karabella.
Of course, we must include the children in your life & look for styles designed with what the new issue of Cast On calls “heirloom comfort.” To keep them in fashion, we recommend the cabling found in the Beth Cabled Jacket from children's knitwear guru Debbie Bliss and the Blinken Sweater & Hat using Berroco’s lovely Softwist with its subtle sheen. Then you can’t leave out your favorite "guys," so check out the Colore Zippered Jacket in Lana Grossa’s subtle, multi-colored Colore, the Flood Cabled Sweater featured in Rowan’s tweedy Plaid, and for your four-legged companion, the Luck-of-the-Irish Jacket in Cashmerino Superchunky.
And you know that with almost 250 sweater-related projects for women, children & men in our Project Ideas department, you’re sure to find just the right sweater to match your tastes & skill level. You can even create some spectacular sweater coats as showcased in the newest issue of Cast On such as two spectacular ones from Crystal Palace that start with free patterns –- the Musique Coat with a faux fur collar in Splash and the Child’s Musique Coat; another featuring Crystal Palace & included in Creative Knitting -- the Girl’s & Teddy Bear’s Jackets; the Transitions Cabled Coat designed by Noro; two very quick-to-knit options –- the Caldo Print Ankle Length Coat and the Belted Sweater Coat with Collar & Pockets; from Debbie Bliss the Rib & Cable Coat; and the lovely, dressier Swing Coat knitted with Melange from Knit One Crochet Too (K1C2).
We are so excited about the luxurious & exotic yarns we’ve received recently that we can’t wait for you to try them out for yourself! First off, we’ve established a partnership with a new yarn company -- Windy Valley Muskox, a family-owned farm in Alaska specializing in the rarest & most luxurious fibers in the world. From Windy Valley, we’ve chosen to make available for you the exceedingly rare & luxurious Qiviut. Named after the Eskimo word for the down or undercoat of the muskox, this precious fiber is combed from the animals’ naturally shedding coats each spring. Because these ancient beasts are extraordinarily rare themselves, only a limited amount of “Qiviut” is available each year for the distinguished group of knitwear manufacturers & yarn companies selected to carry it. Yarnmarket is honored to be one of the approved retailers to carry such a precious, exquisite fiber.
Also as a complement to GGH's superb, worsted-weight Cashmere that we introduced last month, we're adding bulky-weight Supercashmere from Karabella. With its specially constructed, twisted strands, Supercashmere gives ultra softness with excellent fiber durability. Then we couldn't resist the spectacular Ultramerino 8 from Artyarns, the ultimate partner for the lovely silks we already carry from Artyarns. With superb stitch definition & incredible softness, Ultramerino is well named because it's spun from only the very finest merino wool. Last but never least, we continue to expand our Twisted Sisters collection and are fascinated by how beautifully the Twisted Sisters color combos of dyes are rendered in Jazz & Jazz Hand Paints.
Yarnmarket welcomes Windy Valley Muskox to the Free Patterns department, and we must say that when owners Dianne and John Nash commit to a project, they really commit! They've given us 5 free patterns already listed in the Windy Valley Muskox (Free) area, & more are on the way. Since the fashion emphasis this season is on lacework "in unusual or luxury yarns" as explained by designer Deborah Newton in the holiday issue of Family Circle Easy Knitting, the Windy Valley designers are definitely on the cutting edge of the fashion trends with their marvelous use of Qiviut in each of their free patterns:
Ruffled Shawl
Feather Lace Scarf
Beaded Muffatees
Madeira Lace Scarf and
Back Bow Top.
We are also excited to welcome Tahki-Stacy Charles to the Free Patterns department and will be adding patterns from discontinued books for which we carry the yarn. In just a few weeks, we've started off with four sensational free patterns including one for the Ritratto Criss Cross Bolero that so many of you loved in last month's newsletter along with the Pansy Capelet, the Pansy Tank Top & the Hopla Poncho.
Not to be left out, we continue to expand the free pattern offerings from Crystal Palace and appreciate the generosity and support of owners Susan & Andy Druding. Check out the Crochet Iceland Felt Bag, Musique Coat, Rave Bolero Jacket, Child's Kiddo Pullover, Child's Musique Coat, Kid Merino Shrug and Punk & Party Jacket, all to support some of your favorite yarns.
Since Thanksgiving is less than a month away & it’s usually one of the most popular times to travel in the U.S., we recommend you start planning now what projects you’re going to work on while visiting with family & friends. We know you’re looking forward to all the fun, food & companionship just as we are, but we also know you’ll go through knitting withdrawal (been there, done that) if you don’t have something to keep you occupied over the long holiday weekend. Count on Yarnmarket as always to have the right items in stock & to get them to you quickly!
Then if you haven't done it already, now is the time to start planning in earnest exactly which handcrafted items you will give to your favorite friends & family members this December. So what two types of gifts do we think are as much fun to make as they are to give? Toys and Christmas stockings! Finding just the right toy for that special little one or matching up the right stocking design with each person's hobbies and personality, well, aren't they some of the most fun things about the season? Check out just a few of our favorites from the Toys projects area & from Holiday Decor:
Cute Striped Snake, ideal for any reptile lover;
Adorable Bears in Pajamas designed for boys or girls;
Catherine Bear in the White Dress, the perfect teddy bear for any little girl;
Soft & cuddly Funky Fur Teddy Bears for all ages;
Mom & Baby Koala Bears for a wonderful, loving pair;
Snowman Stocking for the outdoorsy type;
Felted Rainbow Surprise Stocking for a variety of colors & stripes; and
Even a stocking for your favorite dog or cat.
To keep up with the fashion spotlight on crochet & crocheted garments, we've expanded our collection of crochet books, magazines & related projects & plan to add even more. First off, in More Books we now have a separate category for Crochet Books. Then in the newly created Knitting & Crochet Magazines collection, we've added 3 publications focusing on crochet -- Crochet!, Interweave Crochet and Family Circle Easy Crochet -- not to mention all the crochet projects you'll find by typing in the word "crochet" in the search box under the turquoise "New Stuff" tab at the top of any page of our web site.
Then as a companion to the Knitting Pattern-a-Day: 2006 Calendar, we've also added to our calendar collection Crochet Pattern-a-Day: 2006 Calendar. All of you crocheters will love having this much variety in your pattern collection, and it also makes a great gift!
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Mark Wunderlich from
Provincetown, MA,
Displays Donated Afghan | |  |
For almost a year now, Yarnmarket has been proud to support the humanitarian efforts of Afghans for Afghans. This wonderful charitable group collects afghans & clothing for Afghans suffering the ravages of war. For each quarter, we donate gift certificates for their drawing, & we're glad to do our small part to encourage knitters & crocheters to get involved in this worthwhile initiative.
Please join us in congratulating those selected in the last few drawings & honor them for their contributions:
Rolinda Brackbill
Ula Ward
Cathy Deyo
Sondra Gabriel
Renee Y. Storteboom
Sue Clark
Char Rickey
Mary Berghammer
Merilee Croft Olson
From viewing crochet as an art form to using crafts to teach science, we've found a wide range of news articles related to knitting & crochet this month for your reading pleasure. So sit back & take a peek at this eclectic mix of feature stories:
Learn about the history of crochet as an art form in the Cayman Islands as explained in Threads, the Art of Brac Crochet.
Or check out a new venue for crochet artists in the Portland Tribune article Cold Comfort: Artist deploys a homey craft to make a sharp point about work.
As a follow up to the articles on crochet & knitting being used to teach mathematical concepts, here's an article with a scientific "bent" so to speak: How to Knit DNA.
And in keeping up with all of the celebrity knitters we've seen over the last few years, read up on:
Katie Holmes, the new "role model" for expectant moms -- Katie Holmes Learns How to Knit,
Catherine Zeta-Jones keeping busy during the filming of The Legend of Zorro as explained in a People Magazine column, and
Model Kate Moss drawing a crowd as explained in Moss gathers knitting fans like rock star.
As you’ve come to expect at www.yarnmarket.com, we pride ourselves on our customer service and low error rate. Each order is carefully packed by Kim, Phyllis, Tina, Alma or Joni. We have an occasional glitch, but 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 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, or you can leave us a message and we’ll get back to you by e-mail or by phone.
Thanks for reading, and Happy Thanksgiving to all of our American customers.
Also if you haven't already done so, be sure to try out Yarndex.com, your new yarn reference resource, and give us your feedback. Yarndex is a great tool for finding all kinds of yarn information whether you’re looking for the best substitution for a discontinued or hard-to-find yarn or general information to choose your new favorite for the season before going shopping.
And as always,
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