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YARNMARKET.COM NEWS ISSUE #29
In This Issue:
Play Peek-A-Boo with the Sun in Our Latest Summer Outfits for Women, Children & Babies | Look Ahead to Fall with a Little Yarn Preview from Berroco & Crystal Palace | Enjoy Lots of Other New Goodies from Lantern Moon, Artyarns & Pony | Get in the Swing of "Christmas in July" with Early Planning of Projects & Gifts | Knitting for a Better World: Afghans for Afghans & Other Charitable Groups | Knitting in the News | Customer Service the Yarnmarket Way
One of our all-time favorite yarn companies Berroco gets autumn off to an early start by introducing four new beauties that we now have in stock for you. It's difficult to pick just one of these lovelies as our favorite, but since tweeds are to be hot, hot, hot this fall, we know you'll love tweedy, multi-hued Keltic. "Keltic" is also a fun, self-striper & its marled hues will definitely remind you of traditional British tweeds with a modern slant & extra softness worked into the fiber.
Then since mohair is the favored fiber of the fall, the yarn gurus at Berroco have wisely developed two lovely mohairs for your knitting & crocheting pleasure. For a vintage, romantic look with an updated, 21st century edge, choose Memoirs with its strand of brushed mohair combined with thick & thin, unspun wool roving. Add a collection of terrific, muted color blends & you have the perfect choice for your chunky-weight projects through the fall & winter. Then when you need an ultra-soft mohair blend with a bit of stretch, select Smart Mohair. No excessive fuzziness, machine washable, enough elasticity to spring back into shape without blocking, no wonder this fiber gets the "smart" label!
In addition, you know you can also rely on Crystal Palace Yarns to keep you up to date & in style this fall and winter, so take a look at two of their newest offerings. When we introduced Cameo Print a few months ago, we could hardly wait to see how those lovely solid colors from Crystal Palace would look in its cousin Cameo Solid. Well, your requests have been answered because we now have in stock the complete series of 16 solid shades, and they're just as lovely as we expected. Use the solids alone or mix them with their superbly blendable cousin in fabulous sweaters, ponchos, jackets, bags, accessories & more!
Also we've been waiting patiently for a worsted-weight, feltable wool from Crystal Palace, and we're thrilled to report Fjord Print is now available in 13 combos. Just imagine what stupendous felting projects you can create now that you have "Fjord" and its chunky cousin Iceland available for your knitting, crocheting & felting pleasure.
One of the most exciting deliveries we've gotten in recent weeks is something we've been eagerly anticipating since we first saw them in January & ordered them right on the spot at the National Needlearts Association trade show in San Diego. Yes, we're talking about the new Destiny Circular Needles from Lantern Moon. Handcrafted in Vietnam with the same "liquid silk" finish as the world-renown Lantern Moon Straight Needles, these lovely creations are a must-have for knitting devotees everywhere.
Available in spectacular ebony & just arrived, beautiful rosewood, these circulars are the fastest wooden needles in the world. They will be available in 4 lengths & in sizes 4 to 11 U.S. when the collection is complete. Their brass connection is extra-special too because it's machined, honed & polished together with the needle for a virtually seamless join. Also the needles swivel at the connection to avoid kinking, and the nylon cord uncoils easily, stays relaxed & is tinted for easy visibility.
The first of our Artyarns Kits, the Rosebud Shawl Kit, was such a big hit in June that we asked Iris Schreier to help us select another Yarnmarket-exclusive featuring her lovely silks. Using the ever-popular Regal Silk combined once again with her new Silk Mohair, we offer you the Silk Mohair Tie Wrap Kit as shown in Iris' article on modular knitting in the May issue of Vogue Knitting International. Available in the sensational melon & yellow combo as shown and also in a terrific neutral set, this wrap is the perfect accessory for any summer or fall outing.
And last but certainly not least in importance, especially not to those of us who want to be sure our finished garments retain their shape & fit, are the Steel T Blocking Pins newly arrived from Pony. With these sturdy, long tools you can fasten your dampened garments to your blocking board, rug or carpet & be sure they keep the right shape & dimensions each time you wash them.
We're sure that if you live in the United States, you've heard the phrase "Christmas in July." You may even have a radio station in your area that plays Christmas music to celebrate all or part of the month. But for our international friends, let's explain briefly what we mean. We're talking mainly about getting ready for all of those wonderful, holiday-related projects we want to get done & we know that if we don't plan ahead & get started soon, we'll have disappointed friends & relatives. After all, as of this newsletter's release, the start of Hanukkah is less than 23 weeks away & Christmas comes just 10 days later. Now are you getting a bit excited??? If you have just a few small things you'd like to knit or crochet, then sit back & relax another month or two. But for the rest of us, we may already feel behind!
OK, don't get stressed out because we're here to help you get started by getting organized. We always think first of the gifts that will be used year after year as remembrances of your thoughtfulness, and one of the best gifts like this is a Christmas stocking matched to each friend or relative. Maybe you'll choose a theme that she or he will enjoy or certain colors that are their favorites. In our Holiday Decor department, we have many stocking ideas along with a holiday garland that starts with a free pattern and fun, miniature sweaters as tree ornaments. But the wide range of stocking ideas is our favorite area, so check out the Enchanted Forest Christmas Stocking, which combines ever-popular felting with terrific Iceland & Fizz Variegated from Crystal Palace Yarns. We also recommend the Keepsake Baby Stocking for those new little ones in the family, the Cat & Mouse Christmas Stocking for your favorite feline, and the Doggie Christmas Stocking for man's (& woman's!) best friend. Of course, if you're looking for other ideas, you know that you can count on us to have just the right pattern books in stock for you -- even ones specializing in Christmas stockings!!! Both Christmas Stockings and Knit Christmas Stockings will give you great ideas for even customizing your own pattern.
We also recommend that you match your abilities & experience with your choice of project by watching for the level of difficulty ranking we give each project in our Project Ideas department. Projects with a "1" or "2" are for beginners, ones with a "3" or "4" are for advanced beginners, "5" through "7" intermediate, and so forth up to a "10," the highest level of difficulty. We want you to be successful with every project you create, and we continue to add more projects for all levels of knitters & crocheters. Two recent examples of how much fun even beginning knitters can have making gifts are in our Scarves & Ties department. Coincidentally, they both start with free patterns too, so there's added incentive for considering them as gift ideas!
First, take a look at Madison's Plush Scarf. New knitter Madison Snow of Oakville, Ontario, learned to knit from her grandfather Alex (yes, Alex of Yarnmarket, Inc.) and had a great time creating this terrific, cuddly soft scarf. Using 2 hanks of Plush chenille yarn from Cherry Tree Hill made this lovely accessory more than large enough for kids & adults. Or if you want to make it from just 1 hank, then cast on half as many stitches & make it up even more quickly on large needles! Since it's done in garter stitch (all knit rows), it's easy to change the pattern any way you like.
Also for a very special someone & to show your love & affection, select the Unisex Qiviut Scarf if you're at least an advanced beginner or an experienced knitter looking for a quick, lace-look project. Starting with a free pattern from Windy Valley Muskox, this marvelous scarf is designed exclusively to take advantage of the lush softness of Qiviut. This pattern calls for garter stitch too along with a modified seed stitch & knits up relatively fast on larger needles than usually recommended for a laceweight yarn.
For over 20 months 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 along with supporting other terrific groups such as International Midwives Assistance. Each quarter, we donate gift certificates for their drawings, & 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:
Because we believe so strongly in this type of "Christmas in July" project, we'll be featuring other charitable organizations over the next few months to remind all of us that those in need benefit greatly from our handmade items too. To suggest a non-profit, charitable group for us to feature, please e-mail the newsletter editor and share your suggestions. Please provide any details that you can including website address, contact person's name, e-mail address, etc.
You know you can count on us to be watching the news services for any tidbits about your favorite crafts like
crocheting & knitting, and for this month, we've found quite a few fun, funky & touching articles for your enjoyment &
reading pleasure. Here are our favorites to start your July off with a bang!
In a previous "Knitting in the News" column, we featured an article & photo of a knitted motorcycle. Well, this month art students have gone many steps farther by creating an automobile & several houses! UK art student Lauren Porter spent over 10 months knitting this full-size replica of a Ferrari (shown to the right) using 12 miles of yarn. Then other students have chosen to knit full-scale houses as arts projects, and these were featured in Knit Houses including one in London with walls knit entirely from garbage bags, rope & plastic.
We also enjoyed learning of how baseball teams are catering to those crafty folks among us as with the St. Paul Saints who distributed balls of yarn to enthusiasts at a recent game: Saints' yarn idea could be a ball. Trust us -- we'd prefer knitting & crocheting to watching sports, & actually that's what's done in living rooms across the U.S., so why not be smart & bring it to the stadium too?
For those of you who look for equality amongst the sexes, you'll be glad to note that more & more men are jumping on the arts & crafts bandwagon as explained in It's not Grandma's quilt; More men take up art form and in a short blurb about Hookers for Jesus, a group of young craftsmen at a local United Methodist church. Then the profile of a contented man who learned to crochet from his grandmother almost 40 years ago is touching & fun too: Hook and yarn and a little time.
Then with the kids home for summer vacation & for other types of holidays worldwide, what better time is there to share your passion for crafts & teach the next generation? Get inspired by how things are handled "down under" in Australia as explained in Workshops to keep kids busy at holiday time. And who knows? Your example could be so inspiring that your young ones may some day be honored for their crafting skills & charitable acts as was Ryan Gong of New York: 'Kids of Distinction' Program Winners Recognized.
You know that we the staff of www.yarnmarket.com pride ourselves on our customer service. Each order is packed with pride by Tina, Alma, Phyllis or Kim –- 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 the problem. Our customer service hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday.
Thanks for reading, and please play it safe on your upcoming vacations & at those family get-togethers. Practice water safety, drive carefully, discard or store properly any leftovers from those cookouts & picnics, and always buckle up!
And as always,
Happy Knitting & Crocheting!
Your Yarnmarket Knitting Store Staff | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
