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YARNMARKET.COM NEWS ISSUE #39
Heading into Early Summer 2007: Short-Sleeved Tops, Cardis & Swimwear that Drape, Wrap, Flatter & Accent | Yarnmarket Launches Exclusive New Colorways Inspired by 19th Century French Impressionist Artists | Cotton is the Perfect Fiber for Spring & Summer Especially Tahki's Cotton Classic | Check Out All of the New Colors & Designs from Prism and Noro in Stock Now & Coming Soon | Customer Service and an Introduction to BargainYARNS
Following up on our spring & summer fashion review in the May newsletter, we're keeping our promise to update you on the latest fashion news. As always, we're taking the trends from the runways of New York, Paris & Milan and translating them into wearable, figure-flattering designs to suit your varying tastes & preferences. Then no matter your personal style or your body shape & size, you will find terrific new creations in our Project Ideas department to inspire you well into the summer.
Now our emphasis turns to even warmer weather and showing the major trends in short-sleeved options as well as the long-sleeved three-quarter sleeves already featured. The editors of Vogue Knitting International continue to highlight the longer, figure-flattering wrap cardigan as high-fashion styling and we have looked for both easy and challenging designs for our variety of knitters.
First off, check out the Lavinia Wrap Cardi, and you'll understand what they mean by "figure enhancing." The simple, uncomplicated lines & lovely drape make this cardigan an excellent project for a wide range of women. Also the design makes excellent use of luscious Love It from Berroco along with sizing from X-Small to 2X.
Another sensational wrap cardigan for a variety of sizes is the lacy Berlin Wrap Cardigan. Designed for the Intermediate to Advanced knitter, this cardi's simple tie front and spectacular open-weave pattern throughout will surely make it one of your favorites for warm-weather seasons & climates.
Then tunics have been so popular & trendy lately that we've added and are recommending 5 marvelous projects for you to knit & crochet. We confess that we fell in love with the Nanette Cotton Twist Tunic from our 1st glimpse of it. With its fabulous eyelet accents at the neckline, sleeves & bottom, this longer top is beautifully crafted of Cotton Twist also by Berroco. We also appreciate the way the design aficionados at Berroco have used the jersey-like drape of Nostalgia in their Macie Nostalgia Tunic. Short enough to wear as a top over leggings, jeans or a skirt but long enough to wear as a mini-jumper, this basic tunic is very versatile & classic. And we've remembered the crocheters too by recommending the tunic-length Muse Crochet Top, a beautiful creation that works splendidly for casual & dressy outings.
Next when you want a dressier, more sophisticated style, select the Entrelac Long Tunic from Prism. You can choose any of the 4 Prism Stuff yarns for this one-of-a-kind garment, but it's shown in the color "Zebra" in Cool Stuff. We also appreciate the figure-flattering lines of the Carmen Diagonal Striped Tunic from Twisted Sisters. Just pick out your 3 favorite hues of Daktari and create this spectacular top with excellent drape & flow.
Of course, we're all starting to turn our attention to swimwear & the beach items we'll need on our upcoming vacations & cruises. And you know that you can count on us to keep you trendy & fashionable with those wardrobe staples too! First up is the Martinica Beach Cover-Up crafted of deliciously soft & cool, 100% cotton Martinica from Katia. This little number is not limited to being a cover-up though because with its open-weave design & longer tunic length, it has just the pizzazz needed to wear over your favorite camisole or top & jeans or leggings. Then to make your fashion statement at the pool or the beach, select the Martinica Bikini to complete the set. We particularly like that this swimsuit is both lovely & functional since it isn't only decorative -- you can really get it wet!
We also recommend the versatile Colibri Cover-Up that is so much more than beachwear. Its sensational lacy effect comes from the composition of Katia's multi-textured, multi-colored Colibri, and the finished garment is stunning yet affordable.
Of course, you can also check out our Summer Knitting area for even more swimwear items such as the superb Suede Bikini, the Dubai Bikini with snap-back stretch and the trendy Retro Crochet Bikini.
As always, we've added projects for all the little ones in your life as great baby gifts & to keep those little girls in style & fashionable -- from newborns to preteens! Our new favorite baby blanket is the Easy Striped Baby Blankie because it has a terrific design even beginners can create & it's not the typical blanket style. Using all knit rows, you change colors frequently but you leave long tails of each color that you braid together at the end for the fringe. Very creative & unique! Also check out the coordinating Cotton V-Neck Pullover, also from Mission Falls, and you'll have a quick set to make. Then for those fashion-conscious little girls, we've added the Colibri Bolero. Easy to fit & extra-feminine, this little jacket with its three-quarter length sleeves is just terrific knitted up.
And with Father's Day coming up in a few weeks, we remind you that there's still time to create your special guy a gift handmade with love. Ties are always a good option but why not make him a tie in his favorite colors instead of buying one at the store? Artyarns founder Iris Schreier has a superb design in her His or Her Silk Necktie sensationally crafted of her Regal Silk and starting with a free pattern. As based on free pattern is the Party Necktie from Crystal Palace that's so easy even a Beginner can knit it up! And for those with a bit more free time, the Good Day Golf Shirt uses cool, soft, eco-friendly Bamboo from South West Trading Company and also starts with a pattern that's free with yarn purchase.
From a love of color and texture and our commitment to developing innovative & exclusive products for you our discriminating & discerning customers comes our latest Yarnmarket initiative -- The Impressionist Collection. To create the Impressionist Collection, we first selected 8 of the most memorable & colorful paintings created by the French Impressionists of the 19th century. From the dream-like "Starry Night" by Vincent Van Gogh to the evocative ambiance of Gustave Caillebotte's "Paris Rain; Rainy Day" and from the ebullient "A Path in Monet's Garden" from Claude Monet to Pierre-Auguste Renoir's delicate "Spring Bouquet," each painting is a fitting tribute to the power & inspiration of this revolutionary movement in art history.
Then with our unique access to some of the greatest fiber artists and hand-dyers in the industry, we are partnering with such noted yarn leaders as Artyarns, Lorna's Laces, Twisted Sisters, Cherry Tree Hill, Prism and Rio de la Plata to make available to you each company's interpretation of the paintings in the series. We are most interested in how each company transforms the paintings into unique color expressions from their unique perspectives and using their special hand-dyeing & hand-painting techniques.
And what better way to launch the series this month than with 3 established lovelies and one brand-new creation from yarn guru Iris Schreier and Artyarns: Regal Silk, Beaded Silk, Silk Mohair and Supermerino. We know you'll be as intrigued as we were to discover Iris' innovative interpretation of the 8 paintings and how each of her exquisite fibers presents a slightly different yet compelling expression of her vision. Also we've made it easy to identify these lovely colorways on each yarn's product page because we're displaying them at the beginning of each list and also labeling them with an "exclusive" banner.
Also as a significant part of The Impressionist Collection, we have commissioned custom patterns to demonstrate the magnificence of Iris' colorways and we've decided to make these patterns available to you free & printable at home. We are excited to launch this series of free patterns with the Silk Side to Side Jacket spectacularly combining Regal Silk and Beaded Silk in the colorway "Paris Rain."
Then over the next few months we'll be expanding the series to include additional fiber artists and paintings along with more free patterns, so we suggest that you regularly check our Impressionist Collection category for the latest additions.
For all of the warm weather ahead of us, one of the best, most wearable fibers is cotton and cotton blends, and here at Yarnmarket we carry some of the best cottons in the world. We also appreciate such excellent design support that's available today from well-respected knitwear aficionados like Debbie Bliss who have gone quite public with their love of cotton. Cotton is not only very wearable, but it also absorbs the dyes readily, which allows for a wide range of color options.
To make it easy for you to find our traditional, plied cottons, we have the Classic Cotton Yarns category. Included in the listings are a wide range of cotton options for you. You can also use the Yarn Finder on the left side of the Home Page if you want to see all the cottons or refine your search by adding other factors such as yarn weight or texture.
As a wonderful addition to our cotton collection, we are thrilled to be adding to our store all currently available colors in Cotton Classic from Tahki Yarns. An industry mainstay for years, this lovely 100% mercerized cotton crafted in Greece is always fresh & new because the color palette is refreshed each spring. We loved the extensive color options and knew how often designers choose "Cotton Classic" for their special knitwear, so we decided to give you the ultimate choice -- 126 shades grouped by color family for easier viewing & making comparisons as soon as they're all available.
We also love the way you can now blend the solids with the Tweedy Cotton Classic we added last year. You can see these wonderful mixtures along with many ideas for creating the solids in 2 special Tahki books specifically devoted to "Cotton Classic": Tahki: Cotton Classic Spring/Summer 2006 and Tahki: Cotton Classic Spring/Summer 2005.
Of course, we have way too many cottons & cotton blends to discuss each one individually, but some of our collection with special features are:
Cotton Chenille and Cotton Chenille Print from Crystal Palace with their velvety texture & excellent free pattern support;
Lovely and Lovely Print, soft 100% cottons for terrific baby & children's outfits;
Supersoft, cotton blend Malva, a matte-finish ribbon that works up quickly as a bulky;
Eco-friendly 2nd Time Cotton from Knit One, Crochet Too and spun from new, never used, recycled fiber directly from the cutting rooms;
Ever-popular and well-respected All Seasons Cotton and Handknit Cotton with that sensational Rowan design support behind them;
Four superb hand-dyes from Twisted Sisters -- wonderfully nubby, 100% cotton Daktari and Daktari Hand Paints plus cotton-blend Mirage and Mirage Hand Paints with their subtle sheen & smooth texture.
And we have many favorite projects using cottons & cotton blends, but one of our newest women's tops is the stunning Hempathy Blossom Top from Elsebeth Lavold. Also Maggi's Linen, the blend of cotton & Irish linen from design dynamo Maggie Jackson, creates the lovely feminine Lacy Linen Top along with many other knitted projects. One other terrific cotton blend is Rowan's chunky, quick-knit Holiday, and the Mariella Lace-Up Top really lets this yarn shine.
As soon as we heard of the new Prism "Stuff" colors due out for this spring, we could hardly contain ourselves, but now the waiting is over! In Cool Stuff the lovely "Stardust" colorway just says spring & summer, don't you think? With its pinks, orchids, corals & aquas, it reminds us of gardens & spring/summer flowers. Then we now have in stock and ready to ship to you "Sunrise" in Light Stuff. We love the vivid reds, oranges & pinks master fiber artist Laura Bryant has developed in this surefire winner, and we know you'll enjoy it too. In addition, we've almost doubled our offerings of Kid Slique by adding 5 additional color blends ("Captiva," "Harvest," "Orchard," "Terra Cotta" & "Yosemite"), so be sure to check out those superb colorways.
To complement these terrific new color combos, we've also added new Prism pattern support including the:
Kid Slique Lacy Wrap (#3808),
Stuff & Touch Me Yarniversal Poncho (#3584),
Stuff Cabled Tee (#3605) and
Stuff Shaped Wrap (#4001) just to name a few of the new ones.
Then we're very excited to be one of the first stores in the country to have already in stock 8 of the 10 new fall colors in Kureyon from Noro. Check out the last 8 colors on the product page (just look for the "new" banner) and be one of the first one in your knitting group with the new color combos.
Also beginning with this newsletter issue and specifically the Noro collection, we're introducing a new pre-ordering initiative so that you Noro aficionados can be assured to get the newest & the latest yarns & colors as soon as they arrive. Just look for the "Pre-Order" banner on such established yarns from Noro as Kureyon, Cash Iroha, Cashmere Island, Iro, Kochoran and Silk Mountain. We have scans of all of these available colorways on each product page so that you can choose your favorites, order them now & then get them when they arrive in July & August. Now what could be easier than that?
You know that we the staff of www.yarnmarket.com pride ourselves on our customer service. Each order is packed with pride by Alma, Amy, Lisa or Tina –- 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.
Also many of you have noticed and started ordering from our new sister site -- BargainYARNS -- and have given us great feedback on this new Yarnmarket subsidiary. But for those of you who haven't taken a peek, check out the special savings you can get when we offer end-of-season items, over-stocks, discontinued yarns and "less-than-perfect" books. BargainYARNS was specifically created to offer quality products at lower prices from well-known yarn companies; however, with limited quantities in stock, we recommend you purchase your favorite items quickly and then check back often for new offerings. We promise always to have a variety of quality items at fantastic prices to excite & inspire you.
Thanks for reading, and we wish you all a Happy Father's Day on Sunday, June 17th.
Also take time to enjoy those get-togethers with family and friends during your trips and vacations this late spring & early summer!
And as always,
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