In This Issue:
Explore Unstructured Spring & Summer Designs for Maximum Style & Comfort | Yarnmarket Welcomes New Yarn Company -- Fleece Artist of Nova Scotia, Canada | Enjoy Chic New Yarns & Colors Now in Stock from Gedifra | Check Out Great Mother's Day Gift Ideas in Stock for Quick Delivery | Discover Our Latest Expansion of the Yarnmarket-Exclusive Impressionist Collection | Now You Can Pre-Order Tofutsies Sock Club Colors Plus Many Exciting Noro Yarns | Recent Articles about Yarnmarket and Customer Service Reminders
Explore Unstructured Spring & Summer Designs for Maximum Style & Comfort
So now that we're finally enjoying some warmer temperatures, we can get excited about sprucing up our spring & summer wardrobes with just the right new pieces. And of course, you can count on us to keep you up to date with the latest fashion trends when you just don't have the time to research the newest and the best. So here's a rundown on the hot styles for spring & early summer along with new projects we're featuring for women & children.
First off, from Karl Lagerfeld to Caroline Herrera, designers are showcasing free & flowing styles that are easy to wear, layer & accessorize. Loose-fitting, unstructured tops, jackets and sweaters are the new must-have garments for every wardrobe, and that's good news for all shapes & sizes. Loose-fitting garments that are sized properly are equally attractive on petite, slender women as they are on statuesque plus-size models. So let's look at some of the great options we have for you in our Project Ideas department.
One of our favorite new projects in our Women's Cardigans area is Norah Gaughan's innovative Linen Jeans Mobius Cardigan. Building on the sensational properties of Linen Jeans from Berroco, Norah has created a straightforward, mobius-styled cardi with subtle shaping ideal for many figure types. Most of the knitting in the garment is straightforward: the back & sleeves are basic & the collar is one straight strip. Then a few short rows are just the touch needed to give the front panels their patterning & design.
Next for a terrific new short-sleeved pullover we turn to another innovative young designer -- Wenlan Chia or "Twinkle" as she is better known as. In her light & airy Kid Mohair Dreamer Top, Twinkle creates a loose-fitting top perfect for spring, summer & fall, and we know you'll love her modern twist on the classic diamond pattern in this gem.
Of course, we know that some of you are ready for sleeveless tops too, and all of us need to expand our tank tops & shells wardrobe because of the continuing popularity of layering. We highly recommend a lovely, easy tank from Gedifra featuring one of their new spring/summer yarns. The Filorosa Summer Tank Top is just the garment you need when you crave something light & airy yet sophisticated & just a bit shimmery. With European pizzazz & flair, this sleeveless pullover takes full advantage of self-striping & gleamy subtlety. This tank top is superb worn alone and can be even more elegant when teamed with your favorite jacket or cardi.
In addition to tops & jackets being unstructured, large tote bags are hot, hot, hot for this spring & summer, and we have many exciting new bags now in stock. You can easily add to your bag wardrobe by choosing your new fave from our Bags & Cases area. New large totes from Lantern Moon include the Morgan Bag with its metallic stitching & silver-toned rivets; the Tasha Taffeta Bag, an elegant & sophisticated stunner; and the Rosie Shoulder Bag with its quilted overflap & a multitude of pockets.
Or if you prefer creating your own large tote, we have a fabulous new bag project based on a sensational felted pattern from Marta McCall. If you can knit & purl, you can make the classy Needle Felted Bucket Bag. It also has lovely embellishments in Kureyon for an ethnic flair.
And last but certainly not least, we are featuring an eco-friendly baby blanket project so that we can continue our care of the environment that we started with Earth Day on April 22nd. The Corntastic Baby Blanket is crafted of 100% corn yarn and is sized in a small for a baby and in a large for an older child (as shown in the photograph). All you have to do is choose your 6 favorite colors for the small or your 14 faves for the large, and you can get started on this gem right away. Even better yet, it starts with a free pattern from Kollage!
Yarnmarket Welcomes New Yarn Company -- Fleece Artist of Nova Scotia, Canada
This month we at Yarnmarket are very excited to welcome the fiber collection of the Canadian hand-dyeing company Fleece Artist Yarn. Located in Nova Scotia, Fleece Artist was established in 1979 to supply fellow textile artists with high-quality, natural fibers. Their customers demanded better colors than were commercially available, and their dream was to offer any hand-dyed colorway in any natural fiber. Yarnmarket is excited to introduce the complete fiber range of Fleece Artist's spectacular Blue Face Leicester wool yarns including all weights of the undyed, natural fiber.
In the
world of wool & fiber, the fleece of the Bleu Face Leicester sheep is well respected as wondrously soft & durable because of its long fibers. After experiencing this fiber gem for ourselves we readily agree that this is truly "wool's answer to cashmere" and feel the comparison is well deserved. First off, explore the beauty of the dyed fibers in two weights -- Blue Face Leicester DK and Blue Face Leicester Aran. For any lightweight to sweater-weight project you have in mind, these two fiber gems will fill the bill exquisitely.
Then when you're ready to create your own one-of-a-kind masterpiece, experiment with the Blue Face Leicester Undyed Yarn we now have in stock. When you use a dyeing kit such as the Culinary Colors Dye Kit, you can give your imagination free rein and develop your own special concoction.
Enjoy Chic New Yarns & Colors Now in Stock from Gedifra
We know how much you look forward to the arrival of the new Gedifra yarns each season, and we're thrilled to have in stock four new fiber gems for spring & summer. And of course, you can count on Gedifra to have splendid design support also, and we have those new books & booklets in stock now too.
To start us off with a bang, take a peek at multi-hued, multi-textured Leola. "Leola" has a nubby strand overlaid with a cottony mesh cover for a light & airy feel. Then a subtle metallic thread of polyester transforms it to the out of the ordinary. It's the ideal fiber blend for that something special in your tops, jackets, shawls & wraps this spring & summer.
Next up is rayon/linen blend Ayala. With the European sophistication you've come to expect from Gedifra, "Ayala" has subtle textures & tone-on-tone color variations because the different fibers absorb the dye at different rates & intensities. The result is a superb DK-weight option for your lightweight jackets, tops, scarves, shawls & more.
Then building on the phenomenal success of Filorosa last year, the yarn gurus at Gedifra have created Filorosa Summer. Taking numerous novelty yarns and tying them end to end gives you endless hours of fun & pleasure as you discover the wonderful patterns & designs you can create. Each lovely color combination also shimmers & glimmers with multiple textures ranging from metallic to matte, and since each ball is a generous 191 yards, you have fewer ends to weave in as you knit & crochet your favorite worsted-weight garments.
Rounding out the new offerings for spring & summer comes Gedifra's version of a classic cotton blend -- Mayra. But we always expect the unexpected with these yarn aficionados, and so "Mayra" has a touch of nylon for added strength. And the modern twist for such a traditional yarn is its construction as a braided chainette strand, a sensational choice because of its wonderful drape & superior stitch definition.
And as we mentioned, we now have in stock the marvelous Gedifra design collections that support these lovely new yarns as well as some of your favorites like Top Soft, Colorito and Rubens, each of which also have new colors available. First we have Gedifra Highlights #081 with 29 spring & summer designs for fashionable women around the world. Then the booklet Gedifra Selection #301 focuses on "Filorosa Summer" and contains some lovely jacket & top projects.
Check Out Great Mother's Day Gift Ideas in Stock for Quick Delivery
Now there's time to get the perfect gift selected & shipped out in time for delivery by Mother's Day, and we have some fabulous new items that came in the end of last week. You can even count on us to gift wrap your items for a small fee and save you even more time. So now on to the great goodies we have for you & your favorite ladies!
We highly recommend the Limited Edition Breast Cancer Sock Kit that builds breast cancer awareness & supports research at the same time. This unique sock designed by Rosemary "Chappy" Chapman has clever features & patterns to remind all women to do their monthly self-exams and to schedule mammograms regularly. Then all net proceeds will go to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Research Center and give back so that you're "knitting for the cure"!
But Please Note that this sock pattern & specially dyed "Pink Ribbon Trekking XXL" yarn is available only in the kit with a limited supply available.
Now we also have many new lovelies from Lantern Moon in addition the several large totes we featured in our earlier article. We love the new exclusive rose print in black & white that Lantern Moon has created plus the many totes, handbags & folio cases that all match. For those who need lots of storage, you can start with the Rose Tote. With its outside pockets, topstitching detail, top snap closure, reinforced base with plastic feet and great pocket system shown in the photo, this tote is a real winner.
Or if you want a smaller bag in the same fabric, choose the Claire Bag, Lantern Moon's 1st leather & fabric handbag. And with either of these options, you can add any or all styles of the Rose Folios for a matched set.
Two other great gift ideas from Lantern Moon are the Queen Bee Tape Measure for the queen bee in your family and the Polka Dot Crochet/Double Points Case for your favorite crocheters & sock aficionados.
We also have in stock and ready to ship some terrific new bags & cases from bag designer Della Q along with new spring colors in some of her most popular items. First off is our personal fave -- the Molly Messenger Bag with its bright, cheerful colorways. This shoulder bag combines durability with chic detailing throughout. This bag is truly a match made in heaven for the on-the-go fiber artist with plenty of room to carry along your favorite book too plus a large zippered pocket just under the front flap.
Della has also added several basket-style totes to her line this spring, so take a peek at the Isadora Tote with its feminine, multi-colored exterior & leather handles; the Nora Tote, also with leather straps but this time with a two-colored, striped exterior; and the Lydia Tote, the ideal size for a trip to the park or the beach so that you can carry your latest project along with you plus all the supplies you'll need for a day of fun.
And last but certainly not least of the new stuff comes the Priscilla Bag, a wonderful 100% silk project tote that's more generously sized and designed so that it will stand upright when you set it down.
We also have in stock new colors in many of your absolute favorite Della Q designs including:
The ever-popular Lily Tote;
The Que Lily Silk also now available for metric sized needles;
The Lily Silk Zip Pouch to amtch the other new spring colors; and
Those fun project bags -- the Eden Silk Project Bag and the Eden Cotton Project Bag.
And then what's the ultimate gift if you're not sure which of these lovelies to choose for your mom? A Yarnmarket Instant Gift Certificate lets Mom pick out her own gift at her leisure, and they never expire! Just select the amount, decide whether you want to print the certificate out yourself & enclose it in her Mother's Day card or have it sent by email on her special day, and we'll take care of the rest for you with no stress or hassle.
Discover Our Latest Expansion of the Yarnmarket-Exclusive Impressionist Collection
We are thrilled to announce another major expansion of our Impressionist Collection colorways with the addition of Prism as an Impressionist partner. Prism founder & color guru extraordinaire Laura Bryant has developed her interpretations of our selected paintings and dyed her brand new yarn Tencel Tape in these Yarnmarket-exclusive color combos for your knitting & crocheting pleasure.
"Tencel Tape" has the luxurious softness we expect from Tencel fiber and is the first 100% Tencel yarn we've seen. The hand-dyed colors are saturated & exquisite, and the feel is silky smooth & velvety with superior drape & lovely stitch definition. Add that it's crafted from sustainable trees, and you have a yarn concoction that's highly eco-friendly and has much more moisture absorbing capability than cotton while being breathable & hypo-allergenic.
Also "Tencel Tape" gets rave reviews from knitters & crocheters alike because its shorter repeats of sensational color help you avoid splotches & odd color pooling.
And Laura is starting us off with another Yarnmarket exclusive -- a pattern you receive free with your yarn purchase for the Tencel Tape Tee. We love the way the yarn & colors transform a classic T-shirt top into a stunning addition to your spring & summer wardrobe. And we bet you'll enjoy knitting & wearing this one so much that you'll want to make more than one!
Now You Can Pre-Order Tofutsies Sock Club Colors Plus Many Exciting Noro Yarns
Now is the time you've been waiting for -- we've gotten numerous calls asking if there would be another year of the fabulous Tofutsies Sock Club and if so, when could you start signing up. Well, the answer is yes, we have on order another great year of sock releases starting in June 2008 and continuing every other month through April 2009p
And the good news is that you can sign up right now for all six releases and be sure you get yours along with 2 free patterns for each new colorway. One of the patterns is available to all customers buying the yarn, but we've arranged to have a Yarnmarket-exclusive pattern for each release too. Now what could be more exciting than that.
Well, for all you Noro lovers, we know you were very excited when we opened up the pre-ordering for the Kureyon Sock yarn. And guess what? Noro has developed another sock yarn around one of his other popular fiber concoctions and we are now taking pre-orders for Silk Garden Sock!
Then besides this exciting new sock yarn, Noro has announced that he's adding 8 new colors to "Kureyon Sock" and 8 for Kureyon in the fall, and they are also available for pre-ordering as of today.
Recent Articles about Yarnmarket and Customer Service Reminders
We're excited about the articles that have featured us recently and ask that you take a look so that you can see some of the staff who work so hard to be sure you're satisfied with your Yarnmarket experience. Just last week Knit One Crochet Too featured us in their newsletter called Who Knits as the store showcased in their "Shop Hop" column. You can read all about us at Who Knits. Also in the hot-off-the-presses, latest issue of Knit 'N Style (August 2008), we are the "Get to Know" store they feature on pp. 38-40. Enjoy learning more about our Yarnmarket family!
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, Tina, Suzi, Julie or Debbie –- 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 we're available to help you be sure you have all of the knitting & crochet supplies you need to keep busy on your next vacation or business trip -- you know you don't want to be sitting on the airplane or riding in the car without your next project in hand. Just let us know how we can help out & we'll be sure we get your package to you by whatever expedited delivery method you choose.
Thanks for reading, and we wish you a Happy Mother's Day this Sunday & a reflective Memorial Day the end of the month.
And as always,
Happy Knitting & Crocheting!
Your Yarnmarket Knitting Store Staff
Yarnmarket, BargainYARNS and Yarndex are subsidiaries of Yarnmarket, LLC. Yarnmarket is an online yarn retailer with over 600 quality brands from 50+ leading manufacturers, plus patterns, books and accessories. BargainYARNS provides discounts on fashionable yarns and accessories. Yarndex is a free online yarn directory offering detailed information about specific yarns from leading manufacturers.
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