Monthly Archives: June 2013

2 Free Natty Knits patterns!

This week we have two adorable free patterns from the wonderful Natty Knits!

First up is Baby’s First Football.

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Surrounded all my life by football fans, I think this is adorable and wish I had it when I was making a few baby gifts a while back for some football families.  Even if you’re not a football fan, the size of the football is a great size for babies & small children to grasp and play with.

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Palette Galore!

I think that by now, we’re all pretty familiar with the gorgeous shot of the Palette family that’s been in the catalog and on web since September of last year. I know it particularly well because Kerin and I are the ones who sat down and sorted each ball into the lovely color order that you see here and I’m the one who sat down AGAIN and resorted it after the photography department was done with it in order to label each ball correctly in catalog. I can’t tell you how long this took, only that I’m getting pretty good at spotting the differences between Thicket and Briar Heather!palette_family

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Designs for the Heroine in You

Waltz into the world of Jane Austen with this romantic crochet collection. Elegant and feminine, these 36 designs will whisk you away to the Regency era of balls, high tea and delicious gossip about who is courting who. Chances are one of these fanciful garments could even bring a Mr. Darcy into your life!

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Simply stylish knits in the new Light Basics collection

There is a lot to be said for simplicity: crisp hem and small gauge goes a long way in basic knitwear. The Light Basics collection features six sophisticated, classic designs that you can wear as staple, go-to garments, or modify with your favorite stitch or color patterns using the included knitting graph paper. Each of the garments is designed to be used with any fingering weight yarn, and can be worn separately or together.

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Podcast Episode 217: New Yarn and Pattern Collections for July

This week, Jenny and Stacey get a chance to chat about all of the wonderful new yarns and collections coming out this month! First and foremost is our brand new crochet thread, Curio. Hear all about our lovely new #10 crochet thread and get inspired with pattern ideas.

Following the crochet theme, Jenny and Stacey introduce Serenity, our first ever collection of crochet designs featuring 8 independant designers.

Next, Jenny and Stacey talk about the other three new pattern collections including Light Basics – a collection of garments and accessories all knit in fingering weight yarn, Reversible Basics – a collection that incorporates reversible patterns and details into the designs and Ballerinas in Pink, a collection inspired by turn of the 20th century French fashion and art. Finally, Jenny and Stacey give a few highlights and suggestions from the summer yarn and book sale.

You can find all four of our new collections at the links below (available as ebooks, printed books, and individual pattern downloads):

Serenity Crochet Collection
Light Basics
Ballerinas in Pink
Reversible Basics

3 easy ways to listen…

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Nanette Blanket

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A riff on the Babette Blanket

This blanket was inspired by the Babette Blanket, and by my stash. I love the bold, multi-color splashiness of the Babette Blanket, and I had some Chroma worsted samples to play with. I’ve called it a “Nanette Blanket” after my middle name (Nan), and the bumbling character from the musical “No No Nanette.” This was definitely my typical, bumbling experimental project!

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Knit & Crochet in Public Week: Tinking in public

I’ve never been one to shy away from public crafting. In fact, if my hands aren’t busy all the time, I basically just fuss and fidget and drive myself nuts. So, it’s no surprise that many of the folks at the fine coffee and food establishments I frequent are well enough acquainted with me to ask much more specific questions than “Is that called yarning?”

In fact, one barista was surprised when the sweater I’d been working on for some time wasn’t with me for a few weeks, when she knew it wasn’t finished. Well, there’s a good reason for that, I explained, as I was busy crocheting a doily. I messed up!

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