A Little bit of Knitting, Dyeing and other fun Yarn Stuff!

Hi everyone! I hope you are enjoying your summer and that you are knitting some nice and airy projects with all your free time (unless you have kids in which case, you have LESS free time! Hope you are knitting nonetheless...).

I am so excited with recent developments in the J. Knits community...

First of all, we have had our yarn published in the book "The Kids' Knitting Notebook".



The book was written by Cindy Craig, owner of The Studio in Kansas City, MO. She asked me if I'd like to participate about a year ago and I was so excited when the book was released within the last month! It's really awesome to have your yarn featured in a book. There is an adorable knitted poncho and a bolero-style sweater in there using J. Knits yarn (the pink sweater in the upper left-hand corner of the book cover is the bolero sweater using J. Knits yarn!). If you have a little one who you'd like to get interested in knitting, this book is tops! It provides a bunch of projects they can work on which get a little harder each time so they work up learning valuable knitting techniques as they go. Plus it's really colorful and fun to keep them interested as they go...

I've provided a link to the left of this post if you'd like an easy way to purchase it. You can save 15% off the list price by buying though us. Anyway, the link is there if you'd like this awesome book!

Ok, moving on...

Boy do we have some awesome patterns coming out! First, look at this beautiful glove designed by Emma's Daughter Designs:



This glove uses 1 large skein of our Superwash Me - Sock Yarn. The color shown is Miami. So, the name of the pattern is "A Cold Day In *Miami". You replace the name Miami with whichever of our colors you are knitting with! Since all of our colors are named after cities and states, it makes it fun to name your own pattern. Awesome, right? We love it and you will too.
And since this pattern calls for one of our awesome superwash yarns, the gloves are machine washable. Practical too. Love it again! Be sure to pick up a copy of this pattern at your LYS. These would make a simply awesome gift for someone too. The cuffs are a little wider so they will fit over your coat sleeve ends.

The designer at Emma's Daughter Designs is so talented. We look forward to many more patterns in the future. She never ceases to amaze! Watch for more great patterns shortly...

Moving on again... (now is a good time to grab some coffee. I'll wait :-)):

More than any other question, we get asked "Where can I find J. Knits Yarn?". So, I am happy to provide you with a list of states that currently carry our yarn. Here is the updated list (working east to west):

ME
NH
VT
MA
CT
RI
OH
KY
MI
WI
IL
MN
IA
MO
AK
TX
OK
KS

and how could I ever forget:

MD!! (thanks for the reminder Tanya!)

Whew! That's a lot of states! Don't see your state listed here? Then why not just walk into your LYS and ask them to carry us! Just send them to our website and we'll handle the rest.

Or, you can visit one of our awesome online vendors. You can find them at the "Blogs We Read" link to the left.

Jogging right along...

I taught a yarn-dyeing class recently at Knit Pickings in Plaistow, NH. It was so much fun! I had a blast. Here are some pics:

That's me in the top photo wearing the blue and white striped top. I'm busy talking (as usual...I tend to talk a lot!) and dyeing yarn. I had such a good time and I think the students learned a lot! I know I did! It was really interesting to see the colors that the students came up with. So many variations I never would have thought of! It was great....

Well, I have more to share but I think I'll save it for next time...

As always,
Have fun & knit safely!

Your fiber friend,
Julie
J. Knits
http://www.j-knits.com/