Beanies 4 Buddies

Hi everyone! I wanted to take a second to tell you about a fun and worthy charity that needs your help.

Beanies4Buddies collects and distributes knitted and crocheted caps for children going through chemotherapy. In addition to a handmade hat, they also get a Beanie Buddy with a matching knitted cap to keep them company.

Beanies4Buddies started back in 2009 and have sent out over 600 sets to children going through Chemo at Children's Hospital LA. In the last year, donations have really slowed down and there is still a great need for knitted or crocheted hat sets. If you'd like to help, here's how:

-Knit a child's size hat. Any pattern you'd like, and any size from baby to teen.
-Knit an accompanying Beanie-baby sized hat in the same yarn. Beanies4Buddies website has a few patterns for the tiny hats.
-Mark the size on a piece of tape on each hat: infant, child’s S,M,L, or teen
-Maybe include a little note of encouragement!

If you knit any sets, you can drop off your donations here at the shop and I can deliver them to the woman in charge of Beanies4Buddies.

The yarn needs to be soft washable cotton or acrylic, like Berroco Weekend or Berroco Comfort. If you can find time to knit up a little hat, I'm sure it would be greatly appreciated!

Their main need right now is hats, but they also take donations of yarn, beanies, or monetary donations. Check their website for more info.

Berroco Fall 2012!

I don't know if you all saw the picture I posted on Facebook and tweeted yesterday, but if you missed it, here it is again:

Our UPS man delivered 5 giant boxes and one little box from Berroco yesterday! All of the yarns that we ordered for Fall where inside, let's take a look at some fun new things!

First up is Berroco Boboli Quick:

This fun chunky yarn is the bigger version of Berroco Boboli, which we have already. This is a nice soft wool/acrylic/rayon blend that comes in some really fun colors, almost looks like handspun to me! Berroco always puts out a pattern booklet to go with their yarns, my favorite for Boboli Quick is this cute crocheted slouchy hat; "Ruble":

Next is Berroco Lodge:

This is an aran/chunky weight yarn that has a gradual self-striping effect, similar to Noro yarns. It's a wool/acrylic/nylon blend that's stripey and tweedy at the same time, I can't wait to knit something with it! My favorite pattern for Lodge is this cute pullover with a detachable cowl; "Acey":

Last but not least is Berroco Glee:

Glee is another Ruffle yarn, super easy to knit, and really quick results! Here's a picture of the free pattern that you can make with one skein:

In addition to all these fun new yarns, we also got more Berroco Ultra Alpaca, Ultra Alpaca Fine, Ultra Alpaca Light, Voyage, Boboli, Borealis, Lustra, Nanuk, and Flicker. Stop by and check them all out!

-Kaity <3

Quirky Home

Browsing through Ravelry, a knitter can find tons of cute patterns for things for your home, stuff like throws and afghans, pillows, etc, but I always tend to find myself drawn to the more quirky things to decorate my house with. Today I want to share with you some non-traditional knitting patterns to spice up your home decor! Let's jump right in!

Puff Daddy by Anna & Heidi Pickles:

I love this giant knitted puff! Use it as a foot stool or additional seating, I bet it knits up super quick! It uses 3 strands of a Super Bulky yarn held together and size 19 needles. This would be great in something like Encore Mega!

Knitted Lace Jewelry Frame by Jennifer Hansen:

How cute is this little Jewelry organizer? It's basically a framed piece of knitted lace to hang earrings and such from, I think it would make a great last-minute gift! Knit it up in any lace-weight yarn, like Brown Sheep Legacy Lace or Filatura di Crosa Nirvana. Come to think of it, I've always wanted to knit some beautiful lace swatches and frame them to hang, but would only I appreciate it as art? Hmm...

Furniture Feet by Harpa Jónsdóttir

I have friends who live in a top-floor apartment, and always have to be careful about their chair's feet screeching on the floors so they don't bug their neighbors, I might have to make them a set of these for Christmas... Cute idea, huh?

Crochet Votive Cover by NW Nature Nut:

I think these votive covers are so lovely! Perfect as part of your Holiday decoration! They are so pretty and glowy when the candle inside is lit.

Knitted Bunting Flags by Green Mountain Mama:

I seriously love the look of bunting! I made yards and yards of it for my wedding (although I didn't knit my bunting, that would have taken way to long!!). This would be adorable decorating a little girl's room! You could write anything you'd like onto them, like a name or encouraging word, or just leave them blank.

Foamies by Carey Huffman:

The cutest bath toys/washcloths ever! What kid wouldn't want to take a bath with these little dudes? 

All of these patterns I've shown you today are free, so take a look at them! What are your favorites?

Thanks for reading!

-Kaity <3

Customer Project Spotlight: Joann's Pullover!

I thought it would be fun to start showing you guys some of the great projects our wonderful customers crank out, hopefully they will inspire you! Today I want to share with you this fun little sweater:

This cute pullover is knit in one of our favorites around here; Liberty Wool Print from Classic Elite. Joann used the color 7862 "Watercolor Rainbow", which I love! I think it will become a great addition to her wardrobe! If you are curious what pattern she used, it was this free pattern(PDF) from Cascade Yarns, but left off the Fair Isle Design. With all the colors in the Liberty Wool Print, she didn't need it!

I hope you enjoyed seeing this project, and keep a look out for further Customer Project Spotlights!
-Kaity