In this follow-up to the best-selling Design It, Knit It, celebrated designer Debbie Bliss knits up the most adorable collection of baby wear ever.
Fifteen all-new designs for sporty sweaters, knits for preemies, special occasion outfits and accessories showcase Debbie's signature style. In addition, she leads readers through the entire process: size and shaping, yarn selection, color and pattern, and embellishments.

A designer's workbook, which includes knitters' graph paper, templates for garment shapes, and a stitch gauge, rounds out this indispensable guide to designing and knitting for babies.

New yarns from Rowan... and Amy Butler?

Rowan announced they joined forces with Amy Butler on a new handknit collection.

Although the yarns look really nice I cannot understand the connection with Amy Butler, except from a photograph on Rowan website were the yarns show on a basket made of Amy Butler beautiful fabric.
Take a look at the new yarns, Belle Organic DK & Aran.

Good news for Lion Brand fans outside USA and Canada

Yes! Finally for those who don't live on US territory or Canada Lion Brand is now shipping internationally! And it’s a big list of new shipping countries!

Check it out here.

Random House new release: HatHeads

After teaching himself to knit, author Trond Anfinnsen found that pull-on hats—aka beanies or skullies—were the perfect-size project. As his pile of hats grew, so did his knitting skills, and soon he began personalizing the hats for family, friends, and friends of friends. Each person received a unique hat designed to suit his or her coloring, personality, and style—all for free. Trond eventually teamed with photographer Klaus Skrudland to document what had become an interactive art project, taking portraits of each recipient in his or her hat. Together, the two created, gave away, and photographed more than 200 hats.

HatHeads shares 50 of these hats, all the same beanie shape but with a wide range of designs, offering something for everyone. Each hat is modeled by its recipient, with a full pattern and a funny, affectionate description of how that person inspired the design. Readers then learn how to pick up where Trond left off and create unique, personalized hats for their own friends and loved ones.

Designed in a fresh, graphic style, HatHeads is as unique as its hats, a heartwarming celebration of people, knitting, and the joys of giving.

Kanzashi in Bloom: 20 Simple Fold-and-Sew Projects to Wear and Give

Last month, Random House released this beautiful new book.
Kanzashi tsumami is the Japanese art of folding delicate squares of silk into three-dimensional flower petals. In the United States, the online craft culture has sprouted a renewed interest in making Kanzashi with American crafters devising simplified ways to create these gorgeous fabric flowers and incorporating more user-friendly materials like cotton and synthetic fabrics along with the traditional silks.

Kanzashi in Bloom takes the American interpretation of Kanzashi a step further, presenting modern, more easily executed flower designs as elements in a variety of fun, fashionable, hip craft projects. Kanzashi in Bloom offers advice on materials, three petal-folding styles, and techniques for assembling a Kanzashi flower. You’ll also find instructions for 20 projects to wear and give as gifts, including:

• Tiny blossom earrings
• Flowers-in-your-hair clips
• The happiest belt buckle ever
• Elegant floral gift topper

New Red Heart Artesano

New Red Heart Artesano is a versatile yarn with interesting texture and color effects. It has a soft hand and excellent wash performance.

Download color range (pdf).

Knitting In the Sun: 32 Projects for Warm Weather

Knitting in the Sun, is a new pattern collection from Kristi Porter. Published by Wiley, this paperback collection boasts 32 patterns, many of which are knit in Berroco yarns.

Kristi is a California based designer who has compiled a selection of sweaters that won't make you swelter in summer heat. Porter pairs warm weather yarns with sensible stitch patterns to create highly wearable garments.

You'll find patterns to keep your needles clicking whether you're lounging by the pool or taking a break at the beach:

• 5 sleeveless tops
• 4 short-sleeved tops
• 4 lightweight long-sleeved tops
• 6 summer-weight cardigans
• 2 skirts, a sleep set, and a wearable bathing suit
• 9 accessories ranging from a beach hat to a cotton wrap to a beach chair

LB Collection Pure Wool

Meet the newest addition to Lion Brand's LB Collection of affordable luxury fibers. Pure Wool is an undyed wool roving yarn in natural cream. Made in America, from fiber from American-raised sheep, this yarn is perfect for experimenting with felting and hand-dyeing.

This is the seventh line of affordable luxury fibers from Lion Brand.

New YarnCraft episode - Easy Ways to Sell Your Knit & Crochet Goods Locally

On this week’s episode of YarnCraft, Liz and Zontee talk about easy ways to get started selling your knit and crocheted items. They talk about what types of items to sell and where to sell your creations. This episode focuses on small, simple, local ways to get started.

Audio download

Show Notes
00:12 Intro
01:17 What’s on Liz & Zontee’s hooks & needles
02:43 Selling your crafted items
14:22 Interview with Tamie Snow at Bazaar Bizaare
17:46 Interview with Cindy Liu at Bazaar Bizaare
19:04 Thanks

Bamboo Baby and Bunnies

Patons® presents a new pattern book for babies: Patons® Bamboo Baby and Bunnies. It features twelve new patterns to knit up in the also new Patons® Bamboo Baby.

With everyday classics and creative takes on your favorite baby items, there are knits for everyone to love.

From adorably stylish Mary Jane-style booties, to cables, to fair isle, the options keep coming.

Bamboo baby yarn from Patons®

Patons® Bamboo Baby is another great bamboo blend from Patons®. Soft to the touch with just the slightest sheen, a true worsted weight yarn, great for both quick knit baby garments and blankets.

With subtle fun hues that are contemporary and adorable, you'll be dressing the most stylish babies on the block. Solids that stand alone or look great together in fair isle, and inventive new ombres you don't want to miss. Like all of our baby yarns, Patons® Bamboo Baby is easy to wash and maintain.

The fastest growing plant on earth, bamboo requires no pesticides or fertilizers and is earth-friendly.

Lion Brand on Facebook

Lion Brand is now on Facebook. Become a fan to get access to special offers, be able to share your photos and connect with other fans. Join hundreds of other yarn-lovers and yarncraft fans.

4th of July crafts

For those who celebrate the 4th of July, Martha Stewart created some amazing projects.

New Dual Duty XP® Thread

Coats has a new sewing thread: Dual Duty XP®, the “X-tra” performance thread, that combines advanced technology from Coats with nearly 200 years of thread-making experience.

New and unique manufacturing processes are applied to Dual Duty XP’s polyester-wrapped, core-spun construction creating a thread that provides enhanced seam appearance and makes sewing trouble free. Dual Duty XP is smooth and strong—it sews perfectly on all machines from vintage to today’s most advanced.

YarnCraft - Summer Crafting with Kids 02

This is the second episode of YarnCraft special series, Summer Crafting with Kids, coming on alternate Tuesdays.

This episode YarnCraft - Summer Crafting with Kids focuses on fun projects perfect for trading, sharing, and making together.

Liz & Zontee give ideas about how to use crafts to encourage kids to inspire each other, work together, and create great things to give to each other.

Audio download

Show notes:
0:11 Intro
01:23 Yarncrafting activities for groups of kids
12:00 Drawing winner
13:06 Thanks to our guests

New Amy Butler Sewing Patterns

Amy Butler has two new spring patterns:

Field Bag & Tote: perfect as an everyday tote around town and big enough to use for a weekend getaway.

Mini Dress, Tunic & Tops: several options for a fresh spring look! The mini is all about versatility... it comes in girl's sizes x-small to large and women's sizes x-small to xxx-large, so it's great for a mother-daughter project. And there are four great options: dress, tunic and two shirt lengths.

Kate’s Café Exhibition

Kate Jenkins will be having her first solo London show at The Rebecca Hossack Gallery renowned for its showing of contemporary arts.

Kate will be taking over the whole gallery and turning it into Kate’s Café featuring a series of beautifully crocheted artworks based on the nations favourite foods.
The collection, which includes meticulously re-created fish and chips, fried breakfasts on crocheted plates and crocheted condiments such as tomato ketchup all framed as original art pieces.

Kate Jenkins launched her fashion label Cardigan in 2003 to fulfil her philosophy that anything can be created from yarn as long as it is made with love, having previously worked for the likes of Marc Jacobs, Missoni and Donna Karan.

Design for a Living World Exhibition

Ten leading designers have been commissioned to develop new uses for sustainably grown and harvested materials in order to tell a unique story about the life-cycle of materials and the power of conservation and design in an exhibition at Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. One of the featured designers is Christien Meindertsma.

Christien Meindertsma makes her own felted wool yarn and knits it together with custom-made oversize needles.

Here are some pictures of her amazing work:

Learn more about Christien Meindertsma at her website.

Learn more about this exhibition at www.nature.org.

International Year of Natural Fibers

Did you know that 2009 is the International Year of Natural Fibers?

As part of the celebration of the International Year of Natural Fibres, Keep the Fleece in partnership with Heifer International is helping to organize teams around the world to knit sections of the World's Longest Scarf that will all be joined together at the New York Sheep & Wool Festival Oct. 17-18, 2009.

The goal is to raise $250,000.00 that Heifer Intenational will use to donate fleece-bearing animals of all kinds to needy families all around the world. Heifer not only donates the animals, but provides the necessary training so that the families can nurture and grow their herds and become self-sufficient.

The Snuggie™ mania

According to USA Today, The Snuggie, an oversized fleece blanket with sleeves, available in 3 colors, is a big hit in America.

The numbers prove that: over 4 million sold, around 250 groups on Facebook, 5,999 members in the fan club and over 300 parody videos on YouTube.

There are Snuggie-love sites on the Internet, such as SnuggieSightings.com, where fans can post photos, videos and news. It has become a cult!

Red Heart has adopted this trend and created a new version, called the Snuggle Up Throw.

More Cloth

More Cloth is a useful tool for quilters who are looking for fabric on Etsy. You just have to click on the color you'd like to view some fabrics for sale on that color range.

Three Irish Girls

Three Irish Girls sell beautiful colourful handpainted yarn & fiber and learn to dye kits.

They have just presented their spring lookbook.

YarnCraft - Projects for Your Modern Baby

Yarn Craft published today the second shorter-format podcast for the summer, designed to be the perfect length for yarncrafters on the go.

On this new episode of YarnCraft, Liz & Zontee take a look at the world of babies and ways to inject some fun and whimsy into your baby-yarncrafting.

Find out what colors will stimulate your child and the best easy-care yarns for on-the-go parents.

Audio download

Show Notes:
00:11 Intro
01:23 What’s on Liz & Zontee’s hooks & needles
03:13 Fashionable baby patterns
13:46 Interviews from Maker Faire
19:50 Thanks to our guests

Eco-cotton blend new colors

Red Heart has added 13 new colors to its Eco-Ways™ and four new colors to its Eco-Cotton Blend™ yarn collections.

Eco-Ways™ is made from 30% recycled polyester which comes completely from recycled plastics. This versatile yarn makes beautiful projects while giving consumers a yarn they can feel good about using.The new colors include Cotton, Misty Violet, Bark, Rose Dust, Fern, Cinnabar, Yam, Sand, Chamois, Cornflower, Asparagus, Dark Indigo and Peacock. View all the beautiful colors here.
Eco-Cotton is a fabulous soft yarn and is eco-friendly. Fabric remnants from T-shirt manufacture are recycled and blended with acrylic for additional softness and loft, then spun into a soft 4-medium weight yarn that's perfect to knit or crochet into comfy sweaters, soft throws, and other home décor items. View all colors here.
See the complete color range here.

Mother Bear Project

The Mother Bear Project is dedicated to providing comfort and hope to children affected by HIV/AIDS in emerging nations, by giving them a gift of love in the form of a hand-knit or crocheted bear.

The simple gift of a hand-knit bear with a tag signed by the knitter has touched children with the message that they are unconditionally loved.

Learn more about Mother Bear Project, the children in need and how you can help this effort.