Color Of The Year By Lionbrand

Lion Brand Yarn Company announced today that it is entering 2022 with a goal of inspiring joy and optimism in the crafting community by naming “Golden Sunshine” as its latest Color of the Year. It will serve as the color inspiration for a year-long collection of new products for the company. In the wake of nearly two years of uncertainty, this bright, warm and vibrant color marks a trendsetting initiative for the company as well as a guiding light of positivity heading into the new year.

“We hope that Golden Sunshine drives our makers forward, imbuing their projects, garments, and lives with joy,” said Jessica Hendrickson, Design Director of Lion Brand Yarn Company.

Lion Brand will donate a portion of the proceeds from all product sales in the Golden Sunshine product collection to Mental Health America (MHA), the nation’s leading community-based nonprofit dedicated to those living with mental illness and promoting mental health. The partnership has been an integral part of Lion Brand’s commitment to focus on the mental health benefits of knitting and crocheting activities, which have spiked in popularity as people seek out healthy ways to cope with challenging times.

“MHA is the perfect partner for this new mood-enhancing color palette,” Hendrickson said. “Color has been proven to have a direct correlation to our mental well-being, and we’re excited to support MHA’s incredible work.”

“The colors we choose to wear and surround ourselves with can play an integral role in our mental health,” said Schroeder Stribling, MHA, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Golden Sunshine is the ideal palette to spread some much-needed post-pandemic happiness.”

The Golden Sunshine collection will include curated color palettes featuring Lion Brand’s 24/7 Cotton®, Feels Like Butta®, Pound of Love® and Wool-Ease Thick & Quick® yarns. Eleven new patterns and four seasonal palettes will be released on a rolling basis throughout 2021, helping make Golden Sunshine a significant color trend throughout the year.

Next Pattern:

Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

Next Pattern:

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