Cooperative Press to Close Warehouse (and Book Sales)

Cooperative Press, the independent publisher of knitting books, crafty business books and a bit of fiction, is closing down its warehouse and stopping direct sales to customers.

In an email to fans recently, founder Shannon Okey said fulfillment costs have been rising to the point where they have less to create new books and pay authors, so once the warehouse is substantially cleared out they will be sold through third-party sites such as Amazon and Barnes & Nobel, as well as independent book sites (yarn shops will still be able to wholesale direct from CP, and they will still sell at events like Rhinebeck).

Through Tuesday, Sept. 15, some of the remaining inventory is available at 40 percent off with the code 40PERCENT. I’m sure they’d appreciate it if you take a look.

In other book sale news, Vogue Knitting is having a sale of 30 percent off books, including knitting, crochet, quilting and sewing books. No code, just visit the site for pricing.

Next Pattern:

The other day I saw a post from Pinterest about trends for summer and it said one of them was “cultivating whimsy.”

Well, I don’t know where Pinterest has been all this time, but we’ve been cultivating whimsy here at Craft Gossip for a long time. I love sharing projects that are a little different, things that make you smile when you see them, and will make you smile when you knit them and wear them or use them.

Such it is with the Tutti Frutti tee knitting pattern from Bea Creative Knits.

This cute little baby tee is worked top down in the round with contiguous shoulder construction to shape the sleeve caps. There are short rows for the neckline and folded hems with picot edging at the hemline, neckline and edges of the sleeves.

All of this would be great on its own, but then there’s the addition of a super cute fruit icon, which is added with duplicate stitch. There are a lot of options, including strawberry, banana, orange, cherries, watermelon, lemon, blueberries, kiwi, peach, dragon fruit, apple and pear, so it’s likely you can add on your favorite fruit.

It is offered in eight sizes, to fit a bust measurement ranging from 28-30 inches (71-76 cm) to 56-58 inches (142-147 cm). The design is meant to be worn with around 6.3 inches/16 cm of negative ease, but you can choose the fit you prefer. There’s also optional bust and waist shaping included in the pattern if you want to make it even curvier.

This is considered an advanced beginner or intermediate project because of all the skills involved, but it’s sure to be a lot of fun even if some of these techniques are new to you.

Grab a copy of the pattern for yourself form Bea Creative Knits on Etsy.

[Photo: Bea Creative Knits]

Next Pattern:

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