Drool-Worthy Color Cards from Halcyon Yarn

I guess I’ve got Maine on the brain today (wouldn’t it be lovely to be sitting on a deck chair somewhere in Maine, knitting and looking out at the ocean, right about now?) because I’ve been meaning to share this with you for a while and I’m just now getting to it. I’m a big fan of the Maine-based yarn company Halcyon Yarn, and for all the years I’ve been getting their catalogs (which are beautiful and will make you wish you were in Maine even more), I’ve always been intrigued by what they call a Yarn Store in a Box.

This cool sampler includes 45 color cards with more than 115 different yarn styles on them. They include Halycon-label yarns like their Classic Rug Wool, Satin Bamboo (which I am going to have to get some of!) and their Casco Bay line, as well as sames from big-name companies like Noro, Debbie Bliss, Cascade and Reynolds, to name a few.

The people at Halcyon were nice enough to send me a sample box, and it is so much fun to look at all the possibilities and imagine what you’d make form each kind of yarn. For a designer, that’s really inspirational.

I think this box would make a great gift for a knitting friend. In addition to all the sample cards the box includes the company’s yarn and equipment catalogs and a coupon for $10 off your first purchase of $60 or more. Which, when you see all this gorgeous stuff, will take you no time at all to spend!

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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]

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