Jimmy Beans Releases Special “Operation Turkey Trot” Yarns

In celebration of Thanksgiving (happy day to those who celebrate it!), Jimmy Beans Wool has released a special, limited edition line of yarns produced by some of the best dyers out there and inspired by the meal a lot of us are going to eat today.

Operation Turkey Trot is the name for the holiday collection, which features yarns in colorways covering a classic — and then some — holiday meal. There’s the gorgeous Cranberry Kale colorway of Dream in Color Smooshy, with luscious greens and reds; the pretty orange and brown Pumpkin Pie Shepard Sock from Lorna’s Laces; even a pretty fall palette in Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light inspired by that frightful holiday dish, Turducken.

In all there are nine special yarns, as well as a special bar lotion from Bar Maids and a beaded bracelet kit from Nelkin Designs. All of those are included in the Feast Kit, which runs $254.10. There are also collections of the favorite leftovers, just desserts and sweet, savory and stuffing themes available, or you can buy individual skeins if you’d rather.

This is such a fun theme, and would be a perfect gift for someone with a sense of humor, because the collections (not the individual skeins) come packaged in foil roasting pans! You also get a project bag to stow some of that yarn in while you’re working. Who wants to buy me one?

[Photo via Jimmy Beans Wool.]

Looking for Thanksgiving projects to knit? Check out these patterns we found on Etsy.

I rarely understand why something becomes a trend in crafting. Gnomes and geese are both cute I guess, but I never thought we’d be making them for all seasons. (See, for example, this collection of gnome knitting patterns, or these knit geese.)

Another one I don’t totally understand is sardines or little fish more generally. Sure, they’re cute, and the shape is fun, but I had no idea when I was sharing this pattern for a fish-shaped pouch last year that it would become a hugely popular pattern that people are still searching for on the site. It is pretty cute, though, so if you weren’t around then or don’t remember you should got check it out.

Recently another fishy knitting pattern crossed my monitor: the little knit fish from Classical Songbird Designs.

Just as the name suggests, these fish are little, about 4.5 inches or 11 cm from end to end. They look like little sardines and take about 12 yards of sock yarn to make.

You can even make a two-tone fish and use just 6 yards of each color.

This sounds to me like just about the perfect use for the yarn that’s left over after knitting a pair of socks, or a mini skein or several that have been sitting around unused in your stash.

The fish are knit flat in one piece, which makes it easy to stitch on the eyes with more yarn or embroidery floss before stuffing, and you can stitch up the sides while you stuff (though it’s not a very big piece so you could probably stitch and then stuff, finishing with the end of the tail).

Because I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one wondering, I measured an Altoids box and as the pattern is written the fish are a little too big to fit in it (the box is about 4 inches/10 cm long). But you could make the fish a little smaller if you want to make a box of them. Or just make a fishy bag to put them in!

You can grab the free pattern for the little knit fish at Classical Songbird Designs.

[Photo: Classical Songbird Designs.]

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