Lion Brand Unveils Wonders of the Yarn World at CHA

This weekend was a big one for crafty trade shows, with The National NeedleArts Association having its winter show and the Craft Hobby Association hosting what’s billed as the world’s largest crafting show. These shows are an opportunity for manufacturers to go all out, unveil new products and show off a little of what can be done with the things they sell.

This year for CHA Lion Brand Yarn commissioned an amazing display called the 7 Wonders of the Yarn World. The pieces are actually crocheted by Nathan Vincent, but I thought you all would like to see them because they’re so amazing and just show what you can do with yarn, patience and a lot of imagination.

These “wonders” were also reflected in the company’s fashion show at the event, where they described the seven wonders of the yarn world as cables, lace, granny squares, chevrons and stripes, embellishment, colorwork and texture. I love it!

Check out this post on Craft Test Dummies that shows all the pieces in great detail. I’ve love to hear which one you like best! I love the leaning tower of Pisa and Stonehenge.

[Photo via Lion Brand Yarn.]

Next Pattern:

I’ve been enjoying knit amigurumi animal patterns lately (see also: this adorable knit pigeon) and of course being a knitter I love llamas.

So when I saw this little llama pattern I knew I had to share it.

The appropriately named Llama patter from Annie Ahn calls for fingering weight yarn, and it uses two colors for the body and three for the little blanket. The pompom can be made to match or in another color. All of these parts take tiny amounts of yarn so you can use whatever scraps you have left over from socks or other projects and change colors whenever you need to.

It might also be fun to use some mohair or other fuzzy or textured yarn on this one to give your llama a different look. In all the project uses between 100 and 150 yards, or 91-137 m, of yarn and the llama comes out about 10 cm/4 inches tall.

The body of the llama is worked in one piece, so this project is suited to intermediate knitters or those who have comfort working in the round and with all those little pieces.

This one is made to be small so you can carry it around with you (it would be super cute on a keychain or as a zipper pull) but I think it would be a lot of fun to knit this in larger yarn, too, to make a bigger llama. You could even make a whole family in different sizes just by using different weights of yarn and corresponding needles.

The details are so cute, from the shaggy hair to its little accessories, but you could make it plain or change it up by knitting a tiny scarf or even working a little fair isle pattern on the legs or body. So many fun possibilities!

The pattern is available on Ravelry in English and Korean.

[Photo: Annie Ahn]

Next Pattern:

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