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Missouri Star Quilt Company to Acquire LoveCrafts

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In news I first saw reported by the Craft Industry Alliance, Hamilton, Missouri, based Missouri Star Quilt Company is in the process of acquiring British yarn craft company LoveCrafts.

Update: On 10/8 WEBS sent out an email with news of the deal, saying that nothing will change in users’ experience of WEBS online or in person. “We want to assure you that our commitment to providing you with the best experience remains the same, whether shopping online or in our retail store in Northampton, MA,” the statement said. “You’ll still be able to get the WEBS Discount, we’ll still have closeouts, and we’ll be working on bringing your favorite yarns back in stock!”

That bit about getting yarns back in stock may be a reference to complaints from some visitors that quality and stock have gone down since the company was purchased by LoveCrafts.

SkyNews reported that the deal could be done early this week, and is valued at millions of pounds. LoveCrafts is backed by several UK technology funds and saw its sales skyrocket during the pandemic, but it has been looking for a buyer this year because of declining sales.

Missouri Star Quilt Company might not be a name a lot of knitters and crocheters know, but it’s a destination shop for quilters. Founded in 2008 as a small, local fabric store, it has grown into the home of the biggest quilting channel on YouTube, with free tutorials published weekly. Hamilton is now known as Quilt Town USA, and is home to nearly 20 themed craft shops under the Missouri Star Quilt Company banner, including shops dedicated to florals, batiks, men’s fabrics and accessories, to name just a few.

One of the shops is a knitting and crochet shop, so this acquisition is sure to enhance their selection and their e-commerce footprint in yarn (right now it doesn’t look to me like it’s possible to buy yarn on their website).

LoveCrafts, on the other hand, is probably a company you’ve heard of. It was founded in 2012 as LoveKnitting, which branched out into LoveCrochet in 2015, but the two were brought under the same roof in 2019 with the launch of LoveCrafts. In 2021 they bought WEBS, one of the largest brick and mortar yarn stores in the United States, which also has a substantial online presence. WEBS has its own yarn line, Valley Yarns, and had also previously acquired Tahki Stacy Charles.

The Craft Industry Alliance reported that Edward Griffith, one of the founders of LoveCrafts, said the companies share a common mission and vision around the importance of crafting and community. They further reported that Jeff Martin, CEO of Missouri Star’s parent company, said the acquisition not only helps them to expand their product offerings but also to bring together passionate communities of makers.

[Photo via Missouri Star Quilt Company]

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Add Mushrooms to Your Knits with these Fun Knitting Patterns

A few years ago I wrote a post that was full of patterns for knit mushrooms, but I don’t think I ever did a post that was knitting patterns with mushrooms on them, so today’s the day. 

I love the Fungi Beanie from Jacki Bean, which calls for worsted weight yarn and uses duplicate stitch to add the mushrooms and other details. I think the colors she used for the design are tonal/multicolor so it doesn’t use as many colors as it looks like, but you can use whatever red, green, brown and white yarn you have in your stash for those details. 

How about some mushroom socks? The Magic Toadstool sock form Stone Knits includes a ring of mushrooms around the leg, contrasting heel and toe and a little more colorwork at the toe for extra cuteness. As shown it uses four colors and comes in three sizes. 

Or there’s the Fairy Ring Socks from Katie Green, which have mushrooms of two sizes on the legs, plus a bit of wavy grass. They have a contrasting cuff, heel and toe and some colorwork flecks in the body of the sock as well. This one is available in eight sizes to fit everyone from a baby to an XL adult. 

This trippy cowl from Hunt Hand Knits looks like a lot of fun to knit. The Fungus Among Us Cowl is shown using four colors of DK weight yarn, though you can do it with as few as two if you’d rather. 

Stitch some mushroom mittens with this cute pattern from Holly C Watson. This design uses three colors, and it’s shown with a self-striping yarn on the mushroom caps, which makes the colors change without you having to do any work. The pattern is charted but it’s a pretty easy repeat. The mittens are one size. 

If you don’t feel like knitting mushrooms but still want to give your project a touch of the forest, the Toadstools Cardigan from Julie Taylor may be what you’re looking for. It’s stitched as a plain cardigan worked in DK weight yarn and sized for newborns up to 4 years old. The mushrooms are added with embroidery and the pattern includes the design, which you can trace onto water soluble stabilizer to stitch the mushrooms onto your sweater. Or anything else you want. You can find this pattern on Ravelry.