Pam Allen Honored as One to Watch in Maine

Each year MaineBiz names a handful of “women to watch” in various categories, including women-owned businesses. For 2012, the woman to watch who owns her business is Pam Allen, owner of Quince & Co. yarns.

The awards presentation is next month, and you can read more about how the business got started and watch a video with Allen talking about why her business is successful (hint: because she is her customer).

If you don’t know about Quince & Co., it’s based in Maine and uses American-sourced fiber to produce its yarn, which is spun in Maine (the story indicates they’re setting up their own dye company, too, which will also be in Maine). The colors are gorgeous — though Allen says she’d only produce neutrals if she were really just making yarn for herself! — and the yarn can be purchased in a couple of stores in Maine and one in the UK and otherwise is available direct from the company.

Allen says this is one way to keep the cost of the yarn low when faced with the higher production costs involved in using American fiber and doing what they can to keep their footprint small. If you’d like to know more you can sign up for their weekly e-newsletter. (There’s a box at the top-right corner of the home page.)

[Photo by Quince & Co.]

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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