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Yarn Companies Make Finals for Martha Stewart American Made Awards

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martha stewart american made awardsDo you know about the Martha Stewart American Made Awards? This is a program, now in its third year, that honors companies in craft, food, design and style. Companies are nominated to take part, then the finalists are chosen and ultimately 10 awards are given, with most chosen by the Martha Stewart crew and one reader’s choice award.

In the craft category this year there are three knitting-related companies that made the finals:

  • Feel Good Yarn Co., maker of SilverSpun cotton and silver yarn (which allows you to wear it on your hands while interacting with touch screens) from Washington, D.C.
  • Mountain Meadow Wool, a Wyoming-based mill that produces wool yarn in as environmentally friendly a manner as possible as well as finished wool products
  • BagSmith, maker of giant knitting yarns, needles and other supplies, finished home decor objects and garments, which is based in Ohio

I’m not sure if they’re done picking finalists yet, because the calendar on the site says it will happen through Sept. 8. (It also says nominations are accepted through Aug. 29, so if you want to nominate yourself, get going!) Then online voting for the reader’s choice award happens between Sept. 15 and Oct. 13, with the winners being announced on Oct. 17. If more fiber-related companies make it into the mix I’ll let you know.

Winners receive $10,000 to help their business grow, a trip for two to New York for the awards ceremony and a feature on MarthaStewart.com, among other prizes.

This is a really interesting program that at least brings interest to thinking about American made products. Have you ever heard of or voted in it before? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

 

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A Knit Vest to Get You Ready for Summer

I know that my posts can be read at different times of year and in different years by different people, but as I write this we’re on teh cusp of summer. And I know a lot of people don’t knit as much, and certainly don’t wear a lot of knits in the summer, but I want to encourage you to make and to wear your makes no matter the temperature.

To introduce you to the joys of summer garment knitting, I offer the Tied Vest from Lion Brand Yarn.

This easy project is great to make and wear throughout the year but it’s especially good for summer. It’s worked flat in one piece from the bottom up, mostly in stockinette stitch with a seed stitch edging. The I-cord ties are worked directly onto the garment so you don’t have to sew them on.

The project uses worsted weight yarn, and calls for a blend of cotton and hemp that’s great for warm weather.

There are eight size options, ranging from a finished chest measurement of 35 to 62.5 inches, or 89 to 159 cm. That makes it sound like it should be worn with at least a few inches of positive ease, but the pattern doesn’t specify.

The ties at the front give it a casual look and make it great to wear over a tank top or T-shirt when the weather is warm.

I also think this one would be good to knit in wool or a warmer fiber, too, to make a version you could wear more comfortably in the winter months, too. Though of course you could layer the summer version over a long-sleeved shirt and wear it throughout the year, too.

The tied vest is a free pattern available from Lion Brand. You can also purchase a kit that includes the yarn and optional needles and stitch markers if you need them.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

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