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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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Stitch Your Favorite Fruit on a Sweater

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]