Now at YBD: Fringe Supply Co.

You have the tools, notions, yarn and patterns but need the perfect tote to carry them in...not to worry! Fringe Supply Co. bags are now available at Yarns By Design. These fun and functional totes are sure to bring a smile to your face while carrying all of your project needs. 

Woollelujah for Fringe Supply Co. bags!

We couldn't be more excited to now be a Fringe Supply Co. stockist. The company was established in 2012 and is located in Nashville, TN. As owner Karen Templer notes- their products are built to last. 

The Knitting Necessities bag is a necessity. 

Currently we carry three totes to choose from-all made of 100% cotton and made and printed in the USA.  The "Knitting Necessities" and "High Fiber" totes are a standard size of 18"wide x 13" high x 6" deep. 

The high-fiber tote. 

The "Woollelujah" tote is for those you you who don't like to pack lightly- this bag fits it all. It is 23" wide x 13" high x 9" deep.  Check out how much our manager Natalie totes around in her bag! 

This bag fits everything.

If you are looking to add a little flair to your bags, we also have Fringe Supply Co. knitmoji enamel pins. Choose from the sheep, the heart-eyed sheep or the frog. Add one (or all) to your jacket or handmade item and these make great gifts for your fiber loving friends. 

Perfect little pins. 

Stop by today to get your Fringe Supply Co. fix!

Warmly,

Sarah with YBD 

sarah@yarnsbydesignpa.com

Knitting Olympians

Who has been enjoying the Olympics so far? What a great excuse to grab your yarn and a spot on the couch and enjoy the events! I can't help but think  about what these athletes have endured to get to The Games…the grueling workouts, the financial burdens, the injuries, failures and disappointments. Enough to give even the most seasoned athletes a body full of jittery nerves. Well, the Finnish Olympic Team (including the coach) decided to use knitting to help calm these nerves. It began in the 2014 Sochi games where they made a giant scarf, now they are working on a blanket for their president's newborn son.

The Finnish Olympians knitting their nerves away. 

In other knitting Olympic news, we have had several customers chatting about the Gold Medal Hat seen on Team USA's snowboarder Chloe Kim. Click here to find the knit and crochet patterns to make your own!

Chloe Kim in her chunky pom pom hat. Photo:Time. com

If you're in the Olympic spirit but the chunky pom pom hat isn't quite the look you were going for, try these Lion Brand Team USA knitted mittens or this team spirited Crochet Neva Hat by Whistle and Ivy.

Team USA Mittens by Lion Brand. Photo copyright: Missy Marshall. 

Crochet Neva Hat by Whistle and Ivy 

What are you working on during the Olympics? Have you made anything inspired by these athletes? Does knitting or crocheting calm your nerves? We'd love to hear from you! Stop by the boutique or comment below.

Warmly,
Sarah with Yarns By Design

Welcome, Woolfolk!

Yarns By Design's newest yarn has arrived and it is fabulous! Woolfolk joined our family in October and customers and employees have been enjoying it ever since. It's easy to fall in love with the comfortable yet luxurious feel and rich range of colors.

Arkade scarf made by Sandy with Woolfolk Får

The Woolfolk company prides themselves on their high quality wool  coming from the Patagonian Grasslands and their ethical and sustainable practices. They describe the science behind their "Ultimate Merino" fiber:

"The presence of coarse fibers in wool create “prickle”-- the main obstacle to wearing and working with wool. Most wool products have a high percentage of over 30 microns - the diameter measure of a strand of fiber. Ultimate Merino® has a micron count of 17.5, and combines the hand of cashmere with the wear of merino. The long cylindrical fibers, with a surface that is smoother due to elongated, flat scales, reflect light and absorb dye better than elliptical fibers, resulting in lustrous yarns with deep and lasting hues."

Yarns By Design currently stocks three Woolfolk yarns: Får, Sno and Tynd. Får is a chainette structure, worsted weight and 142 yards per skein. Tynd is fingering weight, 223 yards per skein. Sno is Tynd's sidekick-coming in the same weight, structure, and feel but in a two toned marled version. 

Woolfolk patterns are also a delight to use. They are both practical and cosmopolitan. 

Co-owner Sandy has already finished two scarves made with Woolfolk. One is the long and luxurious  Arkade scarf made with Får, the other is a design by Sandy which she calls the London Calling Wrap, made by using a double strand of both Tynd and Sno. Natalie knitted the Morning Walk Hat  also using both Tynd and Sno. 

London Calling Wrap made by Sandy with Woolfolk Tynd and Sno
 

Morning Walk Hat made by Natalie with Woolfolk Tynd and Sno

Shop our online boutique or stop by today to get your Woolfolk yarn and patterns. Let us know what you think and be sure to share your finished projects with us!

Warmly, 

Sarah with Yarns By Design

sarah@yarnsbydesignpa.com

Sweater weather!

It's feeling cool and fresh outside- perfect sweater weather! Sandy has been busy working on two sweater patterns, Koto and Coda. Both are Brooklyn Tweed designs and made with Brooklyn Tweed yarn.  

Sandy is ready for sweater weather after finishing these two beauties.  

Koto is shown here in Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in "Snowbound.

Koto pattern by Brooklyn Tweed/picture by Jared Flood

As described on the pattern info on Ravelry: "Koto’s body and sleeves are worked in the round to the underarm, then worked flat with simultaneous shoulder shaping on the front and back. The short rows use the Shadow Wrap method, which is fully explained in the pattern. The collar is worked from stitches picked up after seaming and faced with stockinette fabric for added structure. Tiny facings at the hem and cuffs make for a beautiful, minimalist finish that doesn’t interrupt the lines of the sweater."


Coda is shown here in Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in "Woodsmoke" and noted in the pattern description "Coda will let you wear a pretty frock while the weather is still chilly or dress up a casual outfit".

Coda pattern by Brooklyn Tweed/picture by Jared Flood

If you haven't tried Brooklyn Tweed yet, this time is year is perfect to get started. Make a sweater for yourself or get started on Christmas gifts. We have lots of beautiful color options, something for everyone. Save a trip and shop our online boutique!
Don't forget, Woolfolk has also arrived to Yarns By Design! More information to come on Woolfolk projects in upcoming blog posts and currently available in shop only but it would be perfect for your next sweater pattern.

Tell us what sweater pattern is your favorite and which yarn is your go-to for sweater making. Feel free to stop by the boutique with your finished sweater projects or tag us with your projects on instagram #yarnsbydesign.

Warmly,

Sarah at Yarns By Design
sarah@yarnsbydesignpa.com

Sheep and Fiber Fest

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend the 14th Annual Sheep and Fiber Fest in Waynesburg, PA. It is a wonderful (and free) two day event that highlights the sheep and fiber industry. The long list of activities included several sheep shearing demonstrations, they looked like completely different sheep after their haircut! The breed pavilion gave visitors the chance to see, touch and learn about the sheep. Other activities were dog shepherding demos, lamb cooking demos and sampling, hand spun skein exhibits, makers space, live music, and fiber arts vendor and crafts sale.

A good looking pair of Kerry Hill sheep.

What's a Fiber Fest without alpacas? 

For those of you with a competitive spirit there were events like the fleece to shawl competition and the fiber arts competition. The fleece to shawl competition consists of teams of fibers artists who spin and weave with the raw fleece material and finish with a completed shawl…all timed of course! The fiber arts competition allows youth and adults to enter their handmade knitted, crocheted, woven and felted items that are judged for the chance at awards and prizes. All items had to be at least 50% natural animal fibers and made within the past one year. I tried my hand at this competition and entered my crocheted "radish brooch", which won honorable mention. Yay!

Soft and squishy fleece and roving from Roving Acres Farm. 

My radish brooch gets honorable mention. 

Checking out the fiber arts vendor and crafts sale was especially fun. Vendors had beautiful hand spun yarns, handcrafted tabletop looms, handmade jewelry, and hand painted ceramic pieces to name a few. Talk about talented artisans and crafters! My favorite pick was Sweitzer's Fiber Mill from Seven Valleys, PA who had lovely displays of their own yarn (including yarn made from milk protein, corn and soybean). I treated myself to some pretty yarns hand dyed in shades of pink and purple by the owner's 7 year old daughter, Lilly. It even came with an autograph from Lilly herself.

Lilly's Ranbow Yarns from Sweitzer's FIber Mill

This fun fest inspired me to learn  more about sheep breeds and the process of how their fleece turns into beautiful yarn for me to use. Now, I'm searching for more local fiber arts festivals!

Sheep shearing demonstration. 

Do you have any fiber arts festival recommendations for me? What about your fiber arts competition stories and tips? I'd love to hear from you, comment below.


Warmly,

Sarah with Yarns By Design
sarah@yarnsbydesignpa.com

100% American made Brooklyn Tweed has arrived!

It's here! We are thrilled to announce our latest addition to Yarns By Design:
Brooklyn Tweed.

This Portland, Oregon based company started in 2010 and they use only 100% American made Targhee wool. Their mission includes "we are passionate about wool, knitting and design" and it shows with their true "sheep to skein" story. The Targhee sheep is the 2nd breed to be developed by the USDA. They were bred to have the perfect mix of fine wool with long wool to make for a soft, silky, and strong yarn. The herds of Brooklyn Tweed reside on the plains of Wyoming where they grow their fleece for shearing. Once baled and cleaned, the fleece travels to Pennsylvania for cleaning and dyeing to create an abundance of lovely palettes. Next stop is New Hampshire where the dyed yarn is spun and finished to create skeins ready for you to knit.

Happy sheep make pretty skeins. 

Yarns By Design customer and knitter, Mary stopped by Yarns By Design and couldn't resist giving this yarn a try. She got right to work on her project and had this to say about the "Loft" fingering weight yarn: "I LOVE this yarn so much! I haven't been this excited about a new yarn since I discovered Madelinetosh years ago!" and "the colors are beautiful, the yarn is so soft yet has a nice body and is a joy to knit".

Customer Mary Mervis works up a pattern using Brooklyn Tweed Loft for the first time.
Photo by Mary Mervis

Our boutique is proud to be one of only two retail stockists in the state. We offer fingering weight "Loft", DK weight "Arbor" and worsted weight "Shelter" all in a variety of colors. Brooklyn Tweed also offers an abundance of gorgeous patterns that mix both traditional and modern looks.
Stop by in-store to see the collection in person or shop Yarns By Design online -either way it's yarn you want to check out!

Welcome, Brooklyn Tweed.

Be sure to share your feedback and projects about Brooklyn Tweed with us once you give it a try. We love to hear from our customers. 

Warmly, 

Sarah with Yarns By Design

Go Green with Dryer Dots

Earth Day is just around the corner on April 22nd. Looking for ideas to make a difference? We have just the product for you to make an earth friendly effort each time you dry a load of laundry: Dryer Dots!

This product by Gleener comes in a bag of six dryer balls, each about the size of a tennis ball. They are a fabulous alternative to chemical-covered fabric sheets. They are made up of 100% New Zealand wool and soak up moisture and cut dry time by 30%. Other benefits include reducing static and helping to soften and separate items in the dryer. Dryer Dots are free of chemicals and fragrances, making them ideal for anyone with allergies or asthma. They can be used with any dryer-friendly fabric.

Use 3 balls for small loads and all 6 for medium to large loads. 

Gleener's directions for use seem pretty easy, too: "Toss into dryer and run cycle as usual"!

Stop by our boutique to be on your way to a greener 2017 or you can get them on our website: http://yarnsbydesignpa.com/dryer-dots-eco-fabric-softener-6-pack.html

Tell us how being a knitter or crocheter has made you more eco-conscious or how you are making a difference this Earth Day. We'd love to hear your comments!

Warmly,

Yarns By Design