Fringe Binge

by : Jenny

Hi friends! I just returned from a week-long road trip down to Tempe, AZ for the first-ever Innings Festival, where I was lucky enough to catch a few of my favorite bands in one day (Lord Huron, The Head and the Heart, and *squeeee* The Avett Brothers, to name a few). Along the way, my friends and I stopped in the awe-inspiring Death Valley National Park for a few days of camping, hiking, and of course, in my case, knitting! If only I had been inspired by festival attire beforehand, which is chock (chaco?)-full of fringe, I definitely would have picked up a few skeins of Knit Collage to knit one of these fringe-tastic projects while relaxing at camp or roaming the hills of Artist's Palette (the colors of which would look great in a KC pattern, by the way!) 

Check out the list below for the fringiest patterns we carry from Knit Collage! Owner Amy has definitely got the style nailed down to a T. :)
























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Color Commentary with Lorna's Laces and Carina Spencer

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We're Blushing...

 We were so excited for the resurgence of Color Commentary by Lorna's Laces back in December of 2016. This year one of our favorite colors, Carina's Afterglow (this is where we start to blush!), was created by the talented designer, Carina Spencer. Not only was she able to create an amazing color reminiscent of a glowing blush, she was able to design an equally amazing sweater. 
"This color was inspired by my own birthday reflections and my desire to live a soft, vulnerable, and curious life." Carina Spencer, www.carinaspencer.com
Blush is one of my favorite colors and I was ecstatic when this color came across my desk. I also learned that Carina and I have the same birthday (February 13th)! She further explains that afterglow is the light that remains in the sky after the sun has set or the feeling of satisfaction after reaching a goal. 

The pattern that Carina desgined, Cold Roses, combines femininity with structure using ribbing. She also focused on creating a design that was versatile and classic. 


We have been seeing a lot of blush colored sartorial pieces for the last few years that we are thinking it is here to stay! As the roses begin to bloom, both the yarn and pattern are perfect for the upcoming warmer months. 

If you are loving this yarn, visit our site here! Carina's Afterglow is available in Sheperd Sport, Shepherd Sock and Shepherd Worsted.
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Hippity, Hoppity, the Jimmy Beans Bunny is on its way!

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Easter Egg hunting is right around the corner, and the Jimmy Beans Bunny is excited to make a visit to you! In the spirit of good, ol' fashioned Easter Egg hunting, we've filled a thousand Easter Eggs with yarn samples, and today through March 31st, we'll be sneaking them into a random sel-egg-tion of orders each day! One of these eggs will contain a $100 gift card! If your egg doesn't have the $100 gift card, you still have a chance to win by entering our #jimmybeansbunny Instagram contest! You can read more about how to enter here!



With Easter Egg hunting on the brain, we're feeling egg-ceptionally inspired to knit and crochet with pastel colors right now! Here are a few of the yarns that are inspiring us most this week! 






We also love these little plushies, and would imagine that the kiddos in your life wouldn't mind finding one of these cuties in their Easter basket! ;)





Do you have any Easter or spring knits planned? Let us know in the comments below!
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Illuminate With Luminosa!

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We're head over heels for Cascade Yarn this month, and with new lines of yarn, who can blame us? At the top of our list this week: Luminosa! The shimmery tones of this yarn are as unique as the name itself, and we can't help but feel glamorous, just by looking at it! The baby alpaca keeps this yarn feeling extra soft, and the metallic viscose gives it pizzazz! 




The allure of the Luminosa line was intensified, when we saw it on the latest cover of Vogue Knitting magazine! Featuring Krysten Ritter (one of our fave celeb knitters!), sporting an oversized, cozy cardigan knit three-stranded using Luminosa, this edition is sure to go down in history as one of the most memorable!




If you're like us, you can't wait to knit one of these sweaters for yourself! To make it easy, we've made a kit on our website! The sweater on the cover uses colors 03 Sunstone, 04 Garnet, and 06 Pink Quartz. Shannon, from Cascade Yarns, knit a few additional swatches to showcase other color combinations of the Luminosa, and we're having a hard time choosing which one we like best! All 5 of these color combinations can also be found on our website as kits.



Option 1: 08 Sapphire, 05 Silver, 07 Amethyst
Option 2: 04 Garnet, 09 Lapis, 05 Silver
Option 3: 02 Tiger's Eye, 01 Emerald, 03 Sunstone
Option 4: 01 Emerald, 10 Blue Topaz, 08 Sapphire
Option 5: 01 Emerald, 02 Tiger's Eye, 09 Lapis

See what we mean?! It's hard to decide which one you like best, right?! Let us know in the comments below which color combo is your favorite!
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Black Panther Infinity Scarf Inspo

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If you're like us, you probably always have your 'knit-radar' (knitdar?!) on. You can imagine the surprise of knitters across the country, when a beautiful, knitted scarf showed up in movie theaters last month. The hugely successful film, Black Panther, featured the character Nakia, played by Lupita Nyong'o. Nakia fabulously wore the infinity scarf, full of green, blue, and brown tones. It was love at first sight, and we've been thinking about it ever since! 

We heard from so many of you who said you were dyeing (pun intended) for the details, as were we! Though we knew that there was some Madelinetosh in Plaid Blanket included, we weren't quite sure of the remaining yarns. Luckily for knit-nation, the designer, Jeff Gillies, released the pattern over on Ravelry last weekend!




In the original scarf, Jeff included 4 skeins of Noro Silk Garden - 430, 1 skein of Malabrigo Mechita - Hojas, 1 skein of Madelinetosh Dandelion - Shire, and 2 skeins of Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light - Plaid Blanket. Unfortunately, both the Dandelion line and the Shire colorway have been discontinued by Madelinetosh, but we would recommend that you substitute another skein of Tosh Merino Light in its place, such as Pheasant or Joshua Tree. These colorways are pictured below!




We have more of these colors on their way to us soon! In the meantime, here are a few of our recommendations for similar colorways that can be used, or we encourage you to select your own! This versatile scarf would be gorgeous in a variety of color combinations, so let your creative juices flow! (Just remember to send us pictures, so that we can see all of your wonderful creations!)

Noro Silk Garden: 381 Rust, Turquoise, 417 Rust, Brown, Natural, 426 Greens, Coral, Ink

Malabrigo Mechita: 416 Indiecita, 866 Arco Iris, 886 Arequita

Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light: Fir Wreath, Oak, Pool


Christine's yarn selection!
One of our sweet, local customers, Christine, was the first person to alert us to the inclusion of a knit scarf in the movie (thanks, Christine!). She has been busy planning her own version of the scarf, and shares her story below:


"My eyes lit up when I first saw the rich, earthy greens and browns of this shawl worn by the beautiful Lupita in the movie Black Panther. Knitting is a such a valuable part of so many people’s lives, and the costume designer honored that by showcasing this unique shawl.  Seeing the Instagram post about Madelinetosh’s vibrant Plaid Blanket used for the shawl was so exciting! Knitters came together as they described how the shawl caught their attention in the movie. Creative minds aren’t quiet, so people sought out the designer, yarns and pattern. Making something beautiful is rewarding but making something with a larger community is enriching. I was so excited to order my yarn from Jimmy Beans and use the Ravelry groups to inspire and support ideas. My Plaid Blanket yarn and complementing colors are wound and ready. We all start with the same tools: yarn, needles and stitches, now it’s time to collaborate to make art." - Christine

For her scarf, Christine has selected (from L to R in photo) Noro Silk Garden - 417, Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light - Plaid Blanket, Malabrigo Arroyo - 416 Indiecita, and Malabrigo Arroyo - 855 Aguas. We love this color combination, and can't wait to see Christine's finished project!

 It's your turn, knitters! Will you knit your own Nakia's Infinity Scarf? What color/yarn combination will you choose? Let us know in the comments below - we can't wait to create with you!
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Luck of the Irish: Keep From Getting Pinched This St. Patrick's Day With These Yarns From Rowan

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Now that St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner, we're getting in the spirit with our knits and one of our favorite UK brands, Rowan! 

In Celtic folklore, the Rowan tree is one that is sacred, offers protection and it is said that the first woman came from Rowan. It was so sacred to Celts, that it was forbidden to use any part of the tree other than for sacred ceremonies. Often times, these trees were planted in cemeteries to protect the deceased from evil spirits and planted near entryways to protect from misfortune.

Image: The Present Tree

To top it all off, the Rowan tree is associated with one of Ireland's patron saints, St. Brigid of Kildare, who is the Celtic patron of many things including spinning and weaving!


We've rounded up our top five favorite green yarns from Rowan so you can knit yourself something to keep you protected from getting pinched this St. Patrick's Day!


Top Five Favorite Green Yarns From Rowan
Rowan Handknit Cotton Kaffe Fassett Limited Edition - Lizard
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Knitterati Countdown...1 Week & Counting!

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Okay, knitting friends, the Knitterati Knit-Along countdown is officially on! We are in the home stretch, with only 1 week left to go! Have you ordered your kit yet?!


The yarn arrived to us earlier this week, and we've been non-stop packing up the kits ever since! If you've already ordered your kit, you should be receiving a shipping confirmation to your email very soon (if you haven't already)!



The Knit-Along begins NEXT Friday, March 9th, with the first square being released in Cascade's newsletter! Throughout the Knit-Along, following the release of each square, Jimmy Beans will be releasing instructional videos, over on our YouTube channel, which will detail the techniques used in each square. Perfect if you are an expert brushing up on your skills, or a beginner learning new skills!

There's a bit of mystery surrounding the Knitterati, and the Beans were determined to get to the bottom of it - to learn a bit more about the Knitterati Knit-Along kit, you can watch Matt & Nadia solve the mystery in the spoofy video below: 



We'll be counting down, until we can finally cast-on next Friday! In the words of Matt, we hope that you will "join us"!
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