I'm so excited that the drop spindles from Wool Tree Mill have finally arrived! In fact, I had to buy one first thing! These are lovely, light weight walnut spindles with hooks on both ends so you can use as either a top or bottom whorl.  I tend to like bottom whorl spindles while Alison, our yarn logistics expert, prefers top whorl spindles. They come in three sizes, small which weighs around 3/4 of an ounce, medium which weighs around 1.4 ounces and the large which weighs around 1.6 ounces.

I bought the large one and it works nicely to spin up Imperial Yarn's Bulky 2-strand pencil roving without drafting any thinner.



We also received Lucets from Wool Tree Mill.  A Lucet is a handy little tool for creating cording for your projects.  The cord created is firmer and denser than an i-cord.  The Lucet comes with a very nice card with step by step instructions with photos on how to use it.  These are also made from walnut and are very pretty to look at.  They will make a pretty and practical addition to your fiber tools!

So if you're looking for small last-minute gifts and stocking stuffers here's a list of my personal favorites to choose from:

1) Wool Tree Mill Drop Spindles (Pictured above)
2) Wool Tree Mill Lucet
3) Bar Maids products: Lo Lo Body Bars, Lo Lo to Go, Lip Balm, For Feets Sake, Lo Lo Travel Pacs, and Almost Everything bags.
4) Alsatian Soaps & Bath Products: Knitter's Hand Gift Bag, Heart Soap, Knitter's Hands, & Knit Happens Hand Therapy
5) Debra's Garden: Sheep Soap, Needle Gauge Pendent, Sock & Lace Needle Gauge Pendent, Row Counter & Yarn Cutter Pendent, & Faux Leather Tape Measures
6) Then there just so many options in Lantern Moon accessories that I'll just link to the search page.

Don't forget to check out our books and bags for larger gifts. And there are always Gift Certificates available in just about any amount.

If you need help selecting gifts please give us a call, we'll be happy to help!

Terry

 I am one lucky little bean! I got to tag along to TNNA and help spread the word about Stitch Red!! I can't tell you how exciting it was to be at the event and then to have such a wonderful, enthusiastic response to the project. Well, just knock me over with a feather!

Graphic Tunic  by Daniela Johannsenova

I was, unfortunately, star-struck and didn't think to start taking pictures until late into Saturday. Sorry! I met Iris Schreier (Artyarns) and her husband Elliot! Super, super neat people! I met Sharon the owner of Lantern Moon and had a real blast! I also hung out with Nadine, the owner of Be Sweet, and all of these ladies are AMAZING!!


I did a get a shot of Iris's sweater designed by Daniela Johannsenova from the Knit Red book in the fashion show and I have to say that I can't wait to work it up with those fantastic yarns of hers!

What a doll Ysolda is!!

I met Ysolda who is also in the book and she is just as sweet as she is cute! I am so privileged to say that she signed a copy of her about-to-be-released Whimsical Little Knits 3 book for Sandy and me...YIPPPEEE!!! Thanks Ysolda!!! You will want this fantastic little treasure for your library for sure!

Don't kill me, Diane. It was Jimmy who took the pic :)

I ran into Diane Soucy and Renie of Knitting Pure and Simple. They were having a blast!! I touched base with them at the Bryson booth and we had a good little chat! 


If you haven't knit one of Diane's patterns you are missing a great experience!!!

Norah is super sweet!

I met Norah Gaughn and she is super sweet and humble about her talent. She is also featured in the Knit Red book. Norah is Berroco's head designer and they had the samples from her newest publication, Vol 10.

It was so neat to see them worked up and I will have a hard time not casting on soon...sigh. I have some finishing to do first.





I have to say it was a really successful trip and I can't wait to see what all of the wonderful folks come up with as their products to add to the Stitch Red campaign.  Here is a shot of Leanne just being, well, Leanne! She was so much fun to travel with and room with. That's why we call her LeAwesome around here!


As always, happy knitting, crocheting and sewing!

Jeanne

PS Jimmy Beans Wool is the official yarn, knitting and crochet supplier to U.S. Snowboarding and U.S. Freeskiing!  To encourage people to be creative on and off the slopes, we have partnered with Red Heart® yarns to create “Stitch Mountain." Check out the free Stitch Mountain patterns at www.jimmybeanswool.com/StitchMountain and like our Facebook Fan Page!

Should we start by announcing the winners or by telling you all about our TNNA trip?

It's the holidays and while we are always thinking of how lucky we are around here this is the time of year that it's foremost in our minds. We will be moving into another great year here at JBW, but looking back we have so many to thank for the wonderful year it has been...of course you (our fantastic customers) are always at the top of the list, but our vendors/distributors have been incredible to work with over the last year!!

Lorna's Laces you all ROCK!!! For those of you who may not know Laura and Lorna got going side by side and Laura would go to Lorna's house and buy the yarns for the shop out of her garage...now how cool is that? We are now into our fourth year of the wildly popular limited edition yarn (exclusive to us) from Lorna's and don't see an end in sight on that one, as you all continue to be super excited to see what's new every month!! You can join our LLE fan club on Facebook and for those of you who don't use FB you can still be a member via email. December's color is flying out the door, so check out Sandy Claus by our very own Sandy!


If you haven't heard yet we have a fantastic kit from Rowan yarns featured in Real Simple magazine and it uses the super yummy Lima yarn!! The Make No Mistake Scarf is a free pattern on our site and includes a crocheted version, so what's not to love? Thanks Rowan for such great yarns and for being so amazing to work with!!

How about our amazing friends at Muench yarns? We have had so much fun with them over the last year and certainly long before that, but our relationship just gets stronger everyday, as they are just great to work with!! We carry a bunch of Muench's yarns and one of my personal favorites it the Tessin!! It is super nice to work with and I want to do a bath robe out or it, or the Big Baby...gee whiz it is so hard to decide! So you know what I will do of course? BOTH!

Lana Grossa has become one of our best sellers and it is because they make fantastic yarns and are amazing to work with!! Laura got to go to Germany this year to visit with them and she enjoyed the adventure immensely!! We carry so much of Lana Grossa's yarn that I can't pick just one favorite, but if forced to, I would have to choose the Baby Kid! I have been using a lot of mohair lately and am just in love with this yarn sooooooo soft!!

I can't talk about all of our amazing companies without a huge nod to Blue Sky Alpacas!! Their yarns are absolutely amazing and the people that make up the company are some of the best you will ever meet! Blue Sky Alpacas yarns are so amazing that again I CAN'T pick a favorite...please please don't make me! I have every one of their yarns in my stash except the Worsted Hand Dyes and that will be going into my stash shortly! I want to make my honey a throw out of it and just haven't decided on the right color, but am leaning towards Putty!

We also work closely with Addi/Skacel and if you have never used one of their products then I suggest taking a look! I have so many of the Addi needles in my arsenal and am completely in love with their circular lace needles! The people who make up this company are so neat to know and work with and we are so grateful to have them as one of our main product lines. We also carry yarns from Skacel and they distribute the Schulana line of yarns and patterns which have made a HUGE hit here in the shop!!

I love the fair trade companies and what they do to help people work and get paid a fair wage, so I LOVE Lantern Moon! I have a little bit of most of their products and one of my favorite knitting bags, my Molly is by them. We carry a whole bunch of their products and I am in love with every single one! Lantern Moon is a company who you can feel good about patronizing and I can't wait to see what they come up with next! Thanks Lantern Moon for doing such a great job and for being so neat!

Namaste is another of our fabulous companies and I have 2 of their bags and also the needle binder. I have had to restrain myself from getting more of the bags and accessories, but am sure I will fall again soon! The products are phenomenal and the people can't be beat!

We have just started carrying the Madeline Tosh yarns and patterns! WOW is all I can say!! Not only have they been flying out the door, but they are truly AMAZING!!! The company is so accommodating and friendly to deal with that we just can't say enough about them! Sandy just finished the Poet Society Beret out of Terrarium in the Vintage and Sara just cast on the Owlings hand warmers out of Logwood in the DK weight!

We carry lots and lots of Trendsetter yarns and they are so much fun to work with; both the yarns and the company! Their Blossom yarn is another yarn I would love to make a robe with, as it is super yummy!! Of course I have worked with lots of these yarns including the Cha Cha which we now carry in the prints too and have always enjoyed myself. The people at Trendsetter are so nice and you couldn't ask for a nicer group...thanks Trendsetter!

Thank you to all of you, our customers and to our wonderful vendors!! You all mean more to us than you know and I hope you will take a second to breathe during this always busy holiday season! As for me I will be knitting which is my form of meditation...so, as always happy knitting and crocheting!

Jeanne

Here we are again and this will constitute my 3rd post about this fantastic sweater, which I have on right now as I type, yuuuummmmyyy!! What that means is my next post will be my fourth and final post for this sweater give away, so pay attention!

I promised you some measurements and I am a 44" bust and the sweater fits me well in the shoulders, length and really overall, however, when buttoned it will lay open, but does button well and lay flat (single button sweater so not such a big deal?).

So with that said I will stand by my previous statement that this sweater will fit quite a range of sizes, so here you go some more hints!!

Here I am with the sweater hanging out at Scotty's Castle at 3000 feet (approx) above Death Valley by the pool.

Scotty's Castle really wasn't Scotty's at all, it was the incredible project of a guy named Johnson who was a millionaire and wanted a home to winter in away from the winters in Chicago.

Just like Laura and Doug who began Jimmy Beans Wool in 2002, Johnson was a real hard working man and his standards were very high!

Now unlike Laura and Doug he would regularly fire all his employees and hire them back at a lower rate to save money, needless to say he didn't have the loyalty that Laura and Doug have won by being the most amazing bosses I have ever worked for.

Here you can see Audrey our amazing park service guide holding the sweater for me, what a good sport she was!

She started looking at the sweater and was kind of eyeing it like she was going to bolt and I told her I would have to flog her with some Lantern Moon US 17 Blond Wood needles if she tried anything funny, so she straightened up.

Ha ha, of course she was a doll and didn't give me any trouble!

Left you can see both Geoff and I with our bikes at about 4200 feet, at Dantes View. Someone was playing the Todd Snider song Doublewide Blues and I couldn't believe it, because that's the song that the nickname 'Jimmy' came from!!




Well I certainly think that Geoff and I are 'cool like Jimmy' and I know there are some hints and things you may want to take note of in this post, hee hee!!

As always happy knitting and crocheting!

Jeanne