Judy and Emily of Jems Luxe Fibers take us to Mississippi for their 2022 yarn Advent. Their name, Jems, comes from the the first letters of their first names and MS for their home state. You’ll learn everything you did or didn’t know about Mississippi. For example, did you know that bluesman BB King and Elvis Presley, the King of rock ‘n’ roll, were both born in the state, as was Muppets creator Jim Hensen? And that Coca Cola was first bottled there?
You’ll discover these stories and much more via 25 mini skeins and some extras, including a limited-edition Christmas ornament. You can choose between a knit or crochet box and between Jems’s Luxe Sock, Luxe DK and Classic DK bases.
Liz of Knitting Lizard Fibers is taking us to a much colder place for her December countdown. Each Winter in MN Countdown Calendar will come with either a single skein, weekly sock sets or 20 minis plus one full skein. Sock or DK options are also available.
If you’re looking for a treat to open a little sooner, Maggie of Yarnaceous Fibers and Sarah of Charmedology have collaborated on a Cast On Set to celebrating spring. Each set includes a 100-gram skein of yarn or 120-gram sock set and a special-edition themed dinosaur polymer marker.
Jill of Beach House Knits used A Heavenly Blend yarn from Italian indie Lanivendole — which she picked up at last year’s Indie Untangled show! — to design the Little Frannie cowl. The four-color cowl comes in two sizes and Lanivendole has kits.
Shelly of Daisy Stitch Co is having a spring sale! Use the code 20OFF for 20% off your purchase until this Monday. To sweeten the deal, all orders over $100 after the discount include an enamel pin designed by Allison Clark of Stitchery & Co!
It’s David of Crafter Gamer Geek’s birthday, which means you get presents! He’s created some new fingering-weight sets, each with one variegated skein and one to two semisolid coordinating colorways.
Stephanie of Verse Yarns chose a photo of Plateau Point at the Grand Canyon for her installment of the Indie Untangled Knitting Our National Parks series — coincidentally, scheduled to go live just after my visit! She captured this peaceful yet dramatic landscape, which she describes as a “living sculpture,” featuring a calm overcast sky and the flowing Colorado River, in the colorway Serenity. A second colorway, Grand Canyon Gray, reflects the steep, rugged walls of this natural wonder.
Both colors will be dyed on Pirouette, a blend of 80% Superwash Merino and 20% nylon with a 2-ply twist, perfect for socks but soft enough for shawls and sweaters. These colorways are available to preorder on Indie Untangled through Friday, April 22.
As always, 10% of the proceeds will be split between the National Parks Foundation and an organization that supports Native Americans. For this installment, I chose the Navajo & Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Fund, which helps families from the nearby Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe.
Jennifer of Vermont LYS Must Love Yarn partnered with Kristie of Fiber Stash Dyeworks on the Sunflower Rising Cowl and Hat. All proceeds from the sale of the patterns and kits will go directly to humanitarian organizations aiding Ukraine.
Pinky up: the April release from Shelly at Daisy Stitch Co is inspired by tea at the Regency Tea Room at the Jane Austen Centre.
Natalie of Fiberdog Fibers has two new colors, Sunset Sky and Salmon, in yarn and fiber that’s washed, combed, spun and dyed by her.
I’m excited to debut kits for the Natural Wonders Shawl, designed by Kristen Ashbaugh-Helmreich with full skeins of the A National Parks New Year trios. Each trio contains a speckled, semisolid and variegated colorway that fade together in a blend of textured stitches and eyelets to evoke the beauty of U.S. national parks in winter.
Augusta of adKnits was inspired by sunsets at Crater Lake National Park in Oregon, creating this pin for the A National Parks New Year box. I’m doing a preorder on Indie Untangled. It’s a great accompaniment to your Natural Wonders Shawl kit!
Maureen of Charming Ewe used the mild weather in Texas to get a head start on her spring colors. Because we’re still in winter, she also has a Valentine Bundle that includes five mini skeins and one full-sized skein inspired by the Sweethearts conversation heart candies.
Debra of Spruce Lane Designs’ Astrum cowl provides a pop of springy color. Deb used Marianated Yarns for her sample of this Fair Isle pattern, which is 15% off on Ravelry and Payhip with the code “ASTRUM” until February 28.
Eve of Holly Dyeworks has opened sign-ups for the next installment of her Great British Baking Show Yarn Club and it’s Victorian Week! The sets include a mystery skein of fingering-weight MCN and a matching progress keeper made by Little Bitty Delights.
Speaking of yarn that’s good enough to eat, Sara of La Cave à Laine is collaborating with Deborah of Penny Lane Yarns on a three-installment sock club that celebrates Israeli-born British chef Yotam Ottolenghi. You can purchase one or all three of each box, which will contain a skein of yarn from Deborah, a sock pattern and bag from Sara and other surprises.
The Yarnover Truck’s Super Nerdy Yarn Club, which takes inspiration from strong female nerdy characters across a variety of fandoms, is once again open to new members.
My Mama Knits’ latest colors take inspiration from peacocks and benefit an animal-assisted activity and crafting center in the UK where the colorful animals reside.
Celebrate all kinds of love this Valentine’s Day with the MAB Elements Love collection, which includes her original circle shawl pin adorned with a single rhodonite heart.
Natalie of Fiberdog Fibers has introduced two new yarn colorways, both made from the same Corriedale fleece that she washed, combed, spun and dyed herself.
The debut of the May collaboration from this year’s Indie Untangled Where We Knit yarn club couldn’t have come at a better time. Petra of Black Elephant and designer Jimenez Joseph, both in England, based their collaboration on the promise of new growth, via gardening and visits to the local farmer’s market. Petra created this cheerful, complex tomato-inspired colorway called Pomme D’Amour, and Jimi used the squishy Superwash Merino DK-weight yarn to design a cowl of the same name, with twisted and slipped stitches echoing tomatoes on the vine and a woven basket.
This special colorway is available to preorder on Indie Untangled today through December 17 and it will ship in mid- to late January. Just in time to create and cozy up in your bright red-orange “love apple.”
Crystal of Milly’s Knit Designs (a designer for the Where We Knit 2022 yarn club!) has new colorwork patterns out, The Hidden Falls Pullover and the Miss You More cowl. She is also donating a portion of her sales for the month of December to Sisters United, an organization run by Candice of The Farmers Daughters Fibers that supports indigenous communities.
Monica’s current favorite yarn is her Gothfarm worsted weight, which is perfect for gifts and comes in four different naturally-colored bases, including Ultisol, an auburn brown that blends cinnamon red alpaca fleece and dark Zwartbles wool, and Terra Preta, a deep soil brown made from a tri-blend of dark Shetland wool, Jacob wool and alpaca fleece.
Looking for small gifts for your favorite makers? Amy’s Trinket Shop is loaded with a variety of stitch marker sets. They’re available in both gold and silver tones and in closed and locking stitch marker options.
Before Rhinebeck, I called on Sophie of Botanical Yarn to put together some bundles for Amy Christoffers’ Pressed Flowers shawl in her DK weight, because what more appropriate yarn could I use for a flower-themed shawl? There are still a couple of bundles in three very floral color combinations available.
Sadie, who began sewing and designing small handbags for herself at the age of 16, creates leather bags and notions pouches with gentle lines and curves from New York’s Hudson Valley, under the name Her Hands Atelier.
The Woolen Women crew has been making room for their brand new winter collections, including Vintage Toy Shop, pictured here.
Victoria of Eden Cottage Yarn just had a large shop update featuring lots of Keld Fingering, a Merino/linen blend, in lovely autumnal colors.
The Cyclone Shawl is Amanda of Handmaine Knits’ newest design featuring a garter and syncopated brioche pattern. Yarn kits are available.
The next stop on the Teton Yarn Company’s National Park Mini Skein Tour is Glacier National Park. There are four limited-edition Mountain Sock Mini Skeins sets with four color palettes from the parks.
La Cave à Laine’s Happy Knitting Boxes are back with a revamp. They range from Lite to Deluxe and include various combinations of patterns, notions, bags, accessories, yarn and a surprise gift.
If you’re looking to make some quick gifts, Melissa of Dye is Cast has plenty of Plum Squishy Bulky yarn in stock.
Arella Seaton’s Meelespea cowl is 20% off with the coupon code Sweets until midnight UK Time on Sunday, November 7.
We’re so excited to share the winners of this year’s Indie Untangled make-a-long! Over three months, there were a total of 175 entries, including 21 in the sock category and a whopping 39 in the adult sweater category, and only one in the blanket category. This week, we selected 19 winners in 10 categories via random number generator. Here is their beautiful work.
Crystal of Milly’s Knit Desgins teamed up with Kimberly of Palmer Yarn Company for the Solitude cowl, which brings together six DK-weight mini skeins and a lace pattern that provides a subtle transitions between color changes. The pattern can be purchased as part of a kit from Kimberly or on its own from Crystal’s web or Ravelry shop, and Indie Untangled insiders receive a special 25% discount off the pattern with code SOLITUDE through October 29.
Speaking of Solitude… Kimberly of Palmer Yarn Company has three different custom color combinations. They’ll be available for a two-week preorder starting this Sunday at 2 p.m. CT, and mini sets will ship at the end of October.
Eve of Holly Dyeworks has new fall colorways up in her shop, including Fletcher, Asheville Estate and Asheville, pictured here as a trio. There’s also a Wicked Sock Set that’s part of the Backstage Lights Yarn Club and there are Sugar N’ Spice Blanket kits.
Over the winter, as I hunkered down at home for the umpteenth month while inhaling Schitt’s Creek (it’s simply the best!), I engaged in some serious comfort knitting with Julie Asselin’s Nurtured yarn — a rustic but soft blend of Rambouillet, Targhee and Merino that is hand dyed “in the wool” prior to being mill spun at Green Mountain Spinnery in Vermont. Aside from completing Casapinka’s Powder Wrap and Faye Kennington’s Winter Garden Hat, I also whipped up an original creation of my own using some of the mini skeins that I offered as part of a collaboration with Julie and Jean-François!It took me a little while to jot down what I did, but I recently created what I call a “recipe” for a simple slipped-stitch cowl that shows off the slightly heathered colors of Nurtured perfectly.
I have some mini skeins remaining and decided to offer a few bundles so you can knit your own Nurtured Neck Warmer. And when I say “a few,” I mean that literally, as there is only one each of three color combinations. You’ll receive five approximately 32g skeins and guidance on using the skeins together to make a multicolored accessory.
If you’re in the New Jersey area, are free this holiday weekend and need fiber, NJ Fibershed is having a Fleece & Yarn Sale this Sunday. The outdoor sale will feature fleece, yarn, spinning fiber, natural dye plants, honey, and other farm products from local fiber producers. Spinners can partipate in a Spin-In.
Since you may be crafting to the soundtrack of Brood X cicadas, Jillian of WeeOnes has enhanced your experience with cicada stitch markers, hand sculpted using polymer clay.
Andrea and Sami of WoolenWomenFibers have brought nostalgia of beach boardwalks, including cotton candy and saltwater taffy, to life with their Boardwalk & Beaches collection. It includes single skeins, sock sets and three-skein fades.
If you found yourself smitten with the hit Netflix Series, Bridgerton, then Melissa of Rising Tide Fiber Co. has the Advent set for you! It will include 25 20-gram mini skeins, one full skein and five goodies.
Join the Fiber Coven MKAL for a modular shawl that is the perfect accessory for a hyperspace journey. Created with self-striping yarn and a coordinating tonal, solid, or speckled yarn, this is a take on a triangle shawl but uses modular techniques to show off a self striping yarn and make the shape easier to wear.
Crista Jaeckel is having a shop update today at 5 p.m. EDT featuring one-off, one-of-a-kind bags and preorders in summery prints.
Join Jill of Jilly & Kiddles for her first Summer Fun Box Club. It will include five coordinating mini skeins and some summer/beach-themed goodies. Early bird pricing ends after today!
Sharon of Garage Dyeworks has a new Superwash Merino worsted weight. Called Auto DK, she has dyed many of her bright colorways on it. It’s pictured here in Grape Escape.
We’re so excited to share more of what we have planned for our upcoming virtual event, Indie Spotlight, which is just two weeks away on May 14-16! We’ve partnered with yarn shop Scratch Supply Co. to put together two panels where we can meet and get to know a group of talented and fascinating designers. Since purpose of Indie Spotlight is to highlight newer businesses and those with under 10K followers on Instagram, our Spotlight designers fit that description, and were chosen because we feel they have unique viewpoints to share.
We look forward to hearing from:
Vanessa Smith of Vanessa Smith Designs, who aims to inspire and empower other knitters feel confident in their ability to make show-stopping pieces of knitwear that they can proudly wear for years to come
Corrado Lark, an actor and singer who loves a good pop culture pun and brings that inspiration to his ornate designs
Jennifer Lassonde of Down Cellar Studio, who specializes in accessories that look complicated but are simple to execute
Chase Harpole of Chase Harpole Knits, who looks to build opportunities for individual customization into his designs so that people that knit them can feel empowerment and ownership of their own identity
Michael Green of MGZDesignsCo, who uses the beauty of Afrocentric motifs to create works that challenge the mind but are accessible to all types of knitters
Sarah Krentz of Swanky Emu Knits, who designs size-inclusive knitting patterns that automatically adapt to your unique set of body measurements with an accompanying spreadsheet
Crystal Hiatt of Milly’s Knit Designs, who designs patterns with size inclusivity at the forefront
Kacey Herlihy of Kacey Knits, who design patterns that are easier than they look, with low-pressure instructions and wearable results
Your $7 ticket provides you with access to shopping more than 20 vendors as well as these panels and all the other free activities in the Spotlight Lounge. Register now!
A Wing and A Prayer Farm’s Garden Party 100% Vermont Grown Natural Hand Dyed 3-ply Cormo yarn comes from Tammy’s sheep Peter Pan, Martha, Bonnie, Bluma, Mary and Birch. Their fleece is spun at local mills and Tammy grows natural dye stuffs, or has it sourced from sustainable foragers to make these special and unique series of colorways.
If you’re craving some springtime sushi (I think that’s a thing?) then Alisha of KnitSpinQuilt will deliver with these bags featuring adorable sushi cats, corgis, otters and pandas. Bags are available in sock-, shawl- and sweater-sized drawstring bags and shawl-sized box bags.
To celebrate new color combinations in 100% Shetland wool for her popular Lemoyne Cowl kits, and Mother’s Day, Erika of Liverpool Yarns is offering 15% off the kits with the code LC15 from midnight Saturday, May 1, through end of day Tuesday, May 4.
Speaking of natural yarns, Sharon of Flora Adora Fibers is having a huge shop update tomorrow, May 1. She’ll be debuting four new non-Superwash bases will make their debut: Wisp mohair silk laceweight, Edgeland 100% Merino worsted weight, Mountain Sport gradient sets made with sportweight Rambouillet, and Meander, an organic single-ply Merino fingering weight. Lots of new colors will be also be added for existing bases: Highland DK, Zebra Crossing fingering, Merino Sock Sets and Meadow Rustic Sport. As a bonus, get 10% off May 1 and 2 with the code BOTANICA.
Jillian of WeeOnes has ginger tabby cat stitch markers in her shop this week. These hand-sculpted felines come complete with hand-painted paw pads.
Michelle is celebrating her birthday weekend with dazzling debuts, a weekend-long sale, and a free gift! Through Monday, you can preorder the Laurel Leaves MDSW 2021 Exclusive Shawl Pin in your choice of Shining Gold or Vintage Bronze. Along with free shipping within the U.S. on all orders over $15, you’ll save 10% sitewide with code MDSW2021. Each shopper who uses the code will find a free goodie bag of mystery notions in their order as a special birthday treat!
Aimee of Pancake and Lulu is celebrating the Summer Solstice with A Mini Summer Night’s Dream, a set of 12 Shakespeare-inspired mini skeins to open each day leading up to the solstice from June 9-20. The listing will be open for a short time and available in limited quantities, so act fast!
Attention weavers: Gothfarm’s Kaolin yarn is perfect for the Gothfarm Yarn Summer Clutch. The yarn is made with natural white Lincoln Longwool sheep locks blended with Tunis sheep wool. The clutch pattern is free with at least one skein of Kaolin and the code Clutch.
This is the second in a series of blog posts featuring the fabulous sponsors of Indie Across the Pond, taking place from March 19-21, 2021.
Sara Maternini of La Cave à Laine has been a regular part of the Indie Untangled marketplace since her first post about her 100% cotton, extra light and washable project bags in 2018. She’s since expanded her range into hand-dyed bags — perfect for hand-dyed yarn! — oilskin backpacks and notions.
Making her home in Alsace, France, by way of Italy, Sara is also a prolific designer, so she knows a thing or two about what makes a great home for your WIPs.
What came first: knitwear design or bag making?
They came both quite close! I began designing and making the first bags, and then a few weeks after I published my first pattern, Fibonacci Ronde (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fibonacci-ronde). I think I had to fulfill a sort of need to express myself with my hands, which is, still today, my daily call!
What did you do in your pre-La Cave à Laine career and do you find any parallels between it and your business?
I did many jobs, in different sectors: I began as a museum guide in Milan, Italy, where I was living at the time. I then moved on to the early stages of the internet and worked as a researcher (in a pre-Google era) and a social media manager. I had a brief but intense career as one of the first Italian food bloggers, that opened me many doors to different digital agencies and the job of social media manager. In 2011 we then moved to France, we had two very small children, and I felt the call for my needles!
What made you decide to start sewing your own bags?
Mainly the possibility to choose fabrics that were more to my taste. I really like minimalist prints, bold, un-patterned colours, and austere shapes. The market was void of the kind of bags I wanted.
I feel our bags are the mirror of our souls: as an Italian I grew up surrounded by incredible beauty, and I always find myself looking for my own version of beauty and purity everywhere. I was always partial toward Renaissance artists and their infinite search for symmetry, beauty, and practicality in everything. And I look for these characteristics in everything I wear. Or make.
How would you say your project bags are different from others?
Some of the features I always stress about are that my bags are made only of natural materials (no plastic, no interfacing, no glue, no polyester), and that they are washable. These two rules are guiding me in choosing all the materials and the ways I design my bags.
Being a very practical person, I also try to reflect this in my bags: functionality is always my first concern. I fill my bags with pockets, adjustable handles, zippers…
Last but not least, my bags are designed and constructed to have no leftover fabric or waste: every single inch is used. And even with my hand-dyed line of bags, water waste during the dyeing process is reduced to a bare minimum.
Can you share some of your plans for Indie Across the Pond?
For Indie Across the Pond I went a bit over the top! I had some lines of new bags in the making and to be released throughout 2021, but I gave a final push to make all of them a reality for Indie Across the Pond!
Many new bags will debut during the show, from crazy unicorns bags, to oilskin backpacks (inspired by cartoon characters), luxury notion pouches (full to the brim with gorgeous notions!), and Knits Cosy: a new series of bags created to keep your knits safe and sound wherever you go, with many other uses! Also during the show, the full range of new notions will be available, from super cute scissors to the new stitch markers I have been making in the last months: my iconic skull stitch markers got a revamp, and some new beads will also debut.
The booth will be in full swing and ready to delight all knitters and crocheters!
What are some of the best things you’ve learned running your business?
So, so many! One of the best lessons I have learned is to trust myself but double the time I think a certain task will take to be accomplished! So, instead of stressing about unattainable self-imposed deadlines, I enjoy the time it takes to make everything!
When and how did you learn to knit?
I first learned to knit when I was around 7 years old: my grandma taught me the knit stitch, but that was about it. No cast-on, purl, bind off, increases, decreases…
Then, in 2009, when pregnant with my first child, I learned, thanks to the internet, everything else!
Something that really fascinates me about knitting is that there is no end to the learning curve: not only there are always ways to improve, but also learn new stitches, techniques, constructions…
What are your favorite skeins in your stash?
Too many! I am always ready to fall in love with new skeins without forgetting all the old ones!
One constant love, since 10 years, is Malabrigo, for their bold colours and type of fibers: give me some Plomo on any base, even singles, and I am happy!
Another love is Lanivendole, not only because Stefania and Giulia are dear friends, but also for the incredible project behind their brand, and the fact that their yarns are so alive: you feel it when you touch them, and even more when you knit them!
Tell me the projects that are currently on your needles.
On my needles there is always a shawl at some stage of completion, and lately (too) many sweaters: a raglan in my size, ready for sleeve and body divide, and a saddle shoulder for my son in a size too big, because by the time it will be finished he will fill it just right! All these projects will be patterns one day, once the samples will be finished, patterns written in multiple sizes, tech edited, tested, and then tech edited once more!
