October 2009 Newsletter

Wow!! If you've been thinking of knitting socks as gifts for the holidays, you're going to want to take advantage of this super sale on Machine Washable Cashmere Sock Kits. You'll need 2 hanks of Artyarns Machine Washable Cashmere Sock Yarn to make a pair of women's medium socks (w/5" cuff)... if you want larger socks or a longer cuff, you'll want to choose the 3 hank kit option. Um, did i already mention that this yarn is machine washable (and as soft as any sock yarn i've ever felt)? And it's not all cashmere, so it has plenty of stretch and warmth (it's 67% Cashmere, 25% Wool, 8% Nylon). We've got kits with or without the pattern in 14 colors at 30% off, which means that you can make a pair of cashmere socks for as little as $50.33!!

Have you noticed that some of the most exciting yarns these days are sock yarns? There's soy, bamboo, wool, self-striping, fair-isle, solids, hand paints... just about everything! So what's a girl to do if she doesn't want to knit socks (or a lace weight shawl)? How about mixing sock yarn with a filler (we chose Rowan Kidsilk Haze) and knitting a fun scarf?! That's what we've done - and we couldn't be happier with the results.

The scarf shown was quickly knit up on US 10 needles and only took 2 balls of yarn: 1 Kidsilk Haze and 1 of Lana Grossa's new soy sock yarn, Soja Print. In addition to the colors shown, we've also put together a few other combinations that we think would look great... you can see the free cabled scarf pattern here.

Addi Clicks are FINALLY HERE!! And they have slick, compact new packaging... (hence the price increase). Because we had placed our order soooo many months ago, we received our shipment at the old pricing ($149.95) and are therefore able to extend the old price to you! Once we've sold out of this shipment, the price will go back to the new price of $169.95. Soooo... if you've been thinking of buying one of these kits, now is the time to do it. And what a great gift idea (combined with the della Q case below, you've got a gift set that any knitter would love! don't forget to add them both to your wishlist). As a reminder, the Addi Clicks system provides contains all US even sizes from 4-15, 3 different lengths of their new, extremely pliable blue cord (24", 32" and 40"), and one connector piece which helps to either store stitches or combine your cords.

Speaking of interchangeable needles... store all of your interchangeables in one sleek kit (and save money while doing it)! Two rows of numbered pockets hold your tips (24 pockets total, for TWO sets of interchangeables), while plenty of pockets on the other flap hold your cords. Plus, a small zippered pouch keeps your notions handy. Hand crafted in Vietnam, and a portion of della Q proceeds support Vietnam Quilts. In my mind, the 2nd quality issues are pretty insignificant (but are still worth mentioning):

• Top row pocket depth - The top pocket is too deep and goes all the way to the bottom of the 2nd row of pockets. This means you may need to fish your tips out.
• Last 5 pockets are too wide (Which I suppose isn't really a problem, it means you might even be able to get three sets of tips in them!): the overall width of the case is 16 3/4 inches when it should actually only be about 14 1/2 inches.

We also have a variety of other della Q cases on sale now!

The pattern for this soft and velvety scarf is on the inside of every label of Lana Grossa Gnocchi. This scarf took 4 balls on a 10 1/2 needle, knitting one stitch on the string between each ball. Using the knitted cast on method, cast on about 10 Stitches. It's a good sized scarf so it doesn't need to be bigger, and you could always make a smaller one, but.... Why??? lol!

Terry just couldn't resist the gorgeous Autumn shades in the Mini Mochi Autumn Rainbow colorway! She's using 2 balls of it right now, but she might make the scarf a bit longer and use an additional ball. Speaking of Mini Mochi, have any of you out there knit with it? If so, do you agree with the reviews that have been posted on our website? If so (or if not), we'd love to read your opinion on this super popular yarn...

From Jeanne: "I have been wanting to learn how to Double Knit for the longest time and the Spring/Summer Knit.1 magazine provided the perfect project. Page 8 features their Spring Scarves and I decided to work mine up in Berroco's Blackstone Tweed (2 each of Plum Island and Clover)."

Sandy just had to cast on this adorable beret in Classic Elite's Soft Linen Yarn! She just knit it up in no time and is so cute in it, don't you think? It's from one of her favorite magazines, Knit.1 and comes from the Spring/Summer 2009 copy on page 16. (Btw, she is also wearing the balsam cowl that she knit up a few years ago... the colors are perfect together!

Trying to decide what to knit the neighbors for the holidays? How about an assortment of these gorgeous (and handy) dishcloths?! Using 1 ball of the Rowan Siena, Jeanne started knitting this dishcloth in the shop .... but not while she was working of course - she doesn't want to get in trouble! haha! She cast on 52 stitches and am using the Double Moss Stitch Pattern from the Vogue Ultimate Knitting Book.

Have you noticed that some of the most exciting yarns these days are sock yarns? There's soy, bamboo, wool, self-striping, fair-isle, solids, hand paints... just about everything! So what's a girl to do if she doesn't want to knit socks (or a lace weight shawl)? How about mixing sock yarn with a filler (we chose Rowan Kidsilk Haze) and knitting a fun scarf?! That's what we've done - and we couldn't be happier with the results.

The scarf shown was quickly knit up on US 10 needles and only took 2 balls of yarn: 1 Kidsilk Haze and 1 of Lana Grossa's new soy sock yarn, Soja Print. In addition to the colors shown, we've also put together a few other combinations that we think would look great... you can see the free cabled scarf pattern here.

All of us at Jimmy Beans Wool know how tough it is to pay for college these days - whether you're putting yourself through school, or sending your kids/grandkids to college. Tuition is up, and the economy is down, but we're here to help! We've teamed up with Vogue Knitting International to launch the Beans for Brains Scholarship Program!

For the 2010-2011 award year, there are five $800 scholarships up for grabs, one of which is guaranteed to go to a Reno/Tahoe local (the other 4 awards will be distributed evenly among the 4 U.S. Regions).

Please go to our website for more scholarship details and complete rules.

Applications will be accepted from October 7th, 2009 to March 31, 2010.

Special thanks to:

We would like to say thanks again to Vogue Knitting for partnering with us to make the scholarship possible! You can read about it in the recent Vogue Knitting 2009 Holiday Issue.

Before you start shopping... remember, the third round of Jimmy Beans Bucks have been issued and are available! If you earned a reward, your reward and free shipping coupon are both currently in your account. Just make sure to log into your account while ordering and you will see both. We will be sending out email notifications at the beginning of next week with your reward amount and your personalized free shipping coupon code. If you didn't earn a reward or aren't familiar with this incredible FREE YARN program take a look now! In a nutshell, if you have a JBW account and made purchases last quarter (July 1st - September 30th), you received an account credit equal to 5% of those purchases (with a few rules, of course). We were very excited to issue even more rewards during this round compared to the previous two rounds -- we really hope everyone enjoys this program!! :)