April 2013 Lorna's Laces Limited Edition Release

This past year has been a busy year for many of us Beans; some of us got married, some added to our families with new babies, some graduated college or moved into new homes. From a business standpoint, Jimmy Beans Wool experienced plenty of changes, too: we began carrying fabric, and Laura published her first and second books! It was a good year, and one we're likely to remember because of the many fabulous first-time experiences we had. We created this month's Lorna's Limited Edition Color, A Year of Firsts, with those experiences in mind.

Bethany came up with the fun, bright color combination, a mix of blues, greens, and yellows inspired by one of her daughter Penne's favorite toys. The cheerful hues are perfect for spring - they remind us of budding trees and blooming daffodils. As a new mom to adorable Penne, Bethany has undergone a lot of firsts this year, including teething, crawling, and now walking (not Bethany - the baby)! You can read more about Penne and our other Bean Sprouts (tee hee!) below - we're thrilled to have new members of the Jimmy Beans family, and we're sure they'll keep us busy with all the firsts yet to come!

A Year Of Firsts is available in all your favorite Lorna's yarns including: Lorna's newest yarn, Haymarket, Shepherd Sock, Shepherd Worsted, Shepherd Sport, Helen's Lace, Lion & Lamb, Honor, Solemate, and Sportmate!

Once you see how amazing it is, the new Malabrigo Dos is sure to become your numero uno! A JBW Exclusive, this yarn is only available in limited quantities, and once it is gone, it's gone. The gorgeous DK weight is dyed with plant-based, all-natural dyes and is free of chemical agents - making it super eco-friendly. The color palette of this line is muted and lovely, which is perfect for spring and warmer weather items. Each 100% baby merino skein boasts a generous 150 yards, suitable for a wide range of projects like hats, cowls, scarves, sweaters, gloves - you name it!

If you need a little pattern inspiration to go along with this fabulous new yarn, we've selected some of our favorites as staff recommendations! First we have the Knitting Pure and Simple Top Down Trapeze Pullover. Kristen has wanted to knit this flowing sweater since it first came out a couple of months ago, and this yarn might be the perfect fit! For a smaller garment, try Grace Akhrem's Button Lace Cowl. Jeanne says it's a great lightweight spring accessory! Shevawn really loves the Indigirl Cloud Chaser Vest with its lovely cables that are shown off nicely with this yarn. Lastly, Sandy is a big fan of Ysolda Teague's Marin Shawlette which is wonderfully suited for beautiful hand dyed yarns. Be sure to grab enough Malabrigo Dos for whatever projects you desire, because once it's gone, it is gone forever!

Choose from the lovely range of Linsey colors-a selection of marled solids or muted self-striping color combos, or pick your favorite two! At 25% off, you can never have too many wardrobe basics like the Tolland Cardigan!

Exciting news! We've just gotten in some new yarns from Trendsetter that are sure to jazz up your spring wardrobe. Since it's Trendsetter, you know they are one-of-a-kind creations - you won't find anything else like them out there! Take Incanto, for example, a cotton and acrylic blend with a tubular chainette construction - plied with a sparkly strand of a contrasting color. This fascinating worsted weight yarn is great for summery sweaters with a hint of glitter! We like it in the Diagonal Boxed Lace Pullover - the cute Peter-Pan collar and elbow-length sleeves are wonderful for dressing up or down. Our next new favorite is Orchidea, another cotton blend chainette construction yarn in beautiful variegated colors with an intriguing twist: shiny sections of yarn are spun right in, resulting in periodic bursts of shimmer! We love the effect it gives the Slip Ribbed Raglan Pullover; combined with the slipped stitches in the pattern, the yarn gives this simple scoop-neck sweater a mosaic-like look, just like in a beautiful painting!

Twiggy is another positively unique yarn we just received. It's a lightweight linen blend with fluttery eyelashes that add interesting texture to your finished garment. Anything knit out of this intriguing yarn is sure to elicit comments! Try making the Cabled Pullover in one of the vibrant colors, like Purple Passion, and wearing it over a contrasting tank for an extra pop of color. Finally, Stella is a glittery, beaded novelty yarn designed to add a bit of bling to your garments and accessories. With four neutral colors to choose from, you can match any project - add sparkly edgings, twinkling trims, and fancy fringe to handbags, scarves, gloves, or the neck and wrists of a sweater!

We have so many wonderful yarns on sale, but here are just a few of our favorites...

Lorna's Laces Black Sheep: 50% Off! Lorna's Laces's Black Sheep, a worsted weight wool and viscose blend, features one strand of black yarn that is plied with some of your favorite Lorna's dyed colors! Here are some of our favorites...

Madelinetosh Onesies: 15% Off! They're baaaaack! And they're proof that even the best planning can result in a surprise...in this case, it's a pleasant one! When certain skeins of your favorite Madelinetosh bases like Vintage, Tosh DK, Tosh Sock, and Pashmina didn't come out exactly as the dyers expected, we scooped them up. These one-of-a-kind hanks are the same beautiful Madelinetosh yarn we all love, with the added benefit of being even more unique! No two skeins are alike, but they're still beautiful and great for any project where you want to show off gorgeous hand-dyed yarn.

Select Plymouth Ruffle Yarns: starting at 20% Off! You know we love ruffles here at Jimmy Beans Wool, and now we have some of your favorite Plymouth ruffle yarns on sale! From the basic but classic open-mesh construction Joy Ruffle, to Joy Rainbow, a feathery fringed ribbon yarn that comes in solid and multi colors, there's something for everybody! Joy Prism is a flat ribbon yarn with decorative looped fringe on one side to add something extra special. There's also Passion Nette, a soft cotton mesh yarn in cool colors that look almost tie-dyed. Our fave is Passion Ice -bright striped colors with just a hint of fringe!

Loop-d-Loop Quartz: 50% Off! Perfect for light summer knits, Loop-d-Loop Quartz is on sale! This weightless blend of viscose, linen, and silk is intermingled with just the right amount of shimmer for a fabric with great drape and wearability with a subtle gleam. We think it would look great in the Liesl tunic by Cocoknits, or the Knitting Pure and Simple Easy Lace Poncho - graceful and gorgeous!

As we mentioned above, this past year has been full of firsts for many of us at Jimmy Beans. For three of our team members, that meant bringing their first babies into the world, and all of the first-time experiences that go along with it. Bethany coined the term Bean Sprouts to refer to the littlest members of our team, and they certainly are sprouting up right before our eyes!