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We've gone out to the garden for July's Tasty Tosh 2015 installment, and this month we're all about Free Range Eggs! Inspired by a photo from one of our local Reno egg farms, Reynolds Ranch, we wanted to create a color that showed off just how gorgeous free range eggs really are! Also, our resident chicken wrangler, Kristen, was eager to pay homage to her birds (a.k.a. "The Ladies") with a color inspired by their beautifully hued eggs. We think this color is perfect - plus, eggs make up the base of some of our favorite dishes! Whether it's a fast frittata, easy egg salad, or a quick quiche that uses up all those veggie odds and ends, we're on board! Combine that with the image of smooth, glossy, cool eggshells in soft shades of cream, minty blue, peach, and rusty brown, and you've got one appetizing colorway! Free Range Eggs is available in all our most popular Madelinetosh bases: Pashmina, Tosh DK, Tosh Merino Light, Tosh Sock, Tosh Vintage, and Twist Light!  | To go along with this month's farm-to-table color, Kristen has designed a delightfully zig-zaggy cowl in Tosh Vintage. She uses textured chevrons (just knits and purls!) to accentuate the variegation of this delicious hand-dyed yarn. Choose from two size options: the larger, cozier version that takes 2 skeins, or a smaller size that uses just 1 skein (shown in our February Tasty Tosh color, Sausage, Chard, and Lemon Lasagna). The pattern comes free with the purchase of just 1 skein of Free Range Eggs in Tosh Vintage, or if you'd rather choose a different color, it can be purchased for just $1 on Ravelry for a limited time! |
Now that summer is in full swing, don't forget to take care of your skin with all-natural mud from Black Rock Mud! This month we have Mini Mudpots with a special coordinating spa treatment recipe for your feet: Sole Food - an olive oil and tomato moisture treatment is perfect for kicking back and putting those puppies up after a long day in the garden!! |  |
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Double the yarn means double the fun - and more than double the possibilities!
Holding more than one strand together as you knit can lead the way to tons of new looks for your projects, and as an added bonus, can help you use the yarn in your stash that you're not crazy about on its own.
Here are just a few ways to put it to the test:
 | Same yarn, same color: this combo results in a thicker, more dense fabric and can reduce pooling or striping in hand-dyed or variegated yarns. For a quick-and-dirty list of gauge equivalents for double-stranding yarn, check out this post from Lion Brand. Or, to really get into the math behind it and calculate gauge yourself with any 2 yarns, rely on this info from the Knitting Fiend! |
 | Same yarn, different colors: use this technique to create interesting color effects, like gradients or an ombre look. Rachel's Aurelia Shawl uses 3 strands in 2 colors to create a beautiful and subtle ombre color shift, and Kristen's Ombre Tapis puts 8 different colors of Schachenmayr Boston Sun to the gradient test - and passes beautifully with cohesive color changes. |
 | Different yarns, same or different colors: hold a thick, solid yarn with a skinny, variegated one to create a completely new color, or a smooth strand with a fluffy one for interesting texture and extra warmth - your finished fabric will be a hybrid of the pleasing qualities of both yarns! Kristen used this trick in the Peavine Hat & Cowl Set using Madelinetosh Merino DK and Rowan Kidsilk Haze, and again in the snuggly Frosty Hat, with different yarns - Debbie Bliss Angel and Baby Cashmerino - for a super snug and soft fabric. |
 | Doubling yarns/strands/colors for special patterning: create new textures and color patterns by alternating single and double strands, like the Lithosphere Shawl - it uses just one hank of Rowan Fine Art and 3 balls of Rowan Kidsilk Haze to create a subtle textural and striped effect! |
And the Shibui Mix Patterns play with yarn in a whole new way, combining yarns in different weights, colors, and stranding techniques that make truly unique styles! Now it's your turn - how can you combine yarns to make something totally new? Share your creations with us when you're through! |
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 | We're wild about Malabrigo Rueca - and who could blame us? This rich and rustic handspun yarn is sumptuously soft, tantalizingly textured, and just about as colorful as you can get!
Its thick-and-thin nature makes us curious to try it out in new ways: Leanne re-knit her Rib and Flow Cowl in Rueca and it looks stunning! Best of all, it took just one skein! |
The natural, unrefined look of handspun yarns makes them unique, but they can have their challenges: the hand-spinning process can result in skeins of the same weight that vary greatly in yardage, and the thick-and-thin or "nubbly" look can be distracting for complicated stitch patterns. Keep your stitches simple and choose a project that's adaptable for your yardage, and you're sure to get the most out of your handspun skein! The asymmetrical Quaker Yarn Stretcher is a perfect choice, as is the Capucine. Or, for a 2-color project, try the Brain Frieze! |  |
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Did you know we have a flock of fantastic farm-to-needle yarns in the shop? These beauties are all-American-grown and processed, from sheep to skein, and we just love to see the variety our native yarn-makers are able to produce. Want more? Lost Coast Weavers Wensleydale Wool is spun just over the hill in California and left undyed so the lovely colors of the wool can shine. The 2 skein packs (a total of 400 yards of DK-weight yarn) are perfect for a simple diagonal cowl, or the beautiful Marin Shawl! |  |
 | For a special treat, we've commissioned another exclusive pattern from designer Kathy Merrick (creator of the Koigu American Merino Poncho) using beautiful Koigu American Merino (the yarn is American-made and Koigu dyed): the Bloom and Foliage Bag! It's the perfect accessory to pack up all of your summer essentials for the beach, the market, or just the backyard! |
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 | The newest yarns to hit the warehouse from Tahki and S. Charles are all about keeping cool and showing off some trendy texture! Tahki Aruba is a worsted-weight blend of cotton and linen with a subtle thick-and-thin quality that will knit up into light, essential tops for summer, like the Chicago Hi-Lo Jacket or the NYC Pullover from the newest Tahki book, Metro Knits. Quick-knitting Monet is an aran-weight cotton blend that does its namesake proud - the watercolor-inspired colorways are just gorgeous! It would look fabulous in a simple sweater like the Denver! |
S. Charles is not to be outdone: Audra, Flora, and Nina are here to prove it! Add some sparkle to any project with Flora - it's got sequins spun right into the yarn for the easiest embellishment ever! Use it to spice up a basic cover-up like the Park Avenue Tunic Vest from the S. Charles Collezione book, Gotham. The Bowery Hooded Vest is simple and stylish in cotton/linen blend Nina, and would look amazing in any of Nina's subtly lustrous hues. And the Lafayette Tunic will quickly become a wardrobe staple knit up in marvelously marled Audra; the lace detailing and easy shape will look great over or under anything! |  |
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JBW Mystery Grab Bags: 40% off!
Boy howdy, have we got a surprise for you: 400 grams of yarn at 40% off retail! We've put together some surprise grab bags, coordinated by color, of your favorite yarns at an absolute steal! Choose from a Lace & Fingering Weight mix or a Sport/DK/Worsted combo; whichever one you choose will be packed with pretties from top-quality yarn makers! You might get Madelinetosh, Lorna's Laces, Swans Island, Debbie Bliss, Koigu, Noro... the magic is in the mystery - just don't miss out!
Kollage Wildflower and Pixie Dust Mini - 50% off!
We love Knit Collage for their super-fun, hand-spun yarns, and right now, we've got some gorgeous ones at great deals! Wildflower is spun from strands of beautiful cotton voile fabric from Jaipur, India, that's been printed by hand in an age-old tradition - use it for a super-chunky, fashion-forward cowl or an absolutely unique Pembroke Shawl! And Pixie Dust Mini is just as interesting: a single-ply, roving-style bulky yarn with cocoon-like slubs for extra texture and a sprinkling of sparkles, just like magical pixie dust! It would look awesome in a colorful Mini Bandana!
Muench New Marabu: just $2.00 a ball!
Want to try out that double-stranding trick we've been talking about, with a super-fun, super-flirty project idea? Strand in some Muench New Marabu! This sparkly, fluttery, eyelash yarn is imbued with metallic sparkle in 15 colors to match any outfit. Try knitting an Ann Norling Easy Cowl in any gauge with a New Marabu carry-along, either in the whole cowl or just on the edges - fancy and fun!
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 | Jenny's Sebago Hat:
Jenny fell in love with the All American Worsted yarn from Swans Island the moment it entered the shop! Even though it was hard to choose just one project, Jenny's a hat lover, so she knew she'd get plenty of use out of the textured, slouchy Sebago Hat. She had fun knitting the cabled design on the body of the hat, and said it went by quickly - and it looks gorgeous in the Robin's Egg Blue colorway! |
The heathered, rustic look of the yarn shows off the cables perfectly and is warm, lofty, and oh-so-cozy in chilly temperatures!
But first, get the Free Pattern for the Peavine Hat and Cowl set on our Free Patterns Page!
 | Jen's Quite a Common Thief Shawl:
Jen saw Chris's and Laura's Quite a Common Thief projects and just had to make one for herself! This unique shawl/poncho was designed by Chris, one of our employees, and inspired by Robin Hood from the TV show, Once Upon a Time. We love how this looks in just about any color combo, and Jen's choice - a combination of Teal Feather and Frank Ochre in Malabrigo Rueca Handspun - is just gorgeous!
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She used just 3 skeins of the main color and 1 skein of the contrast color. We just love how bright and vibrant her version turned out!  | Kristen's Churchmouse Shoulder Cozy:
In search of something light and simple to wear over her dress for her brother's wedding, Kristen stumbled across this little gem of a pattern from Churchmouse Yarns and Teas. The shades of Wolf Creek Wools Alpaca Sport yarn in the Gentian colorway and an amazingly vibrant blue hue of Shibui Silk Cloud (appropriately named UV) went so well together in the skein, she knew they'd create perfect color harmony! |
She knit up the simple pattern in just a couple of evenings and it took just one skein of each yarn, held together. We currently don't carry the Wolf Creek Wools yarn, but Blue Sky Alpacas Sportweight in Hydrangea and Shibui Silk Cloud in Blueprint would make an equally heavenly match!
 | Laura's Lithosphere Shawls:
Laura loved this pattern and couldn't decide between the Lapwing (blue/green) and Maple (red) colorways, so she decided to make two! These lovelies use a combination of Rowan Fine Art and Kidsilk Haze in a special sequence of striped patterning to create a thick and thin appearance. The gauzy portions represent where only the Kidsilk Haze is used for a layered, ethereal looking shawl. |
 | Leanne's Yvonne Vest:
Leanne has had her eye on the beautiful and stylish Yvonne Vest by Cocoknits ever since we got the pattern in stock. Equally entranced by the Jimmy Beans Exclusive yarn Koigu American Merino, she hurried to cast on and was rewarded in next to no time with a cute vest to help her complete a layered look! Leanne is a purple lover (to put it mildly), so she chose colorway JB477.
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She said the Yvonne was a fun knit and she wouldn't hesitate to do it again! |
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Sandy, Jeanne, and Laura are up to some super-special hijinks this summer: they're off to Scotland!
For the past few years, these ladies have been planning a yarn-tastic trip to the knitterly Kingdom of Alba, and they plan to make the most of it!
They'll be sailing from yarn shop to tea room to scenic knitting spot with huge smiles on their faces and great yarns in their handbags while we're back here sweltering in the heat, and we couldn't be happier for them! |  |
 | Maybe they'll even flirt with a few kilted Highlanders while they're at it (we're not jealous or anything)...
And, to honor this momentous journey, we've got something extra-special coming down the yarn pipeline for our August Lorna's Limited Edition color... stay tuned! |
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This year's Beans for Brains scholarship brought some stiff competition, but finally the winners have been selected! So, without further ado, this year's winners are:  | Julia Greenwood, Georgetown University
Julia plans to pursue a dual major in Spanish and Political Economy at Georgetown University with the goal of starting her own non-profit organization that works to advance the lives of Hispanic Immigrants in America and helping them gain the skills and knowledge they need to become citizens. Her project is a hand-knit pair of fingerless mitts (Fetching, from Knitty, Summer 2006) that she wears daily on her drive to school in the winter.
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 | Rachel Butts, University of Florida, College of Medicine
Rachel is studying to become a doctor so that she can apply her undergraduate degree in Spanish as a bilingual physician and work with underserved Spanish-speaking populations in the US. Her knitted project was a gorgeous Victorian-style beaded bag that she knit on US 0000 (yep, thats 4 zeros!) needles for her sister's wedding!
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 | Yoon Lee, University of California, Los Angeles
Yoon is on her way to becoming a doctor by starting as a pre-med major this fall at UCLA! She strives to become a doctor who considers all aspects of a person's well-being, and plans to continue her volunteer work as a peer counselor as she works towards her medical degree. Although she both knits and crochets, she crocheted this fun and whimsical hat out of yarn made from old t-shirts! The knitting club she founded at her high school makes hats like this one to donate to St. Anthony's hospital in San Francisco.
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 | Katie Rohe, University of Central Florida
Katie is attending the University of Central Florida in the fall and pursuing a master's degree in Mechanical Engineering. Among her many talents, she loves to crochet. She combined her love for the art of Jo Hamilton with her love for crochet in this self-portrait for her AP Art class this past year. So neat!
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Congrats to our 4 winners, and thank you again to our amazing sponsors for this year's scholarship: Knitter's Pride, Denise Interchangeable Needles, Cascade Yarns, Classic Elite Yarns, Blue Sky Alpacas, Lorna's Laces, Mrs. Crosby Yarns, Chicken Boots, Plymouth Yarn Co., Anzula Yarns, and all of our individual customers who donated as well! Thank you all so, SO, much! We could not have done it without you! |
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There are many ways to stay up-to-date on the latest happenings at Jimmy Beans Wool!
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Jimmy Beans Wool
891 Trademark Drive
Reno, NV 89521
Toll Free in U.S. and Canada (877)JBW-KNIT (529-5648)
Phone (775)827-9276
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