Lion Brand Notebook
News, Ideas and Information for Crafting with Yarn
Lion Brand Notebook
News, Ideas and Information for Crafting with Yarn
This is a guest post from Michelle Edwards–a life long knitter and the author/illustrator of many books for children including the 2006 Gryphon award winner, STINKY STERN FOREVER and CHICKEN MAN winner of National Jewish Book Award. Michelle lives in Iowa City, Iowa with her husband and three daughters. She is a frequent contributor to the Lion Brand Weekly E-Newsletter.
Greetings from Iowa!
Last week a strange critter appeared in our backyard. It had an intelligent, sharp-featured face and a long tail. Wondering what it was, I consulted our resident wildlife expert, my youngest daughter, Lelia.
Stumped, she took a few pictures of it, and headed over to quiz our more knowledgeable neighbors. I waited by the window, watching nature in action. The creature’s delicate hands grubbed around the leaves and grass, eating something found there. It’s amazing how fascinating animals can be. A few minutes later, Lelia returned with the answer; a possum.
The very next day, close to to where the possum appeared, I spotted a fox. For the first time ever. Could these visitors be signs of spring? I sure hope so.
Yarns like LB Collection Cotton Bamboo in colors like magnolia, cherry blossom, hyacinth and hibiscus, inspire me with visions of summery knits, especially on cold, rainy days like today. This month I plan to free up some of my needles, tackle the past, before embracing the new. My next story is about preparing for spring by finishing projects started last year. (Look out for this week’s newsletter to read it!)
My charitable knitting contribution this month will be washcloths, and Warm Up America squares.
Related links:
Posted in Community, Yarniverse, Yarns | Leave a comment »
This is a guest post from our intern Lindsey, whose last post was on the perfect gift idea for a yarncrafter.
While checking out various knit and crochet projects, I saw that our adorable amigurumi penguins have company — a realistic, fuzzy baby penguin from Kendralc on Instructables!
This baby penguin has Fun Fur to keep it warm for its first winter. Make one of these and some Amigurumi Holiday Penguins for a whole family of these sweet penguins. (And if you’re looking to keep the realistic look, just leave out the hat and scarf of the Amigurumi Holiday Penguins.) They make great winter companions — enjoy!
Related links
Posted in Crocheting, Yarniverse | Leave a comment »
BK4K (By Kids, For Kids) is our monthly kids’ newsletter that’s perfect for kids and the adults that craft with them, from parents and grandparents to teachers and scout leaders.
In the December issue of BK4K, we encourage you to share your creativity by making your very own own amigurumi. What is an amigurumi? The name comes from the Japanese words for “yarn” and “stuffed toy.” They are cute creatures like our lion (left).
AND with just a few basic skills, you can make your own fun creatures, from animals to people (like in this earlier blog post)!
In this issue, we share some basic shapes that can be used in your own designs. Rectangles, triangles, and circles are easy geometric shapes that can be combined to make an endless amount of creations. Decorate with i-cords (click here for i-cord directions) and French knots (click here for French knot directions). You can also add buttons, ribbons, pom-poms, and anything else you can think of!
If you’d like some inspiration, simply search LionBrand.com for amigurumi. We have dozens of free animal and food amigurumi patterns.
For more great kid-friendly ideas each month, subscribe to BK4K. If you already have a Lion Brand account, you can simply add it by clicking on “My LBY“, and selecting it under “My Subscriptions.”
Related links:
Posted in Crocheting, Knitting, Tips & How To | 1 Comment »
In YarnCraft episode #16, we shared interviews from the Maker Faire, an INCREDIBLE event featuring all sorts of handmade things and the amazing people behind them. It was even featured in the New York Times.
Our episode features interviews with Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (the popular knitter/author/blogger also known as the Yarn Harlot), Becky and Natalie of the always interesting Craft Magazine, Corey Feldman (a performance artist who knits and drums at the same time!), Kathy Murillo-the Crafty Chica, and more. It was a lot of fun being at the event, and I’m glad that my co-host Liz and I could bring the event to you.
Not only did we teach over 200 people to knit and crochet over the course of the two-day event, we also showcased a selection of our adorable amigurumi animals.
Everyone who walked by our booth stopped to see them, touch them, and pick them up. The animals were SO popular that someone actually took our poor octopus home with them! Maybe we should make a “Missing Octopus” sign to distribute among knitters and crocheters…
You can find all of our amigurumi patterns on the Pattern Finder, but here are my top five picks (a tough feat, considering that they’re all so cute):
For this and more YarnCraft episodes, visit the YarnCraft blog. New podcasts come out every other Tuesday and you can find how to subscribe on our blog.
Posted in Crocheting, YarnCraft Podcast | 2 Comments »
