 Knit-A-Long Contests for 2011 |  Grab your needles, a skein of Mini Mochi, and join us in a Rodekool Brioche Scarf KAL! The KAL starts December 31, 2010 and ends January 31, 2011. What better way is there to ring in the new year and a new decade than with a "kool" new project! Our Ravelry group, Crystal Palace Yarns: KAL's and other things, will be hosting the KAL. Nancy Marchant, designer of the scarf, has been invited to drop in on us if she has time. Crystal Palace Yarns will be donating prizes!
We are also hosting another year long KAL that starts January 1, 2011 on the Carefree KAL Blog. Complete a project for each month of 2011, and you will be eligible for a wonderful yarny prize donated by Crystal Palace Yarns. Sign-ups are now open. New members will be entered into a special "Welcome to the Blog" drawing. If you are already a member, refer a friend. If your friend joins, both your names will be entered into the drawing. We have other shorter KAL's planned throughout the year. There are a limited number of spaces open on the blog, so if you want to join us, sign up soon!
We would like to add a special thanks to Adrienne Fong, the devoted organizer of the Crystal Palace KAL's. She is a talented knitter/designer and a darn fine person. Keep up the good work, Adrienne!
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Greetings!
With the rush of the holidays and the approach of winter comes a new wave of knitting and crochet inspiration. Our December issue is here to help you choose your project goals for the end of the year and the beginning of next. This month we are featuring our delightful Cotton Twirl, a great year-round yarn choice, four new free patterns on our website, three spectacular Ravelry patterns, and a gorgeous Mini Mochi fair isle indie pattern. We have details on the exciting new KAL contests. And for those of you who like a glimpse into the future, we are offering a special sneak peek of our upcoming Spring 2011 yarns.
So until next year, we at Crystal Palace wish you Happy Holidays, Happy Winter, Happy Knitting and Happy Crochet!
Sincerely,
Cathy Campbell
Crystal Palace Yarns
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Cotton Twirl:
Never Too Cold for Cotton
 The new Spring 2011 colors of Cotton Twirl are in! Four refreshing prints and three mouth-watering solids are shipping to yarn shops. Cotton Twirl was introduced last Spring and has proved to be a popular heavy-worsted weight cotton yarn. It is 90% cotton with 10% nylon for elasticity and texture. The yarn is soft but the structure is stable, so it resists pilling nicely. It knits up to 4 sts/inch, each ball is 92 yds/50g and the price is very affordable.
Cotton Twirl can be used all year long. It is an excellent choice for children's clothing, baby blankets and toys, as well as adult projects. It is also perfect for folks who cannot wear animal fibers. Contact your local or online yarn shop to purchase Cotton Twirl today.
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Sneak Peek: Spring 2011
 We now have color cards up on our website of Sausalito and Mochi Bamboo, our two new delectable yarns for Spring 2011. Sausalito is a two-ply, fingering-to-sport-weight yarn made of 80% machine-washable wool and 20% nylon with tweedy, self-striping colorways. Mochi Bamboo is a single-ply dk-to-worsted-weight yarn in a blend of 70% bamboo, 15% nylon and 15% acrylic. These two yarns are absolutely dreamy. Be sure to visit the website and see for yourself.
Also recently published on the website are new Spring 2011 colors of Cotton Twirl, Mini Mochi, Mochi Plus, Panda Cotton and Panda Silk. The new colors of Cotton Twirl should start hitting the yarn shop shelves by January. The rest should be available by around mid-March..
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New Free Patterns
 We have several new free patterns for December that we just added to our website. The Chunky Mochi Wee Bag by Susan Druding is a cute little one-ball nugget that works up quickly for a lovely hand tote. This would be a perfect little gift; you can tuck in jewelry, soap or other small item for an extra special presentation.
Chunky Mochi is proving to be an excellent choice for one-ball items, as seen in the Wee Bag, previous cowls and the new 3-3 Rib Cowl. The 3-3 Rib Cowl is a quick-fix project that uses k3 x p3 ribbing on circular needles and could easily be done in one sitting.
 The Mochi Plus Mitered Eyelet Shawl, another dazzling shawl by Gail Tanquary, is next on the menu. For those knitters who drooled over the crocheted Mini Mochi and Mochi Plus Flower Garden Shawls, here is a knitted version that we anticipate will be a huge hit. The miter construction with eyelet accent is a delight to work up.
A great classic stocking cap pattern is the Mochi Plus Hat designed by Barbara Breiter. In this sample shown on the website, the designer uses one ball of Mochi Plus for the body and crown and one ball of its cousin yarn Plus Solid to accentuate the ribbed cuff. You can easily substitute the Plus Solid with another ball of Mochi Plus for a complete variegated effect. Because Mochi Plus and Plus Solid are worsted-weight, single-plied yarns with much color excitement, they are fantastic choices for new, as well as seasoned, needleworkers.
Look for more free patterns coming in 2011! |
Indie News:
Fearless Fair Isle Knitting
 "Take a deep breath and repeat after me: 'Fair Isle is fabulous. Fair Isle is fun. Fair Isle is easy. I am not afraid.'" So is the opening line to the upcoming Taunton Press book Fearless Fair Isle Knitting, by Kathleen Prater Taylor. We are honored to have our Mini Mochi featured on the cover of the book, which is due out on January 31, 2011. Fearless Fair Isle Knitting is a collection of 30 patterns which aim to change the impression of the fair isle technique from scary and too advanced to accessible and inspiring. Mini Mochi adds a dimension and resonance to color work that is truly amazing, as seen in this and other patterns including the Fair Isle Hat and Mittens by Sandi Rosner and entrelac and hat patterns like the ones listed in the Ravelry Features article below.
Look for the book in yarn stores after January 31..
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Ravelry Features:
Infinity Entrelac Scarf, Swordtail Shawl and Brain Wave Hat
 We have three Ravelry features this month that offer unique designs using interesting stitch techniques. First is the lovely Infinity Entrelac Scarf designed by Michele Bernstein using Mini Mochi. You can download the pattern for $6.00 from either Michele's PDXKnitterati blog or from the pattern page on Ravelry. Mini Mochi is so soft and the colors so rich. The Mochi color effects in the entrelac technique produce a stunning fabric, as seen in other projects like the free Mochi Plus Shoreline Baby Blanket that we featured in our November issue. The designer of this infinity cowl/scarf adds a periodic eyelet pattern for a little extra fun for the knitter and elegance for the wearer.
 The second Ravelry pattern we are featuring this month is the Swordtail Shawl by Kim Driggs, a wonderful heirloom project to last through generations. This is a crocheted shawl done in our gorgeous, fingering-weight Panda Silk. This delicate "bat wing" shawl uses just three balls of yarn on a G hook and can be downloaded for $6.00 from the pattern page on Ravelry.
 The third is the Brain Wave Hat by Chris Abbot. This pattern uses a clever color variating pattern by using two balls of the same colorway of Mini Mochi and a diagonal rib. You can purchase this pattern for $4.00 from the pattern page on Ravelry. All proceeds from pattern sales are generously donated to the March of Dimes.
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