Dear Friend,

It's back-to-school season, and we're thinking ahead to fall. Get pattern recommendations for teacher gifts and kid-friendly crafts this week on our blog, the Lion Brand Notebook. Click here to visit the blog!

With Warm Regards,
Your Friends at Lion Brand

	Knit Shaded Triangles Wrap	Crochet Serene Comfort Shawl
Crochet Magnolia Afghan	Homespun in Tudor

If you've ever picked up a painterly color of Homespun, you may have wondered how it works up. Each painterly colorway has long, slow color variations that cause them to subtly stripe. Above, we highlight three projects that feature our popular Tudor colorway, showing how it works up in different patterns.

The Magnolia Afghan shows that over a wide piece, the color changes will stripe, but over a patterned area like the flower motifs in the middle, the colors ramble across the sections of the motif, creating a water-color effect. The individual triangles of the Shaded Triangles Wrap each vary in color, since each one is made at a different point in the skein, creating interest. In the rectangular Serene Comfort Shawl, the colors form thick stripes, since it is narrower than the afghan.

As you can see from the examples above, each painterly colorway of Homespun can be used in a variety of different projects to produce beautiful color-change effects. Learn more about these painterly colorways--click here for a short video.

All month our local newspaper has been bulging with circulars from stores advertising their special stock of essentials for academic success. Shiny and colorful and ever so tempting, they seem to be sending me a personal offer for a fulfilling year ahead.

Every August, it's always the same. Merely by passing a back-to-school display, I'm filled with a deep longing for an odd array of alluring stuff that I don't really need, like a box of 64 color crayons with a built-in sharper. Over the years, to satisfy my cravings, I have tried to find good uses for assorted supplies. If you are like me, and you can't resist joining in on this seasonal excitement, here's a short list of affordable items that are highly adaptable to a yarncrafter's needs and conveniently sized for a range of project satchels.

Click here to continue reading the essay.

Create amazing textiles on rigid-heddle weaving looms with this new book by Jane Patrick! New and experienced weavers will be inspired by this beautifully photographed hardcover book, featuring designs made with pick-up-sticks, embroidery, and even two double heddles. Discover the possibilities of woven fabric--plus ideas for projects from wearables to home decor--with this great book.

Get 15% off for a limited time!

YarnCraft #98 ::
5 Reasons to Try Loom Knitting PLUS Hand-Healthy Tools & Techniques

Click here to listen [MP3] or click here to find us on iTunes.

On this episode, we talk about knitting looms and other tools that go easy on your hands. We also interview designer Denise Layman on the top 5 reasons to try loom-knitting. PLUS enter for a chance to win 2 different prizes. Listen to the episode for more details.

Learn more or share a comment--
click here to visit the YarnCraft blog.

If possible, sew in a label on the wrong side telling who made the article for whom and when. I've given lots of treats, books, toys, etc. to my 5-year-old grandson for years but when I sent him a scarf his favorite color with above sewn in, he had his mother call me instantly. That label MEANT something to him! It wasn't anything glorified--just a rectangle of material, written in permanent ink, and sewn with needle thread in my far-from-perfect stitches.

Love to fellow crocheters,
Denna W.