Name: Knit Circus
What She is All About: Jaala specializes in extra special long gradient colours, which can be customized for whatever pattern you are thinking of (perfect for sweaters, shawls, or cowls). She also has genius striping gradient sock kits, and some gorgeous cowl and shawl kits in her Etsy shop.
A Few of My Favourite Things, from Left to Right: I think this skein of ‘Summer Afternoon’ looks just like a marigold! This colourway can be dyed in any of Knitcircus’s bases, which means you can have it in a variety of fingering weight, DK, or Worsted. These chromatic stripe socks in ‘Over the Rainbow’ are specially dyed to create two matching socks that both stripe chromatically- how cool is that! As usual, you can choose from three different fingering weight yarn bases. This Lieutenant’s Heart Shawl kit is stunning, and you can choose fro a variety of colourways, but I’m partial to the colourway that the pattern is named for (shown here), ‘Lieutenant’s Heart.
Name: Madbird Bags & Accessories
What They are all about: Alecia and Rob make awesomely fabulous project bags, project clutches, totes, spindle bags, needle and hook rolls, and zip pouches which will surely make your crafting that much more enjoyable. Project bags come with interior yarn guides that have a snap on them, so your yarn feeds through cleanly, but you can change out the yarn or project any time you like. No more yarn tangles!
A Few of My Favourite Things, from Left to Right: Alecia has very kindly offered 10% off orders when using the code KNITTEDBLISS at checkout. I might be biased, but you should totally do that. If you have an interchangeable needle set, then this is truly the organizer you need- it’s worth clicking on the link to see the photos of it unrolled to get a handle on all the details of this. This is the Mr. Fox print, and it has special pockets for the cables, for the needle sizes, and a built-in pouch for the adapters and any notions. It’s pretty genius. The pretty mermaid print Mendocino tote is perfect for medium sized projects (approx 3 skeins), and will stand up on its own once a project is inside. The cat lover in me is crazy about this cat print clutch (with cat toy print fabric inside!) and would be perfection for sock projects or a single skein shawl on the go.
Name: Bijou Basin Ranch
What They Are All About: If you haven’t tried yak fiber before, you are missing out- it’s very soft, and very good for those that have wool allergies. Eileen and Carl run their Yak ranch in Colorado, selling amazing yak fiber and yarns that are both 100% yak and blended with other fibers (like bamboo or merino) to give the yarn strength and variety.
A Few of My Favourite Things, from Left to Right: Tibetan Dream is a crazy and strong sock yarn that is 85% yak and 15% nylon, and this skein is in Colorado River, a limited edition colourway dyed by Miss Babs. The Outlandish yarn line is all inspired by the Outlander series by Diane Galbadon, which gives all the colourway names extra resonance for fans- this lovely gold colour of Himalayan Trail in a Yak/Merino blend is called Laoghaire. As for kits, this Blood of my Blood Shawl kit (although Outlander reference!) would be perfect for summer knitting. Plus, if you click the link in the sidebar ad they are currently offering 10% off your order if you give them a follow on social media!
Name: Sweet Sheep Body Shoppe
What She is All About: Alicia makes amazing all-natural lotion bars and lip balms is a great range of seasonal and classic scents. Fruity, floral, spicy, sweet or unscented- whatever your preference, it’s here. Plus, lots of skin-softening lanolin!
A Few of My Favourite Things, from Left to Right: Now that it’s sandal season, I’m finding lotion bars are genius for softening my feet, as well as making them smell amazing. I just rub the bar over my heels and around my feet, and rub it in a bit. The Spring Meadow lotion bar is perfect for this time of year- light and somehow both herbal and floral, not a heavy scent at all. For a tasty lip treat, how about the French Macaron lip balm? I love the consistency of Alicia’s lip balms, they feel wonderfully moisturizing, and I’m a sucker for dessert flavoured lip balms every time. And the Chamomile Bergamot lotion bar is totally my sort of thing- light and citrusy, great for warmer weather.
Those are the sponsors for June! I hope you will check out their shops online and see what you might find, my choices above are what I most feel like knitting or using now that we’re at the beginning of summer, so I’m craving the lighter-weight knits and fun summer colours. And I definitely think it’s time for a new project bag! Summer knitting means a bit more knitting outdoors for me, so I need to keep my yarn and WIPs safe.
