Winter Warmers

Yesterday was an early taste of Spring with incredibly warm temperatures. It was fun while it lasted and a perfect day to spend with my sales rep sorting through all the fresh and lovely things for Spring. This coming season the colours are bold and cheerful, with lots of delicious stripey cottons and bamboo blends.

But we still have a few more weeks to go until the robin sings her song. Here are a few Winter Warmers to get us through the home stretch. Each one is available as a free download.

From Austermann, a medallion style coat knit in thick and cosy Luana, a polar weight yarn that combines one part merino and one part baby alpaca. Available in twelve vivacious shades including this popular shade of purple.

Another design from Austermann, and a perfect segway into the next season, a lightweight cardigan knit in Seta- superfine mulberry silk in a dk weight available in fourteen shades.

Go long and lean with this V neck tunic knit in Royal, a fingering weight yarn comprised of merino, silk, and cashmere in fifteen luscious shades.

What's Warmer Than A Toque?

Did anyone see this article in the Toronto Star last week? Its a very creative idea and just might be catching on as the white stuff whips around us today and the wind is biting at our cheeks.

From Stratford, Ontario, Jeff Phillips models his latest design- The Beardo, a clever invention that combines a handknitted toque with a faux beard attached by velcro. Available in two colours- brown and blond. Phillips, an English teacher working in Australia, came up with the notion while on a snowboarding trip to Whistler. He ripped a hole in a brown wool scarf, wrapped it around his lower face and covered up with a toque to withstand the extreme wind chill. Somehow the idea just grew from there to his current online store- which sells the knitted Beardos for $39.99. Orders are coming in from Mexico, Florida, Toronto, all the way to Lithuania. Also, in the works is a children's version of the Beardo in new styles and colours. Its a lot more friendly-looking than a ski mask, and requires far less maintenance than a real beard.
On a day like today, it makes alot of sense.

Beardo Leaves Jack Frost Bristling