Local Yarn Store Day!

Did the Easter Bunny forget to put yarn in your basket?  We've got a solution for you.  Hop on over to Knit & Stitch Boutique this Saturday (April 26) and check out the Beach Bunny Yarns Trunk show with all their scrumptious yarns, including the 100% Mulberry Silk!  And you don't want to miss the exclusive LYS Day colorway.  Stock is limited, so get there early.

And as a friend put it, "you don't have to wait until January to get some bunny yarn!"  See you soon!

Ron’s Top Ten Tips for Beginner Knitters

 

I’m not just a dyer; I’ve been teaching knitting for more than seven years now.  In that time, I’ve seen quite a few beginner knitters.  Here’s what I’ve learned and what I think a beginner knitter needs to know besides just how to knit and purl.  There’s no order to these tips, but the last one in the list is the most important in my mind and will absolutely define you and your knitting journey.  So read on!

1. Relax, it’s not a death match between you and the yarn!  If your knuckles are turning white and you’ve cut off the circulation to your fingers from wrapping the yarn like a mutant cat’s cradle, you need to relax!  Besides, tight stitches make the next row of stitches even harder to knit.  Consciously ease back on the tension and you’ll find a point that gives you control of the yarn without strain.
   
   
2. Use good needles.  I recommend this for so many reasons.  First, good needles will not catch or snag the yarn but will have some friction to help you control the yarn and stitches.  They’ll also feel better in your hands and reduce pressure points and cramping.  Don’t be afraid to try different styles of needles to find what works for you.  There are a lot of options on the market and twice as many opinions as to which ones are the best.  The best needles are the ones that feel good in your hands and make your knitting easier!
   
   
3. Use good yarn.  Ok, one shameless plug per blog post, I think Beach Bunny Yarns makes the best yarn because I won’t dye something I’m not happy knitting for myself.  That said, there’s a lot of good yarns at various price points for you to use while building your knitting skills.  I recommend using SuperWash wool, preferably in sport, DK, or worsted weight.  If it’s a wool and nylon blend, that’s ok.  Don’t attempt to learn with cotton, linen, or silk as they have no springiness and aren’t forgiving.
   
   
4. Be patient with the learning process and yourself.  It’s not a race and you won’t master a new skill overnight.  Take your time and think about each stitch and each movement.  Practice doesn’t make perfect; practice makes permanent.  So, make sure you’re practicing with thoughtful intent.  With careful and deliberate practice, you’ll soon find your knitting groove.
   
   
5. Don’t stop in the middle of a row.  I tell my beginner students that unless the house is on fire, do not stop until you get to the end of the row.  Stopping in the middle of a row is the cause of most beginner problems because the beginner will inevitably restart the knitting in the wrong direction.  This is great for short rows, but not so much for a new knitter.  Always finish your rows.
   
   
6. Count!  As a beginner, count your stitches in each row.  This helps you by ensuring that you have the expected number of stitches on the needle.  If not, you know you have a problem in the row you just knit.  It’s a good habit to get into and even experienced knitters get burned by not counting stitches on each row and will have to “tink” (unknit) several rows to correct the problem.
   
   
7. Learn to read stitches.  As a beginner, understanding what a knit and a purl stitch look like on the needles will be a huge boost to your knitting skill.  This is literally the, “see Spot run,” of the knit world.
   
   
8. Swatch and block, it’s worth it.  As a beginner, you’ll be making swatches for practice anyway, so get into the habit of blocking them.  Why?  Well, all patterns give you a gauge of stitches per inch to knit.  That gauge is usually measured after blocking.  When you wet a knit fabric swatch and pin it out flat to dry, it will grow and the stitches per inch will be different than the unblocked gauge.  Trying to guesstimate that difference is far too risky when making a garment, so get used to making swatches and blocking them.  You can quickly build a set of reference swatches for each needle size and yarn type that you like to use.
   
   
9. There’s not one perfect way to knit.  In your knitting journey, I can almost guarantee that you’ll run into someone that just has to tell you that you’re not knitting correctly.  If you are making knits and purls consistently and the finished fabric is correct, ignore them.  You’ll hear terms like English, Continental, picking, flicking, throwing, etc. and opinions on what’s best.  What’s best is what works for you!  Seriously, if your finished stitches are correct, how you got there doesn’t matter and I’m happy for you!
   
   
10. Here’s the big one and it has nothing to do with the mechanics of knitting at all.  Are you ready?  Here goes.  Don’t say, “I could never do that.”  Arrrrrgh!  That phrase makes me so mad.  That’s giving up before you even try!  Try!  Challenge yourself to do better and learn something new!  You couldn’t knit or purl until you tried, right?  So why are cables or stranded colorwork or lace any different?  Because they look hard?  So what?  Just try it!  Now I’m not saying that you must love mosaic colorwork or brioche or bobbles, but you should try new techniques and styles to find out if you like doing it or not.  Thinking negatively about your abilities is a sure way to limit your skill future.  Replace “I could never” with “I’ll try” and you’ll find so much more joy to knitting!

Whether you are a brand-new beginner or experienced knitter, I hope you get some mileage out of these tips.  If you’d like to add to my list of beginner tips, please leave a comment below!  

Knit Happy!

-- Ron

A ROARING thank you!

 

We had a monstrously grand time at the 2025 Stitch the Magic event.  Thank you to all of you who attended our gathering.  That bingo game was a lot of noise!  We'll have to think of another game as exciting!

Congratulations to our door prize winners, Allyson and Shelvia, and to our grand prize winner, Ilse!  We can't wait to see the amazing projects you create.

We're taking a break for a bit, but don't worry.  We already have lots of things on paper and tons of ideas flurrying around in our heads on how we want to pull this off.  Keep checking back for the latest info.  Meanwhile, help support our creative team by checking out what keeps them busy when not at our amazing annual event.

Beach Bunny Yarns

Dizzy Blonde Studios

yBsquare

I've got my Eye on You...

Roz:  Hello, Wazowski. Fun-filled evening planned for tonight?
Mike:  Well, as a matter of fact...
Roz:  Then I'm sure you filed your paperwork correctly, for once.

[Mike smiles innocently] 

Roz:  Your stunned silence is very reassuring.

“Always Watching”, this year’s 2^nd colorway is from Dizzy Blonde Studios in Port Saint Lucie, FL and was inspired by Roz, the administrator and key master of Scare Floor F, who is also tasked with ensuring all paperwork is filled out properly and turned in at the end of every shift…something Mike Wazowski can’t quite seem to manage…a constant thorn in Roz's side to be sure.

"Always Watching" is dyed up on the same 80/20 SW Merino/Silk, 4 oz/115 gm-434 yds/397 m of soft, lustrous luxury as "That Darn Paperwork".  The Dizzy Blonde chose Deep burgundy for Roz' cardigan, and steely gray for her mohawk are the prominent colors, with a dash of slug umber to warm things up a smidge and pop against the dominant cooler palette.

Laura has been knitting for over 20 years, first introduced to the craft by a very close friend who worked in the film industry, and was growing weary of losing her knitting friends when a show wrapped. Dizzy Blonde Studios was born out of Laura’s love for knitting, designing, and all things fiber. In 2008, she ventured into the world of color application to yarn as an additional creative outlet, and a way to find her zen.

Inspired by her passion for Science Fiction, pet rescue, and Disney, Laura creates fresh and unique colorways using different techniques on various yarn bases. From highly variegated to tonal-shift and saturated solids, there's a perfect colorway waiting for you at Dizzy Blonde Studios.

Pre-sales will open once the entire collection has been revealed, and, as last year, there will be a bonus item for those who order the entire collection, but we'll cover that in another post.  

Stay tuned!  More to come!

No Job is Finished Until the Paperwork is done

 

Wazowski! You didn't file your paperwork last night...

...when Mike Wazowski forgets to file his paperwork (yet again) before going on a date with Celia, his best friend Sulley steps up to help...

 Mike to Sulley: The pink copies go to accounting, the fuchsia ones go to purchasing, and the goldenrod ones go to Roz. [Celia pulls him away; he comes back] Leave the puce!

Our first colorway in this year's collection is from Beach Bunny Yarns in Ormond Beach, FL, and it is gorgeous!  Dyed on a base of 80/20 SW Merino/Silk, 4 oz/115 gm-434 yds/397 m of soft, lustrous luxury, "That Darn Paperwork" is super-soft and luxuriously lightweight, has amazing stitch definition and is wonderful to crochet and knit.

This yarn is the Bunny’s take on this mountain of paperwork to be filed.  Pink, fuchsia, and of course, puce are the main colors with a little goldenrod to balance the palette and keep Roz happy.  It’s highly variegated and as disorganized as Wazowski’s paperwork, which only adds to the beauty of this particular colorway.  

Don’t worry, no one is watching!

Ron of Beach Bunny Yarns has been knitting and crocheting for over 20 years and is always looking for new challenges.  He enjoy teaching and sharing his fiber knowledge as well.  He firmly believe that anyone can knit or crochet!

As a maker, he always struggled to find similar skeins of yarn in coordinating or complementing colors, and he created Beach Bunny Yarns five years ago to ensure that fiber artists could pick from a broad selection of color palettes in a variety of great yarn bases.  "I love the creative and technical processes of dyeing and hope that my yarn brings you joy in all your creations!"  He is joined by his wife Alicia aka "she of the many hats":  Executive Director of Food & Beverage Distribution, Senior Yarn-Washer, Website Manager, Senior Stress Facilitator, and Chief Bunny Motivator...just to name a few!

Pre-sales will open once the entire collection has been revealed, and, as last year, there will be a bonus item for those who order the entire collection, but we'll cover that in another post.  Don't let this beauty pass you by!  That Darn Paperwork won't knit itself!

Here we go again

Happy first week of Autumn!  We hope your summer was a blast.  Now that the days are getting shorter, we're realizing that it's almost time to get the ball rolling and get excited for the Stitch the Magic 2025 event.  It's scary how fast the year goes by, but we're ready for it.

So.....mark your calendars for Saturday, January 25, 2025 (& Sunday, January 26th if you want to join us in the Magic Kingdom park).  We've pick a new meeting location at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort.  The resort is gorgeous with plenty of common areas inside and out, as well as lots of options for food and drinks.

Explore the resort HERE and maybe book a room for the weekend 😁.  

More info to come soon.  Keep watching for this event's theme movie....

Asante sana!

 

Wow!  Thank you all so much.  We've actually reached our registration goal.  The website is closed for future registrations, but all that means is that all the goody/swag bags have been claimed.  If you didn't register and still would like to join us, PLEASE DO!  We will still have a little something for your effort.  Just email us at:  info@beachbunnyyarns.com  to get the info you need to find us.

And there's still time to order yarn, bags, stitch markers, and the whole Pride Rock Pack.  Visit Stitch the Magic to order, and thank you for supporting our small businesses.  We love sharing our love of fiber arts and Disney with all of you.

It's also not too late to order our 2024 themed T-shirts.  Check those out here:  Awesome T-shirts

Thank you again, and see you real soon!

The Pride Rock Pack

 And without further ado, we bring you The Stitch The Magic 2024 Collection (aka the Pride Rock Pack) in its entirety!

(Click picture to embiggen in order to see the fine print)

Prices are posted with each item of the collection. 

As an incentive, when you purchase the Pride Rock Pack in its entirety, not only will your Pack ship for free, but it will also include this beautiful custom-embroidered commemorative patch, a $12 value.

Did you know that a portion of each bundle and $3 of each individual skein purchase will be donated to Delilah's 2nd Chance Rescue of Port St. Lucie, FL?  Delilah's 2nd Chance Rescue is a non-profit (501(c)(3)) animal rescue organization that specializes saving, rehabilitating and placing animals in forever homes.  

Every item in this year's collection has been carefully crafted by local artists throughout Florida.  So, not only will you be receiving well-crafted, high quality products, you will be supporting small businesses in our communities.  It's a win-WIN!

Pre-orders are open now, but will close on January 12, 2024. After which, you may be able to purchase items individually, but The Pack...errr...pact (the incentives) will no longer be available.  Quantities are limited, so order early to ensure availability.

Place your order HERE

While you're at it, registration for the meet-up event is still open, but the event is filling up fast!  Register here 

Hakuna Matata - A Lion's Tale

 

Our second colorway comes from the dye pots of Dizzy Blonde Studios in Port St. Lucie, FL., and not one to be missed!  

"In keeping with the 'Lion Character' theme, we chose to tell the story of Simba's journey from outcast to king, and my favorite part of the movie.   Hakuna Matata means 'there are no worries' in Swahili, and this colorway effortlessly captures the environment where Simba lived his carefree days growing up under the watchful eyes of his surrogate father-pals, Timon & Pumbaa.  Lush forest and deep olive of the jungle are the main colors with a pop of grasshopper for those 'slimy yet satisfying' moments.  Nothing speaks volumes of Simba's transformation than when he chases Rafiki out of the jungle only to be confronted by his own reflection; where he faces his past, his regret, fear and guilt, and then suddenly, like so many leaves in the wind, get swept away and a new king emerges."

~~Laura

The base is the same as Beach Bunny Yarns': 80% SW Merino/20% Silk, 4oz/115gm - 434yd/397m.  We purposely dyed our colorways on the same base, and coordinated them so that you can put them together in a 2-color project. In a later post we will be publishing pattern recommendations, so if you haven't done so yet, hit that "subscribe" button so you don't miss out on any of the Magic!

Pre-sales will open once the entire collection has been revealed, and there will be a bonus item for those who order the entire collection, but we'll cover that in another post.

Registration is now open at the Beach Bunny Yarns website. Space is limited, however, so make sure you register early, and save the date.

Mufasa - A Celebration in Yarn

 

Our first colorway in this year's collection is from Beach Bunny Yarns in Ormond Beach, FL.  It is 80/20 SW Merino/Silk, 4 oz/115 gm-434 yds/397 m of soft, lustrous luxury.  It is wonderful to crochet and knit, super-soft and luxuriously lightweight, while retaining it's amazing stitch definition.  

And who better to capture on strands of string than the mighty King of Pride Rock:  Mufasa.  But don't just take our word for it...From the Artist, Ron Roberts:

        "With the theme of 'The Lion King', it seemed only natural to choose to create a colorway based on the lion characters.  What character stood out the most to me was Mufasa.  The word mufasa means 'king or leader' in Swahili, and I wanted to express the majestic, grand emotion I felt when I first heard James Earl Jones' voice.  I also wanted to highlight the natural camouflage that exists between a lion and the colors of the savanna.  The golden grasses, reddish earth and dust, and the rocks all emulate the lions' colors and patterns.  The question remained: how to create a yarn worthy of the name?  Using a traditional layered approach yielded a result closer to mud than a lion's mane.  Each color needed to stand out and still blend smoothly with the next.  After a couple more less-than-stunning tries, I ended up using multiple layering techniques to achieve the final effect.

Knitted or crocheted, this colorway produces variegated golds, browns, and yellows with short bursts of deep mahogany red.  These colors are very reminiscent of not only the movie character, but are also used in many examples of African art.  The yarn is bold, rich and warm...even regal."

Pre-sales will open once the entire collection has been revealed, and there will be a bonus item for those who order the entire collection, but we'll cover that in another post.  Don't let this beauty pass you by!

 

Registration is now open at the Beach Bunny Yarns website. Space is limited, however, so make sure you register early, and save the date.

Nants Ingonyama Bagithi Baba

This year's Stitch The Magic Event is inspired by Disney's 1994 full-length animated feature which has won a total of 9 of the Industry's awards and is the highest-grossing traditionally animated film of all times:

We are very excited about this year's exclusive collection, and will be revealing each item over the next few days.  You won't want to miss out!

On Saturday, January 20, 2024 we will be hosting the meet-up at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, Jambo House.  Festivities kick off at 12:00 noon.  This event is completely free to attend, you will only need to worry about parking.  If you're creative about your parking solution (free parking at Disney Springs, then catch a bus to the resort), that won't be much of a problem either.

Please feel free to bring your stitching project, whether it's knitting, crochet, cross stitch, it's all good.  Dizzy Blonde Studios and Beach Bunny Yarns, are your hosts for this magical occasion.  We will provide goodies bags to registered attendees, ice-breaker and other fun activities, along with prizes of the yarny nature.  

Registration is now open at the Beach Bunny Yarns website. Space is limited, however, so make sure you register early, and save the date.

On Sunday, January 21, 2024 we will spend the day at Disney's Animal Kingdom park.  As of January 8, 2024, you will no longer need to make a reservation to enter the parks.  There will be a separate registration form for Park Excursions a little closer to the event date.

Looking forward to seeing you all!

Hakuna Matata!

Save the Date!

 

Stitch the Magic!*

Saturday & Sunday
January 20 & 21, 2024

Walt Disney World Resort

Saturday 1/20/24:  Stitchers' Meet-up

Sunday 1/21/24:  Park Excursion

We will post further details once this year's theme has been revealed

*What is "Stitch the Magic?

 Read all about it here.

What is "Stitch the Magic" and how can I participate?

 

Stitch the Magic is an annual social event at Walt Disney World for Disney fans who happen to be fiber artists as well.  Dizzy Blonde Studios and Beach Bunny Yarns, are your hosts for this magical occasion.  Each dyer creates an event-exclusive custom colorway based on each year’s selected theme.  Once revealed, yarns are available for pre-order before the event, and purchase after event, while supplies last.  

The weekend begins with a Stitchers' meet-up at the designated resort area within the Walt Disney World property, where we provide goodies bags to registered attendees, ice-breaker and other fun activities, along with prizes of the yarny nature.  Then, on Sunday we venture into that year's selected park.  Space is limited, so keep watching this blog for updates!   

Now, you can chose to join us for the entire weekend, just the meet-up or whatever amount of time in both you choose.  We will always post directions and instructions for both.  Keep in mind that parking can get a little tricky for the meet-up, so we will provide you with different options as we get closer to the event.

Please follow us on our socials for all the juicy details!

Stitch The Magic

stitch_the_magic_event

stitchthemagic

Stitch the Magic 2022 Exclusive Collection

 

And without further ado, we bring you the Stitch the Magic 2022 Collection in its entirety

(Click on the pic to embiggen)

Prices are posted with each item.  Did you know that $3 of each skein purchase and $2 of each stitch marker set will be donated to The Marine Science Center of Ponce Inlet.  So, for every bundle purchased $8.00 will be donated.  The Marine Science Center suffered damage from hurricane Ian, so every dollar donated helps them rebuild so they can save even more sea turtles and other marine wildlife.

And don't forget, bundled purchases ship for free and receive the Heart of Te Fiti  reversible shawl fastener, an $18 value, free.  Bundles are extremely limited, as is the number of project bags.  Just select "Moana 2022 Bundle" from the dropdown menu

Place your order HERE

Last But Certainly Not Least...

Voyagers' Bag

Our final item of our exclusive Stitch the Magic 2022 Collection inspired by the Disney full-length feature Moana is this exquisite project bag from Not Knots.  These project bags are all hand-made by Silvia Mendoza in California.  

The exterior fabric is inspired by Polynesian tribal art, in lovely beachy colors.  The exterior also features a strong webbed wrist handle, a locking-toggle drawstring closure and parachute cord drawstrings which are decorated with beautiful coordinating pony beads  The lining fabric echos the Heart of Te Fiti, and the interior pockets, including Not Knots' signature "Needle Niche" feature Moana herself, as well as other characters of the story. 

These bags are truly beautiful and measure 9 inches tall, 10.5 inches wide with  4 inch gusset, which makes for a generous, self-standing rectangular base.  The shorter (but wider) size makes it the ideal grab-and-go bag for a communKNITy on the go.  It is the perfect size for those one-skein projects that we like to work on while traveling, waiting at an appointment, or spending time at your favorite theme park with your favorite people!  

There is an extremely limited quantity, so get them wile supplies last.  Quantities will be limited to one per customer, or one per bundle*.  Pre-orders for the entire collection will be opening soon until a week after our Stitch the Magic event on December 3, 2022.  But, to be quite honest, I think they will sell out way before pre-orders close.  Orders will be filled on a first come-first served basis.  But when they're gone, they're gone!  In the unlikely occurrence that there are any bags left over after pre-orders close, you can purchase them directly from the website.  (Link to be activated on 12/10/2022)

*Bundles will be defined in the next blog post.

But Wait...There's More!

Dizzy Blonde Studios and Beach Bunny Yarns are honored to be partnering with several amazing makers in our industry.  Our next item in our exclusive event collection is this amazing stitch marker set designed exclusively for Stitch the Magic 2022 by Fangirl Fibers.  

This set of 6 stitch markers depicts various characters and meaningful objects from the story of Moana.  Emily of Fangirl Fibers creates these beautiful stitch markers by laser engraving on maple plywood.  Due to their lever-back rings, these markers are very versatile.  They can be slipped onto your knitting needles like conventional markers, or by utilizing the lever back, they can be used as knitting row-markers or crochet markers.  The attention to detail is superb!

 The set will be available for order, along with the yarn and project bags very shortly.  

Meet Your Hosts: Laura Wilson-Martos

aka

 Dizzy Blonde Studios

Laura grew up in Southern California and her childhood was a busy one.  She started playing classical piano at age 5, and in high school she was a choir and drama geek.  When she was 10, her family moved to a house with a little bit of acreage, and she was introduced to 4-H, where she excelled in the home arts, mainly baking, canning and home decor.  She tried her hand at the fiber arts, and had limited success with crochet, and no success at all with knitting. 

After graduating high school, she enlisted in the Air Force, and spent 2 years stationed in England, with the remainder of her tour spent stateside.  After 8 years, she moved back home to CA and attended college.

She didn't start knitting until 2004, when her best friend informed her that she was going to learn.  Her friend worked in the film industry and was getting tired of losing all of her knitting friends when the show wrapped.  She told Laura that if she learned to knit, she'd always have someone to knit with.  They even wrote a knitting blog together:  JenLa and kept it going for almost 4 years.  She also co-hosted the KnottyGirls podcast with another friend for 2 years.

In 2008, Dizzy Blonde Studios was born.  Now, most people think that Laura's the Dizzy Blonde.  While indeed blonde, and at some times, very dizzy, the Original Dizzy Blonde was Trixie, her much beloved rescue dog.  Since then, she has rescued many a Dizzy Blonde, each with their own colorway.

Dizzy Blonde Studios specializes in hand-dyed yarn using various methods.  Each of the colorways in the Signature Collection was inspired by a famous blonde.  Dizzy Blonde Studios also has Showcase collections, inspired by one geekery or another.

In 2013, Laura hosted her first ever "Knit Dizzney" event at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, CA.  Each year, a Disney theme is chosen and colorways are developed inspired by the chosen theme.  2023 will mark the 10th anniversary of Knit Dizzney.  

And, now living on Florida's Treasure Coast since 2018, Laura will be co-hosting the inaugural year of Stitch The Magic...a similar-yet-different event at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, FL.  Hope to see you all there!

I Know the Way

 

For me, one of the most visually stunning scenes in the entire movie is when Grandma Tala's spirit swims under Moana's canoe and then appears to Moana in human form, and later the voyaging ancestors make an appearance to Moana as well in "I Am Moana (Song of the Ancestors)".  I love how vast the ocean feels, and that you can't determine where the ocean meets the night sky, except for the placement of the stars.

This pivotal moment of Moana's journey is the one that inspired "I Know The Way".  Deep azure and sea breeze blue with a touch of white reflects the image of Grandma Tala's manta ray spirit swimming though the night ocean to advise and encourage her granddaughter.

"I Know the Way" comes from Dizzy Blonde Studios.  The yarn is 434yds/115g of an amazingly soft 80% wool/20% silk blend and a joy in your hand whether you knit, crochet or do any other fiber art involving yarn.  It has a soft sheen with just the right amount of drape.  "I Know the Way" will pair perfectly with "The Journey Home" for your favorite two-color projects. 

Oh, and did I mention?  Part of the proceeds from the sale of both colorways will be donated to The Marine Science Center.  So, fabulous yarn AND contributing to an amazing cause?  I'd say this is a win for everyone!  Stay tuned for pricing and pre-order information, coming soon.  

Meet Your Hosts: Alicia Coulombe

 

Crochet Designer Extraordinaire

Alicia began her yarn journey when she was just a kid, watching her mom crochet exquisite doilies with thread and a tiny hook.  Alicia had a bigger hook and some chunky yarn and, in retrospect she certainly made a mess of things, but at the time she thought she was doing an amazing job!

Fast forward to when she was a pre-teen.  Her best friend had one of those circular knitting machines and together they would make dresses for their Barbie dolls.  They thought they were high class, and rightly so.  Who else's Barbies were decked out in haute couture?

Now, really fast forward to married life.  One of Alicia's friends was crocheting a baby blanket for her future child.  Alicia thought that was a fabulous idea, and started crocheting baby blankets of her own.  This time she had learned how to properly create stitches and how to accurately count which, of course, made a HUGE difference.  After that, she occasionally crocheted afghans and hot pads and cute little toys.  This is about the time her husband, Ron, learned to crochet; amazing man that he is, he offered to help her finish the lapghans that, in a stroke of brilliance, decided everyone in their family needed that year.  After that, his interest in the fiber arts really took off and he learned to knit and began knitting everything under the sun.  He taught Alicia how to knit, and while she can do both crafts, she never excelled in knitting like he did.  She fell back to her first love: crochet, and began creating shawls and other garments.

Later, Ron got into yarn dyeing and started his own hand-dyed yarn business, Beach Bunny Yarns.  It was all his own thing for a bit, and then he recruited Alicia to do the, um...let's call it the "fun" stuff (aka skeining from cones, washing, twisting and tagging, website development and maintenance, formula sheets, storage, etc.)

In her spare time, Alicia would crochet up swatches of his colorways.  It was her tendency to play with different combinations of stitches and has designed a few motifs.  This eventually let to Alicia writing up some simple patterns, mainly for herself, using her own brand of shorthand that must have made gobs of sense at the time, (but later had no clue what it meant.)  When her local yarn store asked for a copy of one of her designs, Alicia had to redo her work because she couldn't for the life of her remember what her coded notes meant.  Since then she has learned to keep better notes.

Alicia loves translating textures she sees into crochet stitches.  They don't always work out the way she intended but sometimes she gets exactly what she envisioned.  Making knot after knot after knot is meditative to her and she will continue to play with thread and hook.  And maybe, just maybe, help to create a zen for other crocheters too.

Besides being the other half of the Beach Bunny team, Alicia is also our crochet designer for Stitch the Magic, and we can't wait to see what she has in store for us!

Keep your eyes on Beach Bunny Yarns Patterns site for more designs from this up-and-coming designer!

The Journey Home

 

We’ve all been there right?  You just saved a goddess from herself, with the help of a demi-god who, incidentally, caused the goddess to go ballistic in the first place.  BUT, your trusty canoe got destroyed in the final grand battle.  Ugh, really?!  You almost can’t even.  Fortunately, the now chill goddess grants you a new canoe to complete your heroine’s journey and return home to your family, chicken in tow.

The Journey Home colorway is inspired by the bright flowers that garland the canoe gifted to Moana by Te Fiti.  The underlying soft wood tone provides a warm backdrop to the bright tropical colors.

This super soft 80/20 wool/silk blend is wonderful in both knit and crochet!  Luxuriously lightweight, while still retaining stitch definition and structure.  Colors pop randomly on a tonal background giving the appearance of little flowers of color on your project.  The neutral background will contrast brilliantly with bold colors or blend smoothly into other neutrals.  Either way, add some paradise to your fiber!