Make Way for Cotton!

The yarn we have been waiting for is here! Organic color grown cotton in Lace, Sport, and Worsted!

We all have been chatting about a summer Knit A Long with cotton for months. And we knew Ecobutterfly was the first yarn on the list! Anne fell in love with their cottons when she designed Wandering Thyme in Pakucho Lace for Bare Naked Knitspot 2012

and I’m a Soft Touch in Pakucho Sport for BNK 2013.

Ecobutterfly cotton is naturally grown colored cotton in Peru, meaning it’s bred in shades of red, green and various browns. No dye touches these incredible skeins!

I fell in love with cotton when Sweet Tea was released

and all over again when Anne knit Baby Knitspot the olive-themed snuggle sack and hat, Barrel o’ Monkey. The hat (red dyed cotton) was our go-to headwarmer until his little melon grew. This cotton truly feels like cashmere. It’s not mercerized, so it’s heaven to the touch.

Sarah is enamored with the cotton samples every time she packs them for one of Anne’s events. But I think what really put Sarah over the edge is when she tried on the cotton Slouch Potato Anne knit last summer. The fabric and drape was perfect for hot weather!

Sarah’s been itching to get her hands on more cotton to knit up Knitspot faves to wear this summer. Anne mentioned to her, “why don’t you run your first ravelry KAL? i bet others would join you!” She was thrilled, the cotton ordering began, and about a month ago Sarah announced the KAL here. Everyone has been chiming in about their favorites they want to reknit or knit for the first time in cotton, such as

Goobalini

Billow Cloud and Cirrus Mitts

Roger That

Twig and Leaf

Kiltie Cowl and Mitts

Wheaten Cap and Mitts

The yarn arrived this week and everyone at headquarters squealed with delight! And quickly started setting skeins aside for projects, in between shooting the yarn and loading it on the website. Barb arrived for class on Wednesday and went home with these treasures

to plan some blanket projects. She’s in the swatching phase now, trying to narrow down pattern choices.

Sarah wound yarn for projects

as the last skeins were loaded on the website. That’s right – Lace, Sport, and Worsted are available now!

As Sarah was swatching for Billow Cloud today,

skeins were already shipping out.

Some of you may have yarn in time for vacation knitting next week! We are all super excited about this KAL and we are overjoyed with the enthusiasm we’ve received from Knitspotters. It’s going to be a fun summer exploring cotton. I’ve ordered some sport weight and I’m trying to figure out if I’ll knit a Sky Cap or Baci Cowl or Zig Zag Mitts. Decisions, decisions.

If you haven’t alreday, pop into the ravelry thread here and join the fun. Here’s a little more info on the yarn from Anne’s BNK 2012 cotton chapter,

Ecobutterfly’s yarn is produced and milled by farmers who use organic growing techniques which are pre-colombian in origin, using no genetically modified seed (GMOs), chemicals, or pesticides in any step of the production. They grow varieties that are insect repellent, remove large pests manually, and use companion planting and crop rotation to manage insects and plant nutrition.  

It is a fair trade product, meaning that the native peruvian artisans who grow and spin the fiber are working in good conditions and receive fair monetary compensation well above the national minimum wage. many artisans work at home or on their own plantations. In Peru, James Vreeland of the Native Cotton Project also supports the creative coop of native spinners and weavers, helping to bridge relationships with vendors and tourists so that they earn money from their beautiful crafts. This enables artisans to keep their craft traditions alive by passing them on to the next generations. 

or you can read more about this incredible fiber by grabbing the BNK 2012 ebook (includes 12 knitting patterns) here or on ravelry here.