Bikini Bodies at Salty Beaches (new limited edition colorways)!

We have wanted to do something with our creativity to both make something beautiful and to financially support organizations we love. So we created two new limited edition colorways, Salty Beach and Bikini Body!

Salty Beach

For Salty Beach we chose soothing colors and a snarky name, because we all need a little bit of both. As individuals, many of us are pouring so much of ourselves into making the world a better place. We know that Black people have been doing this work for their whole lives and want to do what we can to support their efforts. When you pre-order this limited edition colorway we will donate 25% of retail orders and 10% of wholesale orders to Black Lives Matter.

You can learn more about the work BLM does and make a direct donation here and you can pre-order Salty Beach through June 17, 2020 here.

Charlie is knitting Kira Cove by Tamy Gore using 1 skein of Salty Beach and 1 skein of Black in Dreamy, (photos coming soon)! You can see photos of Tamy’s design and find the pattern on Ravelry here.

Bikini Body

Bikini Body was created with the idea that, as we come up on the warm summer months, no one should be allowed to police your body, judge what you wear, or make you feel badly about the way you look or what you wear. We have a saying in our household, “We don't comment on other people's bodies.” Your body is your business, whether you flaunt it or not!

At Anzula we admire and honor all bodies. Bodies of every race, age, ability, and gender expression are beautiful. This week we chose BEAM to receive donations for our limited edition colorway, 10% of wholesale pre-orders will be donated to BEAM to aid them in furthering their mission "to remove the barriers that Black people experience getting access to or staying connected with emotional health care and healing."

If you'd like to learn more or make a donation directly to BEAM you can do so here and you can pre-order Bikini Body through June 24, 2020 here.

Becca is knitting Charlize by Vanessa Smith using Bikini Body in Dreamy and it’s seriously a knock out! You can get get the pattern on Ravelry here.

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Which is your favorite? What will you make with your limited edition skeins? Tell me all about it in the comments!

Friendship of the Traveling Sweater

If you follow us on Instagram or Facebook, you know that we had a team photo shoot a couple weeks ago. We had received an amazing sweater in the mail a few days before.

A little backstory: At the TNNA Summer Show in June we gave one of our favorite sample knitters a few skeins of Dottie in Cardamom. We had some ideas, but weren’t certain what we wanted her to knit just yet. Then a few weeks ago, we came across Glacier Tunic by Joji Locatelli. Of course, Elke knit it beautifully. Let’s just admire the evenness of her stitches for just a moment…

It seems like such a simple pattern, but there are details in the shaping and textures, that together, make it so much more. As soon as I opened the package, I had to try it on!

I loved it! It was so comfortable, and even though I hadn’t seen myself in a mirror yet, everyone else told me how cute it was, so I felt cute, because I believe my friends. (For some of us, it takes a lot of practice to believe your friends when they tell you you’re cute. I had a moment within a moment realizing how far my self-esteem has grown).

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Charlie wearing Glacier Tunic

And then I said, “you’re next!” to Becca, and she tried it on. It looked so good on her, different because she has a different shape than me, and so cute!

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Becca wearing Glacier Tunic

And then Gabby, who is my favorite model. She’s so fun to take pictures with.

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Gabby wearing Glacier Tunic

Up next, Carmel, our lead dyer! She wears a smaller size than the rest of us, so we styled her with a belt and leggings. It’s remarkable how accessories change a garment!

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Carmel wearing Glacier Tunic

And last, but not least, Kalliope. She’d been on the road, so we made her try it on as soon as she got back Just look at that joy!

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Kalliope wearing Glacier Tunic.

See? It’s a magical sweater folks.

If you’re dyeing to cast on… you can find the pattern on Ravelry here. We knit our sweater in size XXL using Anzula Dottie in Cardamom.

See all our photos below!

And if you’re looking for Dottie, you can find it in these shops:

California

Babetta’s
Twisted Skein
Yarning For You

Colorado

Colorful Yarns

Illinois

Knit One Purl Two

Indiana

Knitting Off Broadway
Sheep Skeins
Village Yarn Co

Michigan

Knotted Needle

Missouri

Village Yarnery

New York

Knitting Store

Nevada

Sin City Knit Shop

Ohio

Around the Table Yarns
Yarn Shop

Oregon

Candy Skein

Virginia

Baa Baa Sheep
Dances With Wool

Washington

Blizzard Yarn and Fiber
Fiber Gallery
Serial Knitters

West Virginia

Blue Field Yarn Co.

Wyoming

Ewe Count

Pattern Spotlight: Rincon Cowl

Katara, a blend of 50% brown yak fiber and 50% superwash merino, is one of those yarns you'll fall in love with as soon as you get to work with it. It's soft, but sturdy; the yak lets you spit-join new balls, despite the superwash merino content.

I love the heathery look of the colors, dyed over the natural brown of the yak.

I first used natural brown Katara in a revisit of my Javelina Hat. I'd originally used yarn from Bijou Basin Ranch, which has since closed, for this textured, unisex beanie. I was thrilled when Anzula introduced Katara. I knew it'd be a great fit for the hat, and it was.

I've wanted to play with a bandana-cowl shape for awhile, finding it a nice compromise between a regular cowl and a shawl or shawlette. I asked if Anzula could provide yarn support, and mentioned that I'd love to do it in Katara--and they said yes!

Loving how well Katara shows texture stitches, I decided to do a mix of knit and purl Gansey patterns. There's enough going on to keep your attention, with distinct sections of stitch patterns, but at the same time, it's pretty straightforward. No fancy cabling, just plump knit and purl stitches. Voila! The Rincon Cowl was born!

The cowl makes a luxurious, gender neutral gift, if you're starting your holiday gift knitting!

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Find Stephannie on Ravelry as StephCat, sign up for her newsletter here or on her website, and check out her Ravelry group, Sunset Cat Designs.

You can find Katara in stock in these shops:

Amazing Threads, MN
Around the Table Yarns, OH
Crafts & Quilting, Etc., TX
Knit New Haven, CT
Knitting Room, NY
Knotty Lady Yarns, OR
Ross Farm Mercantile, PA
Starlight Knitting Society, OR
ThreadBear, NM
Wasatch & Wool, UT
Yarn & Beads, CA