Happy Mardi Gras!
Hi knitting friends, Here at the HeartStrings Studio (which is right next door to New Orleans), it is so easy to get distracted by all the parties going on. This month it is Mardi Gras, probably the biggest party of them all!

In the spirit of kings and queens and carnival, you'll notice that the newsletter masthead photo salutes the traditional colors of Mardi Gras in my own version of "giant beaded beads" based on the HeartStrings pattern Beaded Stress Ball .

Mardi Gras Bead Ball limited edition kits including yarn, beads and stuffing are available now. But first, use this as inspiration to dive into your stash or even as an excuse to visit your local shops for yarn and beads. Continue Reading...

Austrian Lace Stirrup Leg Warmers

In the last newsletter while talking about the PDF catalog, I sort of skimmed past the announcement of the newest "Classics Revisited" republication: #A29U Austrian Lace Stirrup Leg Warmers. Enjoy the beautiful photographs of these warmers knit in Tilli Tomas Artisan Sock, an affordably-priced hand-dyed luxury yarn.

The pattern instructions have been expanded to include written instructions as well as charts.

Classics like these live on. I hope you enjoy seeing and knitting this pattern, as well as the wearing. Read more about the inspiration for these...

Reader Mailbag
Thank you to everyone taking the time to write with comments and feedback on the new look of the newsletter. There were SO many, and I do appreciate each and every one of them. Just to give a flavor, I included a few of them in this blog post: The new look of news from HeartStrings

Also there were several comments about the Yarn Bowl in the last newsletter:

Bonne wrote:" I love this wonderful creation! This should be a mandatory item in a spinner's, crocheter's, knitter's collection of toys, er…… tools. "

My thoughts: Yes, so true. And that is what prompted me to rename the newsletter column from "Tools of the Trade" to "Toys of the Trade"! Did you notice?

Lynne wrote: "Thanks for featuring the yarn bowl. I'd seen them at craft shows but hadn't known what they were because they were called string bowls. "

My thoughts: Ahhh! I bet that the craft shows were marketing them as "string" bowls so as to appeal to people who might just want to use them as a pretty thing to put their packing string into?

BTW, I've noticed that some of these type bowls only have a closed hole. So if you would ever need to take the string/yarn out of the bowl while you were still knitting (e.g. maybe to transport your project somewhere else), you'd need to cut the yarn. That might be ok for packing string (which you'd probably want to cut anyway). You probably noticed on the picture of this one, that the hole has a slit up to the top edge so that the yarn can be removed without cutting.

Continue reading if you missed my blog post about the Yarn Bowl ...

Toys of the Trade

I'm trying out the Hiya Hiya interchangeable knitting needles (and a few other cute goodies). Want to see? Read More...

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Other News

Learning and Sharing
Bits of Lace 2012 kicked off last week and we already have over 650 members! There's room for you if you haven't registered at the new Knit HeartStrings site yet. Don't miss out on this month's free pattern, bit-sized tutorials, tips & techniques. Join Now ...

Stitch Red
Natural Stitches in Pittsburgh, PA is making a $5 donation to Foundation for the National Institutes of Health for each Thinking of You Scarf pattern/red yarn combo they sell, and giving you 20% off, too. How nice. Read More...

You Talk, I Listen
Thank you to all who helped with the recent survey about the newsletter layout. Lots of great info (and I hope those who had layout problems with the last newsletter are seeing some improvements with this one.) Janet of Virginia was the lucky winner of the drawing for the Mardi Gras Beaded Bead kit. Congratulations! Read More...

NU Online Classes Begin
I will be conducting new sessions of my 4 online classes this month at Needlecraft University, including the popular #K154 Triangular Lace Shawl class. There's still time to register ...