Dear KnitBits® Subscribers,

Gems from Florence, Italy . . .

I went to Florence, Italy in July to attend the international bi-annual trade exhibition, Pitti Filati. I was there to source new yarns and spot trends for upcoming seasons. As always, with yarn in mind and my trusty digital camera in hand, I walked the streets of Florence snapping evidence of what I perceived as emerging trends and direction in fashion. Florence is a great city for shopping for jewelry and leather goods. Artisanal trends in fashion and accessories seem to go hand in hand, ever influencing each other. This time I noticed a strong trend in jewelry and accessories influenced by yarn and yarn crafts. Have a look at my scrapbook to see some of the spectacular pieces that I saw: braided gold chain, crocheted and knitted wires, yarn mixed with beads and metal wires. Some were classic and controlled and some abstract and modern. Depending on your individual style, you can re-create these types of accessories with our Berroco yarns and your needlework skills.

Today's free patterns are a collection of 2 knitted and 2 crocheted necklaces. Strozzi, knit in Suede™Deluxe, is a lariat type necklace with garter stitch leaf shapes. Tornabuoni is a knitted Suede™ necklace with leaf shapes stranded and arranged to create a chevron focal point, punctuated with beads that are knotted on the end of each leaf. Utilizing only the solid portions of Boho™Colors, Uffizi is a composition of crocheted medallions attached to a choker. Ponte Vecchio is a symmetrical neck adornment made from crocheted medallions in bold black Boho™.

ERRATA: LUCCA BAG   Several of you wrote in to let us know of an error in the Lucca bag pattern. It seems that we had included instructions for the diamond fair isle pattern from its original inspiration, the Addison coat. We have corrected it on our website. To view the corrected pattern, you can click on Free Patterns and then on Lucca.

I often recommend to our readers that you check the pattern on our website if you have any questions about its accuracy. We update any errors as soon as we become aware of them.

All the best,

Margery Winter
Creative Director

TREASURE HUNT PUZZLE ANSWER & WINNERS


Jumble = IELGOFA / Correct Answer = FOLIAGE

Thanks for everyone's participation in our Treasure Hunt. We had an overwhelming response.

Congratulations to our winners: Andrea of New Glasgow, NS, Canada / Patty from Monument, CO / Aileen from San Francisco, CA / Alma from Stamford, CT / Jennifer from Norristown, PA / Amelia from Nekoosa, WI / Sandy from Morris Plains, NJ / Erika from Fridley, MN / Collin from Wisconsin Dells, WI / Henriette from Burke, VA / Caroline from Schwenksville, PA / Priscilla from Framingham, MA / Tony from New York, NY / Angela from Missoula, MT / Jackie from Neenah, WI / Amy from Cumming, GA / Shirley from Aguanga, CA / Mary from Wilkes-Barre, PA / Audrey from Killen, AL / Laura from Alexandria, VA / Judie from Sun Lakes, AZ / Jackie from Harriman, TN / Diane from Easton, CT / Karen from New York, NY / Amanda from Centerville, MN