What's New at STRAW.COM
& Crystal Palace Yarns
Free Knitting Patterns, Yarn
News and More
This started as a "scratch pad" for me to keep track of what I was working on, but I realized that return visitors to STRAW.COM would find a list of changes and additions helpful in finding what was new. The earliest entry in 'What's New?' is from Dec. 1995 when this web site first opened. This web site is maintained by Susan Druding.
Want to go back in time
and read earlier "What's New" Entries?
- they are all still here, back to 1995.
Click HERE to start going back in time.
Susan
What was New in 2010 ? - complete 2010 year below
December 11, 2010 - Keep a loved one's ears warm
(or your own)
with a cozy, soft, deep brimmed Mochi Plus hat.
This design uses just two balls - choose a slow stripe color of Mochi Plus
and combine it with a solid color of Plus Solid as we did here,
or make it all slow stripes.
The free Mochi
Plus hat pattern is here
The colors of Mochi Plus are here
The colors of Plus Solid are here
December 10, 2010 - Exciting new
yarns and new colors in continuing yarns are on tap for 2011.
Check our Online Yarn Cards
to see the newest:
Sausalito - new 2 ply
slow stripe
Mini Mochi and
Mochi Plus - 4 new slow
stripes (in stock - now here)
Cotton Twirl - 7 new
colors (in stock - now here)
Panda Cotton - 6 new
colors (in stock - now here)
Panda Silk - 5 new
colors (in stock - now here)
November 2010:
Don't miss getting our new, free Nuggets Newsletter -
monthly email with news of new patterns, yarns,
links to items of interest and occasional contests to win CPY Yarns.
Also join our group on Facebook, click the links below.
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Sept 27, 2010 - Cowls are all the rage and being
able to make a one-ball cowl with textured interest with
Panda Silk DK makes for a fun gift project.
With all the beautiful colors in Panda Silk DK to choose from
you will want to make several.
Here is the free pattern
for the PSDK Sidestepping Cowl
Here are all the colors of Panda Silk
DK.
Sept 26, 2010 - A wonderful 1 ball hat knit with Chunky Mochi
- make several in different colors for your favorite pre-school
children!
Soft and colorful.
See all the Chunky Mochi
colors here.
The
free Dragon Rib Child's Hat Pattern is here.
September 18, 2010 - An easy, cozy lightweight
scarf.
The wrapped drop stitches make a gossamer feel.
The many colors of Mini Mochi mean you can knit it as
a gift for a woman or a man.... or yourself.
The easy free
pattern is here for the Drop Stitch Scarf.
The colors of Mini Mochi are here.
Sept. 11, 2010 - Have fun knitting this charming hat
for the child in your life!
So many colors of Squiggle
are available that you can
make a unisex or boy's color combo just as easily.
Here Squiggle is combined with Merino 5 as the base yarn.
The
free Squiggle Cupcake Hat pattern is here.
See all
the Squiggle colors here.
Sept. 11, 2010 - Knit this charming bolero
styled jacket in Cotton Twirl
- even the largest size (48") uses only one bag of Cotton Twirl.
The 10% elastic nylon in Cotton Twirl helps it to hold its shape,
unlike most cotton jackets.
The free Bolero Jacket
Pattern is Here.
The color range for Cotton Twirl is
here.
August 30, 2010 - Here's the perfect
project to try out a ball
(yes, only one ball) of our new
Chunky Mochi.
This neck cozy will keep you warm under a jacket or coat
and since you can knit one in an evening you can make
them in several colors or give as gifts.
The free Chunky Mochi Neck Cozy Cowl pattern is here
See all the colors of
Chunky Mochi here.
August 22, 2010 - an easy mini-shawl to knit in
Chunky Mochi on big needles. Add a shawl pin or just
drape on shoulders. It uses 3 balls and
knits up quickly on size 13s.
The
free Triangle Shawlette Pattern is here
See all the colors of Chunky Mochi
here.
August 11, 2010 - A fun cat to knit in Puffin.
Puffin so soft, easy to wash and is perfect for knitting toy shapes.
Here's a jolly cat to knit. Or... add a 3rd ball and knit a snowman!
The free pattern is HERE and uses only 2 balls of Puffin.
July 19, 2010 - We are starting a CPY
Newsletter for Knitters & Crocheters
It will feature news of new patterns, new yarns, new colors, knitting tips and
more.
Sign up to begin receiving it in September. The First Issue will have a contest
to ask for help in naming our new Newsletter with a prize for a name we choose!
Please be sure to tell us your ZIP code too, we hope to have some issues with
regional news.
June 7, 2010 - Panda Silk Weekender Stole.
Originally knit in Panda Wool we have re-knit this with Panda Silk
to make a lovely, soft drapey lace with a lovely luster.
There is also a
version knit with Mini Mochi here.
See all the Panda Silk colors here.
The free
Weekender Stole pattern is here.
June 6, 2010 - A new Ann Norling
Pattern will be
appearing in shops very soon.
A simple, classic KIMONO pattern #70.
The pattern is shown knit in 4 Crystal Palace Yarns:
Taos, Mochi Plus, Lofty and Merino Frappe.
The kimono is written in
4 gauges (3.5-5 sts/in), sizes 44� � 60�
See a larger version of the
pattern here.
May 9, 2010 - a charming mini-shawl with a
repeated lace pattern.
This Panda Silk DK shawlette uses only 2 balls of Panda Silk DK.
There are so many colors of Panda Silk DK to choose from, too!
The free shawlette
pattern is here.
The complete Panda Silk DK color range
can be seen here.
April 26, 2010 - Crocheters,
attention!
If you like the
Mini Mochi Flower Garden Shawl,
now you can make one with Mochi Plus.
With this aran weight yarn, the project will go faster
and look just as stunning as the original version.
The Free Mochi Plus Flower Garden Wrap pattern is here.
The color card for Mochi
Plus is here.
March 3, 2010 -
Panda Silk DK makes a lovely
shawl with
soft drape and lovely luster.
This pattern is not on our site, but is a free pattern
on the Web from a designer in Germany and popular on Ravelry.
See larger photos and
a link to the free pattern here.
February 25, 2010 - Mochi Plus wins again!
Here's a Ripple Stitch Stole
that shows off the random color changing patterning in Mochi Plus.
A lovely soft and drapey stole, easy to knit this pattern, too.
Great for knitting while watching TV or chatting.
The free
Mochi Plus Rippled Stole pattern is here.
See all the colors of Mochi
Plus here.
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February 18, 2010 - Bamboozle is our soft,
bamboo/cotton blend with added elastic nylon to make sure it holds it's shape.
This Child's Jacket is sized 6 mos to 3 years. The matching hat shown at
the right is sized for 6-18 mos and uses only one ball of Bamboozle.
Free Bamboozle
Child's Jacket pattern is here.
The free Bamboozle
Baby Hat pattern is here.
See all the Bamboozle colors here.
February 11, 2010 - Cotton Twirl makes a
lovely soft baby blanket.
Here's an easy squares pattern. Perfect for knitting while visiting
or watching a movie on TV.
The 10% elastic nylon in Cotton Twirl means it won't stretch out of
shape.
Many colors are available, both prints and solids.
The Free Baby
Squares Blanket in Cotton Twirl is here.
The wide color range for Cotton Twirl
is shown here.
February 9, 2010 - Mochi Plus makes wonderfully soft knits
and this baby blanket won't disappoint.
It's fun to knit at a quick gauge and the color changing effects are lovely.
The blanket uses 7 balls of Mochi Plus at a sug. retail cost of under $60.
The free Mochi Plus
Parquet Squares Baby Blanket is here.
See all the colors of Mochi Plus here in
slow stripes and
here in solid colors.
February 7, 2010 - A Cotton Twirl hat to fit
everyone in the family from toddler to adults.
The gentle elastic (10%) in Cotton Twirl means the yarn "remembers"
and doesn't sag or stretch out of shape.
The free Everyday
Stripes Ribbed Cotton Twirl hat pattern is here.
The color range of Cotton Twirl is
shown here.
January 12, 2010 - Infinity Scarves are the new, easy to knit "in" scarf.
They are long, long, long and can be wound and worn in various ways (just put
"how to wear infinity scarf" into Google).
Laura's Kid Merino version uses 5 balls (at approx. $30 retail) and gives
a cloud-soft scarf that is oh-so long!
Here's the free
Kid Merino Infinity Scarf pattern
Colorway-Feldspar
&
Colorway-Cocoa Blues
Here are many, many colors of Kid
Merino to make your scarf unique.
January 12, 2010 - an easy scarf to knit in our
new
Cotton Twirl yarn (90% cotton + 10% elastic nylon to help it hold shape).
This is an openwork stitch called a Faggot Stitch -
every row is knit the same. A great pattern to do while watching a movie.
The free pattern for
the Cotton Twirl Faggot St scarf is here
See all the colors of Cotton Twirl
here.
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January 6, 2010 - Happy New Year & Happy New
Decade.
Here's a project to keep your neck warm and cozy during
the chills of winter. You can knit it in less than half the time as a scarf,
and it will keep your neck warm and toasty.
Lofty Wool makes a lovely soft, quick-to-knit cowl.
The Free Lofty Cowl
pattern is here.
The color chart for Lofty Wool is here.
December 8, 2009 - Panda Superwash Peace Sock let's
you
show off your peaceful intentions on your cuffs.
We are calling this sock "Make Socks, Not War"
in a spirit of ending the long war soon and bringing the troops home!
The free Peace Sock
pattern is here.
Panda Superwash colors are here
-
choose 2 contrasting colors for this sock.
December 5, 2009 - If you love to knit entrelac and
you love socks - here is the perfect sock pattern.
These tall entrelac socks will look fantastic in Mini Mochi
and show off your knitting skill, too! When we showed these at
a TNNA show people stopped in the aisle!
The color sample page for Mini Mochi
is Here.
The Free Mini Mochi
Entrelac Panel sock pattern (3 balls) is Here.
September 30, 2009 - One more Mochi Plus shawl
pattern!
We love the way Mochi Plus behaves for shawls - so soft and drapey
and the colors looks so wonderful! Plus, it's quick to knit.
This is a re-working of the earlier, popular Fan Shawl we shared
in Panda Silk DK in June
(see that pattern here).
But now on size 10 needles instead of 6 and a larger size.
For the free Fan
Shawl Pattern in Mochi Plus - click here
To see all 16 color combinations of
Mochi Plus - click here
August 20 , 2009 - a real WOW of a Shawl in our new
Mochi Plus yarn.
This mitered shawl takes 10 balls at an approx. retail cost of $85.
Choose from the 16 slow striping colors to make
this stunning shawl quickly on size 10 needles.
There is a matching
Tam-Beret pattern here.
The free Mochi
Plus Mitered Shawl pattern is Here.
The color range of Mochi Plus is shown
here.
June 24, 2009 - a lovely Fan Shawl worked in fan modules,
knit in our soft Panda Silk DK (a superwash Merino/Bamboo/Silk blend),
it's wonderful in feel, drape and look.
The shawl uses 6-7 balls and is worked in modules.
Shown here in natural ecru, it would also be beautiful in
one of the many solid or print colors available in Panda Silk DK.
The Free Panda Silk DK
Fan Shawl pattern is HERE
See all the colors of Panda Silk DK
here.
June 6, 2009 - Mini Mochi is fabulous for
crochet.
This Flower Garden Shawl shows the magic of
Mini Mochi when used in a classic granny square motif -
no changing colors needed in each motif for these great color changes!
The
free crochet Mini Mochi Flower Garden pattern is here
See all the colors of Mini Mochi
here (1st 8) and
here (new 8).
March 8, 2009 - Do you love Mini Mochi,
but want to knit it up more quickly?
Just double it and let the colors fall where they will.
The sample scarf is knit with #107 Autumn Rainbow.
The easy free
Mini Mochi Tripled Rib Scarf Pattern is here.
The color range of Mini Mochi is here.
February 18, 2009 - Springy Ring Mittens in Mini Mochi
are sized for both adult and children's hands.
A fun look with just letting Mini Mochi makes its color change magic as you
knit.
The free
pattern for Mini Mochi Springy Ring Mittens is Here.
See all the colors of Mini Mochi here
(and 8 more colors are in development now).
Dec 10, 2008 - One of our new yarns for 2009 -
Mini Mochi goes a long way.
With 195 yds/50 gr ball you can make a
Rainbow scarf
with one ball
- or a pair of lacy fingerless
gloves or a pair of
Toddler size socks.
Two balls will make a pair of adult socks.
Free Rainbow Mini
Mochi Scarf Pattern is here.
Color photos of Mini Mochi are here.
SOCK INDEX
Index linked to many free
sock patterns
Visit it here