Wow, what a run of exciting new patterns. Between our Spring 2016 catalog that came out in March, new patterns for Haydenville and Longmeadow in April and all new designs for Goshen and Southwick in May we’ve introduced 13 brand new patterns to you in the last 3 months! On the off chance that you have missed any of these beauties we thought we’d pull together a little recap.

Our Spring Catalog featured the Tulip Pullover in Stockbridge, the Sieberi Shawl in Longmeadow, the Leaves and Lines Afghan and the Grayson Baby Set in Haydenville, The Tink Cardigan in Sunderland, the Marguerite Scarf in Leyden and the Anemone Mitts in Goshen. A bright cheerful collection of knits for Spring from our own Valley Yarns Design Manager, Kirsten Hipsky!

Then we partnered with some wonderful Indie Designers for a spate of all new pattern in April and May. Three gorgeous tops in Longmeadow, Ascending Leaves, the Easy Day Tee, and the Rose Sorbet Tank, the New Hope Pullover and All Dressed Up Stole in Goshen, the Vertical Pullover in Southwick and the Honza Baby Blanket in Haydenville. We asked these designers to let the yarn inspire them and boy did it!

And don’t worry! We have even more exciting new designs ready to reveal in June! Here’s a sneak-peek at some of the featured yarns and Indie Designs you’ll see, but we’ll also release our Summer Valley Yarns Catalog with over 20 additional new patterns. Get your needles ready, you’ve got a lot of knitting in your future!

And if you love Longmeadow or Stockbridge stock up now! Sadly, both of these yarns have been discontinued and once our current stock is sold through, it’s gone forever.

If you read the title and think that I’m talking about knitting for the pleasure of knitting, you’re wrong. Don’t get me wrong, I do love to knit and I do it  instead of as therapy sometimes. What I love more is knitting something FOR someone and giving it to them. Hand-knitted gifts often trump more elaborate “store-bought” gifts by virtue of the hand-knitting. You actually created something for someone.

I was reminded of this when I gave my son a simple hat and scarf I knit out of Valley Yarns Sunderland. He doesn’t care one bit about the fiber content (as long as it’s not itchy) or how luxurious or locally sourced or hand-dyed that yarn is. He needed a hat and I had enough yarn left for a scarf.

The pleasure for me was that as soon as he saw that hat he put it right on his head and it didn’t leave that head anytime he was outside. He even wore it inside (our house is a bit chilly). That’s why you knit gifts and give them away — because it feels good.

Valley Yarns Sunderland is my current obsession. Check out this soft, heathery ball of lovely and knit a gift for a friend. It’ll make you feel SO much better!

Our Valley Yarns line is growing by leaps and bounds this year and Sunderland may be our favorite new kid on the block! A 100%, super soft baby alpaca yarn, at a versatile DK weight, in over a dozen softly heathered colors. What’s not to love?

Our first pattern for Sunderland is the Atrium Hat. Our Valley Yarns Design Manager, Kirsten Hipsky, has combined lace and garter stitch into a pattern that has a great architectural feel while taking advantage of the drape and luxury of the fiber.

Between the rich colors, the barest halo, and the buttery softness of the fiber you’ll spend almost as much time looking for reasons to use Sunderland as you do knitting or crocheting with it! What do you think your first project in Sunderland will be?