I’m not sure how it got to be November 18th already, but I’m pretty thrilled because I get to tell you about the gems I’ve pulled together for Fringe Supply Co. this holiday season, with more than a little help from my talented friends. As usual, I’ve added only a few new items to the mix, and they’re things I love with all my heart — from the big and exciting to the tiny and endearing …
PORTER BIN — If you’re on the shop mailing list or follow @fringesupplyco on Instagram, you’ve had advance notice about this indispensable new project bag I’ve been working on all year, the Porter Bin. After several rounds of prototypes (that have traveled all over with me — from Nashville to both coasts and even the Bahamas; in cars, planes and boats) my co-conspirator Alyssa Minadeo and I arrived at what I believe is the perfect large vessel for knitting — equally useful lined up on craft-room shelves or sitting next to your favorite knitting spot or road-tripping around the country. I’ve had each of my sweater WIPs in one for months, and love it so much I dedicated an entire lookbook to it! There is a batch of Porters in the shop this morning (while they last!), and I hope to replenish them weekly from now through the holiday season. You are going to love this bag. (Share yours with hashtag #fringeporterbin)
LYKKE DRIFTWOOD NEEDLES — For four years, I’ve been looking for needles I loved enough to put them in the shop, and it finally happened! These Lykke “Driftwood” needles are everything I love about the needles I’ve been using, but so much more! Made of birch with a greyish finish, they’re hard, smooth, perfectly pointed and insanely beautiful, and the sizes are etched into the black metal end caps. Right now they’re available only in sets — interchangeables and straights (so beautiful they make me want to knit on straights) — which are contained in grey waxed denim cases. The interchangeables have flexible black cords and smooth joins. And they’re very well priced, too, given that a set includes 12 pairs of needles, ranging from US4 to US17! Are you drooling as much as I am? Oh how I love these.
BOOKHOU DOUBLE-ZIP POUCH — You all know how much I admire and love working with Arounna Khounnoraj of Bookhou, and for this season we came up with one perfect tool pouch — rectangular in shape, with a large main compartment and a second outer compartment for smaller items. And of course we made it in her Knit print you all love so much, with brass zippers set into natural twill tape. You’ll find it as covetable and useful as a clutch as it is for tools! All entirely handmade by Arounna.
TINY TREASURES — Some of you may have guessed that I’ve been working on an emoji set for knitters for quite some time, waiting for the day it’s technologically possible. In the meantime one of those characters made its appearance on a tote bag, but now these three darlings are available as enamel pins! And then there are the tiny wooden bowls made by my friend James Worsham of Handy Dandy Productions. I’ve been using one of James’ little handmade bowls for stitch markers for a couple of years (sitting on a little tool tray by my chair), so I asked if he would make some for the shop this season, and I’m having a hard time not keeping them all for myself! We have plenty of enamel pins to go around (they’ll make great gifts for your knitting friends, too) but the bowls are limited edition!
BESTSELLERS — Of course, there are plenty of well-established favorites to choose from as well: the Field Bag, the leather wrist ruler, the Woollelujah! tote, the Bento Bags … and all the rest.
SASHIKO STOWE KIT — And in case you missed the announcement last weekend, in honor of their sixth anniversary our friends at A Verb for Keeping Warm approached me about doing a special limited-edition patchwork Stowe Bag kit, incorporating Sally Fox’s organic cotton, some of the pieces shibori-dyed in Verb’s natural indigo vat, along with touches of sashiko — to be pieced together as your heart desires. We still have kits available, and either the kit or the finished bag would make an amazing gift! If you can stand to give it away …
As always, I hope you’ll love these goods as much as I do, and that they’ll make your life a little bit brighter, smoother, better organized, more beautiful. Thank you so very much for supporting small businesses this holiday season — mine, those I work with, and others like us. It means more than I could ever say.
Happy heading-into-the-holidays, and have a wonderful weekend!
>> VIEW THE PORTER BIN LOOKBOOK and/or SHOP FRINGE SUPPLY CO.
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Photos (mostly) by Kathy Cadigan / Wreath and tree by Vintage Florals
