Back in May 2019, Della passed the torch to Jimmy to light the way for new adventures in the well-beloved della Q brand! Jimmy has always loved and appreciated the original, functional designs della Q had to offer, so, needless to say, she was more than honored to take on this opportunity! Traveling to Vietnam, Jimmy has been working hard with the 6 INCREDIBLE women that make each and every product so they can collaborate and continue to make beautiful and practical bags and cases for makers of every craft!

Each color story, zipper placement, and closure found in the new collections have been chosen with love, combining the warmth we all know and love from della Q with a contemporary edge to it - this gives them all a gorgeous, timeless design! Jimmy buried herself in countless colors and miles of different materials before finding the right combo (say yes to the bag?)! The cases in each collection now feature an elastic band to securely hold your needles in place!

Cotton Print Collection: The day Jimmy came back, we knew she had some brilliant ideas in that noggin of hers - she was grinning ear-to-ear, excitedly telling us of her electrifying new color combinations and shapes to include! She had come up with something a little bit bold and a little bit funky!

Inspired by the traditional style of hand-drawn batiks in Sapa, she picked up these beautiful designs and paired them with an equally striking contrasting color.

Hmong Batik Collection: Traveling to Vietnam was a life-changing experience, and the traditional style of Hmong Batik cotton fabrics immediately caught Jimmy's eye!

This collection features hand-drawn, hand-dyed batik fabrics, meaning each item is made with care and results in an elegant, one-of-a-kind piece! Each bag also has a fashionable twist, adding accents of antique brass and faux leather to tie it all together.

* Please note, since this collection is dyed with indigo, some color may rub off on your hands or lighter colored fabrics. You can always minimize this by giving your bag or case an occasional rinse, but we like to think we are bringing a little bit of Sapa color into your life!

Watercolor Collection: Reminiscent of the unique beauty found in traditional watercolor paintings and dip-dyed yarn, The Watercolor Collection combines one-of-a-kind artistry with mindfulness, as each bag is made using remnants from the textile industry.

Repurposing this fabric is a small step toward reducing global fabric waste, but this also means that these bags are limited edition, so be sure to grab them before they go!

Linen Collection: This collection is also made from the remnants of the garment and textile industries, which means the colors and prints used are all limited edition!

The colors in this collection will continuously rotate based on availability, but the asymmetrical design and contrasting color detail are here to stay (and we're literally drooling over them!). This mixture of classic and modern is always welcome for our projects!

In the coming weeks, we will be taking you all on a trip to Vietnam to talk about how each collection came to be, as well as the people who had a hand in designing them!

By now, it's a pretty well-known fact around here that when Jimmy is away, the Beans play! And this time, boy, did we ever!
Wasting no time, we started sneaking around the warehouse to sniff out those hidden strings - kinda like a yarny scavenger hunt! As it turns out, she was squirreling away some hidden gems from us! But little did she know, we're practically experts at this point (not to toot our horns or anything, hehe!). You can't hide those hues from us forever, Jimmy!!

Grabbing as many different yarns as we could carry, we scampered out of her office to lay them all out on a table and admire their beauty! Some are hand-dyed, some have stellina, and some even have sequins - ooh la la!! Us Beans collectively decided to share the wealth (after all, it's not every day we get to raid the Queen Bean's stash!),so we set out on the mission to make a bajillion Grab Bags out of it all!

Okay, maybe a bajillion is a little bit of an overstatement.

Separated by weight, color, or brand, we've got 'em all!! Ranging anywhere from $6.50-$20.00 a bag (that's like 33-75% off what you would get for a single skein!), you can choose between a bag of wound hand-dyes, a bag of squishy Scheepjes Stone Washed XL, or, for those of you who don't mind weaving in ends (for some Beans, it's therapeutic!), the glorious bag-o-scraps!

Grab Bags are the perfect way to sample a new yarn or plan out your next colorwork project or fabulous fade without the guilt of putting the remnants of a full skein back in your stash (we admit, some of our stashes are so big, that half-skein may never see the light of day again).

These swag-filled bags are limited edition, so be sure to grab yours before they're gone for good!

A Hot Cup Of Berroco Coco

Okay, it's OFFICIAL. We've fall-en in love with Berroco's Coco yarn (for reasons other than it just being a fun thing to say)! That's right, we're bustin' out the super bulky yarn for a fun, quick project to keep us warm this season, and you'd be hard-pressed to catch any of us here at Jimmy Beans WITHOUT a toasty project in our hands! Each ball of Berroco Coco is made from super-squishy 100% superwash merino wool with a thin string wrapped around it, resulting in a pleasantly puffy texture that's perfect for comfy cowls and soft sweaters!

The color palette of this yarn has a little something for everyone! From bright primaries found in Park for the people who miss the excitement of summer, to softer, muted neutrals of Forest for those of us who embrace the autumn aesthetic to its fullest!

As it turns out, coco(a) isn't just for your mug! We're more than ready to sit back and enjoy a nice, warm cup of cocoa for ourselves while we treat our needles with their own Coco (Kits) - after all, sharing is caring, right?!

HOW Many Days Until Craftvent!?

We were just sitting there, minding our own business, crafting up our latest project, when a sudden wave of panic washed over us! October is almost over! That can only mean one thing - Craftvent ships out NEXT MONTH, and our cast-on day is only 37 days away - eek! This year, both the knit and crochet versions of Jimmy's Craftvent Calendar were designed by Amy Gunderson - crafter extraordinaire!

Craftvent - Hot Toddy

Craftvent - Mulled Wine

This year's Knit Craftvent Calendar, "Spirits of the Season", was inspired by the warm, cozy feeling you get when you take your first sip of the traditional holiday spirits! Each notion, tasty treat, and ball of yarn is snuggly placed in a magnetic tin that rests nearly on a hanging board (which makes an easy craft room organizer once your wrap is complete)!

• Hot Toddy: Jewel tones and shades of gray.
• Mulled Wine: Teal and purple with pops of pink.

Crochet Craftvent - Mt. Rose

Crochet Craftvent - Vienna

Crochet Craftvent this year was inspired by the thrill of skiing down the mountain after a fresh snowfall (we may be a little biased since we're located not too far from a ski resort), aptly named "Hit the Slopes"! This kit comes in a tower (as there's just way too much yarn to fit in the tins!) with boxes that slide out on every face containing each goodie inside!

• Mt. Rose: A gradient of dark and light purple to gray.
• Vienna: Cool gray and blue with pops of orange.

Jimmy Beans is proud to partner with two non-profit organizations: Breastcancer.org and KnittedKnockers.org. Our mission is to help bring awareness to this disease and help the brave women who fight it. Being a woman-owned and operated company, the prevalence of breast cancer hits home, as our sweet HR liaison, Mindy has personally battled with it. Personally affecting 1 in 8 women in The United States alone, breast cancer requires no family history to develop, which has resulted in over 3.1 million women as of 2019 who have a history with this disease.

This year, we're offering two cowl kits (one knit and one crochet) as well as a free shawl pattern (for knit and crochet) with the purchase of either a Lorna's Laces String Quintet in Marimba or our newest, exclusive set of knit blockers, lovingly named, "Knocker Blockers".

We're also donating a portion of the proceeds from select pink products. For a full breakdown of donations and applicable products, please visit the Jimmy Beans Breast Cancer Support page.

We are committed to contributing as much as possible to both Breastcancer.org as well as KnittedKnockers.org as they continue to do an excellent job providing up-to-date information and support to the women (and affected families and friends) who need it. Together, we can make a difference.

Last week, our yarn director (and designer of many magnificent things), Amy Gunderson (pictured on the left with Libby - another bean - on the right), took a trip up to Rhinebeck, NY, to check out what all the hubbub was about! Being one of the largest fiber-art festivals in The United States, Amy knew she had a lot of (fair)ground to cover. Fully expecting the colder weather of the northeast, she was pleasantly surprised to find that it hovered around 60 degrees! It was the perfect sweater weather - and other people agreed, with a good portion of them wearing colorwork yoke sweaters by Caitlin Hunter!

Amy stashed away a skein or two here and there as she made her way through the crowd of people and then happened upon The Periwinkle Sheep, who makes an appearance in the Melanie Berg Colorshift Shawl Kit! She also may or may not have chatted up Aimee from La Bien Aimee and Brooke from Fully Spun, who you all may see more of in the future (but we're not spilling all the beans just yet)!! All in all, Amy had a wonderful trip (and we're all a little jealous that she didn't pack us all in her bags)! From meeting designers to eating great food and just hangin' out and knitting in her free time, it was a one-of-a-kind experience!

Berroco's Papavero Shawl

Coco(a) ain't just for your mug anymore! Berroco brought in this super-soft, super-squishy shawl for us to try on, and we didn't want to give it back! Using 5 balls of Berroco Coco yarn, this easy, eyelet pattern is perfect if you're looking for something big, bold, and beautiful! Knit from end to end, this pattern is easily able to be adjusted to be as big or as small as you want!