By Carol Porter, CNI Education Director

What better way to kick off the new year than with a bevy of new offerings from Clover!  Our newest innovations target crochet, knitting, quilting and crafting … a great line-up to get your creativity flowing!

For knitters we have a delightful Needle Gauge (Art. No. 3147) in the shape of a beanie complete with a pompom on top! It allows you to test for the correct size needle from size 0-19 in both U.S. and metric sizing. There’s also a handy 3” ruler at the base of the beanie for checking your swatch count. The unique shape and compact size of this gauge makes it easy to store and find in your knitting accessories bag.

Speaking of accessories, Clover has come up with an extra small “Triangular” shaped Stitch Marker (Art. No. 3148). This shape is ideal when set on the round knitting needle because it produces the perfect eyelet for inserting the needle tip in the marker as you pass it from one needle to the next. So for all you sock knitters making fabulous designs in your socks, this is the stitch marker for you! Fits needle sizes US 0-4.

For both knitters and crafters, Clover has added a new Heart-Shaped Pom-Pom Maker. Nothing says “I Love You” better than a heart and what perfect timing with Valentines Day just around the corner! And there are so many ways to use the hearts as embellishments on knitted or felted items such as scarves, hats, handbags, baby layettes and sweaters, and so much more. Create wreaths, make ties for candy bag favors, or add a heart to the lid of a jar filled with brownie mix for a hostess gift. The ideas just keep coming! To get you started, we’ve created both a project sheet and idea sheet offering a variety of uses for our new heart pom-pom maker, which comes in two sizes, small (approx. 2” finished, Art. No. 3170) and large (approx. 2 ¾” finished, Art. No. 3171.)  And watch for our Clover Has Heart campaign to be introduced soon. It’s a philanthropic endeavor to raise awareness and funding for heart disease initiatives. Clover will donate a portion of proceeds from the sale of the Heart-Shaped Pom-Pom Maker to charity.

You asked for it so here it is – an Oval shaped Yo-Yo Maker (Art. No. 8709)! This newest addition to our line of Yo-Yo Makers (circles, and unique shapes of hearts, flowers and butterflies), provides opportunities for so many great quilting, sewing, and craft projects. In fact, there’s not enough time to make them all! Check out our project sheet or create your own oval projects and share them with us. We’d love to see what you’re doing. We’ll share your creations on our blog and in our online Gallery. 

For a new hook on crochet, check out Fran’s introduction of the Double Ended Tunisian Crochet Hook elsewhere in this newsletter.

See? We weren’t kidding when we told you we have a tremendous new line-up to start 2010. Visit your local retailer or visit our web site to purchase products. And don’t forget to share your creativity with us! Send photos to fran@clover-usa.com.