Reno, Nevada -- Aug 10, 2022 Jimmy Beans Wool, is partnering with the inventor (yes, THE inventor!) of a yarn-dyeing technique known as Original Assigned Pooling, Dawn Barker of Barker Wool, to create a unique custom color.
So what the heck is Original Assigning Pooling? According to Barker Wool, it's when "a change in stitch and texture is assigned to changes in color within a skein of variegated yarn."
In other words, it's a dying technique that results in some amazing colors!
Barker said she came up with the idea after being asked to teach a class on ways to use variegated yarn.
"I learned so much about how and why pooling occurs as part of my months and months of trial and error in developing my curriculum for ways to disguise pooling. That experience gave me the building blocks that I needed to turn pooling into a feature instead of something to be managed," She said.
Barker went on to state, "I had a sudden 'Eureka!' moment one day, ran out to my dyeshop, threw a few skeins of BFL into a dye pot, and dyed the three skeins of Assigned Pooling yarn that eventually became the first
Float Shawl."
When Laura Zander, founder of Jimmy Beans Wool, heard Barker's story she said she knew she had to collaborate with her on something special.
And they did!
Together, Zander and Barker have created a beautiful custom color called Starry Night in Truckee, in honor of the
Jimmy Beans Wool 20th birthday, which is being celebrated throughout 2022.
This colorway is a nod to the company's original location in Truckee, California. The hue is reminiscent of the night sky reflecting off of Lake Tahoe, surrounded by the mountains and trees.
"When we were planning our year-long birthday festivities, our team immediately thought of Dawn and her incredibly innovative Original Assigned Pooling," Zander said. "I love her story and I wanted to leverage Jimmy Beans Wool's reach to highlight (or introduce!) Dawn, Barker Wool, and her special dye techniques to our audience."
Additionally, Barker currently has seven or eight different texture stitches she uses in 11 published patterns and counting that showcase her special yarn. Jimmy Beans Wool is selling kits for the Glide Shawl, one of Barker's newest designs.
Starry Night in Truckee is an exclusive limited edition run of yarn and will not be re-created once the yarn is sold through.
Madelinetosh, the sister company of Jimmy Beans Wool, is joining forces to offer Tosh-style assigned pooling yarns with Barker Wool's dramatic pattern designs. Each skein sold helps support Dawn and her work. The Barker Wool x MadTosh Collab will launch Aug. 19th. Jimmy Beans Wool will be carrying this yarn both in store at 891 Trademark Drive and online www.JimmyBeansWool.com.
For more information, contact: Julia Moreno, 775-827-9276 or julia@jimmybeanswool.com
About Jimmy Beans Wool: In 2002, former Silicon Valley engineers Laura and Doug Zander opened up a tiny yarn shop in Truckee, California. Jimmy, as Laura is lovingly known, sold coffee alongside the wool (hence beans in the name), and Jimmy Beans Wool was born! In 2004, the company settled down in Reno, Nevada. Jimmy Beans Wool is known for its lightning fast shipping, award winning customer service, and innovative Just at Jimmy's products. The company owns the brands Madelinetosh, a hand-dyed yarn company, and della Q, a line of cases and bags made for makers. The company continues to develop products under its patent-pending Jimmy's SmartStix,. Additionally, Jimmy Beans produces its very own truly local yarn, Reno Rafter 7.