The very much anticipated Pompon Party from Rico arrived in the shop last week. As you can see from the photograph, the 6 new shades are baby inspired and great for blankets and cushions.
Sadly, as you might expect some of the old shades have been retired to make way for the new colours, including the beautiful cornflower blue and the cheerful carnival multicoloured Pompon Print 😦
I’m often asked if I could post up the information sheet I give you when you purchase the yarn and I will ASAP, promise.
In addition to all the lovely yarn I’ve been unpacking of late these little beauties arrived yesterday and were waiting for me when I got home.
We’ve been fans of McAnarcks Buttons for some time now and this is the latest batch from Fran. All handmade, aren’t they lovely? I’m sure they’ll sell as quickly as ever, so if you’ve been waiting on them to come back in get into us quick fast.
Shall have to go now as I really must finish my latest shop sample – a little raglan cardi.
I thought I’d pop up the photos of the finished baby jumper I’ve been knitting with in the new Merino Flash from Katia. The 0-6months jumper literally only went into the third ball for about a third of the second sleeve (grrr).
So in a bid to be more aware of my ever expanding stash I decided to knit the accompanying hat. Now I only have a little bit of the yarn left and a much clearer conscience.
Not sure that button is in the centre now though? I’m sure it was when I first sewed it in.
You’d think as I own my own yarn shop that the last thing I’d want to do on holiday is go to another wool shop wouldn’t you?
Of course not, rather disappointingly I only managed to visit 3, maybe 4 if you count the market stall too. If time had allowed there was at least 2 more I could have got to – next time I will.
Ramshambles
My first port of call was a lovely little shop called Ramshambles in York. Located at 46 Shambles, York, North Yorkshire, YO1 7LX. The shop reminds me of our old premises in Midleton with it’s ‘Old Curiosity’ windows, whose display of brightly coloured yarn enticed me in. Katey the owner is lovely and delighted to help, like our shop the place is packed to the ceiling with yarn, patterns, needles and notions. There were lots of lovely yarns from King Cole, Debbie Bliss, Noro and Highland Textiles. My naughty purchase was a hank of Ramshambles own hand dyed Blue Faced Leicester Sock Yarn in a riot of pink yummynous called Vaudeville.
There were other lovelies just calling to me from the shelves but I had to be strong and resist because as I’ve other new birthday yarn to use too and I have yet to master knitting in the bath or shower without getting your yarn wet.
The second shop I managed to call to was Babes in the Wool in Hull. They can be found at 113 Newland Avenue, Hull HU5 2ES and the owner (whose name I’ve forgotten, sorry) is lovely. The shop is nestled in a busy street and draws you in with it’s large window. There is a good stock of yarn including ranges from King Cole, Woolcraft, Katia and Debbie Bliss. I was rather smitten by the Blue Faced Leicester Aran from Debbie Bliss of which I purchased 3 balls (possibly with a future grandchild knit in mind).
My third shop was Knit & Stitch in Doncaster at 26 Market Place, Doncaster DN1 1NE.
I have to confess to having been here before and had to return because it’s just so lovely. This time the windows were happily full of huge balls of aran and garments in pretty colours.
The new purchase is the one on the right
I was on a mission though to purchase another ball of Jarol Pure British Wool Aran to go with one I’d bought on my previous visit. As I discovered a this pattern in The Knitter shortly after my last visit and think the yarn will be ideal for it. However, I’ve just realised I need another ball, usually a perfect excuse to return to the shop but it’s not exactly what you call local is it? I shall have to persuade my friend (real strong arm tactics needed, not) to pop in for me.
Whernside Cushion by Alice Underwood
My best friend recently moved back to Doncaster (hence my visit) and she was tempted by a lovely soft angora by Rowan and a 50/50 blend aran by Katia for her mum. The shop is jam packed with yarns from King Cole, Sirdar, Katia, Debbie Bliss and Noro. Again there was yarn calling me and if that wasn’t bad enough Knit & Stitch also sell patchwork fabric. Upstairs there’s the fabric come classroom with a whole wall full of edible ‘sew me’ cottons. Knit & Stitch have two other shops one in York and one in Maltby and I’d really recommend a visit if you’re ever near one of them.
Lastly, I managed a quick visit to the wool stall on Doncaster Market which sells James C. Brett yarns and lots of buttons. Some of which I purchased for my daughter Dina’s latest cardigan.
Based on the woolly joy I discovered on my trip I’d definitely say a trip to the area would be worth it if your ever there.
Blocking your knitwear can really enhance your work by bringing out details and shaping. It can also make your garment sit better when wearing. Sometimes after knitting and sewing up I can be quite desperate to wear my work but will always try to block regardless. Without exception all lace work should always be blocked to open up the stitches
Most of the time after sewing in my ends I will wash my finished garment. I tend to use Soak, a delicate washing liquid in which you quite literally ‘soak’ your clothes. A sink full of cool water only needs a teaspoon of the washing detergent and you leave your garment submerged (soaking) for about 15 minutes. You should always check whether or not your yarn is colourfast but in most cases I’d only be washing one garment at a time so it’s never really a problem. The great thing about this washing liquid is that there is no need to rinse (yes, I did say no need). If your using Woolite or something similar you will have to rinse your garment through at least three times to get rid of any detergent.
After soaking you should squeeze out any excess water remembering not to wring as you could stretch your hard work. You can always place your work between towels and use pressure to extract more water (stand on it). If I’m honest however, I tend to tie the garment tightly into a clean pillowcase and put it in my washing machine on the spin cycle. You can control the intensity of spin on my machine which helps.
Once spun I pin the garment out to size on my childrens play mat using rust proof pins. You can of course buy expensive blocking mats, they tend to be made of the same material as the mat I use but come complete with the measurements on them.
If you don’t have these mats you can use several old towels or maybe your ironing board for smaller projects. The mats are easy to locate, I have 2 packs one of which was bought in Tesco whilst the other was bought in Smyths Toy Shop.
Use the actual measurements if available on your pattern. My waistcoat is supposed to be blocked to 36″ around the chest, but after being washed the yarn has relaxed a little and it is coming up at 38″. I’m happy with the extra roominess but would always advise you knit, wash and dry your tension square to ensure you knit the correct size. Obviously, I didn’t do that here – oops!
I have used the pins to ensure my bands and collar lie properly (I hope so anyway) and have inserted extra pins under each bobble on the pockets to try and make them stand proud when dry.
You will tend to find drying your work can take some time. If at all possible try to leave it somewhere warm. If using towels underneath you might find you will have to change them to prevent them from becoming smelly and in turn making your garment a little musty.
This is the method I tend to use to block my work although there are other methods. If at all possible avoid using an iron to press your garments as this can make your stitches flatten or worse still if you’ve used acrylic, melt. The only time I would have used an iron is if my garment had been made in 100% cotton. Then I held the iron above the work and used the steam from it to help set the garment. If you’re in a rush you can pin the garment out first, spritz with water from a plant spray and leave to dry.
Please Note:- Be careful when blocking rib, I know one person who stretched her stitches so tightly that when dry the rib was completely flat. Remember you are trying to enhance your work.
If you haven’t tried it before why not block your next project to see the difference.
(Bleeding awful photos again ain’t they? Sorry! Said in my South East London accent of course)
Size (approx)
Width at widest point 11cm
Height from top of curve to point 9.5cm
Materials
A pair of 4mm needles
Rico Cotton Aran any colours
Darning Needle
Toy stuffing
A 4.5mm crochet hook or ribbon
Abbreviations
St(s): Stitch(es)
K: Knit
P: Purl
Alt: Alternate
Tog: Together
S1: Slip 1 stitch
PSSO: Pass slipped stitch over
M1: Make 1 – From the front, lift loop between stitches with left needle, knit into back of the loop.
K2tog: Knit the next 2 sts together
K3tog: Knit the next 3 sts together
P2tog: Purl 2 sts together
p2togtbl: Purl 2 sts together through back loops
SSK: Slip, slip, knit slipped stitches tog.
Heart – Make 2 pieces
Ornament is knitted in stocking stitch – knit 1 row, purl one row
Using 4mm needles and shade A cast on 3sts.
Work 2 rows in stocking stitch
3rd row: – Using shade B, k1, m1, k1, m1, k1
4th row: – purl
5th row: – Switch to shade A, k1, m1, k3, m1, k1
6th row: – Purl
Continue working 2 row stripe sequence, increasing by 1 stitch at each end on the next and every alt row until there are 21 sts. Work 3 more rows ending with a purl row.
Decreases
Continue working in 2 row stripe sequence except for the last 3 rows, work these and the cast off in the same shade.
1st row: – k1, ssk, k7, turn. (9sts)
Working on these stitches only slip the remaining 11 sts onto a small stitch holder
2nd, 4th and 6th row: purl
3rd row: k1, ssk, k6. (8sts)
5th row: k1, ssk, k2, k2tog, k1. (6sts)
7th row: k1, ssk, k2tog, k1. (4sts)
8th row: P1, p2togtbl. (3sts)
9th row: S1, k2tog, psso, cast off remaining stitch.
Rejoin yarn to remaining sts
1st row: k2tog, k until there are 7 sts on right hand needle, k2tog, k1. (9sts)
2nd, 4th and 6th row: purl
3rd row: k6, k2tog, k1. (8sts)
5th row: k1, ssk, k2, k2tog, k1. (6sts)
7th row: k1, ssk, k2tog, k1. (4sts)
8th row: p1, p2tog, p1. (3sts)
9th row: k3tog, cast off last stitch.
You need to make a braid to hang the ornament. I crochet 18 chains on a 4.5mm crochet hook, but you could knit a braid, plait some wool or use a piece of ribbon.
Place the hearts right sides together and sew up using a backstitch, remember to sew over your braid in order to hang your ornament. Sew 90% of the way round, sew in and trim ends except the one you’re using to sew up.
Turn heart right sides out, stuff, if you insert the filling a little at a time you will achieve a more even fill.
Sew up remaining opening.
Christmas Wreath
They look great on a plain tinsel wreath like this. Those of you that know me will know I prefer odd numbers so there is one missing!!!!! The wreath was from a euro shop and cost €7 I think.
I love using Rico Creative Cotton Aran for these decorations as it comes in such a wide range of colours and it’s easy on the pocket;however, I’ve also made a good few of these little hearts in sock wool with 2.5mm needles. Once made I omitted the hanging braid, opting instead to put them in a little felted bowl as a gift. They work equally well for Christmas, Valentines or for when you just want to let someone know you appreciate them. They’re quick and easy to knit and can be decorated with buttons and sequins to jazz them up a bit if you like.
OK. Well it’s safe to say I’m not the most organised of people. Actually that could be the first of many understatements, as organised chaos is about as good as it gets for me. That’s why I’ve put off writing a blog for the shop for so long, I’m sure I’ll get distracted, or I’ll forget or worse still my terrible grammar and umpteen spelling mistakes will be revealed. Also I suppose I’ve been a little bit of a coward. The internet can be such a positive place but it can be a bloody awful one too, with people knowingly or not ripping others to pieces and at times, forgetting that there is another person at the end of their post, blog, Facebook update.
Trying to put these concerns as far in the back of my mind as possible it is with trepidation that I’m going to write my first post –
Why a blog then?
Lots of reasons, we have a Facebook page which is a great way of interacting but there’s only so much you can do before you begin to jam up people’s feed. I hope to use the blog as a way of letting you know what we’re up to in the shop: the ongoing charity events that we’re participating in, what we’re stocking, what we’re hoping to stock and what we’re clearing. I’m hoping to eventually do a book/magazine/pattern review section, where I let you in on my knitting porn addiction – I know many of you have the same vice. Anything that’s new in the world of knitting and crochet (although my crochet skills are poor and that’s stretching it some). I also intend to upload my own designs, most of which will be quite basic as I hardly ever have the time to dedicate to this love, despite walking around with a head full of ideas. At present any designs I’ve created have only been available in the shop, so it’ll be handy to have them here in the one place. Lastly, there could also be the odd bit of cooking and/or baking thrown in. I try to bake for the knitting group every week and apart from my ever expanding library of knitting books there is an equally growing collection of cookery books.
Beginning with the shop. It’s called Knit. I couldn’t believe my luck when I discovered that there wasn’t another business with the name in Ireland. It explains the shop beautifully, although we have had the odd customer that expected something else?????
We sell yarn obviously and whilst I’d love to be able to say our premises is full to bursting with premium, designer yarns from around the globe, all hand dyed, 100% natural fibers at give away prices – I can’t. There are so many yarns I love but the reality is that most of us are no longer able to afford them, so I concentrate on sourcing the best yarns I can, whilst keeping in mind the price point. That doesn’t mean we only stock 100% acrylic, but it does mean I spend a lot of time shopping around.
In fairness to the bigger, more well known companies, they’ve realised that there is a revival in natural fibers and they’re really trying to bring good quality yarns to the knitting masses. The larger companies also have the money to invest in pattern design, but they can lack in inventiveness, which is where the independent designers come in.
One thing you will find is that I’m unlikely to stock anything I don’t really like, I’ve tried in the past and it doesn’t work for me. I find I can’t help giving the game away. If I’ve bought something because it looked nice and I’ve got round to knitting up a sample and discovered it’s awful to use it tends to go in one of the clearance baskets
At the moment we stock yarns from Sirdar, Wendy, Rico, Twilleys, King Cole, Opal, Trekking, Sublime and Schoeller & Stahl. There is pattern support to go with all of our yarns in the form of single sheet designs, collections and books. If I find a design I particularly like I will try and ensure I have it in. As I love all things Elizabeth Zimmerman we keep a few of her more well known designs although I’m hoping to eventually convince as many knitters as I can to embrace ‘uninventing’.
We stock needles, hooks and accessories from Knitpro, Pony and some from Clover. We also have most of the other things you’d expect: buttons, sewing thread and accessories, zips, bag handles, the list is endless.
I will leave it at this as I’m conscious i could start to waffle on a little…
The new Knitpro Karbonz Sets have also been popular.
The extra special Knitpro Box of Joy
The heart shaped ones are a little bit different too.
Confessions of a Fibre Strumpet 