I’m usually very good at staying ahead of the game when it comes to new yarns. However, I must confess to being caught out rotten by Stylecraft’s new baby yarn.
I’m not really sure we needed another baby yarn but I just couldn’t resist Lullaby. There are 14 beautiful shades available in the range and the pattern support is divine. You can really tell that Stylecraft have a new designer on the team.
Each 50g ball contains 135 metres/147 yards
The yarn is made up of 55% Nylon and 45% Acrylic and is machine washable at 30 degrees, it can even be tumble dried.
Tension is 22 stitches to 30 rows.
Even better it’s only €3.30 per ball
Which one of the 9 designs is your favourite? I think mine is the little blanket. Many of the patterns have an extra design on them so they’re great value for money.
Last week was a bumper week for our blanket collection and some of you may have already seen the photograph I’d posted up on our Facebook page of the 5 blankets Lil had completed. In addition to Lil’s contribution we also received 30 more squares from the clients at Oak Lodge, a full size blanket , 51 squares from Lucy, 2 from Edwina, 5 from Mary O and 1 more from Dina.
At my last count that means we have 61 blankets although only 52 of them are fully finished, some still have to be sewn. The collection will be going on until the last week in November so if you have time please get knitting or crocheting.
I have been promising to get a quick little post up about the knitting project I took with me on my recent trip to England and as there are so many new yarns, books, patterns, etc to tell you about there’s no time like the present.
As we were staying with our best friends you could guarantee there would be a good deal of talking into the wee small hours and there was. So I needed something that wasn’t going to be full of lace or require much pattern watching and everything I was knitting (some of which I still am) didn’t fit the bill.
Dina my daughter is always adding things to her Ravelry queue, she loves plain and is always in need of more jumpers. Having gone through her list of Ravelry favourites and discarded the bulk of them because they’re mostly 4ply (not happening) we agreed I’d make the Il Grande Favorito by Isablell Kraemer.
Having knitted Dina a good few jumpers in the past, some of which haven’t ever seen the light of day I was reluctant to use the lovely merino she originally selected. We compromised and as the jumper is a chunky knit I used a strand of King Cole Haze (now discontinued) and one of King Cole Moods held together.
Like all good knitters (?) I knitted my tension square (actually I really did) and cast on on the ferry crossing to England. The jumper was completed by the time I got back back to Ireland as I took it with me everywhere in the car with us to try and squeeze some rows in.
I even managed to get a bit of knitting in at the Pickering Steam Fair and the jumper would have been finished sooner had I not realised I’d picked up one less stitch under the arms than necessary – when I came to knit the cuff! One whole sleeve ripped out and re-knitted.
Even so it was a great, easy, top down project and Dina loves it, even if it doesn’t look like she does here.
I’ll happily make her another in Merino now and have even added it to my ‘to do’ list as it’s a very flattering knit. I think I might put a little waist shaping in for good measure too. If you have a look at the projects tab on the pattern page you can see other knitters have used a combination of stocking stitch and reversed stocking stitch. The pattern does cost €4.50 to download but I think it’s worth every cent.
I’d like to be able to say that I have only recently started to think about new yarns for the coming Autumn/Winter season, but I’d be lying, really lying. The truth is I started to look back in March, watching for the anticipated coming trends and beginning to consider shades and textures. The actual yarn companies start to show their yarns as early as May and having to plan ahead can be a little difficult at times.
It’s clear from all of the yarn companies that super chunky yarn is going to be big, really big, with everything from accessories to garments. There’s also a definite move towards creating home furnishings in knitting and crochet, which is great for those of us that like to decorate our houses too.
For us, it’s important to try and get our new ranges in in stages; most of it will arrive in from September on. There are however several exceptions, one of which is Swift Knit from Stylecraft. We’ve gone for 9 fab colours and I’m already busy knitting a shop sample with the grey. (see the photo at the bottom) Each 100g contains 60metres/66yards. It consists of 80% acrylic and 20% wool and knits to a tension of 8.5 stitches to 12 rows on 10mm needles. And all at the great price of €4.90 per ball
As you can see there are lots of great patterns, which makes it a little difficult to choose one to knit. So far I’ve whittled it down to either this one –
or this one –
and this is the pattern I’m already knitting as a shop sample and for Dina.
It only takes 3 balls and is a lovely quick knit, providing you don’t do what I did and read the pattern wrong! You’ll then have to frog your work and start again. I’ll pop a photo of the finished cowl up when I’ve persuaded my model to pose for me.
Basically, we cover up all the shelves and lay out as many tables as we can fit into the shop; on top of these we put all the yarn we’re discontinuing. There could be whole ranges of yarn, shades of yarn and some you might not have seen before. There will be odd balls, several balls and packs of balls, no matter what, all balls are €3 each.
There are things to consider: you have to book your slot, you only have 20 minutes (you’re timed), you have to prepare, dig out the patterns, check your favourites on Ravelry, make sure you know how much double knit/aran/chunky you need. Have a look at the post linked above if you’re not sure and make sure you book your place quickly before they all go.
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.
I have posts to write about holiday wool shopping and holiday knitting but I returned to work today to discover that one of my favourite yarns is being discontinued.
Rico Poem Aran
Poem Aran for those of you that need reminding is a beautiful, multi-coloured pure wool. Each luscious 50g contains 100 metres of pure yarn love. Most people tend to use it as a fantastic substitute for Noro Silk Garden or Kureyon and it is best used in plainer patterns that allow the beauty of the yarn to shine through.
Our shadow scarf hangs in the shop and is created using two different shades of the yarn. By working in 2 row stripes the variegation of the yarns make for an interesting colour pattern. This scarf takes 2 balls of each shade.
Poems aran also felts, this little handbag also took 4 balls to knit
If that wasn’t enough to tempt you, then maybe this will be.
As you might expect my life is being dominated by squares at the moment. In my naivety I thought this latest charity collection would be lovely and simple – really! What was I thinking?!
So there’s the making of the squares, that bit is simple. Except I’ve had to take an executive decision and forgo the making part to move onto the blanket stage. This involves the all important selecting of the squares and laying them out into a blanket. (this can take a while)
Then there’s the sewing:
Sew 4 squares together to make a strip
Sew 5 strips up to make a blanket
Sew all ends in
Crochet the border
Now to be fair to blankets look absolutely beautiful, particularly because they’re made up of multi-coloured squares that you probably wouldn’t put together if you had the choice. Mixing the colours and styles up really adds to the eclectic feel of the blankets and hones in on the popularity of ‘Shabby Chic’ at the moment. Truthfully, you could probably sell the blankets in a vintage store FOR A LOT OF MONEY with the current trend in all things handmade. Don’t worry I won’t.
I won’t…HONESTLY.
The good news is we have 40, yes 40 blankets in various states of completion, which is fantastic and has made all the work worthwhile. We still have approximately a week left to get as many squares in before we have to send of the blankets, so please keep at it.
In the meantime I’ve just discovered that I’m short of a square to complete the blanket I’ve been sewing up, so I’ve had to crochet a quick one.
It was my birthday last week and to be honest I don’t handle them particularly well. I’m not really sure why, I’d just sooner do the whole present thing without the pressure????
My children were on time as far as ordering me a gift (a couple of days before the unmentionable event), however the said gift only arrived today. For me this is better, it means I have something to look forward to although my husband believes this is unacceptable (?????).
So today I happily ripped the packaging off my gift to discover a beautiful hank of Malabrigo Sock Yarn in Ravelry Red and a beautiful book called Handmade in the UK with designs from Emily Wessel.
Usually, I’m pretty up to date on newly published books but I had yet to see this one so it was a complete suprise. There are 10 designs in the book all with an element of lace in the knitting and if I were to be completely honest I think I’d like to make all but one of them.
I thought you might like a little look at my favourites.
Rosewater
Rosewater is this beautiful little, double knit hat. Made in the round, the pattern includes 5 sizes from baby to large adult.
Windswept AdultWindswept child
Windswept is a double knit, v neck jumper with a lace panel running down the centre. Again the pattern includes an incredible range of sizes, this time from baby to 4XL (16 sizes). I love the use of garter stitch to make the knit look contemporary. It’s used on the deep cuffs, the bottom bands and runs up in between the middle of the lace panel and splits to form the neck shaping.
Estuary
Estuary is a gently shaped 4ply shawl/scarf with 2 lace patterns and is very like something I’ve been designing recently.
Vivid
The last pattern in the book is Vivid and there’s no denying it’s beauty. The instructions include yarn amounts for 1 square knitted in either 4ply, dk or aran weight meaning you can use your favourite yarn. All day I’ve been jumping from this to my final pattern and back. Obviously, though I shall have to begin with Winding Way as I have the perfect yarn already, don’t I?
Confessions of a Fibre Strumpet 