I spent a large portion of last week convinced I’d achieved very little, however, after reviewing the amount of things I’d managed to do I realised I actually got through quite a few items on my never ending list.
Firstly, there was the hat I ran up for myself in the new Sirdar Freya. Some of you might have seen the photo above on the shop Instagram account. It’s a dream to wear as it’s so lovely and soft.
Then there was the waistcoat I completed whilst at Wednesday night’s knitting group. It’s made in King Cole’s Ultimate Super Chunky. The pattern doesn’t actually have a full arm band but I felt it needed a little more than the cast on, then cast off that was instructed on the pattern. The yarn knits up beautifully, but to avoid any colour pooling I did knit with two balls, following a two row stripe sequence.
Jeans, Melange, Marine, Moorland, Heather, Rainbow, Dusk, Ember
There are 8 shades of Ultimate Super Chunky, great for those quick knit projects. There’s a really good range of patterns to support the yarn including several accessory designs.
Talking of King Cole, the new Glitz Chunky arrived in too.
White, Black, Rouge, Plum, Atlantic and Burnt Orange
Six shades this time, great for a little Christmas sparkle, and if you prefer double knit yarn then King Cole also added three new shades to their range of Glitz DK.
Petrol, Silver and Royal
I also managed to complete the little baby cardigan I’d been working on for the shop in Peter Pan Merino Baby.
There are six pretty pastel colours and some beautiful pattern support. For the month of November while stocks last we’re offering 10% off the usual selling price of €5 per 50g/116metres. I think the yarn would work as a great substitute for most double knit patterns, particularly if you favour lighter shades.
White, Baby Pink, Silver, Lilac, Cream and Baby Blue
This week I’m trying to power into another scarf and to get a little work done on my Christmas knitting, all being well.
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.
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 can see from the pictures the shop is now Stash Dash ready for Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th March. There is sooooo much lovely yarn included that I will have to try to control the urge to buy it all myself.
Of course if we’re going to be honest then I shall have to admit to having selected several balls (slight understatement possibly?) for some of the projects I’ve cued…….. Who could blame me?
Double knit
So will I give you an idea of what to expect when you come in for your 20 minutes?
Spring/Summer is supposed to be coming so it stands to reason that there will be chunky yarns, including –
Shades of Wendy Merino Chunky, Rico Galaxy, Bergere de France Duvetine, Twilley’s Purity & Sirdar Folksong to name but a few. We are also clearing Wendy Celtic Chunky & Wendy Norse.
In super chunky were clearing Sirdar Denim Ultra & Big Bamboo, shades of Sirdar Big Softie and there’s a few packs of Rico Super Chunky Tweed there too.
In aran weight there’s Wendy Traditional Aran, Rico Country Aran, shades of Sirdar Supersoft Aran and several lovely cottons from Araucania.
More dk
As you might expect there’s loads to tempt you in double knit yarns – shades of Sirdar Baby Crofter & Snuggly dk, we’re clearing King Cole Riot, Shades, Moods, Moods Duet, Baby Alpaca & Haze. Sorrento from Wendy is also included to clear as is Tiny Tots from Sirdar. There are also shades of Wendy Merino Dk, King Cole’s Splash, Rico’s Cotton dk and Sublime’s Egyptian Cotton.
4ply & scarf
In 4ply and lace there is Sirdar Countrystyle to clear and Rico’s Romance, there’s also sock yarn, shades of Comfort 4ply and loads of odd balls and hanks.
There’s also scarf yarns from Sirdar, Rico & Tivoli, shades of Reflection from Rico, Snowdrops from Sirdar and loads more yarn in lots of lovely colours, too many to mention.
I’m looking forward to having another look myself and hope everyone that’s coming finds something they like.
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.
This is what you should be expecting.
Stash for the DashLaceweight, 4Ply & more DkSuper Chunky & Novelty
Hubby and I went over to the shop today to get everything ready for the Stash Dash, 5 hours later and this is what the shop looked like.
As you can see from the pictures everything else is covered up except for all the lovely sale yarn.
I’ve tried to be brutal and clear out a good few ranges and shades, some of them have been my favourites and the temptation to hang on to yarns I love was quite strong, but we need to make room for all the lovely wool that’s started to come in.
As you might expect this is our post summer (as in sun for those of you that have forgotten what it looks like) Stash Dash, so there are quite a few summery yarns included however, there’s also chunky, aran and super chunky. For those lace weight knitters amongst you there’s some of the finer stuff and lets not forget to mention the 4ply.
Be sure to come prepared, pull out your patterns and books, search Ravelry and make your lists. Don’t forget we’re now counting down to the ‘C’ word so if you haven’t started gift knitting yet get planning now. I’ve already pulled out a few balls myself today to make the teachers Christmas Decorations and I was also considering stripey, fuzzy legwarmers for all the little people I know, so I could be rifling through a bit more yet.
If you haven’t booked your slot. or you can’t commit to a set time you can always wander down. We’ll be taking 1 walk in per 20 minute slot so you can take your chances, otherwise send us a text or email and we’ll squeeze you in somewhere.
If possible bring a shopping bag or 2 to squeeze your purchases in to and as before I’ll be shaking the Chernobyl Children’s Trust collection box at you all to try and raise a little extra for the charity.
Hope to see as many of you as possible on Tuesday.
Since we had our Stash Dash Day soooooo many people have expressed their dismay at missing it, or not being able to attend. I thought I’d been fairly proactive with the advertising and had done my very best to let everyone know, but like anything new it takes a while for these things to filter through.
So just to keep you up-to-date………
The Stash Dash Days will take place twice a year: one event in March and one in September
That means that about in about 4-6 weeks, after we’ve moved into our new premises, the second Stash Day of 2012 will take place. It will probably be on a Tuesday or Wednesday and we will be sticking to the ‘book your place’ method, although I think the time you have to shop will be increased to 20 minutes rather than 15 minutes.
How to Prepare
Most people got the hang of what we were suggesting before, but for those of you that were a little unsure here’s a little more help:-
You can see from my notes the patterns that I have in my ‘to do list’. Next to each I’ve written the approximate amount of yarn I’m going to need to complete the project and the weight of yarn I need. If I’m yarn shopping when I’m away (madness I know) I always have a rough idea of my go-to projects. I love knitting hats and baby garments although sometimes seeing what you can knit out of one ball/hank of yarn can be fun and it’s much easier with Ravelry.
The best bit of advice I can give any knitter buying yarn for a project, particularly if it’s in a sale, is to buy at least one ball extra. If you don’t end up using using it in the garment you can always use it to make a tiny item, like a baby hat, and if you’re super organised you could knit a square(s) using your remaining yarn. Collect these squares up and sew them together to make cushion covers or a blanket – great for those pesky tension squares too.
Get planning now while you have the time. The Stash Dash Days will become relatively seasonal with the lighter more summery yarns being cleared in September and the warmer ones in March. However, there are bound to be exceptions when I decide to clear a range or two based on yarns I’ve ordered for the coming season.
As you can see from my notebook the In Leaf Cardigan is up there on the top of my list, I’m sure you’ll agree it’s lovely.
It’s felt like I’ve been chasing my tail all week; my daily list of things to do hasn’t been completed once in the last week. Even writing this post hasn’t been simple. I started it yesterday but my internet connection was so slow I gave up.
In addition to my usual manic weekly workload I’ve also had two other pressing items to get ready.
The first, and probably the least interesting, are the two assignments that I have had to complete for the course I’m currently taking. It coincides with the voluntary work I do for the Citizen’s Information. To be fair to me, I thought I’d agreed to do a very different amount of work on the course than what it’s materialised into. The sad thing is that given more time I could have made more of an effort; instead my assignments could be described as ‘half-hearted’ at best
The second, and much more interesting, is all the preparation for the ‘Stash Dash Day’. I didn’t realise there would be so much work involved. I’ve been busy clearing out yarn that’s been put away all over the stock rooms – moving it, sorting it and then having a really tough time persuading myself that I don’t need to procure more yarn for my personal stash while I sort.
Super Chunky & Novelty
Today the hubby took all the yarn over to the shop, along with tables, sheets, tablecloths and lining paper to cover the shelves. When I met him at the shop it soon became clear – to him that is, that the job in hand was a big one. He set about covering up the shelves and setting up the tables and moving boxes, while I began the humungous job of trying to sort out the shop.
Double Knit
The first thing to go wrong – the lining paper ran out!!! Undeterred, hubby went and purchased the next best thing: you guessed, it bin bags, green ones!! So the idea I had in my head of the shop looking somewhat OK while the mayhem of disorderly sale yarn is everywhere has been somewhat smashed. My head is a lovely serene place that I hope to reside in one day.
Still, the shelves of stock yarn are completely covered so there can be no confusion over what is in the sale.
The second thing to go wrong was the sellotape ran out. I simply had too many packs of yarn to close up before the yarn decided to take over and engulf me. At this point I was sitting in the middle of the floor surrounded by boxes and baskets full of yarn while trying to make up full packs to make it easier on Wednesday.
Aran & Chunky
Local shop to the rescue and a rather speedy 3.5 hours later the shop is ready for it’s first ‘Stash Dash’. I was quite shocked by the amount of yarn I had pulled out to clear and even more taken aback by how much stock I still have.
Looking over the yarns for the day I can safely say there’s a fantastic mix, with everything from lace weight to super chunky. I’ll be posting up some of the yarns on Facebook just to try and keep you all updated. For some reason there doesn’t seem to be a huge amount of aran weight, but I think that’s probably because everything we have in stock currently sells well. Apologies to all you aran lovers out there.
Laceweight, 4Ply & more Dk
If all that woolly work wasn’t enough for one day I also went to see Rico’s new yarn collection for the coming Autumn/Winter Season. So many lovely new yarns and a few not so nice ones. It was a job to curb my enthusiasm and I could feel myself drooling over some of the truly scrummy yarns. Had I had a chance I can safely say some of the samples could have found their way into my handbag.
I have ordered quite a few as you might expect – oops!
If memory serves me right my order includes two new DKs – a great new baby one and a variegated lightweight one, one gorgeous super chunky, two completely different standard chunky yarns – one was kind of earthy, the other was glitzy, one furry aran and possibly an earthy one and lots and lots of lovely patterns. Almost forgot to say I also ordered some new shades in 365 Aran: scarlet red, navy and chocolate brown.
The €3 sale day will take place on Wednesday 20th from 9am until 7pm
Due to the size of the shop, only a certain number of customers can shop at the same time, this also means ‘shopping time ‘ is limited to 15 minutes for everyone (no exceptions, sorry).
Time slots can be booked from today (Monday 4th June). There is no charge for the event but we would love it if everyone could make a €1 donation in the collection box in the shop for The Chernobyl Children’s Trust.
Times will be issued on a first come first served basis, all customers will be given a ticket with their allotted time written on it. This is the only way we can ensure everyone who wants to avail of the day can.
We will have a limited number of times available for customers that turn up on the day.
The only items available to purchase on the day will be the discounted yarn. We will not be selling from our general stock. This includes patterns, needles, notions, or collection of yarn that is on lay by, sadly we just won’t have the time to offer our usual service.
Come prepared – Have a rough idea what kind of yarn you’re after. What weight, colour, fibre. Pull out your patterns and work out your amounts before that’s why we give you over a fortnight to plan.
Remember you only have 15 minutes.
Every customer that purchases 11 balls or more will receive a raffle free raffle ticket. If your ticket is one of the lucky ones you will receive a gift from us. It could be a magazine, a pair of needles, a crochet hook, just a little extra to say thank you for your support.
All €3 sales are final; there can be no returns or exchanges. As with all of our sale yarns, we do not offer a ‘lay by’ service, please ensure you buy enough yarn to complete your project.
If the day is a success we plan to do 2 of these ‘blowout’ days a year. Over the next couple of days I will begin to get together a list of some of the yarns that are going to be included in the sale, in the meantime get looking through your patterns and books. Slots are available from this morning.
The girls at the knitting group last night suggested that I remind everyone that we do not have the facilities to take Laser/Credit Cards at the shop – sorry.
Confessions of a Fibre Strumpet 