Here are a few lovelies awaiting their photoshoot yesterday.  They are now in the shop.  You’ll have to scroll down to find them, as we can’t seem to get the new products to show at the top if the list!   Ho hum

They’ve come!  A lovely big box of knitting worderfulness!  They used to ba called KnitPicks, but they’re all shiny and newly rebranded.  The needles are still the same high quality, smooth, sharp pointed and colourful ones that are a real pleasure to knit with.  You’ll find needles to suit the whole range of Artist’s Palette Yarns.  The range will be extended further in the future to include straights in the usual dk and aran sizes (though the interchangeables would do that for you now), and I hope to bring you the fine, long circulars that would especially suit the cobweb weights when knitting fine shawls.  Here is a pic to whet your appetite.  They’re being added gradually to the shop……..

Tiz about time there was a bit of new eye candy hereabouts! AP has been a tad busy this last little while, but Stash is now well sorted with Paletty goodness.  If you’re down that way, do pop in and take a peek.  Buy some Buttersoft dk before it all goes.  It’s only there ’til January, though there is lots of other yarny goodness to be had there! You can read a little about the yarn tasting here (scroll down), here and here.  They tell it much better than I could! And I forgot to take my camera anyway and they’ve got pics. A lovely evening, with lovely ladies.

So, anyway….I’ve been able to dye for the shop again, so here is a little look at some new things…

Rescue yarn which is Islandic Lopi, and chunky!

Glossy Quickstep merino tencel in blues

Darker blues,

Too-late-for-halloween pumpkin orange, plus some pretty pinks and purples in Sweet Feet and Pop Sox.  Oh, yes, and a few new merino rovings in darker shades.  Yum!

Knitpicks are on their way.  I’m going to be really mean and show you a pic of the gorgeous dpn cases I have, just waiting for the sets of dpns to match…

Nice, huh?  The needles are their newly re-branded ones, and they will be called ‘KnitPro’.  I may even have an interchangeable set or two.  Just in time to leave on the screen for Christmas present hints!

Happy knitting…….

Yes, we have another Cotswold Craft Market this Saturday, the 25th Oct.  We’ve managed to get slipped in at almost the last minute, and shall be there in all our colourful glory.  Hurrah!

Don’t froget to mention the blog and claim your 10% saving.

Happy knitting folks, and see you on Sat

Edited to add, I’ve just noticed it has been 2 - whole - weeks since my last post, forshame!  I have some yarny goodness to tell you about too, and exciting needle news!

KNITPICKS  are soon to arrive in all their multicolour glory!  Yes, you did read that right - KNITPICKS!  I love these needles.  I like other wooden and bamboo ones too, but these are my sock knitting needles of choice, sharp and smooth.  We are starting with the most popular sock pins and the dpn sets.  If you guys like them, then we’ll gradually add more to the range.  Go on, like them, LIKE them.  I need an excuse to stock up on some more!

Yarny goodness when I get pics done…..

Happy knitting

Here they are at last.  There may only be three of them, but they’re perfectly formed!  Soft as you like, because of the alpaca and merino, yet strong too, thanks to the bamboo.

They just come on three colours to start with, and there are either 5 or 6 of each, so there is enough for a garment.  I hope you like them

and here is what I have started with some I dyed earlier…….

Ysolda’s Liesl.

Do you know? Can you guess?

I’ll tell you then!  It’s Super Kid Mohair fibre, drying in the sunshine. So soft and silky and wavy.  Just beautiful.  I have 5 colours to put in the shop, and they will be there tomorrow when I have weighed them.  Do pop by and take a look!

It just didn’t want to play.  I cast on for the Leisl cardigan last night and got to the end of the yoke increases and realised I was 5 stitches short and the front edges wouldn’t be symmetrical.  Rip rip.  Then I cast on again and got to half way down said yoke shaping to then drop a stitch in one of the holey bits.  Now, I can usually fix most ooops’ but this one defeated me, so…. rip rip!  The pattern is great, and the yarn lovely (well, it is mine!) but I’m using a metal circular needle, and because they’re much larger then the recommended ones for aran, the stitches seem extra slippery.  So, I’m going ot invest in some bamboo ones, and give up on being able to wear it at the Knitting and Stitching Show in Birmingham on Sunday!  No showing off for me!  Anyway, here’s a naughtily tempting pic of the yarn.  It’s alpaca/merino/bamboo, and is, of course, lovely and soft.  You can’t have it yet.  I’ve got to dye some more.  But it will be new in the shop soon.  Promise…

I really really didn’t want to, but it has had to come to it.  I cannot see in my dining room in the day as there is so much yarn in various stages from slightly damp, through soggy, to ringing wet hanging on the dryer, aka the curtain rail.  So out trundled the heater. We now can’t get through the dining room door without stooping very low as that is now where the yarn is hanging with the heater underneath, gently humidifying the house.  House will be as humidified as outside soon, probably with added peeling wallpaper!  At least we well be able to see to eat our breakfast without having to turn the light on.

As you may be able to gather, yarn is steadily being dyed, including some new gorgeous aran I’m trying out, for all you ‘thickies’ (!) out there.  I’ve done 3 skeins in my favourite-at-the-moment deep rose red semi-solid to knit Ysolda’s Leisl so you guys can see just how pretty it all is - yarn and pattern.  I hope to have some ready for The Cotswold Craft Market on Saturday 13th Sept for those lucky Cirencesterites to squoosh, then we’ll pop it in the shop.  Tempting piccies soon when/if it clears up enough to take some

Bye for now x

“Your stuff’s lovely, but it’s all very thin”   Well, thin no longer!

Buttersoft DK  is 100% Superwash Extra Fine Merino, and it is…welll butter soft!  This means yes, you can chuck in in the washing machine at 40 degrees on the wool cycle.  Need I say, perfect for kiddie stuff!  There’ll be 5 or 10 of each colour, but as it’s a double knit and therefore suitable for any DK project big or small, then the custom dye option is there for you to order as many skeins as you like.  Just email with your colour requirements, and the batch will be dyed specially.  No extra cost!

Here’s a little bit!

This hat and gloves takes 3 skeins, and here is a close up.  Lovely to knit with, and smooth stitch definition

And here it is ably modelled by DD

xxx

So there’s a little more Tiptoe going up today, and some bigger Bluefaced Leicester rovings.  More driying on the line. Here’s a nice piccie to get you looking!

Tiptoe in a semi solid red/deepest rose,

and a Bluefaced Leicester swirl in cheery colours to brighten up a very grey mid August day!