The Merino Casmere dk is now in the shop

Please note the slight increase in price.  The few older ones that were remaining from the previous batch of yarn are now slightly reduced and can be found in the Bargain Basket sale pages.

Patterns are still ‘UFO’s’ due to dimness of pattern compiler (me) who still can’t figure the charts      Soon, my little ones….. soooon……

These lovelies are currently on a UK tour, showing their faces at H-art and Ally Pally on my friend Anne’s Artisan Yarns stand, and they’ve still got one to go – FibreFlurry in Birmingham this weekend.  Then they will be joined by me at Anne’s open studio weekend in Hereford the following weekend.  They’ll then return to the fold to be put on my virtual shelves around 8th/9th November.

Here’s a little look…

Merino Cashmere dk, 212m per 100g.

And a sneak peek of some patterns I’m writing up to go with them, taking one or two skeins:

Buttersoft has been around to shows with me in kit form, with Liz Thompson’s lovely mitt  pattern for a while.  I’ve got these little babies left, and also a few kilos left to dye at some point, so…. for a limited time only, Buttersoft dk is back in stock!

They’re diddy 50g skeins,  112m and made from 100% superwash merino, and there is just enough in one skein to complete a pair of Liz’s Berry Hill Mitts.  You do have to pay attention to the tension/gauge though as there is only just enough, and there may not be another matching skein to complete them if you do run out.

If  you order any Buttersoft, and want me to include the free pattern, re-written specially for my yarn , just add a message when you order.

Here endeth the update 

Yup, I’m dreaming fibre at the moment!  I’m spinning for a TappanZee, and, frustratingly, have not finished yet.  Life keeps getting in the way, and I really want to start the knitting!  There’s a spin/knit along in the Spunky Eclectic group on Rav specially for us wot ‘aven’t done a whole hanspun sweater before, and are scared stiff of it being a yukky misfit after all that work. Hand holding at it’s best!

Anyhoo, I have some new fibre for the shop, and I’m proud to present my new Shetland to you.  It’s lovely and springy and comes from Shetland sheep living on the Shetland Isles.  I have a natural coloured base and a Moorit base, which is a warm reddish brown.  I’ve dyed some of the Moorit first, as I was eager to see how the colours would work.

I am now dyeing largish batches of each fibre colour. They won’t be repeated once they run out, but there is plenty for a larger project or two.

I’ve even thought of actual names!  This one is Damask on moorit;

and this is Slippery Rocks on moorit.  Moody colours.

Merino Tencel is also back on the menu and the first colour is..

…Summery!

They’re in the shop right now!

Yarn Forward this month (issue 35) has another pattern in APY!!! It’s the Drops Sweater by Shweta Shankar Khatri.  I was slightly caught on the hop with this one.  Yarn was supplied ages ago at IKnit in September and had heard nothing since, sooo…. there was no yarn in the shop :$.  Much dyeing later, and there is!

I was curious how the two yarns would work together.  There is the thick, soft and heavily drapey aran, drapey because of all the alpaca and bamboo in it, and the thin and bouncy merino silk heavy-lacewieght.  I haven’t seen it in real life, but it seems to have worked!  It reminds me a little of those drop stitch oversized sweaters that were around in the eighties, kind of gothic/punk, usually in black and very easy to wear.

Anyhooo, there is yarn in the original blues:

and some other options I enjoyed putting together..

The complimentary yarn bases were dyed together, at the same time,  for each colour.  Can you see how the dye takes differently in the yarns?  How  the alpaca yarn looks softer in colour, and the merino silk yarn takes up the colour more vibrantly?  Interesting to have a direct comparisson, methinks.

And I had an aran sweater in my head with a grey body and maize fairisle yoke……

hmmmmm……

Just when you thought there would never be any more……. there’s been a little Sweet Feet update!  It’s the last I’ll have.  I’ve loved having the bamboo mix, with it’s lovely drape and slight sheen.  Brilliant for shawls – I’ve worn my Forest Canopy more than anything else I’ve knit and it still looks good. Here is a little taster…

xx

Just a note to say we are having problems getting the system to recognise the free shipping for international orders for the Smoothie Sock offer in the current issue of The Knitter.  Please be assured that we are aware that this is happening, and we are refunding the shipping costs straight away.

UK orders are working fine.

Apologies for the inconvenience.

Any orders placed between today, Saturday 14 August 2010 and Friday 20th August 2010 will be shipped on Saturday 21st.  I am unlikely to be able to answer emails too, other than sporadically, as we shall be getting rained on in wild and wooly Wales!  (Camping, no less – must be barking)

Normal service to be resumed next Saturday

Well….. the sock yarn from the shop is taking a little trip to Stirling this weekend with my friend Anne from Artisan Yarns.  Do drop by her stand if you can – she has some really lovely lace, and lots of other goodies to tempt!  I may even send up some pretty fibre!

There is also loads of Smoothie Sock to be uploaded into the shop in the next day or two, in rather a lot of colours!  Should be there by the weekend

update 9 June 2010 8pm BST

There’s lots of new colours of Anna’s Lace in the shop! Here are a few honeys…..

At 1200m per 100g, there’s plenty on one skein for a good sized shawl.  How about Madli’s shawl (Ravelry link) from Knitted Lace of Estonia by Nancy Bush which will take just one skein, or the stunning Cap Shawl (Ravelry link) by Jane Sowerby from Victorian Lace Today, taking 2 skeins, or indeed most of the fantastic patterns from either of these two books!

Happy knitting