Here’s a little pic of all three sizes together..

They’re all cotton,  fully lined and fastened with drawstrings.  Click on KnitPro

Weeeell, let’s begin with Alletta and Allegra.  They’re a very pretty pair of shawls designed by my friend Ruth, who you’ll find at Ruthcrafts.

Alletta and Allegra are sisters.  Alletta is a plain stocking stitch top-down triangular shawl with a wide lace border, and Allegra sports the lace pattern all over. My li’l ole blog doesn’t seem able to cope with copying a picture from Rav, so here is a link to Alletta.

Now, what’s all this got to do with Caithness? Well….. Ruth is the first designer to be featured on the podcast from the Caithness Craft Collective, and I’m delighted to be included in this episode too, as the-person-who-supplied-yarn-for-the-giveaway!  The giveaway prize includes the patterns for both shawls, a project bag and a skein of Cloud!  There’s going to be an Alletta/Allegra Knit-a-long in the Collective’s Ravelry group beginning at the end of the month, and I have a little skein kept by so I can join in too.

And here’s some Cloud, newly updated

And here’s a link to the Bizart blog, where you can enbiggen the flyer and see the directions!

Check out the Merino Cashmere dk.  One skein is plenty for a neck warmer/cowl. and will knit to all standard dk patterns, such as this Herringbone Cowl, or the very pretty Frost Flowers Lace cowl, or 2 skeins for the large version of the wonderful Honey Cowl

Also check out the Big Softy.  One skein makes a wonderful Star Crossed Slouchy Beret, or a lovely Crofter’s Cowl.  Or use two contrasting skeins for a Newsprint Cowl, (all Ravelry links) which I’m currently making in silver grey and denim blue.  The Ravelry pattern search is a wonderful tool here.  I searched knitting-accessories-nock/torso-aran/worsted-0 to 150 yards and came up with 11 pages of possibilities, and that is just for necks!  I found 28 pages for hands, including Dashing, which has been in my rav queue for ages!

Now I must stop, before half my day has gone.  May just have to cast on for Dashing right now though – I haven’t got a little project OTN currently (well, apart from socks, but they don’t really count!)

Happy sale-ing

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……

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:

Glisten, silk at 400m per 50g.

…to the rediculous(ly thin)!

Heirloom Gossamer, merino silk cashmere at a mere 2600m per 100g!

I seem to have a blue green thing going on

Oh, and keep it here for a Merino Cashmere dk preview!

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 

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!

Anyhoo, this is my first SE spin and I decided I wanted big warm legwarmers to stop my lower reaches turning to stone in my chilly kitchen when I ‘m standing dyeing for hours on end. and here it is..

I tried for one ply spun thick and thin, and the other spun more evenly, and I think it worked!  It’s a very bulky yarn but I cant tell you just how bulky, as I haven’t measured it yet.  Just to give an idea, there is 3/4 lb here, or 314g in new money, and it’s nice and plumpy squooshy wooshy.  Now, I would cast on, but I have some more on the go.  The January fibre…

which is s/w merino bamboo, in Fruity Drinks by the Pool.  I am spinning insey winsey teeny tiny singles, probably the finest I have spun, to make a 3ply light fingering weight sock yarn (I hope!).  It’s a lot of spinning!  And I am enjoying every inch of it.  One and a half bobbins has taken just a leeetle bit longer than the entire Fat Fat yarn above ;p.  This first bobbin is just split in two lengthways for long colour runs, and the second, which is on the wheel, is stripped down to about 10 thin strips for really short colour runs.  The third will be short runs too.  I am so looking  forward to casting on and seeing how the colours fall, unless of course, another spinning project just happens along….

Happy things