December 2024 Shop Update December 13 2024, 0 Comments

I know this is early but I decided given the post in December I thought it would be better to have it now than next week after the show. This is going to be a very quick email though as I'm trying to pack shop update and show prep into one week.

The Open Studio on Saturday was lovely although I'm sorry some people couldn't make it due to the weather.

I'm really not good at picking the date for this one am I! However if you missed out, for any reason, I will be having an extra Open Studio next year in March so look out for the date of that one.

Alternatively you are welcome to visit any time but I really do recommend you drop me an email to arrange a time if you are making a special trip as I'm not in the studio all the time and I would hate for you to waste the journey.

I hope you like our Christmas Tree!

 All the yarn is on the preview page already. There are the two new colourways on Enchant and Lustrous Lace, plus some Floof fade sets, in case you are looking for something for the Hiberknitalong or a similar project, as well as single skeins. There are also non-repeatable skeins of Lustrous, Lustrous Lace and one Crush. Plus the spare minis from November's boxes, all our boxed kits which will be really easy to wrap as presents and a really cute yarn holder that would make a great stocking filler!

Laceweight yarns

Lustrous Lace

Floof

 Fingering weight yarns

  

Lustrous

Enchant

Crush

Mini Skeins

November 2024 Shop Update November 25 2024, 0 Comments

   

   

Christmas Bunting Kits

 I have been busy designing this fun bunting for the Christmas events I'm at but I wanted to give everyone the chance to get their hands on it so I have listed it on line. There are only a few boxes left after the weekend when I launched it but I will be making up more very soon. You get a box containing enough yarn for 3 hats and 3 stockings, full written instructions for knitting and assembling and the ribbon and bells to create your very own string of bunting. Plus as one customer on Sunday said you also have a nice safe box to store it in for next year.

 Fingering weight yarns

 

 Selkino

Two rare non-repeatable pairs of skeins of Selkino. I will also at this point apologize for the photos this month but it was snowing when I took them so I wasn't going to stand there with the big loading door open, not that I think it was bright enough outside to have made any difference anyway. This is when I'm really grateful for photography lights but a bit of natural light still helps a lot.

   

Crush

The weather was certainly featuring in my naming of these skeins - the one on the left is named after a new word I learnt yesterday - Graupel - also called soft hail. Whatever its called it was very cold and wet! I'm sure these colourways will create lovely cozy items to help protect the wearer from the cold.

New Bonnie

It takes the dye beautifully and produces lovely bright colours and you get a beautiful heathering on the darkest areas from the bamboo. I'm really looking forward to dyeing more of this soon but for now there are just these two colourways to whet your appetite. 

Crush DK

 

Upcoming Events:

Free Pattern Review - Bibbity Bobbity Pumpkins October 31 2024, 0 Comments

Welcome back for October's free pattern review. I'm giving up on trying to publish these on fridays, I will just post them when they are done. This month I have deliberately posted on a Thursday anyway as its a fun seasonal pattern I really enjoyed making.

I will continue to reviews a free knitting patterns which is available somewhere other than Ravelry. Ravelry is a great source of free patterns and some are also available on Ravelry but its much harder to find good, free patterns via a general google search. All Free Pattern Reviews can be found here. 

Bibbity Bobbity Pumpkins

This fun pattern is designed by Lynne Rowe and is available for free on her blog. There is also a low price downloadable copy available on Etsy if you prefer, but I used the free version.

I'm not usually much of a toy knitter, to be perfectly honest with you while I quite enjoy knitting toys in the round (I'm not a fan of sewing lots of tiny pieces together) I've had a few less than great experiences with putting faces on the things that leave me with something that could feature in a horror movie. Not really what I'm looking for! I did think I could manage a plain pumpkin tho and who knows, maybe it will be a cute seasonal photo prop in the future. 

Details

The pattern is has details for various different sizes based on the yarn and needle size used. As I want it as a photo prop I went for the smallest size. Tension isn't critical, it's more important to create a dense fabric the stuffing doesn't show through. The pattern is for a rectangular scarf with a biased dropped stitch pattern. 

The pattern is knitted flat with some shaping then seamed, before stuffing and a stalk added. There are clear instruction on how to achieve that perfect pumpkin shape. The stitch pattern is a lovely texture and after a few rows I had worked out the pattern, its not as difficult as it looks but you do just need to concentrate on the first couple of rows.

My Pumpkin

I didn't have any DK yarn the right colour, so I used 4ply held double and followed the instructions for the DK single strand size. This worked fine and I used less than 20g of yarn for the body. I used a scrap of Brown 4ply and knitted a short icord for the stalk. As its not a toy and I don't plan on ever needing to wash it, I stuffed it with yarn ends rather than toy filling. The shaping was very easy and I was surprised I got it looking nice and pumpkinny first time. My kids then said it needed a face so rather than embroider one I cut triangle eyes and a halloween mouth from black felt so they are removable. I still prefer it plain, but I do think a large one knitted with chunky yarn and a felt face added would be a great halloween decoration!

Hand Dyed Yarn Choice

Pumpkins don't have to be orange, I think it would look good in lots of autumnal colours or something more whacky for a halloween decoration - what about purple or lime green! A variegated yarn would be fun and if held double give an interesting marled effect. I used Linger but any sock yarn or DK yarn would work well for the size I chose. For a larger pumpkin we do have some thicker yarns.

Advantages of this pattern

• Quick knit with clear instructions
• Create reusable, non-plastic, decorations for autumn or halloween
• Different sizes available
• Great stash buster, and you can use up ends that are too small for anything else as stuffing if you wish!

Do let me know if you make this pattern and I'd love to hear your recommendations for patterns to review in the future. The comments are open.

Link to Free Blog Post Bibbity Bobbity Pumpkins
Link to Lynne's Website

October 2024 Shop Update October 25 2024, 0 Comments

    

Laceweight Yarns

  

Bliss Heavy Lace

I have had several requests for different colours so I hope there is something here to appeal. If you haven't tried it before, or haven't tried laceweight before, this is a great base to try. Its 600m per 100g so slightly thicker than Lustrous Lace but should work for most laceweight patterns (just be careful you have enough yardage if substituting for an 800m per 100g yarn). Its a blend of Bluefaced Leicester and Silk so has a lovely sheen and blocks beautifully. There are even a couple of semi solid colours and I will dye some more if these are popular.

Lustrous Lace

 Fingering weight yarns

    

Selkino

A restock of several semisolid colourways on Selkino. Lots of popular favourite neutrals plus two (yes, I know, but I'm not sorry!) shades of teal. If there is anything else you want dye to order is available and I'll aim to get it out in less than 2 weeks. If you need help pairing colourways just drop me an email. I know there are lots of semi solids this month but it was what needed stocking up after the summer shows.

Enchant

Sheep Town - Yarndale Show Colourway

DK weight yarns 

  

Voluptuous DK

Just 3 new colourways of ou custom spun 100% British yarn this time. I am hoping dye some more for next month so do let me know what colours you would like. There are other colourways already in stock, several in garment quantities. These big 200g skeins are about 512m long so they go a long way! Let me know what other colours you would like to see.

Enchant DK 

Mini Skeins

 

Upcoming Events:

What are the different yarn weights and how to convert between them October 16 2024, 0 Comments

Yarn weight refers to the thickness of yarn and is described in different ways in different countries. This means sometimes when you look at a pattern you might not recognize the term used. This table shows the common terms used in USA, UK and Australia to help you convert between them. It is shown alongside the meters per 100g and the WPI (wraps per inch) which are more quantitative measures of a yarn's thickness.

You will see however that some names may refer to more than one weight and some of the length and WPI categories overlap so it isn't just about choosing a different yarn with the same weight name. This is when comparing the meters per 100g (if the fibre content is the same) or WPI can help choose a comparable yarn.

It is also important to swatch with the yarn you are planning on using to see if you can get the gauge specified in the pattern and its a fabric you like that is suitable for what you are making. Even if the pattern states a DK yarn if you are using a 11 WPI yarn when the designer used a 15 WPI yarn you may not reach gauge or if you do the fabric won't have the same drape.

I hope this will help you choose the right thickness yarn for your project.

If you would like to read more about the term ply and what it means, please have a look at this blog post I wrote a few years ago.

Free Pattern Friday - Clapotis September 27 2024, 0 Comments

Welcome back for September's free pattern Friday review and its a very special free pattern this month! This is my series of reviews of free knitting patterns which are available off Ravelry. Ravelry is a great source of free patterns but its much harder to find good, free patterns via a general google search. All Free Pattern Friday reviews can be found here. 

Clapotis

Clapotis was designed by Kate Gilbert and originally published in the Fall 2004 issue of Knitty.com, a brilliant, free, online knitting magazine which has published 89 issues and hundreds of great, tech edited, free patterns.

Clapotis became the must-knit pattern for a while after it was published and to date Ravelry has 24,000 projects for this pattern! This makes it probably the first ever viral knitting pattern. To mark its 20th anniversary Knitty.com have launched Clapotisfest as a celebration of this iconic pattern and the many different ways it can be made to look with hand dyed yarn.

I was so pleased to be able to take part in this and you will see my version in the flickbook on the Clapotisfest page. I didn't knit one when it was first published but I do remember it coming out - the dropped stitches always scared me a little as a very new knitter at the time tho - and I've been a huge fan of Knitty.com since at least 2004.

Knit your version and submit a photo by 1st December 2024 and you could be in with a chance to win some lovely Indie Hand Dyed Yarn.

Details

The pattern is for a rectangular scarf with a biased dropped stitch pattern. The original used a now discontinued aran weight merino silk singles yarn but the updated pattern has details for adjusting for different yarn weights. I used Selkino which is our merino silk singles yarn.

The pattern starts at one corner and increases until the desired width is reached and then knit straight until the decreases to the finish corner. The drop stitch pattern is created by dropping the stitch when it reaches the edge so it unravels across to the other side. Don't panic! It doesn't unravel completely. Because of this construction its easy to make it wider or narrower as you prefer by knitting more or less repeats of the increase section.

My Clapotis

Rather than using Aran weight and 5mm needles I used Selkino and 3.25mm needles. I went for Lulworth Cove as the theme of this issue of Knitty was Indigo and Seasides.

Hand Dyed Yarn Choice

The simple nature of this pattern means it will look good in most hand dyed yarns. Choose a speckled or variegated yarn and see how the colours work together differently between the dropped stitch and plain knit sections.

Advantages of this pattern

• Looks good on both sides
• Easily adaptable for different yarn weights
• Fun to drop the stitches
• Can be made any size you wish
• If you knit one before 1st December 2024 you might win some lovely yarn!

Do let me know if you make this pattern and I'd love to hear your recommendations for patterns to review in the future. The comments are open.
 

Link to original pattern Clapotis
Link to updated pattern Clapotis
Link to Clapotisfest page

Link to Knitty.com

September 2024 Shop Update September 20 2024, 0 Comments

     

Clapotisfest!

If you haven't seen it before Knitty.com is a free, online knitting magazine which has been around since Fall 2002 and was responsible for (probably) the first viral knitting pattern, Clapotis! I remember this pattern coming out when I was a new knitter but never actually knitted one, well now Knitty have decided to celebrate its 20th Birthday with Clapotisfest - knit your own Clapotis and submit a photo and you could win a Clapotis-worth of indie hand dyed yarn. Do go check out Knitty, its a lovely resource with patterns and articles.

Laceweight Yarns

    

 Floof

 Fingering weight yarns

        

Crush DK

Upcoming Events:

What's are we up to over the next few months:

28th - 29th September - Yarndale, Skipton
1st December - Shaw House Christmas Fair
7th December - Open Studio
We also have other events coming up I will share as soon as dates etc are confirmed including Tunisian Crochet workshops, so keep an eye out for those.

Thank you for reading this shop update. I hope there is something of interest to you and if there is something in particular you would like to see at Yarndale or in next month's shop update do let me know. In the mean time have fun, take care and may be see you in Skipton!

Rachel x

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August 2024 Shop Update August 22 2024, 0 Comments

Welcome to the August Newsletter. I can't believe we are two thirds of the way through the summer holidays already! Its been a very quiet week dyeing wise as we have had the plumbers in the studio replacing our old oil boiler. So far we have a lovely new hot water heater and the boiler and all its associated bits have been removed. Please ignore the appearance of the studio if you come and visit at the moment! (Ignore its unpromising appearance - I seem to remember that as a line from a Delia recipe my Dad used to cook... can't remember what!) If you let me know you are visiting I can recommend days we don't have workmen in and make sure the yarn isn't all packed away.

Mini skein club will be dyed up tomorrow and out on Tuesday I hope. This month's inspiration is West Sussex.

At home the kids have been doing usual summer holiday stuff, mini golf, trawling charity shops for clothes to upcycle - I'll let you guess which is which! Please keep your fingers crossed for my son for tomorrow - its GCSE results day! I'm sure he will be fine and has a place staying on at the sixth form of his current school, but its still nerve wracking as a parent! He seems completely chilled about it.

  

Fingering Weight Yarns

  

Lustrous

A lustrous combination of silk and merino in equal balance resulting in a super soft yarn with a lovely drape. Apert from the mini skein club, most of the colourways haven't been available on Lustrous before so this is a rare chance to order. The colours will come out with a lovely shine from the silk and really pop. Its a great base to work with for projects that benefit from good drape.

Selkino

Selkino is a super special singles yarn, Fingering weight and a blend of Merino and Silk, its round structure means its great for all lace and texture patterns. I also know weavers like using this yarn as a weft in their projects.

Crush

Our most super popular sock yarn. This was the most often requested base and it doesn't have to be kept for socks. I have used Crush for garments, shawls and other projects as well as socks.

 Sweater Quantities

DK Weight Yarns

Crush DK

     

July Mini Skein Club

Last month was inspired by Yorkshire and the heraldic Yorkshire Rose. The semi solid is inspired by the National Railway Museum in York. Mix and match bundles of minis from these are others in stock. Buy 4 the same price and get a 5th free!

Upcoming Events:

What's are we up to over the next few months:

21st - 28th August - August Reboot Yarns Available
7th - 8th September - Southern Wool Show, Newbury
28th - 29th September - Yarndale, Skipton

Thank you for reading this shop update. I hope you enjoy this slightly different shop update this month. I know I regularly get people ask me to rerun limited editions and its much easier for me to dye them all in a block. If it works well I'll consider doing it again in the future with other colourways!

Take care, keep cool and enjoy your crafting!

Rachel x

Free Pattern Friday - DIY Hair Scrunchie August 16 2024, 0 Comments

Welcome back for August's free pattern friday review. This is my monthly review of a free knitting pattern available off Ravelry. Ravelry is a great source of free patterns but its much harder to find good, free patterns via a general google search. All Free Pattern Friday reviews can be found here. When looking for something small and easy to knit over the summer I came across this blog article The best DIY scrunchie - knitting, sewing or crochet? with not just 1 but 3 free patterns, so I decided I needed to try all three out.

Knitted Scrunchie

Both the knitted and crochet patterns has options for most weight yarns and the quantities needed so its a great scrap busting project! I decided I'd use a left over bit of Enchant DK in Limpet (You might recognise it from The Age of Brass and Steam!) The pattern is easy to follow and I love the photo of the supplies required. I chucked the yarn and needles and a pack of hair elastics in my bag to take on holiday with me. I used 4mm DPNs but I think a circular needle would have been easier. There are lots of links in the pattern to help with joining in the round and casting on if you need them.

Crochet Scrunchie

Now I will start this by saying I am awful at following crochet patterns, so the fact I ended up with a finished scrunchie that looks like the picture is amazing - the pattern must be really easy to follow! It has both UK and US terms, which confused me slightly but thats easy to do with crochet, a quick google and I worked out what I needed to do. I used DK yarn again, this time Crush DK in Lulworth Cove, and a 4mm hook. There are lots of photos of each round which really helped me. Was quicker than the knitted one.

Sewn Scrunchie

A few more bits of equipment required for this one, I didn't do it on the train this time, but very easy to do even with a basic sewing machine, or if you are happy to spend a bit longer over it you could hand sew it all. I made mine 55cm by 10cm and you could get several out of a fat quarter. Really quick and easy.

So which pattern is best?

Well I think there are advantages to each of them so it depends what you mean by best

• Quickest was the sewn scrunchie, as long as you have access to a sewing machine
• Quickest if you are away from home was the crochet pattern, I finished mine on the train home around eating lunch and if you don't have to google the stitches you probably could have done 2 or three in the time it took me to do one
• Easiest I think was the knitted one, but I am a knitter, so I might be biased. If you are a complete beginner and don't want to try knitting in the round you could even knit it flat, cast off, and seam it
• Most Fun was the crochet one, maybe because I was sure what I was doing, or because it was quick to finish. I can see myself making more of these
• Most likely to wear well actually my hair is a bit short for any of them but if it was longer I'd probably wear the crochet one the most as its a bit different

Other points are:

• All three patterns are really clearly written without use of abbreviations
• Lots of photos including of the equipment required and steps taken
• All use up scraps or left overs so great little stashbusters.

Do let me know if you make this pattern and I'd love to hear your recommendations for patterns to review in the future. The comments are open.
 

Link to patterns

Knit scrunchie

Crochet scrunchie

Sewn scrunchie

July 2024 Shop Update August 02 2024, 0 Comments

Hello and welcome to the July shop update. 

Both my kids are now on holiday, finally. I think the end of term dragged a bit for my daughter given how long her brother has been off!

Mini skein club was sent on Monday, unfortunately I lost internet at the Studio Thursday just as I was about to put postage on them so I could post them before Summer Wool Festival - Apparently the workmen putting fibre broadband in managed to put the digger through the power to the box for the non-fibre broadband, helpful! Thankfully it was all fixed by Friday morning but by then it was too late to get it in the post before I headed off.

Summer Wool Festival at the weekend was very busy and extremely hot but once again lovely to see everyone. Thank you! The yarn in this shop update is what we brought back.

Important news - After this shop update I'm taking a week off! So any orders that come in after noon Thursday 1st August, probably won't get posted until 12th or 13th August. I hope you appreciate that I need a break and as a small business I'm the only person who can do the post run!

I'm still loading mini skeins to the preview page - there are lots of extras from the first 6 months of the mini skein club - so do keep checking the website. There are also 100g skeins of Bloom in fingering weight which has previously only been available as a DK or from the mini skein club. There is also top ups of Selkino, Crush, Enchant, Lustrous Lace and Crush DK.

Don't Forget!

Dye to Order is only available for all repeatable colourways until 14th August. I'm hoping to have the current collection and a selection of semi solids available after this. Please order now and any other requests do get in touch.

Lustrous Lace

    

Fingering Weight Yarns

     

 Bloom

I'm sure you are aware I'm a huge fan of Bluefaced Leicester - their fleece has a longer staple (like hair length) than merino which means a smoother yarn and it has a lovely sheen even in 100% blends. Bloom is a fingering weight yarn which is 100% Bluefaced Leicester and so far has only been offered in the mini skein club box. Great for socks, garments or accessories. 100g skeins and 20g minis

Enchant

    

Selkino

This is a single ply blend of merino and silk. Perfect for low abrasion projects that benefit from extra drape - Think floaty shawls and indulgent accessories!

Crush

Lustrous Minis

DK Weight Yarns

Crush DK

    

Coorie Minis

 Coorie is the DK base available in the mini skein club and there are quite a few skeins left to choose from. Its a very bouncy DK yarn with a special ply structure that makes it lofty and have great stitch definition. Mix and match bundles of Crush, Bloom and Coorie minis!

Upcoming Events:

What's are we up to over the next few months:

2nd - 12th August - Holiday - No post!
21st August - Shop Update
7th - 8th September - Southern Wool Show, Newbury
28th - 29th September - Yarndale, Skipton

Thank you for reading this shop update. 

Have fun and I'll try to remember to post a few photos on social media!

Take care, keep cool and enjoy your crafting!

Rachel x

PS. Sign up here to get our newsletters delivered direct to your inbox before the shop update goes live.  

Free Pattern Friday - Fuss Free Baby Blanket July 19 2024, 0 Comments

Welcome back for July's free pattern friday review after a month off in June. This is my monthly review of a free knitting pattern available off Ravelry. Ravelry is a great source of free patterns but its much harder to find good, free patterns via a general google search. All Free Pattern Friday reviews can be found here. 

Fuss Free Baby Blanket

This is the second of Louise Tilbrook's free patterns I have reviewed and it makes a lovely set with the Fuss Free Baby Cardi from April. This time I haven't followed the pattern exactly and instead substituted a different weight yarn for a different effect.

Details

The pattern is for a baby blanket cleverly knitted in the round but avoiding the tricky pin hole cast on or the need for DPNs at the start. It says it's more of a recipe than a pattern so you could follow it using Aran or Worsted weight yarn as written or adapt the idea if you prefer as I did.

The centre is knitted flat first then the outside knitted in the round. Its virtually all done using the knit stitch so is a quick knit and the size can be adjusted as desired. The plain blanket could also be decorated with textured stripes if you wished.

My Fuss Free Baby Blanket

Rather than using Aran weight and 5mm needles I used Crush DK again and 4mm needles. I went for Pink Champagne and Charterhouse for a soft, modern girly theme. I made it approximately 70cm square and used about 230g of yarn.

Advantages of this pattern

• Easily adaptable for different yarn weights
• Quick pattern - great for a new baby gift
• Can be made any size you wish
• Makes a lovely set with the Fuss Free Baby Cardi

Do let me know if you make this pattern and I'd love to hear your recommendations for patterns to review in the future. The comments are open.
 

Link to pattern Fuss Free Baby Blanket

June 2024 Shop Update July 10 2024, 0 Comments

Hello and welcome to the June shop update. There's lots in this shop update as we always dye a lot up for the Open Studio plus we have been dyeing more since so even if you visited us there is lots of new yarn to check out.

In the last month my son has also finished his GCSEs and is currently on his second induction day for 6th form. My daughter loved going to The Globe over half term. No shows this month, next one up is Summer Wool Festival which is in the same location as Fibre East used to be, Ampthill School, Bedfordshire. 

    

Important Dye to Order News

I have put Dye to Order back on the website until 14th August when it will become only the current collection and a selection of semi solids only. Please order now and any other requests do get in touch.

Colour Poppertunity Yarn Bundles

I have created these three yarn bundles for the upcoming Westknits Sockalong which starts 9th July. These are all dyed and ready to post so you will get them in plenty of time for the start. Will you go Mermaid, Dodo or Heather?

Crush - Colour Poppertunity Yarn Bundle "Mermaid" 37.5 GBP Shop Now

Crush - Colour Poppertunity Yarn Bundle "Heather" 37.5 GBP Shop Now

Crush - Colour Poppertunity Yarn Bundle "Dodo" 37.5 GBP Shop Now

 Spring Flower Socks Kit

Get your kit for these fun, helical striped socks. The pattern includes lots of tips for helical stripes which is a great technique to know, not just for clever jogless stripes but also for blending two skeins of hand dyed yarn without having to remember to carry it up the side!

 Laceweight Yarns

    

Bliss Heavy Lace

This is my favourite Bluefaced Leicester based laceweight yarn. Slightly thicker than the Lustrous Lace but still containing a nice amount of silk and added sheen from the BFL. It blocks beautifully! Measuring 600m per 100g its suitable for most laceweight patterns but do watch out for larger projects that need most or more than one skein you have enough. All these are non repeatable colourways with a strong summer vibe - great for a light weight wrap to keep the evening chill off!

Cloudgazer

Fingering weight yarns

Enchant

Lustrous

A lovely merino silk blend in lovely summery non repeatable colourways. Great for warm weather projects and the silk is smooth and cool to use as well as wear!

Lustrous - Seafoam 25 GBP Shop Now

Lustrous - Sakura 25 GBP Shop Now

Lustrous - Summer Rain 25 GBP Shop Now

The Octagon

    

 Slinky Twist

Another lovely silk merino blend, this time with extra twist. This high twist yarn has lovely stitch definition as well as being strong enough for socks which is great is you prefer to avoid the nylon in may sock yarns. These are all non repeatable colourways mostly in very small batches. Great for smaller projects or combining with other colours for a larger project. Just a note about the Flowing Water colourway - all 4 skeins were dyed together but one is visibly slightly darker. I'm sure it wouldn't notice in a larger project if alternated with the other skeins but I did want to make sure you were aware before buying. This is part of the nature of it being hand dyed yarn and I would always recommend alternating skeins on larger projects if the variation will bother you.

Wriggle

We haven't dyed any Wriggle for a while since we stopped offering it as a base for repeatable colourways. It is a lovely yarn however and fills a gap for people who prefer a 100% wool singles yarn rather than the merino silk blend in Selkino. We have decided to see how popular it is as non repeatable colourways and will start bringing a small amount to shows again. I hope you enjoy this first batch! Check out the website for the full set

Wriggle - Campfire 24 GBP Shop Now

Wriggle - Mill Stream 24 GBP Shop Now

Wriggle - Vintage Books 24 GBP Shop Now

DK weight yarns

   

Bloom DK

Just in case you are based in a cooler climate, or want to make a head start on your autumn projects, we have dyed a little Bloom DK. This is another lovely Bluefaced Leicester yarn which is soft, bouncy and nice and warm.

Upcoming Events:

What's are we up to over the next few months:

• 27th - 28th July - Summer Wool Festival, Ampthill
• 7th - 8th September - Southern Wool Show, Newbury
• 28th - 29th September - Yarndale, Skipton

Thank you for reading this long update, I hope there is something to inspire you for your next project.

Take care, keep cool and enjoy your crafting!

Rachel x

 PS. Sign up and get this newsletter delivered direct to your inbox before the shop update goes live.

May 2024 Shop Update June 03 2024, 0 Comments

Hello and welcome to the May shop update newsletter. If you are new this is the long email I send once a month on the day our new yarns are added in the shop update with details of all the yarns plus other news. In between I send a shorter email with news and the occasional offer. Thank you for joining us and grab a cuppa and read on.

There seems to have been a lot happening since last month. My son is now half way through his GCSEs and enjoying a break over half term and my daughter had her 13th birthday last week! We are off to London on Friday to see Much Ado About Nothing at the Globe as her birthday treat as she's really into Shakespeare at the moment. We were also at Buxton Wool Gathering where the sun very kindly shone on us for the weekend!

The show was very busy so there is less in tonight's update than I expected, but still lots of lovely Enchant, some Crush, the new variegated colourways on Floof, one of a kind Coorie colourways and a little Crush DK, Enchant DK and Selkino. Its all on line so either visit the preview page or read on for more details including info on our Open Studio and a link to a couple of quick questions on Dye to Order at the end of the page. 

Dyeing Update 

Apologies for the delay but the mini skein club will be posted tomorrow as will all the pre-orders for The Octagon from the show. They are drying at the moment. I'm really pleased with this month's colourway and hope you will be too.

Yarn Details!

    

Coorie

 

Floof

Enchant

Crush

  

Selkino Shawl Kits

We are really pleased to be able to offer kits for this shawl. Taking 2 skeins of Selkino this is a lovely big shawl with great drape in a pattern that really shows off a variegated yarn. We have it on the website in two colour options - She Sells Seashells (pictured right) and Stargazer but email me if you would like a kit with a different colour in it.

Open Studio

Its just over a week until our next Open Studio on 8th June. If you haven't been before its a chance to see where we do our dyeing, what yarn we have in stock which is more than we can take to shows and eat some yummy homemade cake.

We are based near Newbury, about 5 mins from the M4 / A34 junction and will be open from 10am til 2pm. This time we are also very pleased to have Judith from Buttoned Up with us with her lovely ceramic buttons.

 Sock Knitting Workshop

Last chance to join the sock knitting workshop starting next week!

Free Pattern Friday

Look out for this months Free Pattern Friday blog post this week. Its a fun stuffed heart I made for my daughter. See all the Free Pattern Friday posts so far on the blog.

Upcoming Events:

Free Pattern Friday - Valentine Heart June 01 2024, 0 Comments

Welcome back for May's free pattern friday review. Sorry its a little late, it was supposed to go live yesterday! My monthly review of a free knitting pattern available off Ravelry. Ravelry is a great source of free patterns but its much harder to find good, free patterns via a general google search. All Free Pattern Friday reviews can be found here. 

Valentine Heart

This month is a special birthday edition as it was my daughter's birthday this month. I found this pattern too late to be February's pattern and didn't want to wait til next year and also like knitting little things for my daughter so I have used some of the yarn she dyed with me a couple of years ago to knit her a cuddly heart. The pattern is by Tracey Driver of Bluebird and Daisy. Tracey has lots of patterns on her website including several free ones for knitting, crochet and Tunisian crochet.

Details

The pattern is for a stuffed heart knitted in one piece and in two sizes using either 4ply or DK yarn. A nice little scrap buster and could be used for decorations or small gifts. It uses about 10g of your chosen yarn.

Knitted on DPNs its a well written pattern with lots of photos although like all things starting in the round with a small number of stitches its a little fiddly but the pattern describes well how to start with the stitches on 2 needles and then moving onto 4. There is no instructions in the pattern for grafting (kitchener stitch) but there are lots on line depending on whether you prefer a video or written instructions. Personally I always refer back to the knitty.com written version when I need a reminder. Link is at the end of the post.

My Valentine Heart

I knitted the larger size in Crush DK using some leftovers of a colourway my Daughter dyed herself a couple of years ago. The plain stocking stitch of the sides makes it a perfect canvas for pretty much any colourway, however loud! or knit it in a solid colour and embellish it with embroidery or other stitches. I have a bit of Enchant DK left over from a previous month's project and I'm tempted to make another in that - it would be so soft and cuddly!

Advantages of this pattern

• Clear photographs
• Row by Row stitch counts for you can check you have the right number of stitches
• Could be made larger in thicker yarn with bigger needles too if desired
• Great stash buster for those scraps of yarn you can't bare to part with

Do let me know if you make this pattern and I'd love to hear your recommendations for patterns to review in the future. The comments are open.
 

Link to pattern Valentine Heart

Link to my favourite Grafting Instructions Knitty.com

Free Pattern Friday - Fuss Free Baby Cardi April 26 2024, 1 Comment

Welcome back for April's free pattern friday review. My monthly review of a free knitting pattern available off Ravelry. Ravelry is a great source of free patterns but its much harder to find good, free patterns via a general google search. All Free Pattern Friday reviews can be found here.

Fuss Free Baby Cardi

This month its a baby pattern and this pattern is by Louise Tilbrook and is available from her website along with several other patterns. 

Details

The pattern is for a raglan cardigan in two sizes, 0 to 3 months and 3 to 6 months, and it knitted in DK weight yarn. I used less than 1 skein of yarn for the larger size. If you don't have 100g of one colour you can use stripes to use up smaller amounts of yarn like I did.

Its a lovely little raglan pattern with several options for increases, I used the kfb version. Its a quick knit for a new baby or if you want to try a smaller garment before knitting a full size one! It also has instructions for Russian Bind Off which I used where stated in the pattern and is a nice alternative to regular bind off especially if you want a stretchy edge.

My Fuss Free Baby Cardi

I knitted the larger size in Crush DK Kingfisher and Bonfire Glow and used just under 80g, the pattern says the small size uses 60g. It's a good canvas for using up leftovers, adding stripes or even adding some colourwork if you wish and the length of the body and the sleeves is easily adjusted. I knitted stripes 6 rows wide and made the sleeves slightly longer to keep the stripe pattern matching the body. My sample is being modelled by my bear as I didn't have a small human available!

I chose Crush DK as its the same blend as our sock yarn so is easily washable and wears well plus we have lots of colourways available. The buttons I chose are by Ethel and Joan who I met at Unravel and had these perfectly matching hand made buttons in teal with a little bit of sparkle!

Advantages of this pattern

• Tips and options to personalise your cardi
• Stitch count tables by row for both sizes
• Good pattern to practise skills needed for knitting adult size garments

Do let me know if you make this pattern and I'd love to hear your recommendations for patterns to review in the future. The comments are open.
 

Link to pattern Fuss Free Baby Cardi

April 2024 Blog Post April 25 2024, 0 Comments

    

Spring Summer Colourways

 

Charterhouse

Charterhouse is a soft pale grey and is a colourway I have wanted to introduce for a while. I often find I want a neutral to pair with another colour that's not too harsh or strong. It looks lovely paired with delicate colourways like Pink Champagne or used as a light contrast colour for colourwork patterns. If you are looking for a grey fade pair with Abbey Ruins and Donnington Castle.

It is named is after the area of the Mendip Hills south of Bath where the Romans mined Silver.

 

Durdle Door

Durdle Door is a pale baby blue. Think soft spring skies or possibly gentle raindrops. Not quite sure why its taken us so long to create this one, I think it will quickly become a firm favourite. I'm looking forward to pairing it with Snow Fields, CMYK or Monterey Bay.

Named after the spectacular sea arch off the Dorset Coast and chosen as it perfectly links the two natural blues of the sea and the sky together.

 

Primrose Hill

Primrose Hill is a pale springy yellow. Cheerful and delicate. I would recommend combining it with Salvage or Firethorn or even Lighthouse for a bit of zing. You can also create a lovely palette of pastel semi solids with Grey's Court, Frogmore, Winterbourne and our other new semi solid Durdle Door.

There wasn't much competition for the name for this one with its soft primrose colour - Primrose Hill is beautiful park in London with amazing views.

As well as the semi solids we have created 3 new variegated colourways to join our ever growing range.

Lulworth Cove 

Lulworth Cove is a blend of vivid shades of blue with aqua and and little splashed of grey. Think the sea on a hot summer's day.

I couldn't resist calling it Lulworth Cove after the beautiful bay a stone's throw from Durdle Door.

Mermaid's Tears

Inspired by the colours found in the fragments of glass that have been naturally weathered by the gentle action of the sea on the beach - Mermaid's Tears is another name for sea glass.

Stargazer

A real tropical colourway. Inspired by hot pink lilies with white edges and lots of yellow pollen. Imagine the perfume wafting on a warm evening breeze while enjoying a holiday cocktail!

These colourways are all available in stock on Crush, Crush DK, Selkino and Lustrous Lace and Dye to Order on Enchant.

Mop Fair

What is a Mop Fair I hear you ask? Its how workers used to get their next seasonal job. They occured in every town and if you were looking for a job you would carry something that represented the sort of work you were looking for. I guess I would carry a brightly coloured sheep or something.....

They stopped as employment laws became better after the First World War but there are a few places where they continue as more of a seasonal funfair rather than a job fair. Chipping Sodbury is one of those places and that was why I chose it as the inspiration for the Sodbury Yarn Over show colour.

The show also had a free shawl pattern which works really well with this colourway and I actually had the shawl at the show thanks to some super speedy knitting by my Mum (Thanks Mum!) So if you want your own Weavers Shawl in Mop Fair you can! Although it would look lovely in other colours too.

Sock Knitting Workshop

Free Pattern Friday

A little late this month but this cute baby cardi is the subject of this months Free Pattern Friday blog post. Its knitted in Crush DK Bonfire Glow and Kingfisher with buttons from Ethel and Joan who were one of our lovely stand neighbours at Unravel. Don't they go well?

I have been wondering if there would be any interest in me stocking buttons to match some of the more popular colourways like Kingfisher that might be harder to find buttons for. What do you think?

Upcoming Events:

What's are we up to over the next few months:

• 18th - 19th May - Buxton Wool Gathering, Buxton
• 29th May - Shop Update
• 4th June - First Sock Workshop, Buick Mackane, Newbury
• 8th June - Open Studio, World's End, Newbury
• 27th - 28th July - Summer Wool Festival, Ampthill

Thank you for reading this long newsletter and I promise there will be something other than the new colourways next time. After spending weeks developing and perfecting them I just love sharing them. If they aren't for you there is still lots of other yarn in stock on the website so do take a look. If you need help choosing yarn for a pattern do get in touch, I'd love to help.

Did you enjoy this newsletter? I realised it was a bit different from our regular shop update newsletters so do let me know.

Take care and keep crafting!

Rachel x

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March 2024 Shop Update March 22 2024, 0 Comments

Its been a busy few weeks since the last shop update with another lovely show, this time in East Anglia. Thank you to everyone who came to see the stand. As we are now in show season this month's shop update is mostly repeatable colourways on different bases. We have Sodbury Yarn Over next month and Buxton in May to look forward to.

Outside the studio both my kids have had exams recently, with year 8 exams for my daughter in which she did amazingly well and the last lot of GCSE mocks for my son. He also had his actual food tech practical exam on Monday, hopefully that went well. Its all getting very real now that his exams are getting close! It really doesn't seem that long ago he was starting secondary school.

I have a meeting this afternoon so all the yarn is on line already! This email might even go out a little earlier than usual too. Check out the preview page to see what will be coming this evening or read on for more information. This month there is Crush, Crush DK, Selkino, Enchant, Enchant DK, Floof and Lustrous.

Non Repeatable Colourways

    

Lustrous

This is a beautifully smooth and shiny blend of merino and silk. Great for summer projects as the high silk content can make it feel cooler to the touch. We dye all our Lustrous as one off colourways so do grab it while you can as the next batch will be totally different! These are called Turquoise Vein, Papyrus, Storm Brewing, Ballet Slippers and Lemon Drop.

The Broads

This was our show special colourway for EAYF and there are a few skeins left on Crush and Crush DK. Inspired by The Broads national park it pairs soft green and blue with brightly coloured speckles.

Maltings Sock Pattern and Crush 50g

 I have added printed copies of my Maltings Sock pattern to the website. If you prefer a digital copy please head over to PayHip still for now. I'm still working on putting digital downloads on Shopify. If you buy 2 x 50g Skeins of Crush you can add the pattern to your cart for half price. I'm hoping this is a more flexible way of offering sock kits but do let me know if you have any problems!

Shawl Kits

We have finally managed to get more of our popular kits on line after repeatedly selling out at shows. If you would like to have a bespoke kits put together in another colour do get in touch. I'm very happy to help

Repeatable Colourways

    

Enchant

Enchant DK

Upcoming Events:

What's are we up to over the next few months:

6th & 7th April - Sodbury Yarn Over, Chipping Sodbury
24th April - Shop Update
18th & 19th May - Buxton Wool Gathering, Buxton
Another long newsletter this week and there are still things I haven't mentioned so look out soon for details of our next Open Studio and I have a new sock pattern coming out soon! Has anyone got a spare few hours a day I can use please?

Take care and keep crafting!

Rachel x

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Free Pattern Friday - The World's Simplest Mittens March 15 2024, 0 Comments

Welcome back for my third free pattern friday review. I am focusing on patterns available off Ravelry as I feel its very easy to find free patterns if you are able to use Ravelry but much harder to find good, free patterns via a general google search. Other Free Pattern Friday reviews can be found here.

The World's Simplest Mittens

This pattern is by Tin Can Knits and as well as being a free pattern you can print off it's also available on their free app. 

Details

The pattern is for five sizes from toddler to large adult and can be knitted in four different weights of yarn (Fingering, DK, Worsted/Aran or Chunky) . For fingering and DK weights you should be able to knit a pair out of 100g even at the largest size. Thicker yarns might require more yarn for bigger sizes. They recommend knitting in the round using DPNs or magic loop.

I like the range of options for different sizes and yarn weights as it would be easy to grab a skein from your stash and start your project even if you have a fairly small stash. The number of options does mean there are a lot of numbers in the paper version of the pattern. If this is an issue either highlight the size you are doing on the pattern or try using the app. The app allows you to input the details for your project including yarn weight and size and it will show you just the instructions you need. The app also has links to extra tutorials and suggestions for your project without cluttering up the pattern. The app in particular would be great for a beginner as there are articles linked on methods for knitting in the round and the abbreviations list has full descriptions of all the techniques used. The only change I made was to graft the live stitches together at the tip of the hand rather than pull the yarn through those stitches. 

It's a well written pattern and the app in particular would be useful for a beginner because of the extra links provided. The article on using leftover yarn to make a marled pair of mittens is both interesting and useful. My only issue with the amount of information in this pattern was the number of times I got sidetracked reading different blog posts then struggling to find my way back to that post later!

My World's Simplest Mittens

I knitted the small adult size in Desire Marble DK and it was a nice quick knit. (Can you see a theme with these free pattern friday projects?) My daughter chose the colourway as these will be for her. All our Desire Marble is dyed up in non-repeatable colourways but we usually have a blue of some sort but given the range of options for yarn you could use nearly any yarn in stock! It's a good canvas for using up leftovers, adding stripes or maybe using that skein that's a little out of your usual comfort zone for something you would wear. Everyone should have a pair of fun mittens!

I suggested the Desire Marble DK to my daughter because its 100% merino wool and nice and lofty so they should be warm and cosy. This pair only used 58g of yarn so slightly under the pattern requirements and leaving plenty left if you wanted to make the cuff longer or other adjustments. I will update this post with her feedback once she has worn them a few times!

Advantages of this pattern

• Huge range of options for size and yarn weight
• App supported pattern which highlights the size you want to make
• Links to lots of tutorials and other information from the app and on the website

Do let me know if you make this pattern, or have used the Tin Can Knits app for any other patterns. I'd also love to hear your recommendations for patterns to review in the future. The comments are open.
 

Link to pattern The World's Simplest Mittens
Link to Tin Can Knits App

February 2024 Shop Update Plus Post Unravel News February 29 2024, 0 Comments

 

 *New* Coorie

This is a brand new base for us and is a 100% merino DK weight made up of 4 double plies giving a lovely round structure and a really bouncy feel. It also takes the dye beautifully and Eliza and I both love working with it!

 Sonsie DK - Sad News

Non repeatable colourways

These are where we play with the dyes, we don't write down what we did and just let our imagination have fun. Most things we dye in batches of 4 so there will never be more than that batch. If you bought a skein at a show with no colour name on it, its non-repeatable, although if it didn't all sell you might spot it here and see what we called it! 

Flockly

I love this base! I'll let you into a little secret, its usually on the table at shows so I can give it a quick squidge while I'm talking to people! Its a blend of bluefaced Leicester, silk and cashmere and feels soft and woolly. Its not quite as soft as the Enchant which everyone ooo's over at shows, but being wool rather than alpaca it has more bounce so garments are less likely to just grow and grow. I have used it for socks as well as shawls and it makes a beautiful fabric on bigger and smaller needles. I think if I could only have one base to use and dye it would be this one!

Slinky Twist

If I can't take Flockly to my desert island I'd take Slinky Twist. High twist yarns are very smooth and have lovely stitch definition and this has enough silk in it to give a lovely drape. Its actually designed as a sock yarn as the combination of high twist and silk will make it hard wearing but it can be used for any fingering weight project. 

Yaksino

This base is a lovely one to dye as the natural colour of the yak makes the colours almost glow. Perfect for fingering weight projects where you want the pattern to not be hidden by a busy variegated yarn.

 Repeatable colourways

These are our regular colours we dye often. They are the ones you might see in you local yarn shop if they stock our yarns and many are available dye to order on our website on a range of bases if you can't see what you want. They will look slightly different on different bases and may vary slightly from batch to batch so still try to buy enough in one go for your project and consider alternating skeins on larger projects. It is still all dyed by hand in batches of 4 skeins at a time.

Crush We have 100g and 50g skeins of Crush although there are only a few colours on 50g at the moment. Several semi solids have been added to the shop that haven't been in there for a while as well as lots of Lighthouse to celebrate our lovely new shawl sample!   Browse Crush

Selkino Lots of Selkino, semi solids and variegateds, but don't forget you can order selkino dye to order if we haven't got the colour you are looking for. A few colours were extremely popular last weekend. Browse Selkino

 Crush DK

The bigger brother of Crush - this is a great all round DK yarn for garments, accessories or lovely thick, warm and quick to make socks! Look out for a new sock pattern in Crush DK after EAYF! We have 4 non repeatable colours on this as well - Briney Sea, Chalk Stream , Winding Forest and Ocean Twilight.

Enchant

Someone at the show said they had been all round Unravel and hadn't felt a softer base there! Its also been described as like a cloud. This is our softest base and is a blend of alpaca, silk and cashmere. Super soft and best used for those extra special projects like a cosy cowl which will be next to your skin so you can appreciate its softness. Believe it or not we dyed 2kg of this base before the show and this is all that's left to add to the website!

Upcoming Events:

What's are we up to over the next few months:

9th - 10th March - East Anglia Yarn Festival, Norfolk Showground Arena
20th March - Shop Update
6th - 7th April - Sodbury Yarn Over, Chipping Sodbury

Thank you for reading this very long newsletter and I hope you have found something that tempts you if you couldn't make Unravel. Maybe we will see you later in the year. Take care and keep crafting!

Rachel x

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Free Pattern Friday! A review of The Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief. February 09 2024, 2 Comments

This is my second free pattern review. I am focusing on patterns available off Ravelry as I feel its very easy to find free patterns if you are able to use Ravelry but must harder to find good, free patterns via a general google search. I always seem to end up in a Pinterest rabbit hole and never actually find the pattern! If you missed January's pattern it can be found here.

The Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief

This patterns is by Orange Flower Yarn and was originally published in 2010 and was updated in 2022. I'm not sure what changed were made when it was updated.

Details

The pattern is for DK weight yarn and comes in two sizes, a Kerchief and a Shawl. According to the pattern the smaller size uses 100g and the larger uses 160g of DK weight yarn. It is knitted flat but the pattern recommends a 80cm circular needle. It also uses two stitch markers to mark the central point.

I like the way it has two starting options, a garter tab or a regular cast on, and it's a very easy pattern to follow with lots of stitch counts to help make sure you have the right number of stitches. I found I needed to use Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off to make sure the edge was stretchy enough to block to shape, but I am a tight knitter so you might not need this.

The pattern has some really helpful notes at the end on the yarn overs used to make the increases as well as washing and blocking  tips and instructions for making the shawl larger if desired. 

Its a well written pattern and could easily be made by a confident beginner as well as enjoyed by a more experienced knitter.

My Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief

I knitted the smaller size in Enchant DK and it was a nice quick knit; It took me just over a weekend. I chose to knit it in a fairly neutral colourway called Limpet but I think you could use pretty much any hand dyed yarn as the pattern is bold enough not to be hidden by variegated yarns.

You could use any DK yarn but as a small kerchief designed to be worn round the neck I wanted something super soft and snuggly so chose Enchant DK which is a blend of Alpaca, Silk and Cashmere for a very light, soft scarf. I think it would be lovely tucked into the top of your coat on blowy days to keep the wind out and your neck warm.

My kerchief only used 80g of yarn so I might have been able to make it larger and still only use one skein. The pattern doesn't state what the original yarn used was, or what meterage there was per 100g, so I don't know if this was just because I used a base with more metres per 100g or if the yarn estimates are very generous. You could always add a lifeline after the last row before the border and carry on with another repeat but can easily rip it back if you run out of yarn. This is probably what I would do if I was to knit it again, especially if I wanted to use up as much of my yarn as possible.

Advantages of this pattern

• Easy to follow pattern 
• Can easily be resized if you want to make bigger
• Would be a great gift as its quick to knit
• Ideal for hand dyed yarns as the bold pattern will work with most dye styles

I will have my Age of Brass and Steam with us at shows this year so do come and take a look. I'd love to know if you make one. I've also switched comments on so do let me know what you think of Free Pattern Friday. 

Link to pattern The Age of Brass and Steam

January 2024 Shop Update January 25 2024, 0 Comments

    

Repeatable Colourways

We have dyed some popular colours on Crush this month and will be restocking the other standard bases - Crush DK, Lustrous Lace, Enchant, Enchant DK and Selkino - over the next month before Unravel so if you want anything do use the Dye to Order section as we may either have it in stock but not on the website or be dyeing some anyway so you shouldn't have long to wait. During a tidy of my office at the beginning of the month I found a solitary skein of Sock Club yarn left over from May 2021! I hope someone can give it a good home.

New! Crush 50g Skeins

I have introduced 50g skeins for Crush under the Dye to Order section because as I have been designing more socks I have found 2 x 50g skeins are more practical so I wanted to offer a more personalised and cost effective way for you to get yarn for these patterns without restricting you to the duets we had before. I will look at getting paper copies of my sock patterns on the website but in the meantime they are available digitally on PayHip.

Laceweight Yarn

Not a lot of laceweight this month, but someone at the Open Studio did request Floof in Foxholes - Its here! Also a non-repeatable lovely warm orange/red Floof and a very pretty one of a kind Bliss Heavy Lace. I don't think these will hang around for long.

DK Weight Yarn

   

Free Pattern Friday! A review of my favourite basic chunky hat knitting pattern - The Frankie Hat January 12 2024, 0 Comments

December 2032 Shop Update December 14 2023, 0 Comments

December's Shop Update Is A Bumper Woolly One!    

    

So here we are at the last shop update of the year! Thank you to everyone who came to the open studio last Saturday, I'm sorry if I didn't get to speak to everyone as it was quite busy. There is lots of new yarn today as we dyed up all the new colours on several bases for the open studio as well as some non repeatable colours and there's even a little bit of Luminosity left.

As well as the open studio we had the Christmas Tree Decoration workshop last night and everyone had fun making lots of little knitted Icord christmas trees. I have written instructions up for these - would there be any interest in me tidying them up and making them available?

I've not had much time to knit this month on my projects, but my Geogradient and my mitre square blanket are both growing slowly. My kids have had several extra christmas/end of term activities so that has reduced the knitting time. The finish for Christmas is on Friday so they are looking forward to that, although Ashley gets the results of his mocks on Thursday so fingers crossed there.

I will be in the studio next week up to Wednesday so all orders placed before midday on 20th will be posted before Christmas, then we will be on holiday until 3rd January. Hopefully I'll get time to do some knitting over the break.

The shop update is nearly all on line so do check the preview page out, or read on for more information. This month there is Crush, Crush DK, Selkino, Lustrous Lace, Desire Marble DK, Slinky Twist, Sonsie DK and Luminosity as well as a couple of odd skeins of other bases.

Fingering Weight Yarns

Luminosity

This is our 100% Mulberry Silk fingering weight yarn. We don't dye this often and this is all that's left after the open studio so grab it while you can as I don't know when we will dye it again.

Slinky Twist

One of my favourite bases, Slinky Twist combines merino and silk with a high twist to make a lovely smooth yarn that works for socks or other projects equally well.

Crush

Our every popular sock yarn that can be used for so much more! We have dyed up lots of colours so we have plenty in stock for those 'Must cast on now' projects.

Selkino 

We have dyed up all the new Autumn and Winter colourways on Selkino so its ready to post. Don't forget we can dye any of our repeatable colours for you if we don't have them in stock..

DK Weight Yarns

    

Desire Marble DK

This interesting yarn is spun with some natural black fibre making up part of one ply giving a random effect which still shows through after dyeing. Softly spun and lovely and warm this soft 100% merino yarn is lovely to work with.

Sonsie DK

This is our custom spun yarn that is created for us in Devon from 100% British fibres. Its a blend of Corridale and Polworth which are both closely related to merino sheep. Its soft and strong due to its long fibre length and takes the dye beautifully. All these colourways are non repeatable. Great for garments and comes in big 200g skeins.

Crush DK

The same as our sock yarn, just slightly thicker. Lots in stock and ready to post. This is a great option for any last minute gifts you might still be wanting to make.

 Laceweight Yarns

Lustrous Lace

All the new colourways on this lovely merino silk laceweight. The colours look slightly more blended as the merino is non-superwash so the dye doesn't strike quite as fast. This is why there is a slight difference in the look.

Thank you for reading this long update and thank you so much for being a part of SQ this year. We really wouldn't be here without you. Take care and keep crafting!

Rachel x

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November 2023 Shop Update November 16 2023, 0 Comments

Lustrous

 A lustrous combination of silk and merino in equal balance resulting in a super soft sock weight yarn with a lovely drape ideal for shawls, scarves and garments. If you are looking for a special yarn to make a gift then the shine from the silk in this yarn really elevates your work.

Sonsie Aran

This yarn is custom spun for us in Devon by John Arbon and is a cosy, woolly blend of Corridale and Polworth sheep fleece. These breeds are both cross breeds of Merino and Lincoln or Leicester sheep which means their wool is very soft but has a longer staple length than Merino meaning the yarn will wear better than pure merino. We offer this yarn in big 200g skeins and we have dyed it in batches of 6. Make sure you buy enough to complete your project as these colours are all non repeatable.

 

 

     

 

 

Bloom DK

Bloom DK is 100% soft and bouncy superwash Bluefaced leicester. I have dyed up some semi solid colourways to complement the variegated skeins we have in stock. Great for warm hats, scarves, gloves or whole garments.

Browse All Bloom DK

 

 

Did you know we can ship to the EU and collect the vat when you checkout?  This means you will have no extra charges to pay when you receive your order so you know exactly what you are paying. Available on all orders to EU countries under the equivalent of 135 Euro.

 

Do let me know what you think of the new colourways and keep safe in the dark evenings. I can't believe there is only one more newsletter after this this year! Take care and keep warm - Enjoy your crafting.

Rachel x

 

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October 2023 Shop Update October 20 2023, 0 Comments

Five for Silver: Christmas Rose, Fairy Lights, Fir Tree, Jack Frost, Seven Swans

Its certainly feeling very autumnal here in Newbury. Leaves are changing colour and the evenings are getting darker. I've been getting reacquainted with my knitwear now the temperature has dropped. We have also celebrated my son's 16th birthday at the beginning on the month and last weekend he went axe throwing with his sister. They both had an amazing time. Doesn't seem that long since he was a baby wearing little hand knitted jumpers.

At SQHQ we are putting the finishing touches to the advent calendars which will be going out shortly. Once the pre-ordered calendars have arrived there may be a few spares which will be made available. I'll let newsletter readers know first so if anyone you know is interested and isn't on the list do get them to sign up. (I really don't mind if they unsubscribe again afterwards) They will only go on social media if there are any left after that.

We have no more shows this year but next year is beginning to look exciting - a return to some favourites as well as some brand new shows. Keep an eye out for more information as soon as I'm allowed to share. We will be having our Christmas Open Studio on the 9th December in conjunction with Purlesence again. Should be a lovely day.

A slightly smaller shop update this month as there was so much last month, but we do have our special seasonal Five for Silver - The run up to Christmas is the only time we dye this sparkle yarn and this month there are 10 special christmassy colourways. We also have some Flockly, Selkino and Floof. All the yarn is on line if you want to head straight to the preview or read on for more information.

Five For Silver

This is our special seasonal sparkle yarn we only dye in the run up to Christmas. Its a blend of soft merino, a touch of nylon for strength and silver stellina sparkle. This sparkle is very fine and not at all rough (but unfortunately almost impossible to photograph to catch the sparklyness!) Great for almost any fingering weight project either on its own or add to another yarn for a sparkly pop!

We have dyed up some popular Christmas colourways from previous years. Some of these colourways have not been available on big skeins or Five for Silver before.

Flockly

This is one of my favourite bases. Its a lovely blend of Bluefaced Leicester, Silk and Cashmere which makes it soft with a slight sheen but harder wearing than our other Cashmere containing bases. I'm currently using this base as one of my yarns for the Westknits MKAL and the garter stitch sections are working up so snuggly - I can't wait to wear this shawl!

Selkino

We have restocked some popular colours of Selkino including several neutrals you can use to show off your colour pop choice. (L to R) Mountain Heather, Antique Map, Salvage, Lady Philomere, Biscuit Town, Highclere Castle.

Floof

We have recently dyed a large wholesale order of Floof and these are some of our favourite colourways. Let me know if you would like any of our kits made up with these yarns.

    

Westknits MKAL My Version October 19 2023, 0 Comments

This year's mystery knitalong has inspired many different takes on the official Clue 1 but I haven't seen many where the instructions are written up anywhere other than Ravelry. Given that Ravelry isn't accessible to everyone and some people are more comfortable working from written instructions than just winging it, I thought I would share my alternative for clue 1 as a blog post.  I don't claim to be the first or only person to make a mitred square alternative - There are some lovely ones with a block of 9 squares for clue 1 for example - but here is my version. It comprises of 4 mitred squares surrounded by a stripe of each colour worked up to Stephen's official Clue 1 instructions. 

I'd like to thank Louise Tilbrook for her blog post on mitred squares which I think gives the neatest decreases and Katie from Yarn for the Soul who has tested these instructions for me.

Instructions

Abbreviations used the same as Geogradient Shawl by Stephen West

Square 1:

Cast on 54 stitches. I used the long tail cast on

Row 1: K25, SSK, pm, k2tog, Knit to last stitch, Sl1wyif
Row 2: Knit to last stitch, Sl1wyif
Row 3: Knit to 2 stitches before marker, SSK, sm, K2tog, Knit to last stitch, Sl1wyif
Repeat rows 2 and 3 until 4 stitches remain finishing with Row 2
SSK, remove marker, K2tog, turn
K2tog, cut yarn and thread through last stitch

You can arrange colours in many ways but to replicate my pattern I cast on and knitted the first 4 rows in my darkest shade, then worked 8 rows in each colour from darkest to lightest, then the 3 darkest colours again.

Square 2:

Cast on 27 stitches then pick up and knit another 27 stitches along the cast on edge of the wrong side of square 1 starting at the corner. See picture

Continue as for Square 1 from Row 2.

Square 3:

Repeat as for Square 2 picking up along the wrong side of Square 2.

Square 4:

Pick up and knit 27 stitches along the cast on edge of the wrong side of Square 1 towards the middle then pick up and knit 27 stitches along the cast on edge of Square 3. Continue as for Square 1 from Row 2.

Your 4 squares should look like this

Border:

With right side facing and starting in one corner pick up and knit 27 stitches along the slip stitch edge of one mitred square then pick up and knit another 27 stitches along the edge of the adjacent square. Place a marker 1 stitch in from each corner. Repeat for the other 3 sides.

On your needles you should have (1 stitch, marker, 52 stitches, marker, 1 stitch) 4 times.  216 stitches in total.

Continue with Section 1 of the MKAL pattern starting with Round 4. I changed colour every 8 rounds.

I really hope this helps you if you want to make a mitred square centre to your shawl. Keep an eye on social media to see how my shawl progresses.

September 2023 Shop Update September 28 2023, 0 Comments

Enchant - Firethorn, Slinky Twist - Dragonfly, Crush - River Thames, Crush DK - River Wey, Yaksino - Marmalade

What a change in the weather! If you aren't in the UK we have gone from 30C plus temperatures which is hot for us and very hot for September, to proper wet and windy autumn in about 10 days. At least I can get my knitwear out again!

My kids are back at school and seem to be enjoying it. My son has just started his GCSE year and its my daughter's second year at secondary. School trips seem finally to be back on the timetable with one been camping already and the other one off on a geology field trip but its great these things happening again as I always loved school trips.

At SQHQ we are busy with wholesale orders and advent calendars. We will have to close orders for advents soon so if you are still wanting one please be quick. There may be one or two spare nearer the end of November as we always keep back ups in case any get lost in the post but its not guaranteed and they might not be with you in time for 1st December.

No more shows now for a while but we will have our Christmas Open Studio at the beginning of December. Look out for more details in the next few weeks. I'm also hoping to organise another workshop with Sharon, either Beginners Tunisian Crochet again or Socks - What do you think?

This is a big shop update this month as we dyed lots of yarn for Southern Wool Show and Unravel... Autumn. We have also put together some yarn bundles for the Westknits MKAL if you are still looking for yarn for that. 

Most of the yarn is on line already but there is a little more still to go. Grab a cup of tea and read the rest of the newsletter for all the details or jump straight to the preview page if you prefer. Everything will be available at 8pm this evening.

We have Westknits MKAL bundles and yarn for An Caitin Beag's new sweater pattern, non repeatable colourways on Lustrous, Slinky Twist and Yaksino and lots of your favourites on Crush, Enchant, Floof and Selkino!

 Browse Preview Page

Westknits MKAL Shawl Bundles

The Stephen West Mystery Knit a long is one of my favourite events in the knitting year. I just love seeing how different combinations of colours work up together. If you haven't done an MKAL before its a pattern released in weekly parts so you don't know what the finished piece will look like. There's always plenty of support with lots of others doing it too. Its not a race, although I find the encouragement of others does help me knit faster!

We have put together a few bundles if you would like to join in but don't have yarn yet. If the mystery aspect isn't for you then its always fun to see how different the same pattern can look in different colours. Sometimes switching a dark and a light shade can totally change the look!

 Browse All Bundles

White Cats in the Black Lodge

This is a new Twin Peaks inspired pattern from Marna Gilligan of An Caitin Beag. Featuring a round colour work yolk, with cats of course, and hem and cuff details. We have yarn bundles for the red and natural which will cover all sizes from child to the largest adult size and black for the main colour. 1 to 3 skeins of the main colour is required depending on size. This is on Voluptuous our custom spun 100% British yarn.

February Shop Update February 21 2023, 0 Comments

Its been a busy month since the last newsletter and its actually only been 3 weeks! Shop update is a little earlier as we will be busy at Unravel next week which I'm really looking forward to. I do hope you can come too.

Outside of work my kids have both had exams recently, just school ones but its all good practise, and it looks like they went well.

My two designs for Unravel are just having final tweaks and will be available at the show and on line afterwards. We have also expanded our Dye to Order to include both Enchant and Enchant Dk and I've been updating the photos for all bases so do check those out and let me know what you think.

Quite a lot of new yarn this month, remember if you want to order and collect at Unravel use the code UnravelPickUp to take the postage off and make sure you don't miss out. We will be taking all the yarn to Unravel with us and most is unrepeatable colourways so if you aren't coming to the show it may not be available when we get back.

We are still uploading new yarn so keep checking the preview page, or read on to see what's coming.

This month we have: Crush Dk, Desire Marble, Lustrous, Squash and Cloudgazer to feed those creative ideas.

Browse Preview Page

Laceweight

Cloudgazer

We haven't had a restock of Cloudgazer for a while so this month there are a bumper new 11 colourways. All non-repeatable and some only have 1 or 2 skeins available. Cloudgazer is a lovely alternative to Floof with baby alpaca instead of mohair. The halo is slightly shorter and softer but can be used in the same way as Floof either alone on large needles for a very light and airy piece or combined with another yarn to add texture and interest (and warmth!)

Fingering Weight Yarns

Desire Marble

This is the fingering weight version of our popular Desire Marble Dk. If you haven't tried this base yet its lovely and soft, 100% merino but spun with some parts of one ply using the natural black fibre to give an interesting effect. It doesn't work up stripy as the black is included randomly and works up nicely in both knit and crochet projects. Check out the Desire Marble page to see a knitted sample. All colourways are non-repeatable and some are single skeins.

Lustrous

A lustrous combination of silk and merino in equal balance resulting in a super soft sock weight yarn with a lovely drape ideal for shawls, scarves and garments. All non-repeatable colourways dyed in twos to fours per batch.

Squash

Squash is a 100% nylon free version of our popular sock yarn Crush. It has the same smooth, round structure and is 100% superwash merino. Perfect for socks, shawls, accessories and any other fingering weight project. These colourways are all non-repeatable so do check them out and see what we have been creating.

Dk Weight Yarns

Crush Dk

Lots more Crush Dk in stock ready to go, or go to Unravel. We hope to have the biggest display of our repeatable colourways on lots of bases at Unravel. Do check it out in the Barley Room or look for photos on social media.

Events

Unravel

We will be at Farnham Maltings for the fabulous 3 day Unravel Festival next week. Check out their website for tickets and full details of the talks and other things going on. If you are coming and wish to pick up your order at the show please use the code UnravelPickUp to remove the postage cost.

Other Dates for your Diary:

• 3rd - 5th March - Pop Up Shop at Yarnfest
• 11th March - Pop Up Shop at Brown Paper Loves, Newbury
• 18th - 19th March - East Anglia Yarn Festival
• 29th March - Shop Update
• 1st April - Open Studio

Thank-you for reading this month's newsletter this month and sorry its slightly later going out, our mail provider has slightly changed the site so I had to start from scratch rather than use my previous template so it all took a little bit longer. Hopefully back to normal next month. Keep warm and enjoy your crafting and hope to see you at an event soon.

Rachel x

New Year, New Yarn! January Shop Update February 10 2023, 0 Comments

I hope 2023 is being kind to you all so far. We seem to have had a fairly busy month already. The sale went really well and lots of yarn has found new homes, thank-you to everyone who ordered.

Behind the scenes we have also been working on a very large wholesale order so there is yarn everywhere at the moment! Does your local yarn shop stock Skein Queen? Do tell them about us if you would like to see our yarn on their shelves.

We have also been to Waltham Abbey Wool Show which was their 10th show and was a great day. Thank-you to everyone who spoke to us and bought yarn or kits. If you signed up to this newsletter after meeting us there welcome, I hope you find it useful and if you want to get in touch just hit reply and I'll try to help.

All the new yarn is up so feel free to head straight to the preview page, or read on for more information. Do make sure you check out the events section at the end tho as there are some dates for your diary in there.

This month we have: Crush, Desire Marble DK, Enchant DK, Flockly, Voluptuous Skinny and Little Wrigglers for your perusal.

Browse Preview Page

Dk Yarns

Enchant Dk

I am really please to share that we will be increasing our range of Enchant and Enchant Dk available very soon. This is a beautifully soft alpaca, silk and cashmere base which has been described by a customer at one show as "Like stroking a cloud". The alpaca content does make the yarn take the dyes slightly differently and speckles are more diffuse so the repeatable colours do look slightly different. Take a look at the recent social media post on Instagram to see a comparison between the same colourway on different bases. There are 5 more colours available today and keep an eye out for an exciting announcement about more colours soon.

Desire Marble Dk

Thank-you to everyone who suggested names for the Marble Dk on social media earlier this week, do look and see if I used your suggestion. If you haven't tried this base yet its lovely and soft, 100% merino but spun with some parts of one ply using the natural black fibre to give an interesting effect. It doesn't work up stripy as the black is included randomly and works up nicely in both knit and crochet projects. Check out the Desire Marble Dk page to see a knitted sample.

Fingering Weight Yarns

Flockly

Flockly is one of my favourite yarns. The Bluefaced Leicester wool in it is grown in the UK and its blended with silk and cashmere to give a soft and luxurious yarn which still has a woolly feel to it and its fairly hard wearing due to the long staple length of the BFL. Do keep an eye out for other BFL bases as well as its a really versatile fibre - We currently have Bliss Heavy Lace, Tweedore and Bloom Dk with plans to restock others and introduce more soon.

Voluptuous Skinny

Our custom spun fingering weight yarn which combines Exmoor Blue which is a cross between the Exmoor Horn and Blue Faced Leicester and organic Merino. Its a springy, woollen, non-superwash yarn that blooms slightly when washed.

Little Wrigglers

This will be the last batch of Little Wrigglers we are going to dye so please don't wait if you want to add some to your stash. Wriggle is 100% merino singles yarn and these little pops of colour are great for colourwork.

Crush and Crush Bundles

Crush, our favourite sock yarn which can be used for almost anything. We have restocked some repeatable colourways, but don't forget you can always order the one you need and we will dye it up for you. We also have preorders available for our two advent yarn bundles - the Cloudy Rainbow and the Stormy Rainbow from the most recent advent calendar. These will close in just over a week so do order now if you don't want to miss out. We also have the last few WAWS sock bundles if you didn't get one at the show.

Events

Yarnfest Pop Up Shop

Our next Yarnfest Pop Up Shop will be from the 3rd to the 5th February.

Unravel

We will be at Farnham Maltings for the fabulous 3 day Unravel Festival in February. If you are coming and wish to pick up your order at the show please use the code UnravelPickUp for free postage.

Other Dates for your Diary:

• 3rd - 5th February - Pop Up Shop at Yarnfest
• 15th February - Shop Update
• 24th - 26th February - Unravel
• 3rd - 5th March - Pop Up Shop at Yarnfest
• 11th March - Pop Up Shop at Brown Paper Loves, Newbury
• 18th - 19th March - East Anglia Yarn Festival

Thank-you for reading this very long newsletter this month and sorry its slightly later going out, our mail provider has slightly changed the site so I had to start from scratch rather than use my previous template so it all took a little bit longer. Hopefully back to normal next month. Keep warm and enjoy your crafting and hope to see you at an event soon.

Rachel x

December Shop Update - Gift Ideas December 12 2022, 0 Comments

Thank-you to everyone who came to the Open Studio on Saturday. It was lovely to see so many people and I lost count of how many visitors we had. Our raffle raised £53 for Action Through Enterprise. Congratulations to Ruth for winning the advent calendar!

I'll keep the rest of this introduction short today, there's a lot to do and only me in the studio. Some of the yarn and the two shawl kits are already up but there is more to add which will be going on line during the day today so keep checking the preview. Plus there are some small gifts you might like to find in your stocking.

There are Kits, Crush, a little Desire Marble DK, Floof, Voluptuous DK, Yaksino, Enchant, cards and stocking fillers!

View Shop Update Preview Here

Kits

Wrapped and ready to go under the tree - perfect for that special knitter on your gift list. (Do feel free to forward this email to anyone who may appreciate some ideas for presents)

Slow Exposure

This stunning shawl with a rainbow of stripes and a choice of main colour is a lovely relaxing knit. The Lustrous for the stripes adds just a touch of luxury.

100 Words for Rain

This shawl is a combination of smooth Crush and fluffy Floof to create a warm and cosy shawl with a lovely drape. Other colourways can be put together on request.

View all Kits and Yarn Bundles

Stocking Fillers

Browse Stocking Fillers

Books

Do you know someone wanting to learn to knit? Knit How by Pom Pom Publishing is a friendly and easy-to-use book that will take them from their first stitches to sock, garments and more!

If you can already knit but want to make that step into garments then Ready, Set, Raglan is the book for you - 8 different raglan sweater patterns with lots of hints and tips to really make it your own.

Alternatively, if socks are on your to-do list for next year Ready, Set, Socks is a great book for new or experienced sock knitters alike. Every pattern is given for both fingering and DK weight yarns. As you know, I'm a huge fan of DK socks for learning or just for a quick project. I hope I find this one under my tree.

We also stock Pom Pom Magazine and Laine, both of which are lovely publications which would be nice to read by the fire with articles and recipes (depending on issue) as well as patterns.

Browse Books

Finish it off with a Card

We have cards from the lovely Tilly Flop for all occasions, some festive and some that would work all year round, and with knitting and crochet themes so there really is a card for every occasion.

Yarn

Enchant

We restocked the Enchant DK last month so this month we have the fingering weight version. It is the softest base we stock and its blend of Alpaca, Cashmere and Silk has been described by one customer at a show this year as being like cuddling a cloud!

Desire Marble DK

This base is super popular and most of our new colours sold at the Open Studio. We will dye more in the new year but here are the 3 colours left. They are lovely jewel tones of teal, red and blue.

Crush

Crush restock - lots of your favourite colourways. Did you know, these three colours are all in the top 4 most popular colourways - the other one is Heavenly Nightmare. Can you name them?

Floof

This is a fluffy cloud-like yarn which results in a soft, hazy fabric. Use on its own or hold together with another yarn to produce an interesting texture. See the 100 Words for Rain shawl for an example of how it looks worked alone.

Voluptuous DK

As well as the Sonsie DK with received new stock of Voluptuous DK last month so we have started dyeing up some new colours in this lovely, custom spun, woolly yarn. Remember all colours are non-repeatable so make sure you have enough for your project.

Yaksino

Yaksino is a heady mix of bouncy merino and warm yak with the sheen of silk with a twist.

This yarn arrives in the workshop in a natural grey base colour which results in deep, rich colourways when dyed.

Last posting date for Tracked 48 which we use for all UK parcels is Friday 16th December. Please make sure you order in plenty of time to receive by Christmas if desired.

Thank-you for reading this very long newsletter this month. I haven't included up coming events so I will share those later but I will let you know we are going to be quite busy going to shows next year. Keep warm and enjoy your crafting.

Rachel x

November Shop Update December 01 2022, 0 Comments

Well autumn has certainly arrived here at SQHQ just in time for our cosy update of yarn. We've had a few misty mornings and rather a lot of rain this week. Luckily it was dry on Sunday for Remembrance Day which was good as both of my kids are in Scouts so were taking part.

My MKAL shawl has taken a rest while I work on some designs I need to finish, I love seeing everyone else's finished shawls tho.

Behind the scenes we are busy dyeing for wholesale customers and preparing for the Open Studio and the Christmas Fair at the beginning of December. It would be lovely to see you at the Open Studio. Purlescence, who are a short drive away, are also open with Dragon Hill Studios visiting so you can make a whole day of it. We will be open 10am til 2pm and Purlescence will stay open til 4pm.

The update this month is a little smaller but full of lots of cosy yarns. We finally have some new Sonsie DK and we have also dyed up some Enchant DK and Desire Bounce. There are also the final few Advent Calendars available this evening.

If none of these yarns appeals remember we have lots of other yarns in stock on the website including lace weight and fingering weight options.

Everything is already on the website so either jump straight to the preview page or read on for more information. It all goes live at 8pm this evening.

View Shop Update Preview Here

DK Weight

Enchant DK

Enchant DK is the softest DK base we stock. Its blend of Alpaca, Cashmere and Silk has been described by one customer at a show this year as being like cuddling a cloud! Its also available in fingering weight. The DK however is perfect for quicker gift projects, cosy accessories or other special projects.

Sonsie DK

Our new batch of Sonsie DK is here, dyed and lovely. Its custom spun for us in Devon from British fibre and is a bouncy, woollen yarn which isn't superwash and blooms slightly when washed. Perfect for garments or accessories.

Chunky

Desire Bounce

Desire Bounce is out 100% merino chunky yarn. With 100m per 100g it knits up quickly and makes cosy accessories. I have used it before for hats for my kids and even adult size will come out of 1 skein.

Advent Calendars

All our pre-ordered advent calendars have now arrived so there are a few left I can make available. All the DK ones have sold but there are 3 Lustrous and 1 Crush which will be added to the shop update at 8pm.

Events

 3rd December 2022

Christmas Open Studio

In collaboration with Purlescence and Dragon Hill Studio our open studio looks set to be good day. We will have tea and cake, a raffle to win an advent calendar and lots of yarn to squish. We are open from 10am to 2pm and Purlescence will be open til 4pm. It would be lovely to see you there.

Thank-you for reading to the end of the newsletter this month. Lots going on but I have tried to keep it as short as possible. Next month is the start of a whole series of events so I hope we will be able to see you at some of those. Keep an eye on social media and the newsletter to find out where we are going to be. In the mean time keep warm and enjoy your crafting.

Rachel x

October Shop Update October 20 2022, 0 Comments

And just like that its October! There is no doubt now we are firmly in autumn with a nip in the air and a good excuse to wear all the woollies. My own knitting I have been enjoying the Westknits MKAL, although I'm rather behind already but that's ok as its not a race.

We have been busy here at SQHQ finishing off the advent dyeing and doing lots of wholesale. Its this time of year we also dye our seasonal base Five for Silver which is a lovely sparkly yarn. This month we also have Lustrous Lace and Blush.

Everything is already on the website so either jump straight to the preview page or read on for more information. It all goes live at 8pm this evening.

View Shop Update Preview Here

Fingering Weight

Five for Silver

This is seasonal yarn base we dye in the run up to Christmas and is a lovely soft merino nylon yarn with 5% stellina sparkle which is also soft and not scratchy. Its hard to capture the sparkle of these in photographs. Its described as a sock yarn but could be used for any project that uses a fingering weight yarn. Maybe choose it for a pop yarn if a project to add an extra element to make it stand out from other bases in the item.

Blush

Very sadly the mill that produces Blush went out of business in 2020 and we are almost at the end of our supply. I think there is enough for one more update after this one. I have been searching for an alternative but at the moment I cannot find one that I feel is good enough quality without requiring a very large price hike so at the moment it looks like it will be discontinued at some point early next year. Its a lovely base which is soft and smooth and has a nice stitch definition.

Lace Weight

Lustrous Lace

Lustrous Lace has proved very popular since we started offering it dye to order and also at shows so we have dyed some popular colours to have in stock for a quicker delivery. I particularly love the way Fairy Dust has come out and look forward to seeing that one knitted up into something beautiful and fun. I think it would look lovely paired with River Thames or Narwhal for a 2 colour project too.

Events

 3rd December 2022

Christmas Open Studio

In collaboration with Purlescence and Dragon Hill Studio our open studio looks set to be good day. We will have tea and cake, a raffle to win an advent and lots of yarn to squish. It would be lovely to see you there.

Just a short newsletter this month. Remember to check the time if you aren't in the UK as we are in clock changing season. You should be able to check here what time it will be locally. Thank-you for reading and enjoy your crafting. 

Rachel x

September Blog Update October 18 2022, 0 Comments

Its been a very busy month since the last newsletter and the sad news of the Queen's death came just as I had set up for Unravel... Autumn so I was too busy to process it properly til I was home. I did however spot the plaque in the centre of the header on my walk to The Maltings on Friday morning and stopped for a quiet moment. Put up earlier in the year in happy times for her jubilee next to a lovely carved knitted piece; Do look out for them from the path by the river if you visit The Maltings.

The show however was lovely as always. The Maltings is one of my favourite venues and for a change we were in the Great Hall which had such a buzz. I love the little upstairs rooms but it feels a much bigger event in the hall. Lots of people came round looking for inspiration for the Westknits MKAL and I hope I helped some of you with your choices. If you are taking part and want to chat more do check out our facebook group. I will be starting a thread in there soon to share yarn choices and there will be threads each week to share photos, help each other and general chat but there will be no pressure to keep up - I'm sure I won't manage it, so take your time and enjoy. Do come and join us.

Going back further in september was Southern Wool Show which seems a very long time ago now but was another amazing show. Thank-you to everyone who visited the stand.

There is Desire Marble and Bloom DK in non-repeatable colours in tonight's update and some Crush and Crush DK.

Everything is already on the website so either jump straight to the preview page or read on for more information. It all goes live at 8pm this evening.

View Shop Update Preview Here

Fingering Weight

Desire Marble

Desire Marble is a skooshy superwash merino which has been spun with a darker fibre for parts of one ply giving an interesting marbled effect. Super soft feel suitable for hats, scarves, gloves or whole garments. All non-repeatable colourways. Also available as Desire Marble DK if you prefer a slightly thicker yarn.

Crush

Not just for socks - our Crush base can be used for garments, accessories, even shawls and has a lovely drape when knitted to a looser gauge. We have topped some of our repeatable colourways up but also have these 3 non-repeatable colourways. Be quick, there are only a small number of skeins of each.

DK Weight

Bloom DK

Bloom DK is is a lovely yarn. Its nice a woolly which is perfect for colder weather garments and accessories but the Bluefaced Leicester makes it soft and smooth so comfortable to wear. It also has a slight sheen to it which makes it very pleasing to dye as the colours shine. Can you tell this is one of my favourite fibres?

Crush DK

A top up of mostly repeatable colours but a couple of one-offs as well. If you need a bigger quantity than we have in stock for a project don't forget that we offer dye to order for any of our 70 (ish, I lose count) repeatable colourways on 4 bases including Crush DK.

Events

 3rd December 2022

Christmas Open Studio

Pop the date in your diary, we are having a Christmas open studio on the 3rd December. We are collaborating with Purlescence so you can visit us both on that day. They are only 10 minutes away from SQHQ. Full details will be available later but there will be the usual tea, cake and yarn. Hope to see you there.

Thank-you for reading. I hope you have found it useful and inspiring. If you are looking for help putting together yarns for the Westknits MKAL or any other project do hit reply, I'm always happy to help.

Rachel x

August Shop Update August 25 2022, 0 Comments

Seems a long time since the last newsletter but I think that's just because so much has happened! Thank-you to everyone who came to see us at Summer Wool Festival. It was a great weekend. Then I had a birthday, we had another heat wave and last week I was on holiday. We have been busy here at SQHQ as well. Dyed up lots of lovely yarn for the upcoming shows and been working on some wholesale orders. Does your local yarn shop stock our yarns? Do ask them to get in touch if you would like to see our yarns on their shelves. We send wholesale orders worldwide!

September looks like it will be busy with 2 shows in 2 weeks. Do come and say Hi if you are there.

There's a lot of yarn in this month's update so I won't chat too much. We have restocked the Selkino and the Lustrous Lace. I have also renamed the pre-orders section Dye to Order to make it clearer. Currently we are shipping within 2 weeks of ordering but that may slip a little while we are busy at shows.

We also have non-repeatable colourways of Enchant, Merlin and Slinky Twist, and the two colours of Crush DK my daughter dyed the other week. She will be so happy if these sell out.

Everything is already on the website so either jump straight to the preview page or read on for more information. It all goes live at 8pm this evening.

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Lustrous Lace

Lustrous Lace has proved very popular since we started offering it as a standard base. We are trying to keep plenty of colours in stock but if there is one of our standard colours you desire, don't wait for us to have it in stock, you can order it to be dyed especially for you! That's a choice of 78 colours.

Eleanor's Yarns

Not to be out-done by her brother, Eleanor joined me in the studio a few weeks ago and tried dyeing as well. She had a very clear idea what she wanted do and dyed two colourways with very little help from Eliza or me. I think she did a brilliant job.

Fingering Weight

Merlin

Merlin is a lovely summery blend of Merino and Linen which is beautifully cool to the touch and has a lovely drape which will only improve with wear.

Enchant

Enchant is a cloud soft dream of a yarn. Its a blend of alpaca, silk and cashmere and is so soft you have to touch it to believe it. Always really popular at shows because of this. I have been told its too cuddly to use and just needs to be stroked. However it does make gorgeous accessories and gifts if you do use it.

Slinky Twist

Slinky Twist is one of my favourite bases. Its billed as a sock yarn, which it does beautifully and is nylon free, soft and hard wearing, but its so much more than a sock yarn as well. It makes lovely garments and the high twist means it wears well even at a looser gauge than socks and its soft and drapey because of the silk so makes lovely shawls and scarves.

Selkino

Is there a new pattern using Selkino out? Do hit the reply butting and let me know if there is as I've missed it but this yarn had been flying off the shelves recently. I do love to work out what you are making with your orders. We have lots of colours of Selkino in stock at the moment. If you need help putting a colour palette together do drop me an email, I'm always happy to help and can email you photos of different combinations. Or even better, pop to see us at one of the shows we will be at in September, and don't feel shy if you want to match a yarn you already have, bring it along and I'll see if I can help.

Shows

Southern Wool Show

 

3rd - 4th September

This is our local show and its always lovely to see so many friends here. Held at Newbury Racecourse which is a great venue, lovely and flat access, loads of parking and a train station right next door. Check out social media for a sneak peek of our show colourway - Royal Racing.

9th - 10th September

Thank-you for reading all this extra long newsletter. I hope you have found it useful and inspiring.

Rachel x

July Shop Update August 25 2022, 0 Comments

Firstly let me start this newsletter with an apology for everyone who ordered last week and has had to wait longer than usual for their parcels, and everyone still waiting for the Sock boxes. Unfortunately both Eliza and I came down with covid last week, completely coincidentally, so there was no one to pack post for most of the week. All parcels have now been shipped and the sock boxes are now on their way after the pattern has finished tech editing. This is an important step to make sure the pattern makes sense, nothing has been missed out, I haven't called a stitch one thing in one place and something else later on..... you get the idea. It makes the pattern a much better knitting experience so was definitely worth doing properly. I hope you will enjoy knitting the pattern and do let me know what you think. I already have some more patterns in progress.

In other news, its a big day for my daughter today as its her last day at primary school. Been a bit of a funny week with the hot weather meaning short days and the leavers BBQ that was supposed to happen yesterday afternoon turned into a breakfast event instead. Next step is secondary school in September!

Just over a week till Summer Wool Festival, looking forward to seeing lots of you there.

The yarns we have this month are Crush, Lustrous, Squash and Bliss Heavy Lace but don't forget you can preorder any of our repeatable colourways on Crush, Crush DK, Selkino or Lustrous Lace and we will dye it up for you if we don't have what you are looking for in stock.

Everything is already on the website so either jump straight to the preview page or read on for more information. It all goes live at 8pm this evening.

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Bliss Heavy Lace

Bliss Heavy Lace is a slightly thicker lace weight - 600m per 100g as apposed to 800m - but could probably be substituted for most patterns. Its a Bluefaced Leicester and silk blend which has a lovely sheen and blocks beautifully. Perfect for a nice light weight summer shawl to cover your shoulders.

Fingering Weight

Lustrous

Lustrous is a blend of merino and silk and is lovely and cool to the touch. I have been using this base myself recently for a project to knit during the heat wave when trying to work with mohair was getting difficult! As well as these lovely summery shade to work with now, we also have Lustrous available as an option for the advent calendars this year. Do make sure you order yours soonif you don't want to miss out.

Advent Calendars

Squash

Squash has the same structure and merino of Crush, without the nylon. This makes it the perfect choice for many projects including socks and garments if you prefer to avoid manmade fibres as well as being soft and drapy for shawls and other accessoires.

Crush

As well as many of your favourite repeatable colours on Crush we also have these three one off colourways. These will be going to Summer Wool Festival at the end of the month so if you want to grab them first now is your chance.

Summer Wool Festival

Thank-you for reading to the end of this newsletter, please don't be disappointed by the slightly smaller update this month, we have plenty of other weights and yarns in stock. If you would like help choosing yarn for your next project do drop me an email. I would love to help. Hope you see you at one of our shows this summer, in the mean time enjoy the slightly cooler weather and keep crafting!

Rachel x

June Shop Update June 27 2022, 0 Comments

Its been a busy month since the last newsletter. Kids off for a week for half term and we had a lovely day in London doing some museums then dinner in Covent Garden. Then I visited Nicky at All About the Yarn for a pop up shop and had a great time. Knitting wise I have had my first pattern professionally tech edited - the Alp-aca Socks pattern written especially for Ashley's yarn - currently available in Alp-aca Sock Boxes, so that's really exciting, and I'm knitting the Bonnie Isle Hat from Shetland Wool Week. Do join us in our Facebook group if you want more about what I'm up to every week that's not strictly SQ related.

Some of you may have already seen this month's shop update preview - we had to get it up early as there was scheduled work on the power lines round SQHQ yesterday, so all the photography etc was done last week to make sure we weren't delayed if the work over ran. It does mean I'm totally confused by what day of the week it is tho! This month we have Colour Scrolls - read on if you don't know what these are, Enchant, Entwist and Flockly.

Read on for more information or head over the the website to see the preview. It all goes live at 8pm this evening.

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Fingering Weight

Colour Scrolls

Colour Scrolls are blanks, or knitted sections of yarn, which are unravelled as you work with them. We rarely dye these as they are done one by one and do take time, but each one is totally individual. Half are double stranded so you get 2 identical 50gs of yarn, which means matching socks, gloves, sleeves or whatever you fancy; the others are single stranded so great for shawls, garments or if you prefer socks that are related rather then identical.

Flockly

Flockly is my favourite fingering weight yarn, its a blend of Bluefaced Leicester, Silk and Cashmere and has a lovely sheen while still being slightly woolly. Perfect for garments, accessories and shawls.

Enchant

Enchant is a dream combination of baby alpaca, silk and cashmere makes this a super-soft yarn with a slight halo yet beautiful sheen. Perfect for very special projects where softness is the most important factor. Treat someone special to a soft hat or scarf.

Entwist

A high twist sock yarn with no nylon which is perfect for anyone wanting to reduce their plastic consumption. (We also post out plastic free unless a very large order) This yarn doesn't just have to be socks tho, it will also work very well for garments, accessories and shawls.

Ashley's Alp-aca Yarns

These two colourways have been designed and dyed by my son Ashley to raise funds for a very special trip this summer to the Alps with Scouts for 2 weeks of activities and camping. There are two options - a DK sock box or a 4ply bundle and £5 from each will go into his Jamboree fund. I think he's done a lovely job with the colours.

Sock Box    |    Yarn Bundle

Virtual Yorkshire Yarn Fest

 

Really please to be taking part in Virtual Yorkshire Yarn Fest again this month. Its Sunday 26th June and check social media for what time we will be on. This is the show colourway which will be available and is called Alexandrite. Make sure you follow them on Instagram to see all the vendors.

Thank-you for reading to the end of this newsletter, I hope there is something to whet your appetite,

Rachel x