Eden Cottage Yarns

Well I think it's fair to say that I fell in love last weekend. I'd long suspected that this would be the case but my 'favourite of favourite' circle of indie dyers just made room for another: Eden Cottage Yarns. 

Victoria's booth was like a siren song that all weekend I popped back to, sighed and wished myself in a better place knitting wise. I wanted something in every yarn weight. I could just see the projects with her gorgeous sense of colour and great selection of yarn bases. 

In her own words, Eden Cottage is the "home of semi-solid colours, from muted pastels, to stone-washed mid-shades and rich, jewel-tones. The yarn is dyed with an emphasis on simple but gorgeous colours, as well as sustainability, and ECY has become synonymous with a muted palette of semi-solid shades". Victoria is not kidding. Her stand at Unravel was like a wardrobe full of knits waiting to happen. Everything was just so wearable. 

I brought a sweater quantity home, my single yarn purchase all weekend. I wanted to save myself for something I truly wanted and apparently, I truly wanted Oakland DK. This is New Zealand Polwarth, handdyed in the 'Midnight' colourway. 

I think it's destined to be a Hooray Cardigan by Veera Valimaki. I've been wanting to make one for ages, ever since I saw the thick cables on the front. I think this bouncy and crisp feeling yarn will give great stitch definition and I'm excited to try a new-to-me fibre too. It made adding it to my stash feel much less naughty somehow as I didn't have any other Polworth. See? Totally justified!

(C) Veera Valimaki

Sunshine

OH this weather! Yes, I've kicked off a blog post talking about weather. I'm so British right now but do you know what? This wet weather is getting me down. Layers, miserable walks, no freedom for toddlers and absolutely no decent light with which to celebrate FOs. 

Luckily I had a skein of this wonderful stuff. It's Vivacious DK in the 'Sunshine' colourway and it has cheered some really miserable days let me assure you. I worked on two hats, ripping one back because I couldn't find a rhythm and starting afresh on the Evernia. It was the right decision because a) it had lace and b) POM POMS!

The yarn held up really well to so much pulling back so I'm hopefully it will wear well. The hat is a little slouchier than I'd ideally like as I cast on with the wrong needle size but a brim that can be pulled over your ears in this weather is no bad thing let me assure you. It looks even slouchier in these pictures because it's worn by my sister who is a dot of a thing in comparison to me. She was a good sport to let me snap pics on a sleepy Sunday morning after the Playful Tot had kept her awake all night. Ahem. 

Tori has written a fab pattern with multiple options. There's charting and writing instructions and everything is crystal clear and WORKS. I actually feel quite addicted to hat knitting right now. A designer I know proposes that a hat is the perfect medium for trying things out and practising technique. She's absolutely right as I got my Lace fix with the instant gratification of a hat rather than the sobbing that would have gone with full on Lace shawl. 

Oh and the variation in colour between pictures? Yeah that would be the lack of light and need to photoshop it to oblivion in order to see any stitches. urgh. Roll on Spring. 

In the meantime? More hats!

Handspun Heaven

Right before Christmas, I received a package that can only be described as an early Christmas present. Nestled amongst samples of Lo-Lo hand balms, David's teas and some pretty yummy chocolates were these two fabulous skeins. Let me tell you, pictures in the current monsoon weather we're enjoying, do NOT do them justice.

This has left me with two dilemmas. First, what on earth should I knit with them? I adore handspun but thus far it's all gone into the 'Golden Stash', the collection of skeins too precious to pick the perfect project for. I do not want this to happen but yet.... they're perfection itself. Any ideas?

The second problem is the issue of how does one reciprocate? I want something so amazingly mind blowing that the person knows how much I understand the value of handspun.

I wonder how much Benedict Cumberbatch is going for these days?

Blink and it's Gone

Well this week was fast. Really fast. So fast paced and so intense that I just had no time to knit. None. I have had to work every available opportunity.


It was therefore very happily that I realised I needed to take some pictures for some work I'm doing and would have to knit. Sure, I could have just snapped pictures of knitting tools solo but it's so much nicer in projects right? Then I reasoned that if I was knitting up swatches, I might as well be casting on real projects for the next few months.

Right?

It seemed perfectly reasonable to me. So with the Playful One dispatched with the Giant I set about knitting and snapping. Sending the little one out was kind of essential given her penchant for my skeins. This is what happens otherwise.....

Yup. Note the blur of rapid movement!

Like mother like daughter right?

I'll fill you in on all the casting on and off I achieved very soon. Right now I need to run. Again. This coming week is looking even more frantic.

x

Knitting Love

Oh I have some wonders to tell you about. When yarns and great designers collide, magic happens, it really does. I FINALLY finished up some items, including blocking, weaving in ends and photographing, which almost never happens around here lately. So it's high time I waxed lyrical about a few things I've been working on. 

First there was the Uncommon Thread wonder yarn, Lush Worsted in 'Bois', 231 yards of MCN heaven. I bought this for a specific project way back in October when I pictured long knitting times as I started my maternity leave and waited for our baby's arrival. I chose Dryad by my knit crush, Jared Flood. Yum. Delicious cables, intricate details and wonderful bouncy yarn to work it up in. It was a challenge but that was ok. I was going to be impatient for an arrival, I'd be thankful for the distraction. Right?

Wrong.

It went to the frog pond 4 months after Playful Baby's arrival as I just admitted defeat. Cables and charts were not my friend when I barely had time to knit so I ripped it out and chose Setzer instead. It was still Jared, but a lot simpler and 'kinder on a frazzled mind' looking. Silly me forgot my deep seated loathing of wrap and turns but I'm quite pleased with the end result and know The Giant (its recipient) is too. You can see my Ravelry project notes here. 

I also finally, finally finished my long love affair with Plume by Lisa Mutch. I adore Lisa's designs as they are just so ME. I want to knit them, wear them and talk about them. They are simple, stylish and interesting enough to keep me happy while not being so mind bendingly complicated that I can only work on them in total silence for 15 minutes at a time. Lisa likes thoughtful construction that leads to effective results. I love that. 

I took two very beautiful yarns out of my stash for this knit. More Uncommon Thread, this time both fingering weights. The main body was knit in Posh Fingering in the 'Nimbostratus' colourway, and between the delicate grey and the lustrous silk and cashmere content in this yarn, I immediately loved this shawl. Once I added a bright Cerulean blue in Silky Merino Fingering, I knew that I was creating one of my all time favourite shawls. These yarns are exquisite and I think Ce is possibly a genius. 

It took nearly a year to knit and block but my god, I love it. I worked a few modifications that you can read about here to make the most of the yarn and make it my biggest shawl to date. I can't wait to wear this around me this autumn. I've barely taken pictures of it but I'm sharing already because I'm impatient and waiting 2 more days to take better pictures just might just kill me. 

Starting Somethin'

Ok that title was meant to be about an obsession I've started but now I have the song in my head and I love it. I love the old Michael Jackson stuff, it's my favourite stuff to dance round the kitchen and sing into wooden spoons to while I'm cooking.

Yeah yeah! 

Anyway. I talked in the last podcast about my current love of simple gift knitting, stashing down and productivity. Well, it's becoming out of control. As I packed up my stash ready to move house (there were tears, I won't lie), I decided to keep a basket full of knitting so see me through the next month. I pulled out odd skeins, remnants, scraps and a few treats. 

Here's what it all looked like when I'm done. All are destined for gift knitting of some description, I just don't know what yet.

Let's delve in

A bag full of sock/ 4ply remnants. I have no idea what these want to be but they will be something of this I can be certain.

A small selection of sportweight that I'm hoping to combine into a design of... something....

A clutch of DK and Worsted weights destined to grow up into hats/ mitts etc for holiday knits. Actually, there's already some missing from that bag as I wound it so it's looking quite sparse here. Honestly, I can't keep my hands of yarn for two seconds....

A skein of awesome from Candy Skein that will be MY gift: dancing socks. 

4 skeins of an aran weight that will be my first hand knit gift for playful baby. I'm looking forward to this moment. 

Oh and let's not forget an old friend who is beginning for another arm. 

I have no idea how long this will last or whether I will stashdown everything but for now I'm pretty committed to some productivity and getting ahead for the holidays. You might be too after Ravellenics or just because. If you are, we decided to have a join in along over on the Ravelry group and there's prizes! Come play!

It's been FAR too long

I realise as I start this post that I cannot remember the last FO I shared here on the blog. It's best I don't check. Let's pretend it's only been a month shall we? I've always thought we were good friends. Let's keep this little fact between you and I, yes?

So, here's a very unseasonal but very lovely FO. The design is the 'Eternity Scarf' by Michelle Wang and I cast on after a bit of an obsessive period of stalking eternity loops. I wanted all my scarves to be round for some reason. I also wanted texture and something to show off the lovely Berry Colourful Yarnings yarn that I'd been sent for review. 

The yarn in question is BC Yarning's Worsted MCN base in the colourway 'Cinna'. It's an 80% Merino, 10% Nylon and10% Cashmere base that is sproingy and pleasing to work into a squishy fabric. This is not a lofty yarn, nor one that has no life to it. Instead, I'd describe it as full of energy and yearning for ribbing and swaths of stockingette to showcase the variegation of the colour. I began with this:

And found the textured sections really pleasing close up.....

I'm not convinced I've got the size right as it won't go round my shoulders as planned but it loops really satisfyingly around my neck and I know it's going to wear well due to the twist of the yarn. I predict a very stylish Autumnal key accessory. So I'm thinking a good yarn for high wear accessories and I'm eyeballing the DK I have in my stash too...... hmmmmmmm....

A love affair

I promised you all a very indulgent post about a shawl that I have been completely in love with recently. To say that I am besotted would be an understatement. As evidence of the reason why please see the picture below.

Pretty isn't it? The pattern is called Whippoorwill and is by Carina Spencer, who is also known as Sweet Mama on Ravelry. The pattern has been in my queue for quite some time. On a snowy day in February I decided it was time to release some stash that had been marinating for quite some time and cast on.

Firstly, let's talk about the yarn shall we? The main body is knit in NorthboundKnitting yarn, Super Wash Merino, a lovely fingering weight that I thoroughly enjoyed working with. As always with Lisa's yarns the colour is absolutely perfect and I was completely addicted from the get go. The colourway is called 'Moonstone' and is now firmly in my all-time top yarns. The subtle variation in this wonderful yarn is just the kind of colour that I love in order to create an interesting fabric.

To complement this lovely neutral I picked a Tactile Fibrer Arts yarn that I had been sent for review. The yarn is called Bolinas Sock and the colourway is 'Pomegranate'. It is a bouncy Blue Faced Leicester with a high twist that has been naturally dyed and I felt the red popped wonderfully for this project. While I had a few issues with bleeding from the yarn I had been cautious enough to soak it first as I knew that naturally dyed and red are both prone to bleeding. Luckily, it was more a case of excess and so I didn't lose any of its' wonderful deep colour.

(I'll be doing a fuller review in this Sunday's podcast episode so stay tuned for more news on this lovely yarn. It's a goodie.) 

I loved working up this pattern, and was sad that I didn't do my homework before it was too late to realise that I could have squeezed a medium-size shawl out of these two skeins. Realising this, I set about adding an extra red ripple and the size is now perfect to wear around my shoulders this summer. You can see more details and notes on my Ravelry page here.

Roll on summer!

PS I appear to be getting better with this dictation software -  photos!

Candy Skein Yarns

I've been enjoying knitting lately. I've dived into stash with delight and glee and loved everything on the needles. One of the things making me very happy was this:

This lovely bit of business is Candy Skein's Yummy Worsted, a delightful 220 yards of Superwash Merino. The colourway is Blackberry and according to Tami, the lady behind the Candy enterprise, it's one of her most popular colourways. I can see why. Some of you might recognise Tami from her blogalongs- WIP Wednesdays and FO Fridays. I got chatting to Tami and was lucky enough to receive some review yarn.

The yarn is soft to the touch and has a really nice bounce that I wasn't expecting from superwash. It was more variegated than I'd imagined from the picture so I pondered the pattern choice for some time. Eventually I settled on Molly, a slouchy hat design by Erin Ruth. A third of the way into knitting I had a crisis- is this TOO variegated for cables? However, I was knitting with some friends over new year's and was met with oooo's and ahhh's and decided to keep going. 

Half way through the decreases, I realised I was going to run out of yarn. I was horrified and ripped back to start them 3 rows earlier. The yarn held up well. There was a little fuzzing but no more than I've come to expect from other yarns and with a little knitting, everything looked good to go again. 

I like the end result, especially the textured stitches in the body of the hat. I think if I was to do this again, I'd leave out the cable and have just the texture to really showcase the colourway. OR add 2 extra purls either side of the cable to really make it stand out. 

Either way I'm pretty pleased. And warm :)

Dark Days

Sometimes you write a title just so you can follow it up with another titled post. I'm hoping the next one states that dark days are over, there's a Florence and The Machine video and a parade of food and knits. However, in order for there to be such a post, there needs to be dark days. I believe I'm in them. 

Let's look at the evidence: the days are now shorter. So short in fact that yesterday the giant and I were ready to go to bed (we're both sick) and looked at the clock. 6.45 pm .Really? REALLY???? I swear it had been dark for hours at this point. Surely it had to be closer to midnight. Normally extra evening would be delightful, like waking up on Saturday, thinking it's a week day and gleefully realising your mistake. Last night however it felt like a day that was never going to end. Ever.

Then of course there is the fact that I remain in a black hole of knitting. I have not completed anything in ages and if I have, chances are it hasn't been for me. The Juno Regina stole is trying to kill me in my sleep. Seriously. I hear it whispering to me 'you will never finish me and I will be your albatross'. Or should that be monkey? Monkey on your back; albatross round your neck, right? Whatever. I have a friggin zoo climbing all over me right now and christmas is not getting any further away. 

I also have a chest infection. AGAIN. How is it that I can catch a cold and go down with a chest infection with such ease? You know how men never have a cold but have man flu and might be dying? I am like that. I don't get just a cold. I get a chest infection and become my own little parody of Slimer with green goo. It's attractive I can tell you. 

So to lift my spririts in these dark days I'm powering through the stole so that I can look forward to these new brights. You'll be hearing about them next podcast. If I can string a sentence together by Sunday. If not, I'll be dragging myself out of bed to write a blog post that announces the dark days are not yet over and we're all doomed, DOOMED, I tell you. 

Artist's Palette Dk- with cashmere!

ROBOT LOVE!!!

Oh I have clever knit friends, yes I do....

Ok, that was dramatic. My fever might be up again. Apologies.

ETA: Slimer reference point

Oh my GOSH!!

What's this you ask?

This?

Oh this is just some lovely Abstract Cat. 

The colourway? Why, it's a special Autumn day........ 'Aplayfulday' even. 

To find out how you could win your own exclusive skein, tune in to the next episode!!

*skips*

These happy days

Today the sun is shining and my day is feeling decidedly playful. Here's a few reasons why:

My soundtrack is 'Treme'. If you've not watched it, stop what you're doing immediately and watch the entire first season. It will blow you away.

My colour is new blue

I'm making cheese sauce with leftovers of some of the best cheese I've ever tasted and I have projects blocking. 

Ooooooo pretty

OK so I know I said I wasnt going to stress the pretty anymore but sometimes pretty just lands in your lap. 

Today was a good mail day. 

To find out what these beauties are, tune in tomorrow's episode!!

I'm a survivor...

Yes I'm singing the Destiny's Child song, don't judge me. After the day I had yesterday? You're lucky I'm not in my disco pants, drunk as a lord and singing Gloria Gaynor quite frankly.

Anyway yesterday KICKED.MY.BUTT. Ouch. Today however was much better as I got an early cool and a booking. I've ticked 5 things off my list and postponed 2 for very good reasons. Promise. To add to my better day, THEY FOUND MY PACKAGE!!!! I did a little victory boogie on the phone and explained this to the nice man who then offered to walk it round. Had they not lost it in the first place I'd have been amazed at the service. 

Here is my bounty for the goddess that is Amber.

There's another skein of Miss Bab's to make a jumper in the beautiful burgundy colourway 'Catherine'. I now have two and I'm dead excited. There's also this skein of Lisa Souza Hardtwist in the colourway Sherwood Forest. Tally ho I say!

Then there was this cute as anything wallet. I will be using it for nights out when I don't take my whole purse and also to add business cards to when I finally get round to ordering some. (This was on tomorrow's list anyway, don't start). We both love interesting keys so this is just so cute. I found myself stroking the satisfying fabric on the top. Lovely.

So after my storming success I took WIPs pics. ooooooooo I can do WIP Wednesday can't I? Perfect timing. Here is progress on the Pinwheel Blanket by Genia Planck. 4th ball.... 2 to go..... over 400 stitches at last count. 

Then I have a question for you all. How to customise this. I have no sewing machine but I do have needle, thread and some sharp ass fabric scissors. What do you suggest?

Featuring: Abstract Cat Crafts

As promised a feature on the very talented Laura from Abstract Cat Crafts. I discovered this dyer about a year a go and was half tempted NOT to share to keep all the yarn for myself.....

Abstract Cat Crafts can be found online at either http://abstractcat.folksy.com or http://abstractcat.misi.co.uk. Stay tuned for the upcoming website, http://abstractcat.co.uk. And if you make a purchase, please do say hi for me, her favourite stalker!!

Tell us about what you do?
I'm a dyer and seller of hand-dyed yarn, and heading towards being full time with it although the workload varies greatly. Currently I mostly sell online through Folksy and MISI, but have recently started supplying The Yarn Cake in Glasgow, a fabulous wee knitting cafe/cake and yarn shop. I also had a stall at Knit Camp Marketplace at the University of Stirling last year and hope to do more fairs in future, however I'm dependent on public transport, so can only do events close to home.

How did it all start?
After two years of being stuck in the graduate employment trap (no experience, no job → no job, no experience, and too many qualifications) something had to be done. I've always dabbled in crafts, and wondered if some of my experiments could be turned from a hobby into a business. At the same time, I couldn't find the perfect shade of red yarn for a shawl I wanted to crochet so I dyed some myself using a beginners' dyeing kit I'd bought a year previously. The rest, as they say, is history.

I tend to work by trial and error and a lot of what I've done has been a good lesson in how not to do things! The bravery to strike out on your own is essential, as is finding your niche, and a business plan is probably very wise, but do as I say not do as I do...

Do you have a future ‘plan’ for your crafting related enterprise?
Creation of a formal business plan is something is something I really ought to get round to so I can gain a bit of focus. Loosely, I'd like to expand. I'd like to expand the wholesale side of my business and sell through more outlets, but as I like to maintain personal contact with my customers, I think I'd be quite selective about where my yarn was sold. I'd also like to sell at more fairs, but there are very few events in my area just now, and I have to be able to reach them by public transport. And of course I'd like to increase online sales, increase the variety of base yarns I use and sell more luxury and British yarns.

Where do you find inspiration?
Growing up in the Scottish Highlands and being a homesick Highlander, it's probably inevitable that much of my inspiration comes from those landscapes. I have to resist the urge to dye yarn in every possible shade of misty mountain purple and curb my desire to name colourways with unpronounceable (to non-Scots) Gaelic names. Skein of 'Braigh Coire Chruinn-Bhalgain' anyone?

Favourite Childhood Game?
Not so much a game, but exploration. One of my best friends lived in a big house in the country near Loch Ness, and we'd spends our weekends and holidays tramping across fields and through woods, exploring for hours, sometimes taking interesting items home – we had an extensive collection of broken pottery, and other highlights included picking orchids (we didn't know they were protected), taking home a newt (it escaped by the next morning), and running away, terrified, from a calm but curious cow.

Are you an early bird or midnight owl?
In summer I'm an early bird - I wake with the daylight so I sleep with blackout curtains otherwise I'd get no sleep after 4am. In winter it's a different story. I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) so am only properly awake between about 10am and 6pm, heavily propped up my therapeutic light box and caffeine.
 

Tell us about a dream you recently remember 

Most of my dreams are loosely connected vignettes and I forget them soon after waking. I can remember one that was something to do with translucent, jellyfish-like lobsters that opened the sides of their claws when they got angry, to reveal rows of cats' teeth. Also something about being in New York and men crocheting wire gloves round my hands (I have been dabbling wire crochet recently, and thinking of my family in New York...)
 

Comfort Food of choice?
Pizza. If I didn't have to worry about weight gain, I'd probably eat pizza seven days a week. If not pizza, cheese. When I have 'chocolate' cravings they're usually fat cravings that can be satisfied with cheese.

When you daydream, where do you tend to end up?
Being happier and calmer than I am now, with a lot more control over my environment, and being creatively satisfied. Not any particular 'place' so much as internal satisfaction and contentment.

Anything else?

Recently my partner and I have developed a new obsession – watching roller derby, a full-contact, usually all-female sport that is gaining popularity in this country after experiencing a revival in the USA in the last ten years or so. It's played by opposing teams skating round an oval track. Points are scored by a 'jammer' who is trying to lap members of the opposing team whilst they try to prevent her from doing so. It's fast, furious and very entertaining, but I'm not tempted to try it myself and am staying firmly in the audience – I don't think my hips could handle it!

Featured: Yarn to Knit

This time my featured crafter is Yarn to Knit, an indie dyer who very kindly invited me and my friend into her home to craft and yarn gaze. It all begun as a suggestion to my friend of Yarn and Spices that we should check out some local dyers/ yarn shops. She casually replied to the Yarn to Knit, 'Oh Martina? She's lovely'. I was there!

We arrived and sat round happily, talking knitting and crochet, each with projects in our laps and plenty of tea to keep us refreshed. We chatted about recent shows Martina has attended (Unravel has just gone and she will be at Wonderwool- so keep your eyes peeled). Then Martina thought she'd get out some skeins to show us, and my friend and I promptly lost all ability to speak, save for some Gollum impressions. 

I mean look at just these two boxes? Aren't they delicious?

I dived in, pulling out warm skeins of plush british breeds and cool skeins with silk and bambo blends. I had a hard job narrowing things down....

 I reduced this pile one sad skein at a time, it was not easy! I finally settled on a sock yarn in the colourway 'Red Wine' and two skeins of DK in 'Peacock'. Yes, yes, I know that I'm dewstashing but it's my birthday soon so I'm allowed. Especially as I've been so discplined. It would've been rude not to buy after all that fondling anyway right?

We finished with more cake and cookies. It was generally a day made of win. Thanks Martina- you were such a poppet to feed us and supply us with yummy yarns!