HRYC

Another new series of blog posts! Hooray! A wee chat about shop samples, what we made them from and where you can find the pattern.

Anders in Road to China Light

I actually knit this up way back in March, but as usually happens, it's been in want of buttons ever since. What is it with buttons that are such a stumbling block on the way to finishing? They always, always get me. Anyway, it now has buttons, and is about the most adorable jersey ever. 

 Anders by Soren Kerr, knit in Road to China Light 

The only reason I knit this was because I needed an excuse to knit with Road to China Light, and I'm a bit over knitting hats and scarves for shop samples. It is a luxury yarn and I made the yarn choice not expecting anyone else to follow suit. Alpaca, silk, cashmere and camel makes for an amazing fabric but perhaps not the best idea for a toddler. Having said that, after all the work put into making it, this would come under heirloom knitting for sure. 

There is about zero surprise in the colours I went for, either. Topaz and Grey Pearl. 

Anders is a really simple pattern and great for trying our fair isle knitting if you haven't had a go yet. If you don't want to commit to a high end yarn, something like Cascade 220 Superwash Sport would be absolutely perfect for this project. 

Details:

Pattern: Anders by Soren Kerr

Size made: 12-18 months

Needle size: 3.75mm and 4mm

Yarn: Road to China Light in Grey Pearl (2 skeins) and Topaz (half a skein)

Shop sample: in Grand Arcade, Willis St

We can sell you this pattern in-store as a pdf, if you fancy it.  

It isn't terribly often we have trunk shows. So here's some exciting news! We have an extra special one organised for next week. Yep, next week. 

Hannah of Red Riding Hood Yarns is celebrating her third business birthday, so we decided to nab her for a one night only special. And what goes better with yarn than a very talented pattern designer? Julia Stanfield of Just One WIP is on board too. Hooray! 

What sort of things might you expect to see, exactly?

Delightful hand-dyed yarns...

and inspiring patterns for kids and adults, including lots of samples for you to nosy at.

I'm all excited about having a different kind of knit night. One where we have special visitors and you get to hang out and browse something different and knit and eat cake and drink tea. Come along! It's sure to be loads of fun. xx Tash

Possibly the most exciting time is when an order of Malabrigo lands. This week was no exception - two giant sacks of gorgeous squishiness arrived on Wednesday and it was certainly a squee-worthy event. 

The arrival also dictated the need for new shelving. We have so much stock at the moment that no amount of rearranging was going to make it fit on our existing shelves. A terrible dilemma, isn't it? 'Oh dear we have so much yarn we have to buy more shelving. What a terrible terrible thing to have happen.'

Malabrigo Rios in Niebla, Sunset and Ravelry Red

More Malabrigo Rios in Azules, Bobby Blue and Playa

Now we didn't just get Rios in this order, oh no. There's stacks and stacks of Malabrigo Sock, and even more Silky Merino. Between those three I went waaaaay above my buying budget, and so there wasn't any room left for Lace or Silkpaca Lace. The good news there is we'll be doing ANOTHER order next week - hooray! If there's a colour we didn't get in this time and you're absolutely desperate to have it, just let us know. Malabrigo takes about three months to arrive and every day of that wait is absolutely worth it. 

Want more pictures? Sure! How about some dodgy ones taken at 9pm on Wednesday night?

Mmmmm Malabrigo sock....

And you'll have to make do with this pic of the Silky Merino...it's one of those yarns that takes awhile to puff back up to smooshy size once it's been pulled out of the bag. It's only really photo-worthy once it's had a week or so of breathing on the shelf. 

I'm going to spend my Friday finishing off a couple of projects and hunting out a pattern worthy of knitting up in Malabrigo. And, of course, packing up all the orders that are coming through quick and fast for this amazing yarn. We're getting low on a few colours in all ranges already...

Strange coincidence that shortly after having blogged about my first ever knit garment, Thermal, we've got more stock of the same yarn I used for it - Naturally Haven. 

Why did I choose it? Because it was soft, had a beautiful hand, and was machine washable. It's safe to say that after 5 years of wear, it still looks fantastic. 

In the same line, we also now have Naturally's Waikiwi on the shelves. The best thing about Waikiwi? It's PERFECT for socks. A mix of NZ merino, possum, nylon and silk mean it is designed for the wear and tear socks are subjected to. It almost seems a shame just to put it on your feet, though. Wouldn't it also make a glorious Thermal? I think so. 

I'm trying to force myself to finish knitting my second  Rocky Coast before casting on anything new...but with all this exciting stock arriving, it's proving a challenge! Knitting and daydreaming about future projects will have to do for now.

I'm having a weird old weird day. If you're having one as well, or simply feel like getting out of the house, it's knit night tonight (Thursday). Come on by for some yarn squishing, knitting and tea. And toffee pops. And whatever else I can rummage up for you. We'll be here, knitting, from 7pm - 9pm.

xx Tash

Words to describe Zealana: ..... nope, I got nothing. This yarn range needs to be touched. And seen. So i'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Zealana Willow, 70% Merino 30% Cashmere DK

Zealana Rimu, 60% Merino 40% Possum DK (pic above and below)

Zealana Heron, 80% Merino 20% Possum worsted 

Zealana Kiwi, 40% Merino 30% Organic Cotton 30% Possum 4ply & 3ply

These amazing yarns will be up online in the next couple of weeks. They are a delight to have in store!