WYS
Normally Rachel does the blog post, but this week has been very eventful. To start, I took a four night trip to London. Yes, just four nights!! It was a business trip and I had every day packed with meetings and activities. I had booked a day to Keighley to see the team at West Yorkshire Spinners and despite it not being the primary purpose of the trip, it was going to be the most interesting and exciting part. I was keen to get their new Xmas colourway "Gingerbread". Unfortunately, with the Queen’s passing and a bank holiday being announced that part was cancelled. WYS were good enough though to courier their Signature 4ply gingerbread colourway to me in London. We have other Christmas colours coming in about a month but the gingerbread was not available when we ordered a month or so ago.
If you are planning ahead for Christmas (and if you want to drop hints on suitable Christmas gifts for yourself), here’s our promotion schedule. It coincides with shipment arrivals:
- October: Scheepjes, Opal, Lopi, Knitpro
- November: West Yorkshire Spinners
- December: Chiaogoo and cotton yarns
Projects on the go
We can’t wait for the arrival of our niece. Rachel’s been knitting in-between packing orders. Not enough knitting time really, so I am sure she will enjoy the long weekend. What do you think of the gorgeous beanie? The pattern requires DK, but Rachel is combining two 4 ply yarns from Rachael at Dyestock Yarns. Dyestock Yarns were our neighbours at the Capital Fibre Fest. While we love our own range we also love to support other local indie dyers.
I’m currently using Red Hut Woolly DK. They’re 50g balls, 100% wool and good value as an all-purpose yarn. Great for the stash when they are on special, and great for newbies like myself, and especially good for kids who have just started knitting.
Natural Yarn Dyeing – Greytown Fibre Co
Rachel’s been in the dye shed this weekend. The avocado pips have been sitting in pH adjusted water so that it is more alkaline (at around 9-10) for about 2 months. Just prior to dyeing the Romney lambswool, the pH was re-adjusted to neutral using lemon juice.
If the dye is not close to neutral, then the yarn may become brittle. The end result is this beautiful peachy pink. It’s a long process but very satisfying, don’t you think?
Bruce x
