New Yarn & New Gadgets

Two weeks ago I decided I wanted a linker. Most handknitters haven't heard of linkers as they're mainly marketed to machine knitters. It's a machine that seams garments. I have heard a bit of mixed views about linkers in the past. But 2 weeks ago someone at the machine knitting group was raving about her linker. The day after one of the ladies who attended my workshop recommended getting a linker saying she used it for machine knitting and handknits. I decided I must look into this amazing machine.

My first discovery was that they were rather pricey. About £300-400 brand new. So  I took a quick look at Ebay and there were only a couple for sale. I have got some great purchases on Ebay in the past but I don't really like buying on there. Its so easy to get into a bidding war and i've had a couple of unpleasant experiences. I decided to ask my Twitter friends if anyone had a linker for sale. And someone replied. So I'm now the proud owner of a second hand linker.

 So far I've only done one short seem and it worked and seems easy enough to use. I'm about to finish 2 cardis on the knitting machine so i'll have more sewing up to do soon.

I think I will like this gadget.

We've finally got some new yarn in the shop. There's been very little yarn dyeing going on here this month. It feels like there's been very little of everything going on this month. Not sure what I've been doing actually. But I do have 2 new yarns to tell you about.

First is BFL Twist which is a blend of Bluefaced Leicester and nylon with a high twist. The nylon and extra twist makes it hard wearing and durable for socks and the BFL makes it soft enough for accessories like scarves. In fact I'm about to cast on for a new cowl and handwarmer set which will be part of The Easy Lace Collection. This is the colour i'm using:

I love this colourway. Here are some of the other colourways:

And some 'man' colours:

The second new yarn this week is Twinkle Lace which is a merino/silk/stellina blend. Stellina is the sparkly silver bits. This yarn is the same as my Twinkletoes Sock but has silk instead of nylon. I love this yarn & I'm planning to use it for a mystery KAL (which will be starting in September). This is the colourway I've picked out:

Here's a few other colourways:

I'm in the middle of finishing off this secret project:

And I'm putting the finishing touches on two other secret projects. All will be posted tomorrow. Then I'll be casting for for another design for the Easy Lace Collection and The Mystery KAL Shawl.