Talking about new base yarns. I've found a replacement for my Amazing Cashmere Lace. The original Amazing Cashmere Lace base yarn was purchased from China and i had to pay in US dollars. Dealing with exchange rates makes ordering yarn more unpredictable when it comes to price you've got to pay as exchange rates change constantly. Also the shipping was horrendously expensive which all led to a tiny profit margin on this yarn. But then I found this new gorgeous cashmere lace yarn from a UK supplier. The old Amazing Cashmere Lace had 365 m per 55gr skein. The new Amazing Cashmere Lace has 400m per 50 gr skein. So it's not identical but it's not much of a difference. The new yarn is gorgeous. I love it. And I've dyed up some skeins of it today and I've got some gorgeous colours. So if you've been wanting to knit the Miyu scarf from Let's Knit last month, on Monday you'll have the chance to snap up some stunning colourways. i'll be dyeing more next week too. You can still download the Miyu pattern for free. Here's 5 skeins of the gorgeous cashmere twisted together in one big hank.
On Tuesday my Mum and I went to Bovey Tracey to visit Spin A Yarn. We had a lovely welcome from Joyce and Ali and spent a long time in the shop browsing over patterns and enjoying a drink. How many shops do you get offered a drink while you're shopping? Excellent service from my favorite yarn shop. My Mum decided on another Rowan pattern with gorgeous but complicated cable panel up the front of the sweater. The yarn is Rowan Pure Silk but there were only 3 colourways in stock so we looked around for ages and considered lots of gorgeous yarns and colourways and in the end my Mum decided on the new Rowan Revive yarn in purple. Revive is a recycled yarn made from, I think, silk, viscose and cotton. The cable panel for this sweater is really complicated and I've got to translate the pattern into NOrwegian. I'm not looking forward to it.I bought a ball of Rowan Revive too, for some swatching. I'm always looking out for new yarns to use for my designs. The Revive ball is the pink one on the right.
The silver grey ball is a wool/silk blend but I don't remember what it's called now.I also picked up a skein of Aracunia (I've probably spelled that wrong) yarn made from 100% sugar cane. I've done some swatching recently in this yarn and it's lovely. I just fell for this colourway. It's stunning. They also had a stunning peachy/yellow sunny colourway. I'm not sure what to do with this one. I'd love to knit something for myself for the summer but time is a problem. I'm also thinking about using it for a new design. I'll have to set aside some time for swatching next week.
Yesterday we went to Tavistock on the edge of Dartmoor. My back was very bad so it was a struggle to walk around but we looked in some lovely shops and galleries. We also visited the yarn shop in Tavistock (I don't remember the name now) and the contrast between this shop and Spin A Yarn was huge. The lady in the shop never spoke a word to us. She sat behind the counter knitting and I'm not even sure she looked up. We spoke Norwegian so she may have thought we couldn't speak English but smiling and saying 'hello' as we walked is hte minimum I expect. They had some great yarns but I'm afraid I wasn't tempted to buy anything. Neither was my Mum. Maybe I'm being unfair as all the ladies at Spin A Yarn know me and I go there a lot and always get a friendly welcome whereas this yarn shop I visit about once a year.My Mum left this morning. It was sad to see her go especially as I probably won't see her again until Christmas when we're going to Norway. I enjoyed her time here though.
I've spent the yarn catching up on lots of design and paper work, done lots of knitting and dyed a small amount of yarn. Which means there will be a small update on Monday with some Amazing Cashmere Lace and sock yarn.
Have a nice weekend x
3 comments:
The yarns you bought look enticing. I especially like the colour and look of the araucania.
Glad you had a good time with your mother. Time is precious.
I look forward to seeing your new yarns
Colleen
I, for one, would not even darken the door of that shop again. My goodness what rudeness! Perhaps she was also doing a complicated cable pattern but that's no excuse!! Took me a long time to come to terms with walking into a shop in America and being warmly welcomed as if I was a very regular customer....you felt very welcome and at ease and were more likely to buy something than if you were ignored. Perhaps some day I may get to Spin A Yarn...it sounds a great place to be....
My Mum went to the yarn shop in Tavistock last week too and wasn't impressed either!
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