Spun Gold…

My Ostrich Plume Stole is finished (and had a successful ‘posh’ first outing too!)

The stitch pattern was incredibly easy to memorise – which is always a bonus but doesn’t mean it’s free from mistakes, obviously…

The gold Fyberspates Lace weight yarn was a dream to work with and the colour sang out from the depths of my knitting bag as it accompanied me here, there and everywhere! This was knitting with a deadline after all… the family wedding with the slightly scruffy ‘vintage’ (read second-hand-up-cycled!) dress, the shiny new shoes (orange!) and the finishing touch – the ta-da flourish – the gold stole! It was, amazingly, finished, ends woven in and steam blocked with a whole 4 days to spare! I am wondering if maybe I have been abducted by aliens it’s so unlike me not to work right up to (and possibly beyond) an important deadline

The outfit was declared a success, the stole garnered the odd compliment (without casting a shadow over the bridesmaids who were resplendent in purple!) and it will be a welcome addition to my Autumn wardrobe for it is light, airy and the perfect length to accessorise my usual – slightly less posh – jeans and scruffy t-shirt!

All details ‘ravelled’ here

The Scrumptious Collection – Volume 1

We’ve long been fans of Fyberspates yarn, in fact I’ve been buying hand dyed skeins from Jeni since way before Meadow Yarn was even a pipe-dream and of course, when the barn was ready to be filled with yarn Fyberspates Scrumptious was at the top of the list! We’ve never struggled to find beautiful things to knit with it either… from scarves and stoles that make the most of the glorious drape of the Lace weight yarn (there’s one in progress at the moment!) to cabled hats in Chunky weight and shrugs and pull-overs that show off the sheen of the DK. We were, however, very excited to hear a while back that Jeni was working on a pattern collection and now we’ve got our hands on it we’re even more excited.

The Scrumptious Collection volume 1 contains 20 patterns that show-off the Scrumptious yarn range to its full potential. Ranging from quick knits, like this fab chunky hat…

Arncott Hat by Jen Arnall-Culliford

to Lace weight Cardi’s and Slipovers like Hethe & Tirrold:

Hethe by Judy Furlong

Tirrold by Jen Arnall-Culliford

There’s truly something for every knitter in this lovely collection and anyone who’s a fan of Fyberspates already will appreciate patterns that make the most of the lovely drape and sheen that is common across the range.

We’ve also just added the 4 ply yarn to our current range…

Scrumptious 4 ply

The same great feel as the other weights with a nice twist for added stitch definition.

Leaving you with my current faves from the pattern collection (although they change daily!)

Hinksey Mittens

Stonor Cardigan

Golden Ostrich Plumes in progress

The skein of Fyberspates Scrumptious Lace in ‘Gold’ that I wound into a cake last week has started it’s slow transformation into a thing of even more impossible beauty!

I have in my sights a light, airy rectangular stole that I can drape elegantly over my arms/shoulders at a late August family wedding… Obviously I will then spend most of the day wiping snotty noses, getting smeared with mucky fingers and the like but hey, it might work well as a cover-up for the inevitable stains on the grey linen dress and I could even still look halfway presentable as the lights dim for the first dance… or maybe not but  a girl can dream!

I decided eventually (Ravelry is a baaaad place when one is searching for the perfect pattern, too much choice can definitely suck a knitter into a black hole!) on Veronik Avery’s Ostrich Plume Stole from Knitting 24/7. It was an excuse to buy a book I’d had my eye on for some while and there are several other patterns in the book that will definitely get knit one day!

© Veronik Avery - from Knitting 24/7

My yarn is lighter weight than the one used above but I think it will make a super airy stole that will be just beautiful (if I can just memorise the stitch pattern and stop having to tink back to fix mistakes!!)

It’s a work in progress…

2 repeats down, 120+ to go! I’ve got 2 months, give or take a week… What do you think? Can I get it done??

Perfect knitting weather…

Well… the weather has been perfect this week and we’re obviously still knitting!

Aside from casting on for a chunky tweed cardigan for Chris (the first ever!) of which you’ll hear more later this week, my thoughts are turning to lighter weight, airy knits. Lace knitting will be perfect for whiling away the hours I intend to spend sipping cold ginger beer in the dappled shade of the birch tree in our garden (well, a girl can dream can’t she!) Obviously the children will be playing delightful, harmonious games (quietly) while I do this and not demanding endless drinks, snacks and falling out over what to play and whose turn it is to be Yoda (!) while simultaneously falling off bikes, out of trees and into patches of stinging nettles!

Because some of you might actually be living my dream we’ve got a fabulous offer on our favourite lace weight yarns and the needles to match… Until the end of April (Saturday 30th) lace yarns from Fyberspates, Natural Dye Studio, Austermann, Rowan, Noro & Manos del Uruguay are all 15% off. There’s also 15% off Addi Lace Circular needles, the perfect tools for delicate projects in luxurious yarns…

truly, truly…

We got our first delivery of Fyberspates Scrumptious DK earlier in the week…

mmmmmmm…..

Just 4 of the 7 shades that we ordered have arrived so far. To be honest, all 7 shades in one box might have been just too much to cope with! This is the silkiest softest silk/merino blend dyed in the richest, most beautiful colours we have seen in some while. I have a tendency to over-use the phrase ‘jewel-like’ when I’m talking about gorgeous yarn but honestly, it doesn’t do these tones justice.

I took a handful of skeins off to my local knitting night this week and they were passed around and fondled with spontaneous ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ escaping fromeven the most hardened yarnies! I came home with less than I took of course!

We’re intending to follow up the DK weight yarn with a sock weight and a lace weight in complimentary shades. I think Jeni at Fyberspates might have her work cut out in 2010!