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

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!