Not blogging but knitting!

The weeks are just flying by at the moment! As well as keeping on top of Meadow Yarn, deliveries, new stock etc etc we’ve had (more than) our fair share of coughs and colds this winter and whole weeks seem to have passed in a fog of headachey, snotty, hacking that has worked its way around the family, back to the beginning and started over!

In amongst the piles of hankies and eucalyptus there has been some knitting too though… and now the sun is finally shining and all is well again.

Last off the needles, the much anticipated ‘Hoppy Blonde Hay‘. Hay is a downloadable pattern from Madeline Tosh by Veera Välimäki whose patterns I’ve knit previously and enjoyed. I’d been looking for an opportunity to use a ‘garments-worth’ of Hazel Knits Artisan Sock yarn for a while and this seemed like the perfect project. My sort of casual cardi (I live in ‘cardis’) and 4ply to boot. My favourite combination…

Paired here with my current favourite shirt – a green floral Indian cotton number that sums up my urgent need for Spring to arrive perfectly!

The knit was fairly straight forward – although I’m hoping that some errata will be published at some point because the odd mistake in the pattern made it slightly more complex than it needed to be! The yarn is lovely! I went for Hoppy Blonde – a ‘tone on tone’ semi solid in a warm mustardy, maizey shade of yellow that is my ‘must wear’ shade for this season!

A friend spotted the buttons in a local haberdashery store and bought them on impulse for me knowing I hadn’t found quite the right thing… they are perfect, Thank You Ann!

I’ve been wearing it almost constantly since it I finished it – hence it’s not-quite-as-pristine-as-when-it-was-blocked appearance in the photos!

Just to prove it – and because the sun shone the next day too – here are some more shots. Those of you who know me ‘in real life’ may also have spotted the new hair-do too

If you’re tempted by the beautiful yarn it is (coincidentally!) our current ‘Spring Special’ and has 20% off in the store until Friday 25th March! Keep an eye on Twitter and Facebook to see what’s coming up next as we celebrate the arrival of our favourite season with some great offers…

Spring start-itis!!

It’s a sure sign that Spring is finally almost here when I find I’ve got endless projects whirling round in my head and almost as many on the needles!

Something about the changing of the season makes me itchy to get started on new things… Maybe the sudden influx of new Spring/Summer yarns into the Meadow Yarn barn helps with the inspiration, maybe the first few warm(ish) sunny days and the very faint green glimmer about the hedgerows and borders adds to the need to create new things, who knows? What I do know is I’ve lots of just-started (and not very many nearly-finished) projects on the go…

Cookie A socks (Stalagmite) and my first experience of Wollmeise.

A ‘Cowl da Via’ in Babylonglegs Apples & Pears.

Inspired by a Ravelry adaptation of this capelet project, in Noro Sekku. Not that I’m one to enable but Noro Sekku does happen to be a very good deal in the store at the moment!

In other news, we’ve some fabulous Spring Specials running through March. It’s not too late to get 20% off Schoppel Wolle Zauberball. Offer applies until Friday 11th March.

Now, I’m off to contemplate the next cast-on…

Are you a Hazel Knut?

‘Cos Hazel Knits is here…

Yep! A big box of Artisan Sock Yarn landed in the office last week and it lives up to (and beyond!) all expectations.

It was hard choosing just a dozen shades to kick off the range with…. but I got there in the end and there are none that disappoint!

This yarn base is custom milled for Hazel Knits and is a super tight twist yarn, the closest I’ve come across – and also from the US – is the Socks That Rock ‘Lightweight’ although I don’t believe that has the nylon content and it’s definitely a little heavier.

The colours are *amazing*! Rich, true shades that are subtly ‘tinted’ to add ‘pop’ (to quote Wendee from Hazel Knits!)

I just don’t know which shade to test knit (ahem!) first… because of course, while it’s perfect for socks we’re really really excited about the possibilities for shawlettes, scarves, mitts and all the other lovely projects that will showcase the georgous colours and amazing stitch definition that the twist will give.

Here are just a few of my current favourites… but I’m fairly confident they will have changed by this time tomorrow

'shady verdant'

'spanish wine'

'chocolatier'

'pacific'

'blacklight'

'high ocTANG'

Olive anyone?

teeny tiny sock needles!

Yes… it does feel a little like knitting with cocktail sticks!

I’m road testing these 10cm double pointed needles from Knit Pro… and I like them a lot! After a couple of rounds feeling like I’d somehow been transported into the pages of Gulliver’s Travels I soon developed a nice easy rhythm and in no time I’d got half a sock – and Chris has now stopped asking me if I’m going to do some teeny tiny knitting…

They are smooth and pointy – as you’d expect from Knit Pro – and the short length does make for very speedy, tidy knitting as well as making the sock-in-progress very portable, which is always handy!

(Especially when you are up against a deadline… yes, that is indeed a Through the Loops Mystery Sock that you are spying… ssshhhh!)

The yarn is Natural Dye Studio Dazzle Sock in Aqua… and it is gorgeous!