Naughty but nice!

Living in a yarn shop, as I essentially do, it’s often very hard to justify making purchases from other such establishments. To be fair, most of the yarns I love to knit with and/or can’t resist, I have managed to squeeze into our ever expanding range and it’s not often I can’t find something to satisfy my requirements within a few yards of  where I am currently sitting.

It’s not possible to fit it all in though and some of the loveliest independent yarn dyers don’t/can’t wholesale (no matter how much I pester them 😉 ) so I still find myself coveting gorgeous skeins of hand dyed lace weight, stalking etsy for those gone-in-a-few-minutes indie updates and longing for the more specialist yarns that come to light. A couple of months ago I came across the Island Wool Company, a new enterprise devoted to importing yarns native to the Faro Islands. I’d come across some of these yarns when the ‘Sarah Lund’ phenomenon hit our screens and ‘that jumper’ became a hot topic of conversation. It was a commercial knit made from Faroese ‘Sirri’ yarn and I did briefly contemplate importing it for our little yarn emporium. Space was a serious issue for yarn that really required importing on quite a major scale though and I eventually forgot all about it. Thankfully, Fiona Parker and Daniel Rye didn’t forget and having both lived and worked in the Faroe Islands they were no strangers to the amazing heritage of the Islands’ yarn industry.  They’ve done a ‘proper job’ of importing and offering a fine range of amazing yarns for our knitting pleasure…

The temptation was too much! I succumbed this week and a lovely brown paper parcel duly arrived this morning.

I am not disappointed! The 4 skeins of Snaeldan 2 ply (which knits as 4 ply much like a Shetland ‘jumper’ weight) are one of the un-dyed natural shades – a very rich brown aptly called ‘Peat’.

It’s a gorgeous, slightly ‘oily’, springy, subtly heathered yarn with a faint halo and it is exactly what I imagined as I ordered…

I have plans for a loose fitting, yet slightly shapely, contiguous sweater with a shaped hem, 3/4 sleeves and a deep crew neck. A ‘favourite jumper’ if you will, to sling on over a shirt… I’ll be plotting and planning and swatching later (when I should be finishing the enormous man card – ahem) and will no doubt find myself casting on before too long…

Thanks Island Wool Company, for such speedy service, lovely packaging and gorgeous yarn! There was even a little treat nestled in the parcel…

As well as lovely yarn to drool over, the Island Wool web site offers a lovely insight into life on the Faroe Islands and the wonderful sheep farming heritage. I’d head over for a browse if I were you 😉