Print O The Waves

Since Nathalie doesn't have a blog, I have to show this off for her. She finally finished the stole just in time for the wedding, despite nearly running out of yarn! She had to send away to several places to get more at the last minute, and she was only 5 grams short! Anyway, it came out great, as you can see in this photo (Click on it for a larger image).

Where to Begin?

I don't even know where to start, I have to much to blog today. First I want to post a photo of the new needles that we have in the shop. How cute are these? They are by Serendipity, which is a company from Rhode Island, USA. Every top is different, and the tips are really sharp. Great for lace.



They come in this cute box which looks as if they are flowers in a garden box.

The next thing is what arrived in the post today, my Hot Socks box. I cannot believe how many lovely things were inside.




I have been dying to see some "Socks that Rock" in person, and here it is in just the color that I would pick! It is so soft and lovely, I just keep looking and petting it. I am debating whether to make socks with it, or a scarf. Jennifer has also included some Eucalan wool wash, another item that I have been wanting to try. The Interweave yarn requirments chart looks great. I have to get it for the shop, it is really handy. I am also going to have some of that lovely hot chocolate later on, I expect it is going to be delicious. Thank you so much Jennifer!!! You have made my first experience with swapping a great one. Here is a close up of the STR in Mist.




You would have thought that my day could not get any better, but then I had to work at the shop. I was not really looking forward to working another Saturday as I was there last week. I could use a few days off, but today was like an all day knitting party. The morning was a bit slow. We had a class upstairs with Nic. Around midday, the "regulars" started coming in. I had to bring some chairs down from upstairs. Here is a photo of one of the less crowded moments.



If you look in the foreground, you can see a little bit of the other table, where some very nice ladies were learning magic loop and working on socks. At some point, Nic went out to get everyone some tea, and then the place really started filling up. There was a point where it was a bit hard to walk around, but everyone was in a very happy mood, so I don't think anyone felt very bothered. This was quite a contrast to yesterday, which was our slowest day on record. Days like today are when I feel like this is what we opened the shop for, and all the work is worth it!

P.S. Sorry the photos are quite small, click on them to see them larger.

News News

Lots of things happening around here. This weekend I had a great day out with Ingrid at the Knitting and Stitching show at Alexandra Palace. It was really nice to go with a friend as I went alone last year. We were very organized, and mapped out which stalls we wanted to see ahead of time. We had signed up for a couple of classes, the first one of which we missed due to too much talking. The one we did make it to was with Lucy Neatby. At first I thought it was a bit basic, but then she showed us a really interesting method of casting off which I have to try. It is more like knitting, but you get the same result. We did get a chance to see the knitted Ferrari:



It is quite unbelievable, though I don't know how the woman didn't get bored to death.

I did allow myself to make some purchases. It is a bit hard to do when you own a yarn shop, but here we go:



On the left is some lovely hand dyed Wensleydale roving. Then going clockwise is some handspun, hand dyed silk from a woman in the Isle of Skye. Next is a cotton/linen mix from Knitshop.co.uk. They had some beautiful yarns, and I asked for some color cards for the shop. Last but not least is a skein of Terra from The Fibre Company. Nathalie loves their yarns, and we are thinking of getting them for the shop. I can't wait for her to see this skein in person.

The big news, drumroll please, is that Diane has joined us to work in the shop, and definately fits right in. She is pretty much as mad about knitting as we are, and she started yesterday. Check out her blog.

Gotta run, shop opens in 20 minutes!

Looking Up

OK, thinks seem to be getting better. Believe it or not, we had a bunch of calls from people interested in the job yesterday, and I think we have found someone. We just have to speak with her tomorrow. If you are reading this, you know who you are. More on that to come.
On the shop front, we had two deliveries today. First was Misti Alpaca, which is what we have been waiting for. The bulky is so soft, you can't believe it. It is 100% baby alpaca, which definately makes a difference. The laceweight is lovely as well, but we only recieved 3 colors as the others are on backorder. Then came our Zitron order with new colors of Unikat, which is great for scarves. I made a bit of a mistake on the Trekking, and less arrived than expected, but more will be along in another week or so. Definately a good couple of days

Bad News

I'm sorry to have to announce that our visit from Nicky Epstein next Wednesday has been cancelled due to an illness in her family. That is too bad. I feel bad for her, and I know alot of people were looking forward to coming in to meet her. In other news, we are still on a search for someone to work in the shop. I didn't realize how difficult it would be, it is quite frustrating, but we are hopeful that someone will turn up. I am also getting a bit discouraged on the swap front as I haven't heard from my person. I signed up for my first swap, Hot Socks, am looking forward to trying this out. I have seen so many swap photos onlike, it looks like a lot of fun.
We had a visit today from Becca of Yarnsmith fame. She did a demonstration on how to make her bag kits. It made me want to make one, if I ever finish my Silk Shrug, which is still in progress. We also recieved our shipment of Feza today, which seems to just fly out the door on its own.

P.S I have heard from my hot socks partner. Her email went into my bulk folder by mistake. She sounds really nice, I am really excited now!

Busy Days

I just realized that I haven't written anything new here in a week. I haven't taken any photos either. I did manage to finish the partner to my Trekking sock, so now just waiting for the weather to turn so I can wear them. I am now hard at work making the Silk Shrug from Blue Sky Alpacas. I am doing it in plum, and am plugging along on the back at the moment. I am on inch 17 out of 29, so a little more than half of the back. The nice thing is that its made all in one piece, then you pick up the stitches for the edging. I like no sewing up.


This is becoming quite a popular pattern as Jill and Lesley from the knitting group are also making it. I'm sure Jill is nearly finished, she is quite the fast knitter.

We have been anxiously awaiting our shipment of Lornas Laces, which was due to arrive last week, except that the customs paperwork got lost, and it spent a week in the airport. I believe that it is on its way, I hope! My fear is that it will arrive tomorrow when I am in the shop on my own, Nathalies son is having his adenoids out, not even sure I spelled that right, but anyway. The box is supposed to weigh 74 pounds, which is alot of yarn! I can't wait to see it, but have no idea where we are going to put it. There will definately have to be some reorganizing of shelves this week. Should be a busy week!

Yarn Tasting

We had our first yarn tasting evening at Stash this past Thursday. The event was sponsored by ArtYarns, one of our favorites. Not only do they have beautiful yarns and colors, but dealing with them couldn't be easier. They supplied us with lots of samples, which we divided up into goodie bags for everyone. I forgot to take a photo of what it looked like before we began, but here is a photo of the evening in progress.



These are a few of our lovely regulars at the shop enjoying a bit of conversation and swatching, as well as some nibbles. This is a good shot of some of Jills swatches.



These are pretty well organized. From left to right, the yarns are Silk Ribbon, Silk Rhapsody, and Ultramerino 6. I think the consensus was that all of the yarns were lovely. Not everyone loved the Silk fur, but honestly you would never knit a whole project with it anyway, it is more for an edging.

At the end of the week, some of the new Louisa Harding yarns arrived. It was a bit annoying that some of them are on back order, and we haven't been given a date as to when they will arrive. The other frustrating thing is that several of the colors in the book are only available in the U.S. It is annoying that yarns by a British designer are marketed mostly to the U.S, and the UK as an afterthought. Anyway, I hope the rest of it turns up at some point since the patterns are lovely.

This week we are expecting a shipment of Lorna's Laces which will include Shepherd Chunky, Lion and Lamb, and some new colors of sock yarn. I'll keep you posted...

Finished Products

This past Saturday was one of the busiest days I have seen in the shop. It was really nice to see some customers bring in their finished products, which we always encourage. I have said in the past that I am going to put a gallery in the shop and on the website, but I have been quite busy, so I will post the photos from this weekend here. The first is in Silk Rhapsody and was knit by Joyce Daniel. Nathalie was a very good model for this as her shirt matched the scarf exactly.



The next two are from Fiona Hobson. The first is in Artyarns Royal Silk and Silk Fur. I tried to make the photo as close as possible, but it isn't quite as bright as in this photo.



The next scarf is in Till Tomas Disco Lights. The pattern is from the Debbie Bliss Pure Silk book.




I hope to see more finished projects, these are really great.

I recieved an email the other day from Christine, who came in about a week or so after we opened. She is from Texas, and is a podcaster. I am really honored that she mentioned us in her latest podcast. Thank you Christine. If you want to have a listen, it is at Pointy Sticks, Podcast 7. I think she mentions us towards the end.

Trekking

Well, it has arrived, Trekking XXL. This is the sock yarn that everyone is talking about online. There are blogs everywhere doing Trekalongs. We are really excited to have it. I have been knitting a pair of socks with it, as you know, and I love it. The same company also makes some other interesting yarns, which we have in the shop. One can been seen below in a hat that I made. It is called Loft Color, it self stripes in a beautiful way, very softly. The other is called Unikat. I made a scarf out of it, which I forgot to photograph. I will try and do that today, and post it. It is the same type of yarn as the Loft, but a bit chunkier, and it doesn't seem to be dyed in one skein. Its as if they have assembled it after it has been dyed. They are both light, fluffy, and super soft, a welcome addition to Stash Yarns.

New Stuff

Just a quick one to tell you about all of the new arrivals yesterday. We have two new magazines, Interweave Knits Crochet, and Vogue Knitting Knit Simple. Both of which I have been eagerly awaiting. The boxes from Blue Sky Alpacas were delivered in the morning. We have some new colors in the Alpaca Silk blend, and Dyed Cotton. There is also a new yarn called Brushed Suri. It looks like a fluffy mohair, but much softer. Another great new item is their new DPNs, which come in the cutest collectable tin.


















How cute are these? They are made from the wood of the Lal Kohla tree in India, and are meant to be quite strong. They also come in those sizes that everyone are always looking for, 2.25 and 2.75.

Help Wanted

Thank goodness Nathalie is coming back to work tomorrow. Besides the fact that it is strange not to have seen each other much over the summer, it has been extremely busy in the shop. It is hard work being there own your own for an entire week. I am also not sure when she will decide not to work anymore as she is due in December. I suspect that she will stay as long as long as she can get up and drive there! My next project is to find someone to work with us. I guess you can say that this post is sort of a help wanted ad. If anyone out there is interested, please email me at info(at)stashyarns.co.uk. We are looking for someone to work part time during the week, Tuesday-Friday, and possibly a few Saturdays leading up to Christmas.

In other news, Saturday was really busy as usual. I have been a bit lazy getting my gallery section up on the website, and in the shop. Susannah came into the shop with her beautiful shrug knit entirely with the magic loop method. She used Malabrigo yarn, and it looks great!



Hoping for some good deliveries this week. I'll keep you posted.

Spinning

I have been taking a break from the socks with two projects. One is a scarf to use as a sample in the shop. The yarn should arrive next week, hopefully. The other is some spinning. A while back, I got some of this lovely silk and merino tops from Handmaiden. I am planning to do a strand of each and then put them together.
This is it before....




and here is the multicolored one after. Its amazing how the colors blend together. I am working on the semisolid now. It is not quite as bright as this, so imagine it a bit toned down.





In other news, the shop is open again. It was quite busy this morning. My only problem is that the girls are doing a tennis camp, and I need to pick them up at 3:30. I am going to leave Maria, my Au Pair in the shop during that time, but she doesn't know much about knitting, or how to use the till. Its only for 3 more days, today wasn't that bad.

I finally recieved the Fall issue of Interweave after a bit of a problem. Lets just say that I tried to go through a local route, but they proved to be very unreliable. Vogue Knitting should be here any day, as well as a new magazine by Vogue called Knit Simple. I am hoping that these arrive this week.
Some new yarn should be arriving next week as I said before, I'll definately have photos when it arrives.

Back Home

We are back from a week in Portugal. The house we stayed in was great, although it had the worst bed I have ever slept in! We had a great pool, the beach was just a short drive away, and I did quite a bit of knitting. I even read a book, which I haven't done in ages. I read The Time Travellers Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger. What a great book. Anyway, on to the knitting. Here is the sock on day one:



and here is the finished product a few days later:



I am really not sure about this colourway. It seems to be a popular one on blogs, and in the ball it looks like a fun pink and green. In the end, it seems a bit Christmas-like. I have started the next one, but not very inclined to finish it. Any comments would be greatly appreciated as I am picking colors for the shop, and not sure if I should get this one. I would say that the photo here is quite accurate.

I love the beach in the Algarve, this year the waves were pretty small except on the last day. We spent alot of time building sand castles.



and just relaxing



A few more days and back to work!

Trekking Away


I am definately sock obsessed. Straight on the tails of the Jaywalkers are my newest sock using Trekking 107. It is really soft, but hard to tell what this is going to look like knitted up. The ball looks like shades of pink and green with some blue. It is really interesting to see what color comes next. The pattern is from Jeanie Townsend, which I got from a Yahoo sock KAL group.




We are off to Portugal tomorrow, extremely early I should add. Our flight is at 7:20 out of Gatwick. I think I am getting up at 3:30 or something horrible like that. The only good thing is that we should arrive at our destination by noon, which is nice. I can't decide what other projects to bring along. One thought is a curly whirly out of Blue Skys Alpacas Alpaca and Silk with a Tilli Tomas border. I think these look great together.



Here is another finished product. This was a quick, one skein hat with a yarn that we are thinking of for the shop. As you can see, my daughter loved it. She would not take it off despite it being August.



I love how it self stripes. It is feltable as well, and is a chunky weight so it knits up quickly. Nice for the coming winter.

Well I'm off. Happy Holiday!

Finished Jaywalkers


I finished the Jaywalkers last night. They are the first pair of socks that I made that fit perfectly. I couldn't wear them for very long as it is extemely warm and humid here. Nothing compared to weeks past, but it is definately bare foot weather!





I think my next pair will be with the Trekking XXL. I know we don't have it in the shop, but I feel that I have to give it a test drive and see what all the hype has been about. I am going to Portugal next week, so I can take them on a 'trek along'. Debating on what to do with them. I hate the idea of doing a sock entirely in rib, but I think due to the nature of the yarn, it should be simple. Maybe an interesting rib at the top, then just stockinette. I have to give it a think. I am loving the magic loop thing, and got several sizes that are unavailable here while I was in CT, so might have to give those a go as well.

I have yet to do anymore work on the silk vee. I have to get back to that one. I am awaiting the arrival of the new Interweave Knits, which I have been told will be here next week. Vogue Knitting is also due in at the end of the month, and I heard that there is a great pattern by Cat Bordhi for socks. I am also pondering a lace project. I have never really tried it, but am having trouble finding a pattern that I think I would actually wear. I think I would prefer something more along the lines of a rectangle. Will have to scour the books in the shop tomorrow.

Here is a really interesting project that Mary Lou did with the Feza. I was really chuffed that she dedicated a post on her blog to me. I also love the mobius! She told me that she has a different way of casting it on that isn't as hard on the wrists. We may have to get her into the shop to teach a workshop on that one!

I was going through the photos of the trip, and found this one. It makes me want to go back to the beach. I'll leave you with this one, how relaxing!

Back Home

We arrived back home this morning. The flight was alright except for the fact that we had to sit on the plane for two hours before we took off. Technical problem, then huge wait to take off. After that everyone slept, which was great. I was a bit sad to leave everyone, but happy to leave the heatwave. It is supposed to be 103F on Wednesday in Connecticut. I was happy to see that the heat has broken here, and it is very pleasant, though a bit showery.
I did a bit of work on my Jaywalker socks on the plane. I am up to the heel flap on sock number 2. I would have modeled the sock, but I just painted my toenails!



I also did a bit of work on my Handmaiden Silk Vee. It is really hard to know how this is going to turn out. It is all garter stitch, so I think it will stretch down when blocked. I decided to make it an inch narrower as the pattern turns out 37 inches, and my bust is 36 inches. I am also making it a drop shorter to the underarm as the pattern is 24 inches long, which would be a dress on me.




I love the colors, they are quite similar to the photo.

I will miss the beach. This is pretty much what I spent the past 2 weeks looking at, the view from the back of Rhonas beach house.



This last one is hilarious. Every morning at my inlaws house, a duck came right up to the door. We started feeding her and named her Henrietta duck. As the days went on, more and more ducks came until yesterday when there were five. I think we were the best duck restaurant in town. Here are the girls feeding them.



It was definately a wildlife experience! Now its back to the city, and the shop.

P.S We now have a ton of new patterns in, a new shipment of Artyarns (Silk Rhapsody,etc), and Handmaiden (Sea Silk and lots of kits). Oh, and don't forget new Tilli Tomas in beautiful multicolors!

Connecticut Holiday

I've been here in CT for a week. I have to admit that I don't always look forward to the trip, 7 hours on a plane with my kids, then a week of adjusting to the time zone. When we first got here, it was so hot, the past few days it has been raining like it was the end of the world, but today was beautiful. I have been spending my time doing several things, the first one being shopping. The sales here are great, I got a great pair of jeans that retail for $159 for $20, gotta love that! The next thing has been the beach. My mother in law has a house right on the beach, it is like a wonderland for the kids. Here is my daughter holding up a huge horseshoe crab. It looks like something from prehistoric times.



The next item on the agenda has been visiting knitting shops in the area. My first stop last week was at Janet Kemp. She was very nice, and had some yarn that I am very interested in.



Check out the one on the top. It is really unusual in that there is more than one color in each strand. It is really soft, and can be used for sweaters or felting. I can't wait to swatch it up.

Next I went to Knitting Central, which is right up the road from my inlaws house. There I bought a ball of Trekking sock yarn, which I can't wait to try. I also picked up a ball of Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Hand Dyes. I have the color cards at the shop, but its hard to tell what its like from that little piece. I really want to swatch it up, but have no ball winder here. I might have to get my husband to help me.

I also visited Knotty Girl. Debi was really friendly. I was interested in seeing the Namaste bags. She had one as a sample, but said the others were on the way. I was not that interested in the pleather bag. It was cute, but nothing that great.

Tomorrow I am thinking of taking a ride to Knitting Niche in Greenwich.

I have also been working on my sock, which I am nearly finished. I had to pack that one due to metal needles, so I started the Silk Vee from Handmaiden on the plane. I'll take some photos tomorrow as its too dark here now.

By the way, did anyone see the article about us in Time Out this week? We were in the consume section under Whats New. Very exciting.

New stuff on the way for the shop that shipped this week, should be in next week or two: ArtYarns-Silk Rhapsody and other yarns. Malabrigo-more colors. Handmaiden-Sea Silk

Finally Finished

It is done. The Lana Grossa top that I have been working on for a while. I finished it well over a week ago, but started the sock right away and have put off finishing. The yarn is called Binario, it looks like two yarns held together, but it is really one yarn. It has a nice shine to it, very good for summer. I might leave it in the shop for the next couple of weeks as its going to be hot and sticky in Connecticut.



I especially like how Nathalie put the Offhand designs bag on the model, she looks great!


Here is another project that I would like to do. It is Tilli Tomas Disco Lights, but the pattern is from the Debbie Bliss Silk book. I have set aside a skein of the loveliest purple for myself. I am going to take my Silk Vee kit from Handmaiden on the trip. I think that will be a good beach project. I can do the scarf after that.



This one is being done by Mary in the knitting group.

Well, I am off on Saturday for two weeks. I will see if I can get the camera to work on my in-laws computer so I can upload photos. I am definately planning to hit the knitting shops in Fairfield County, and there is pretty much one in every town. I won't have to drive too far at all. Hoping to catch a little sunshine and knitting on the beach.

Lovely Weekend

Its been a really great weekend. Eric and I went to the Wimbledon Ladies final yesterday. It was a beautiful day, sunny and not too hot. We met a couple of friends for a picnic on the hill before the match. I have to say that the match was everything you could ask for in a final, 3 sets, and exciting. I was happy to see Mauresmo win. I love that we live so close, being a tennis fan, its a real treat to be able to go. Last night we had dinner at a friends which was very nice, good food and good company.
Today I finally had a day to rest and do nothing, a rarity lately. I am slightly obsessed with my magic loop sock. I love that there is no fiddling around with all of those dpns. Everything is done right on the circular. I turned the heel last night when we got home, though I was still a bit drunk. Today I have been working on it between watching the mens final. I was rooting for Nadal, but maybe he will have his turn next year. Here is a photo of the sock.



This week we recieved our shipment of Fleece Artist. The sock yarns are beautiful. We chose some colors that could be used for baby clothes, or other garments as well as socks. We were thinking 4 ply. We also got a bunch of kits, the dreadlock poncho, and the Cat Bordhi mobius scarf kit, which I am dying to make. I'll try and get a photo of some of it this week. I didn't have the camera in the shop the day that it arrived. We also have in most sizes of the Addi Natura needles. If you love Addi, and would like a circular in bamboo, they are lovely. Nathalie had a pair, and everyone in the group wanted to try them, so we thought stocking them would be a good idea.
The kids are now off from school, this week should be interesting! Next week its off to the States.

Sweltering

It is about as hot as it can be here in London. Last night was the worst, it felt like summer in New York without the air conditioning. Thank goodness the shop has it, what a great investment. This week has been a bit hectic. Its the kids last week of school, sports day, birthday parties, and the like. Nathalie has been out this week, shes been a bit under the weather, and has been staying at home to rest. I finished my Lana Grossa top, but have been too lazy to sew it together. Instead, I have started my first sock using the magic loop method. I can't tell you how easy it is. I am so happy not to have all of those dpns sticking out all over the place. I found a great tutorial, which you can check out. It has videos of different methods of knitting in the round. I watched the magic loop one a few times, and voila, I'm off and running with my sock.




The yarn is Lornas Laces Shepherd sock in Icehouse. I decided to do the Jaywalker sock as it more mindless than a lot of others that I considered.

I think I spoke about the Feza yarn last week. It is really interesting, here it is in a skein, and in a close up of a scarf. It would also work as the skirt pattern in Greetings from the Knit Cafe. I am going to try it as one of my next projects.





Someone came in yesterday, and is going to do a belt with it. I don't usually like novelty yarns, but this one is more like the Prism or magic ball yarn. Click on these to see them larger.