Spinning Away

After my classes at Rhinebeck on dyeing, I have become sort of obsessed, what a surprise. First I bought a bunch of books, then I bought some dyes. Have done a little dying on the kitchen table, some good and some bad. Anyway, one evening I was surfing around on message boards about dying, and came across an interesting post. One thing lead to another, you know how it goes... found her blog, and then her Etsy page. Next thing I knew, I was buying fiber, as I tend to do. This is what turned up in my mailbox...

Not only is the color gorgeous, but I cannot tell you how soft this stuff is. I won't keep you in suspense any longer, she is stseraphinaknits, and the fiber is called Lambkin superwash merino. I spent about a day or two cuddling this lovely, fluffy stuff, but I just HAD to spin it up. Let me tell you that it practically spins itself. I have since bought some to bring to Nathalie as I am sure she will love it as much as I do. Here is the finished product, plied it up last night.

I was aiming for a DK, but I think that I got a little lazy and it is probably closer to a light worsted. Never mind, now I just have to decide what to knit with it, or I could just keep cuddling!

Finally got around to going through my photos, and came across this one from my last day at Stash, one last one of the girls together. Its making me feel a little nostalgic.

Fast forward to Rhinebeck, and the reunion has begun!

Nathalie and I had a blast, and it was great to see Alice.

When I told Nathalie that I was moving back to CT, we decided right away to make the trip to Rhinebeck. We thought it would be good to have something to look forward to. Took a couple of great classes as well. On Saturday it was "A rainbow of natural dyes". We learned how to dye with indigo, and cochineal (basically bugs!). Here is a little sneak at what we dyed during the morning.

Of course I left with some supplies to do a bit of dying. I am thinking of trying it out on the burner of the bbq. More about that to come of course. Sunday was "How to dye yarn guaranteed not to stripe". Here is Nathalie hard at work.

and the finished products. Needless to say, I left with lots of dyes and undyed wool to work on!

Can't leave without a photo of this guy...

Oh My

I guess I had better start writing something now that Majorknitter has mentioned me on her blog! Haven't been doing much knitting with the move and all, but starting to get moving again. Next week Nathalie and I will be taking the trip to Rhinebeck. Hope to have some good pics for that , as well as the demolition of our old house to make way for the new! See you soon!

OK, I know its been more than forever. Not sure anyone out there reads this anymore. Want to let you know that I am moving back to the US with my family in a few weeks. This Saturday, 25 July will be my last day at Stash. Hope some of you can make it by to say hi.
Hope to have more blogging time once I get over there and settled in. Bye for now!

Koigu has arrived

I know its been awhile, but right now my eyes are starting to blur. I've spent the afternoon photographing all of the new Koigu KPPM and Mori that arrived this today. Check it out at www.stashyarns.co.uk. I am in love with each and every one! What to knit next???

Addi Click

Wasn't expecting them so soon, but we received some Addi Click systems in the shop today. They look beautiful, I really want one!

Finished Projects

I finally finished the February Lady Sweater, I know it took a while. I am now onto quick and easy projects. First the sweater:





I love the color, Happy Forest from Dream in Color. I had a customer the other day who said it reminded her of spinach. Maybe she has bad childhood memories of vegetables! I am very pleased with the outcome.

Next, I did a quick scarf.





The pattern is from Designer one Skein Wonders, the yarn is from Artists Palette, our yarn of the month. I used the buttersoft DK, and may I say that it is indeed butter soft! Next I want to make a hat. I need some instant gratification before embarking on another large project!

Flat Feet Finished

I have not been doing very much knitting lately, we have a new addition to our family that is keeping me very busy.




Its Lola, our labrador puppy. She is nearly 3 months old now. We got her about a month ago, thus, not much knitting going on. The girls had been bugging me for a dog for what seemed like forever, so after much thought, I decided to go for it. I have never had a dog before, and actually didn't really care for them, but I am a convert. She has been pretty good as far as you know what, and she isn't too wild. We've been taking her to puppy class, which is a big help. It does mean that I can't leave the house for more than a couple of hours a day, but thats fine for now. I did manage to finish my Flat Feet socks, which were pretty addictive.




This is what it looked like half way through, just to get the idea.





Now I am determined to finish my February Lady Sweater, only 1.5 sleeves to go!

Flat Feet


Not me silly! Its Flat Feet Sock Flats from Conjoined Creations. We have been reading about them for ages, and couldn't wait to get some into the shop. Its a very interesting concept, knitting directly from a hand painted fabric, or flat. They can even be cut apart so that you can knit two socks at the same time. I should have them available online sometime over the weekend. If you can make it into the shop, there are plenty to check out. Here is a preview...

Malabrigo



Its finally here! They survived a fire, lived to tell about it, and are still dying beautiful yarn! Yesterday several huge boxes arrived containing all of our favorites...worsted, chunky, laceweight and the much anticipated superwash sock.





The are just lovely!

Here is a view of all of it, or as much as I could fit into the photo.



Everything is available online as I spent the entire day photographing every skein. I feel like I am going cross-eyed! Going to meet hubby for a drink, I need it now!

Happy Knitting.

Sunshiny Day


It doesn't happen much lately. I used to tell people that everything they had heard about the weather in the UK was not true, that it wasn't grey and rainy all the time. Unfortunately for the past two summers, it is very true. I was lucky to fly to the sunshine this summer, but since I have been back we have only had about one day of sunshine a few weeks ago. Today was a great one! We took full advantage and drove out to a picture perfect pub in Cobham, Surrey.







My husband looks the part with his pint, sitting outside in the garden. The kids are on a climbing frame somewhere behind me. Notice the squinting, a side effect of sunshine!!! When we got home, I let the piggies out on the grass to enjoy what may be the only nice day they may see for a while.







I enjoyed a bit of knitting beside them on my February Lady Sweater. I am loving this color, Happy Forest from Dream in Color. I know it is close to the one in the photo for the pattern, but to be honest, I have had my eye on that one since we started stocking the yarn, and it had to be done.







It looks small in the photo, but I have tried it on, and it fit with a bit of stretching. Nathalie said hers was the same. It would make sense with garter stitch at the top. I am loving the lace pattern, it is one of those that you can memorize in a second. I can work on it and talk at the same time. Not something I can usually do with lace.

Last but not least, I found the coolest app for my Iphone. It is a row counter. It not only does rows, but pattern repeats, and even increases. I have been waiting for a counter like this forever! Just go to the App store, and search for Knitting. It was the only thing that came up. Just a quick download and you can count to your hearts content!

A Harlot Day


Yesterday, Nathalie and I left Nic all alone in the shop (don't worry, she wasn't lonely), trudged through the rain, and went to IKnit day to see the Yarn Harlot. We saw loads of our lovely customers, friends, and other familiar faces.





I love the bag by the way!


And here she is:






Not a very clear photo, but you can tell its her for sure.

When Nathalie first got the tickets, I wasn't that keen on going, wondering what she could possibly talk about, though I do think her books are hilarious. I have to say that she had some interesting observations on life as a knitter that we all have, especially being in the shop every day.


These giant needles were interesting, and I think Nathalie quite enjoyed them.





Anyone who has been into Stash will be happy to hear that we were able to buy a giant set of needles, not as giant as these, but like the ones we used to have, to hang in the window. We have been missing them.

On the knitting front, I am nearly finished with the first of my husbands socks. I have never made socks for a man, not realizing how huge they would be! Must start sock number two straight away. Considering what a big fan of the shop he is, I think he deserves them.

Back Home

We arrived back in London Sunday morning, and boy am I jetlagged! I spent all day unpacking, which is great because now its all go until school starts. Didn't do much knitting this summer due to extreme heat conditions. Did manage some cotton dishcloths that became gifts, and this lovely little scarf for my sister.

How cute is that!! I went back and bought a few more balls to make some more. I also started my February Lady Sweater, but didn't get far. I am going to try and crank it out this week as Nathalie is finished, and I am jealous! Also have so many other projects that I want to do, don't we all!

The shop is open again, and we are getting in our Autumn yarns. So far we have Misti Alpacas Chunky in the usual colourways, and hand dyes. We have Interweave Knits, and VK should be here this week along with Malabrigo, which was supposed to ship. I have to check with them though. Will keep you posted. Happy Knitting!

Interweave Knits

FYI- The Fall issue of IK has arrived. You can pick it up tomorrow. After that we will be closed for 2 weeks for our Summer holidays. Have a great Summer!

Just a Quick One

All is well here in CT, besides the fact that the kids are driving me crazy! Can you say Camp next year!!! Anyway, with regards to the shop. Nic has injured her back, and won't be in on Saturday. Diane will be on her own, so will close for lunch from 1:00-1:30, and the shop will close at 4:00 instead of 5:00. Sorry for the inconvenience. Happy Summer.

Off to see the sun

I'm here in the shop doing some last minute things before I jet off to CT tomorrow. I won't be able to update the Stash website from there, so I will try and post anything new and exciting here. This week we received a shipment from Dream in Color, and Nathalie and I are casting on our February Lady Sweaters. I think that will be a good holiday project, though I may only be able to work on it indoors in the air conditioning! Every time we get a box of Dream in Color, its as if we have never seen it before. I think we each fall in love with a different color every time

There is a box of Misti Alpacas in transit which will include our all time scarf favorite, 100% Baby Alpaca Chunky. This time we will have solids as well as handpaints. Some of the colors are to follow, so we should be getting another box in a few weeks.

We also have the new issue of Knitscene. This may be their best issue yet. I have to make the Kimono socks. Put those in the list!

Talk to you from the other side of the pond! Happy Knitting!

Summertime



Its (sort of) summertime here in London. More like eternal springtime, which can sometimes be nice. The kids are finishing school this week, and I am looking forward to sleeping in, and not having to make packed lunches! I will be making my annual pilgrimage to Connecticut next week to enjoy some sun and sand. I will also do my best to scope out the yarn shops in CT and NYC to see if there is anything new and exciting that might be great to have at Stash.
On the knitting front, I have finally finished my Aleita vest.



I am loving the way it fits, though I had some stress regarding the tension. Why do they not tell you whether or not tension should be in the round? Maybe it doesn't effect everyone, but for me it really makes a difference. I had to do one for the bottom half, and another for the top, which was knit flat. I would imagine that if you are a beginner, you could end up having to rip this out, or have a real problem with the fit when it is finished. Anyway, its done now. I have moved on to a sleeping WIP, my Icarus shawl. I love the fact that it was about a third finished when I went back to it. Talk about instant gratification! I am on the second chart in less than a week.

As for the shop, the internet site is up and running after a few blips with the payment gateways. We are now taking both Paypal, and credit cards. I would have liked to have a stock control on the site, but as we run a separate system in the London shop, it is not possible right now. If all goes well, we will have to look into some sort of integration. Meanwhile, I have been very diligent about letting customers know if something is not in stock, which hasn't happened much anyway!

I have also put up a link on the site for a newsletter that will be published monthly. You can sign up here. I hope to have the first one out next week, and then after I come back from my trip.

Happy Knitting!

Up and Running

Well, the internet shop is up and running! I am a bit nervous, but it seems to work quite smoothly. Not everything is in there yet, but I think there is a pretty good selection. I still have alot of photos to take! We'll see if I can get some good light over the next weeks. You can get to it from the link on our website or here. Happy Shopping!

Sale List

Today I am home working hard on getting our internet shopping site moving along. Didn't get much done last week as the kids were on half term. I am going to try my best to have it coincide with our two year anniversary. It won't have everything up yet, but I will be adding new lines as the weeks roll on. Speaking of the anniversary, thought I would give you a little taste of what will be in the sale this year. Offhand design bags big reductions, most Louisa Harding yarns, Koigu selected colors, selected Art Yarns, Lambs Pride Worsted, and some others that I am probably forgetting at the moment. Oh yes, we have a big box of mixed Mission Falls cotton odd balls that will be much reduced. Starting Thursday, and carrying on for the next couple of weeks. Happy hunting!

Sale

I don't usually knit for others, I know, I am selfish. I feel very protective of everything I knit. Even when my kids were little, I would follow them around when they were wearing one of the sweaters that  I knit for them, worried that they would get ketchup, or a similar staining agent on it. I have found now that they are not really interested in hand knit items, and are rarely ever warm enough to want to wear one anyway. So when my husband asked me to make a baby sweater for a work colleague, I had to think for a moment.  My husband doesn't ask for much from me in the way of knitting, so I thought, what the heck. I had seen this in VK last year, and thought it looked interesting. I had always wanted to do the Baby Surprise Jacket, but this seemed nicer.

Its the Baby Suplice jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman, knit in Socks that Rock, Monsoon. A nice, enjoyable quick knit. I wasn't sure how it worked until right up until the end, but I just trusted in the pattern, and it worked!

On another note, Stash is turning 2 years old next week! I can't believe how time flies. Anyway, we will be doing our usual anniversary sale. We have lots of stuff, so hopefully you can come and check it out! See you there.