Trendlebere Pattern – Exclusive to Spin A Yarn

Posted on 6th July 20167th July 2016 by Esther

Heather is a talented designer, graduate in Textile Design from the Chelsea College of Art, and local girl with a real love of British yarn.

We’re thrilled that she has designed a new pattern exclusively for Spin A Yarn, using Rowan Felted Tweed – one of our favourite yarns. Trendlebere is a relaxed raglan jumper, which can be knitted in any DK yarn – it can be knitted in one colour or with contrasting ribbing, and has a swing-fit and some drape for a contemporary look. Felted Tweed comes in a wide variety of rich tones and neutrals, and with it’s blend of merino wool, alpaca and viscose, knits up to create beautifully light and warm garments. If you’d like to substitute another DK yarn and aren’t sure how it will knit up, just ask us in the shop and we’ll help you choose something.

You can buy a copy of Trendlebere in the shop for £3.00, enquire to order it though our website here or we’re hoping to make it available to buy on Ravelry.com soon! If you knit it we’d love to see your photos – either share them on Facebook or Instagram (@spinayarnshop), or if you’re on Ravelry and you’ve set up a project for it, do let us know – here’s the listing on Ravelry.

You can also follow Heather’s exciting design work at her Facebook page: Woolly Minded Knitwear.

We’re going to be commissioning more patterns soon….what would you like to see? Let us know through our contact form here.

Love Your Yarn Shop Day at Spin A Yarn

Posted on 4th May 20165th May 2016 by Esther

Saturday 30th April was national Love Your Yarn Shop Day, and we celebrated at Spin A Yarn with a day of fun, discounts, and bunting!

Along with a one day flash sale and bunting knitting, we also ran a competition where anyone who turned up in a garment knitted from yarn bought at our shop was entered into a raffle to win a beautiful basket of yarn. Aren’t our customers talented!

We drew the winner today – and Sarah (bottom right in her lovely Rowan Felted Tweed Aran jumper) was the lucky customer! Sarah, we’ve left a message on your voicemail 🙂

Thank you to all our customers who entered and to everyone who joined us to make the day such fun.

New Summer Noro now in stock!

Posted on 28th April 2016 by Esther

We’ve just received some gorgeous new Noro yarns for Summer 2016 and we thought we’d tell you a bit more about them…(click on the images to see them up close 🙂 )

First up is an exciting new Chunky weight addition to the range, called Ginga. From the Japanese meaning ‘galaxy’ or ‘Milky Way’ (銀河), this blended yarn captures the imagination with elements of glimmering silk and tonal wools.

The range of shades vary from dark and stormy to bright and spirited. On 6.5mm – 8.00mm needles this chunky yarn is bound to transport you out of this world! The blend is 40% Cotton, 30% Silk, 15% Wool, 15% Polyamide.

Next comes the beautiful summer DK Mirai. Mirai is a Japanese girls name meaning ‘The Future’ which Noro has beautifully captured in this cotton blend. Equal parts of silk and viscose give vivid colours with fantastic drape while a hint of polyamide provides strength and durability.

Both these yarns are available in the shop so pop in or give us a phone/email to get started on your summer noro patterns!

Last Chance to Buy Some Rowan Favourites!

Posted on 27th April 2016 by Esther

Rowan are making room for some exciting new yarns and limited edition collections! Their new streamlined range means that some old favourites are sadly being discontinued.

As we know our customers are huge Rowan fans, we though we’d let you know which yarns will be going, and give you the opportunity to stock up at a 10% discount (20% for Loyalty Card holders!).

We’re only able to offer what we have available in the shop, so if there are any from the list below that you want to stock up on, just pop in, email us or give us a call with what you need and we’ll see what we have for you!

And don’t worry, Rowan are continuing to produce many other long-standing wonderful yarns such as Felted Tweed and Kidsilk Haze. If you have a Rowan pattern you’d like to knit which uses any of the discontinued yarns, we’ll be more than happy to help you find a substitute yarn from the many stocked in our shop.

Rowan Yarns being discontinued:

Big Wool Silk
Superfine Merino DK & Aran
Pure Wool 4-ply
Kidsilk Haze Stripe
Mohair Haze
Wool Cotton
Rowan Finest
Rowan Tweed
Fine Art & Fine Art Aran
Alpaca Colour
Tetra Cotton
Cotton Lustre
Panama
Revive
Pure Linen
All Seasons Cotton
Soft Knit Cotton
Truesilk
Lima & Lima Colour
Fazed Tweed
Colourspun
Thick n Thin
Alpaca Chunky
British Sheep Breeds
Creative Focus Worsted
Chenille
Big Wool Colour

It’s not too late to join our Workshops!

Posted on 13th April 2016 by Esther

We still have a few workshops with spaces available this Spring/Summer – these are fascinating workshops, taught by some truly excellent teachers (who are authors and designers in their own right!)

Have a browse of the list below and if there’s any you fancy joining us for, give us a call on 01626 836203 to secure your place. All the workshops listed below cost £49 for the day which includes a delicious home cooked lunch.

Any questions about the workshops themselves? Just give us a call or email us!

April

22nd April: Fair Isle and Intarsia with Claire Crompton
Learn how to use Fair Isle and Intarsia together with slip stitch patterns and simple stripes to add colour to your knitting. In the workshop you will learn the basics of each technique, knitting samples of each. We will also explore some basic colour theory so you can be confident about putting colours together and altering a pattern into another colourway.

Examples of Fair-Isle Knitting

26th April: St Aubin’s Bay Shawl with Anniken Allis
St Aubin’s Bay is an elegant crescent shaped shawl worked from the top down with an eyelet garter stitch pattern. Two short row wedges and a beaded picot cast/ bind off add interest to a fun accessory. In the morning we’ll practice the techniques used to knit this shawl including short rows, adding beads using a crochet hook, picot cast-off and how to shape the shawl. In the afternoon you will start your own St Aubin’s Bay shawl.

St Aubin’s Bay Shawl

May

20th May: Knitting in Different Directions with Claire Crompton
Progress from making garments and accessories in rows and circular knitting, to knitting them in different directions. Join squares or circles, worked from the centre out or from the outer edge inwards to make pieces of knitted fabric. Learn how to construct garments from diagonal (bias) knitting and how to use short rows. In the workshop we will experiment with the techniques and you will be able to take away information and ideas for your own designs.

Knitting in Different Directions

24th May: Knitting the Mar Menor and Daisy Shawl with Anniken Allis
The Daisy and Mar Menor shawls are both fun shawlettes featuring unusual stitch patterns and the most popular shawls in the Shop! In this class you’ll learn the elongated and crossed stitch patterns used in these two shawls as well as how to add beads using a crochet hook, how to work a beaded picot cast off and how to shape both shawls.

Close up of Mar Menor Shawlette

June

2nd June: The Magical Moebius Cowl with Alison Crowther Smith
Using the cast-on made famous by Cat Bordhi, Alison will show you how to knit a lovely yet simple Moebius cowl using DK yarns and edged in Kidsilk Haze. The morning will be spent learning this cast-on and how to establish the Moebius, which once started, is easy basic knitting and purling. In the afternoon you will start your own cowl.

Moebius Cowl

10th June: Starlight Fingerless Mitts with Anniken Allis
The Starlight fingerless mitts feature a beaded lace pattern and are worked in the round. In the morning we’ll practice the techniques used to knit these mitts including how to knit lace, how to read a lace chart, how to add beads using the crochet hook method and how to knit in the round on double pointed needles and circular needles using the magic loop method. In the afternoon you will start your own Starlight mitts.

Starlight Mitts

22nd June: Hairpin Crochet with Di Stewart
Hairpin Crochet is an easy and rhythmical technique of wrapping and crocheting around a small loom pin, forming rows of loops which can be used in many ways. In this workshop you will learn the basic techniques of Hairpin Crochet and how to join, gather and crochet around the loops, using basic crochet stitches. It will also include how to make Hairpin Flowers and how to join them to make a Hairpin Flower shawl, with written instructions and a free pattern for the shawl.

Hairpin Crochet

24th June: Crochet in Different Directions with Claire Crompton
Explore motifs, spirals, flowers, fabric, three dimensional forms and loads of other ways to work crochet in different directions. In the workshop we will explore all these techniques and you will be able to take away information and ideas for your own creations.

Crochet shells

July

26th July: Persephone Shawl with Anniken Allis
Persephone is a crescent shawl worked from the top down. Multiple yarn overs used in the edging create a big impact. In the morning we’ll practice the techniques used to knit this shawl including how to read a lace chart, how to work large yarn overs and how to shape the shawl. In the afternoon you will start your own Persephone shawl.

Persephone Shawl

Terri’s Wonderful ‘Spinning Around the World’ Adventure

Posted on 6th April 20166th April 2016 by Esther

Friends of the shop and regulars at our Knit Clubs will know of the amazingly creative and perfectly eccentric Terri Bate, who usually teaches our Spinning Workshops. Having recently retired from her job as a local midwife (including having delivered the babies of several staff and customers!) she has just embarked on an amazing adventure – Spinning Around the World.

Terri’s plan is to cycle solo to her sister who lives on Kangaroo Island, Australia (and possibly back again – she has 18 months to complete the journey in!), exploring textiles along the way.

She says: “I want to live a simple life, getting up and going to bed with the sun, journaling, sketching, being in the moment and appreciating the big, wide world without the rush of trying to meet the many (more often than not) self imposed deadlines. Travelling slowly, meeting people – exploring inner and outer worlds and learning to live with less ‘stuff’.

I have the gear, the bike, the panniers etc – I have had all the vaccinations and I have pored over maps in anticipation. I have even taken a couple of bicycle maintenance classes (not my forte, you understand).

In no way am I setting a precedent – there are many, many, other solo cyclists who have laid the trail – from Dervla Murphy to Al Humphries, from Annie Londonderry to Anne Mustoe and Josie Dew, from Louise Sutherland to Rubina Soorty and Anne Wilson (I could go on) – that’s a deep wheel rut to follow.

I, too, will do this solo (I think I will meet more people if I’m on my own) though, hopefully, friends and family will come visit en route. I plan to use hospitality sites like CouchSurfing, WarmShowers for accommodation, or camp (have tent, sleeping bag, trangia stove etc). I will take my knitting – of course – I knit EVERYWHERE and am a complete geek! Although I’m getting rid of ALL my stash apart from the teeny weeny bit I can carry with me. Deciding what to take will be a tough decision – but I can start hoarding again when I get back.

Many people have asked me if I’m ‘doing it for charity’, and I really hadn’t intended to, but then I changed my mind because that’s a woman’s prerogative apparently. And P/Hop is the knitters’ charity (thanks to Natalie Fergie at Yarn Yard for starting it off – see http://www.p-hop.co.uk for a full explanation) so yeah, why not?

I’ll be raising money for Medeçins Sans Frontieres and have set up the Justgiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/Terri-Bate

I will be funding the travelling with part of my NHS pension (got to leave a bit for the other half to pay what’s left of the mortgage- him indoors, who is keeping the home fires burning) – but also selling the journal sketches for the price of a couple cups of coffee or pints of beer and sending them as postcards from wherever I am to the purchaser (donating a third of what I raise to MSF).”

Terri set off yesterday, and we’re looking forward to following her adventures from here in the shop – we’re going to have a map in the shop to track her travels! If you’d like to follow her progress and (digitally) keep her company, her blog is http://www.tutleymutleytextiles.com/blog.

Bon Voyage, Terri!

Anniken’s Lace Workshops

Posted on 10th March 201612th February 2020 by Esther

We’re very lucky here at Spin A Yarn to count one of the current top lace designers of the knitting world, Anniken Allis, as a great friend and well established workshop teacher.

Hailing from Norway, knitting is in Anniken’s blood – having learnt Continental knitting from a young age, she started designing patterns in her early 30s and her love affair with designing beautiful lace accessories and garments began. Now a published author (of Beaded Lace Knitting) and having had her work featured on the front of the highly respected US Vogue Knitting, we are thrilled that she regularly travels up from her home in beautiful Cornwall to continue teaching workshops with us – on everything from how to knit Continental style, to Norwegian ‘Selbu’ style mittens.

Selbu Mittens

Candace Shawl

Anniken’s delicate and glamorous shawls feature novel stitch techniques, unusual cast-offs (and sometimes cast-ons!), and often beading… she teaches all of these techniques and more on her popular workshops here at Spin A Yarn, plus staple techniques of Scandi-style knitting patterns such as Continental Knitting style.

We’re very excited that Anniken will be teaching ‘How to Design a Crescent Shawl’ with us this summer, so if you have your heart set on designing your own glamorous lacy accessories, that will be the one for you!

If however you’re a beginner, then Easy Lace Knitting will get you started with the core skills you’ll need to master lace patterns, including the basic stitches and how to read lace charts.

Violetta Shawl

We have a few spaces left on each of these workshops, so if you’d like to embark on making a gorgeous accessory with Anniken’s help and advice, do visit our Eventbrite booking page or give us a call on 01626 836203 to secure your place. These workshops cost £59 each and, run from 10am to 4pm.

Easy Lace Knitting, Weds 4th March 2020

Learn to Design a Crescent Shawl, Weds 27th May 2020

Learn Continental Knitting including Norwegian Purl, Weds 10th June 2020

Exclusive interview with Iris Schreier of ArtYarns

Posted on 3rd March 2016 by Esther

Our long-awaited delivery of ArtYarns skeins from the US has now arrived! Opening the box is always like opening a treasure chest full of silky and soft yarn, hand painted in jewel tones, sparkling with sequins and murano glass beads.

Who are ArtYarns?

The company is the brainchild of designer and author Iris Schreier, who started the company in 2002.
We were lucky enough to be able to ask Iris some questions recently – and her answers are fascinating.

Spin A Yarn: Where did the inspiration to start ArtYarns come from?
Iris: I was working on my first book Exquisite Little Knits, and I couldn’t find certain yarns that I wanted to knit with, so I created them myself. Examples: a lightweight silk that would be perfect for scarf designs without being too heavy knitted up—this became Regal Silk; a hand-dyed cashmere that was carefully dyed in sophisticated colors—this became Artyarns Cashmere 5; A beaded yarn that would not have any synthetic in it—this became Beaded Silk Light. Stores because interested in these yarns I developed, and Artyarns was born.

Exquisite Little Knits by Iris Schreier

Spin A Yarn: What is your favourite source of inspiration for the beautiful hand-painted colourways?
Iris: I mostly approach color ways as a designer—I think I am inspired to design certain pieces and develop colors that will work with my designs. Our latest collection of Cosmic Colors inspired by the randomness of the constellations, helped me develop one of my favorite new pieces the Swirl Tee, which needed a fun, bright, multicolored yarn that would not pool and interfere with the pattern.

Spin A Yarn: Our favourite ArtYarn blends are Beaded Silk Sequins Light and Beaded Mohair & Sequins, do you have any favourite patterns which you think showcase these yarns particularly well?
Iris: Both these yarns are embellished and knit up like lovely jewelry. We have put huge collections of patterns free on the yarn label, mostly 1-skein projects. Look at the Beaded Silk & Sequins Light Collection of 10 patterns, free on the Beaded Silk & Sequins Light yarn label—I love the Silk Bouquet Scarf. Also refer to the Beaded Mohair & Sequins Collection, free on the Beaded Mohair & Sequins yarn label—this contains 6 lovely patterns, including the Raspberry Stitch Mini Shawl designed by a very talented designer in South Korea.

Spin A Yarn: How long does it take to produce a batch of hand-painted yarn?
Iris: We have a group of dyers working all day every work day, and we can produce several hundred skeins per week. Some colors are more complicated than others and take longer. We have a video of how we actually do the dyeing of certain multis – please click here to watch the delicate process by which the skeins are hand-painted: Shade 501 Hand-Dyeing Process.

And here’s what the finished yarn looks like!

Spin A Yarn: We’re always impressed by your dedication to sharing your work and helpful hints on social media – what do you most enjoy about relating to other ‘yarn addicts’ online?
Iris: I love testing yarn colors by posting them and getting reactions, and also the encouragement of my peers when I show designs in progress. It helps me focus on those projects that will be most appealing, at the same time including our social media fans in the process of our development, what we produce and what we design. Nothing is more appealing than seeing others’ photos of what they have created using my yarns and designs. Therefore, I constantly run knitalongs, where we knit as a group. You can find out about these on my Ravelry Knitalongs group here: ArtYarns Knitalongs

Join ArtYarns Knit-a-longs on Ravelry

You can reach Iris through Facebook, Ravelry or Instagram. She also has a Craftsy class in Modular Knitting, click here for a the link to sign up and receive $20 off coupon

Thank you for taking the time to talk to us, Iris!

You can find her yarns on our website here: ArtYarns available at Spin A Yarn, or pop into the shop and ask Joyce to show you the ‘treasure chest’ of skeins! We can help you find suitable patterns and provide you with the beautiful free patterns which come with the yarn when you buy it.

Introducing…Malabrigo Hand-Dyed Yarns to Spin A Yarn

Posted on 27th February 2016 by Esther

27 Feb

When Joyce was looking for new and beautiful yarn brands to stock in our shop, one of the most frequently requested was Malabrigo.

If you’re not already lusting after their yarns, here’s a bit of information about them…

A small family business

Malabrigo started small, when two brothers-in-law started dyeing wool in a kitchen back in 2005. After achieving some good results, they started selling a few skeins to the US and before they knew it they had quickly grown to other countries in Europe and the rest of the world. To keep up with this growth, they opened a mill in Montevideo, Uruguay, where yarns are dyed and packed in large rooms with natural light. They employ mostly women of all ages, and always try to give job opportunities to people that have fewer opportunities than the average.

Punta del Este, along the coast from Montevideo, Uruguay

Happy sheep, fewer chemicals

In 2010 the factory added a flat-plate thermal heating system to decrease the environmental footprint. Using the power of the sun, the water tanks are heated for the various processes to make their wonderful yarns. The company employs environmentally safe practices using as little water and as few chemicals as possible. As part of their ongoing effort to build a greener business, their Superwash manufacturing process now meets Oeko-Tex standards. This means the yarn is free from a range of harmful substances often found in manufacturing.

Sheep from the flock owned by Malabrigo in Uruguay

Malabrigo also now own a flock of Merino and Corriedale sheep, who live on a ranch near their headquarters. They are now able to have a direct hand in wool production from the very first step, and to ensure the humane, high-quality care of happy little sheep.

Here’s a video showing you around beautiful Piedras de Afilar and demonstrating the process by which they shear their sheep and harvest the beautiful fleece that becomes Malabrigo yarn. They strive to use sustainable and humane farming practices with their ranch and flock, saying a happy sheep makes the best wool. We couldn’t agree more!

The wonderful fibres

Most Malabrigo yarns are made with 100% Uruguayan Merino wool. Uruguay has one of the biggest wool supplies in the world, and a very, very good wool with regards to softness. Their wool is 100% produced by Uruguayan farms that allow their sheep to go free-range through the hills and are herded by traditional-style shepherds. Having felt the yarn in the shop we can vouch for the softness and extra fine quality of the yarn.

Show me some projects!

If you want to see what the subtly variegated colours look like when knitted or crocheted up, check out the Malabrigo Blog. It’s full of inspiration and pattern ideas too. You can also follow them on Instagram for lots of tempting photos @malabrigoyarn.

The Malabrigo blog

We’ve just added their yarns to our website www.spinayarndevon.co.uk, so please do have a browse and if there’s any you’d like to buy, either pop into the shop or pop us an email.

Malabrigo yarns stocked at Spin A Yarn

With thanks to Malabrigo for their beautiful and highly informative website 🙂

Arctic Qiviut – an Alaskan Treasure

Posted on 28th January 20162nd March 2020 by Esther

Sadly, we no longer stock Arctic Qiviut here at Spin a Yarn. However, we may start stocking it again at some point in the future, and the best way to keep updated about new yarns coming into the shop is to sign up to our email newsletter HERE.

However if you just want to learn more about Qiviut, read on!

As we get a lot of questions about this elusive fibre, we thought we’d do a blog post about Qiviut. Thanks to our suppliers, Arctic Qiviut, for providing this fascinating information!

Origins
Qiviut is truly an amazing fiber. It is the delicate underwool of the Arctic muskox. It is one of the most sought after fibers in the world because of its rarity, softness and warmth.

Alaskan Muskox

The muskox is not an ox; this large hairy mammal dates back to the last Ice Age, and is most closely related to sheep and goats. The Inuit name for muskox is “Umingmak” meaning the bearded one. They have been an integral part of the Inuit lifestyle for centuries as an animal that provides a great amount of nutritious meat, warm hides and soft insulating underwool known as Qiviut to knit into clothing.

Muskox shed the Qiviut naturally in the springtime. Known as the “golden fleece of the Arctic”, it commands a high price due to it’s rarity, softness, warmth and light weight. Qiviut grows from every part of the muskox including the face, belly, ears, hooves and under the horns, and unlike sheep, are not sheared to harvest their fleece. After processing, 6 to 8 pounds of muskox fleece raw fiber will yield about 2 to 3 pounds of cleaned Qiviut fiber that is ready for spinning into yarn. Muskox grow a new layer of Qiviut in the autumn.

Alaska

Qiviut from farmed muskox is combed out in large sheets. Qiviut from wild muskox falls off in clumps or is rubbed off by muskox on the ground or bushes. Qiviut found on the ground or bushes from wild muskox is hand collected. After the qiviut fleece is removed or collected it is cleaned by hand or machine cleaned to remove vegetation and foreign matter and then dehaired of all guard hairs. Then it is carded and ready to spin into yarn. Qiviut production is extremely limited because muskox herds are few in number and are usually very remote and isolated. Unlike in Canada and Greenland, where qiviut is a by-product of government-controlled hunting, Alaska is one of the very few places in the world where you can get hand-combed qiviut.

Arctic Qiviut have recently opened the first commercial yarn mill in Alaska! Hopefully we will be seeing many more shipments of yarn from this new mill.

Qiviut yarn is eight times warmer than wool and is softer and more valuable than cashmere. Qiviut yarn and qiviut yarn blends are a knitters, crocheters and weavers dream to use to create their yarnwear.

Properties

Qiviut is softer than cashmere and is light as a feather. It’s an insulating fiber and is comfortable to wear in any climate. Eight times warmer than sheep wool, pure qiviut is non-shrinkable, non-felting and is often safe for people who suffer from sheep wool allergies. Unlike some wool breeds, qiviut is not scratchy. The more you handle and wash qiviut, the softer it feels. We have noticed this as we handle the skeins in the shop!

Some of the many shades of qiviut yarn available at Spin A Yarn

Qiviut yarn might seem expensive but an item knitted in this fiber is an heirloom that can be treasured for generations. Think of it as a unique gift for yourself or that special person. We sell pure qiviut and qiviut blends – Arctic Qiviut use only use the highest grade, finest quality German angora, cashmere, baby alpaca, silk, superwash merino, and nylon in their blends.

Teacher and expert lace designer, Anniken Allis, has designed a stunning cowl pattern exclusively for Arctic Qiviut which takes just one of the smaller skeins to make – this pattern can be included free of charge for any purchase of Qiviut from Spin A Yarn!

You can view our range available here on our website – Arctic Qiviut Yarn.

Arctic Circle Cowl by Anniken Allis