3 Weeks Until the Craft Fair!

Once again I have been consumed by getting things prepared for the upcoming Brisbane Stitches and Craft Fair in just over 3 weeks time. So many things to make to show people just what you can do with the beautiful yarns in the store.

I am also conducting another class in the Craft Circle Workshop area each day. I had to find a project that I could teach in 50 minutes so I came up with the Crochet Flower Lariat. It only consists of 3 stitches and is made from the BC Garn Allino yarn which is perfect for the hot summer.

I have also made a Colourful Alpaca Blanket which is all crochet using The House of Alpaca yarn. 15 balls of it in fact!

See you at the Craft Fair!

Knitting!

 The last few weeks have been devoted to knitting. I am usually crocheting up a storm but I felt that I needed a knitting fix. I was dying to use the Koigu KPPPM yarn and so made a scarf just using the simple linen stitch. Very happy with the result.

Then I think I had a purple explosion! I do love this colour though. The hat is Pasha from a pattern written by Jane Richmond. This is the third Pasha hat that I have made using The House of Alpaca DK yarn.

The colours in the range of The House of Alpaca are stunning and the wool is so very soft. At the moment I am designing a knitted blanket in this yarn to sell in a kit form. I haven't decided how many colours I will use but there are 20 so I will have plenty to choose from!

Ripple Blanket

For the last couple of weeks I have been crocheting a Ripple Blanket. I absolutely love this easy pattern and the bright colours. I used 12 balls of the super soft BC Garn Semilla organic wool and a number 4mm hook. This pattern is so easy and fantastic for a beginner to crochet as it only has 2 stitches, chain and treble. I love how it turned out!

I will be offering it as a kit at the next Craft Show as well as through the shop. Email me at susan@yarngloriousyarn.com.au

KOIGU KPPPM!

I am pretty excited as I have taken delivery of some gorgeous wool from KOIGU. I have been wanting this yarn for ages! Today I loaded it onto the website and I just can't wait to use some of it myself. What to make? What to make!?

Embroidery Withdrawal!

Yes, I am having embroidery withdrawal. It has been ages since I have picked up a needle and thread as my life has been taken over by yarn! That's not such a bad thing of course but I do have several unfinished projects and I would love to finish some of them.

"Lucky" from a workshop with Di Van Niekerk

"Possum" from a workshop with Jenny McWhinney

Gumleaves in the Possum blanket

Finished!! "Strawberries and Jam" Blanket

"Strawberries and Jam" another workshop with Jenny McWhinney 

At the moment I am enjoying crocheting a ripple blanket in Semilla Organic 8ply wool. Beautiful soft wool in fantastic colours. So far I have chosen 11 colours for the blanket and I am enjoying watching it grow. I am hoping to offer this as a kit at the next craft show in October.

Ripple

I just need more hands and more hours in the day!

A Freeforming Weekend!

What a great weekend we just had and what a wonderful way to celebrate Mother's Day! Nine lovely ladies spent the weekend at the Freeform Workshop here with Prudence Mapstone. Lots of noisy laughter, food, good company and creativity over two very relaxing days. We had ladies come from as far as Mackay and Dalby as well as all over Brisbane.

And we plan to do it all again in November!!

Catching Up!

Yes it has been awhile! The last few months have flown by and I have been very busy with the shop. The Craft Fair in March was a huge success and I have re-booked for October and March 2013. I met lots of lovely new customers and many I have been teaching to crochet. At the moment I am preparing for the Prudence Mapstone workshop in two weeks time.

The shop has finally moved downstairs as the renovations have completed.  It is great because I have heaps more room and a great area for classes, workshops and knitting/crochet groups. I finally have lots more shelving to hold all the delicious yarns that I have in stock.

I have been emptying cupboards and sorting out my own huge stash of embroidery kits and yarn. I really don't want to part with any of them but I can't see how I am ever going to find the time to complete them all. I may have to hold onto them for a little while longer!

Lately I have been crocheting the Kaleidoscope blanket designed by Cecile Balladino and I am hoping to be able to sell some of the kits for this blanket very soon. It really is gorgeous and was first published in the French Marie Clare magazine.

For the next few days there is a giveaway happening on A Spoonful Of Sugar. the giveaway is a $75 gift voucher to be spent at my shop. The draw is on May 2nd so you can enter over here.

Loving the Tilli Tomas Artisan Sock Yarn!

Last week I knitted up a skein of the Tilli Tomas Artisan sock Yarn. I have been wanting to use this yarn ever since customers have told me how soft it is when made up. Not being a sock knitter I decided to make the Saroyan pattern from Ravelry. Really thrilled with the results and yes it is soft!!

Once again I used the blocking wire kit and it worked a treat. This accessory has become my number 1 favorite!

I also received my 2 crochet pieces back from Pauline Turner for the Intl Crochet Diploma. Happy with the results as I got a 85% for the filet crochet piece (see previous post) and 100% for the Hairpin Lace Shawl!

Madly preparing for the Craft Fair as it is in 2 weeks!

More Crochet!

I have finished another piece of crochet. This is a design from a vintage pattern called Four Roses Doily in filet crochet. I absolutely loved making this and another first for me working with fine thread. Not as fine as some though as this was a no. 20 thread on 1.25mm hook. Yes I'm pretty pleased with the result and it is winging its way to the UK along with the Hairpin lace to be marked for the Crochet Diploma Course.

I have one more garment to make and I am tossing up between a Tunisian crochet vest and a Doris Chan cardi in Broomstick lace. It has to be crocheted in a smooth aran weight yarn so I will decide in the next few days.

Meanwhile maybe I should try and finish last years Debbie Abrahams Mystery Blanket as it is a mystery no more. This years first 2 months mystery blanket squares have arrived but I am not very inspired to begin them. It is obviously an Olympic theme and I'm just not into it. I may even sell the whole kit at the end of the year if I really don't like it.

Jane Crowfoots Mystery Crochet Blanket is about to begin for this year.

I just love the colours of the yarns this year for the crochet blanket.

The patterns for the first month of Janie Crows crochet mystery blanket arrive tomorrow! Can't wait as all the yarn arrived a couple of weeks ago and I just love the colours! It is a lace theme this year and I think that so far this year crochet is taking over my life! Not such a bad thing?

This is just a teaser for the Jane Crowfoot patterns that we are about to be emailed.

My First Completed Hairpin Lace Project

I had a great day yesterday as I had the whole day at home to myself and was able to just indulge in my passion for crochet. I am fast approaching the end of Part 1 in the Crochet Diploma course and one of the garments that I have to submit must be an accessory that has to include another form of crochet such as broomstick, tunisian or hairpin lace. As well it had to be in a fashion yarn.

I have been working on this for a couple of weeks as the hairpin had to be in 3 strips of 270 loops on either side of the spine. Then they had to be joined and finished round the sides etc.

I used the Kristin Omdahl pattern "Tessa" but in different yarn so the look is slightly different.

This is the finished article and I am very pleased with it!

February Newsletter

February has arrived and it is hot and humid here in Queensland. That hasn't stopped me from knitting and crocheting though. So, on goes the air-conditioning and out come the needles every spare minute that I have. It seems crazy to be ordering winter yarns while the temperatures have been so warm but I have been, and over the next few months the shelves will be restocked with lots of new yarns as well as broader ranges of others.

I did get a lovely new order of Cashmere Queen early last week. This yarn is made by Schoppel-Wolle and is just beautiful. It is a 5ply/sport weight and 35% cashmere, 45% merino and 20% silk. The colours are very subtle and soft. At the moment I have five colours and will be receiving more soon.

The House of Alpaca have announced 10 more colours to their 8ply range so there will now be 22 colours on offer. They are also bringing out 5 colours in a 4ply which I am excited about. Anyone who has worked with this alpaca will know how lovely and soft it is and with the 20% merino just how well its keeps its shape after knitting and crocheting. These should be coming into the store later in March.

I have also ordered some more of the BC Garn Sarah Tweed as this has been a popular yarn. Top ups of the favorite colours as well as a few new colours. I have placed an order for their Semilla a 100% organic 8ply wool as well. The most difficult decision I have is choosing the colours and from around 40 I have chosen 22 colours.

This week all the information regarding the Prudence Mapstone Workshops went on the website. We are having 2 weekend workshops with Prudence this year. One on the 12th & 13th May and the other on the 17th & 18th November. Prudence is a wonderful teacher and her workshops are always a lot of fun as well as informative. I hope that some of you can join us!

Also this week I formed the Yarn Glorious Yarn group on Ravelry. It is a great place to share projects as well as to find out about what is happening in the knitting and crochet world.. As well, Ravelry is a great site for finding patterns or just asking for help with a knitting or crochet problem. I have made a few really good friends through Ravelry too!

The Craft and Sewing Show will be here again at the Brisbane Convention Centre on the 22nd - 25th March. I have just finalised the details and will be at stand E11. I am hoping to organise a couple of specials just for the show.

That's all the news for this week. Happy knitting and crocheting!

January Newsletter

Email Newsletter

Dear Susan January is almost over and this is the first newsletter that I have had time to write. I hope that you had a Happy New Year and that 2012 will be a wonderful year for all. My year has been very fast paced so far and I haven't had time to do all the things that I had planned for the holidays. Still it always happens that way so I don't know why this year should be different. The shop here has been closed since Christmas as we are having some major renovations. The shop will be moving downstairs soon and I will be able to have more space as well as longer opening hours. I am also hoping to open 4 days a week instead of just two days. I will keep you informed as to when that will happen in future newsletters. The online shop is of course always open! Over the holidays I have taken delivery of quite a bit more stock. Just before Christmas there were top ups of all of the Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball in popular colours. As well we had deliveries of Crazy Zauberball and Wunderkleckse. Already I have sold quite a bit of this yarn as I think people are happy to keep knitting over summer, just smaller projects like socks. Another delivery of the very popular Knit & Lace Blocking Wire Kits arrived for the New Year. I had time to use my own kit last week and I really don't know what I did without it in the past. I had finished crocheting the "Cappaccino Cardigan" from Interweave Press and for once I couldn't wait to block it. I crocheted it in the BC Garn 'Sarah Tweed' and I am very happy with the result. I just have to crochet the front bands and neckband. I have also had a top up delivery of Noro Silk Garden and Noro Taiyo. Both of these yarns have proved to be popular and I will be ordering more before winter. I am beginning to think of winter yarns now even though it is very hot and humid here in Queensland. I have ordered from Schoppel-Wolle some of their cashmere wool "Cashmere Queen". It should arrive next month sometime. Some people have asked me whether or not I will be stocking machine washable wool for the winter. Most of the yarns that I do have, apart from the Zauberball and the summer cottons are not machine washable. I have always hand washed my woolen garments and so hadn't given it a great deal of thought. I would be very open to any suggestions that you might have in regard to what you would like to see in the shop for winter as well as your preferences for machine washable yarn or not. Please feel free to email me and give me your thoughts. Of course now is the time that all good retailers are wanting to make room for more stock. With that in mind I will be having an online sale of summer yarns. From today TUESDAY 24th until SUNDAY 29th January I am taking 15% OFF all BC Garn 'Alba' and 'Allino'. Here is theCODE for the shopping basket 15SYARN and the amount will be taken off the total shopping cart of these yarns. Happy shopping and happy knitting and crocheting until next time! Sue