I'm drowning in yarn.

But what a way to go.

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June 26th 2006

Many of you know Emma, from Emma & Co. She is an inspiration to us all, in her strength and positiveness in caring for the needs of her son, Oliver. Oliver currently needs some calipers to help him ride his bike, and the lovely Michaela is organising an eBay charity auction to raise money for them. Michaela is asking everyone who can to raid their stash, and donate one (or more) skeins of yarn for the auction. I dug into my shamefully large stash, and came up with this:

Dreadful photo, but I was in a hurry to get it packed up and sent off. There's some Koigu, some Lorna's Laces, and some hand dyed cashmere, as well as a skein of Beatrice in Paisley. I know lots of you will want to participate as well (aren't knitters the most generous bunch?) .The deadline for donations is the end of July. If you can help, email me and I'll give you Michaela's contact details.

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June 23rd 2006

Well, all of you that have admired the lovely stole that Val knitted will be delighted to hear that she has sent me the pattern,and it's now available on our pattern page. Go take a look! As I mentioned yesterday, Val modified Eunny's Print O' the Wave stole design, and I know many of you will want to go and download Eunny's pattern. Val has transcribed the pattern into words, and added her own razor shell edging. Thank you, Eunny and Val, for your generosity in passing the patterns on.

Now, on to socks. The Sock Club is alive and well, and growing at a terrifying rate. The Posh Yarn team had a chat about its future yesterday, and particularly about whether we should limit the number of members. In the end, we decided that, no, we wouldn't set a limit. But we have decided to be a little firmer with the way the club runs. From now on, new members who join will get the following month's yarn. This means that we can dye all the yarn together in one huge batch, rather than it dribbling throughout the month. No begging for this month's yarn, no matter how much you love it, ok?!

Here is a sneak peek of July's Sock Club yarn. I don't usually post pictures of the yarn before it's sent out, because I think the whole point of the club is the surprise factor. But this month is different, because as I mentioned in an earlier blog, there's an extra little surprise for Sock Club members. So this is a glimpse of the colourway.........and that's all I'm saying.

But if you aren't a member, and you like the look of next month's colour, you'd better join quick, before the end of this month! I've promised my team that I'll be strict, so I'm giving you fair warning!

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June 22nd 2006

There's many things I love about running Posh Yarn, but my absolute favourite bit is seeing our yarns knitted up. I spend far too much looking through everyone's blogs, and spying on their posh knits.

So I was thrilled when the lovely Val sent me photos of a stole she's knitted from Beatrice (lace weight cashmere/silk) in Bluebell. Isn't it drop dead gorgeous?

The pattern is a mix of Eunny Jang's Print o' the Wave design as the centre of the stole, with a narrow razor shell design on either side, ending with a two stitch garter edge. I keep looking at the photos and shaking my head - it's just so very lovely, and I could only dream of knitting something so exquisite.

Thank you Val for sending the photos in. Please, pretty please, if you've got a finished object from our yarn, send us in a photo. Especially if you don't have a blog that I can stalk!

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June 20th 2006

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner! And it is..........

Kendra!

As you can see, Kendra sent in a snap of her knitting in the dog food aisle of Sainsbury's, and we loved it! It may not have been the most glamorous of locations, but it made us giggle.

Kendra, you've won yourself 100g of cashmere yumminess in the shade of your choice. Congratulations! And thank you to everyone who sent in an entry - we loved them all. Continue to show those sticks in 2006!

The blog has been rather neglected lately, I'm afraid. Things are pretty hectic here at the moment, which hasn't left me much time for updating. But in the next few weeks we've got some great stuff coming up, including the breezy summer top pattern, details of our exciting new club, and some fabulous new yarns. Stay tuned!

P.S. The sale page has been updated with some scrumptious bargains!

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June 14th 2006

Just a quick reminder that all entries for the Worldwide Knit in Public Day competition must be in by midnight tomorrow (15th June). Competitions details were announced on our May 20th blog entry, if you need a recap. The winner will be announced on June 20th. Good luck!

I have decided that life is officially unfair. I finally find a shop that is completely 'me', and what do you know, it's in the US, and doesn't do international shipping. Is there a UK equivalent of Anthropologie? Not that I know of. Why, oh why not?? Just look at these shoes.....

I want. I want, I want, I want. I found the cream fitted skirt (Principles) and I have a fabulous chocolate chiffon blouse with ivory polka dots to wear with it, and the ensemble is just crying out for a pair of fabulous heels like the top pair.

Mind you, it's just as well. They have 4.5" heels, and I'm 5'9 in bare feet, so I would look rather Amazonian. Plus they are eyewateringly chi-ching. But still, I'm going to sulk for a little while.

On a brighter note, I am currently reading Knitting without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmermann. This is the first time I've read any of her work, and it's just as delightful as I expected. But who on earth came up with that cover design? The queen of opinionated knitters deserves something far less generic.

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June 12th 2006

So how did your knitting in public go? I've already had a few photos sent in (don't forget you only have until Thursday to enter).

I did my bit.....well sort of. Does it count as knitting in public if there was no public to see you? It's not entirely my fault; everyone was inside watching the football. Well, that plus I went and sat by a river in a rather secluded spot...

I needed the peace and quiet though, believe me. And it was so lovely down there that after two rows I put my knitting away again in favour of laying back and watching the leaves against the sky. That was interspersed with the occasional paddle. Bliss.

Now, a quest. I'm looking for a particular style of skirt, and I'm drawing a blank so far. Maybe one of you can point me in the right direction. I want a cream skirt in a heavyish fabric, long (between 32 & 36"), and fitted. Possibly with a nice bottom hugging fishtail shape. Can anyone help???

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June 9th 2006

It's tomorrow....... Are you ready?

And look, the sale page is up!

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June 7th 2006

Can someone tell whoever is in control - IT'S TOO HOT.

Not if you are sitting under a shady tree in the garden. Or splashing in a swimming pool. Or driving around in a car with the top down. Or drinking iced tea under the cool canopy of a pavement cafe.

But if you are working in a stiflingly hot, steamy dye room, as I have been today, it's TOO DAMN HOT.

In fact, I got so crabby today that I have been forcibly ejected from the dye room. Humph. Still, every cloud has a silver lining. I've spent the last hour going through our yarn stock, and setting on one side all the blippy yarn. What's blippy yarn, you ask? Here's an example...

Blippy yarn is yarn that has some kind of fault in it. Usually a very small fault, but we're very picky here at Posh Yarn, and it doesn't take much for us to say, 'Not good enough'. There is yarn that didn't come out quite like the original shade (dye has an evil mind of its own sometimes), yarn that is a little patchy or faded, yarn that has a knot or two in it (oops with the scissors). And some odds and ends that slipped through the quality control net. Like these skeins of sock yarn, that were dyed in the same batch, but inexplicably don't quite match.

So, coming soon, a sale page. Hopefully by the end of next week, maybe even before. If you are signed up to the mailing list, you'll get first pickings. If not, then that's another reason to join!

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June 6th 2006

Ah, that's better. After a quiet weekend, I'm chilled out, refreshed, and ready for action. Which is just as well, considering today's to-do list. But lets not think about that just yet. Part of my weekend was (reluctantly) sacrificed on the altar of shopping. Wherever possible I try to do all my shopping online. Retail therapy is not for me, unless I'm sitting on my sofa with a glass of wine to hand. However, there are times when you have to venture out into the shiny world of shops, and Sunday was one.

I'm going to a very special wedding in a few weeks, so I need a very special dress. It's only a small wedding, not many guests, and is being held on a beach (lets hope the weather holds!). So I'm trying to find the perfect dress. Trying. And so far failing. It's pretty hard to get the perfect dress for a beach wedding - formal but not too formal, dressy but not overdressed. I think I've narrowed it down though, and the three shortlisted dresses are available online, so no more shopping trips, yay!

So, decisions, decisions.... I'm swithering at the moment between all three, so I'm throwing it open to you. Which dress do you think I should choose?

Apart from that, this weekend was spent playing noughts and crosses.......designing a shawl pattern. I'm telling you, I haven't had that much fun since infants school. Graph paper, coloured pencils, I had the lot. The little bit of maths I had to do sort of dampened the fun, but not for long. And the resulting shawl design is, I think, delightful. I have cast on in the pure cashmere laceweight, and it's going well. Pictures later in the week, I hope. And with a bit of luck, it will be ready to come to the wedding with me. Guest plus one.

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June 2nd 2006

Phew. What a week. Here's just some of this month's sock club batch, Hothouse, waiting to be packed up and sent out. Oh boy, we're having so much fun with this club. Next month's yarn is already planned, with a little fun surprise thrown in. And for those of you who aren't sock knitters, there's another Posh Club on the horizon. Stay tuned for more details on that....

This weekend will be all about the knitting. The front of the sweater is nearly done, and I want to get the back started this weekend. Photos next week, I hope. And I'm getting a distinct itching in my fingers, an urge to start some lace knitting. What are your plans for the weekend? Whatever they are, I hope the sun shines, and the stitches flow. See you next week!

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