Alas, time has caught up with me again. I had news, including a competition, but it will have to wait until next week. In the meantime, here's a fun new meme. Feel free to join in.

I'd Rather Be....

....in a library than in a pub.
....too cold than too hot.
....a passenger than a driver
....admired than desired
....pale and interesting than tanned and wrinkly
....an early bird than a night owl
....in a forest than on a mountain top
....Lorelai than Rory
....too early than too late
....on my own than in a crowd

What would you rather be?

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September 28th 2006

Enough with the whinging already!

Thanks everyone, for your patience with my moaning, and all your wise and supportive comments and emails. I felt better as soon as I posted this blog, and have been feeling better and better ever since. Helped by some of the lovely parcels that have been arriving at my door. Who says retail therapy doesn't work?

Of course, when you run a yarn company, you can kid yourself that buying knitting books is 'business'. It works for me. So, I've treated myself to....uh, invested in......three knitting books this week: Norsk Strikkedesign, Socks, Socks, Socks, and Sensational Knitted Socks. I haven't had a chance to look at the sock books yet, but I have been poring through Norsk Strikkedesign. What a stunning book. So beautifully presented, such inspiring designs, just so different. Take a look.

I feel a pair of intricate colourwork mittens are definitely in my knitting future. Or maybe this stripey jacket. I love the flared panels at the side. I can see this with some skinny jeans and flats. Tres chic.

And maybe if someone gives me the gift of time (and infinite patience), I could knit myself this:

Of course, if I'm honest, nowadays I'm more likely to be seen in a t-shirt and lounge pants (that sounds better than tracky bottoms, doesn't it?!). Nice ones though, thanks to the lovely Jillian. She stepped in and helped me out a couple of weeks ago, when I wanted to place an Old Navy order. I cannot live without Old Navy - their clothes are generously cut, important to a tall girl like me, and excellent quality despite the cheap prices. You can wash and wash Old Navy t-shirts and they don't stretch or shrink. Love that. But they don't accept orders paid for with UK credit cards, hence my plea for an intermediary. Jillian generously helped, and even more generously, popped a little gift in for me. Look at these little beauties:

These are the best stitch markers EVER. They are really tiny (and difficult to photo!), won't get in the way of your knitting at all, and they are adorably cute. Jillian is thinking of setting up an online shop selling them, and I'll be one of the first customers there if she does. Go Jillian!

What else.... more books, some old letters and photos for a large collage picture I'm working on, Season 6 of Gilmore Girls (officially the best show ever), even more books..... And Kerrie, bless her generous heart, sent me some special cheer-you-up flapjacks. They sure did the trick. Kerrie: A, you're adorable, B, you're so beautiful, etc.....

And lastly, a package came that I can't show you just yet. But I am VERY excited about it. It's a new range of yarns that we will be carrying, incredibly luxurious but reasonably priced, and from a British supplier. As soon as I can tell you more, I will. I can hardly wait.

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September 26th 2006

I have another migraine starting. It has been one of those days so far: returned parcels that need to be resent, a large wholesale order that has failed to arrive on time. I'm still answering emails and making desperate phone calls when I should be dyeing. Or, the way I'm starting to feel, dying.

This is the difficulty with a very small business. You have to be in too many places at once, and if you have very high expectations of what your product and service should be, you inevitably disappoint yourself on a regular basis. Posh Yarn is a one and a half man company. Meaning that it's me, working fulltime (do you call 60 hours a week fulltime? Or is there some other term for it?), and my partner, working part time. All our yarn is hand painted, to order, and we take a great deal of time and care over its preparation, dyeing, and finishing. We are at the mercy of the weather, when it comes to drying, and the mercy of the postal system when it comes to delivery. Although I must say we have been very fortunate there, and have experienced hardly any problems with post. But I digress.

I hate to wait for things. And since all my customer service standards are based on what I would be happy with myself, I hate to keep my customers waiting. I would like nothing more than to send your yarn out the same day you order it, but that is impossible. I would like to send it out within a few days of you ordering it, but that is nearly always impossible too. At the moment we are working at about a week behind on orders. That means that this week, we are dyeing all of last weeks orders, so that once you factor in drying time (Lord, keep the sun shining, please) and postage time, orders will arrive between 2-3 weeks after they were purchased, depending on your location.

A lot of people aren't willing to wait that long, and I respect that. Sometimes you need yarn in a hurry, for a gift or an urgent project, and when that's the case, we try to squeeze you in earlier. But in general, at the moment, orders have about a 2 week turnaround. Please bear that in mind when you are ordering, because I really hate to think we're disappointing anyone. Happy customers makes a happy (migraine-free) Dee.

And you have to wait for most good thing in life, don't you?

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September 25th 2006

A huge order just arrived from our supplier, and all our yarns are now back in stock! We've also got three scrummy new yarns, which I hope to reveal later this week....

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September 22nd 2006

Updated to add: for those of you who have been requesting an RSS feed for the blog, this blog will now be silmultaneously published here and on Blogger. The RSS feed for the Blogger version is http://poshyarn.blogspot.com/atom.xml. Let me know if it works for you!

Ok, I think I'm all better now. A throat infection followed by a 36 hour migraine has left me somewhat washed out, but I'm getting there. All the orders shoul dbe caught up on by the end of the weekend. Thanks everyone for your patience with the orders. You do make it a joy to dye for you.

Speaking of which........drum roll please...... Seven new colourways!

The first four, pictured above, are new solid shades for autumn - Granite, Russet, Moss, and Twilight. There will be more to come as we go through the season. I've also added three new variegated colourways, that were originally Sock Club yarns. Again, we've got more variegated shades to add soon.

But look how pretty these autumn shades are. I see chunky cashmere scarf in the Russet, a pair delicate lace cashmere/angora gloves in Moss, and a cashmere/merino Aran sweater for the man in your life, in Granite. Now if only we could have some appropriate autumn weather to go with them.....

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September 20th 2006

Everyone is still walking on tiptoe at Posh Yarn HQ. The throat infection is gone, but I've had a migraine for the last two days. And no, it is NOT related to the medicinal brandy consumption. Honestly. I'm blaming the weird weather myself.

I had to share with you this photo of the Swallowtail Shawl that Hazel, from KnitYoga, finished recently. You can see lots more photos of it on her blog, which I highly recommend you visit. The shawl was knitted from our laceweight cashmere, and took about 50g of it. Isn't it a beauty?

And speaking of lace, the Lace Club vacancies are drawing to a close. Just a couple more spots, and we'll be closing it to new members. If you're not in, come join us before it's too late.

Updated to add: the Lace Club is now closed!

Now send me some healthy vibes, please!

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September 18th 2006

Thanks for all your sympathetic emails and comments. I'm treating the lurgy (throat infection, to be more prosaic) with bed rest, brandy, books, dark chocolate, Classic FM, and of course, knitting.

Still feel sympathetic?

Ahem.

Quick update on One Off Wednesday. (boy, you knitters sure do know how to shop!) We've decided to make it even more one off, by doing it every now and then, once or twice a month maybe, instead of every week. Last week's was rather a bumper crop, and with wholesale commitments, regular orders, and the sock and lace club, there isn't as much time spare as I might want for dyeing one off's. So watch this space for notification of future O.O.W's, or sign up for the newsletter to be notified by email.

Ack, I feel all feeble after than ten minutes of work. A dose of medicine is in order, I believe......

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September 14th 2006

Uggg. I've got the dreaded lurgy. Back soon.

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September 13th 2006

One Off Wednesday is live! Happy shopping everyone - I have a large cup of tea next to me, and I'm poised to update the page as sales come through. Gulp.

I hope I didn't cause anyone offence on Monday by grouping together Canada and the US. Both countries are very cool, and I hope one day to get the opportunity to explore them both.

And the Sock Club is now closed to new members. I hope you didn't miss out!

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September 11th 2006

Ok, time to come out of the closet. I have serious States envy. Yes, all you lucky visitors from North America, I want to jump into your shoes. There's something about the US and Canada that has a really strong draw on me. Lucky for me that the Internet brings everywhere right to my laptop, so that I can indulge some of my craving and make a little corner of England Yankee-fied. I could name you a thousand things I love about North America, but here's just ten of the more frivolous ones:

1. They have the best clothes. Forget Paris, give me Old Navy anyday. Their lounge wear ROCKS. And for days when I'm feeling a little less sweat pants, and a little more chi-chi, there's Anthropologie. Must get my hands on these, and these, and these, and these, and......

2. They have the best yarn companies. Aside from Posh Yarn, of course..........! Seriously, how did the knitting world survive before Koigu?

3. They have all the fun history. Industrial Revolution v. The Gold Rush....... No comparison. Prairies, frontier towns, log cabins, cowboys, you got 'em all. We've got longer history, but damn, yours is much cooler.

4. They make coffee better than anyone in the world. Some bemoan the Starbucks invasion. I say, bring it on. You can keep MacDonald's though. Ha, if only.

5. Their TV is so much better than ours. Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, Gilmore Girls, I could go on and on. Even your bad TV (Days of Our Lives!) is entrancing.

6. American & Canadian people are just so nice. Polite, friendly, and pleasant. Customer service in shops just blows you away, if you are used to the taciturn service you get here far too often. Yes, they all say 'Have a nice day', but they MEAN IT! And there's a kind of joyful innocence about them that is very endearing. My niece, who is American, reminds me (in the nicest possible way) of an excited Golden Retriever. She's so bouncy and enthusiastic, and easily pleased and happy. That's a nice kind of person to be around, you know?

7. Food, oh boy, food. American breakfasts alone are worth the plane ticket. Pancakes and bacon with maple syrup? GENIUS!

8. The country is amazing. A continent that is like a shrunken version of the planet. Deserts, ocean, mountains, swamps, glaciers, savannahs, they have it all. BIG. If I ever inherit a million pounds, I'm going to get in a car and drive through every inch of North America. Twice.

9. They have such a great attitude to British people. When you are over there, you feel.....special. Quaint, well bred, ancestral, glamorous. You say a quiet 'thank you' as they hand you your change, and everyone bursts into shrieks. 'Oh my God, you're British! I love your accent! I have a friend living in London - do you know her?'

10. There are now (or soon will be) three stores in North America that stock Posh Yarn. Considering Reason 2, that makes me feel very honoured. Ah, if only I could deliver their yarn in person....

PS. The update for One Off Wednesday will go live about 3pm, so that everyone gets a shot at the yarn!

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September 9th 2006

Edited to add: Thanks everyone for your offers, but the smashing Jillian has stepped up for me!

Quick appeal to my US customers: would anyone be willing to make an order for me with a US shop that won't ship to the UK? I can either Paypal you the money, or send you the equivalent amount of yarn, or both. If you can help, drop me an email and I'll explain the details. Thanks!

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September 8th 2006

It's Friday! Time to break out the Crunchies. This week has been bussssy, both at home and at work. Two big wholesale orders, packed up and ready to be sent out at the start of next week. New colourways developed and tested, to be revealed soon..... And in the house, a cooker! A wood stove! Oh we're getting really civilised now, I tell ya. Maybe by the end of the month we'll have a real floor in the living room instead of concrete. The luxury of it.

But you don't want to hear about our floor, do you? You want to know, what's this week's big news? Well, I'll tell you. We're really excited about a new feature to the website, which launches next week, called One Off Wednesday. Each week we will be dyeing a selection of yarns in one off shades, both solid and variegated, and putting them up on the sale page, which will be updated each Wednesday. Why the sale page? Because all this yarn will be 10% off. Exclusive colours, discounted prices - what more could you ask?!

I'm really excited about this feature, because it allows me a bit more creativity with dyeing. You can't imagine how much fun it is to come up with colours, and dyeing to order takes a little of that fun away. One Off Wednesdays will put that fun back in.

As tempting as it is to dye this weekend, I have to have some boundaries, so I've got lots of other things planned. Busy, important things. Sleeping in, laying on the sofa, reading, eating, knitting, and eating some more. It's a hard life. I hope to make lots of progress on the socks I'm knitting for the sock swap (which I can't show you photos of, for obvious reasons). They will have to share needle time with the scrap shawl I started this week, pictured below. I am LOVING this pattern. It's completely addictive.

Keeping me company all the time, while I work, rest, and play, is my trusty MP3 player. I'm not quite sure how I survived before it, or rather before I discovered Audible.com. I'm on the unrestrained listener plan, where you get two books a month which you listen to in a week, and then spend the rest of the month counting the days until your next download. When I work, even the most tedious task (rinsing and hanging out, if you must know) speeds by when I'm listening to a good book. And if you've never tried listening to a book - in any format - while knitting, then try it. Please. It's like peanut butter and honey on toast - once you've tried it, you never look back (don't forget the butter).

It's time for breakfast, I think!

Anyway, before I go, here are some of the books I've listened to recently that I can recommend. Sense & Sensibility (read superbly by Juliet Stevenson), Persuasion, Emma (do you sense a theme?), Cranford (oh so funny), a Daisy Dalrymple mystery (I forget which), and Little Women. You can see my tastes veer towards the classics, albeit the lighter ones. If you have any recommendations, pass them along. I'll add them to the already lengthy list.

My toast awaits.......Have a wonderful weekend, and see you next week!

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September 6th 2006

It's been really exciting for us to welcome lots of new members to the Sock & Lace clubs. Exciting, and a little scary. Nearly 100 of you signed up in the first 24 hours. Gulp. Knitters sure do know how to shop.

But I wanted to share with you some photos that members of both clubs have sent in, of their finished projects. First up is the Wildflower shawl from the Lace Club, which the talented Teresa knitted up in just over a week. Good work, Teresa!

She writes that she adapted the pattern a little bit to suit her tastes, using a 3mm needle instead of a 3.25mm, and managing to squeeze one extra repeat out of the yarn to make the shawl slightly bigger. I think it looks scrumptious, don't you?

If you have a big stash of sock yarn, take a leaf out of Linda's book. Linda is one of our Sock Clubbers, and with this month's yarn she has knitted an adorable pair of gloves. She loved the yarn shade so much that we rummaged up an extra skein for her so that she could knit a matching scarf. I love how the yarn colours striped on the fingers. As I look out of my window at the fields and hedges that stretch out across the countryside, the colours are just like these gloves. Gorgeous.

This totally inspires me to knit some gloves from my sock yarn stash. Add that to the list of projects..... If anyone else has photos of finished projects that they've made with Posh Yarn, please send them in. We absolutely LOVE seeing what you've made from our yarns.

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September 4th 2006

I'm just beginning to catch up on all the blogs, magazines, and new stuff that came out while I was gone. There's some lovely new patterns for autumn, and I wanted to show you some of my favourites.

The September Magknits is a cracking issue. I love most of the designs, but one that really caught my eye was the Snicket Socks. I'm planning to make these in some pillar box red cashmere, as my treat socks for winter.

From the Fall edition of Interweave Knits, I love the Gatsby Girl pullover (I fancy this in Serena in Raspberry), the Weekend Pullover by the ever talented Véronik Avery, and the Wanderlust Hoodie. Not to mention the Swallowtail Shawl, which I've seen knitted up in several of our laceweight yarns, to gorgeous effect.

Rowan follow the path they've trod lately, with a main book that has some weird, some wonderful designs, and some other books, such as the RYC Classic range, that are a little more wearer friendly. Some of my picks from RYC Classic Alpaca are shown above, including Gansey, a gorgeous cable knit sweater for men (knitted in cashmere/merino, what a gorgeous gift that would be!) and Kashmir shawl. From Rowan 40 I like Cobweb, Tintagel (both pictured below), Dew, and all the lovely retro Fair Isle designs.

So many things to knit, so little time to do it in. On the needles at the moment: the Fair Isle tank top for Mister Posh, a scrap yarn shawl, a sock for my Sock Swap pal (organised at Angel Yarns), and a sock for the Mister...... Queueing up are about 5 more projects. I need a winter the length of the one in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, just to get through all my projects.

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September 1st 2006

Seasons of mist and mellow fruitfulness.... This is my favourite day of the year. While some mourn the end of August as the end of summer for another year, I rejoice. I'm not a summer person - don't like the heat, or the long light nights - and autumn is, to me, the nicest season of the year. So today, I'm feeling rather mellow myself. Every Friday this month we will be announcing some new addition to the website, and I just can't wait to get them all out.

This week's news? Sock Club is open!!! I'm not sure how long for - we can only add a few more members at the moment, so it could close again at any time. Depends on how fast you all go and sign up! But seriously, no sales ploy intended here, I wouldn't wait around if I was you. And if you like the look of this month's yarn, and you are one of the first to sign up, you can opt to start with September as your first month, and have this lovely skein of yarn plopping through your letter box in a few days. Only two skeins available though, so be quick.

Socks not your thing? Well it's a good job we've reopened the Lace Club too, isn't it?! Again, just a few spots are available. I do hate to disappoint, but as soon as the spots for both clubs are filled, membership will close again until further notice. By the way, because the postal prices have gone up, we've had to raise membership cost by £5 for each club. It's still a wild saving on regular prices though!

What are you waiting for?!!

One last thing. I know many of you will have already heard about Yarn Forward, the new UK knitting magazine that launches this month. I'm delighted to be involved in this new venture, which has Kerrie from HipKnits at the helm. I believe that this magazine will fill a much needed place in the UK knitting magazine scene, and I can't wait to see the first issue. If you haven't already subscribed, or ordered an advance copy of the first issue, you can do so here: Yarn Forward.

Have a great weekend!

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