Happy 1st Birthday

We had a lovely day visiting family in Birmingham yesterday. And it happened to be the 1st Birthday at Guthrie and Ghani - Haberdashery, Fabric & Yarn Store in Moseley. We were just down the road from there and decided to pay a visit to this lovely shop. The building has been newly renovated and is light and airy. Celebrations were in full swing when we arrived with lots of people enjoying the birthday cake and homemade lemonade.

So here's a look around the shop and the lovely fabrics, yarns and notions available.

I was delighted to receive a gift voucher way back at Christmas from my family to spend in the shop. So here's what I came away with, some skeins of sock yarn and a skein of lace weight for a shawl. The Easyknits brand was new to me. They are a small London based indie yarn dying company. I have since checked out their website and the range of colours looks gorgeous. Easyknits can also be found on Ravelry.

Enjoy!

Hobbycraft and The Women's Institute : Yarn Review

Firstly, I'd like to thank Hobbycraft and the WI for the samples of yarn they sent for this review.

The Women's Institute has launched it's own exclusive brand of yarn through the Hobbycraft retail chain. A donation from the sale of each ball of yarn will be given to the National Federation of Women's Institutes. It's the largest voluntary women's organisation in the UK with over 212,000 members.

There are four types of yarn in their new range, Premium Acrylic, Soft and Cuddly, Soft and Silky and Heritage Yarn.

Heritage - Unique Shetland
100% wool
4ply
50g
215 metres
3.25 mm needles/crochet hook
hand wash

I was keen to see this yarn, as regular readers will know about my obsession with all things Shetland. I decided to try some traditional Shetland lace samples, using one needle size down, one up, as well as the recommended needle size. The yarn has a rustic look and texture with 9 colours in the range. I'd be interested to try these muted colours out in the Fair Isle style of knitting too.

Here's what they say on their website,

100% Shetland wool, made in the UK. This manufacturer has been spinning yarn since 1798 and has the reputation of stocking the world's best Shetland and Lamb's wool qualities. A family company which prides itself on the ability to manufacture 10-12 tonnes of yarn each week all of which is spun using 100% green sourced electricity. - See more at:

'100% Shetland wool, made in the UK. This manufacturer has been spinning yarn since 1798 and has the reputation of stocking the world's best Shetland and Lamb's wool qualities. A family company which prides itself on the ability to manufacture 10-12 tonnes of yarn each week all of which is spun using 100% green sourced electricity.'                                                           

soft and Silky
100g
4ply
304metres
100% microfibre acrylic
3.25mm needles/crochet hook. 

This yarn is just as the name states, soft and silky. I received two colours out of the 15 in the range and decided to make one knitted and one crochet sample. Both worked up really well and I could see myself buying this for making washable baby items.

Premium Acrylic
100g
DK
4mm needles / crochet hook
282 metres
machine washable

This yarn has 20 vibrant colours in the range. I tried this yarn with a 4mm crochet hook and found it soft to the touch. For a budget affordable yarn it was nice to work with and I could see myself using this for a baby blanket requiring frequent washing.

Soft and Cuddly

4ply 
50g
125metres
machine washable

I didn't have any samples of this yarn but here's what they say about it from their website, 'this super soft range has been created to offer an anti pill fibre...ideal for a wide range of baby clothing...'

Hope you enjoyed this review. 
Have you tried this yarn? Are you a member of the WI?

Heritage Yarn
100% Shetland wool, made in the UK. This manufacturer has been spinning yarn since 1798 and has the reputation of stocking the world's best Shetland and Lamb's wool qualities. A family company which prides itself on the ability to manufacture 10-12 tonnes of yarn each week all of which is spun using 100% green sourced electricity.
- See more at: http://www.thewi.org.uk/media-centre/latest-press-releases-and-statements/the-wi-cast-on-with-hobbycraft#sthash.9NrtM0eU.dpuf

Shetland Sheep Exhibit at Torridon

I was offered the opportunity to put together an exhibit about our Shetland sheep and knitting yarn for the  'Local Life' exhibition space in the nearby gallery. It's on show from April 2014 at the Loch Torridon Centre Gallery. Here are a few shots and extracts from the display which features the Shetland breed of sheep, it's variety of colours and qualities. Also featured in the display is the lacy knitting pattern for  'Birch Trees Scarf' (which is available to download free) knitted in our natural white yarn.

'Our small flock of pedigree Shetland sheep were purchased in spring 2012.    We decided to send some fleeces for spinning following the summer shearing. Our first batch of yarn proved successful and we made plans to produce more the following year.

After a productive lambing time in 2013 our flock had grown in numbers and variety of shades. The Shetland breed provides a range of natural colours and markings. Currently our sheep display five colours (black, white, moorit, easit and sheala) out of the eleven recognised solid shades along with some multi coloured sheep called 'katmogets', having a lighter body and dark belly and legs with badger face makings. The names original from the Shetland dialect.

The fleece is soft, lightweight, warm and should never feel scratchy to the skin. The world famous Fair Isle knitting is based on this fibre.  Delicate lace weight yarn used for the equally famous Shetland lace shawls is spun from the finest Shetland fleeces.
 

We use Griffiths Mill in Derbyshire for our fleece spinning. This is a small family business specialising in the processing of fibre from as little as a single fleece. They can guarantee that we will have our own fleeces returned to us. We grade and clean the fleeces, then post them to the mill. They take care of the scouring, carding, wool spinning process and post the skeins of yarn back to us. For 2014 we have four colours available at the gallery in double knitting weight yarn.'