Another Busy Week of FOs and WIPs

And it has been another busy week at GTS HQ. Knitting, dye studio, and more knitting. Tuesday was another intense day spent in the dye studio. The results are mostly Delight 4ply with a sprinkling of Splendor 4ply, as well a new sock base (love!). The online shop should be updated again this weekend if you don't have time to come in for a peek in the woolly flesh. 

And as I've just gotten in a new pattern shipment from Louise Zass-Bangham, I decided to cast on another Knit Night. I have continued to dream of having a bright yellow neck item, so I've decided to use Ginger's Hand Dyed Sturdy Splendor 4ply in the Liquid Sunshine colour way. This knits up as some seriously soft and squishy garter stitch, and keeps me cheery on overcast days like today. I also plan on doing a beaded cast off, as I have some aquamarine beads in the shop that would really pop. 

I spent most of yesterday evening finishing up a cardigan. This pattern is available in the latest Navia Pattern Book available at GTS, and of course I made it cropped. This only took 4 balls of the Wendy Guernsey 5ply (2 in each colour). You are meant to add a 3rd shade on for the button band and cuffs, but I chose to just stick with this classy blue. Feel free to take a look at my Ravelry project page. Sewing pieces together can be a bit soul draining, but this project just reminded me how important it is to take the time to properly finish an item. For those of you not in the know, we are running the Finishing School Workshop again in September. What has been deemed my School Days Cardi is still blocking, but how cute are these coconut shell buttons?!

Not totally unrelated to knitting, I did go see the new Maleficent film yesterday. Very magical. *No knitting was completed during film. 

The Wool of the Month, Excelana 4ply, has done really well. I am delighted to be keeping it around as a permanent instalment on my shelves. I'm still plotting another shop sample, as the Nile Green (delicious minty shade) has been calling my name. If you have been in the shop, you may have noticed I am missing 2 shades of the collection (Saharan Sand and Natural Alabaster). These should be arriving in this week. Hurrah for more Excelana!

And it shall soon be time to bring in the new Designer of the Month for June. Super duper excited for this one folks!

May WIPs

Last week kept me busy with participating in Knitting and Crochet Blog Week, which was a lot of fun. It gave me a fresh perspective some ideas to use in my future posts.

Now the sun has come out, and I just feel like knitting something fun! Endless Rainbow by Martina Behm fits the ticket. It was an interesting start, which took a couple attempts. Now I'm getting into the groove of the pattern, and loving working with this yarn. West Yorkshire Spinners BFL is so soft and creamy. It's fun to penetrate this pureness with triangles and stripes of Aire Valley DK Rainbow Stripe by West Yorkshire Spinners. Delish!

This is also about the time of year that I start working on some Christmas gifts, just so I can do this gradually, and not in an absolute panic. I've started on Hunter by Tin Can Knits out of the New Lanark Aran, which is using up some of my stash. I've got plans to do another in the Brigantia Luxury Aran. The cables are actually quite simple, and look impressive enough. All the men in my life need to have this hat large and small!

This past Tuesday was spent in the dye studio plotting and scheming. I have dyed up something particularly special for the Indie Burgh Yarn Crawl. More info soon on that particular plot soon! I will update the online shop early next week with some new shades and such, so keep your eyes peeled for virtual squishing! In the meantime, I have gotten in 8 new shades of the Cascade 220 Superwash. These are also now available for perusal in the online shop. I'm still brainstorming on a sample to knit up for the shop in one of these new shades. Any thoughts?

February. Is it Over Yet?

February is my least favourite month. It is a time when I really feel the gaping hole that my best gal pal Rachel left behind. She passed away just a little over 3 years ago in the Christchurch earthquake, and was the coolest and kindest lady I've ever met. Three years is a chunk of time, and one would think it would stop hurting. Newsflash: it does not, and I don't know if it ever will.

This being so, I really threw myself into the Ravellenics, and am feeling a bit of a knitty burnout (GASP!). So yesterday I treated myself to a haircut (getting my hair washed is the BEST part). And I can highly recommend Dionne at Charlie Miller at Holy Corner in Edinburgh! What an amazing blow dry!

I've also done a bit of knitting that was not specifically for the shop. As in, I'm using up some random personal stash. This is Almandine by Anushka Tay, featured in Pom Pom Quarterly, Issue 6: Autumn 2013.

I do love a hood!

I've also just finished a pair of Wristwarmers With Contrast Rib by Anna Wilkinson. It wasn't until after I picked out the colours from my stash and started knitting, that I realized I was subconsciously been inspired by TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). Do you see it?

TMNT

Now I'm all ready to start on Brill from the latest issue of Pom Pom Quarterly. One can see I'm getting on a real Anna Wilkinson kick. I've caked up the yarn, but just keep staring at it and petting each lustrous cake. Is this normal?