Hello!

I hope you've all had a good week with plenty of knitting time!  I've spent the week making the fiddliest but oh-so-cute girlie booties!

Im still using up the ball that I made the Sirdar No1 swatch from.... and I still have just under half a ball left!  I'm thinking making the boy's helmet hat as that is bound to use up the never ending ball, right?  Plus, look how cute it is!

I don't know about you but I have a soft spot for baby boys' patterns.  You expect girl patterns to be cute, frilly, lacy and generally adorable, and we have dozens of such girl's patterns.  But so many of the boys patterns are just as cute and adorable.  Here's a selection of my favourite ones!

I just want to cast all those patterns on immediately, even though I haven't got any boys to knit for!  Right, let's go cast on that hat!

Happy knitting!

Jen
~x~

I'd like to start this blog post with a quick update on Sharon, as I know a lot of you ask when you pop in the shop.  She is doing Ok, slowly mending both her ankle and ribs.  She is able to come into the shop on some days for a few hours, to make sure I haven't done anything crazy to her wool shop! Unfortunately the shortened opening hours will be here for a little while to come, but I wanted to thank you for your continued support.  I know how frustrating it is  to get excited for a yarn shop visit only to find it closed when you get there!  We will of course let you know when we are back  to normal business hours.  

Let's get back to pictures of knitting!  After I completed the swatch with the Sirdar No1, I had plenty left over, so I decided to pick out this pattern and replenish the shop's supply of booties!

These have worked up so quickly and are a really fun knit! You could easily make a pair up in a couple of evenings if you needed an emergency baby present!  It has made me love the yarn even more as the end result is so good! they feel very soft and squishy, especially the garter stitch cuffs!  Here they are almost finished! 

They are just so adorable,  I would have them on display if they were mine!  I'm currently working on a pair of girlie mary janes, from another Sirdar No1 pattern, hopefully I'll be able to share them with you next week!

That's it for now, have a good weekend and Keep Knitting!
Jen
​~x~

A bit of technical information first - 
Name - Sirdar No1
Yarn weight - Double Knitting
Colourways - 18 colours, both brights and muted colours
Weight of ball - 100g
Length on one ball - 230m / 251 yds
Compostition - 50% acrylic, 50% nylon 
Tension - 22sts and 28 rows on 4mm needles give 10cmx10cm
Machine Washable - wool cycle, cool tumble or dry flat

I really like the ball bands of this yarn, it has a small cutout which serves as the "o" in No1.  It gives it a clean, modern look.  It looks particularly good with the bright colours:
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Now that the technical details are out of the way, let get on with what's really important!  I really enjoyed knitting with this yarn. It really is wonderfully soft as it flows through your fingers. The yarn is quite plump, it's not a yarn that looses its volume as you're working it. As a result of that, stitches come out nice and even (the above swatch hasn't yet been blocked).  The knitted fabric it gives is a very tactile, squishy fabric with really nice drape. I imagine a baby blanket made with it would mould to baby really well, to give that cocooning effect which looks so enjoyable. I think it would also be very good for children's garments, because of its softness and the fact it's machine washable. If I had to give a criticism, it's that the yarn can open up a bit as you cast on, however for me this is true of 90% of yarns, something in the way I twist the yarns I guess!  Once the cast on stitches are done there is no problem with the rest of the knitting. In conclusion, this may well be my new go-to yarn for children's clothing and accessories as I really enjoy the softness as I'm knitting it, and I do love a plump fabric!

We have 7 patterns specifically for Sirdar No1 in store, but seeing as it has normal DK tension, you could easily substitute any DK pattern you like to good effect.

The swatch and the yarns are in the shop, ready to meet you!

Jen
~x~

Hello!

I thought I would start this week's blog post with an update on how Sharon is doing.  She's in the shop today for a few hours, although it will be a while until she is able to come back for the whole day.  She has taken the opportunity whilst she is immobile to start as many projects as possible, and one in particular is almost complete!  A boy's hooded jumper made from the delicious Sublime Prints so beautifully soft - such a treat to knit which is why it's almost finished I'm sure!  I'm sure the recipient will enjoy wearing it too!

Speaking of beautifully soft yarn, we recently received a delivery of a yarn that has lots of followers.  I use it a lot for small toys as the tonal nature of the colours adds interest without it being too much.  I am talking about Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Tonals of course, which is now available in all 19 colours!

Just to give you an idea of how it knits up for toys, here is Cal, a squid I made for my son...

You can of course knit beautiful garments with it too!

I also want to take this opportunity to mention the "c" word.... Christmas! We have started to plan for the Chatterton Village Christmas Fayre which will be held on Friday 24th November.  We will be having a huge clearance sale, with yarns discounted up to 60%, plus the usual knitted goods, raffles and fun.  So put the date in your diary and come grab bargains and get Christmas started the right way!

Happy Knitting!

Jen
​~x~  

This is a brand new yarn from Rico that we have decided to stock as a very affordable Aran weight colourful yarn.  It is plied very loftily meaning it is buttery soft and comes in 18 soft colours.   Because its so light, 100g ball has an impressive 300m.  That means only a few balls will get you an adult garment!- the cardigan patterns both take a max of 5 balls.  They have a standard gauge for an Aran weight yarn of 18 stitches per 10cm on 5mm needles, so you can use any pattern if these don't appeal.

It comes with amazing pattern support, featuring 2 children's  patterns- one for babies up  to  24 months, and one for children up to 10 years.  Both come with a bonus hat pattern too!  There are  3 ladies  garment patterns, one crochet garment, 2 accessories pattern, one of which is a stunning brioche scarf with  hat and a baby blanket crochet pattern.  I have the pattern and the wool to do the cowl that comes with the poncho pattern, I can't wait for my cable needle to be free so I can start on it!  actually, might be simpler to buy a second cable needle, they come in handy don't they!

Happy knitting!

Jen
~X~