Knit One…, as a physical shop, is closing on SATURDAY 30 OCTOBER 2021.
We are remodelling the business, changing it into a new and more bespoke service for you all to enjoy in a number of different and exciting ways. More will be revealed soon – watch this space!
PS: We will still be selling wool, and our contact details remain the same.
From Tuesday 31 August, a ‘walk into the shop again’ sale is starting at Knit One… !
We are having a reorganisation and massive ‘serve yourself’ clear-out sale of full bags, part bags and odd balls of yarn. There will be some real bargains to tempt you.
Opening times? From Tuesday 31st, Tuesday to Saturday, 10 – 4.
We look forward to seeing you – diolch yn fawr!
(On entry to the shop, please wear a mask, use the hand sanitiser and bear in mind social distancing advice.)
This year sees Rowan Yarns celebrate their 40th birthday and Knit one… is joining in.
There’s a mini exhibition all week, starting on Saturday 3rd, featuring previous Rowan magazines and garments knitted from them:
And on Monday, 5 November – the shop is normally closed on Mondays – Knit one… is open, with a taster session (plus tea and cake) taking place between 1 – 3pm.
There will be some lovely, lovely yarns to try out and, in addition, there are some great Rowan patterns free with yarn purchases, like the one for this hat in Valley Tweed:
Plus, there are some of Rowan’s discontinued yarns available throughout the week at a discount. Just saying.
On Tuesday, there’s a free talk on the textile history of Dolgellau (if you’re visiting, just look up – there are signs of the towns wool heritage everywhere, from hoists for bags of wool to long upper windows, which gave better light for looms).
It should be fascinating…
Wednesday sees another drop in and have a go session in the afternoon, with a chance to chat to our rep, Katie:
which may (or may not, because cat) also be graced with the presence of Bramble, here supervising the display of previous Rowan magazines. Don’t worry, she’s sitting on the shop copies. Of course.
Did you know Kate Moss started as a knitwear model? She’s in Issue 10.
Oh, and needless to say, the shop is open as usual between 10am and 5pm each day.
On Thursday evening, there’s a special Rowan fashion show. This doesn’t only feature the gorgeous knits which have been lent by Rowan, but also many which have been made by some of our very talented local knitters. It should be a great evening, but you do need to book, and it’s £5 (which includes a glass of wine; the show is in the brilliant Dolgellau wine bar, Dylanwad Da):
There are some special things to purchase as well, quite apart from yarn. Project bags, a mug (handy for all that tea), the special book which Rowan have created to mark their birthday – it’s pictured on each of the information sheets above, and contains 40 of their most popular and interesting patterns – and some notebooks which contain knitters’ graph paper as well as lined pages for notes:
We look forward to seeing you all (oh yes… nearly forgot: during this week, until and including Friday, 9 November, Rowan’s shade cards are available for consultation and inspiration. We can order whatever yarns you want – and you’ll get 10% discount on any orders placed…
Here’s a quick summary:
There’ll be lots of posting on our Facebook page, no doubt!
It’s time to make room for some of the lovely new summer yarns, so Knit one… is having a sale. To start with there are some loevly Sirdar yarns, in packs or half packs, at up to 50% off, as well as some smaller quantities.
There are also some patterns, some fixed point circular needles, and some Addi interchangeables (wooo, 50% discount there), again to make way for new stock.
And naturally Bramble just has to supervise…
See you all soon!
It’s been so long, and for ages Angharad has been unable to knit, but she’s back on the needles now, so let’s have a look at the WiPs (works in progress).
Here’s a child’s sweater from Rowan in Softyak double knitting (the pattern is called ‘mussell’ and is from Rowan Magazine 61),
Once this is blocked it will look even better, and the yarn is lovely to knit with. Oh yes, and there are some socks. Always socks!
Here’s another children’s garment, but for younger ones this time. It’s a pattern from the First Sublime Evie baby hand knit book, design 18. It only takes two to three balls,
and look at the cute button…
In the window at the moment is another Rowan knit, from the book ‘Rowan Loves Softknit and Handknit Cotton’. The pattern is called Victoria, and this is the long-sleeved version; there is a shorter one.
And, just to complete a trio of Rowan projects, Kate is knitting Rover from the old (and fabulous) Magazine 48:
It’s the man’s pattern on the right, designed by Erica Knight (we love Erica Knight’s patterns), and is in Cocoon, a chunky yarn, so it’s knitting up quickly. Like the pattern book, the yarn is also from Kate’s stash: this colour has been discontinued. But there are some lovely replacements!
There’s a sale going on:
of some of Sirdar’s yarns, including many from their premium Sublime range. And they are delicious!
Let’s have a closer look:
That Simply Recycled is a lovely yellow, for instance – other colours are available – and knits up very nicely. Or then there’s Smiley Stripes (at the front of the previous photo), a Sublime yarn with bamboo supposedly for baby and children’s knits, but which looks equally good made into something like a simple summer cowl for a grown up… sigh!
The holiday season for some is coming to an end, but for others it is just starting, and September is a great time to visit this area, incidentally, when we often have gorgeous weather, so much so that there’s a phrase for it: haf bach Mihangel, St Michael’s little summer. And it’s worth remembering that yarn bought when you’re on holiday doesn’t count as adding to the stash. Ahem.
And, as you might expect, the whole sale has been well supervised:
The Boss likes to keep an eye on things (and has a lovely new collar).
Sometimes it’s difficult to decide what to knit – so much choice, so much choice!
Here’s the first of an occasional series, showing what we – Angharad and Kate, Bramble doesn’t really care for knitting – are actually working on at the moment. Perhaps that should be which of our many WiPs (works in progress) is getting attention, cough, cough.
It’s often good practice to have at least two things in progress, preferably on differently sized needles as the variation is better for your hands. Angharad’s current big-needle (10mm) project is going to be a giant cowl:
It’s being knitted in Rowan’s Drift, a super-chunky, 100% merino yarn which is delicious (and discontinued – though there’s still some available):
This pattern – a staggered rib – would also look fabulous in Rowan’s Big Wool. It’s one of Angharad’s own patterns, so do come in and ask. It will soon be finished, hopefully just in time for the cold snap they keep saying is just round the corner.
Kate is working at the other extreme, knitting a top in Rowan Felted Tweed on 3.5mm needles. Rowan generally recommend 3.75mm for this yarn, but Kate knits fairly loosely so she’s gone down a size to get the right gauge.
The pattern, a classic by Kim Hargreaves called ‘Salina’, is now available through Rowan’s Ravelry Store – and if you don’t know about Ravelry, there’ll soon be some information on here which will tell you more and convince you that it’s worth signing up (it’s an amazing website/pattern and yarn database for anyone who knits, crochets, spins, or who just loves all things woolly – and it’s got nearly 6 million members worldwide). The colour, by the way, is called Ruby. For once, a yarn name that makes sense!
Sorry about the overenthusiasm, but Knit one… is a huge fan of Noro, and its latest offering, Rainbow Roll, is amazing. It’s not available everywhere, so Knit one… is very honoured, and it won’t be around for ever. Rainbow Roll is 100% wool pencil roving – for non-spinners out there, that essentially means it’s unspun – in the usual wonderful Noro colours.
Here’s a close up so you can see how soft it is, which also explains why most of the shots in the gallery below had to be taken through the plastic.
It can be spun with, naturally, but it can also – carefully – be knitted, and there are examples on Ravelry of hats and shawls, together with some helpful information. Of course, not everyone is on Ravelry (worth joining, though, and free), so here’s the most important tip: go gently and don’t pull at the yarn.
It’s great for felting (the colours are sensational), and the first picture shows what it looks like when woven – the warp is another Noro yarn, Kureopatora, in the same colourway. Combining the two yarns (here’s another colourway),
gives blocks of colour, and the Kureopatora adds stability. Some knitters have suggested holding the Rainbow Roll with another yarn, too.
Anyway, whatever the use Rainbow Roll is put to, it’s fab. Here is a gallery of the colours which are available, not including the two in the main pictures; just click on an image for a slideshow. What else? Oh yes. Each disc is 100g in weight, and costs £12.95.
… but they really help when you’re thinking about presents, especially when they’re chunky and knit up quickly!
Every year there are some ‘novelty’ yarns, and every year many of them sink without trace. But there are always some that have lasting value, and here are three which are going down well. Very snuggly.
First comes one that looks as though it’s been sprinkled with snowflakes, Sirdar’s Boufflé, a cotton, acrylic, wool and nylon mix:
It sells at £3.75 a ball, and there are 100 metres to each 50g ball.
Then there’s a new addition to the popular Flutterby line from James Brett, called ‘Animal Prints’. This red one is so strokeable – well, they all are, but this seems particularly appealing!
Flutterby is particularly popular with people who crochet, incidentally. It really looks great, and the texture is brilliant in whether you prefer to use sticks or hooks (OK, knit or crochet). It’s £3.99 a for a 90 metres, 100 gram ball.
And this last one is another from Sirdar, Touch, one of the best of the ‘fur’ yarns. It’s incrrrrrredibly soft:
It knits up on 10mm needles, so a simple cowl (one skein, and the pattern’s included) can be done in an evening. Perfect, and at £4 for a 100g and 67m skein, pretty much ideal!
There’s a bright pink example in the shop window, where it’s attracting a lot of interest…
And there’s more yumminess. There are two more delights from Juniper Moon, and one amazing yarn from Lotus Yarns. First, here are a couple of tempting delights from Juniper Moon’s Herriot range.
First up is their Herriot DK. This is possibly the softest yarn in the shop (possibly – testing may be needed) as it’s 100% baby alpaca. Each 100g skein has 200 metres of yarn and sells for £13.95.
We did have five colours but one sold out almost immediately – a deep jade / petrol blue. These, refreshingly after their Findlay range, have simple numbers: 1002, the maroon; 9, the natural; 1016, the almost-limey green; and 1019, the mid-blue.
Again, we’ve got some patterns specifically for them,
but they’ll knit well to anything appropriate.
The other Herriot yarn we have is the the 4 ply, Herriot Fine:
This is also in 100g skeins, each one 420 metres long, and is a mix of 75% alpaca and 25% polyamid (for strength). Again the colours are numbered. From the top: 2001 is the grey; 2004 is the soft brown; the soft denim blue is 2010; 2011 is the maroon and the lovely charcoal grey is 2006. The retail price is also £13.95.
And yes, again there are patterns. There’s also a Juniper Moon pattern book, which has some lovely designs in it.
The other new yarn in stock is from Lotus and it’s called Tibetan Cloud Fingering:
It’s a laceweight. As you can see, there’s a lavender (shade 14), a soft grey (02) and an olive green (13), and it’s – wait for it – 100% yak. Spinners may have encountered yak fibre and will know how very soft it is, but this is probably new to most knitters. Let’s have a close up:
Beautiful. Now for the details: the skeins are 50g, 450 metres long, and sell at £11.95.
And yes, there are also patterns for this:
The two waistcoats are particularly effective, and are proving popular. Perfect for what might be (hopefully) a mild winter…
Knit one… Dolgellau 