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!
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.
On Saturday 2 May 2015 yarn shops up and down the country will be opening their doors to celebrate the continued existence of Independent Yarn Shops … I’ve always called them Wool Shops though. Mind you I’m told wool shop rules out the possibility of selling silk, bamboo, cotton, aloe vera and acrylic and others. Therefore ‘yarn shop’ it is I guess (in my heart it is still ‘wool shop’).
Back to Yarn Shop Day …
We, Kate and I and not Bramble (recent star of Twitter @WoolShopCat) will be providing a Knitting Hospital A & E Service between 1.00 and 3.00 pm on this special Saturday – 2 May 2015.
If you have a knitting query that is baffling you, or you have forgotten a technique, or want to learn a new one, bring your knitting in to us. We will do what we can in the time we have.
We might have to operate on first come first served basis if we are buried under a mountain of WIPs (works in progress).
Watch this space – more to come!
If you are not in Dolgellau and want to support your local Yarn Store there’s a map of other shops participating in the day here.
Easter is almost upon us … how about a break from the chocolate and transfer those wishes for yummy egg-shaped goodies for yummy egg-shaped wool confections like this one:
I shall be making more yummifirous egg-shaped wonders for my Easter window this next week. I love this time of year.
A note about my Easter opening times: In addition to the usual hours (Wednesday to Saturday 10am – 4pm) I shall be open on Easter Monday, 6 April 10am – 4pm. Hope to see you then.
It’s been a while since Knit One… had a sale, so we went up into the storeroom, heaved boxes around, made a list of all the discontinued goodies and removed the cat from an empty box (we needed it, honest). And we’ve got enough for a really good sale!
We’ll be open for the sale on Friday and Saturday 2 and 3 January, then from Wednesday 7 to Saturday 10th, then the following week, Wednesday 14 to Saturday 17th January – open from 10am to 4pm as usual.
Here’s a quick gallery of some – only some – of the yarn that will be going into the sale, and in only some of the colourways:
There’ll also be some yummy single balls and skeins – individually priced ends of lots – as well as some patterns, books, magazines and samples!
Knit one… Dolgellau 