It's hard to know where to begin with this post - which is partly why it's taken so long to sit down and write it. You may know I've been off on a big trip to Europe, taking in Edinburgh Yarn Fest, H+H Cologne and a few other stops along the way. This is the first of what will be a few posts, there is too much to say in just one!

If you are after the short version: come to Knit August Nights! 

In fact, maybe i'll start there. Registration for Knit August Nights goes live on 1 May, and I highly recommend it as a yarn event. You do need to be quick if you are hoping to attend classes, as many sell out within minutes. Even missing out on classes, and simply coming along to enjoy the offerings from the traders, the wonderful company, the sunshine, and the great wine (if that's what you're into) is so restorative at the end of winter. We'll be there, and love catching up with all our fibre-loving friends.

Watching social media from this part of the world often leads to a lot of FOMO (fear of missing out) when it comes to yarn events. I suffer it too, which is a lot of the reason why I jumped at the chance to go to Edinburgh Yarn Fest this year. It fell the weekend before a big trade fair in Cologne, so the timing was perfect to book end two work events and make the long trip over.

It was amazing, and a bit overwhelming, but you know what? We have two yarn retreats right here in our neck of the woods that are just as good: Unwind in Dunedin and Knit August Nights in Napier. Plus the delightful The Craft Sessions over the ditch in Victoria, Australia. They all offer excellent classes, great selections of traders and wonderful regions to explore during your down time. The one thing I can really point out as being different is the celebrity factor - the chance of running into a big name knitting designer is obviously a lot higher at EYF - but we do have our own right here, too. 

The Good Stuff

There really was an overwhelm of amazing yarn and notions and everything in between. I had a list of yarns I really wanted to add to my collection and I was mostly successful. Tell you what though, trying to browse yarn with a squirmy toddler attached to you (or running away) is somewhat of a challenge. My advice would be to maybe not take a toddler if you can help it... 

First stop was to buy a Morag the Highland Coo kit from Toft, who are a bunch of wonderful people doing great things celebrating UK wool and alpaca. They produce the most delightful kits and amigurumi animal patterns in conjunction with Edwards Crochet - it was very hard to resist adding more animals to my one kit. There was a GIANT Morag the Highland Coo, which of course called for a photo:

Because apparently having a favourite cow is a thing, highland coos are the Mister's favourite breed of bovine, so this one is destined to be his. When I eventually get around to dusting off my crochet skills and making it.

I was able to stop by and select some wonderful squishy DK minis at Rainbow Heirloom, collect a rainbow of Knit by Numbers minis at John Arbon (oh how hard it was to limit myself there), grab a yellow Field Bag from La Bien Aimee (a complete indulgence), and picked up two skeins of speckles from Martin's Lab (the husband of Justyna).

If EYF was anything to go by, speckles and minis will continue to be big this year. Along with big (enormous) shawls, colourwork sweaters and enamel pins.

The Interesting Stuff

Aside from all the hand-dyed yarns, there was a substantial amount of rare-breed and breed-specific commercial wools. While it is fascinating to see how these fibres spin up keep in mind that these yarns may be interesting and have a great back-story, softness does not always come along for the ride. Sonja had a great chat with Bex from Ysolda about this, and they theorised that colder climates work for wearing rougher, more robust yarns, our mild climate not so much. When you're warmer, your tolerance for the itch reduces. That's the theory, anyway. 

What I did really enjoy about the rare-breed / breed-specific set was the celebration of local: supporting local sheep farmers, local mills, and local retailers. We certainly need more of that, and definitely a greater education and understanding around softness not being the be-all and end-all of knitting yarn. 

Takeaways

1. If you're planning to head to Edinburgh Yarn Fest, make sure you add on something else as part of your trip. A tour of Scotland, another leg to your journey, something else substantial. 

2. Try to get along to a class. They sell out exceptionally fast, so you'll need to get up in the middle of the night (NZ or Australia time) to get a spot. The knit night and Ceilidh looked great fun, but again you'll need to move quickly to get a ticket. 

3. If they offer admission to the market by advance ticket only for any of the days, do that. We went on Thursday (no door sales, only advance tickets) and it was much less busy than the other days.

4. Come along to Knit August Nights or Unwind: they are just as good, with better weather (usually). 

If you check out my Instagram profile, you'll see i've saved some highlights from our visit in our stories. 

Month 4 (April 2018)

Our prize for April is a skein of Wollemeise Pure - hooray! All you need to do to enter is post a finished square in the Ravelry thread by the end of the month. 

Below are the month 4 blanket CAL options. If you want to catch up on what we're doing, pop by Ravelry!

For more info, see our first blog post with all the details. 

Standard Single Colour

Duckbill Dalliance 12" Afghan Block by Margaret MacInnis (free)

Pennies from Heaven by Polly Plum (free; video tutorial)

Standard Multi-colour

Clown Car by Polly Plum (free; photo tutorial)

Crumpets and Tea Square by Lorene Haythorn Eppolite- Cre8tion Crochet (free)

Challenge Single Colour

Challenge Multi-Colour

Over the last few weeks we've watched Deb of Outlaw Yarn crochet a truly lust-worthy blanket. If you're feeling a bit daunted by our Choose Your Own Adventure Crochet Blanket CAL, you may find this style of afghan more comforting. 

A blanket like this is great chance to practice your crochet skills and gain a bit more confidence. Perhaps even enough to guide you to the next step and join our Crochet Motifs class (just a thought!). 

Deb used 2 balls of Bohemia Muse in Orpheus, and one each of Angelic, Windswept, Waterhouse, Ophelia, Argos, Destiny and Nymph. The edging used one ball of Bohemia Worsted in Fog. 

While Deb's pattern came from a book, we think you'd get pretty close using this Granny Stitch Hexagon pattern (free). Or you could have a go with the slightly different but still free Hello Hexagon! pattern tutorial by Pip Lincoln. 

We recommend using a 5mm - 5.5mm hook with Bohemia Muse and Worsted, or even go up to a 6mm if you tend to work a bit tighter. 

Thanks to Deb for the stunning photos and immense inspiration!

Month 3 (March 2018)

Our prize for March is a voucher to HRYC - hooray! All you need to do to enter is post a finished square in the Ravelry thread by the end of the month. 

The month 3 blanket CAL options. If you want to catch up on what we're doing, pop by Ravelry!

For more info, see our first blog post with all the details. 

Standard Single Colour

Where or When by Polly Plum (free; video tutorial)

Criss Cross Applesauce by Pia Thadani (free; photo tutorial)

Standard Multi-colour

Dahlia 12" Crochet Square by Maria Bittner (free)

Joyful Afghan Square by Tamara Kelly (free; photo tutorial)

Larksfoot Inspired 12" Granny Square by From Home (free; photo tutorial)

Firenze Afghan Block by Julie Yeager (PAID)

Jamboree by Polly Plum (PAID; photo tutorial)

Challenge Single Colour

Just One of Those Things by Polly Plum (PAID; video tutorial)

Challenge Multi-Colour

Starflower Mandala Square by Dorianna Rivelli (free; photo tutorial)

Tristan by Polly Plum (PAID; photo tutorial)

As part of the annual Kanga Kiwi KAL, we're pleased to be both hosting a meet-up and offering a prize! 

Join us this Saturday, 17 February from 10.30am - 12.30pm for cake, crafting and good company

The Kanga Kiwi KAL is a celebration of all things NZ and Australia in the fibre world. To take part, you need to make something designed by a Kiwi or Aussie, with yarn produced in either of our fair countries. 

Here's a bunch of pattern and yarn ideas we think would make for great projects to take part - and these are all for kids!

Ode to Doris by Kelly van Niekerk, perhaps in Vintage

Wallaby 4ply by Georgie Nicholson would have beautiful drape in Zealana Kiwi Fingering

Any baby would look instantly classy and elegant in Rhiannon McCulloch's Bow Tie Baby cardigan - with Knitsch Sock you could go muted and classic or modern and vibrant. There's also my eternal go-to for kid knits, that is Kelly van Niekerk's Baby Vertebrae:

The added bonus with all these options is that if you're time poor (like me!), you can still take part and be reasonably confident of finishing in time for the deadline for entries. Hooray!