HRYC

The Southern hemisphere has well and truly arrived - our warmest and dryest wishes are with all those who have suffered from the heavy rain and flooding over the recent weeks. 

Days like today, with hail and wind, make me want to pull on the warmest, cosiest hat possible. Here's a few that i'm loving lately:

 Classic cuffed hat from the Purl Bee (we have one knit up in Zealana Heron in the Grand Arcade shop)

 Puck is a super cute kids hat by Dani Sunshine - it would be great knit up in Vintage DK

Gather comes in a full size range from tiny to full-grown, from Tincanknits

 Basic baby hat is a free pattern by Heather Tucker - perfect for using up odds and ends of 8ply.

The trouble I always have, especially with kids' hats, is figuring out what size to make. Here's a really handy chart from Tot Toppers:

Happy hat knitting, and stay warm! 

With the Indie Shelf Project came a lot of requests from our not-so-local customers: could we somehow share the love?

Which sparked an idea. For a long time i've wanted to take part in amazing yarn clubs but found the international shipping to be a bit crazy. And so, just for our NZ & Australian yarnies: our very own. 

It goes on sale at 10am Thursday 9 July. There are strictly limited spaces, so be sure to put a reminder in your calendar!

The details:

Downside Up is a very special yarn club. We've recruited three amazing dyers from North America to kick things off. To follow, three special NZ dyers, all with exclusive colour ways just for us. You can sign up for either the Northern dyers or the local ones, or go all in and register for both. Each parcel will contain:

• 100g approx of 4ply / fingering weight yarn dyed especially for us in an exclusive colour way
• special treats worth at least $10

Sign up options & prices:

North

North & South

Any leftover spots for South will go on sale in late September.

The shipping dates are:
North
(the North American yarns)

• late July / early August
• first week of September
• first week of October

South
(the NZ yarns)

• first week of November
• first week of December
• second week of January

 Here's that link again. We wanted to give you lots of notice so you can start saving. If you have any questions, just give us a shout. 

Ok, so it may not be super new, but I still want to share some amazing colour combos with you. Whenever new yarn turns up, I spend ages putting colours next to each other. Quince & Co lends itself beautifully to colour work and stripes, and i'm daydreaming of a fair isle jersey knit with as many colours as possible against a neutral background.

Chickadee in Egret, Iceland and Bird's Egg

Chickadee in Gingerbread (top) and Pea Coat

Chickadee in Snap Pea (top), Parsley and Cypress

Quince & Co Owl in Amethyst (top), Cielo and Cilantro

Quince & Co Piper in Sweetwater (left), Rock Springs and Guadelupe

Here's some pattern thoughts for you:

Anna by Pam Allen (Adult garment, Piper)

Lus by Mer Stevens (Adult garment, Piper)

Ella Funt by Pamela Wynne (Kid garment, Chickadee)

I heart you by Mandy Powers (Kid garment, Chickadee)

Foxy Sweater by Natalia Moreva (Adult garment, Chickadee)

Willard Fair Isle pullover by Hannah Fettig (Adult garment, Owl)

You gotta be in, as they say, to win. And this weekend at Handmade is your chance to win! All you have to do is make a purchase in the Knit Lounge and you'll be entered into the draw to win....

A Knit Pro Marblz Deluxe set! Oooooh! Valued at $129, this is one bright pack of needles. You certainly won't lose them when they practically glow in the dark (they don't, but how great would it be if they did?).

The Knit Lounge will not only be a place to hang out and be social, it will be fully stocked with things you might need for your class, tempting yarns and fibres. We'll also have some brand new products and a whole bunch of Handmade-only specials. Hooray!

Last chance to get your hands on some glorious, glorious Dark Harbour Yarns this week. We sadly didn't get ourselves quite organised enough to pose Nikki with the usual questions, but that's ok as her yarns speak for themselves.