Days like today are why I opened Holland Road Yarn Co. Days where I pick up a newly arrived yarn and mutter 'oh, you're so beautiful'. When I want to pinch it all off the shelf before you get a chance to fondle it. But then I remind myself of the other reason - to share the joy of such amazing yarns with you. 

Madeline Tosh's Dandelion is that yarn. My obsession with anything containing linen continues, and Dandelion has me smitten. It is lustrous and light and bouncy and I can only imagine how wonderfully it will drape. MadTosh's colours simply shine out of each skein, making my woolly heart sing. 

clockwise from top left: Fern, Lepidoptra, Parchment, Fathom

But what to make with it? Each skein is about 80g and 295m, and because I can't justify taking more than one off the shelf for my own selfish needs, i've tried to find one skein patterns.

Little things by Veera

Different Breeze by Sachiko Uemura

Sweet Valentine Cowl by Ambah

Mirri mitts by Ambah

It was worth the pain of waiting so long to get our hands on it! Now to decide which colour i'm going to claim for my own....

It really has. Some silly person (that would be me) arranged to move house in the middle of what is always our busiest month of the year. All moved now, and it seems a good time to catch up on what else has been going on at HRYC. 

Moving house always means stress, and so called for super simple knitting. I'm going to call these my Happy Socks, because how could one not be happy with bright colours like these on your feet?

Using leftover bits of Knitsch Sock, and the pink is Wollmeise. Using our Super Simple Sock pattern which is free!

Also over the weekend we were very very pleased to host the amazing Rachael Herron. A full house of very happy readers and knitters made for one of the best afternoons ever. 

Rachael (left) treated us to a reading of the first chapter of her new book, Fiona's Flame.

With special treats thanks to Sweet Bakery and Karma Cola!

In other news (I really am trying to cover everything in one go today!) I'm about to go and pick up our Madeline Tosh order. At last! So it's all up online right now if you want some of your very own to snuggle. 

Madeline Tosh DK in Fluoro Rose

and we finally have the super popular craft scissors back in stock, and this time they've made it online!

And last but not least we have Knitsch Sock Isobar kits up for pre-order again. Hooray! This time in a fun new range of colours...

Phew! I think that's it for now! xx

A super quick round-up of events we have coming up in August (super quick because i've already written this post and lost it once *cries*)

Tech Knitting is back

Beverley Francis is back with us this weekend for a repeat of her super successful tech knitting sessions. Learn how to make your finished knitted items that much better with professional techniques, tips and tricks.

Saturday 9, 16 & 23 August

1.30pm - 3pm

Grand Arcade shop

$100 for 3 sessions

Rachael Herron Book Launch

We are HUGELY excited to welcome Rachael to the shop for the Wellington launch of her latest book, Fiona's Flame. The fifth in a series of books based around knitting (oh, yes!), Fiona's Flame takes us back to Cypress Hollow for a fun frolic. Come along and meet Rachael, ask her your burning questions, get a book or five signed, and enjoy some tasty treats from our awesome sponsors Karma Cola and Sweet Bakery. 

Saturday 16 August

1pm - 3pm

Grand Arcade shop

free! with free treats from our awesome sponsors

Learn to Knit

Our beginner knitting classes continue to be super popular, so we'll now hold them once a month. August's date is Saturday the 16th, in the morning this time. The class includes yarn and needles that you can take home!

Saturday 16 August

10.30am - 12.30pm

Grand Arcade shop

$20 including needles & yarn

Knit Night

and a friendly reminder that we have knit night every Thursday, alternating between Grand Arcade (wellington central) and Petone. We know it can be hard to remember when it's on, so if you'd like a weekly reminder email (it'll be approximately one line long), fill out this form. 

 

Happy knitting! xx Tash

A very chilly few days here in Wellington have us all wrapped up super warm, and there's more to come. I'm so pleased to finally have some real winter - I love this weather. I've noticed my cardigans aren't quite cutting it, and instead i'm reaching for my jerseys / pullovers / sweaters / jumpers / whatever word you choose. Which of course means discovering my wardrobe is sadly lacking in them. Ravelry to the rescue!

I've always loved Jared Flood's Brownstone sweater, and i've got a real fondness for a good shawl collar. Knit up as nice and slouchy, I think it would work well for women as well as men. 

Jane Richmond's Ladies Classic Raglan Pullover is one I came across today with a customer who was after a perfectly straight-forward crew neck jersey to knit up in Malabrigo Rios (which is now back in stock, hooray!). I've spoken a lot before about how a simple design is sometimes all you need - and something like this is perfect for hand-dyed yarns such as Malabrigo so that it really shows off the gorgeous colour.

Elia by Julia Trice caught me by the shawl collar again - I love the closeness of it, just what one wants when it's really chilly but a scarf isn't appropriate. I think if I made this for myself i'd skip the cables on the front and only do them on the back, to really make it all about that collar. 

Lastly, Jen brought this stunner to my attention. Slouchy, comfy, warm, but with an interesting shape and gorgeous texture. Beauborg by Julie Hoover is made up with 10ply and looks about the most comfortable sweater imaginable. 

Now that we have fresh Malabrigo stock on the shelf, there's plenty of squishy 10ply in stock perfect for any of these patterns. We've also just received a brand new 8ply rare breed merino by the name of Silver Lining (which i'll post about later). It would be heavy enough for any of these patterns, too. Having said that, i'm going to do a Cascade order early next week, so if you have any special requests, do let me know. Stay warm!

It's always super exciting to see new designs made with Knitsch sock, and this week has seen a special treat - Police Box Sox! As soon as they popped up I knew kits were in order - and requests have already started to come through. 

photo by Audry Nicklin

A thoughtful, simple design that takes into the account how colourwork makes things smaller, and using our very own Knitsch Sock in Tennant. Now because i'm still waiting on yarn base, we don't have any in stock at the moment. Luckily for you, dear Whovians, I've been able to squeeze a dye day into the schedule to put together kits. 

Police Box Sox Kit

A special treat

(the pattern is free, so the parcel will include a card reminding you where to find it)

And because a certain someone on Twitter asked nicely, i'll also be doing Tardis-inspired Isobar Kits. Expect shades of navy, blue and grey in this one. 

Tardis Isobar Kit

$55 + shipping

to ship first week of August 2014

will contain: 4 x 50 Knitsch sock in 4 colours

A print copy of the Isobar pattern

A special treat

PS - there's super limited numbers available for each kit, so don't let too much wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff pass before you order!