HRYC

November 03, 2012

Technology, baby!

It seems to be a week of ticking things off a very long (and in some cases very old) list of Tasks To Be Done. 

Most exciting this week is that I have finally set up a computer screen in the shop - all connected to the internet so you can browse Ravelry, knitty.com, or any other yarny website you like. Or look at pictures of cats. 



And for a bit of old school technology, there's now a swift and ball winder set up away from the general busyness of the shop, so feel free to bring in your skeins of yarn to wind up. Hooray!

Finally, just because pretty pictures of yarn make me happy, a finished object! What with Christmas now being next month (oh, the terror!) lots of people are now in to gift knitting season. The Honey Cowl is a super easy, quick project - this one used two skeins of Malabrigo Rios in Purpuras. It's delightfully squishy and soft.



Have a great knitting filled weekend! Now that things are being ticked off the list hopefully that will mean more blog posts...

Read more →


October 25, 2012

Bigger on the Inside - a yarn club

It's been quite some time since the last Knitsch yarn club. For many and varied reasons. When someone specially requested DK yarn in a certain colourway though, it set my mind whirring. How about themed yarn club? One where you can pick and choose yarn quantities?


Let's do it!



Can you guess the theme? Yeah, of course! It's a Dr Who theme! Couldn't help myself! 

There are a bunch of options available in yarn colours inspired by the Doctor. Two have been on the shop shelf but not listed online before. One has never been seen. And you can choose between 100% merino DK or Knitsch sock. 

Sign ups go live at 12pm Friday 26 October. Once you're registered, we'll then discuss your order and an invoice will be issued.


The Options:

DK

Colours:

Tennant or Rose 

100% merino DK

specify how much you would like

mailing date to be confirmed with you once order finalised


10 spots available ONLY

$21 per 100g



Sock

Colours:

Tennant

Idris

Rose


Specify how much of each color you would like to receive each month (minimum 100g)

20 spots ONLY available with unlimited quantities


For example, to give you some ideas:

500g of Tennant over 3 months


or


100g of each color over three months


or 

150g of Tennant

200g of Rose

100g of Idris


Sock prices:

$26 per 100g

sent in 50g skeins


Payment by 9 November

Mailing dates:

15 November

14 December

24 January


Plus $12 for shipping

Read more →


October 23, 2012

Next Steps Crochet: guest post by Sofia

Thanks to Sofia i've caught the crochet bug well and good - as have lots of our eager crochet learners. Whether you've learned the basics with us, or would like to add to your skills, the Next Steps class is the way to go. And it's this Saturday! 


Sign up online, call us or drop by the shop to book your spot.

Take it away, Sofia!

There have been several very successful 'absolute beginners' crochet classes held at HRYC now and I've loved how enthused almost every one of the newbie crocheters have got about the craft. One recent comment was 'if I'd learnt to crochet before knitting I can see I might not have learnt to knit'.  I doubt that's really true though.  I can now knit too, I've not knitted a lot, but I can do it and I intend to do more of it in future even though crochet is my first love.  Trouble with crochet is, you have to learn much of the more advanced stuff by yourself, there's not many crochet classes beyond the beginner level but there are loads of techniques that can move crochet beyond the granny square and several techniques that I wish I'd been able to learn from someone in person.   So I'm sharing my new found knowledge in a 'next steps' class suitable for those that can already crochet a little.

One of the 'must know' techniques we'll cover is a more advanced method of chaining called the foundation single crochet, it's much stretchier and so it's ideal for clothing, plus it gets rid of that frustrating 'first row' experience.  Reading charts is another technique many people have mentioned they'd like to learn. There are some gorgeous patterns which make a whole lot more sense when charted thats for sure!  Best tip I can give you is this; read your chart anti-clockwise or from right to left as that's how we create our 'fabric'.  We'll also cover a few different methods for joining squares and something called an invisible decrease so hopefully there's a little bit of something interesting in there for a few of you.

I must admit, I'm really looking forward to it, I'm hopeful I might pick up a tip or two from those that come along as well!

Read more →


October 11, 2012

Adventures with Spud & Chloe

When Spud & Chloe Fine arrived in the shop, I was more than a little taken by one of their colours: Glow Worm. You could go so far as to say I was quite enamoured with it. The only thing I didn't like was that, sadly, it doesn't glow in the dark. BUT IT LOOKS LIKE IT SHOULD.

Spud and Chloe Fine in Glow Worm

Spud & Chloe Fine in Glow Worm


And you know what else I can't help myself with? Stripes. Why oh why do I do this to myself? Every time!


Spud & Chloe Fine in WildberriesSpud & Chloe Fine in LisptickSpud and Chloe Fine in Glow WormSpud and Chloe Fine in Sidewalk

Spud & Chloe Fine in Wildberries, Lipstick, Glow Worm and Sidewalk

A conversation followed about how great these four colours looked together. And then I stumbled across the Nova Dress pattern. Fate? I'd like to think so.

It was a great, quick and straight forward knit - I made the size 4, and cut the yarn at each stripe change rather than carry four colours up the side (I felt that would be messy, and don't mind the weaving in). 


Hooray! Finished!

The problem when the dress was all done though - the leftovers! Oh noes! They sat forlornly on the stash shelf for weeks. Solution: kid sized version of the Leftovers Cowl.

Instead of doing 70 stitches as with the adult version, provisionally cast on 50sts on 3.25mm needles, and follow the instructions for the bigger size. Easy peasy!


If you're one of the many many people now addicted to Pinterest - I've pinned a whole bunch of awesome Nova dress projects found on Ravelry. Great way to pick up ideas on colour combos and peek at cute kids!


PS - we're out of stock of lots of Spud & Chloe Fine colours at the moment, but a bumper order will be with us in about 2 weeks. Yay! Let us know (shop@hollandroadyarn.co.nz) if you'd like us to pop any aside for you when it arrives.

Read more →


October 08, 2012

Incredible colourwork socks II

 Okay, so I kept looking at colourwork patterns...I couldn't help it! Here are more to get excited over. I really am my own worst enemy when it comes to mentally queuing up things to knit. With all the spare I (really, really don't) have.

Kirkwall by Mary Jane Mucklestone



Wallflower by Stephanie van der Linden



Bumblebee by The Needle Lady



I'm done now. I think. Maybe...

Read more →