Fyberspates Blog

Bacon Sarnies and Yarn

Our friends at Purlescence were kind enough to host Fyberspates for an Open Day at their shop in Wantage on 9th June 2012. The event ran all day and included lots of opportunities for yarn and book buying and a chance to try on some of the samples from the Fyberspates Pattern Collection.

It was a great day and we had so much fun. There was plenty of tea and homemade cakes and even more excitingly, the day kicked off with a round of bacon sarnies- divine! A huge thank you to everyone who attended the event and made it so fun. The biggest thanks has to go to Sarah for hosting us and making us all feel so welcome (and keeping us well fed and caffeinated).

We had so much fun, we'll be doing it all again soon but this time with Pimms and an opportunity to knit outside. If you would like to come along and join in, either keep an eye on the Ravelry Group Thread here or the Purlescence website for an announcement shortly.

Off to TNNA!

As you read this I am currently representing Fyberspates and Scrumptious Yarns at TNNA, in Ohio. This is another commercial event, aimed at businesses and designers in the NeedleArts Community. I am very lucky to be hosted on the Lantern Moon stand, our distributor of Scrumptious Yarns in the US.

I will also be representing the UK along with Anne Kingston and a bevvy of other British designers and I'm so excited! I've brought along 3 single patterns that we are launching at TNNA and will soon be available. I'll be writing about the patterns more when they launch but I couldn't resist giving you a sneak peek at them now because they are fab!

'Cocktail Cherry' is a beaded short cardigan that is perfect for eveningwear and designed by Jen AC. The pattern calls for Scrumptious Aran silk and merino yarn and is offered in a range of sizes.

'Gray' is a wonderful cardigan to snuggle into on long walks and designed by Susan Crawford. Then pattern calls for Scrumptious Chunky silk and merino luxury yarn and we think this will be a huge hit.


'Winding Path' is an elegant, generously-sized shawl is knitted in Scrumptious 4ply silk and merino luxury yarn. It is designed by Anniken Annis and is a great project all year round.

All the patterns will be released as single patterns and will soon be available for download. We're so proud of the talented designers we have supporting the Fyberspates pattern range and some of you will be noticing some very familiar models and photography too. Expect more details soon!

Silk Rose

Drawing inspiration from the recent jubilee, Susan Crawford has published a new title 'Coronation Knits'. Focussing on fashion influences during the time of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, Coronation Knits looks back at this special event as we celebrate her Diamond Jubilee. Once again Susan has used Scrumptious yarns and the pattern is fabulous.


Silk Rose is a feminine scarf that can be worn as a headscarf or as a neat neck scarf. The scarf is constructed by first knitting the centre panel flat using a combination of intarsia and fair isle techniques. The striped inner border is then picked up and knitted in the round around all four ‘sides’ of the centre panel. The feather and fan edging is also knitted in the round and can easily be extended to make a larger size if desired.


The pattern calls for Fyberspates Scrumptious Lace, our 45% Silk and 55% Merino base. The colourways shown here are Natural (for the main colour), and constrasting colourways Cherry, Rose Pink , Oyster and Wine Gum. To buy your skeins to make this classic pattern, please visit the Fyberspates online store here or check with your local yarn shop.

Woolfest 2012 is nearly here!

Just a quick reminder about Woolfest that is rapidly approaching. Woolfest is a celebration of natural fibres, especially all aspects of wool, wool products and wool crafts. It has taken place every year since 2005 and attracts over 5000 visitors and wool enthusiasts each year, as well as over 160 stallholders, farmers and crafts people. The event takes place on Friday 22 June 10am-6pm and Saturday 23 June 10am-5pm.

Once again we will be exhibiting on both days and as always will be taking all of our  Scrumptious range, including the pattern collections, the new Ysolda colour range and book, as well as our lovely hand dyes. Be sure to come and say hello and check out all the lovely products and samples that we will have on offer.

There are lots of events, workshops and demonstrations on each day so this is always a fun event for wool enthusiasts, familes and those wanting to shop. For more information and to book your tickets in advance, please visit the Woolfest website here.

Medallion-Edged Shrug

This month's Knit.Wear magazine from Interweave press features a beautiful and feminine shrug pattern using Scrumptious Lace. Katya Frankel designed this sweet raglan cardigan and the detail of the medallion lace edging is beautiful.

Worked from the top down seamlessly, this cardigan requires only one skein of Scrumptious Lace so is the perfect treat for a small purchase. The medallion lace edging is added after the body of the cardigan is finished and the cardigan is designed to be worn open.

Scrumptious Laceweight yarn adds a delicate touch and the sample is worked in the 'Purple' colourway, a deep and classic colourway for stunning finished items. Scrumptious Lace is a soft and shiny lace weight yarn with 45% Silk and 55% Merino. Available in 100g skeins of 1000m/1093yds it is a little bit of affordable luxury at £15.00. You can purchase your skein from the Fyberspates shop here.

A Bob For All

Our US distributors Lantern Moon have just added something fun to the Ravelry Store that absolutely adorable. These Ravelry Bob Tape Measures are just too cute and we thought we had to share for those of you who hadn't seen them yet.


Lantern Moon offers beautiful and functional handcrafted products so this hand crocheted tape measure can be purchased with the knowledge that you are supporting sustainable business practices. Lanten Moon believe in providing continuity of training and employment for women and families and preserving handcrafting skills that have been passed down from generation to generation.

The Bob tape measure features Metric and English measurements on opposite sides of 5 feet/1.5 m long tape and is roughly 2.25 inches/5.72 cm in diameter. It is a perfect addition to your notions and knitting bags and can be purchased here.

Get It While Its Hot!

For those of you who might not yet have discovered it, there has been an update on the Fyberspates shop page and there are still a few goodies left! So in the interests of enabling, here's a little sample of what you can expect to find:

Some delicous hand dyed skeins of 'Faery Wings', a lustrous 67% Silk, 23% Kid Mohair,  and 10% Nylon blend that was recently featured in Tricosa's wonderful pattern, Bakau. 

A truly decadent offering of 'Elegance Lace', a new lace to Fyberspates. It's a heavy lace weight, with exquisite softness and shine and the 800m skeins are a blend of 65% Silk and 35% Baby Camel.


There are also some stunning hand dyed colours available in our 4 ply bases, Sheila's Sock, Rural Charm, Gloucester Tweed and our Scrumptious base.

Also up for grabs are some heavier weight DKs and stunning Lace weights like this Merino, Silk and Cashmere laceweight available in 1200m skeins.

To bag your latest yarn crush, visit the shop's update page here.

 

 

Bakau

 
Over on the Fyberspates group on Ravelry is a lovely thread that invites designers to showcase their latest designs in Fyberspates yarn. It's full on inspiration and if you haven't joined the group yet, do come over and take a look. There is so much to read and chat about!


This pattern by Asa Tricosa was shared recently and it is absolutely stunning. The pattern is called 'Bakau' and is a simple and stylish top-down semi-circular shawl. We love the fact that it is lacy but not fussy as it transitions from stocking stitch to lacy edging all in single rows.


The sample shown here is worked in Faery Wings 4ply, a  67% Silk, 23% Mohair, 10% Nylon blend that means a soft handle with a delicate halo and added strength. The colourway shown is 'Every Cloud', a delicate grey tone. There are two sizes to choose from offered with the pattern: a smaller shawlette and a more generous shawl. It can be worked in laceweight to sportweight yarns making it perfect for showing off your hand-dyed treasures.

For lots of yarn options, please visit the shop and stop by the group to let us know what you chose to use if you're working on this shawl!