Fyberspates Blog

Events Coming Up

We've got a few events coming up over the next month where we hope we'll be meeting lots of old and new friends. We love shows as they give us a chance to chat with customers and see what you've been knitting. 

First up, we are attending Yarndale at the end of this month. Yarndale is a new event, taking place at Skipton Auction Mart to celebrate all things crafty, woolly and artisan. It has an amazing line up already and we're always thrilled to have a new event on the woolly calendar. The event takes place on 28th- 29th September 2013.  We will be taking out new Twizzle Silk base for those of you who have been covetting!

Also, the Fyberspates stand will be at the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace again this year. We are on stand B31 and the show is open from Thursday 10th October until Sunday 13th October.

We have 10 tickets to give away for Ally Pally. For your chance to win a ticket, please visit our Facebook page and keep your eyes peeled for the Ally Pally giveaway post..... instructions will be there on how to enter. Good luck!

Getting Along

We are so pleased with all the fabulous new patterns currently being released in Fybersates yarn that we've decided we want to knit just about every single one. In order to support our addiction we're encouraging you to KAL with us in the Ravelry Group each month. We will pick a pattern that's particularly caught our eye (which is no easy task, trust me), and then at the end of each month, start a KAL. We've asked designers to support with discount codes and prizes wherever possible and will be giving away some prizes ourselves too. 

 

Knit Night in Vivacious 4ply 'Magenta'

To kick us off, we've chosen Knit Night by Louise Zass-Bangham whom many of you know as Inspiration on Ravelry. We've been fans of Louise for quite some time and blogged about her here before. This month, Louise released two shawl patterns that immediately got our attention. We've chosen Knit Night as Jeni just finished a version in Twizzle Sock, a truly delicious single ply sock weight yarn that is 100% Superwash Merino. After she shared it on Instagram, there was a bit of a 'MUST HAVE' moment for many of us.

 

Knit Night in Vivacious 4 ply 'Magenta'

 

Knit Night is a shallow triangle-scarf that is perfect for easy knitting while you catch-up with friends at knit night. It's just right for that one special yarn you love as it really shows off the qualiy of hand dye, and the pattern is easily memorised too. Little picots along the outside edge pick out pretty drops of each shade in the yarn. Worked from the bottom up, you keep going until it is as long as you desire, or until you run out of yarn. Along the top edge, you’ve a choice of finishes - a simple bind off, eyelets and/or picots. Optional beads on picots and eyelets emphasise the colour-play in the yarn.

We thought this sounded like a really indulgent treat and so can't wait to see different versions worked up and hear about your progress. Louise has kindly provided a discount code to buy the pattern. All in all, this feels like a knitterly indulgence just right for cosying up with.

As if that excitement wasn't enough, we're giving away a skein of Twizzle Silk, the latest single ply to be released. The base consists of 400m of 70% Superwash Merino and 30% Silk. As you can imagine, it positively shines and the 30% Silk content adds a unique strength to this single that other singles just can't match. 

 

So if you fancy joining us and possibly winning a pattern from Louise or a skein of luscious new yarn, please come join in the chatter over on the group. Cast on starts 29th September to give us time to get our yarn and patterns sorted. Visit the Fyberspates shop to treat yourself to something delicious this month. 

Eleven Hundred Dollars Sweater

We love patterns with a story and a sweater pattern dropped into our mailbox recently at Fyberspates HQ that had a whole film behind it. The Eleven Hundred Dollars Sweater, designed by Elanor King is part of the soon to be released Cooperative Press book ‘Hitch: Patterns Inspired by the Films of Alfred Hitchcock' by Stephannie Tallen. In this dramatic collection, knitwear designers have taken inspiration from Hitchcock’s films to create some pretty film worthy knit wear. Whether you are planning a train ride to Mount Rushmore, a shopping excursion to a Bodega Bay bird shop, or simply a night peering out your rear window, this collection will keep you in the proper, stunning wardrobe for your Hitchcock adventures. We chatted with Elanor to find out about her favourite movie moments and what she enjoyed most about designing from this inspiration.

It seems we are not the only ones who are a little scared of Hitchcock’s fabulous ability to scare his audience. Elanor said ‘”Although horror and thriller movies terrify me to the point of hiding behind the sofa, I have been known to mute a Hitchcock film just to watch the gorgeous costumes by Edith Head. Rear Window is the movie that I took for my inspiration for Eleven Hundred Dollars - Grace Kelly has such feminine style in it. She wears deep V necks, lots of chiffon and her waist is so tiny! I've tried to incorporate some of these elements into the design: the sleeves are 3/4 length bishop style and in a mesh lace so there are hints of skin peeping through. The waist is emphasised by the deep waistband and geometric zig zags. The difference in ease between the band and the upper body (3") also enhances the wearer's shape. This is a top that would look great on a woman with curves (and that's not a euphemism!)”

What is really striking is Elanor’s attention to detail so it comes as no surprise that the pattern includes lots of interesting details and different techniques to keep a knitter’s interest when working the project. Elanor has captured a Lisa's character with her design as Lisa’s clothes in Rear Window are fabulous celebrations of femininity: cross-over tops, wispy, floaty material, teeny-tiny nipped-in waists. The geometric lines and princess seams flatter and curve the waist and the sleeves are a flirty knit mesh with lots of shape. When Lisa shows off her Paris dress to Jeff she tells him it’s “A steal at eleven hundred dollars”, thus giving us the name of the sweater.  

The sweater is worked from the bottom up then moves on to some interesting construction methods. The waistband is worked in the round to the crossover, then the body is worked flat and splits into back and fronts at the armholes. The sleeves are worked flat, top-down. There is a good range of sizes 30- 54 inches and is knit in Fyberspates Scrumptious 4 Ply / Sport Superwash.Scrumptious 4 ply Sport is a 45% silk, 55% superwash merino base with 400 yds / 365m per 100g skein. Of the yarn, Elanor said, “It's a fab yarn, giving gorgeous colour contrast and stitch definition in the mosaic stitch waistband. It ran very smoothly for me and thus worked up quickly, which is important in a 4-ply sweater! Also! It *ahem* withstood with grace a wee bit of frogging and re-knitting... I've been swatching lots of things in scrumptious since.  For the KAL in April, I think I'll join in and work up another version in navy and beige. Though I'd also love one in a Cornflower blue and Cream colourway; and Jen's green is my favourite colour.... so many choices!!!! One of each!”

We are so glad Elanor enjoyed the yarn and look forward to seeing more of her designs. This title is currently available for preorder from the Cooperative Press website, and will be released on September 27. Pre-orderers will receive two exclusive, bonus patterns: one for a cabled cowl and the other for a cloche. To get your own colour combinations of Scrumptious 4 ply, please visit our shop. Stay tuned for more news from the book as we are proud to be part of the ‘Hitch Blog Tour’ later in the year.