Fyberspates Blog

Yarndale 2014

Going to Yarndale this weekend? So are we! You can find all the recent Cumulus patterns with yarn support, the LAST of the hand dyes (discounted!) and a few other treats to stock up with so be sure to come say hi!

Etherow by Anniken Allis for Fyberspates

Fyberspates will be sharing a stand with Chester Wool Company at Yarndale and if you've been thinking about stocking Fyberspates yarns or patterns, come say hi at the booth this weekend. We're taking patterns, yarns and shadecards for retailers to get to know our stock a little better and Jeni will be on hand with any questions you might have.

Grab the LAST of the handdyes at discounted prices!

Fyberspates will be hosting plenty at our stand at Yarndale but we wanted to let you know that if you drop by the booth at Laughing Hens, you will find even more of our yarns! Laughing Hens will be hosting Scrumtpious in 4ply and Lace, Vivacious in 4ply and DK AND Gleem Lace. Go grab some!

Nominations and Voting!

Fyberspates has been nominated in the Best Independent Brand and Best Luxury Brand category/ies of the British Knitting Awards 2014! Nominated entirely by the readers of Let’s Knit & Let's Get Crafting–Knitting & Crochet magazines and we are so grateful to everyone who nominated Fyberspates.

Voting commences on 4^th July 2014 online here or forms are also available in the August issue of Let’s Knit and issue 63 of Let’s Get Crafting magazines. When you enter to vote, you might also be lucky enough to win £500 worth of knitting supplies!

Voting closes on 14^th September and winners will be invited to the British Knitting Awards ceremony at The Knitting & Stitching Show, London on Thursday 9^thOctober 2014. The results will then be made public online and in print in the November issue of Lets Knit magazine – on sale 24^th October 2014. 

There's some great people up for nomination in various catagories, please go and vote today!

 

Woolfest 2014

This month Fyberspates will be attending Woolfest on Friday 27th June 10am- 6pm and Saturday 28th June 10 am- 5pm. Woolfest is located in Cockermouth, Cumbria and last year attracted over 6000 visitors who love this woolly fibre event. 

 

It's one of the last chances to see the Fyberspates hand dyed yarns in the flesh before Jeni takes a pause from hand dyeing. At the show you will be able to find plenty of Scrumptious, Vivacious and Gleem as well as all our pattern collections. In terms of hand dyes, look out for Faery Wings, Pure Silks, Rural Charm and Twizzle. Here's a taste of what to expect.

Faery Wings

Pure Silk 4ply

Rural Charm

Keep an eye on instagram over the coming week to see what's coming out of the dyepots and being packed up. See you there? 

 

British Knitting Awards 2014

It's that time of year again- the British Knitting awards voting form is up! In previous years, Fyberspates has done very well in the awards and it would be really encouraging to do so again this year. Looking through the form there's so many categories we'd love to be nominated in from favourite baby yarn (hello Vivacious) to best brand. If you love Fyberspates yarns, website or blog, please would you think of us when you vote?

Many thanks!

Voting is here if you haven't already

Norweigan Knitting Retreat

Sometimes, people come together in the knitting community and magical things happen. The news we're about to share is a prime example. A Knitting Retreat.... in a beautiful Norweigan setting.... learning to dye yarn with Jeni. Sound amazing? Let us give you the details. 

 

(c) Hvalo Knitting Retreats

Jeni will be one of the talented tutors who will be featured in this Summer's line up of knitting retreats. Fred and Annabel, the owners of the beautiful farm where all the knitting action will happen, have set up a series of retreats that will feature good food, peaceful settings and good knitting action. 

 

(c) Hvalo Knitting Retreats

Hvalø is situated in the Archipelago in the outer part of the Oslo Fjord, which has recently been made into a National Park. On the farm you will meet Fred and Annabel who have lived here for over 20 years with their 3 children as the only permanent residents of the island. Once at the island, walk the woodland paths, enjoy the landscape that has been formed by centuries of farming, or visit the highest point on the island with its Bronze Age burial mound and look out to Færder and Fuglehuk lighthouses. On a clear day, you can even glimpse Sweden. Swim from the smooth granite shoreline, or from one of the island's beaches, borrow a kayak and explore the national park, sit in the shade of one of the farm's many ash trees, read a book, admire the view or knit. The calm serenity of the island and the friendly, relaxed atmosphere on the farm will make your stay unforgettable.

 

(c) Hvalo Knitting Retreats

Delicious food is an important part of Annabel and Fred's concept, and where possible they use local and organic produce. These retreats are set up for 8-10 visitors, and you will have the unique opportunity to get individual help and inspiration from your tutor. 

(c) Hvalo Knitting Retreats

So what is Jeni providing? An introduction to dyeing where you will learn the basics of dyeing, and get the chance to dye a range of different yarns including lace, 4ply and some heavier weight options. Those who've taken workshops with Jeni before have spoken warmly of her friendly and informal style that is perfectly suited to this relaxed setting. With her guidance, you can learn the way different fibres behave in the dyepots from Alpaca to Merino and more. 

 

Interested? You can now reserve your place by sending an email to Annabel via the Hvalo website NOW.

 

See you in the Summer?

Handarbeit 2014

With all this Spring weather and some decidedly milder days, it's felt like fresh starts and new beginnings are on everyone's mind at the moment. What a perfect time to take the latest pattern Collection (Scrumptious Volume 3), and our new yarn Cumulus, to the biggest European trade show, Handarbeit!

The event takes place in Cologne on 21st to 23rd March 2014 and we will be joining over 345 other exhibitors from 40 different countries at this wonderful event. The event specialises in all handcrafts including knitting, crochet and sewing and has an international following so we are really excited to be showcasing our products there again this year. 

You will be able to find Fyberspates at booth E060 where we will be exhibiting our full Scrumptious range, including the pattern collections, Vivacious and Gleem, Cumulus and more. Be sure to come and say hello and check out all the lovely products that we have on offer.

Inspiration and Unravel

A pattern relaunch recently had us all swooning over on the Ravelry group recently- Inspiration Knits has relaunched her wonderful Song of The Sea pattern in time for Unravel. This is particularly timely as she will also be hosting Fyberspates yarns on her stand at Unravel. So you'll get two opportunities to purchase some yummy hand dyes. 

Song of the Sea in Scrumptious High Twist DK 'Blue Mountain'

We featured Song of the Sea some time ago and you can read all about it here but this latest update means that you can now knit your own version from Lace weight all the way through to DK. Basically, you can have a beautiful art deco inspired cowl all year round and justify multiple yarn purchases. How convenient!

Faery Wings

The sample that really made everyone sit up and take notice though was this wonderful sample in Faery Wings. Louise has a booth stocked up with Faery Wings, Twizzle Silk, Hight Twist Scrumptious DK and Vivacious 4ply. As a result, she's worked up some amazing samples with her army of knitters, to tempt you into purchasing her patterns and some yarn. 

 

The collaboration will not end when Unravel does though. Stay tuned for some very exciting news about kits very, very, soon!

Unravel 2014

For those of you in the UK and able to get to Farnham Maltings, please come and say hello and see all our lovely new products at our stand. Unravel is an annual event, held at Farnham Maltings and features a fab vendors market as well as classes and talks. We've been there every year and it's always a great weekend. To buy tickets and to see who else is exhibiting, visit the Farnham Maltings website here. The event runs across the weekend, starting with a new evening preview slot on Friday 21st February at 5-8pm. 

Pure Silk 4ply in Cardiff Sky colourway

We'll be bringing lots of our yarn and pattern books including all of the Scrumptious Collection ranges so you can come and get yourself a full project- pattern AND yarn! We will have the NEW Scrumptious Collection Volume 3 and some new yarn bases ready to fondle and take home. These will include Elegance, the heavenly laceweight made up of 800m of 65% Silk, 35% Baby Camel, and its' new, never seen before DK big sister. Also we will have our new 'Pure Silk' range, 100% Silk bases in 4ply and DK weight.

Elegance Lace in Violet colourway

It's always nice to meet everyone so be sure to stop by- we're in the Great Hall on both days.

October KAL Finisher's Parade!

We had some yummy entries for our October KAL over on the Ravelry group and just had to share the results. It may have led to some serious enabling for all of us because the chatter about the different bases and knitting experience was very, very tempting! Isn't that what a KAL is all about though? Sharing our crafting experiences? 

(c) Dominey

First up is Dominey's beaded Knit Night version. Dominey worked her shawl up using Rural Charm 4ply BFL Silk Chashmere, a really popular luxury base. This yarn is gorgeous as it has a wonderful texture, soft, but yet with the bounce of Blue Faced Leicester for a wonderful knitting experience. The colourway used here is called 'Tropical' and the beads she chose match the colourway perfectly. Great work Dominey!

(c) RachRoss

Then came RachRoss' version in Scrumptious 4ply 'Dandelion and Burdock' colourway, part of the unique handdyes range. We love the pattern notes about how much this scarf grew with a good blocking- gotta love that silk content!

(c) Yarn-Artz

Next up we have Yarn-Artz's Knit Night shawl that she knit in one weekend while holidaying on a narrow boat. How's that for a holiday souvenir? This version was worked up without beads but with eyelets on both sides of the scarf. We are loving how versatile Louise's pattern is! The yarn is Vivacious 4ply, our wonderful high twist Superwash Merino in the 'Mixed Magentas' colourway. 

(c) YorkshireJules

YorkshireJules' version was another Knit Night without any beads but also wthout the eyelet borders too. We were particularly excited about this one as it was worked up using our latest Twizzle Silk base in the 'Rich Plum' colourway. Can you believe that this was a first attempt at knitting to a pattern, knitting with fingering weight yarn, and knitting on circulars? We couldn't either- well done YorkshireJules!

(c) Flowerpotsmum

Nipping in just in time for the deadline was Flowerpotsmum with her nonbeaded, no eyelet Knit Night shawl. This is another Twizzle Silk version in the 'Aubergine' colourway. We think the 70% Merino and 30% Silk Singles base is just perfect for squishy garter stitch projects that drape lovingly around your neck. 

 

Want to be part of this month's parade? Come and join in our hat KAL. Go on, you know you want to!

October KAL Finisher's Parade!

We had some yummy entries for our October KAL over on the Ravelry group and just had to share the results. It may have led to some serious enabling for all of us because the chatter about the different bases and knitting experience was very, very tempting! Isn't that what a KAL is all about though? Sharing our crafting experiences? 

(c) Dominey

First up is Dominey's beaded Knit Night version. Dominey worked her shawl up using Rural Charm 4ply BFL Silk Chashmere, a really popular luxury base. This yarn is gorgeous as it has a wonderful texture, soft, but yet with the bounce of Blue Faced Leicester for a wonderful knitting experience. The colourway used here is called 'Tropical' and the beads she chose match the colourway perfectly. Great work Dominey!

(c) RachRoss

Then came RachRoss' version in Scrumptious 4ply 'Dandelion and Burdock' colourway. We love the pattern notes about how much this scarf grew with a good blocking- gotta love that 45% silk content!

(c) Yarn-Artz

Next up we have Yarn-Artz's Knit Night shawl that she knit in one weekend while holidaying on a narrow boat. How's that for a holiday souvenir? This version was worked up without beads but with eyelets on both sides of the scarf. We are loving how versatile Louise's pattern is! The yarn is Vivacious 4ply, our wonderful high twist Superwash Merino in the 'Mixed Magentas' colourway. 

(c) YorkshireJules

YorkshireJules' version was another Knit Night without any beads but also wthout the eyelet borders too. We were particularly excited about this one as it was worked up using our latest Twizzle Silk base in the 'Rich Plum' colourway. Can you believe that this was a first attempt at knitting to a pattern, knitting with fingering weight yarn, and knitting on circulars? We couldn't either- well done YorkshireJules!

(c) Flowerpotsmum

Nipping in just in time for the deadline was Flowerpotsmum with her nonbeaded, no eyelet Knit Night shawl. This is another Twizzle Silk version in the 'Aubergine' colourway. We think the 70% Merino and 30% Silk Singles base is just perfect for squishy garter stitch projects that drape lovingly around your neck. 

 

Want to be part of this month's parade? Come and join in our hat KAL. Go on, you know you want to!