Fyberspates Blog

Next Month's KAL

We've had a lovely time knitting along with each other in the Fyberspates group on Ravelry and there's some gorgeous FOs already (more on those later). There's still time to enter if you haven't aleady though so get kniting!

 

To give you a chance to prepare yourself and your stash for next month's KAL, here's what we'll be creating in Fyberspates yarn: a choice of two hat patterns from the very lovely Buttons and Beeswax. You can choose from either Autumn Gold or Gwithian for your chance to win a skein of Vivacious DK. You could knit both of course as double entries are allowed (heck, multiple entries if you're that speedy)!

 

(c) ButtonsandBeeswax

Autumn Gold is a lightweight, 4 ply lace hat, great for Fall and Spring when there’s a slight chill in the air. For those of you looking for more of a shorter, beanie style hat, there is an option to start decreasing early. The hat is knit in the round, and instructions are provided written and charted for both right handed knitters and left handed mirror knitters.

 

Autumn Gold requires one skein of our fingering base, Rural Charm BFL Silk Cashmere. This 100g skein is made up of 70% Blue Faced Leceister, 20% Silk and 10% Cashmere with a yardage of 439 yards. It benefits from the sheen of silk, the softness of cashmere and the strength of BFL to give great definition. Lucky for you there's currently some in stock!

 

(c) The Knitter Magazine

Those after a quicker knit could choose Gwithian, a sunburst pattern in a gloriously rich yellow colour is guaranteed to put a smile on your face every time you see this hat! The lace pattern is worked in a DK-weight merino yarn from Fyberspates, called Vivacious, which provides excellent stitch definition. The pattern is written for three sizes so could be a great choice for getting ahead with the gift knitting. See? We think of everything!

 

 

Vivacious DK in Deep Aqua

This hat calls for one skein of Vivacious DK, our bouncy 100% Superwash Merino base. This skein comes with a yardage of 251 yards per 115g skein and guess what? The Merino is suishably soft next to the skin for a non itchy brim and with all this bad weather, it's good to know it's superwash. It's in stock now too!

 

 

There will be more more updates in the group about discount codes, where to get your patterns and of course, lots of chatter so please come and cast on with us on 1st November 2013.  

 

Woolly's Mystery KAL 2013

Are you a Hat addict? Are you into one skein wonders? Is it time for a little mystery? Christmas knitting leaving you uninspired? 

WE HAVE THE ANSWER! The Woolly Wormhead 6th Annual Mystery Hat-a-long!

The Knit-A-Long will be based in the Ravelry group and you can find the relevant thread here for discussion of the pattern. Instalment update notifications will be sent out via email on the following dates: 1st November (1st), 9th November (2nd), 17th November (3rd). The final pattern will be released 27th November.

Although the final hat is a mystery, there are some clues..... The style of this Hat has some flexibility - on one hand, it may remind you of Camden Cap, and on another, it may remind you of Limpetiole. Throughout the pattern options will be provided to tailor the Hat to your style, and there will also one or two elements to the design that won’t be included in the final pattern!

This pattern would benefit from a solid or semi-solid yarn. Something with a bit of bounce would be ideal. The suggested yarn is, in fact, Vivacious DK, the lovely bouncy 100% Superwash Merino base. It's in stock now!

Vivacious DK in 'Spiced Plums'

Pattern support is provided on the forum in the Wormheads Hats group, and anyone new to a Mystery KAL will be offered guidance and help. Any specialist techniques will be discussed, and PDF tutorials will be available, as always. Below is a list of skills needed, and even if they are new to you, there will be plenty of knitters to guide you through.

Skills: 
Knit & purl stitches 
Knitting in the round 
Increase and decrease technqiues 
Twisted stitches 
Travelling stitches 
Provisional cast-on 
Joining live stitches 
Short rows

Sizes: 
To fit sizes: 18 (20, 22, 24) in/ 45.75 (50.75,56, 61) cm 
Finished sizes: 16.25 (18.25, 20, 21.75) in/ 41.25 (46.25, 50.75, 55.25) cm

Yardage: 
Swatch: 33yd/31m for the swatch for a 6in x 6in swatch on 4mm needles 
Hat: 158 (196, 228, 266) yd/145 (180, 209, 244) m

We're in. Are you?

 

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. 

Training for Tour De Fleece? Get Inspired!

For those of you setting new targets and reaching new spinning goals for this year's Tour De Fleece, we thought that we would give you a flavour of just how much work and dedication goes into becoming the world’s fastest spinners and knitters. We asked one of the UK team members from the Back to Back Challenge, Steve Plummer, to tell us just what his role involves and how he helps ensure that Team Groenewoud is the fastest. Here’s what he has to say:

“As a mathematician and keen knitter/designer it is perhaps not surprising that my part in the challenge is as a verifier and my interest is in the analysis of the event to bring the World Record within reach.The planning required for an attempt at the world record is quite substantial and precise and the analysis that needs to be done to even get close to the record is often undervalued. The yarn, for example, needs to be 2 ply and, for an attempt at the world record, plying needs to be underway at about 3 minutes. Casting on the front of the garment by the fastest knitter needs to be going on at about 6 minutes.

There are very strict rules as to the number of stitches, rows, needle size, type of garment, etc, etc, and adjudicators/assessors are required to ensure that these rules are all met and no person outside the team is involved in any way.

As an adjudicator I create an unbroken video of the record attempt as proof that everything is done according to the rules and that nobody else has been involved in any way. From my videos I can pick out the times that various key events take place: 

• From the start all knitters/spinners need to be involved in spinning.
• Spinning begins within 8 seconds of the shearer’s first clip.
• Plying begins at 3 minutes 20 seconds.
• Casting on for the front of the sweater, by the fastest knitter, begins at 6 minutes 12 seconds.
• At 11 minutes 30 seconds the front is passed to the second fastest knitter and the fastest knitter begins casting on the back.
• Casting on the first sleeve begins at 57 minutes and 31 seconds by the third fastest knitter.
• At 1 hour 26 minutes 37 seconds the first sleeve is passed to the fourth fastest knitter and the third fastest knitter begins casting on the second sleeve.

 From that point only the front and back of the sweater are worked on continuously, the other team members alternating between spinning and knitting so that the production of yarn for the fastest knitters is not interrupted.

• At 4 hours 36 minutes 13 seconds the first sleeve was completed and sewing up was begun.
• At 4 hours 49 minutes 49 seconds the second sleeve was completed and could be sewn up.
• At 5 hours 22 minutes and 9 seconds the front was completed and 2 minutes 46 seconds later the back was completed.
• Sewing up then took 7 minutes and 42 seconds to complete to finish the event after 5 hours 32 minutes 37 seconds.

Further analysis is now taking place with a view to bringing the time down to within the Guinness World Record time. Strangely, it is likely to be “resting” the fastest knitters by alternating tasks that does bring this time down and make the record achievable.” 

A huge thank you to Steve for sharing this incredible breakdown of what it takes to be a winning team in the Challenge. It certainly puts my average garment knitting time into perspective! We wish the team the best of luck for next year’s event and all the preparation that is no doubt already under way. 

Back to Back 2013

Are you taking part in Tour De Fleece? Is spinning ALL you can think about? Here's some Fyberspates news that might just hit the spot.

 

Some of you might remember us posting about the opportunity to sponsor UK representatives for last year’s International Back to Back Wool Challenge.It's a phenomenal challenge with exciting attempts to break world records for knitting and spinning and this year, Fyberspates were once again proud sponsors of the UK members of Team Groenewoud….. the winning team!

Team Groenewoud comprises of 7 highly skilled handspinners and knitters from the UK, Netherlands and Germany. 9 teams of blade shearers, handspinners and knitters entered at their different venues around the world in the nineteenth Challenge, on Sunday 9th June 2013. This event represents a challenge to break the Guinness World Record for shearing a sheep, spinning and plying the yarn and knitting a sweater to the International Wool Challenge pattern standards. In supporting the two UK team members role in the challenge, Fyberspates have helped Team Groenewoud come a step closer yet again to beating the world record of 4 hours, 51 minutes and 14 seconds.

The team consists of a blade shearer, a sheep and seven handspinners and knitters and preparation for the event is a yearlong. The international team includes the world’s fastest knitter and other record-breaking spinners and knitters. This year, the Groenewoud team knitted a jumper from sheep’s back to theirs in 5 hours, 32 minutes and 37 seconds in a record breaking European Record to win this year’s International Back to Back Wool Challenge.

 

Once again, Fyberspates is proud to support the UK representatives as so much of what we do is driven by a strong enthusiasm for the fibre world and the community that enjoy crafting. We think this challenge is fascinating and can’t wait for next year’s results, as the team seem to be going from strength to strength!

Knitting and Stitching Show at Ally Pally

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 tomorrow (Thursday 11th October) until Sunday (14th October).

Come and visit us and pick up lots of treats! We will have the full Scrumptious range as well as lots of delicious hand-dyed yarn.

See you there!

Jeni x

Andy Fest!

Well it's time to fill you all in on how much fun was had at the recent Blue Faced Open Weekend hosted by Mr Wool himself, Andy. It quickly became known as 'Andy Fest' as all the indies he's supported over the years joined in to exhibit their wares and enjoy a weekend away on the farm. Marvellous.

Well of course, being on a farm it was all very rustic and scenic but most importantly it was tons of fun. Lots of people attended and Jeni and Jen enjoyed the many, many cakes on offer as well as a rather delicious hog roast. It's only fair to point out here that any cake photos taken appear to be from Jen who clearly was torn between marvellous baked goods and yarn.


Fyberspates hosted a stall next to Dee from Posh Yarns which was great for a chin wag and a catch up as they don't get to be in the same place at the same time very often. Of course there was all the usual crowd of lovelies there and lots of giggles to be had and despite a dreadful forecast for the weather it all turned out rather sunny and lovely.


A huge thank you to everyone that came and said hi, spent money and helped the weekend go with a bang. A special well done needs to go to everyone who bought tickets and donated because a whooping £1025 was raised for Walton Neuro Care Hospital!

Get in Training

This save the date comes with a warning to get in training because it's a big one. The Knitting and Stitching Show hosted at Alexandra Palace each is year is the big one and notoriously fun and packed with things to see and do. Fondly referred to as 'Ally Pally' by vendors and pilgrims to the event it comes with a health warning: wear comfy shoes!

We have always loved Ally Pally as it's one of the biggest shows in the UK events calendar and a great opportunity to meet everyone and check out the latest trends. As always the stand will be packed with Scrumptious, hand dyed wonders, patterns from our Scrumptious Collections and samples to try on.

This year's show is on October 11th- 14th and you can find more details or buy tickets for the event on the website here. Can't wait to see you!

Fyberspates Trunk Show

Last June we had great fun visiting Purlescence with our trunk show where we shared samples, yarn, patterns and giggles. You can read about it here if you missed it.

We're heading back there again this weekend so please come and join us if you can for more chances to see the Fyberspates range and try on some knitwear. There will be plenty of retail therapy, plus tea and home-made cakes…and even the possibility of some Pimms…..

Please check out the full details here to join us at the Purlescence shop in Wantage on the 18th August 2012, 10am- 4pm. Hopefully see you there!