Life LackaDaisiCal

Indie dyers are known for their special edition shades or bases. Fans will queue up for hours for that one skein of Rhinebeck colourway....or subscribe to yarn clubs to get their hands on luxurious bases.....all limited editions! Rowan is bringing the limited edition concept to their retailers and knitters with the Rowan "Selects" program. "Selects" will be yarns available in limited quantities....once the production is gone......it's gone! These yarns will be supported by a collection of patterns designed specifically for each Select yarn. These collections will be available free with purchase at your yarn retailer! I believe that there might also be additional free patterns available on the Rowan web site. Right now, I only see one retailer offering their Select yarns on a pre-order basis! This is in the UK. Here in Canada (and North America) I haven't seen any Selects offered yet. So if any of these yarns interest you....do your sleuthi...

Rowan has decided to focus on a select "Core" group of yarns. 20 of them! This core group includes all the classic Rowan yarns, like Kidsilk Haze, Felted Tweed, Cotton Glacé, Denim, Handknit Cotton, Kid Classic and Big Wool... and the best of the newer yarns.....Baby Merino Silk DK (not just for babies), Fine Lace, Hemp Tweed and the Summerlite cottons (4 ply and DK). Colour ranges have been streamlined also.....creating a classic, sophisticated palette of shades. The cull wasn't easy to do (per David MacLeod, Rowan's Design Manager) but this bold move will allow the design team to focus their support on the yarns that we all love! There have been so many new yarns introduced in the last few years, that even a hard core Rowan officionado like me couldn't keep up. Yarns were introduced, then just as quickly discontinued. This was rather annoying for us knitters....and I can't imaging how the retailers coped! Of course, there are fa...

Rowan Yarns has been producing their seasonal magazines for 30 years! Imagine that! All of the magazine covers were displayed in the Rowan offices in the Green Lane Mill... wonder where they are now? (In case you didn't know, Rowan moved out of the Green Lane Mill building this year, to new digs at Brookes Mill in Huddersfield.) I started buying Rowan Magazines with number 11 - see it in the above photo - second row, second one from the left! Confession...I NEVER knit anything from a Rowan magazine....like for years! I was too intimidated by the fabulous designs and my startitis condition. You know what I'm talking about...start a project, start a project, see something new, start a project...never finish a project. It was YEARS of collecting (the magazines and yarn too) before I actually finished anything. A Rowan Club at my LYS really got me focussed on the actual knitting of the Rowan Designs that I loved so much. Magazine 1 was published in 198...

My Bronte in  +Rowan Yarns  Softyak DK! If you like Moss Stitch, this design is for you! The cable and lace panels on the front pieces add detail and interest! (I saved the fronts to knit last.) The waist and sleeves feature a fancy psso rib! While the neckline is finished with stocking stitch and the button bands are k2p2 rib! Buttoned up, you really see the lacey diamond pattern! Another unusual design aspect is the fact that the rib and lace panels are all C4B!  All cables twist to the right! You might expect that the cables would be mirrored on either side of the lace panel,  or on either front! Some knitters might find this annoying! (Put your hand up if you are in this camp!) It is these kind of details that made me love this design .....thank you Martin! This design was originally knit in Rowan's Summerlite DK yarn! I love the firm twist of this cotton! I chose to knit it in the Softyak DK - it's a cha...

I'm sure you've heard about Bullet Journaling...it's all the rage! (Just put bullet journaling into Google and there are 521K results - Bullet Journal: The Analog system for the digital age! It seems that busy people are turning away from their smart phones and tablets, to organize their life on PAPER!!! Well, when I heard about this I was frankly intrigued, because I'd never really got the hang of keeping all of my appointments on my iPhone. Some things got recorded there, others on the kitchen wall calendar, and the worst thing was the things that didn't make either of them and were floating around on pieces of paper or the backs of business cards! Let's face it, I'm retired and lead a fairly normal (i.e. mundane) life :) so I don't have tons of appointments. Last year I was particularly busy with personal appointments. I'd had dental surgery that went wrong, requiring emergency oral surgery, which then required many follow up appointments;...

Ta Da! Pattern: Groovy (DK and Aran Weight)  available on Ravelry Yarn: Cashmere by Elisabeth Beverly , dyed with Indigo (You can find Elisabeth next at the Design and Craft Fair at West Dean College June 3-5 - info here ) Photos: Hubby! The Hubby hates it when I won't look at the camera....so eventually I can't help it, I look up and he keeps snapping away.... Even though it was a dull morning, the contrast between the white shirt and the dark indigo yarn was hard to manage! Straight off the needles, Groovy is all ripples of stocking and reverse stocking stitch....it's lovely and squishy like that and you could leave it as is!   I wanted to take advantage of the size of this shawl, so washed gently in Eucalan and lay flat to dry (no serious blocking). You can see the tiny swatch I knit up to test wash - no discernible indigo came out in the wash! I used all but 14 grams of my 275 grams (900 metres) of yarn! ...

What's this? Well, last year while in the UK, I happened to meet up with Elisabeth Beverley, she of Plant Dyed Wool fame. If you haven't heard of her, not to worry, she is very elusive and can be found at only a few select venues in the UK.  It just so happens that Elisabeth lives not far from a friend of mine in the UK. I visited Elisabeth once a couple of years ago and purchased some lovely cashmere (still in my stash - blogged here ) and at the time, inquired if she ever used indigo on her yarns. Well yes, she does, but didn't have any right now. Fast forward a couple of years...last June hubby and I are in the UK, I e-mail Elisabeth to inquire about indigo. Well yes, as a matter of fact, she does have some indigo and she very nicely popped over to my friends with a basket full of the different strengths of indigo dyed yarn. I could have bought it all!  After much to ing and fro ing, I settled on what looked like the darkest grouping, ...