Life LackaDaisiCal

That's Yorkshire speak.... Here's what REALLY happened at the Mill! All Rowan Ambassadors were present and accounted for bright and early Tuesday morning when our man at Rowan, Karl, arrived to pick us all up in the "Last of the Summer Wine" tour bus! You might not be familiar with this UK television show, but it ran from 1973 to 2010 and focussed on the antics of a trio of men, and the predicaments they got into with various people around and about the town of Holmfirth...yes HOLMFIRTH! So, on the bus we go.....first stop!  The Green Lane Mill...home of Rowan Yarns! Yup, that's the entrance.....and see that window above the entrance?  That's where Karl hangs out!  He has a great view of the comings and going at "The Mill" and has a lovely window seat in his spot too!  Lucky guy eh? and I guess I already showed you this too right....so come on in! Honestly, even though I'd been here before....I was totally in awe....bec...

An afghan is a HUGE commitment.....time, $$$ and let's face it....emotional commitment.  To get so far and be this close to finishing! Need a bit of incentive? How about a chance to win yarn and pattern books...and a subscription to Rowan Magazine? Thought that might catch your attention! Rowan has just announced the finished photos competition. They made up some different categories so that you can enter your finished afghan photos and be eligible for selection for the prizes. It's just a bit of fun.....they say....but you can win yarn! And pattern books! So get your afghan finished, take a photo, post it.....read all about "the competition" on the KnitRowan  Facebook page....or on the Rowan Yarns  finished afghan thread on Ravelry. As a Rowan Ambassador, I am not eligible to participate in the photo sharing competition.....but seeing all of the fabulous finished afghans is keeping me excited about finishing MY afghan!  I am sewing my squares into...

The time has come to let you in on the what happened at "The Mill" full disclosure....no holds barred.....are you ready? But first, a little history..... The original "Rowan Weavers" operated from premises above a local shop in Holmfirth, but in 1979, Stephen Sheard and Simon Cockin, friends and business partners, bought the neglected Green Lane Mill building with the view to rejuvenate it and make it their home. A chance meeting with Kaffe Fassett, a deal with a magazine, their first mail order kit, "Super Triangles Jacket" changed their focus toward knitting yarns, and "Rowan" was born. the "Super Triangles Jacket" Rowan thought that they "might" sell 400 of these kits. Woman and Home magazine thought that this design called for too many shades.....nobody would knit it! over 7000 kits were sold! in 1986, Rowan launched their twice annual Rowan Magazine series... Kaffe Fassett, Sasha Kagan, Annabel Fo...

I was so excited to be visiting the home of Rowan, "The Green Lane Mill" in Holmfirth.  This would actually be my third visit...but my first as a Rowan Ambassador. Knowing what I'm like with jet lag, I decided to arrive one day early to catch up on sleep and do a recce of Holmfirth. After a long flight to London (our take off was delayed two hours), a scramble to rebook my connecting flight to Manchester, and having to read the railway timetable to figure out what train to catch to Huddersfield, a short taxi ride later and I was checked into my room. my room, with a view... Holmfirth was on the Tour de France route, and the village had done itself proud. store fronts were decorated with bunting... red and white flowers...and bunting of course! this cafe had gone all "Tour de France" for the occasion! and the main street just around the corner was heavily done up in "Tour" bunting! There is a yarn shop in Holmfirth, cal...

While in the UK, I visited the Kaffe Fassett exhibit at The American Museum in Bath.....I'm always happy to visit something this colourful....and there was tea and cake too! Post by Life LackaDaisiCal .

My host here in the UK is a knitter....no surprise there right? On her coffee table I spotted the latest edition of pompom magazine.  With a cup of tea, I enjoyed this mini magazine..... love the size, the weight, the thickness of each page... One design caught my eye...this....how lovely.... not that I'll be needing a baby blanket any time soon :)  but...the yarn...Cashmere! 100% Cashmere! My hostess loves cashmere, so I commented on the lovely yarn in the pompom pattern...had she heard of this cashmere? "Oh yes, Elisabeth lives not far from here. Do you think you'd like to go? I could ring her up and sort something." Well, yes, I'd love to go!  (A girl can always add a little Cashmere to her stash!) Top to bottom, in my bag :) weld -reseda inteola hibiscus tea Walnut And another hibiscus tea Lovely...as a display :) You can find her at select fibre festivals in the UK (Unravelled for example)...but she does have a ...