HRYC

October 09, 2013

A second store and a yarn club

I've been busting at the seams to share the news, and now I can! In late January there will be Holland Road Yarn Co No. 2, based upstairs in the Grand Arcade centre on Willis St. Right in the middle of town! I can't tell you how excited I am to have found the perfect place to set up another little yarn haven.

Yarn Club Hooray!

I wasn't planning to do another yarn club this year, but now we've signed the lease, it makes a whole lot of sense. Different to the other yarn clubs we usually run, this time it's back to the tried and true traditional yarn club structure. We'd really love for you to be part of the club. It's going to help us immensely in creating the second shop and bringing even more wonderful yarns to your door. 

 

The details:

A traditional yarn club, which involves 3 parcels, 3 patterns designed especially for the yarn colours, and 8 skeins of yarn. 8 doesn't divide by 3, which means your first parcel contains 4 x 50g skeins of Knitsch Sock. The following two parcels will contain 2 x 50g Knitsch Sock each. Why? Well, all will become clear in time. 

On sale 10am Thursday 17 October

Shipping dates:

24 October 
14 November
6 December


Prices:

$100 plus:
$10 shipping for NZ customers
$18 shipping for Australian customers
$30 shipping for USA, UK, Canada & the rest of the world

 

Pattern Club 

If you don't fancy any yarn, you can sign up just to receive the patterns we'll be releasing with each parcel. 
The patterns will be a surprise, but I can tell you that two are designed by myself, Tash, and the third is being created by a lovely Australian friend. 

Shipping dates:

29 October
19 November
10 December
 
On each of these dates we'll email you a code so you can download the digital pattern  file via Ravelry. Sorry, we won't be able to post paper copies.
 
 
Because this is all in aid of helping create the second Holland Road Yarn Co store, we really appreciate your support. We couldn't do this without you, that's for sure. If you happen to think we do something great, this is your way of lending a hand.
 
Not a knitter? Oh my goodness I will love you forever. You can select the 'i'm a great person' option and you can donate to our cause. I'll double check that you don't want to receive any patterns, and instead i'll send you all sorts of psychic love through the air. 

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October 07, 2013

New pattern love

Maybe it's the change in Northern Hemisphere season, maybe it's some other reason, but there are so many fantastic patterns being released right now. Here's a few just from my quick glance at Ravelry this morning:

 

Cable Guy Sweater by Anna & Heidi Pickles

 

 

No Parking! by Alison Ziegler

 

 

Mereki by Ambah O'Brien

 

Wirra by Ambah O'Brien

 

Are there any new patterns that have caught your eye recently? I'm trying to make myself finish off a bunch of things before i'm allowed to cast on anything new...

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September 25, 2013

Trunk Show: Red Riding Hood Yarns & Just One WIP

It isn't terribly often we have trunk shows. So here's some exciting news! We have an extra special one organised for next week. Yep, next week. 

Hannah of Red Riding Hood Yarns is celebrating her third business birthday, so we decided to nab her for a one night only special. And what goes better with yarn than a very talented pattern designer? Julia Stanfield of Just One WIP is on board too. Hooray! 

What sort of things might you expect to see, exactly?

 

Delightful hand-dyed yarns...

and inspiring patterns for kids and adults, including lots of samples for you to nosy at.

   

I'm all excited about having a different kind of knit night. One where we have special visitors and you get to hang out and browse something different and knit and eat cake and drink tea. Come along! It's sure to be loads of fun. xx Tash

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August 29, 2013

Droplet Socks - a new free pattern

A few weeks ago Wei Siew of the Kiwiyarns blog sent me an exciting email - a sock pattern designed with Knitsch Sock! It also contained a special request for a fresh batch of West Janney. 

The Droplet Socks pattern is exquisite. I adore the texture and the directional pattern design. I'm a sucker for anything that stands out against a reverse stocking stitch background. And the best part of all? It's free! Hooray! 

 

 

Image thanks to Wei Siew

 

Thanks so much for choosing Knitsch for your pattern Wei Siew! I can't wait to knit my own pair. If you fancy knitting your own lichen-inspired socks, West Janney is now back in stock (along with lots of other colours, hooray!).

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July 16, 2013

Sometimes it takes a challenge.

After struggling my way through Rocky Coast the Second, my knitting mojo went out the door. A pair of simple socks were also on the needles, and knitting wasn't feeling all that inspiring. I sternly told myself that nothing new could be cast on until Rocky Coast was done. 

 

At long last it was done, a mental hurdle conquered. I'll post a pic once I get around to weaving in the ends and blocking it, which of course i'm also procrastinating on.

 

To tell the truth, casting on something new didn't fill me with excitement. But cast on I did:

Stasis.

 

In Zealana Rimu Fingering, a gorgeous mix of NZ merino and possum. Rib isn't terribly exciting. Slowly getting closer to the colour work, the nerves kicked in. Colour work isn't my strong point. And then something magic happened...

 

I enjoyed it. Suddenly there's a project in my hands that requires focus, and concentration, and real awareness of what's going on with each stitch. Checking to make sure floats aren't too tight, following a colour pattern, untangling balls of yarn. 

Isn't it interesting how a challenge can be just what is needed to get excited again? 

And this yarn! Oh my. 

Zealana Rimu Fingering is 60% merino, 40% possum. The possum gives it just enough fluffiness to create a nice halo, but not so much that your knitting looks like a hairball. It's on the heavy side of 4ply, and i'm inclined to call it more of a sport weight than a standard fingering weight yarn.

It feels lovely to knit with, but the magic is in the fabric. Smooth, perfectly squishable rows of stocking stitch are making me weak at the knees. If a 4 ply jersey is what you're after, it may as well be a treat. This absolutely will be. I'm anticipating wearing this so much that the elbows will wear through and patches added. See me in ten years' time and no doubt i'll still be pulling this one on when the day is chilly. 

I am fudging the sizing a little bit, but that's part of the joy of a simple stocking stitch body - there is room to make sneaky size amendments. I may even felt it slightly for an even cosier finish. 

What's on your needles at the moment? Do you knit with thoughts of how you'll feel when you wear the finished product, or is that just me?

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