HRYC

Only a few sleeps to go, and we are full-steam ahead for a wonderful weekend of making and doing at Handmade. The Knit Lounge will be located in the Renouf Foyer at the Michael Fowler Centre and is the place to be in between classes - here's what we'll be doing:

Crochet Blanket CAL session

11am - 1pm Saturday
Kate will be on hand to help out with any tricky stitches or curly questions relating to the Crochet Blanket CAL. 

Learn to Knit

Spin Club

Garment KAL session

Casting around in my stash this morning, I got to thinking about what to do with those special skeins of yarn. You know the ones - usually 4ply, just one precious 100g skein, hand-dyed and with some sort of sentiment attached. Most of my (small, in case you're wondering) stash is made up exactly these yarns - picked up on my travels and full of glorious, vibrant colour. 

What to do with one skein? If socks aren't your thing, or it feels as if it needs to be something a bit fancier, here's a few ideas. With the cool weather, i've gone for wraps and shawls, perfect for tucking in to winter coats.

Lionberry Shawl

Designed for a single skein of Madeline Tosh Dandelion, Lionberry combines lace and texture to make the most of Dandelion's vibrant hand-dyed hues.

Pebble Beach by Helen Stewart

I've loved Pebble Beach for a long time - and Helen's just re-released the pattern with 2 more sizes and a lace weight option. You may see me knitting a bright pink version of this very shortly.

Aisling by Justyna Lorkowska

Another great shawl from Justyna - with carefully balanced lace and cable edging on a simple eyelet background. Some of the Dark Harbour Yarn, gracing the Indie Shelf this month, would be absolutely stunning made up as this shawl.

Outline by Beata Jezek

And once you've knit all those lovely things with the lovely yarns, there's always a bit left. The Outline scarf is an interesting take on the chevron patterns around - and the perfect way to keep all those ends of balls in one useful and memory-filled project.

Handmade is upon us once more, and we are pleased to take part with running the Knit Lounge and even hosting some classes. There are all sorts of extra activities planned, but the first and most important thing is to get set up with some great class picks.

Running over two days on Queen's Birthday weekend, it's the perfect excuse to learn something new, hang out with friends, take some time for yourself and enjoy all Wellington has to offer. This year the Knit Lounge will be based at the Michael Fowler Centre, right slap-bang in the middle of the city. Wait, I was going to tell you my class picks...

Make a Fabric Lampshade

There's a lampshade in my life that is in desperate need of recovering. Head along and learn how to put beautiful fabric on a lampshade without burning the house down. This one's super popular, but the excellent people at Handmade have added an extra session. Best not miss out.

Clay Tea-Light Holders

I saw this class and immediately thought how great it would be to take my step-daughter along. The tea-light holders class is the chance to get your hands dirty but make something lovely and useful. 

Hexagon Quilt As You Go

There is something infinitely satisfying about hand-sewing. Yes, it might take a long time, but it can be meditative and therapeutic rather than tedious. And oh, the satisfaction of making something so beautiful tiny stitch by tiny stitch. 

Elementary Embroidery

Yes, yes I am all about fabric and hand stitching this year. The lovely Melissa Wastney of Tiny Happy will take you along on the journey of embroidery. Simple, lovely. Like drawing, but with needle and thread and you don't need to be some amazing artist to create beautiful projects.

There's plenty more where these came from - and i'll be looking at all the yarn & fibre related ones soon. Only a couple weeks to go - this year is flying by scarily fast!

When you aren't busy dyeing yarn, what do you do?

While dyeing yarn is a massive part of my life and I get withdrawls if I don't dye yarn for a couple of weeks, the majority of my time is being a Mum to two gorgeous girls (7 and 3) and all that is involved with running a household. I love taking them on adventures to the beach or into nature. Funnily enough they inspire me so much that a lot of my colourways come from things we see and do together.

What is your number one favourite part of being an indie dyer?

How did you get into knitting? Are you a process or a product knitter?

Do you have a particular fibre or fibre blend you love to dye more than any other?  

We all have colour tendencies - what's yours? Do you find this comes through in your dyeing?  

If you could go on holiday anywhere in the world, where would it be? Why?

Prague and the UK. We were lucky enough to travel through Europe for five weeks before we started a family (I came home with a stowaway ;) ) Both of us fell in love with Prague, it's such an amazing city. I would also love to travel around the UK with the kids in a campervan and see where our ancestors came from.

 

Anything else you want to share with us?

 I just wanted to thank all my supporters, I am forever grateful for being able to do what I do and I love every minute of it. Being able to create colour everyday is a dream come true. Being able to do this while still being able to be there for my family is something I will be forever grateful for.

Thanks so much Jo!

It may be almost the end of March, but we still have lots of Stitchpunk yarn and fibre on the Indie Shelf to share with you. We've just received a top-up, so it's the perfect time to chat with Leith about what she does.

When you aren't busy dyeing yarn, what do you do?
Dye fibre! Well. I tend to be either in a SPIN ALL THE THINGS or a KNIT/CROCHET ALL THE THINGS phase most of the time – currently its spinning. Also I work full time in a library and feed and clean up after 2 cats, 2 fish, a mouse, a snail and a bloke. And I’m about to try my hand at weaving, coz I totally didn’t have enough to do already!

What is your number one favourite part of being an indie dyer?
Playing with colour. Colour is my big motivating factor. When I have an idea for a colourway and then manage to make it happen, that’s a good feeling. And if someone buys it and enjoys it, that’s pretty awesome too.

How did you get into spinning? Are you a process or a product spinner?
For me the downhill slope went crochet – knitting – drop spindles – spinning wheels – supported spindles – and now weaving, maybe.

Once I could crochet and knit I started thinking how much more awesomer it must be to work with yarn that you’d made yourself. So when a local guild had an open day and offered a class in spinning on a homemade drop spindle I made a beeline for it. Drop spindles and I never really fell in love with one another though. When I signed up to do the Creative Fibres spinning course I got my first wheel. Now I’ve almost gone full circle in that I do most of my spinning on supported spindles – they’re fun to use (like a spinning top!) and you can take them anywhere.

I’d say I’m both – I love the process, but I also very much enjoy turning the yarn into products.

Do you have a particular fibre you love to dye more than any other?
Tricky! Superwash merino soaks up dye like nobody’s business and gives the brightest colours….but my favourite is probably the Corriedale that I get from an independent mill. It’s not as soft as merino (though not far off), harder wearing, drafts beautifully and dyes up really well.

We all have colour tendencies - what's yours? Do you find this comes through in your dyeing?Absolutely! You don’t see a lot of brown in my colourways as that’s my least favourite colour. Grey is my favourite neutral and I love purples, blues and greens (especially teal and lime.) I tend to dye bright jewel tones, but as I get better and learn more I’m coming to embrace the subtlety of pale shades as well.

If you could go on holiday anywhere in the world, where would it be? Why?
London. And maybe other bits of the UK, especially Scotland. I’m a city girl by nature, and a bit of an Anglophile. I’ve lived in NZ all my life but I suspect that England is my spiritual home. I want to walk the streets that Sherlock walks and see buildings that are hundreds of years old and ….go to cafes that respect the art of making a decent cup of tea!

Anything else you want to share with us?
I will be at the Fibre Festival in Auckland this May – my first show! I’ll be the one in the top hat. And my head is full of lots of ideas for new ranges that I’ll be working on as time permits, so keep an eye on my Etsy shop. Plans! PLAAAAAAANNNNNSSSSS! (maniacal laughter)

(I don’t have  a tattoo that says “the clockwork’s not ticking properly”  for NOTHING, you know).

Thanks so much Leith! Stitchpunk yarn and fibre will be on the Grand Arcade indie shelf until the 1st of April, when we swap out for Meraki Studio. Hooray!