Skein Queen

This lily shows just why I called this colourway Stargazer! Its perfectly captures the pink of the petals and the bright flash of the middle with a splash of yellow pollen! This has been a really popular colour since we introduced it this year, and I think it looks lovely in this shawl by Anni Howard.

Are there any other flowers you think would make a good colourway?

After a bit of a break since we got back from we are ready to look forward to our next flurry of shows. In two weeks time is in Ampthill then after a summer break we have and in September!

As always if there is anything in particular you want us to bring to a show do let me know. We try to mix it up so we don't always have the same bases with us but I'm always happy to bring requests! Will we see you at a show soon?

Midweek funny! I wonder what the orca is knitting?

Did you know Yak produce fibre that can be used for yarn? They are combed in the spring to collect the soft undercoat which can then be spun. Because this process is so labour intensive and produces a small amount of fibre per Yak, its expensive so often blended with other things.

Our Yaksino yarn is a blend of superwash merino, yak and silk for a smooth, soft, shiny yarn which takes dye beautifully and the natural colour of the Yak gives it almost a glow. To really show this off to its best we dye it as semi solid colours. Have you tried Yak or would you like to?

How often has you thought, or been told, something is difficult so you put it off? Did you try in the end? Was it as difficult as you thought? Often the answer is no, but if you didn't believe enough to try you would never have succeeded....

What have you done that at first glance was "too difficult"?

Another lovely yarn for summer is Lustrous - a 50 / 50 blend of merino and silk its a great yarn for a summer top or wrap that will keep you cool in the heat or the chill off when it cools down. We still have some of all of these colourways available, from left to right they are called Sakura, Seafoam, Summer Rain, Citrine and Golden Sands.

They are all non repeatable and were dyed in batches of 4 so they will make a beautiful project that is truly unique. Drop a comment if you need a link and let me know what you would like to make with this lovely yarn.

After a break from sharing sheep and yarn related funnies I've decided we need a laugh mid week so here is one I spotted recently: The Self Defense of Sheep!

Have a good Wednesday Everyone!

Bluefaced Leicester is a beautiful fibre that is almost as fine as Merino but its a 'lustre' breed which gives the yarns a lovely sheen and it has a very long staple, or hair length, which means there are fewer ends making a very smooth yarn which reduces the itchiness some people feel from other wool breeds.

Our last shop update we included two bases including BFL - Bloom DK, a 100% BFL DK weight yarn which has that lovely sheen despite being 100% wool, and Bliss Heavy Lace which is a BFL and Silk blend that takes the sheen to the next level and really shows off these lovely summery colourways - perfect for a summer shawl 😀 Have you used any BFL yarns? What did you think of them?

I love learning new techniques and teaching others - my current project is Double Knitting and I'm making plenty of mistakes at the minute - two colour cast on is taking a while to remember. What are you trying to learn at the moment?

Issue 4 is available now!

Launch Day!!
It's finally here! Issue 4 of the Cool Wool Curated Collection is available to buy!!
You can get your copy now!

Head on over to
coolwoolcuratedcollection.com to get your copy today!!

Luckily given the current weather here (Hot! by UK standards) we have quite a lot of laceweight yarn in tonight's update. There's fluffy Cloudgazer and even more heat friendly Bliss Heavy Lace which is a gorgeous Bluefaced Leicester based, 600m per 100g, laceweight. Drop a comment if you would like the link to the preview page to see the whole selection of colourways.

This is the third of our yarn bundles for the upcoming . This one I have chosen a long time favourite colourway for the main colour - Mountain Heather. This is a more variegated colourway but I think the colour pops have enough contrast with the main skein to really shine! They are all colours drawn from the Mountain Heather but lighter and clearer. Something a bit different, what do you think?

All three yarn bundles are available from 8pm this evening, comment if you need the link to the preview page.

Here is the second yarn bundle for the upcoming . This one I have chosen Dodo Feathers, which is one of my favourite, warm neutrals, and pulled the colours from the speckles. Did you know we use 7 different dyes to make this colourway? The pale grey is mixed with water and poured on for a background colour while other colours are speckled on to give crisp dots of colour. I can't wait to see how this one comes out .

Sorry for the lack of posts recently, just needed a break from the content creation while I got on with some other things. Its shop update this week and there's the yarn left from the Open Studio going in, plus some more we have dyed since and some sock kits / sets!

This is the first of the yarn kits, on our favourite Crush sock yarn, for the upcoming - being caller Colour Popertunity I just had to have a play with some of our favourite colourways and create those colour pops to go with them. This one is Mermaid's Tears with purple, teal and gold to bring out the colours of the main skein. More photos to follow of the other colourways. Which other colours do you thing we have chosen for this popertunity?

Sad our sock workshop is over but looking forward to running an online version.... check your email or comment if you are interested and you can join the wait list for more info 😃

Time to sign up for the Mini skein club this month! Where do you think we are going this time? Sign up by the 18th to make sure you don't miss out. Drop me a comment if you want the link.

Just some of the yarn ready for you to come and see tomorrow at our Open Studio - That's Cloudgazer and Floof in one photo and Crush DK in the other. Hope to see you tomorrow. We are open between 10am and 2pm.

Last of the dyeing done for the Open Studio on Saturday - Bliss Heavy Lace, Cloudgazer, Slinky Twist and Lustrous. Message me if you want more info

Dont forget its our Open Studio next Saturday. Come and visit us to see where we dye our yarn, all the yarn we have even the ones we don't take to shows plus eat yummy homemade cake and have a good natter. Let me know if you are coming!

A new free pattern friday review is now up! Sorry its a day late, it should have posted yesterday and I hadn't noticed it hadn't gone out as we spent the day in London going to The Globe to see Much Ado About Nothing for my daughter's birthday. She loved it and I didn't look at the computer all day. I'm also tempted to make a Much Ado set of colourways as the costumes were amazing! If you need a knitted heart (would also work as a pin cushion I think) then do take a look at the pattern review.

What's your favourite free, off ravelry pattern? I need some more suggestions for future months. Happy to have a look at crochet too as I haven't done a crochet pattern yet (beginner friendly please!)

Check out out May Sale - making space for new yarn before the Open Studio next month. Check out the website or leave me a comment if you want the link!

Thank you to everyone who visited the stand at Buxton this weekend. We really did have the best time and an amazing spot with a beautiful view! If you missed out on the show colourway it will be on the website for a few more days, I'm so sorry it sold out! Now if whoever took the sun home with them could share it I'd be really grateful, after a weekend toasting myself its its glow I'm back to wearing two jumpers in chilly Newbury 🤣 Keep tagging us in your posts sharing your purchases and new project cast ons - I love to see what you do with the yarn you bought!

Slightly soggyin Buxton but still looking forward to the weekend :)

Mini skein club this month is inspired by Derbyshire! It won't be Buxton, but what might it be? Sign up by the 18th to make sure you don't miss out. Drop me a comment if you want the link.

How often has you seen someone else create something and thought "I'd like to try that" or seen something someone else has made and its inspired you to make something yourself? Like a smile, creativity is contagious so do something creative and pass it on today!

Who is loving warm weather? I've been knitting a sock in this colourway today and I can almost feel the heat coming off it! This is Ruby Embers and is made up of shades of fiery red, pink, and coral with dark brown speckle over a pale yellow base. It took a long time to work out the recipe for this one as you really wouldn't guess it starts with yellow! A repeatable colourway we have on several different bases at the moment including Floof and Enchant (plus several far more suited for colder weather!) What would you make in this colour?