I’ve been dying to knit something with Rico Creative Galaxy Chunky ever since we started stocking it, then at Christmas I was given a copy of the book Entrelac by by Rosemary Drysdale and I saw the perfect opportunity to try out the yarn and learn a new technique at the same time.

The result is this cowl, which I absolutely adore!  I think that variegated yarns work well with the entrelac technique and the little sparkles from the sequins are a lovely touch.

We’ve got so many new pattern books to tell you about from Rowan, Debbie Bliss, Sublime and more… The first of which is Rowan Studio 26.

The eight patterns in Studio 26 are designed by Rowan designer Julia Frank and are inspired by the trend for tweed and relaxed, easy to wear, slouchy designs.

Sublime’s new yarn for Spring 2012 is Egyptian Cotton DK.  It has a beautiful sheen and is an exceptionally soft and smooth double knitting yarn which creates hand knits with incredibly clear stitch definition.

I loved how the pretty the balls looked on the shelf, so I had to take a photo to show you!  These are all 12 shades available.

The book to go with the yarn is called The Naturally Sublime Egyptian Cotton DK Book (661) and features 20 designs for babies, children and adults using Sublime Egyptian Cotton DK.

For women, there are chic little waistcoats, stripey nautical-inspired knits and the simply stunning Pointelle with an exquisite lace back. For boys there is an easy gansey style sweater and matching slouchy hat emblazoned with a skull and crossbones motif and for girls, there are trendy little cropped cardies to wear with beach dresses and Bermudas. There’s the simplest sailor gansey in the smartest deep red for men.

Finally, there is an exquisite lace christening gown, ballerina cardie and Tutu shoes for baby girls and the most adorable little sailor suits for baby boys – outstanding little vintage styles for your tiny treasures.

Have a look on our shop website for pictures of the designs in the book.

I recently finished knitting this lace scarf using Louisa Harding’s Simonetta yarn.  Simonetta is a pretty mohair yarn with a touch of glitter. The metallic yarn is twisted with the mohair causing the glitter to run intermittently throughout the length of the yarn.  The pattern is called the Cosimo scarf and is free to download as a PDF here.

The instructions give the yarn requirements to knit the scarf in either Louisa Harding’s Simonetta, Grace Hand Beaded or Nerissa.  I was tempted to do it in Grace Hand Beaded, but thought that the Simonetta would make the scarf feel more floaty and delicate and it only took 1 ball.

The lace pattern is a 16 row repeat and although I had to concentrate on counting rows at first, I found that once I got into it, the pattern became quite easy.

Why not chose your favourite shade of Simonetta and have a go yourself!

Alternatively, browse the Simonetta pattern book by Louisa Harding on our website which features no less than 14 knitting patterns for tops, scarves, shawls, a hat and even a skirt!

Blueberry Crumb Cake is a new range of Moda Fabrics, designed by Blackbird Designs.  It hasn’t been on our shelves very long, but is already proving popular. The peaceful blues and tans give a feeling of comfort, rest and harmony.

We have this collection available in jelly rolls, layer cakes and charm packs

The Winter 2011 issue of Interweave Crochet arrived at the shop yesterday.

In this issue, they explore lace for winter with several big, bold winter lace designs and a handful of fine lace designs, to add a light touch of lace to your burly winter garb. And socks! We have three ways to make socks, including fabulous Pamir slip-stitch socks. Maire Treanor’s series on Clones lace continues with two shamrock designs. Add some jackets and vests, as well as a blanket, and it all adds up to 22 projects to cheer you through winter.

Just before Christmas, we started stocking some Adriafil yarns, one of which is called Knitcol.  Knitcol is a self-striping DK yarn. It’s 100% merino wool and being a standard DK yarn, you could use it for so many things, but we think it works best with simple stocking stitch items, which will allow the stripes of the yarn to stand out.

I was dying to try it out myself, so I knitted this little baby hat, using Knitcol.  The pattern is from Sirdar pattern 1242 that includes instructions for 4 different types of baby hat.  Isn’t it cute?

Flora is a beautiful fabric collection from Lauren and Jessi Jung and their website has a free quilt pattern, which uses Flora, that you can download.  The quilt is made with a Moda Layer Cake plus some extra for the border.

You can download this and other free patterns as a PDF from their website.

Interweave’s Spring issue of Knitscene arrived this morning from America.

Here are some of the 23 patterns in this issue – something for everyone I think!

Plus you can learn to work duplicate stitch embroidery and about the colorful world of Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark as well as the difference between kettle dyed and space dyed yarns—and the other basic dye styles of your favorite sock yarns.

Pick up your copy from our shop now.

Just a quick post to let you know that we have 30% off Rico Loopy scarf yarn until the end of January.  (Offer applies only to current stock)

That brings the price down from £9.95 a ball, to a fantastic £6.95… and if you spend over £30 you qualify for free postage too!