Last post we introduced ourselves as contributors to Felicia’s Blog, studio dyers, and unapologetic fibre geeks. This week we’d like to invite you to join us discussion about our favourite SweetGeorgia Yarns.

The topic we brought to the table was…

What is your favourite SweetGeorgia yarn? What have you knit with it? What do you plan to make with it next? What makes this yarn stand out to you?

Ginny // CashLuxe Fine, Trinity Worsted, and Silk Crush

Ginny’s Tardis Shawl in CashLuxe Fine (Nightshade)

Sure, just ask the knitters their favourite yarn… let’s go find some bibliophiles and ask for their favourite book, or some cinephiles their favourite movie, or ask my boyfriend his favourite 90s cartoon or Tom Waits song.

How about top three? I love CashLuxe Fine — I love how soft it is but how durable the nylon content makes it. It’s so perfect for those one skein shawlettes and I will fully admit to spending time arranging jewel tone palettes in it when I am supposed to be inventorying our stock of CashLuxe Fine.

Trinity Worsted is just delicious. The silk really sparkles in the strands and lighter colours like Wisteria gain so much depth. It’s perfect for cables and stitch patterns like moss stitch.

Lineal Wristwarmers, designed by Felicia Lo

And my third top yarn? Silk Crush! I’m always pleasantly surprised at how subtle colours become on the superwash merino and silk blend. The two ply makes it perfect for lace, but it creates a cushy, chenille-like stockinette, especially held doubled.

Lilac Leaves Shawl in Silk Crush (English Ivy)

Felicia’s Lilac Leaves in Silk Crush in English Ivy has been hanging on our sample rack for two and a half years. Most of the garments and shawls need a little bit of a steam and a rest after being packed into boxes for shows or conventions, but the Silk Crush shawl always looks new even after being squished and handled by dozens of people. It’s really the perfect yarn for a shawl that will be worn in the rain and heavy humidity of Vancouver.

Liisa // BFL Sock

SweetGeorgia BFL Sock

Since my cultural background is one of sparsity, around-the-clock darkness and many natural adversaries (excluding giant spiders), it’s inevitable that my absolute favorite SGY yarn be BFL Sock.

Worst.. sales pitch.. ever. But be kind and hear me out.

Until quite recently, knitting in Finland (and Scandinavia in general) has been all about functionality and efficiency – which means lightning-fast continental knitting paired with affordable, local materials. People used to knit because they needed warm, woolly things that they couldn’t afford to buy, and because there was usually a farm somewhere nearby, not because they so thoroughly enjoyed the process while sipping their exotic cup of tea and watching Downton Abbey. Through the rural roots of both my parents – and having myself grown up during one of the worst economic depressions in Finnish history – this type of ascetic practicality has had an enormous impact on how I function and what kind of things I value. Scandinavian sheep breeds are not exactly known for their luxurious qualities either, so being drawn to fancy-pants fibres is just not in my genes.

Hence BFL Sock is to me the ultimate combination of durability, warmth and rustic beauty. The same way I cherish my whisky neat and my pitch-black non-flavored tea, I love the fact that it’s so simple and straightforward without a hint of fussiness. Perish the luxuries of silk and cashmere and 15 micron merino! My favorite yarn takes me back to a time where sheep had names, men were men, and the village outhouse was shared between 15 families (four generations each).

All this is not to say that BFL Sock is coarse, or unpleasant to work with. It’s obviously not as soft as merino, but for me it’s more than suited for next-to-skin wear. It has a lot of structure and texture to prevent drooping, the slightest halo to make any colour look good, and knitted up it lasts forever.

Also, BFL Sock (as well as our BFL spinning fibres) somehow manages to retain its sheepy smell throughout all the stages of dyeing, which may well be the awesomest part of it all.

Liisa’s new sweater in BFL Sock (Coral Rose)

I recently finished the Carpino pullover with one of our new spring colours, Coral Rose, and just bought another sweater’s worth of the eye-poppingly bright Saffron, so there shall be no shortage of those lovely sheep fumes in my household in the near future. Sniff sniff, oohh, aahh, this will go on for a while, move along.

Grace // CashLuxe Fine

Well… when I first started crafting my response, I thought this was going to be an easy choice… I’d pick CashLuxe Fine!

CashLuxe Fine in Pumpkin

Even before I started working here, when I thought SweetGeorgia Yarns, I thought CashLuxe Fine. This fibre base picks up colour beautifully. It has lovely drape because of it’s cashmere content, but yet it’s still tough enough to knit everyday accessories with because of the nylon content. Amazing! The weight of this fibre makes it substitutable in most of the fingering weight projects I want to knit (I don’t knit many fine lace pieces anymore — I just don’t have the patience!). This base has always seemed like such a terrific combination of practicality and preciousness… exactly what I am looking for in a quality yarn.

However, when I was reminiscing through my Ravelry projects page in preparation for this post, I quickly realized that some of the projects I had thought I had created in CashLuxe Fine were actually knit with Merino Silk Fine! Sooooo… that must be my other favorite base.

Bridgeward Shawl designed by Grace Verhagen, knit in Merino Silk Fine (Spruce)

I designed the Bridgeward Leaves shawl (to be published this year) especially for Merino Silk Fine, and I have knit an entire sweater with that base in the colourway ‘glacier’. I even created a pattern for matching boot toppers so I could colour co-ordinate. I have a project in Merino Silk Fine cast on right. now.

I have still done quite a few projects in my dear, dear CashLuxe though. My Saltspring Slouch, that I created for my friend Sara, can be knit in either CashLuxe or Tough Love Sock. I knit one of the original prototypes for the Buchanan Shawl from CashLuxe. I have a few pairs of carefully hand-washed socks in this base, such as my Sitka Dragonfly socks, knit with the June 2011 SGY Sock Club colourway.

So I guess if I really must choose just one, I would choose CashLuxe Fine for it’s suitability and softness. But I still love working with Merino Silk Fine for it’s luxurious feel and shine!

Felicia // Silk Mist and Merino Silk Lace

How can I pick a favourite?! I love them all… I go through phases where I want to knit everything in CashLuxe Fine… and then Superwash DK… and then CashSilk Lace… but here are a couple that are really special to me.

Can I get a woop woop for mohair? Have you ever succumbed to the crack that was Rowan Kid Silk Haze? I fell deep in love with this yarn years ago when I knit Sharon Miller’s Birch shawl, so when the opportunity came to add something to our SGY line-up that was beautifully soft and delicately fuzzy, I just had to do it.

Silk Mist is a tiny puff of laceweight silk and kid mohair that knits into the most ethereal, weightless shawls and cowls. We chose it for Jane Richmond’s Welted Cowl (free pattern) and also our Twig Shawl. It’s also a wonderful yarn to carry along with other yarns… it lends a little halo of colour.

Wedding Shawl – Swallowtail Shawl knit in SweetGeorgia Merino Silk Lace

After months of knitting test swatches with other lace yarn bases, I found that this is my go-to lace yarn. Merino Silk Lace is 50% bombyx silk and 50% fine merino wool. It’s glossy like silk, but then holds a good blocking like wool. It’s a whopping 765 yards per skein, making it an economical choice to make one large shawl or two small shawlettes for gifting.

I chose Merino Silk Lace to knit my wedding shawl a couple years ago and the shawl still holds up beautifully. We also used it for our recent Rivoli shawl… and I think it looks stunning!

And there we have it! Four knitters, four very different opinions about our yarn. It’s so interesting to find out why everyone loves the yarn they do; it’s a reflection of our individual styles, personal history, and knitting preferences.

Since all our collaborators like to spin, next time we will be discussing our favorite SweetGeorgia fibre bases. Stay tuned!

Cheers!

The post SGY Roundtable: What’s your favourite yarn? appeared first on SweetGeorgia Yarns.

October 2013: Autumn Wind

Dyed on our Superwash Merino + Nylon fibre base and our Tough Love Sock, this one was inspired by a poem…

“The Autumn Wind is a pirate
Blustering in from sea
With a rollicking song he sweeps along
Swaggering boisterously…”

— from the poem “The Autumn Wind”, Steve Sabol, 1974

The beginning of fall means all sorts of things — a new school year, a switch from flip-flops to boots, an apple butter canning frenzy… and in our household, it means the start of the football season. My husband has been a lifelong devotee of the Oakland Raiders, and their unofficial anthem “The Autumn Wind” is played in our house continuously in the weeks leading up to the first game of the year. I actually love this poem because it’s the personification of an Autumn Wind as a gristled and nefarious buccaneer who shakes the trees and “robs them of their gold”. I love the imagery of the autumn wind stealing all the leaves from the landscape and leaving us with winter. While the Raiders are decked out in silver and black, I chose this colourway to reflect the elegant decay of leaves… with a slightly chilly, sombre vibe.

November 2013: Wild Turkey (Grace Verhagen)

Wild Turkey (November 2013 Club Colourway) on Panda Sock

Wild Turkey (November 2013 Club Colourway) on BFL+Silk

We knew the baby would arrive some time in November, making it difficult for me to create the November colourway. I had been talking with Grace about creating a colourway for the club and she had been inspired by a family Thanksgiving. Here’s what she said:

“Here in Canada, Thanksgiving has already brought our families together and put pumpkin pie on the table. But our neighbours to the south celebrate this festive holiday in November as the weather chills and the nights become longer. Wild Turkey encompasses the warm, bold colours I crave to work with this time of year. It also pays homage to the most traditional of Thanksgiving beasts. I was inspired by the way the light played with the feathers of the heritage turkeys at my aunt’s farm this fall. My visit included photographing the hand-raised animals, enjoying the delicious seasonal vegetables from the garden, and immersing in the friendly chatter of a kitchen full of family. I want to capture the colours of love, hot drinks and timeless tradition.”

December 2013: Marju (Liisa Nieminen)

Marju on Falkland wool

Liisa returned to Finland at the end of November, anxiously waiting to see if there would be an opportunity for her to come back to Canada. December was quiet and contemplative for her and she wanted the chance to share that with our club members. She wanted to design and dye this month and we used Falkland wool and Superwash Sock. She writes:

“Inspired by a great personal journey and named after a beautiful friend far away.

At the dead of winter a quiet flicker of light keeps our hearts warm. For me the long hours of darkness are a time for reflection and contemplation, but also togetherness and profound gratitude. While we can’t always know where life decides to take us, in its wisdom it has guided us through another year that has shaped us, refined us and elevated us to something greater — and ultimately, brought us closer to each other. Marju is a quiet celebration of friendship, grace and new life, springing from the most humble of origins and lighting up our souls forever.”

January 2014: Night Owl

January 2014 Club Colourway: Night Owl on BFL+Silk

Before the baby was born, I bought a onesie with a sweet little embroidered owl with the words “Little Night Owl”. Little did I know what I was in for! This colourway, Night Owl, is inspired by the past two months of wakeful nights, deep indigo midnight skies, and watching the moon go down and the sun come up on many a cold winter morning. Dyed on one of my favourites — BFL+Silk fibre and also on Silk Crush yarn. I have intentions to eventually make this into a nice ombré yarn.

February 2014: Love Letters

Love Letters on Merino Bamboo Silk

Dyed on Merino Bamboo Silk and CashLuxe Fine, we always do a little Valentine’s colourway for February… Inspired by Pantone’s new colour of the year, “Radiant Orchid”, this sweet little colourway, Love Letters, reminds me of the innocent days before texting and snapchat. Ink-scrawled notes passed back and forth in class and via highschool lockers. Tiny packages of milk chocolate kisses and cinnamon hearts. Trepidatious steps into young love and new crushes.

March 2014: Winter Thaw

Winter Thaw – PREVIEW

We can’t show this one to you in all it’s full colourful glory yet… some of our club members are still waiting for their packages! But we’ll update this at the end of the month…

Winter Thaw. Is it time for all that snow to fade away and the promised spring weather to arrive? Usually winter in Vancouver can be challenging to the spirits, with grey, rainy days persisting for so long. This year, we seem to be lucky with bluebird skies and greenery breaking through the cold soil already. Celebrate the transition to spring with this clear and bright new colourway.

That’s it for now! Want to join in the fun? We are starting up the next series of Club memberships in April. Sign-ups will be open until March 31! Come join the Club and you’ll receive a package of sock yarn or spinning fibre each month in a new, unique colourway.

The post Club Colour Catch-up! appeared first on SweetGeorgia Yarns.

Grace’s Fibres West haul

A guest post from Grace about her experience going to Fibres West for the first time. Want to check out Fibres West for yourself? It’s this Friday and Saturday, March 21 and 22 at the Cloverdale Exhibition Park Grounds. Come say hi!

I attended my very first fibre festival in March 2011.

I have been knitting since the winter of 2005. I only know this because I can still remember what the cover of Knitty.com looked like the very first time I visited the site, which was probably only a week after I cast on for the first time. For six years, I dabbled only in knit and crochet, but I yearned to know where my yarn came from, and why it behaved the way it did. I wanted to start blending my own colours, controlling my own materials. So when a LYS in Vancouver offered drop spindle lessons in January 2011, I signed up immediately. And I was hooked.

I made some yarn. It wasn’t fast. It wasn’t pretty. I was not confident that it looked any good, or that it would “work”. Once the two-evening class had finished, I was the only human being I knew that was interesting in spinning yarn. I had no one to talk to about my new hobby, and the internet wasn’t the ‘tactile’ environment I needed. I wanted a second opinion on my work, and I wanted to know how to do this faster. It had taken me four weeks to spin four ounces of yarn on my spindle, consuming every evening and weekend. After a few months, I was ready to move on.

From friends at my local knitting meetup, I learned about the only fibre festival on the lower mainland (at the time) – Fibres West. Located out in Abbotsford, it was going to be tricky for this public transit rider to get to. Since I worked Fridays, carpooling on Saturday was my only option. Luckily enough friends from my knitting group wanted to go as well, and we headed out as a big crew out to the agriplex.

WOW.

I have never smelled so many yarn fumes.

Everywhere I looked, there was yarn. And colour. And fibre. And wheels!

Of course I had to stop and appreciate all the beautiful hand-dyed yarns and interesting patterns for sale, but what really intrigued me was the vast array of fibre I could buy in one place. I bought some beautiful braided multi-coloured roving and a few plastic bags of space dyed BFL. I purchased my first batt from a local artisan and took home some crimpy unprocessed Shetland locks.

But this was my first opportunity to see so many spinning wheels in action! As I walked around the venue I saw crafters spinning away, chatting, making it look easy… and I knew that I really, really wanted a wheel of my own. After a few hours of silently scoping out their equipment and handspun creations, I eventually found the nerve to ask a few of these wonderful people if I could ‘test drive’ their wheels. My heart still turns to mush when I think of all the people in the fibre arts community were willing to share their craft!

I didn’t have a clue how to draft onto a bobbin, but I got to treadle wheels of every height, weight, and style. I found this information invaluable – I had browsed many different wheel options on the internet before, but I had never seen them in real life. To get feel and assess these wheels in person helped me make up my mind about what wheel I wanted to buy. Buying a spinning wheel is a big investment, at least when you are first starting out! Thankfully most wheels keep their resale valuable over time, so if you want to upgrade later, you should not lose too much money in the process.

By the end of the day, I had a bag full of fibre and the names of two spinning wheels in my heart. I couldn’t decide right there which one I wanted, or I probably would have purchased one immediately. I am not normally an impulsive buyer, so it made sense for me to go home and sleep on my decision…

Two weeks later, I ordered my Ladybug.

Every year since, I have a made an effort to go back to Fibres West. I see many of the same vendors and artisans that helped me with my first decision a few year ago. It’s a great time to meet up with old acquaintances and get a chance to sit and knit with friends while oogling each other’s prizes. I look forward to carpooling with my fellow guild members, filling my basket with enough fibre treasures to last me a year, and spending an entire day dedicated to my craft.

If you haven’t had a chance to go to Fibres West or your own local fibre festival, please consider it! There is nothing like a massive crafting event to inspire and motivate you to get cracking!

Cheers!
— Grace

Fibres West is this weekend, March 21 and 22, at the Cloverdale Exhibition Park Grounds. We’ll be hosting a booth between Penelope Fibres and the Ravelry meet-up booth. Come see us there!

The post Grace’s First Fibres West Experience appeared first on SweetGeorgia Yarns.

I have a lot of fibre ‘toys’ at home, and I have a loooong wish-list as well. As a member of the Greater Vancouver Weavers’ and Spinners’ Guild, I have been fortunate enough to be exposed to many handy gadgets by fellow enthusiasts. The internet has been a real eye-opener – you can find all sorts of custom-made items for your spinning wheel, uniquely prepared fibre, and handcrafted spindles to add to your “toolbox”. Fibre festivals are terrific places to discover new goodies in person. Today, just before the eve of Fibres West, I would like to share with you a few my favorite finds: some useful tools you can create yourself or purchase from a retailer, and some handy work-arounds that just plain make your spinning life easier.

My Wheel:

Grace’s Ladybug Spinning Wheel

I have to start with my wheel — she has been my best spinning tool to date. I started learning how to spin on a drop spindle, and I have acquired quite a collection of whorls since then. I purchased a Schacht Matchless last year to teach with at the SGY studio, but when I am at home, you’ll find me perched behind my Ladybug. When I was on the market for a wheel, I wanted something light, cute, and with enough options that I could grow into it. I am happy to report that after many years of spinning, I still haven’t outgrown my Ladybug. I can take her around town to various spin-ins, create the kinds of yarn I like to knit with, and swap my bobbins with the Matchless at work… what more could I ask for!?

My Aprons:

Aprons

My mother and her good friend Linda made me two incredible aprons for my birthday one year. Under my specifications, they sewed me one black and one white apron. I wanted one of each colour so I could see what I was spinning no matter what shade of fibre I was working with. There is no patterning over the lap area but they have ridiculously cute detailing around the pockets and straps. They are made from the same material as washable diapers; they wipe clean and fibre doesn’t stick to me.

My WPI card:

WPI Card

I discovered early that I needed some sort of device to measure the width of my yarn. Not only is it important to know the wraps-per-inch (wpi) of your final product, but if you measure your singles as you create them, it helps you monitor consistency in your spinning. I have two such tools at home; a gauge with an inch-long gap that I wrap my yarn around (how many times you can wrap your yarn into this space is your ‘wraps per inch’ — get it!?) and a clear plastic rectangle with measurements drawn on it; I lay my yarn overtop of the black lines until I match the width of my yarn to the corresponding ‘wpi size’.

My Oil Bottle:

Spinning Wheel Oil

It can be tricky to get your wheel oil exactly where you want it to go — but Schacht’s oil bottle has a wonderfully long ‘nose’ that lets me reach all those tight little places. It’s connected to a handy string I can hang off my wheel so I have no excuses not to remember to oil my wheel!

An Orifice Hook String:

Orifice Hook String

Orifice hooks are easy to loose – you can lend them, drop them, accidently pack them away… scrambling to look for one isn’t ideal when your hands are full of fibre. Some wheels have built-in places to hold your hook, but if yours does not, perhaps consider tying your hook to your wheel! Just make sure the string is long enough so you can comfortably maneuver it into position at the orifice, but not so long that it gets in the way of your treadles.

My Velcro Nubbin:

This is an ingenious little trick I learned at a spinning retreat… you can put a little sticky velcro patch on the front of your spinning wheel by the orifice. That way, if you have to stop spinning (gasp!) for any reason, you can place the end of your fibre on this adhesive area and you won’t loose the end of your fibre! I believe some wheels come with these already attached, but if you are planning on adding one yourself, just be sure to use the ‘velcro side’ that has the tiny hooks, not the loops, for better grip.

The Octopus:

My drying device may be animal-themed, but this doesn’t mean it’s the only option that will work. Having any sort of collapsible drying equipment is fantastic for hanging your damp skeins. I live in a very small apartment, so space is an issue. I have hung twelve different skeins on this one little hanger without taking up the entire bathroom.

My Logbook:

Logbook

I am a Type A personality… I require lists, order and perfection, even if it drives me a little crazy. It’s no surprise that as soon as I started spinning, I started keeping track of my progress. I started writing down which fibres I was spinning, where I bought them from, the properties of my finished yarn, and how I liked working with the fibre. This information has been invaluable to me… I can look back at any skein of handspun ‘marinating’ in my stash and know exactly where it came from.

My Camera:

Taking photos of my work became a part of my spinning process soon after I started writing in my logbook. I love having a record of what the fibre looks like before I spin it, as well as adding eye candy to my blog and creating a visual catalogue of my handspun on Ravelry. My husband helped me pick out just the right camera for me – a Canon D3200. It’s an entry level DSLR, but I have a few key lenses that give me professional looking photos that really showcase my work.

The Big White Sheepskin:

Not only does my sheepskin offer a soft place for my butt when I’m spinning, but it makes a wonderful backdrop for all those handspun photos I take!

BASKETS!

Need I say more?!

Niddy noddy and mail tags

A Sampler Niddy Noddy:

I love having a small niddy noddy for sampling fibre. It makes a really cute little skein! It’s perfect for preparing samples for my classes or testing out my own spinning experiments.

Plenty of Mail Tags:

I use cheap, brown mail tags from the stationery store to mark my handspun. I can write the fibre type, yardage, wraps per inch and weight on the tag and tie it to my skeins. It’s terrific to keep all the information so close at hand – I am never left wondering what that mystery fibre is!

Knittyspin:

Knittyspin is one of my favorite online resources. I love the different columns featuring talented fibre artists such as Jillian Moreno and Amy Singer, the comprehensive fibre reviews written by anonymous spinners, and the knitting patterns created especially for handspun yarn. When I first started knitting, Knitty.com was my first online resource. When I started spinning, Knittyspin was right here to guide me along.

Ravelry:

Ravelry now has features that appeal to many different fibre arts – not just knitting! I log all the yarn I have spun under the “handspun” section of my profile. I belong to numerous groups, such as the Schacht Spinners, Terminal City Yarn Wranglers, and of course, Sweet SweetGeorgia. The forums attached to these groups are full of knowledge and inspiration about spinning techniques, fibre festivals, wheel queries, pattern support and, well, anything else you can possibly think of.

What are your favorite spinning ‘toys’? Do you have any tips you’d like to share with your fellow spinners? What are the tools that you just couldn’t work without? Please share your thoughts with us!

Happy Spinning!
- Grace

The post These Are A Few Of My Favourite Things…. appeared first on SweetGeorgia Yarns.

Cascade Falls Cardigan by Amanda Scheuzger, knit in SweetGeorgia Trinity Worsted (Birch)

Cascade Falls is a cozy, open front cardigan with a wide reversible cable that cascades down the front. Its extra thick collar adds warmth at the neckline perfect for chilly days. The designer, Amanda Scheuzger, says it was inspired by a hike that ended with a spectacular view of a waterfall, and would have been the ideal sweater to wear on that crisp afternoon walk.

Cascade Falls Cardigan Details

• MATERIALS: 6 (6, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10) skeins SweetGeorgia Yarns Trinity Worsted in Birch (200 yds / 182 m per 4 oz / 115 g skein; 70% superwash merino, 20% cashmere, 10% silk)
• SIZE: 30 (33 ½, 38 ¼, 41 ¾, 46, 50, 54 ¼)” / 76 (85, 97, 106, 117, 127, 137) cm full circumference at chest. Designed to fit with 2” / 5 cm positive ease with a gap of about a 1.5-2.5”/ 4-6.5 cm at the front. Sample shown is size 33 ½” / 85 cm.
• SKILLS REQUIRED: Knitting in the round, knitting on dpns, increasing and decreasing, cables, picking up stitches, short row shaping, Kitchener stitch.
• PATTERN NOTES: The body of the sweater is worked from the bottom up in one piece then divided for working the back and fronts separately. The sleeves are worked in the round from the top down from stitches picked up around the armscye. Short rows are used to shape the sleeve cap. The cable is worked simultaneously with the body, extended at the top, then sewn to the back neck. Faux side seams are created by a single column of purl stitches at each side of the body and on the sleeves.

The pattern is available now on Ravelry here or on our online shop here »

The post Cascade Falls Cardigan by Amanda Scheuzger appeared first on SweetGeorgia Yarns.

This week we’d like to introduce you to some of the personalities who will be contributing to the Roundtable. You might recognize some of these names from other posts featured on Felicia’s blog, from helpful chatter on our Raverly forum, or if you have dropped by the studio to pick up some yarn or attend a class.

The topic we brought to the table was…

Please introduce yourself! How long have you been playing with the yarn? What are your favorite fibrecrafts? How long have you been with SweetGeorgia Yarns? What is your role at the studio? And why did you want to work here in the first place?!

Ginny:

Ginny Landry

I’m Ginny and I’ve been an avid crafter and manipulator of fibre, yarn, and wooly things as long as I can remember. My grandmother and mother are talented seamstresses and tailors, so I was using a sewing machine before I knew how to ride a bike and it was natural for me to crochet and knit as well. I didn’t start spinning until a few years ago, just after I moved to Vancouver from near Calgary, but it is now a large part of my life. I am just getting into weaving as well and have extensive fantasies about dyeing and weaving historically accurate woad linen shifts.

I began following Felicia’s blog while I was still in high school. If you had told me in 2006 that 8 years later I would be living on the coast and dyeing yarn for SweetGeorgia I wouldn’t have believed you!

The merging of traditional techniques with modern tools and the hands-on chemistry of the dyeing studio is a pleasure in every sense. I dye some of the semi-solids on both yarn and fibre, and get to handle and package the products we send out to retailers and customers. Every day I get to see new colour combinations and how every colourway looks on every yarn and fibre. Seeing the yarn go from undyed bundles to tidy little skeins and cakes is so exciting and full of inspiring surprises! I am incredibly lucky to be a part of the process and I hope our roundtable series is able to share some of that magic with you.

Liisa: The humble Nordic enforcement of the team.

Liisa Nieminen is a Sponge Bob superfan

“(Did they say ‘humble’? And did they really mean it?!)”

My career at SweetGeorgia began on a sunny September day 18 months ago, when I sent Felicia an unassuming e-mail insisting that she “really really REALLY should hire me”. Not fully realizing what she was agreeing to, and to my continuous surprise, she agreed. Within two months I had quit my day job as a yarn store manager in Finland, put my postgraduate studies on hold, and moved to Vancouver.

At the studio I dye variegated yarns and fibres, teach classes, prepare stuff for shipping, and as the designated quality controller, occasionally point my finger at things and loudly exclaim ”That, sir, is ugly.” Being part of SweetGeorgia is the ultimate dream-come-true… it’s my personal and professional platform to make the world more colourful, more exciting and more obsessive towards all things fibery.

I learned to knit from my grandmother at the tender age of five, after which yarn has been an inseparable part of my being. Spinning came into the picture just over a year ago. Weaving is still off-limits, because I’m not allowed to take on yet another time-consuming obsession until I’m done watching both ‘The Wire’ and ‘Breaking Bad’ (apparently).

Being a relative newcomer to Canada I do my best to spread my Finnish heritage of silently staring into nothingness, being a terrible loser, and making babies sleep in cardboard boxes. I am also very particular about the extra ‘I’ in my name (remember — one is no fun, two means ‘woo-hoo’).

Generally my intentions are peaceful, and I can easily be bribed with cake.

Grace:

Grace Verhagen at Knit City 2013

Hi there! My name is Grace, and I have been a member of the SweetGeorgia team since Spring 2013. I used to be in the animation industry, but last year I decided to take a chance and try something new. I have been a fibre fanatic for a while now… I started knitting about ten years ago. I needed a way to relax in the evenings besides playing video games. On a whim, I bought a few ‘how-to’ books and taught myself to knit at home. It did not take long to become hooked.

I became curious about spinning not long after, but I held back actually trying it for years. I had this funny feeling that if I actually starting spinning, it might take over my life as much as knitting had, and I only had so many hours in a day!

However, a couple of years ago I tried a drop-spindle class at my LYS, and I have never looked back. Now I split my crafting time between knitting and spinning, trying to complete a bit of both for at least a few minutes every day. I joined the Greater Vancouver Weavers’ and Spinners’ Guild and found a terrific community ready to support my hobby with fantastic mentors, lectures, and opportunities for classes. I haven’t tried weaving yet, but I know it’s on the horizon. I started writing a few of my own knitting patterns and created a blog to feature my fibre adventures here.

Last spring I started working at the SGY studio as a studio assistant. After a few months, I was trained as a variegated dyer. I contribute to Felicia’s blog as a guest author and work in other ‘media’ related fields to help build the online community around SweetGeorgia. I also teach spinning classes here at the studio; I love helping other people discover the pleasure of creating their own yarn!

Why did I want to work here? I wanted to work with my hands. I wanted to surround myself with colour. I wanted to be in an inspiring place every day that brings creativity to people’s lives. Everyday I get to learn something new while I am helping others. How cool is that?!

Felicia:

Felicia Lo

Needles and string have been a part of my life since birth… no kidding, I swallowed a sewing needle when I was a baby.

I fell in love with textiles when I was very young after watching my mom sew her own dress from fuschia silk fabric. Taking her leftover fabric, I would secretly slip into the basement to play with her sewing machine until I finally broke it. I then taught myself to knit from a free booklet from Patons… and then switched back to sewing my own clothes in high school (when my mom replaced her sewing machine). Today, I’m equally obsessed with knitting, spinning, sewing, weaving, and (just recently) quilting. But being a former graphic designer and daughter of a painter and printmaker, my greatest obsession has been with colour and texture.

In 2004, I started this little blog to document my knitting projects and it morphed into a place where I could share my experiences in learning to spin and dye my own yarn. Unexpectedly, over the past 10 years this blog has grown into a studio where we come together every day to inspire others to express their own creativity through colour. And now, my “work” (if you can call it that) is to draw beautiful things into the light… whether that is creating new colourways or collaborating with knitwear designers to make new patterns or even working with talented, amazing people or curious students and encouraging them to grow.

Well, there we have it! You’ve been introduced to our crack team of correspondents and dyers here at the SGY studio. We hope to see you again two weeks from now — we’ll be discussing our favourite fibre types!

Cheers!

The post Welcome to the Roundtable appeared first on SweetGeorgia Yarns.

Star House Cowl by Mindy Wilkes, knit in 4 skeins of SweetGeorgia Merino Silk Aran in Raspberry. Photo by Joe Hancock.

Have you seen the Spring 2014 issue of Interweave Knits? We’re in love with this gorgeous and luxurious merino and silk lace cowl designed by Mindy Wilkes. The Star House Cowl alternates rings of doubled “hems” and lace patterning, creating an accessory with heft and dimension—yet one that’s still delicate.

Star House Cowl details

• Finished Size 50″ circumference and 13″ wide.
• Yarn SweetGeorgia Yarns Merino Silk Aran (50% wool, 50% silk; 185 yd [169 m]/3 1/2 oz [100 g]): raspberry, 4 skeins.
• Needles Size 8 (5 mm): 32″ circular (cir). Adjust needle size if necessary to obtain the correct gauge.
• Notions Marker (m); tapestry needle.
• Gauge 14 sts and 20 rnds = 4″ in Patts A and B.

Check out Mindy’s design process on her blog here or get the pattern through Interweave Knits!

The post Star House Cowl by Mindy Wilkes appeared first on SweetGeorgia Yarns.

Purlescence

Next up in our profiles of the wonderful stockists that carry our yarns in the UK is Purlescence, an online shop located in Oxfordshire. Known for it’s high-quality knitting yarns and accessories Purlescence was originally founded in 2005. The shop was purchased in 2011 by Sarah Lewis and her husband Jonathan who have been running it ever since.

Tell us about Purlescence. How did you decide to open a yarn shop?
I’ve been wanting to open a yarn shop ever since my Gran taught me to know when I was small. I feel as though I’m following in her footsteps as she had a yarn shop back in the 1940′s. When Purlescence came up for sale it was the perfect fit. High quality products and a great reputation, giving us a fabulous base on which to build and develop the shop further.

Jonathan, my husband, it the not-so-visible half of Purlescence and does plenty of the technical stuff behind the scenes and is definitely an invaluable part of things. He may not be a knitter, but is currecntly working on becoming the Purlescence crochet expert.

What is your favourite thing about your shop or about being the owner of an online yarn shop?
Without a doubt, it’s the people. Knitters and crocheters are a great bunch of people and I never tire of meeting so many friendly faces at shows and events.

Going to work each day is a real pleasure. It’s lovely to sit at my desk and be surrounded by gorgeous yarn and other goodies. On the other side of the coin, the downside is too much choice and wanting to cast on with everything the second it comes through the door.

Sarah chats with customers at the Purlescence stand at Wonderwool Wales – one of a number of shows the shop attends each year.

What sets Purlescence apart from other online yarn shops?
Although Purlescence is mainly an online shop, sending orders around the world, we also thoroughly enjoy throwing our showroom doors open at regular open days where people can browse our stock and meet special guests.

As well as open days we have a calendar of knitting and crochet workshops held through the year at our HQ in rural Oxfordshire. These events are a great way to meet our customers and put faces to email addresses, making the whole thing feel much more personal.

What are some of your most popular products?
Well SweetGeorgia yarns of course. We currently stock the Tough Love Sock and Superwash DK yarns, and have some fibre arriving shortly too. As well as that we stock other yarns from around the world including Hand Maiden, Vinni’s Colours and Fyberspates.

Aside from the yarn our extensive range of ChiaGoo needles is always popular, as are the stunning bags from Offhand Designs and Namaste. We also stock the full range of Soak Wash to take care of those handknits and delicates.

Any special offers or news to share?
We’re very excited to have just announced our first ever Purlescence Knit-a-Long. To celebrate the arrival of the Superwash DK yarn at Purlescence we’ve teamed up with SweetGeorgia and Tin Can Knits to run a KAL to knit the pretty Lush cardigan. It should be great run and culminates in July with a VIP completion event with Amy Singer from Knitty.

We’re looking forward to our Spring Open Day on the 8th March, when SweetGeorgia Yarns will be our special guest of the day. Also on the 8th March we’re running a basic sock knitting workshop with Rachel Coopey. Just the think to put that Tough Love Sock yarn to good use.

How can folks find you?
Our showroom is based in Wantage in leafy Oxfordshire. Although we don’t have regular opening hours, you’re welcome to pay us a visit. Just get in touch first to make sure we’ll be there.

You can find Purlescence on Ravelry in the Glamorous Knitters group. They’re also on Facebook and Twitter, so there’s plenty of opportunities to keep in touch. Thank you to Sarah for taking the time to be interviewed!

The post UK SweetGeorgia Stockist: Purlescence appeared first on SweetGeorgia Yarns.

Soak & SweetGeorgia

We’re excited to be attending our first UK yarn and fibre show this weekend! Unravel is being held at Farnham Maltings in Surrey, just outside of London. Won’t you come say hello?

In spite of my best intentions to have a longer blog post for you all today I’m afraid that packing things up for the show, picking up my son from his half-term day camp and the small matter of the Canadian women’s gold medal hockey game have rather gotten the best of me!

Some quick reminders about this weekend if you’re planning on attending Unravel and coming to pay us a visit:

• We’ve got our beautiful, UK-exclusive, limited edition Soakboxes — only 100 were made so when they’re gone, they’re gone!
• Our delicious Merino Silk Lace, CashSilk Lace, CashLuxe Fine, and Merino Silk Fine are waiting to be kitted up with some of our most popular patterns including the Shattered Sun Shawl, Cherry Lane Socks and Cowl, Rivoli Shawl, Hadria Shawl, Bloodwood Cowl, and Chrystanthemum (and Tin Can Knits will also be at the show!). You can buy the yarn on it’s own too, but purchasing a kit will save you 10% on the combined yarn and pattern price.
• Spinning fibres on hand in drool-worthy colours include our Polwarth + Silk, BFL + Silk, and Panda – one of my all time favourites.
• The SweetGeorgia booth will be (hopefully!) easy to find in the Great Hall at Farnham Maltings. Just look for our bold, bright pink banner. We’ll be using it as a backdrop so come and let us take a picture of you in your finest SweetGeorgia knits, try on one of our gorgeous samples, or maybe even have your picture taken showing off your new SweetGeorgia yarn?
• If you’re looking for our Tough Love Sock or Superwash DK, make sure you also visit our stockist Purlescence who will be at the show with these yarns. Their stand is located upstairs in the South West Kiln Room. They’ve got an exciting Knit-a-Long planned for the Superwash DK!

Finally, since it is our first show in the UK we’re not able to accept debit or credit cards just yet. We’ll only be accepting cash at Unravel.

Do come and give our lovely yarns a squish and say hello. I can’t wait to meet all of our UK SweetGeorgia fans!

The post Ready to Unravel appeared first on SweetGeorgia Yarns.

Mrs. Moon is a colourful shop filled with bright hues that almost reach the ceiling!

Mrs. Moon is a charming shop in the village of St. Margarets, Twickenham on the outskirts of London that stocks both our Superwash DK and Tough Love Sock yarns. Owned by sisters Karen Miller and Susan Ritchie, they each have four children of similar ages and live just around the corner from their shop. When not knitting and crocheting they enjoy playing the cello and violin in their string quartet!

Owners Susan and Karen at Mrs Moon

Tell us about Mrs. Moon. How long have you been in business and how did you decide to open a yarn shop?
We opened Mrs. Moon in 2009. Our mum owned a fabric and yarn shop when we were children and I think we just caught the bug. Our children were mostly at school so we thought it was time to get back to work, and a yarn store seemed like the perfect occupation!

What is your favourite thing about being the owners of a local yarn shop?
Apart from all the interesting people we meet everyday and seeing their lovely projects, we LOVE playing with colours and moving the different yarns around according to our mood!

I know that Karen does a lot of knitting and Susan a lot of crochet. How do the two of you decide who does what with the business?
Well, we have to come to come compromises, but generally Susan does anything involving numbers and I do anything involving words…

The Cambridge Park blanket was designed to show off the rich colours of SweetGeorgia’s Superwash DK

Mrs. Moon produces a lot of beautiful patterns in-house. What else sets you apart from other yarn shops?
We like to feel that we are really approachable and down to earth. We teach lots of beginner and improver classes and have a real bond with customers who just like to knit for a bit of relaxation and fun. We love building relationships with our favourite customers.

What are some of your most popular products?
Well, apart from SweetGeorgia, we love Blue Sky Alpacas’ Sport Weight, Melange and Suri Merino. Spud & Chloe Sweater is a great yarn too… fabulous colours!

Any special offers or news to share?
We have just launched our own super chunky yarn called Plump. We teach all beginners on super chunky and it is the right time for us to have our own brand. It’s very exciting. We have an introductory price of £14.99 for a 70m skein.

Many thanks to Karen and Susan for taking the time to answer our questions. You can visit Mrs. Moon in person at 41 Crown Road, Twickenham, TW1 3EJ. They also sell online or by phone at 020 8744 1190. Mrs. Moon is also on Ravelry, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

The post UK SweetGeorgia Stockist: Mrs. Moon appeared first on SweetGeorgia Yarns.