Vintage Purls

Camp was great! Lots of knitting time but my actual output was small - this twined knitting lark is tough going. And because I’m that kind of difficult person I decided to jump in the deep end by twining with two colours - four ends, twisting, concentration and very slow knitting ensued. My two colour technique wasn’t brilliant and I got myself into such a tangle twice that I had to break out the scissors and rejoin my wool. Still the result is a thick, cozy fabric with texture and interest.

My “punishment” for attending such a lovely weekend is a rotten cold that has stolen my ability to think properly. The person I suspect gave it to me shall remain nameless but I will link to her blog since sometimes I’m nasty like that.

I got the Sock Club registration up last night and this morning half the slots were gone already! If you are interested be in quick, numbers are limited. It’s great to know that other NZ knitters share my interests and I’m going to work really hard to provide a really great club for them.

This weekend I’m off to “Knitting Camp” for some exploration of Twined Knitting. It’s forecast to rain all weekend here so it seems an ideal weekend to huddle inside playing with yarn. The company will be superb and I can be all knit-geeky without getting strange looks from non-fibre obsessed individuals.

I’ve dyed up some z-twist yarn in anticipation (apparently z-twist yarn is the thing to have for twined knitting). I got a mystery cone from the back table at Milton so I don’t know what it is exactly but $4.90 for 490g is not something I can turn down easily. It’s washed up nicely and took the dye well so I think it’s mostly wool.

Mr K gets to stay at home and shift eight metres of firewood into storage (probably in said rain). I know I should feel kind of bad about this but secretly I am delighted; I detest moving wood under the house - I normally come out with a mild case of concussion from belting my head on too-low beams. Another reason I love Mr K - moves copious amounts of wood every winter without a word of complaint. 

When I get back from knitting fun away I will open registrations for my first Sock Club. I’ve always looked at American knitters’ blogs with envy as they discuss sock clubs. So I’m doing one for NZ knitters - why should we miss out on the fun? The Vintage Purls Winter-Warm Up Sock Club will run for three months over winter and see it’s participants delivered a parcel of knitting goodness during each of our coldest months. I’m terribly excited and hope at least a few people will want to play along.

Last Friday here was ANZAC day and a NZ Ravelry member “introduced” us to her extraordinary great grandmother, if you are a Ravelry member it’s worth checking out.

I said I have been working on something behind the scenes and at last I can reveal what it is. Notice anything different about my site? New haircut? No. A shop!

For many years my day job had been teaching at the local university but at the end of last year I decided to throw caution to the wind and give it all up to follow a more creative life. I love fibre, I love to knit and spin, and I was growing increasingly frustrated at what I saw as some major holes in knitting supplies in New Zealand. One thing lead to another and I can finally debut my store.

At present I have on offer Knit Pick knitting needles and hand-dyed yarn. I do plan to expand my range but I’m also a small business and I’m learning so I’m going to take things slowly initially.

My main yarn focus at present is sock yarn since I’ve always felt there to be a bit of a gap in that market locally. I have an amazingly soft yarn for the job; machine washable merino and a good dollop of nylon to make sure they wear well. I hand dye it all and I love it!

Rest assured that I still love vintage patterns, that there is plenty more to come in the free pattern section and I will not be changing that aspect of the site. I know it’s been a long time since I’ve put new patterns up and I will get onto some new things very soon. I’ve been very surprised by just how many people visit my little corner of the web and I have received some amazing feedback from visitors regarding my little collection of patterns. It’s really nice to know that other people get a kick out of the patterns I can provide.