Apologies for having to shift the shop update from Thursday to Friday this week – I was struck by a 24-hour lurgy which knocked me for six, but feeling much better today.

So the update will go ahead tomorrow evening at 8pm GMT when you will find this little lot in here. And parcels will be posted out on Monday.

And this week, I bring you the first update of Noble – 80% alpaca 20% silk, this is a sportweight yarn which runs to 285 yards per 100g skein, was originally launched as a club yarn and is my new favourite.

I knitted two pairs of Andrea’s Mitts – pattern by Kirsten Kapur – over Christmas. The first ones are teal on brown and knitted in the small size.  I wear these very often – excellent for dog-walking or out and about in the town. A classy, elegant pair of handwarmers, I feel.

And the second pair are brown on teal in the big size, which I made for my sister, but they came out a little big too big, so I created some finger holes by sewing together the top edging in three places and they’re a perfect fit.

And I’ve put together a collection of colourways that will go nicely together, whether for a shawl, mittens, a scarf… and three or four skeins would make a beautiful cardigan, depending what the design calls for.

English Damson – Noble – alpaca/silk – sportweight – 4 skeins

Wisteria – Noble – alpaca/silk sportweight – 2 skeins

Stormfury – Noble – alpaca/silk sportweight – 4 skeins

Fern – Noble – alpaca/silk sportweight – 3 skeins

Sphinx – Noble – alpaca/silk sportweight – 2 skeins

Rabbity - Noble – alpaca/silk sportweight – 1 skein

Queen of the Nile – Squash – 100% merino sockweight – 3 skeins

Parakeet – Delectable – silk/merino – heavy laceweight – 2 skeins

Bronzed Robin - Delectable – silk/merino heavy laceweight – 1 skein

Oriental Poppy – Delectable – silk/merino – heavy laceweight – 3 skeins

Mulled Wine – Delectable – silk/merino – heavy laceweight – just 94g due to infernal tangle I had to admit defeat on whilst reskeining so will be discounted

Chiaroscuro - Delectable – silk/merino – heavy laceweight – 2 skeins

Sloe Gin – Blush – merino/cashmere sportweight – 3 skeins

Plumberry – Blush – merino/cashmere – 2 skeins

French Fancy - Blush – merino/cashmere – 1 skein

Faded Roses – Blush – merino/cashmere – 3 skeins (as used by Ann Kingstone for her Pearl gloves design in Issue 30 of The Knitter)

French Rose – Blush – merino/cashmere – 4 skeins

Grace – Opulent – 100% cashmere – 6 skeins

Cloudless – Opulent – 100% cashmere – 6 skeins

Dove – Super Plump Exquisite – merino/cashmere/nylon – Aran – 1 skein

Shadow – Super Plump Exquisite – merino/cashmere/nylon – Aran – 1 skein

Charcoal - Super Plump Exquisite – merino/cashmere/nylon – 1 skein

And there’ll be Cute Little Mini Squeens – at least five of each of these colourways in Entwine.

The shop update will now be on Friday at 8pm GMT instead of Thursday night.

Lots of loveliness to show you in the preview tomorrow.

First item on the miscellaneous list for today is the finished Winter Thaw shawl.

Pattern by Beata Jezek. Yarn by Skein Queen – Delectable merino/silk heavy laceweight in Bronzed Grouse.

Omitted one repeat on Chart 1. 32g of yarn left.

Big thanks to kurlyknits and fifili67 for keeping me company in the Skein Queenery KAL, which is still going on here. I’ve linked to their finished shawls so feel free to show your appreciation of their beautiful work.

I enjoyed every stitch of this, and it’s a gorgeous pattern, so thank you to Beata for the pattern. While blocking it, I realised that it really was time to get some blocking wires, and I knew exactly where to get them from. Straight over to NovaSteel to buy a set of these.

Speaking of NovaSteel (did you see what I did there?), Rowena Sweeney who runs it, is a fellow organiser for the Dyeing to Unwind gite retreat, which is fast filling up following a mention by the lovely people over at The Knitter magazine. Suzanne Stallard, one of the tutors, worked out that it’s just over 100 days left til we hit the French sunshine. On a dreich day like this, I’m imagining sitting on the terrace, with a cup of something nice and maybe a croissant, overlooking the swimming pool and beautiful countryside, just knitting and chatting, ahead of a day of workshops.

Back down to earth, but only for a fleeting moment, because I’m flying high following the success of the Elemental Birds exhibition which took place at the Richard F. Brush Gallery in Canton, New York. As mentioned before, the exhibition was conceived and implemented by artists, Inga and Andy Hamilton. You may know Inga as Rockpool Candy and check out the enchanting opening page of her new website here. The exhibition has sparked so much interest, inspired many side projects and random acts of kindness and you can catch it next at the R-Space Gallery in Lisburn, Northern Ireland.

I was lucky enough to sell one of my Google-Eyed Owls to the photographer for St Lawrence University who came along to photograph the exhibition and fell in love with him. How amazing is that! Apparently the Google-Eyed fellow himself featured in the magazine. Am now in the process of making a few more owlets for the next stage of Elemental Birds.

And more good stuff. I was asked by Val at SlickSilver Jewellery if she could do a collaborative blogpost featuring Skein Queen. And as way of thanks, this gorgeous anodised aluminium cuff in magentas and turquoise which tone into indigo arrived in the post this morning. Val dyes the aluminium with specialist dyes and inks, so we’re similar in our love of colour and texture, but this is not all she does – you can find more of her work here.

In more miscellany, the exhibitor information for Unravel arrived today. This will be the fourth year that Skein Queen will be attending, and every year, I forget which room is which! This year, I’m in the Barley Room. It doesn’t really matter which room you are allocated, as there are so many nooks and crannys of rooms filled with yarn and fibre for the visitor to explore. If you’d like to see a full list of exhibitors, the list is here – and don’t forget to come and see me in the Barley Room.

And finally (in true newsreader style), have you visited The Making Spot yet? Lots of knitting patterns on there, but also crochet, sewing, scrapbooking, card-making etc. A good place to start if you’re looking for a new project. It’s run by Future Publishing – publishers of The Knitter, Simply Knitting and Mollie Makes magazines among other titles – and offers projects, tutorials and an online community. And you can now find my Lazy Sunday socks and Croquet socks patterns at The Making Spot.

The Making Spot

One last thing – the Queen’s Surprise Club for Spring is now full. Thank you to everyone who has joined or rejoined. I’m holding the remaining spaces open until 1st February and then it will be time to get ordering and dyeing. The first book for inspiration is most likely to be Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs intertwines the story of 16-year-old Jacob with a collection of vintage photographs of children doing unusual feats or with freakish attributes.

In the opening chapters set in Florida, we hear how Jacob’s grandfather, Abraham Portman, regales the family with fantastical tales of life in an orphanage inhabited by curious children and run by a distinguished lady known as Miss Peregrine. A survivor of the Nazi regime, Abraham seems to be constantly running from something. Finally, Jacob witnesses his grandfather’s death in the woods behind his house at the hands of a dark, gruesome monster, which he subsequently discovers is called a hollow.

In his last breath, Abraham cryptically tells Jacob to find the bird in the loop.

The search to find out what his grandfather meant by these words leads Jacob, via a psychiatrist, to a remote island called Cairnholm in Wales. The landscape is craggy, sheep country laced with mists and riddled with bogs. It’s here that he discovers the derelict mansion house, which was once the orphanage his grandfather described – but there’s no sign of the peculiar children, or their custodian who was partial to a bit of knitting herself, Miss Peregrine.

As imaginative a debut novel as it is, mixing the supernatural with time-travelling and the whimsical with adventure, I couldn’t help getting a whiff of Dr Who throughout, feeling that the tardis was hidden behind a rock or down on the beach. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy it – there were some very gripping scenes and I wanted to know what happened next – I just wasn’t always convinced of the explanations in this strange world of hollowgast, wights, shape-shifting birds and time loops. But definitely worth a read – it’s one of those books that stays with you.

Colourway inspiration

For all its vivid descriptions, this was not a book overspilling with colour which presented me with a challenge.

The colour that stood out throughout was – nightmare for a dyer – black. From the “carbon-black flesh” of the hollow to the stormy, changeable weather on the island “a vicious band of storms closed blackly over the sky” And the appearance of the Old Man “blackly he reposes, tender face the color of soot, withered limbs like veins of coal”

Hollowgast

For the semi-solid, I just couldn’t bring myself to dye up a black – so I went for a dark charcoal which was incredibly boring and flat, so to convey a sense of the island, I randomly added some toning moss green. So, although not strictly speaking a true semi-solid, I do hope you love the result and the way it knits up.

Old Yellowed Photographs

For the variegated option, I took inspiration from the yellowed black-and-white snapsnots throughout the book and used a dark grey, soft grey and left some white to convey the photographs, and added some yellow and sepia for the aged look of the photos.

The yarn type is a sock weight Blue Faced Leicester (for the sheepiness of the Welsh island) with silk and cashmere for a touch of luxury.

So if you were a member of the Autumn Club, I hope you thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m currently taking sign-ups for the next round, running during Feb, Mar and Apr and current members and the waiting list have been offered a place. If you think you might be interested in joining, let me know and I’ll send you details and put you on a reserve list for any remaining places. The next round will be based on the same format of colourways inspired by books, films or tv series. I have a list of suggestions of potential books from Twitter. It’s all lists, lists, lists!! Can’t wait to get dyeing and see what’s in store for Spring.

First shop update of the year – are you excited? I am! Tomorrow at 8pm GMT here. Don’t be late or your favourite may disappear, never to be seen again.

Now for the downer. As many of you will know, the prices of merino, cashmere and silk have increased by over 50% since 2010. When the some of the undyed yarn is coming in at prices that you sold the dyed-up yarn for a year or two before, you know it’s time to put your prices up, reluctantly it must be said. Also, several of my dyeing methods have evolved and become more labour intensive, using more dye, to bring you even deeper, richer colours. You’ll see some of the price increases come into effect in tomorrow evening’s update and will bring my prices up more in line with other dyers too.

But… I plan to create a new SALE category in the shop tomorrow, so all the hand-dyed currently in the shop, other than the Opulent, will find its way in there tomorrow with some discount. So with the bad, there’s got to be a bit of goodness.

If you placed a custom order with me before Christmas, they’ve been dyed up and I’ll be in touch early next week, unless the yarn base was out of stock, in which case we’ll have discussed that.

And finally, parcels from tomorrow’s sale will be posted out on Monday.

Here we go… see anything you like?

Once Upon a Time – Squash – 100% merino sock weight – 1 skein

Sea Serpent – Squash – 100% merino sock weight – 1 skein

Rich Plumberry – Squash – 100% merino sock weight – 1 skein

Tamarillo – Delectable – merino/silk heavy laceweight – 2 skeinsOnce Upon a Time – Delectable – merino/silk heavy laceweight – 1 skein

Sea Serpent – Delectable – merino/silk heavy laceweight – 2 skeins

Oriental Poppy – Oasis – camel/silk cobweb – 1 skein

Lucifer – Oasis – camel/silk cobweb – 2 skeins

Medici – Oasis – camel/silk cobweb – 2 skeins (one with more pink and fewer blues)

Pink Granite – Guest yarn – Falkland merino/silk DK – 212m – 2 skeins

Turtle Dove – Guest yarn – Falkland merino/silk DK – 212m – 4 skeins

Aubergine – Guest yarn – Falkland merino/silk DK – 212m – 2 skeins

Boysenberry Over Sloe Gin – Blush – merino/cashmere sportweight – 1 skein

Jam-making – Blush – merino/cashmere sportweight – 4 skeins

Persimmon – Blush – merino/cashmere sportweight – 1 skein

Gingerbread – Blush – merino/cashmere sportweight – 4 skeins

Blackbird’s Beak – Blush – merino/cashmere sportweight – 3 skeins

Teal – Blush – merino/cashmere sportweight – 2 skeins

Silver – Blush – merino/cashmere sportweight – 4 skeins

Comtesse – Blush – merino/cashmere sportweight – 1 skein

Plumberry – Lavish – cashmere/silk sportweight – 2 skeins

Lipstick – Lavish – cashmere/silk sportweight – 2 skeins

Fragrant Stocks – Lavish – cashmere/silk sportweight – 2 skeins

Lichen Bird – Plushness – lambswool/angora/cashmere sportweight – 4 skeins.

Please note this latest batch of Plushness is not quite as soft as the old Plushness, but still very knittably nice.

Sloe Gin – Plushness – lambswool/angora/cashmere sportweight – 4 skeins

Jam-making – Plushness – lambswool/angora/cashmere sportweight – 4 skeins

Plumcious – Desire – 100% merino DK – 4 skeins

Scarlet – Desire – 100% merino DK – 4 skeins

Pale Pigeon – Elixir – alpaca/merino/silk DK – 3 skeins

It seems a while ago now but hope you all had a happy and restful festive period. We had a very happy time in the Orr household and I managed plenty of relaxation time which was bliss. Lots of crafting time was had, but all for up-coming projects, so all I can show you is progress on my Winter Thaw shawl. We started a KAL in Skein Queenery group on Ravelry on 2nd January for the uber-talented Beata Jezek’s of Hedgehog Fibres Winter Thaw shawl design and some people have almost finished. I’m nowhere near finished, but thoroughly enjoying it. I’m using Bronzed Grouse in Delectable silk/merino.

I was lucky enough to receive a new spinning wheel for Christmas – check her out in all her beauty! I still need to wax her, but am finding the Ashford Traditional much smoother to spin on than my old Ashford Kiwi. It was a great starter wheel, but I feel like a proper grown-up spinner on Elspeth, for she has been named Elspeth, for no particular reason other than it popped into my head during a Twitter conversation.

Other than that, I have been catching up with outstanding orders, planning ahead for the year and getting ready for the shop update on Friday. The Dyeing to Unwind gite retreat is booking up fast – only a few places left, but there’s still time to catch the Yarn Lover’s Earlybird deal if you book before 14th February – more details here. The single rooms have been booked up, but why not get together with a knittery friend and share a twin room. Or we can team you up with a fellow knitter to share a twin.

As for shows, Skein Queen has stands at Unravel at Farnham Maltings for the fourth year taking place on 25th-26th February and at Fibre East for the first time on 14th and 15th July. Also planning for Glasgow School of Yarn and Aunt Elsie’s.

January is a breather from the Queen’s Surprise Club, but I’ll be signing up for places for the Spring round (Feb, Mar, Apr) in the next few days. If anyone has suggestions for books or films they’d like to see used for inspiration, I’m open to suggestions.

In the meantime, it’s worth catching Friday’s shop update – off the top of my head, there’ll be Blush, Desire, Delectable, Oasis and revisiting some very old yarn bases – Plushness is back!! Not sure how long for. And Lavish – remember the cashmere/silk? Someone asked me for this back at Knit Nation, I think, and finally I have some to offer. There’s also some guest yarns including a DK silk/merino.

So here’s to a very exciting 2012 with plenty of new opportunities and some fun along the way.

Just preparing for a big old Hogmanay do at ours tonight with haggis, neeps and tatties piped in at the bells and champagne, cocktails and fireworks.

So as we wave goodbye to 2011 and see in 2012, here’s a great big thank you for making this year a great one for Skein Queen and for all your support, good wishes and friendship.

And wishing every one of you a happy and prosperous 2012 – I hear the Government are thinking of adding on an extra hour a day so we can fit in more crafting time

Cheers, m’dears!!

I wasn’t going to do these this year as time was running short and I was so busy – then I realised how much I’d miss mine if I didn’t have it. I looked around at other calendars in the shops, of sweet little kitties, JLS and Peter Andre, and nice as they are in their own right, they just wouldn’t have fitted in exactly right in this spot:

And I know how much my dad relies on his, so I thought I’d order a couple, and that expanded to a few more. I’ve kept a few back for my family, and put the rest (very limited stock) into the shop. You may have to reserve one quick if you’d like one too.

Jamrach’s Menagerie by Carol Birch tells the tale of Jaffy Brown, a young boy growing up in the grim slums of Victorian east London, seeped in slime, sewage and maggots, dreaming of escaping to sea and how an encounter with a tiger changes the course of his life.

Charles Jamrach, based on a genuine man, runs an emporium trading in exotic animals. Partly to avoid scandal after Jaffy’s head accidentally becomes trapped in a tiger’s mouth, he offers the young boy a job cleaning out animal cages. Jaffy forms a troubled but close friendship with Tim Linver, who also works at Jamrach’s and his twin sister, Ishbel and eventually Jaffy and Tim are lured by the romance of going to sea on a whaling boat with the mission of bringing back a fabled “dragon”.

Vivid descriptions of life at sea follow, from the colourful, hot and hazy stop-over at the Azores, to the gruesome slaying of a whale. Deep in the South Seas, they discover the homeland of the Ora dragon (Komodo dragon).

Jaffy is charged with caring for the dragon onboard the ship. Bad luck seems to plague the ship and the crew begins to look upon the dragon as a bad omen. The dragon escapes, and jumps overboard, after first biting the captain’s leg – why the captain didn’t die a few days later from the virulent bacteria in the dragon’s mouth, I didn’t quite understand, but it’s a small point.

I don’t want to give away too much about the horror that ensues. Suffice to say that there are clues of what is about to happen on dragon island and if you know the fate of the crew of the shipwrecked whaling boat, The Essex, you may be able guess.

The novel contains elements of Sinbad, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Life of Pi by Jann Martel, the “Ryme of the Ancient Mariner” and of course, Charles Dickens – all of those sources occurred to me as I was reading, but I feel it stands as a potential classic on its own merit. A good, yarn from start to finish.

Colourway inspiration

Jamrach’s Menagerie was filled with colour from start to finish and made my job very easy – I opted to use the contrast of the colourful description on land with the more monotonous tones of the sea.

For the variegated option, I took inspiration from the numerous descriptions of birds that occur throughout the book. From the “pure scarlet, egg-yolk yellow, bright sky blue” parrots that graced the shoulders of the men who frequented Sooty Jack’s alehouse to the parrot room in Jamrach’s which is described as “a fearsome, screaming place of mad round eyes, crimson breasts that beat against bars… blood red, royal blue, gypsy yellow, grass green.” And Jaffy returns from his travels to set up an aviary where the birds could fly free of their cages.

Birds of Paradise

For the semi-solid option, I dyed up a range of silvers, from pale to a slightly darker, stormier grey, based on the following descriptions of the sea: “The world was grey and heaving.” “When lightning flashed it was beautiful, silver echoes on a world washed out.” “A light rain was coming on, silver and grey and very beautiful.” ”Clouds of grey boiled in front of my eyes.”

Stormy Seas

And for the yarn type, I selected a silk/merino to reflect the silks of the prostitutes and Chinese men who spilled out of the doorways along the Ratcliffe Highway.

Next month’s book inspiration: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – Ransom Riggs

A couple of weeks ago, I took myself down to Abbotsbury in Dorset to visit my dear friends, Rachel and Gordon, who run lazyhill gallery in the centre of the village. I came bearing yarn. A few weeks later, a clever (and super speedy) knitter called Helen J. Barber has turned them into these wonderful knitted animals.

The designs are by Amanda Berry who sells her patterns in her fluffandfuzz shop – cute but with lots of design thought and details – and after Rachel asked permission to use the pattern, she commissioned me to dye up some Desire in the required colours and here are the results:

They are available on the brand new lazyhill gallery website but are selling fast – wouldn’t they made the cutest present for a little person who you didn’t quite have time to knit for this year?