Have you seen the free Jubilee Bunting pattern available to download from the Black Sheep website?

To join in with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations next month we are planning to have the completed bunting decorating our Craft Barn. Click here to download the free pattern.

Catherine has been knitting with the King Cole Riot Dk. This is one of the new yarns we have added to our website recently. Take a look at all of the shades here.

“The King Cole Riot Dk is a lovely soft yarn made up of 30% wool and 70% premium acrylic. It has to be one of the nicest long stripe yarns around at the moment. My initial thought after seeing the yarn was entrelac. After experimenting with different stitch combinations I have found it really good for entrelac knitting. The great thing about it is no tying in ends as you would usually when swapping yarns because of the continuous colour change, such fab colour combinations.

I plan on making a long throw or possibly a cushion with the grey shade (408 Domino) as a contrast to the brightly coloured shade (402 Wicked).”

Sirdar Aruba has just arrived in stock here at the Black Sheep. This is the new scarf yarn that I mentioned seeing at Sirdar in last weeks blog post. There are 8 gorgeous shades to choose from including the two shown below Bahama and Mosaic. The Aruba is only £6.48 a ball and one ball knits one scarf. There will be an easy to follow instructional video up on our website later today.

Have you heard of Planet Handmade?

This is a new website that has been set up with designer-makers and retailers in mind. If you are a creative person wanting to sell your products but are unsure about the business side of things and promotion, Planet Handmade aims to help you. Founder Juliet Bernard explains, “There are so many designer-makers out there that are truly creative and innovative and would love to run their own business.  We hope to give them the skills they need and promote them to a much wider audience.” Here is a link to their website where you can find out more! Click here Planet Handmade.

Although the Sirdar Snowdrops Chunky is not one of our new yarns I thought that it is always nice to know how all yarns knit up.

At the moment there are three shades of the Sirdar Snowdrops chunky in the sale. Yvonne has knitted this lovely mint duffle coat for her first grandchild. Here is what she had to say about the yarn…………

“It was an easy yarn to knit with, surprisingly soft and cuddly. Having knitted a blanket previously in the yarn I fancied using it again and this duffle jacket pattern (1975) seemed perfect. The yardage is also great, really generous I have managed to knit 2 jackets and 2 pairs of mittens out of 5 balls of yarn.

One tip I would advise is when you are sewing up a garment try separating and threading the bobbles out. Leaving the smooth yarn for sewing up. Overall I am really pleased with the finished knit.”

In the past week Steve, Sara and I have been out and about visiting Sirdar and Coats Crafts. These were two separate visits to see the new knitting and stitching products for the Autumn Winter 2012 / 2013 season. There was so much to see and take in. With this cold Winter weather we seem to be having at the moment I could quite easily have worn some of the woolly Wintery garments now. It is sometimes hard to believe we are actually in Spring. I still have so many project ideas for summer knitting and crocheting to think about, but now my mind is full to the brim of the gorgeous yarns and patterns that I can not wait to arrive in stock to get knitting for next season.

There is a new scarf yarn from Sirdar that will be out in the next couple of weeks. I can’t say what it is called yet but it is a lovely scarf and it comes in a beautiful shade palette. As soon as it arrives in stock we will have a video ready for you to get knitting. Watch this space………..

Over at Coats we saw the new ranges from Patons, SMC and Rowan, along with the Anchor and Maia Cross Stitch Kits. There will be lots of new and exciting yarns available from all of the different brands. There was one in particular that caught my eye from Rowan that came in an absolutely stunning shade of lime green. This will definitely be on my wish list!

This week the Black Sheep yarn review is for Katia Azahar. Yvonne was excited about beginning her project with the Azahar (shade 52)yarn and from what she has to say about it the yarn did not disappoint…….

“This is a woven rather than a spun yarn. I found it very easy to work with and it is so versatile; whether you choose to crochet or knit. A variety of effects can be produced. I used the Azahar as the main yarn following pattern 31 as featured on the front cover of Katia Elegance No.70. I had soon completed and finished the garment in no time at all. The video tutorials on Katia’s website are really informative and useful for each of the Azahar techniques (click here to see the videos). For the crocheted sections I used a ball of dk cotton from my stash. A 4ply yarn would also work.

The thing I like most is its versatility. One technique I would like to try out in the future  is gathering the cord inside the top of the yarn to give a ruffled effect or alternatively leaving it flat. Using the yarn in this way would give a lovely finish to the cuffs and neckline of a garment. This yarn and the ideas and patterns Katia have produced bring another dimension to knitting and crochet.”

Here are two more patterns from Katia book 70 using the Azahar in a different way.

We had a visit today from Les and her super cute baby grandson Finlay. He was looking very trendy in his Katia Candy matching hat and cardigan set knitted by Les (or Nana Les as she is now known!). Les knitted the cardigan and hat following a 4ply pattern.

As you can see from the photographs it has turned out really well and fits him just right. The Candy yarn is 100% cotton which is perfect for Spring / Summer time. A gorgeous blend of colours and variegated effect matches up throughout the garment.

One of our regular Craft Barn customers Ashley popped in with her latest knit. This time she has knitted a top in the Rico Essentials Cotton Dk and SMC Rosas yarn. I love the texture that is created with the SMC Rosas yarn – something a bit different!

You can see a different top Ashley knitted in SMC Rosas and SMC Reflect here on a previous blog post.

Do you ever fancy knitting with a new yarn but feel you would like to know a little bit more about it before you do?

Well here at the Black Sheep we feel the same. It is always more encouraging when you see a beautiful garment someone else has knitted or a piece they have sampled. This gives you a good idea of whether or not the yarn is for you. With that bit of extra information a yarn decision can be made. If you know that someone has enjoyed using the yarn then it definitely helps. The next decision is which shade to choose, a dilemma I will leave up to you!

Although you can’t actually feel the piece of knitting I am hoping that with the help of the staff here at the Black Sheep sharing their thoughts you will be able to get a good idea of what they experienced when knitting.

First up in our Spring / Summer 2012 yarn review is King Cole Galaxy Dk.

Stacey has been knitting with the King Cole Galaxy Dk yarn. She has experimented with two different shades of the yarn the red (shade 686) and Venus (682). This is what she had to say………….

“It was a delight! It glided through my fingers, really easy to knit with, such a lovely silky feel. The yarn feels almost brushed yet, it is so beautiful and silky. It is hard to believe that it is actually acrylic and wool. The sequins are soft, not sharp and scratchy as you might expect sequins to be. Although I have knitted the scarf on a slightly larger sized needle than suggested it creates a lovely barely there, light weight fabric. When I knitted a piece to tension with smaller needles the piece was equally as light and fluid like. The sparkly sequins are really eye – catching and there are just enough scattered throughout. A bit of glamour for evening or why not day wear?”

Stacey’s scarf pattern will follow shortly available to download on the Black Sheep website……………