Purlescence

Right now things are looking pretty busy at Fyberspates HQ. Jeni is travelling down to London with precious new collection samples and goodies for the double trunkshow weekend and meanwhile we're looking ahead at Thanksgiving sales, the Vivacious Collection release and a fabulous KNIT ALONG.

We've teamed up with one of our retailers, Purlescence, to launch a Knitalong in the New Year that's going to encourage you to cast on and create your new favourite sweater. We're so excited! 

It's all going to start with a long held tradition for us: the Purlescence Christmas Open day. Each year, Jeni has joined Sarah and the team to enjoy some mince pies, knitting chatter and plenty of yarnie goodness. This year the event takes place on the 6th December 2014 and marks the beginning of a very special collaboration. 

Purlescence will be helping us host  the Vivacious Sweater KAL in which we will be helping you choose your favourite sweater from the collection, work out best fit and knit up a new wardrobe staple using Vivacious yarns. At the open day you will be able to try on samples, chat to Jeni and Sarah about fit and colour as well as order your yarn ready to cast on 1st January 2014. 

We are so excited to announce that there will be a grand prize for this knit along: win back a sweater's quantity of Fyberspates yarn! More details will follow in the near future such as where to enter your finished objects, the chatter and support you can find during the KAL and a super fun interactive competition on social media (with more prizes from Fyberspates!). The deadline for knitting will coincide with Unravel which is an annual event both Jeni and Sarah have always loved. 

We can't wait to see everyone on the 6th December 2014 at Purlescence and hope everyone will join us for the sweater KAL too. 

ppsssssttttt As we roll into a Thanksgiving weekend for our American friends, we're celebrating with a special sale- 20% off all single patterns using the code Fyberspates20 at checkout. Offers ends midnight GMT on Sunday 30th November 2014. 

iknit London

Last week we revealed that we're taking Fyberspates on the road to visit some of our retailers and let you get some exclusive sneak peeks of the soon to be released collection. Next up for our retailer focus is iknit London, a south London shop we've been fans of for years.

iknit is located in Lower Marsh, a shopping street at the South side of Waterloo Station, running from Waterloo Road to Westminster Bridge Road. There's lots of foodie action, vintage stores and fun places to explore in the area so it's making us doubly excited to go as it feels like a real destination for our weekend of knitty indulgence!

iknit is run by Gerard who describes iknit as a club, shop and sanctuary for knitters. Gerard's commitment to the community around knitting (and craft in general- Gerard is very multicraftual) means that the shop carries a licence so you can pop in and have a drink while you knit and there's all sorts of activities from knit groups to book groups and more.

The other thing that makes iknit fun is that it seems to regularly be in the news, hosting filming crew or similar! It's great to see knitters getting a chance in the spotlight and Gerard has really made the most of famous visitors too- autographs and press clippings are everywhere in this well stocked shop!

Inside the store you will find a range of yarns to suit all tastes, with well-known names nestled alongside one-off hand-dyed hanks from independent producers as well as iknit's own hand dyed range, I Knit or Dye. With a higher than average selection of yarns sourced from the British Isles alongside a number of more exotic fibres from overseas there's something to suit all tastes too. We've always found the notions and needles selection plus the library of inspiring books to be one of the best we've come across so a visit is usually very enabling!

The trunkshow will be on Saturday 29 November so please do come and join Jeni and the iknit team for an exclusive first look at the soon to be released Vivacious Collection. You will be able to try on samples, preorder the book and generally have a fab time. You'll find more details on iknits blog here and don't forget to check in on Ravelry to let us know you're coming. 

Loving the idea of Vivacious goodies? You can win these skeins as part of a very special competition we're hosting over on Facebook. Go enter!

Wild and Woolly

It's a busy time of year as we run up to Christmas and the New Year and it's about to get really busy for Fyberspates as we're gearing up for a run of trunk shows with a special focus.... yes, there's a new Collection coming! To make sure everyone gets a taster of what to expect, we're taking part in a number of trunk shows where we'll be letting you get an exclusive first glimpse at the samples, try them on and preorder yarn and the Collection. Over the next few weeks we'll be sharing details of those retailers hosting us and stay tuned for more news on that Collection release!

One of the places hosting us will be Wild and Woolly, run and owned by Anna who only opened her doors a few months ago which is hard to believe when you look at this hive of activity. Wild and Woolly describe themselves as "a small wool shop in Hackney devoted to knitting supplies and support for seasoned knit-sters, nervous newbies, local craftisans and anyone else seeking new adventures with yarn." Everything about that description makes us smile and it really does sum up the joyful feel of the Wild and Woolly shop- it's a real treasure trove of delights.

Wild and Woolly display

Wild and Woolly is located on Lower Clapton Road in Hackney and stocks Vivacious, our 100% Superwash high twist Merino base in 4ply and DK. Anna's shop is small but perfectly formed with a welcoming buzz and lots of inspiration. It's always a happy day in the office when we spot the pictures of Anna's window displays on Facebook!

Wild and Woolly Window Display

You can keep up to date with all of Wild and Woolly's latest news via Facebook and on their insightful blog. We're all looking forward to our tea party on 30th November 2014 at 4pm where we'll be sipping tea, sharing cake, knit chatter and enjoying all the good things that happen when your weekend is full of knitters and yarn for company. Want to join us? You can find all the details here. 

Excited about the Collection? Us too! Sign up to the newsletter for an exclusive first look and keep up to date with our special launch, trunkshows, Knit Along and discount codes. More news coming very soon!