I'm featured!

I was very honoured recently to be featured as part of a year long focus on women demonstrating great business savvy being held on the 'A Playful Day' blog. 12 women in 12 is a year long feature focussing on women in the industry making a difference to the way in which we view crafts.

 
When I was asked to talk through what it takes to make a yarn business an international success I of course jumped at the chance to share the story. Fyberspates has grown as a brand and to see all my hard work celebrated was so exciting. I have had a sneaky peek at the line up and I feel very honoured to be part of such an amazing bunch of women.

 
The feature tells the story of how I grew the company from a small hand dyeing business to the widely known brand it is now. You'll be able to find out just how hard I work and get a behind the scenes look at what an average week looks like for me. You can find my feature here and keep up with all the other women that A Playful Day is featuring by following the #12womenin12 hash tag on twitter. Thank you so much to Ms Playful for including Fyberspates in this wonderful feature.

Work in Progress...

We are having a little bit of a spruce up on the shop website over the next couple of weeks so you may notice that things look a little unusual and not as pretty as normal over there. Please bear with us during this time as changes need to be made.

 

You can look forward to bigger product pictures and a crisp and clear layout soon.

Saturday Treat

I have been absolutely thrilled with the great response to Ysolda's pattern book 'Saturday Treat' and the yarn to support the designs. I thought it was about time that I indulge you all and fill you in with the details.

'Saturday Treat' is an exciting new collaboration between Ysolda and Fyberspates. The six accessory patterns in Saturday Treat feature a colour palette specially selected by Ysolda in Fyberspates Scrumptious. Here's what Ysolda had to say about it:

"Combining silky luxury and crisp stitch definition, Scrumptious has always been one of my go to yarns, especially for special little projects. Colors practically glow with a rich depth so it was a delightful treat for me to put together an exclusive palette and accompanying designs."

The yarns Ysolda selected are: 2 Lace, 2 4ply, 2 Aran and each have special Ysolda labels. As the theme of the collection is cakes, sweets and treats you'll find names such as 'Treacle Toffee' and 'Flying Saucer' to tempt you. You can purchase all 6 exclusive colourways here.

The book Saturday Treats,  is a hardback book available here for £9. It features photo support so that you can really see interesting details against a relaxing background. As always with Ysolda's patterns, there are both written and charted instructions, laid out in a clear and easy to navigate way. Included patterns are-
Almond Comfit (an aran weight hat)
Barley Sugar (a lace weight cowl)
Edinburgh Rock (an aran weight scarf)
Pear Drop (a laceweight shawl)
Sherbet Lemon (4 ply mittens)
Walnut Whip (4 play hat)

 

As you can see the range is very versatile meaning that you can truly have a Saturday treat with these pretty little additions to your wardrobe, or gifts that you’ll know will be treasured.  Make the most of your special knitting time with Ysolda and Scrumptious!

 

Featured: Knitting Magazine

 
Our friends at Knitting Magazine are celebrating 25 years of publication and their 100th issue. We are so thrilled for them and were honoured to be included as part of the bumper issue that they released to celebrate the occasion. The special issue included 2 designs in our Scrumptious yarns and they are both so stylish!

Amanda Crawford used our Scrumptious 4ply yarn in the colourway Water to create this stunning Lace Panel Cardigan. The cardigan is a short sleeve, bottom up design featuring set in sleeves, a front tie and picot edge. The sizing ranges from bust size 82, 86- 117 cm and yardage starts at only 798 yards depending on size you require. A great addition to your wardrobe as we move into Spring.

Alison Robson created this fabulous Lace Scarf using Scrumptious Lace and we're just blown away by how delicate yet simple it is. A rectangular scarf with repeating leaf and lace motifs, this will be great scarf to dress up an outfit. The sample is shown here in the colourway Rose Pink and looks so luscious and feminine.

It's fab to see our yarns popping up in so many places, especially when it's part of a celebration. Well done to all the team and designers who have helped make Knitting Magazine so strong for 25 years!

Scrumptious Knits

Last January saw the launch of the stunning collection of 7 patterns from Carol Feller, the woman behind Stolen Stitches designs and a favourite designer of ours here at Fyberspates. The collection includes 3 garments and 4 accessories, all knit from Fyberspates Scrumptious yarn in a range of weights from lace weight right up to chunky.

The book includes the following designs:

Ignus - Knitted in Scrumptious Aran. This hip length tunic has delicate cable details that complement the smooth flattering shape. Knit from the top down, with raglan shoulder shaping, the side cable detail has decreases worked down each side for smooth shaping.

Bakersville - Knitted in Scrumptious 4ply/Sport. This hooded cardigan is knitted from the top down. It features a hidden pocket and i-cord edging.

Taupo - Knitted in Scrumptious Chunky. The unusual construction of this cap-sleeved cardigan makes this a very fun knit. Worked from side to side starting at the center of the back, curvy short row hip shaping, clever side joining and short row sleeve caps can introduce you to several new techniques. Vertical accent rows add visual interest and help make this a very flattering knit.

Flama - Knitted in either Scrumptious Lace or 4ply/Sport. Simple and effective, this shawl has a delicate central lace panel and garter stitch outer panels. Worked from the bottom up, optional beads are added to the lace central panel. They add weight and sparkle to the shawl.

Haruna Gloves & Haruna Hat - Knitted in Scrumptious DK/Worsted. These simple gloves have a little flair at the wrist with a decorative gather and faux bobble buttons. Wrist fastens using a snap to ensure a perfect fit. A gathered edge and garter stitch detail create an off centre interest for this hat. Knit in the round from the bottom up, the head band is fastened using a snap for a perfect fit.

Vesuvius - Knitted in Scrumptious DK/Worsted. A cowl is the perfect winter accessory, and an eternity cowl is twice as good! Wrap it twice around your neck you’ll keep yourself warm and look stylish at the same time! Knit in the round, this simple dropped stitch pattern creates a lovely textured cowl.

 

The book is laid out with the kind of clear and informative directions that fans of Carol have come to know and trust and includes close up photos of details in the knitted items. Patterns are written and charted where appropriate and there's an item in here for every season. You can buy your copy here at the shop.

 

Stolen Stitches are also planning to host a KAL, starting with Taupo in their Ravelry group so be sure to join in for lots of Scrumptious chatter!

An update from Unravel

I think it's fair to say that the weekend away at Unravel, Farnham was a HUGE success. I've always loved Unravel but this year felt extra special. We're absolutely exhausted but just had to sit down to write and tell you how much fun we had.

We arrived Friday and along with all the other vendors, started setting up our Fyberspates stall in the Great Hall. Unravel is always a superb event and as always the staff at Farnham Maltings  not only made us feel welcome but were super organised. Everyone was in good spirits and we worked into the evening hanging all our hand dyed lovelies and getting ready to showcase all our new Scrumptious pattern books.

At the booth, we had the full Scrumptious yarn range, Ysolda's new colours and all our newly hand dyed yarns. One enamoured customer commented that it was like an explosion of colour and I have to agree! I was so proud of the colours that I was able to achieve with the new dyeing set up and they were certainly a hit with everyone who came to the show. I really can't wait to see them knitted up- be sure to drop by the Ravelry Group and show us what you're working on.

 

In addition, we also had the Ysolda pattern book 'Saturday Treats', Carol Feller's 'Scrumptious Knits', 'Scrumptious Collection: Volume 1' and 'The Scrumptious Baby Collection'. We were lucky enough to include some lovely samples from each which proved a real hit. People just couldn't get enough of the Scrumptious Baby Collection!

 

The other great product we had on the booth this year was 'Soak'. Soak is the absolutely divine smelling product that helps keep all your knitted items smelling divine after a hand wash. Soak is a biodegradable, phosphate-free and eco-friendly wash available in an assortment of delicate fragrances plus Scentless, for your sensitive side. We were lucky enough to have their newest fragrance 'Lacey' on the stand and are pleased to announce that we will be stocking it on the online shop!

Saturday was an incredibly busy day and I was kept rushed off my feet with all the lovely customers who dropped by the booth. I would like to say a huge thank you to all the people who came and said hello, shared kind words about the booth and generally helped the day go with a swing. By the end of Saturday I was buzzing and while Sunday was quieter, I was still kept really busy.

If you missed us at the show, then do stop by the online shop. The books and full range of Scrumptious yarns are available online. Also, there will be some hand dyed still ready to be nabbed! The update will go live this afternoon so be sure to keep an eye on the new section of the shop or keep up to date with all our updates by following Fyberspates on Twitter.

 
Also, stay tuned for an in-depth look at Ysolda's 'Saturday Treat' and Carol Feller's 'Scrumptious Knits' coming soon to the blog.....

Fyberspates at Unravel 2012

For those of you in the UK and able to get to Farnham Maltings this weekend, please come and say hello and see all our lovely new products at our stand. Unravel is an annual event, held at Farnham Maltings and features a fab vendors market as well as classes and talks. We've been there every year and it's always a great weekend. To buy tickets and to see who else is exhibiting, visit the Farnham Maltings website here. The event runs from Saturday 25 February 2012, 10am - 5pm to Sunday 26 February 2012, 10am - 4pm.

We'll be bringing lots of our yarn and pattern books including all of the Scrumptious Collection ranges so you can come and get yourself a full project- pattern AND yarn! Plus you get to see all the yarn I've dyed using our new set up as we've been having a bit of a workshop refurbish at the Fyberspates unit and I'm really chuffed with the results. I've had so much fun trying new techniques and the yarn looks amazing!

 It's always nice to meet everyone so be sure to stop by- we're in the Great Hall on both days.