Although Ruth and I like to think we are fairly 'expert' knitters, we have found that there is always something new to learn.  From different ways of casting on our knitting to learning some of the intricacies of crochet, we've challenged our knowledge over the past 18 months or so in the shop.  We've tried to plan our workshops to reflect the fact that some of you are total novices when it comes knitting and crochet, some of you want to refresh your skills and others want something completely new.  Our courses are now planned for the next six months and they are bookable either in the shop with a deposit or on the website.  We hope we have managed to cater for all levels  from socks, to brioche, to knitting and crocheting with plastic bags!   You can find the full listings on our workshops page.

It's 2017 -- Happy New Year!

With the New Year comes New Year Resolutions but how long do they last?  The gym membership that makes you feel better but has no effect on fitness whatsoever as you don't go after the first month; the slimming diet that goes really well until you have just one(!) bar of chocolate; the yarn diet ...

Hang on... 'yarn diet'?

It's been popular recently to begin the year with a yarn diet.  The idea is that by using your stash you can clear the way for new yarn but is a diet the best way to go about it?  Many of us have found to our cost, that the wrong slimming diet just leads to initial weight loss then the weight goes back on plus a bit extra for good measure.  The same could be true of a yarn diet -- you restrain yourself and then binge and end up with yarn that you don't really want but just had to buy!

How can we make our resolutions last then?  Well first of all make the right resolutions!  By this, i mean don't go for the unattainable.  Yes, go on a slimming diet but a target of three stone in two months is going to fail but three stone in a year is much more doable. If you want to get fit, start with walks rather than five mile runs!  Here's our guide to achieving our yarn diet goals.

Three Steps to Slimming Your Stash
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Step One:  Sort Your Stash
Make three piles:  Keep; Discard; Unsure

Step Two:  Sort Your Keep Pile
Divide the pile into projects.  See what you can make with the yarn and bag it up with the pattern.  Ravelry can be a real help with this (ask us how?).  You might retrieve yarn from the unsure pile to make up projects here too.  Any unretrieved yarn goes on to the Discard pile.

Step Three:  Get Rid of the Rest *
Donate to charity crafting groups, your local school or charity shop or bring it to a stashbuster session.  De-cluttering your yarn stash will feel so virtuous particularly if it has gone to a good cause.

You have now got rid of your stash and instead have a queue of projects which you can put it in order and add to as you wish.  You know what you have and what can be done with it so when you next visit your local wool shop you can buy with a clear conscience that you have space in your house and your head for this project.

* Getting Rid of the Rest
Donating and charity shop options are simple.  Another option is to go to a stashbusting event.  We are holding our next one on Saturday January 14th from 10 till 12 so join us then.

How it works:
Label your yarn with your name, the yarn value and details – we have scales so that you can weigh it if you need to. 
If someone else has yarn you would like to swap with then negotiate a swap.
If someone else would like the yarn but does not want to swap then you can sell it.  If you sell yarn then Ammonite Yarns takes 10% as commission
If at the end of the session you have yarn that you don’t want to take home then put it in the charity basket and we will keep it to use for twiddlemuffs or donate it to Cafe 50 for their charity projects.




Congratulations -- You have now achieved your Stashbusting New Year Resolution!








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