This month's copy of The Knitter dropped through the door this week and I just love  Wych Elm by Emma Vining.  The pattern captures the moment before new leaves burst from their bud using a single twisted stitch on a reverse stocking stitch background to create the effect of stalks and stems.   The cardigan uses 11 balls of  West Yorkshire Spinners Blue Faced Leicester DK for a size 36-38 so at £4.85/50g ball comes in at just over £50.00.  If this sounds a bit pricey to you, think about it in terms of cost per wear -- the yarn is so soft and the pattern so wearable, I think it would be worn constantly.   We have the yarn in stock in lime, pomegranate, mocha and aubergine and can order in a range of other colours too.  WYS Blue Faced Leicester DK

If the price is too much for you but you love the design, take a look at our latest range, the WYS Spinners Essential (75% british wool/25%nylon) which I blogged about yesterday.  At £4.75/100g it uses six balls to knit the same size  bringing the price down to £28.50. The pattern will also work in Stylecraft Essentials Acrylic or Robin Acrylic both  at £2.25/100g ball  halving the price again to £13.50.  

We've just taken delivery of a fabulous selection of new colours from West Yorkshire Spinners.  The yarn is Essential DK which is 75% British wool and 25% nylon and retails at £4.75 for 100g.   The yarns are limited edition so if you want to take advantage of this lovely selection you will need to be quick!  

We thought  you would like to know a little bit about the concept and production of this yarn.

West Yorkshire Spinners creates their own yarns and colours and are constantly researching and developing new styles, techniques, shades and effects using their production and dyeing facilities.  Because of this WYS are constantly spinning, testing and dyeing sample lots.   Take the Fusions range for example.  When developing new shades, a specialist machine injects 6 assorted solid colours to create the yarn and the variegated colour effect.  It is very tricky to achieve the desired shades and consequently a by-product is stunning solid colours which don’t make the final product.   WYS have now spun these into limited edition yarns and they really are very pretty and well worth a look and squeeze or go to our online shop and see the colours there.  WYS Essential DK
 

​Our crowdfunding campaign has been running for a fortnight now so we thought we would share this week's 'perky' window display which has a selection of the perks on display.

If you don't already know how crowdfunding works here's a quick summary.

Crowdfunding is a way of financing a project without borrowing from the bank by involving the general public.  Contributors are asked to give money towards a project and receive a 'perk' in return.  Perks can be anything but preferably suited to the project.  Our perks range from a project bag with sweeties and a thank you note for only £5 to a handmade guernsey jumper for £500.  Included inbetween are discount cards,knitting and crochet kits, crocheted slipper and even a crocheted bikini!
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Please take a look both at our crowdfunding page and at our perky window display -- we'd love you to join in and support us.
https://igg.me/at/AmmoniteYarnsCraftingSpace/x/9610250

Do you knit and crochet for the little ones in your family? We both do, and for the not so little ones too.

We've noticed that lots of mums and grannies really enjoy making special gifts for newborns. The most popular yarns are in neutral colours or in pale pink or blue if the baby's sex is already known.  

Once babies are getting a bit older we've noticed that pink is still popular but blue sticks on our shelves like toffee. As boys become toddlers it is even more noticeable that knitters and crocheters pass them by. Once beyond primary school they are not being knitted for at all.  Is this just our perception or do our customers only make garments for boys in secret?

There are lots of lovely patterns out there for little boys -- the one Jenny has just knitted for her nephew (pictured below left) is just right for a six year old. Ruth knitted the one on the right a couple of years ago for her then eight year old son. On our projects page, you will also see garments made by Jenny for both her grown up sons and her husband.

As mothers to both boys and girls, we've made a real effort in our pattern selection to have practical and appealing garments for both sexes. We can understand not wanting to knit or crochet for the adult men in our lives as they're just too big but it doesn't take any longer to knit for a small boy than for a small girl.

So why are boys disadvantaged in the knitting stakes?

Is it possible that we are influenced by gender stereotyping which suggests that handmade knitwear is fine for little girls (because they won't spoil it) but little boys play rough and tumble a bit too much?  

Maybe knitting trends reflect the fashion world where little boys are dressed as little men?

Or perhaps there are just more little girls than boys in our local demographic?

What do you all thinK?

​It's a bit of a dim and dreary day here in Pontyclun today -- the sky is grey, it's been raining and everything is a bit damp and horrid.  Days like this bring cozy knits to mind just like the featured perk today for our crowdfunding.   The perk is an aran jumper by the American designer Melissa Leapman.  

​​You can choose either 'Swirls' or 'Entwined Circles' knitted for you by Ruth or Jenny in Jacobs Yarn from West Yorkshire Spinners.  Both designs are from  Melissa's book 'Continuous Cables' and are masterclasses in how effective cabling can be on knitwear.   You can see another of Melissa's designs in our project gallery as Jenny has just finished the Boyfriend Sweater for her husband.
https://igg.me/at/AmmoniteYarnsCraftingSpace/x/9610250
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​It's our birthday tomorrow so we will be celebrating with cakes, discounts and a drop-in for children to make sweetie jewellery.

Come along and join the fun.






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When people ask you what you would like for your birthday do you, like us, often dither and prevaricate?  This year though, for the shop's second birthday we know exactly what we would like ... Crowdfunders!

We are starting a new crowdfunding campaign to get the money together to renovate and upgrade our store-rooms.  At the moment they are a bit of a mess.  We do know what it is in there and where it all is but it doesn't look that way!  Ideally we want to run workhshops in the back of the shop rather than the front and to do this we need to take down some stud walling and shelves, re-route electricity cables, improve the lighting and add water (not to the lighting I hasten to add!).  We'll also be adding a kitchenette and concealed storage.

We don't ask you to just donate money but support the campaign with a gift of money which will be rewarded with a perk.  You can donate upwards of £5.00 and perks range from a discount, to a project bag to artisan hand-knitted items. 

So there you are -- our birthday wish list!  We hope you can support us.

https://igg.me/at/AmmoniteYarnsCraftingSpace/x/9610250

It seems hard to believe but Ammonite Yarns is coming up for its second birthday already so we have planned some festivities for this Saturday, May  6th.

We will be open a bit longer than usual (9am till 3pm) and will have tea, coffee and cakes in the shop.  Cakes will be provided by Cakes Simply and Mrs O's Pop-Up Teashop so will be scrummy.  Customers are invited to bring their work in progress along with them so they can sit and have a cuppa, a chat and knit or crochet.  If you've got children with you, bring them along and they can have a go at making jewellery out of sweeties.

On top of this we will be offering 10% off all yarns for the day only so it's worth dropping in to celebrate with us.









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