Saturday 22 March 2014

Springtime Hooky

Hello Happy People!
I've just popped by to share with you the vibrant yarn I bought last week. I'm very excited about what I'm going to be making with it and can't wait to share with you all.




I love buying new yarn! Not just love, but LOVE buying new yarn! 
I'm going to sound like a geek here, but there is something so special about going into a yarn store, looking at the vast amount of delicious colours and having a moment to yourself to dream. Picking out something that inspires you, then giving the skien a nice squeeze to feel its glorious texture.

I'm going to be very dramatic now:
Since moving to Stuttgart I haven't yet found my "go to" yarn store. GASP!!!

I was particularly spoiled living in Hamburg. I had a great choice of different yarn stores that stocked a fabulous selection of yarns. 
Since moving to Stuttgart I haven't yet found the good yarn stores, I've been looking, believe me I've been looking. I'm starting to think that Stuttgart doesn't have a great yarn store, but I will continue my quest to find it and hope that there is a hidden treasure of a yarn store out there somewhere.
Of course there is always the option of buying yarn online. But like I mentioned before, there is something rather magical about choosing the yarn for a project in the flesh. 

Last week, after months of browsing the yarn that was available in the city, I finally had to bite the bullet and go with the yarn that was on offer to me. 
I was looking for yummy alpaca or something equivalent in texture. But I also wanted a brand of yarn with a great choice of colour. 
My dilemma was: I could either find something lovely in texture that came in rather dark earthy tones, or something vibrant that was a little rougher to the touch. I decide to go with colour over texture and chose my yarn purely on the shades it was available in. You all know I'm a sucker for bright colour!

I went with some very jolly cotton from the brand Wölle Rödel. I bought a lovely array of rainbow colours and even though it wasn't what I was necessary looking for in texture, it definitely made up for in vibrancy!


Isn't a radient rainbow of yarn something special! :-)
I have a few projects in mind, but my ideas are on hold until I'm done with my current project.

What's my current project you ask? It's a super stripped project made using this yarn also from Wölle Rödel. It's a cotton/linen mix also available in a nice array of shades.

Here are the colours I picked out:


I have to say that I'm rather loving this yarn.  After giving it a try I'm actually rather happy with it. The yarn fills a little scratchy when it's balled up in skien form. Once I started to work with it though, the scratchy feeling seems to have disappeared and it's actually quit soft. 
Here's a little peak at what I'm working on:


I'm once again having a dabble at Tunisian crochet and I'm very excited at how the project is coming along! It turns out I was a little quick to judge this yarn as it's really exceeded my expectations. I'm extremely happy with it and it's working well with these Tunisian stripes.



I'll keep you posted on how this mass of stripes progresses.

Shortly after I purchased my yarn, Dennis found another yarn shop that was just on the outskirts of Stuttgart. He took a visit there and ended up returning home with a backfill of glorious Noro wool. I was a tiny bit jealous to say the least.


Doesn't it look absolutely yummy!


He's been hard at work turning this scrummy yarn into a beautiful blanket.


It's coming a long rather nicely!!
It's knitted using the pattern "Ten Stitch Blanket" and really showcases the colour gradient of the yarn.


Even though in the end I'm very happy with my yarn choices I made, I'll definitely be paying the yarn shop that Dennis discovered a visit real soon. Maybe I'll also pick myself up some of that lovely Noro yarn and give the crocheted version of the 'Ten Stitch Blanket' a whirl! :-)

Have a super weekend lovelies!


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23 comments:

  1. Matt, as always, you are gorgeous and adorable. Your posts brighten my day. Have a lovely weekend!

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  2. Wow Matt! Love the yarn, but I have to say that a Noro blanket is rather glorious. I have made a few small projects with Noro but never even thought about a blanket. I can only imagine how beautiful it's going to be. However, I know you will also find something wonderful to do with your yarn ... You always do impeccable beautiful work? :)

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  3. Just loved the colours that u have picked up dennis ! And ur blogs are a joy to read !

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  4. The colours are smashing! Im lucky here in Bristol with Get Knitted...Id finished a project and soent the wholevof knit and natter squishing yesterday...bright peacock and lime were my chouces. Spring is in the air! Hurry up with project 1 so we can see both of them. Fiona

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  5. I have fallen absolutely in love seeing your pictures of your Tunesian crochet project! Sooo gorgeous. Now I want to learn! :-) x

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  6. Hi Matt! I love your idea of using colours like this with tunesian crochet! Love, love, love the look of it!
    Blessings, Esther

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  7. I love those colours! And the tunisian crochet gives such a cool effect :-)

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  8. Oh, your Tunisian Stripes look gorgeous!! I don't know how you manage to always find the perfect colour combinations - I'm in love! Can't wait to see how it progresses!
    Maria x

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  9. I totally agree that going to a shop and feel the yarn is so much better than buying online.
    As I don´t knit anymore, I would love a crocheted version of Matts gorgeous Noro blanket. t
    Emma

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  10. Oops... ofcourse I meant Denniis´ Noro blanket. Btw is he feeling any better?
    Emma

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  11. Matt your yarn is beautiful and I'm really looking forwards to seeing your finished project. Tunisian stripes are amazingly beautiful and the colour choices you have made show them off really well. As for Dennis's blanket, absolutely gorgeous and so clever! Loving your blog and your world of projects and pootlings. My new yarn arrived today for my poncho project and I had a good sniff and a squeeze to enjoy it's newness and to savour it's promise. Thanks for sharing. Karen xx

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  12. Unas lanas y colores preciosos .
    Besos !!

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  13. This post was a feast for the eyes! I love how that Tunisian crochet is working up, and I hope you'll share some of the details of how you made it, once it's finished. And, thanks for dropping that line about a crochet version of the Ten Stitch Blanket. My beginner knitting skill level is not quite up to the task of the knit version (unless I want to spend 10 years on the project), so I' very happy to have learned that there's now a pattern in crochet. I'm going to start saving my pennies to purchase some gorgeous yarn for it (and, while I haven't been there yet, I'm very lucky that Webs is less than an hour away... not sure if it counts as a LYS, however!). Can't wait to see how all of your projects (and that blanket that Dennis is working on, too!) turn out.

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  14. lovely post Matt and I think I may be trying Tunisian stripes soon :-) Joy x

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  15. You've inspired me to give Tunisian crochet a go because I really love how it looks & your colour choices are superb. I'd like to get some purple and neutral shades and made a small rug for my bedroom :-) Thanks Matt, and tell Dennis his blanket is looking devine :D

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  16. You might enjoy using this alpaca wool, if you can source it, either online or locally. http://www.garnstudio.com/lang/en/yarn.php?id=1

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  17. OMG Matt I can not believe that you too like Wölle Rödel.I had never heard of this brand before and only found out about it when I was in Berllin in December (i always try to buy yarn made in the country am visiting). I wanted to find wool that was soft and this brand had the only 100% wool yarn that was soooo soft :) I love it so much, I wish i could get some more from where I live.

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  18. Que hermosura de colores y la labor pinta muy bien!! espero verlo terminado , besos

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  19. Yours looks great, I'd didn't get beyond experimenting with Tunisian stitches. Dennis has chosen exactly the right pattern for the yarn, that's a real knack. Can't wait to see both finished items. Xx

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  20. LOVE the yarn pictures! Those colors! I'm a yarn addict too, so I can totally relate. Your Tunisian somethin-somethin looks grrrrreat so far. Man, that Noro is lovely too!

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  21. Such beautiful colours! Love the Tunisian crochet project, I've been meaning to give it a proper go :)

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  22. Wow, love this! I never tried tunisian crochet, but I think I'm gonna make a colorful summer-blanket with this technique... thanks for the inspiration!

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  23. Where do you buy the yarn in Stuttgart? I have the same problem living here i dont find nice yarn.

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