Summer Knitting

If you're in Melbourne, Australia you would have experienced winter 5 days into summer today, hail storm and all!  Some people might complain about the weather but not me.  I love winter and don't mind even if it continues through summer.  Not to mention, the cooler it stays the more suitable it is for knitting!

Although I must admit, I haven't done much knitting throughout this year.  Having three children under the age of 5 meant that I hardly had time to myself.  But I'm glad to say I've made it to December and things are getting easier. The older 2 play together nicely for most of the time and they simply love having their baby brother around.  And just when I feel like I finally have gotten the hang of things, it's all going to change again next year as my oldest starts school! But there is still lots of summer fun to be had before that happens.


I've got the heater cranked up and have spent the afternoon adding some delicious new yarns to my store.  I'm very excited to have a few more yarns by Manos del Uruguay in selected colours.

Manos del Uruguay Lace is a wonderful and luxurious blend of baby alpaca, silk and cashmere. It is light but warm, and is extremely soft to touch. It would be perfect for a few of my favourite patterns: Rock Island, Gradiente and Color Affection.




If you love Manos del Uruguay's Silk Blend then you will also love Fino.  It has the same merino wool and silk blend but is a sport weight for the more refined and elegant projects. Made with a new dyeing process, they come in subtle and tonal colours which are beautiful and different to the strong colours we have been used to seeing from Manos. I personally love soft, pastel colours and have fallen in love with this range of yarn. I also can't wait to knit up these: Fino Circle Scarf, Eternidad Scarf and Martine Hat.


A yarn that has beautiful drape for summer garments is the Manos del Uruguay Serena. It is made up of baby alpaca and prima cotton and has a very versatile gauge. They are coloured using the new kettle-dyeing process which gives the yarn a heathered, stonewashed look. Some suggestions for this yarn and also some of my favourite patterns are: Chiton Pullover, Serena Shadow Shawl, Rayures, Wharton and Sofia.

We have more colours in Lace and Serena arriving soon so be sure to keep an eye out for them!

Joan xo

Yarn With Heart

One of the things that we aim to do at Wool & Flax is to support brands that have socially and environmentally friendly products.  We have a large range of yarns by Manos del Uruguay who are a part of the World Fair Trade Organization, and we are now pleased to introduce yet another brand of yarn which supports community development in economically depressed regions in South Africa, Be Sweet.

Be Sweet was created by Nadine Curtis in 2003 while living in Cape Town, South Africa.  The company gives local artisans the confidence and means to support themselves and their families through job creation programs.  Their mission is to bring socially and environmentally friendly products to fashionable consumers and help support community development around the world.  They also donate a portion of their profits to educational development programs in South Africa.

We are proud to be a stockist for them and to have some gorgeous colours from their Cotton Candy range on our shelves.

 

New Yarn!!!

Over the last few months I have been busy sourcing some new yarn for the store.  It's always an exciting time when they finally arrive! I'm happy to introduce to you some yarns from Shibui Knits.  Shibui yarn is not widely known or sold in Australia.  Their yarns are made in Peru and they only use fibers of the finest quality.

Here's some Baby Alpaca yarn by Shibui Knits, an amazingly soft and luxurious yarn.  I've got them in four basic colours, perfect for matching all clothing types.  A shawl in this yarn would be both elegant and heavenly on those cold winter days.

Shibui Baby Alpaca DK

We've also got some of Shibui Knit's Sock yarn which is spun from fine superwash merino. Sock is a touchable yet hard-wearing fingering weight yarn. In seven yummy colours, this yarn is perfect for socks, baby garments, or any fine-gauge project.

Shibui Sock

Enjoy!

Joan xo

A Few Pretty Things to Knit

I think most knitters would agree that there are far too many pretty things to knit and not enough time to knit them in.  I always seem to find myself looking up pretty patterns on Ravelry and putting them in my favourites folder with the plan that I might knit them one day, some day, whenever that may be.

Here are a few that I hope to knit in the next year...

Ceramic Flower

I spotted this pretty cowl on Pinterest and was very glad to find the pattern on Ravelry.  It is designed to be knitted with a worsted weight yarn and I think Manos del Uruguay Maxima, with its soft and squishy 100% merino wool, would be perfect for the job.  Or if you prefer a finer, smoother DK yarn, Manos Silk Blend, with its merino wool and silk combination, would do the trick.

In Threes: A Baby Cardigan


I love the simplicity of this little cardigan and would like to knit it for one of my girls.  I would probably knit this up in Manos Wool Clasica which is 100% wool and is perfect for outerwear garments.  Perfect for keeping our little ones warm and cosy on chilly spring/autumn days!

Whitaker

This lovely cardigan has been a favourite of mine for awhile now.  It is a Manos del Uruguay pattern by Cecily Glowik MacDonald, one of the patterns which I have hand-picked to sell on my online store.  It is knitted in Wool Clasica.  The problem I have is trying to pick which colour to knit it in!  Aster, Citric, Cherry or Midnight... what do you think?

Preparing For A Baby

Apart from opening my wool store this year, I have also been busy growing a baby, probably part of the reason why I was also getting sick so much over winter!  As I haven't been a knitter for very long, I didn't get a chance to knit many things for my first two but my aim this time round is to have a little collection of knitted things for this next bundle of joy so here are a couple of them which I thought I'd share with you.

First, a stripe hat pattern I found in a book I borrowed from the local library called "Easy Baby Knits - Clothes & Accessories for 0-3 year-olds" by Claire Montgomerie.  In the book Claire calls this the cotton hat and uses Debbie Bliss Cotton DK but I already had some Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino lying around so I have made a wooly hat instead!  This was an easy pattern which only took me a few evenings to complete.  I made it in size 6-12 months and tried it on my 2 year old.  It fitted her although was stretched so I'm sure it will be fine for a 6-12 month old.  Can't wait to see it on the little bubs!

The other thing I'm working on is a pinwheel blanket I found on Ravelry.  I am using Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend in Deep Sea for this one.  It was a little tricky to start at first but once you get going it gets easier.  I'm not sure how big I'm going to make it yet but I want bubs to be nice and snug in it so I'll probably use at least 3 skeins.  This wool is so beautiful and soft, and the silk content just makes it devine to touch.  I'm sure the little one will feel extremely comfortable wrapped in this little number!

So there you have it.  I will definitely be adding a few more little cosy knits over the next couple of months but I'm also giving myself some time to get them done seeing we are just heading into summer now and I still have 7 months till winter!  And in case you were wondering, yes, we are having a boy! :)

The Birth of Wool & Flax

It is with great pleasure that I can finally announce the grand opening of my very own online wool store - Wool & Flax.  Head over to www.woolandflaxyarns.com.au to have a browse.  Check out our wonderful Manos del Uruguay yarn collection, Knit Pro needles and funky patterns.

This has been a labour in process since the start of February this year.  After 6 months of lots of research, working on a logo and website, ordering my first shipment of wool all the way from Uruguay, taking photos of the products and uploading them, as well as doing all the behind-the-scene things that are involved with starting a small business, we are finally here.  Today is the day I get to share my love for wool and joy of knitting with the rest of the world.  Enjoy! :)

2 Small Projects

Apart from working on getting my online store all setup and ready to go, I have also been working on a couple of small projects. The first was a beret, the first time I had ever knitted one!  I was surprised at how quickly they knit up and was done within 24hrs.  I chose a pattern off Ravelry, the lovely Star Crossed Slouchy Beret by Natalie Larson. I got my oldest to pick a colour and knitted the beret up for her.  I didn't change the size though so it is a little bit loose for her as it's meant to be worn by an adult.  I must admit, I have borrowed it from time to time too.  It's amazing how much warmer you are with something on your head, especially when it's made of 100% merino wool!  This was made in Manos del Uruguay's Rittenhouse which is a lovely and soft 5-ply yarn, in colourway Magenta.  Definitely a favourite of mine from the Manos collection.

Then I decided to use some yarn which I was sampling to knit up a cowl which I had promised to my friend, Ben Abraham, about a year ago.  I used Twinkle Baby Chunky in Moss and found a cool manly cowl pattern to use.  I modified the pattern quite a bit but essentially ended up with the same effect, just in a smaller size, using chunkier wool.  Glad to say, it fitted Ben perfectly AND he loved it.  Success!  Now I just have to get him to model it for me so I can take some decent shots of it.

Along with these 2 projects, I have still been working on a Rowan's Savannah Dune cardigan for myself. But that has been a bit slow going.  Hoping to get it done by spring!

An Update On Life

Firstly, apologies for the drought in posts. The last month has been a busy one with setting up the business, ordering wool, twisting skeins of wool, sickness, weddings, bridesmaid duties, housework, raising two cheeky little girls and much more.  But I am glad to say that my friend's wedding was a beautiful one.  Unfortunately I was unable to finish my own shrug due to some time constraints so the bride's mum kindly finished it off for me.  Here's a pic of us bridesmaids in our shrugs...and I'm glad we had them too as it was a chilly day indeed.

On the business front, I am glad to share that the online store should be up and running in the next couple of weeks!  10 large bags of Manos del Uruguay wool arrived at my doorstep a week ago and we have been busy setting up my wool room since.  It feels so good to have wool all around me, my husband has been having trouble getting me out of there.  The blends are beautiful and everytime I look at each colour I find myself falling in love again. How could you not?!

 

Anyway, I am looking forward to showing you all my store very soon so you can join in on the fun and I'm sure you will fall in love as much as I have.  I will also be sharing another simple little pattern in my next post so keep a lookout for that!  In the meantime, I hope you have been keeping warm and knitting some cosy woolies this winter.

What's In A Name

As you might have noticed, my blog now has a new look, and of course, my new logo! For my branding I was wanting to achieve a soft, delicate look.  I have always liked the look of brands such as Crabtree & Evelyn and Jurlique's packaging.  When a friend of mine saw my logo, she said it looked strangely familiar.  She then went on to say that it reminded her of Crabtree & Evelyn.  I was very excited at that comment because it meant that I have achieved what I had set out to do. Although the process was a quick one, I paid great attention to the detail that went into my logo, right down to the baby leaves and petals.  Being the stickler for detail that I am, they had to be JUST RIGHT!

Anyway, I thought I'd take the opportunity to share with you about how I came up with the name for my store.  The journey began back in November 2011, when I stumbled upon a "For Sale" sign in the window of a wool store in Sassafrass. Owning a wool store had become a sort of dream of mine since I started my knitting adventures.  I would frequent my favourite wool shop, Sunspun, buy up wool for projects which to this day I still have not yet started, and basically find any excuse I could come up with just to be able to step in there so I could spend hours around the lovely yarn and all things knitting. I would say to Dave, "If they ever sold the shop I'd buy it." So, when an existing wool store was up for sale, I saw it as my chance to create my own shop atmosphere, a place where others would also love to come and spend their time, and to be able to create a community around something that I love doing.

For a few months Dave and I explored the possibilities of buying the wool store business but nothing eventuated. A big reason being I have been a stay at home mum since Amber was born and taking on the business would have meant that I was no longer able to look after them for the majority of each week.  This was not something we really wanted to sacrifice. During that time there was also an online wool store business for sale.  We explored this avenue also but basically could not see the worth in buying over such a business when it actually seemed easier and cheaper to start up our own!

Through this whole time, we trusted God to guide us and lead us and one night, I was reminded about a scripture in the Bible, Proverbs 31 - A wife of noble character, and how it talked about her doing business of some sort, so I turned to it and this is what I found... 

¹⁰ A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. ¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. ¹² She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. ¹³ She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. ¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. ¹⁵ She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants. ¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. ¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. ¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. ¹⁹ In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers. ²⁰ She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. ²¹ When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. ²² She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple. ²³ Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. ²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes. ²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. ²⁶ She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. ²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. ²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: ²⁹ “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” ³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. ³¹ Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate. 

Now I had read this scripture many times before but I never related to it from a business point of view.  And the fact that I was considering a business which involved wool and fabrics, it seemed so apt! (For those of you who don't know what flax is, it is a plant which linen is made from.) So, when I reached the point in my journey of starting my own wool store and thinking of a name for it, it seemed only appropriate.

The picture in my logo is of a flowering flax plant with some yarn trailing down from its stem and it simply represents "Wool & Flax". I hope you like it!

Joan xo

And So It Begins...

At the start of Feb this year I started entertaining the idea of starting my own online wool store. One and a half months later I find myself working on a logo, website and much more. As part of this little venture, I also wanted to have a blog, so here it is!

Before I continue I should probably mention that my online store isn't quite up and running just yet but do watch this space to find out more about that in the next few months!

So, it is here that you will get to find out a little more about me, the owner of Wool & Flax. I hope that this blog will add to your life in more ways than one, that it will entertain you, make you smile, maybe make you cry, give you hope and inspire you to do what you love and be who you were created to be. Needless to say, we will definitely have some knitting fun along the way!

An introduction...
I have been a stay-at-home mum since my first daughter was born back in 2008. Life got busier with the arrival of my second daughter who joined us in 2010. I have a loving and supportive husband who has encouraged me through this whole process and is probably the reason why I now have this little business I can call my own.

My husband and I first attempted knitting about 3 years ago. We went to Spotlight, bought ourselves some wool and needles, and found ourselves sitting up in bed on a Saturday night trying our best to knit. Riveting lives we lead, I know!! Our first project was just a simple knit stitch scarf. I think my husband ended up unpicking his about 5 times before eventually giving up. I managed to get through about 1/3 of mine but soon lost interest too. I tried going back to it a few times but just couldn't get into the groove. A year later, I went over to a friend's place and she was knitting a scarf. I thought to myself, maybe I should pick up that scarf again. I went home, dug out my needles and wool and did just that and...'kaboom!' I was hooked!

I knitted about 20 things in my first year of knitting. Scarves, booties, toys, fingerless gloves, a baby blanket, a baby cocoon, a cushion cover and even a vest! I Google'd anything I didn't understand, looked on YouTube for 'How to' videos and enjoyed learning new techniques and trying new yarns with every project I put my needles to.

I soon realized that it was actually my love for yarn which kept my interest in knitting. I found myself drooling over all the amazing fibers, textures and colours of yarns and wanted to use them so much that I just had to find relevant patterns to do so. This love and passion has led me here...starting my own online store, Wool & Flax. It is an expression of myself, a showcase of yarns and knitting accessories that I love. I am delighted to be able to share this experience with you and I hope that you will fall in love and gain a passion too.

Joan xo