Author Archives: sylvantiger

New hand knit socks

Hand knit hand dyed socks

Plumlicious socks

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of a freshly washed brand new pair of hand knitted socks!   I began knitting these socks whilst minding my stall at Yarndale in September 2014.  Christmas knitting took precedence and I only managed to finish them a couple of weeks ago.

Socks from sideThe pattern is Basic Ribbed Socks by Kate Atherley aka Wise Hilda Knits. This was the first ever sock pattern I knitted. It gives a good fit as the rib is a little bit stretchy and there’s just enough interest to stop you getting bored, but it’s easy enough that the fingers can take over and you can watch TV or have conversations with customers!

The yarn is my own Yan Sock base of 100% British BFL 4ply with a High Twist which makes it nice and robust for socks.  The colourway is Plumlicious, I love purples and dye a lot of purples, so it was important to have purple socks for me!

Socks and waterThe socks took me for a walk at the weekend into The Dales for some winter sun and to get some photos in daylight!  They kept my feet toasty warm inside my boots. We met some sheep on the way, tucking into their winter hay rations.

Sheep feedingWe also met a different kind of sheep, definitely a Swaledale, but this one wasn’t much interested in hay!

Sheep benchIt did make a good spot for a cup of tea and some pork pie though!  The view was typically Dale-sy, hills, a few trees and plenty of dry stone walls, with a bit of snow and winter haze for atmosphere.

Dales view

Yarndale, a new yarn base and a pattern

Well, we’ve finally recovered from Yarndale.  It was a fantastic weekend, we sold lots of wool and met many wonderful people.  A huge thank you to the organisers of Yarndale for a very well organised show. It’s fair to say that after the first Yarndale in 2013 there was some fairly ‘robust’ feedback about queues in the car parks, over crowding and not enough food stalls etc.  Well, the organisers took all those comments on board, in fact, I don’t think I’ve ever come across an organisation take on board and act on feedback in such a positive way. Bring on Yarndale 2015!

I only had time to take quick photos with my phone, but here’s a quick tour of the stall for those of you unable to get to Yarndale.

Yarndale 4 ply display

Yarndale 4 ply display

Here’s the 4ply table. There’s Yan Sock on the right hand side, 100% British BFL HT sock yarn.

And on the left my new yarn base – Tethera 4ply.  Another 100% British BFL yarn, but a nice and smooth, true 4ply yarn.

Right in the middle of the display there’s my new scarf pattern making its debut at Yarndale – Sylvan Scarf.  Knitted using just one skein of my Tethera 4ply (seen here in the ‘Sitka’ colourway) it’s perfect to keep you warm on a walk in the woods; wide enough to provide plenty of material to snuggle into and long enough to wrap all the way round.

The central lace panel is reminiscent of fully grown pine trees, whilst the edging and borders feature the saplings of the forest floor.

14 colours of Tethera 4ply are available now in my Sylvan Tiger Yarn Etsy store, priced at £14 per 100g / 400m. And Sylvan Scarf is published on Ravelry, priced £3. (You don’t need to be a member of Ravelry to buy from the website).

TattySquawk Shawl Pins

TattySquawk Shawl Pins

It was a pleasure to host TattySquawk shawl pins on the stall.  Handmade in Cornwall from lightweight aluminium, the pins are perfect for your hand knit shawls. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes including sheep, cats and penguins!

Next up we have the lace side of the stall with two different yarn bases.

Lace yarns

Lace yarns

Tyan Lace on the right, 80% British BFL and 20% Silk and on the left another new base – Methera Lace.  An even more luxurious yarn than Tyan Lace, Methera is made up of 55% British BFL and 45% Silk.  On the very left of the photo is a sleeveless top, Bonny by Tin Can Knits, knitted up in Methera Lace, I’ll talk more about it another time, but suffice to say it proved very popular with the crowds, in fact it probably needs a good wash having been fondled so much!

Now it’s time for a little rest and to work on exciting new projects for next year.  In the meantime and few sample skeins and the Sylvan Scarf sample will be visiting Glasgow School of Yarn this weekend, kindly hosted on the stall of A Peppermint Penguin who makes the most wonderful project bags.