Three Ships Came Sailing Pi Yarn Box

Oooooh. A new idea! Well, a borrowed idea. Can you remember the Bobica Shawl? And I talked a bit in the accompanying blog about Verity's Truly Hooked Yarn Boxes? Well, I didn't really explain them well, did I? I will, but first, here's the song I'm writing this to to get you in the sea shanty mood:

So, what's a yarn box? Usually it's a box of goodies put together by a hand dyer with some gorgeous hand dyed yarn and gifts along a theme. So, the Bobica box had a cake of the beautiful berry coloured gradient yarn by Verity, a letter with the code for the Bobica pattern, some berry stitch markers and some strawberry buttons. Customers bought the boxes without knowing anything about what was going to be in there - I don't think they even knew the theme for that one! Sometimes they'll know the theme like the 'Summer Sun' box that Verity did with a couple of other talented indie dyers - they got three 50g skeins of summer-y coloured yarn, fruit tea, cocktail flavoured fudge and fun little umbrellas (other stuff too, this is just off the top of my head).

Why do people buy them? For a million different reasons I suppose - same reason we knit and crochet! The lovely Steph described how exciting it was to get the box in the post when everything else was a bloody bill, like she'd bought herself a little gift. The money usually leaves you a couple of weeks before you receive the box so it really is like a gift to yourself isn't it?! I was also talking to a customer about how it's lovely to get the inspiration to craft from somebody else - ever feel like you're stuck in a rut with your crafting? Yeah, me too. And that's often when I most enjoy a commission. Somebody else popping into your conscious being excited and inspired about something that you never would have even thought about - like two colours together, or textures together or shapes or, or, or! A chance to step out of your comfort zone.

Why have I decided to do them? Well, with the super secret project, I'm in my design zone at the moment. But a few things went wrong - or sideways - last week so I had to stop and do something else. I always come back to my first love knitting, even after months of flirting with the cute, quick, sassy and saucy crochet - there's something dignified about the pace of knitting isn't there? And, to be frank, the shop is slow. Not worryingly so, but enough that I have at least an hour every day to devote to something, and if that something isn't the super secret then it may as well be something else that makes me money, yes? I've been meaning to write this pattern up for a while BUT I've been waiting for the perfect combination of yarns to pop into the shop. And they have! By jove, readers, they have! I am so excited about this!

The combination of the yarns I've used means that I've had to do some reworking of the pattern as it was in my head and that led to this:

All the best things in life take a bit of thinking about and redoing, yes? 

So, there are my reasons and here is the box, well, at least what I'm going to tell you about the box. You're taking a leap of faith by purchasing this but one last thing that I have been thinking about is bloody Christmas (sorry!!!). It is coming though. So I've made the decision that this box, and any others that I might do (we'll see how it goes) are going to be perfect Christmas presents. If you don't like it - someone will. After Christmas, I can have a rethink can't I? Because I have a GOOD idea for a garment! Hmmmm. Could we do garment boxes I wonder?! Anyway. 

I suggest you press replay on the song up top - it's deffo in the right mood for the box. :)

May I present to you, the Three Ships Came Sailing Pi Yarn Box - exclusive to Knit Nottingham and sent with love.

Buy by clicking here.

Your Pattern: 

It's a secret! That's the whole point. But:

it is knitted

 it is an accessory

 it is simple

it is interesting to knit and wear

 it is well explained and tested

 it does involve *some* intarsia at the very end but that is explained and optable-outable

in printed format and with a code to download on Ravelry. 

Your Colours: 

two options

both equally beautiful

plenty of yarn (with leftovers)

pure, natural fibre

plant based

washable

soft 

genuinely one of my favourites

Other Bits:

hand made stitch markers on the theme

a code for free shipping on the yarn used in the pattern

a sneaky peek at a brand new yarn only available in the shop from September!!!!!!!

other gifts that I'm going to buy for you when I'm on holiday next week so I've no idea what they are!

my love, respect and gratefulness till the end of all time

All of this! For £18.00! Until the close of shop on Thursday the 17th of July and £20.00 thereafter... Payment for the boxes must be made by the 27th of July and the boxes will be shipped by the 7th of August (hopefully earlier). 

Buy by clicking here. 

And that's it. What do you think? Can you think of any ideas for themes? I've got a beaut in my head for around October but I might not get it done by then. It's seriously cute!

I've also got another blog for you tomorrow - spoilt rotten you lot are!

Love Eleanor. xx