Two New Yarns For the Price of One...

(...blog post).

There's no real way to separate these two amazing yarns. All of the patterns seem to use them as one and the same and they're both so bloody scrumptious that it seems only fair to put them in one place or your heads might explode! :)

I'm talking about the GORGE Masham DK and Masham Misty DK. Again, both released on the birthday and both waiting for their time to shine due to the video in the last blog taking literally three days to upload (why!? It's not even high resolution, it's a bloody three year old webcam. Come on now internet/youtube. Get it together. Moooooooving on...). The only difference between these two yarns really is that one is washable, the Masham DK and one isn't, the Masham Misty. But it seems so sad to say 'isn't' as if that takes something away from the yarn - when actually it adds! It adds FELTABILITY! Which is amazing because it's been a long time since we've have feltable wool in the shop hasn't it? AND I CAN'T WAIT TO KNIT SLIPPERS! It also makes it suitable for soakers, longies and other shitty bum baby things.... ;)

Anyway. Colours. Of course.

 This is the Masham DK.

Cream - Bluebell - Berry - Bracken - Navy

Raspberry - Parsley - Black - Bilberry - Peat

 105m - 115y - 50g - 100% Pure British Wool - 30 degrees wash - £4.00

This is the Masham Misty DK. 

Stone - Cream - Rose Hip - Heather

Slate - Barley - Oatmeal - Hops

105m - 115y - 50g - 100% Pure British Wool - handwash only - £3.75

Now, the Masham DK (btw it's pronounced mass-ham) has much purer colours - they're kind of jewel toned if you know what I mean. Whereas the with the Misty each colour has been mixed with a natural/beige kind of a colour - right the way through, at the carding stage, no stripes, spots or flecks - so the final colours are much more chalky. Like sun bleached. Does that make sense?

These are investment yarns I reckon. If you're substituting for one of the Rowan British Breeds or even just a Rowan DK then the price is bloody brill - £4/£3.75 rather than £6 so in that case, no problems, just get to it. But if you're one of our customers, used to spending more like £2.00-£3.00 a ball then it's a step up and we get it. But listen, this is a British breed sheep (the Masham), living in Yorkshire (Masham), owned by British farmers who have to feed their families and livestock and keep a business going, they're then sheared, sorted, processed, dyed and spun in Yorkshire, shipped over to Skipton where King Cole live and then a short hop over the Pennines to us. That's the beauty of it. The yarn is truly gorgeous, obvs, I'll talk about that in a bit, but we all talk big about supporting our local economy and building Britain again but quibble over prices. Now, this yarn isn't going to be spot on for every project of course, there's always time for Pricewise or Bamboo Cotton, but it is a fabulous yarn at a fabulous price and at all points you're supporting independent, small businesses who are putting money right back into your economy. See, it ain't all just pointy sticks and dropped stitches - this is politics and activism at a level where we can all make a difference.

AND WE CAN MAKE AMAZING JUMPERS!

So, let me talk about it now. Masham DK. AHHHHHHHH. Masham DK. That's the washable one. I LOVE IT! I ACTUALLY LOVE IT! It's a 2 ply. Don't get me wrong, it's double knit weight (i.e. 8 ply) but it's made of two plies. What does this mean? Well, a slightly uneven texture. That's what it means. Every stitch, every row, every piece has a homespun wibblyness to it that makes it absolutely delectable. Can you see?

There are other issues here, like me being an idiot that can't read a pattern but can you see what I mean? There's character in every stitch. Before I owned the shop I used to volunteer as a befriender to a gorgeous lady called Rachel who had Alzheimer's. I went one day and her and her son had been skip diving (seriously, a tiny and slightly batty old lady actually skip diving. Excellent) and they'd found some yarn. I'm going to estimate it was late seventies from the ball band and it was EXACTLY this make up. A 2 ply DK pure wool and it was BEAUTIFUL! It's good and old fashioned.

I'm making pattern number 4014 there and can you remember that I talked about it in this post? It's the project I was knitting on holiday. AHHHHHH. Such happy memories. 

 

I keep saying to Boyf, 'remember when we went on holiday' as if it was a million years ago and it does feel like it was. Such a good time. And the knitting was part of that. Apart from I went wrong so I had to rip a load out and never really got the knitting mojo back after that. Anyway, last night I decided, after finishing my beautiful scarf that I'll talk about later that I should get back on it and I looked for the front that I knew I'd started. Nowhere to be found. So I started a sock, that's on the same pattern leaflet last night. 

 

That's going to have some happy memories attached because something's happened that I can't tell you about just yet, but hopefully soon, maybe even this week and I was celebrating last night by having dinner cooked for me, eating choccers leftover from the party (CHOCOLATE LEFTOVER!), drinking wine from another engagement that I have to tell you about - ahhhhh blogs galore - and watching the cat play with her new £50 (FIFTY POUND) scratching post which we've covered from head to toe in catnip - needless to say she luuuuuuuuuuuurves it. Anyway, it's as beautiful to knit with now as it was on holiday and I found the front that I'd started yesterday so I can get on with that too. 

 

 Even though I'm not as far on with that as I thought...Because once that's done I have a  DATE with a massive pack of it in cream and this pattern:

And Verity's dye pots to make it BLOODY DIP DYED! Yes, I went there! I'M GOING THERE!

And maybe I'll have it done by Yarndale. That's so unlikely it hurts but we all need a dream in life don't we?

Anyway, I think that's the Masham DK done. Let's move on to the Misty. WHICH IS INCREDIBLE! Now, I have less to say here, I haven't knitted with it because you lot surely know by now how terrible I am at washing things (anybody remember my mohair dress? *sob*) so I'm not going to be making stuff like socks or jumpers that need washing. I'm going to make slippers. SLIPPERS ALL OVER THE BLOODY PLACE. Why so many capitals today, Eleanor? There's more to felting than SLIPPERS - you can make bags, bowls, cushions, hats, mittens, table mats, bath mats - the list is endless but I love felted SLIPPERS! And the pattern I have in mind uses chunky which is perfect because two DK's together make chunky so I can combine the colours. Like the hops with the slate or the cream with the heathers or the oatmeal with the barley or the or the or the. OR! Any of these held with another yarn liked Riot DK so that the Misty does the felting job and the Riot does the omg-colour-to-make-you-dribble-job. WHY IS THERE SO LITTLE TIME TO KNIT IN MY LIFE?! I have ideas people. Ideas coming out of my bum and no time. I know you understand.

Please don't be put off making garments in the Misty because of the handwash thing. Handwashing isn't really a chore once you get over the not having to actually touch it apart from specific stains thing. Letting it soak for a good hour or so in a bathtub with washing liquid is enough. My problem is, by the time I get home and it's half seven/eight, have my dinner because I eat lunch at a normal time and I'm starving then set to work soaking and washing, I'm falling asleep by the time they're ready to wring out and dry flat. And I don't get days off. If you have weekends/evenings then it's well worth doing. And the colours, like I say, might just speak to you in a way that the Masham DK doesn't. Make sense?

The patterns are here. And there are some stunners. But I might come back and talk about them another time but I've wittered on enough here and you have eyes and brains to look yourself. If you wanna talk about them you just need to ring or pop in though because I am willing and able to witter about them if you need me to.

That's it, I'm off.

Enjoy the Masham it's a goodun.

Love Eleanor. xxx