King Cole Raffia

And now we get to the good stuff.

 

King Cole Raffia.

I am thrilled. I say this every time but I am absolutely thrilled. This is something so different to everything else that we've got or have ever had in the shop. Amazing. Seriously.

Firstly, it's a paper yarn. PAPER! PAPER! PAPER! The more I say that the more the word looks wrong. It's the stuff that we write on that. Apart from on this blog, this is written on.... pixels? Anyway, I digress. I got myself worried about whether it was going to hold up to the British weather so I did a very scientific experiment:



It stays put! In the meantime, the lovely Zoe Halstead, who designed all of the patterns, saw the original vlog I did where I got worried and wrote this lovely response:

She is gorgeous isn't she!?

So, this is all important because the patterns are mainly for homeware and accessories like bags and hats so they need to be waterproof-ish because spills happen and, this is England, rain happens. It is important that this doesn't end up a sludgy mess when it hits any sort of moisture. AND IT DOESN'T! Boom.

So, the patterns aren't on the internet yet because King Cole haven't got theirs on the internet yet. I've tried photographing and scanning the photos myself and it just doesn't work so I wait to steal it directly from them because they're working from jpgs or pngs or stuff I don't even know about. But I'll show you my faves and then maybe do another blog when the patterns are actually ready to share:

 

Baskets! Rugs! Cushions! Plant pot covers! Boom! All knitted. 

 

And the crochet version of that pattern. Not an exact replica because crochet is good for some things and knitting for others. I got little Toni to start a basket for me the other when she left the house with the wrong needles and ended up at my shop (can you believe that!? Leaving the house without a reasonable project?! Strange girl).  Anyway, here's what it looks like:

Phwoooooooooar! I finished it yesterday:

A Raffia basket full of Drifter. As Sarah Brown said, "mind. blown".

 

And I love this bag (hate those colours... sorry Zoe...). Look at the colour I'm making it in: 

 

 Phwoooooooooooooar! That's the Denim colourway and I am in luuuuuurve. I think it'll have black straps which leads me to my final pattern that I think is a stunner: 

 

Not finished yet. Obvs. It's the HAT!

It's the first pattern that made the yarn really catch my eye and I had to make it, even if it makes me look like a tit. The top bit of it took barely any time at all, apart from a slight counting disaster after a beer or two last night. Then come the increases for the brim. That Zoe Halstead, she's a bloody slave driver. 

These are the colours. I had to take the photos myself but I'm pleased with how they turned out. The Natural and the Black are the only two that are single colours, the rest are beautiful multi-tonals. I love how they've got the balance right between the brights - Carousel, Fireglow and Marine - and the ...duller... colours (in the nicest sense of the term) - Reeds, Woodland and Ashes. The Denim and Amethyst are somewhere in between. So far this yarn has gone down really well, I'm thrilled that I'm going to have to make another order asap. Haha.

 

Although that does need a tidy. Part of the problem is that I just keep casting on in it! I'll be over my addiction soon because I need to make more in the gorgeous Drifter.

Aaaaaaaanyway, that's that. New yarn! New yarn! Paper! Paper! Boom. Once more for the google rankings - King Cole Raffia. I'll let you know when the patterns go up.

Love Eleanor. xxxxxx

P.s. You have voted for us in the British Knitting Awards right??? We need to win in the best local yarn shop in the Midlands category (again!!!) and now we also need to win the best online shop and the best yarn shop day experience. VOTE VOTE VOTE!