Thursday, January 20, 2011

Swatch Test

The swatch on the right has been washed in my old machine.
I have quickly knitted up a swatch of the Hawkes Bay Series & done a wash test.
As some of the yarn in the blend is machine washable I wanted to see what happened when I threw the swatch in the wash.  I put it in my very antiquated machine on a gentle cycle & I have to say I like the result.  It has softened the swatch considerably & did not shrink at all.  Now I personally recommend hand washing all hand knitted garments, even the MW ones, but for the sake of curiosity we now know what happens.  I would think it would continue to softly felt up with continuous washes, but a worthwhile experiment none the less.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Taking inspiration from home...

It's great how we are able to fiddle & faddle with various yarns & fibres & create beautiful yarns to love.  During our Spring clean some yarn & fibre was found & the cleaver spinners & dyers have created a worsted weight (12ply) yarn in colours that reflect the region where we are based, Hawkes Bay.

I have listed the yarn as non machine wash, but in actual fact it is two thirds MW yarn with one third non machine wash. So if you have one of those super flash washers that can do a gentle hand wash cycle, then this yarn should be fine.

Best of all is the skein size & price: 200gm (284m) for just $10

The first colour is called ‘Blossom Festival’ after the iconic Hasting Blssom Festival held here every Spring. Its a playful mix of pinks, lemons, mauves, cream - just like the orchards of Hastings in Spring.


The second colour is ‘Ahuriri’ after the seaside village in Napier where I live - we have just 13 skeins of this colourway, so get in quick.

Lastly is ‘Puketapu’, a village inland from Taradale which is a mixture of farming, horticulture, artisans & vineyards, a great place to visit on a lazy Summer afternoon drive. We have just 7 skeinz of Puketapu.