From Point A to Point B

These are the Grey clouds I like to see.  Naked Brushed Mohair.

It's quite a faff making yarn. We are unique as we make yarn from raw fibre, nursing it along every step in the process. This can mean sometimes up to 8 - 10 steps for you have a finished ball of yarn ready to knit.

Matthew doing his best Yeti impersonation!

The man at the beginning of this process is Matthew August.  He's our Technical Manager, fibre hunter, sliver 'cook', spinning problem solver.  Often found lurking about the bales with a hook in his hand, Matthew is the man who gets to see the fibre in it's rawest form, but also has to visualize the potential yarn.  He's the poor bloke who has to field endless questions from me about mixing, spinning, twisting & blending & I am sure quivers each time I materialize in this office or hunt him down in the Mill & utter "can I pick your brains for a sec Matthew".  So next time you have a ball of Skeinz yarn in your hand, think of poor Matthew - the man who heads up the "Point A" team!

Get Grabbing!

Hook into it! Grabone on today!

Today is our annual Grabone deal!  It's a great way to save on Skeinz yarn & we only do this deal once a year.  So for today only you can buy a Grabone voucher for just $20 and receive $40 worth of yarn.

These vouchers can be redeemed online or in store.

Tell everyone - we only have a limited number of vouchers available!

Spring Designer Showcase

Rose de Reims by Justine Turner using Heritage Organic Merino

Much knitting has been a foot downunder during our Winter & we are now seeing a selection a beautiful designs being launched - many using Skeinz yarns.  So it was time to give these very cleaver designers a push & let you all know what a wealth of talent we have out there.

Ringmasters Jacket by Rhiannon McCulloch from Doomsday Knit - Pre-orders now available.

Alec by Sarah Ronchetti - Perfect in Vintage DK

Sullivan Street from Julia Stanfield & precious in Moody Hues Possum/Merino

Tane by Kylie Bates using Naked Skeinz DK or Urban

Flirting with Filigree

The first glimpse of Filigree with it's 'big sister' Vintage yarn

On one of my regular prowls about the mill I managed to track down the first of the Vintage Filigree colours fresh from the dye house.  It's at times like this you really need "squish-ivision" with the web because this yarn is so criminally soft with the most beautiful lustre that you only get from Kid Mohair.  Merlot was the first colour off the rack, and you'll have to agree, don't you just want to drink this up!

So of course it had me diving onto the Ravelry to find appropriate patterns.  All the patterns below are FREE!

Wisp by Cheryl Niamath

Ice Queen by Rosemary (romi) Hill

Citron by Hillary Smith Callis

white rabbit wrist-ees by tiny owl knits

Dancing Cranes Stole by Shui Kuen Kozinski and Benne Ferrell

September Shapes & Shades

Fine Merino - fresh from the card

Spring is a time at the mill where we have time for a little bit of fiddling and new product development.  So today I thought I would take my camera down & just give you a wee snapshot of September 11th at the Skeinz 'Yarn Kitchen'.

No need to get Blue - fresh Royal Blue Alpacafrom the Dye house

Making Mountains of our own - Natural NZ wool caked & ready to ball.

Nothing like the shine of stainless steel - Dye Bars

Spring in your step.

This time of year is very active about the Mill.  We are planning & spinning ranges for the new year & we are still on a high for the Knit August Nights Knitters Retreat.  KAN was a huge success for all those who attended & Skeinz - helped obviously because it's my wee "something I do in my spare time" project, but also because KAN-annites are a passionate bunch of crafters who make the event all their own.

Ian Kelly tour guide - he claims his is the best tour as he's better looking and tells jokes - modest much?

Its a perfect opportunity for us to catch up with online customers we have never met and rejoice in seeing old friends.  We have a couple of Mill tours to lift the veil of what goes on behind the scenes and our online customers get to ferret, fossick & fondle their way through the Skeinz shop.  The Retreat reached capacity numbers this year and I am predicting it will do the same for next - so save this date now:  Knit August Nights August 29th - 31st 2014.

Freshly Brushed Filigree

My focus is now on the new products in the pipeline.  One of those is a cobweb Kid Mohair.  We have been getting more & more inquiries about Skeinz yarns that could substitute into patterns using these dreamy yarns, so we thought it was time to produce our own range.  It will be called Vintage Filigree because we are using the Vintage colour palette.  This gives us some beautiful ethereal colours alongside some contemporary brights - watch this space - Vintage Filigree is due in store early next month.