Unraveling from Unwind.

It was great bring samples for people to play with

 This past weekend was the Unwind Fibrecraft Retreat in Dunedin. Retreats are a great way to connect with other knitters, spinners & yarn crafters & to get inspired.  It is a chance to see yarns from online retailers in the flesh to fondle, caress & squish.  Here are a few images from the weekend for you to savour & enjoy.

A symphony of colour

Skeins of deliciousness

Well & truly getting Unwound!

So good to see the garments in real life.

Recovery Required!

Colourful Collection

Firstly a HUGE thank you to everyone who participated in our epic pre-season sale last month!  It was so exciting to meet so many new Skeinz converts & to have so many exciting yarns to be able to share with you all.  The new 10ply & Sock random prints were especially popular & we still have plenty of 10ply for the upcoming season.  I have decided to keep the especially sharp pricing as a thank you treat for such a successful sale.

The first week of this month I spent hiding under my duvet with a very nasty case of bronchitis, but it did mean I got to spend some time catching up on some reading & research.  It has been a great month for pattern releases in Skeinz yarn.

A must have for this Winter

Gabriella Henry from SweetP Designs launched a delightful shawl pattern using our Vintage.  A combination of both the Premium DK & the Filigree - Filigree the Shawl is a satisfying yet simple pattern - a great one for the Winter repertoire.  We have given away two of this lovely pattern to two lucky Skeinz customers who purchased Vintage in February.  Congratulations to Joanna Taylor from Auckland & Patricia Johnson from Whangarei - Gabriella will be in touch with your pattern soon.

Yeah Baby!

Also this month was the next installment of the Stitch Seekers Men in Knits calendar.  Mr March featured a very Darcy-esque scarf pattern by Deb Moore in our very own Texas.  This image has been circulated among the girls here & has met with wholehearted approval.

I so wish I had the figure to pull off these panties!

This has gone in my queue

Also from the Stitch Seekers team is their first pattern collection called Decadence & Decay.  It's a collection of patterns that beg to be dressed up & will add flare to your Winter Wardrobe.  From panties to gauntlets, shawls & capes it eludes to an opulence from a pre-revolutionary time.  I can't wait to see the next installment due out in August.

Would also look Great in Heritage Organic Merino

A fabulous freebie launched last month on Ravelry was from RachelC the Te Ara Fingerless Mitts.  Made in the now sold out Skeinz Vineyard colours 4ply, you could also make these in our Merino Soft 4ply or even the Heritage Organic Merino.  Definitely worth the download.

Great work Amy!

Lastly from my favourite project file is this stunning blanket from Amy van de Laar (Rav ID: baroquepurls).  It is a real labour of love & a great use of Skeinz Prism.  Make sure you check it our on Ravelry, it certainly gets me itchy to drag out my crochet hook!

I'm off to Unwind tomorrow - so look out for updates on our Facebook page!

Clearing the Sheds

The Shed Sale Table - Just moments after we opened on Saturday

 Our massive pre season sale is now into full swing.  If you haven't had a chance to check out what we have on offer, you must look here NOW!

This amazing Mega Chunky is only available in store

We have some special limited edition colours ways just for the sale - this year it is all about colour, colour, colour.  So feast your eyes on these & enjoy!

Glass Mountain Corriedale - Bright yet earthy

Rosella 10ply

Waipatiki DK Single Roving Long Print (Online only)

Byron Bay - Available n 10ply, Sock, & Boucle

Go Sammi!

Sammi - sizes from 1 yr through to 14 years

It's no secret that we adore Just Jussi designer Justine Turner here at Skeinz.  We sell Justine's patterns in store & she has published a number of patterns using our yarns.

Browsing Ravelry today I noticed for the first time that Justine's new design Sammi, featuring her delicious grand daughter, is sitting in the Top 20!  It's the cutest over sized pullover, sized from toddler all the way through to teen!  Using a 'Sport weight' yarn, this would be a great pattern for our Heritage Organic Merino or any sock yarns you may have lurking around in your stash.  If you are fast & purchase before the end of the month (you have 2 days left!) you can get the pattern for half price.  I snapped one up - so should you!

Embracing your Neighbours.

The two Aussie inspired yarns.

There is a myth that Kiwi's & Aussie's don't get along.  It's something that is well cultivated by natives of both nations, but deep down we get along just fine.  Yesterday was Australia Day.  The day when Aussie's everywhere fire up the 'Barbies', launch the boat & sink a few cold ones.

Our very own Aussie import - Em!

Our very own resident Australian here at Skeinz, Em, gave me permission today to celebrate her nations special day with a Skeinz Dollar Day on the colour way called Hop. Inspired by the Aussie Green & Gold sporting colours & named after their iconic Kangaroo, it was the least I could do.  So if you want to help celebrate all things Aussie - be quick & get across to the Dollar Day page & snap your little bit of Aussie!

More Jumpers Please! - Skeinz Penguin Rescue Fund

Super cute!

 One of the interesting things about the internet is how stories can reignite.  For the Skeinz Penguin Rescue Fund that is a wonderful thing - as all you amazing people out there continue to be captivated with our work to help fund raise for the NZ Little Blue Penguin.

Our Original Mascots - Flip & Peggy

All this was sparked in 2011 after the grounding of the Rena in Tauranga.  Thousands of people world wide joined together to hand knit & crochet jumpers for the penguins effected in the spill. To ensure all this hard work was realised to it's full potential - we placed the jumpers onto penguin mascots & the profits from their sale was used to set up the Skeinz Penguin Rescue fund.

Just some of the money distributed since the fund was established

Since 2011, we have donated thousands of dollars towards the clean up after the Rena spill, as well as a Little Blue Penguin burrowing programme, helping to re-establish the LBP population around Cape Kidnappers, here in Hawkes Bay.

Little Blues in their new burrowing boxes funded by Skeinz

We have now almost exhausted the surplus of jumpers we originally received.  In order to keep the fund going, we require fresh jumpers for our mascots.  So if you would like to donate to the cause by the way of knitting a penguin jumper, we'd love to accept your donation.  The pattern can be found here.  What we ask is that you knit the jumper in preferably wool, or another natural fibre and the brighter the better.  Most of these mascots are bought for children - so bright colours or stripes, blocks, or random print colours are the most popular.  If you want to support the fund by purchasing a mascot - you can do that from our Skeinz website.

These are sorts of  colours we have the greatest demand for

Please post your jumpers to:
Skeinz,
PO Box 3123,
Onekawa, Napier 4142
New Zealand

Happy Holidays!

Renly has been my yarn assistant for the day!

I have opened today primarily to catch passengers of the Cruise ship currently docked here.  Really I was expecting it to be quiet, calm, relaxed.  I bought my wee pup in, Renly, for company.  I packed my knitting.  Had the iPod playlist sorted.

Since 9.30am (we open at 10am) I have been frantic!  A steady stream of customers, locals & places far flung, a phone that's been running off the hook & lots & lots of yarn!

So now that I have managed to catch my breath, I just wanted to wish everyone a very festive holiday season.  I hope you have some time to put your feet up & knit.  Our shop will be now closed until the 13th of January, but the web store will be up & running for orders, just expect some delivery delays due to the statutory holidays in this part of the world at this time of year.

Merry Christmas from the Skeinz Team!