Just a quick post to let you all see the garments I have had stored on the camera and have not published yet. Thanks to all of you who have brought your finished projects in to show us and let us photograph.

This Aran Waistcoat was knitted by Margaret in Rustic Aran Tweed ( shade DAT3 ). The Pattern is Sirdar 2231

This Cotton Sweater was knitted by Jane in Stylecraft Classique Cotton DK ( shade 3670 ). The Pattern is Stylecraft 8554

Linda knitted this beautiful little pink cardigan in Peter Pan Moondust DK ( shade 3002 ). The Pattern she selected was Stylecraft 8040.

This lovely sweater was knitted by Wendy in one of our new yarns; Stylecraft Trendsetter Chunky ( shade 1685 ). The photograph doesn't really do it justice as the yarn has a fine metalic thread running through it so that it shimmers. The Pattern is also new; Stylecraft 8643.

This gorgeous Sweater Dress was knitted by Lynn in Wendy Aran with Wool ( shade 693 ). The Pattern is James Brett's No JB100 .

Sorry that we haven't posted for a while but we have been rearranging things to make room for some of the new Autumn/Winter stock. We thought it would be good to give our customers a bit of a preview so here are a few of the new lines.
   New Wendy Celtic Chunky is a tweed effect yarn in a range of muted earthy tones which give it an real outdoor feel. Celtic, due to its look and range of earthy colours, is very much a unisex yarn and Wendy's patterns (Wendy 5672 shown) feature comfortable fashion garments that are light to wear but also lovely and warm. This yarn has a lovely feel to it.  

Sirdar Folksong Chunky is a gorgeously colourful yarn that comes in 4 space-dyed shades, wrapped with a subtle white highlight. This soft, wool rich yarn has a lively twist that springs into cosy, chunky stitches as you knit. Folksong Chunky is beautifully versatile and Sirdar have produced some lovely Patterns (Sirdar 9662 shown) to show this wonderful yarn at its  best.

If you love 4 ply you'll love this. Aviemore from Stylecraft is a super new self striping 4 ply yarn. Superwash wool  for warmth and nylon for soft touch and durability. It knits up to any 4 Ply garment pattern and is, of course, great for socks, hats, gloves and scarves. Stylecraft  have produced some fresh Modern Patterns to highlight this lovely wool.

Plus, we have new colours in Big Softie Super Chunky  and in Sirdar Softspun DK. So pop in, have a cuppa and a browse around.

Just because the weather's dull and cool doesn't mean that we have to be. We're lucky here at Twist & Purl because we have bright and warm customers. They are always popping in to show us their newly finished garments. Obviously, many of our customers, knit with a specific aim in mind; a cardigan for a friend, a sweater for a family member or a top for themselves. But a few knit, garments or other items, just for the love of knitting alone. Sue, is one of a growing number of people who simply enjoy knitting. She has grandchildren and she does knit for them and for others but she often knits things just because she likes the pattern or the wool and simply wants to "Knit"!  She called in the other day with this little cardigan to select the buttons. To the best of our knowledge she did not have anybody in mind when she knitted this. It's beautiful! The wool is Sirdar Snuggly Baby Speckle  and the pattern is Sirdar 1358. Keep knitting Sue and thanks for letting us photograph this lovely little cardigan.

Wimbledon may be over but I'll bet "Knitting Woman" is still going strong ( see post 2/7/2012 ) as are many of our customers in this cold, wet, bleak weather. I will highlight some of our new Autumn Lines later this week, even though we haven't had a Summer yet, because in weather like this it seems appropriate to start thinking about Autumn and Winter. Anyway, in the meantime I thought it would be nice to showcase a Summer yarn in the vain hope that this alone would make the "The Great Rain Spirit" repent and think twice about the rest of the deluge plan, dust off the suitcase, pack the Speedos and Ray-Banns and take a well earned holiday!

                                                                                                                                                                                                   
 So, here is a beautiful little cardigan knitted by another of our lovely customers, Beth.  
 Beth was kind enough to lend this cardigan to us to put in the shop window. The Pattern is Sirdar 9419  and the wool is Sirdar Summer Stripes DK shade 0312. It really is a delightful little cardigan and would be perfect to slip on any cool Summer evening.
  Thanks for this Beth! It's a lovely piece of work that you can be proud of.

It's been a very productive time for some of our Customers. The Wimbledon fortnight is supposed to be a very quiet time for a lot of retail businesses but we haven't noticed it. Jackie, one of our lovely customers, popped in this morning to pick up a few bits and was wearing her latest creation. We just had to get a picture. This is a Wendy Pattern (5202) and Jackie elected to knit the Long version using Bretts Rustic Aran in colour shade DAT20. 
Now it may be July but it's a bit nippy today and it's set to be a dull and wet month, according to the Met Office, but when you can knit like Jackie, you can have the right garments ready no matter what the weather.

Well, Knitting Woman seems to have caused a few waves! Goodness knows why! Those opposed to Centre Court Knitting seem to be outraged that a young woman can knit while watching a centre court game. The knitting advocates, of course, wonder what all the fuss is about. Many of our customers have no problem at all in Knitting and watching Television or Knitting and reading a Book or, indeed, both! Knitting is very therapeutic and relaxing and with practice you will not only be able to knit well but will be able to centre your attention on other things at the same time.

  Just look at this jumper knitted in Twilleys Freedom Echo Recycled. Lynn knitted this in no time whilst attending to other things. By the by, you really have to see this to appreciate it. It's a washed out recycled yarn and it looks great on the reel but fabulous when knit up (Twilleys Pattern 9166) . It has minute flecks of other colours running through it. An excellent choice for for the Wimbledon Finals!

If you've been on our website you'll know that we run Knitting Classes. The new dates for this year are still being arranged but will be published on the site shortly. Last year the Learn to Knit class was very successful. We like to keep the numbers small so that every individual gets the attention they need. And it's with this in mind that I thought it would be good to let everybody (that wants to) see a lovely little garment, knitted by one of last year's attendees.

  Sue is a young working mum who came to our first Learn to Knit class. She had never tried knitting before and had never even looked at a knitting pattern. Her first project was knitting a simple little cardigan for her son but unfortunately we do not have a picture of this. It was agreed that we would be allowed to take a photo of her next finished project. She elected to do a baby cardigan, for a friend of hers who had had twins; The Pattern was Sirdar  1359 and the wool she chose was Sirdar Baby Speckle DK (shade 121). Sue then came to our Tuesday evening Knit and Natter (every second Tuesday) for a bit of support with reading the pattern and to pick up some helpful tips from other knitters. As you can see from the picture of the finished Cardigan (only her second garment remember), she's a natural. We think it's brilliant. Well done Sue!

Wasn't last week's weather awful? Here we are in June and it's wet and cold. Many of our customers are still buying winter weight yarns like Wendy's Mode Chunky. But it will change!  So here are a couple of Summer weight yarns that knit up rather well.
 

 








































Firstly, there's Sirdar's Sublime Egyptian Cotton. I took a couple of shots of this garment so that you could see the detail. The pattern is Sirdar Sublime 6075. Just look at the shot on the right; you can see every stitch. It's lovely to knit with as well.
  And secondly, Freedom Echo Recycled Cotton from Twilleys of Stamford. This pattern is Twilleys 9164

Freedom Echo DK is the product of a brilliant idea. It is produced by recycling old shredded denim jean fabic and cotton. The old denims are cut ( after removal of zips and bottons ) into pieces which are reduced into fibres and spun into a soft yarn. There is no further dyeing process as the colours are produced by either using 100% recycled denim or 20% recycled cotton with 80% recycled denim. Echo has no harmful impact on the environment. We have 5 superb colours. These colours are "muted"  so when knit up, garments look like they've been "washed" several times. And when you do come to wash your garment, it won't lose its shape.

Here at Twist & Purl we encourage our customers to bring their finished garments to us so that we can publish the results and find out if they encountered any problems with the Pattern and if they enjoyed knitting with whatever the chosen yarn was. The feedback that we get can then be passed on to others. A case in point would be this garment, below. 

The Pattern is Sirdar 9429 and it is a Simply Recycled DK Pattern, but Lynn, a lovely customer of ours with a wealth of experience and knowledge, chose to knit it with Raffaella DK (shade 480). She brought this Top in on Saturday morning to show us and to let us know what she thought of Raffaella. She said that it was "Lovely to knit with" and that it "washes superbly and hold its shape really well." We value feedback like this,  especially from a lady who has, in our opinion, the fastest needles this side of the Pennines. Thanks Lynn, for letting us photograph this beautiful top and for the practical feedback.

Friday again! One of our lovely customers called in to let us see her latest creation. Margaret knitted this for her granddaughter. It's  Sirdar Pattern  9120 ( pictured left ) and as Click Aran has been discontinued, she thought she would try Hayfield Bonus Aran ( colour 0823 ). Margaret then went through our button collection
( soon to be included on the web ) and selected a bright contrasting summery button. We think the result speaks for itself but we'll say it anyway; It's brilliant!!!

Well, the Tuesday morning Knit and Natter group have gone and so have some of our Aruba Scarves http://www.twistandpurl.co.uk/Aruba-p885/ picture on the left. Everybody that comes into the shop seems to like the Aruba Scarf. I suppose it's because, of all the scarf yarns that we have in stock, this one is the softest.

 Another really good soft yarn ( and it's on offer at the moment on our website http://www.twistandpurl.co.uk/Patons-Valiani-p66/ ) is Patons Valiani. It is an Aran weight yarn with soft brushed-effect fibres to create a gossamer like lustrous sheen. The picture doesn't really do it justice ( you can just see the sheen ) but it knits up really well. 

Welcome to our Blog. Twist and Purl has been open now for 14 months and we would like to thank all of our customers for their support. We have just launched our new web site http://www.twistandpurl.co.uk so that our customers can purchase online.
 For people just joining us, Twist & Purl is a wool shop in Scholes village near Cleckheaton. We stock yarns from Sirdar, Bergere de France, Patons, Stylecraft, Wendy, Twilleys, James C. Brett, Jenny Watson and Cygnet. As you would expect we also have a full selection of Knitting Patterns, Needles and general knitting accessories. Our range of Buttons is very popular and is growing by the month. The Buttons are not on the Website yet but we hope to have them on presently with a selection of Knitting Bags.
  Scarf Yarns have been very popular this year and we have just added two more;
Aruba from Sirdar http://www.twistandpurl.co.uk/Aruba-p885/
and Rococo from Wendy http://www.twistandpurl.co.uk/Rococo-p886/. Both are very easy to knit and look fabulous when done.
  Please keep checking our Blog and Web site  http://www.twistandpurl.co.uk as we are introducing new items all the time. Every time we get a new line of Yarn or new Patterns, I will post it on the Blog.