Dundee Yarn Crawl

A few weeks ago my friend Jo posted a link on my Facebook page asking if I had been to 'Fluph', a yarn shop in Dundee. A week or so later I posted a link on her page, asking if she had been to 'The Knitting Pin', another Dundee wool shop. Several comments later we agreed we would do a yarn crawl of the 4 main Dundee wool shops!

After a little more organising, I caught the no. 73 bus into Dundee with Jo and her daughter, who loves to knit. I had my youngest and eldest sons with me too because they are just getting into knitting and crocheting. Our first stop was 'The Knitting Pin' up Albert Street (here is a link to their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Knitting-Pin/249792755194830?rf=263565830472270  ). We timed it well because my friend Liz, who had a greed to meet us there, had arrived moments before us. We spent a happy 20 minutes looking high and low at all the different wools. This shop is jam packed, bursting at the seams with hundreds of different types of yarn! There is something for everyone, and if you can't find what you are looking for the super friendly staff will help you. It was the owner's husband who was in charge today and he kindly gave the children lollipops too! I bought a ball of Sirdar Eco wool, DK which I have been using lately to dye with natural dyes.

inside The Knitting Pin

Next we strolled down the hill to the town centre (about a 15 minute walk). It was a sunny day and we all chatted away as we walked. We soon reached 'Wool Craft' which is a hidden gem in The Keilor Shopping Centre. The shop was very busy as usual, both with customers and stocks of wool everywhere! A large and unusual variety of knitting and crochet books were displayed for sale. There were special offers and bargain buckets too. I bought 4 little Anchor tapestry wools in different colours to fit into my latest granny square project. I can't find a website for the shop, but here is a link with a little more info and a map  https://plus.google.com/111923526296304615649/about?gl=uk&hl=en .

Wool shop no. 3 was only a 5 minute walk and we headed straight through the city centre towards it. Wool&co. is the newest of the Dundee wool shops and immediately we noticed how different it was to the others! The shop had a simple, uncluttered layout set against clear white walls. All the wool was set out beautifully on the shelves. There were some gorgeous knitting books and patterns on display too. We noticed that this shop also caters for machine knitters with lots of cones of wool. The yarn was high quality luxury brands, such as a large selection of Erika Knight wool (one of my favourite brands!), Blue Sky Alpaca and several types of Rowan wool, including their popular Big Wool. My youngest son spent his pocket money on a ball of Erika Knight's british blue wool and some bamboo needles to knit it with. This is a link to the shop's website  http://www.woolandco.co.uk/index.php .

me and my eldest, outside Wool&co.

From here we had another 15 minute walk (up hill this time) to 'Fluph' (here's a link to shop's Facebook page  https://www.facebook.com/fluphshop ). I think our tiredness left us immediately as we entered the beautiful shop. We were full of wonder as we looked around at the beautiful wool and quirky handmade decorations. The wool was a mix of skeins and balls of pure wool, alpaca and silk. The owner Leona and her super cute cocker spaniel made us feel very welcome, inviting us to rest our weary legs on the comfy sofas and work on our current projects too.

concentrating in Fluph

While the others caught their breath I nipped across the road and attached a yarnbomb to the lampost. It was my first yarnbomb of the year and it felt good to put it up as everyone walked past or sped past on bikes and in cars. When I went back to the shop I bought 3 balls of Drops alpaca, 1 ball of Drops karisma and my sons bought a ball of Drops eskimo each.

yarnbomb on Blackness Rd, opposite Fluph

We left Fluph with our purses lighter and our bags bulging with wool agreeing it had been a fantastic morning, full of discovery!

Finishing Projects

I have written on here before about my tendency to have many different creative projects on the go. I have since found that it's common for crafters to do this, moving from project to project as their mood takes them. However, things have reached the point where I want to finish as many of my ongoing projects as I can before launching into the many fresh ideas I have!

Detail of completed blanket

The large granny square blanket I started in October was completed at the start of this week. The weather is still cold enough to snuggle under it in the evenings so I am happy to have finished it. I have very nearly crocheted a pixie hood, following an aran crochet pattern from Mollie Makes magazine. Also, I have almost completed a crochet pattern for a headband using Jenny Watson merino; there are a few changes required, but the design is almost there.

Another ongoing project is another large blanket I am making for my youngest sister and her husband. I am using up ends of wool to make granny square motifs so I can only work on it from time to time as I gather enough odds and ends together. My deadline is Christmas 2014 and I am confident it will be finished by then. On top of all these I am knitting my first pair of socks! Knitting doesn't come as naturally to me as crochet, so work on these is going to be slow. As long as they are finished by the autumn I will be happy, and so will my dad because I am making them for him!.

Work in progress, the blanket for my sister

I have good news on the Lemonadeyarns pattern competition I entered; I was chosen as one of the two winners! My wave pattern beanie hat crocheted using Erika Knight maxi wool was my winning entry. You can read all about it on the Lemonadeyarns blog ( http://www.lemonadeyarns.co.uk/blog/ ). This is an exciting opportunity for me because my pattern will be listed in the Free Patterns section of Lemonadeyarns' shop ( http://www.lemonadeyarns.co.uk/ ). I would like to thank everyone who has tested patterns for me, I really appreciate it!