exciting surprise shop update!

Let me tell you, it has not been easy to keep this little project a secret. The yarn has been dyed for months now, safely tucked away and awaiting this moment when it can be shared with the world at last. I honestly don't know how I resisted the urge to knit up the whole big bag-full of yarn...

 Rest assured, I am NOT going to keep it all for myself. it will all be listed in the etsy store this 

SUNDAY, MAY 15th @ 2pm EST!

Years ago, I dyed up a little bit of cashmere and silk yarn for my lovely friend Caroline who has knit the yarn into the MOST PERFECT pattern. Caroline's designs are always beautiful, carefully thought out and delightful to knit. This one sure fits the bill and she has generously offered to debut her new pattern in a kit featuring the very same yarn!

This Sunday, I will be listing 4 different kit colour options in the etsy shop. Each kit includes 3 skeins of the brand new Viola Cashmere + Silk yarn and a PDF copy of Caroline's new pattern, Cashmere Love. There is enough yarn in the kits to knit the cowl and hat, and gives you options to change up main colours and contrast colours too!

To see each of the colour options knit up, click over to the ravelry pattern page. Four lovely test knitters have each put their spin on the pattern and knit up beautiful examples of each colour option. Thank you testers!

Wild Rose, Cosmic, Garden Ghost

Mustard Seed, Bronte, Pebble

Sea Storm, Dew Drop, Ghost

Dove, Mineral, Amaranth

The yarn and pattern are really a great pair; this delicate, soft and gleaming cashmere and silk blend knits up into a warm and almost weightless fabric. It feels like total luxury and is perfect for a very special accessory!

I can't pick a favourite colour choice, but I did knit my sample (which my wise mum has already claimed) out of the Sea Storm option. I love it! There will be 14 kits available in each colour option and each kit will be $116 USD

I almost kept this...

Yay, hooray, update day is almost here! As I know I have said already, it's a big one, and I am not exaggerating! Being such a big update, I have been busily preparing for a long time now, and am very much looking forward to Saturday. Mainly because it means that the yarn mountains all around the house will go to new, loving homes. Because I can't fit even one more skein of yarn in this house! (I know, this is totally NOT a bad problem to have)

Without a doubt, the highlight of this update for me is the debut of Mooresburg DK! Until now, only Kickstarter backers have had their hands on this lovely yarn. So it is an exciting moment indeed, because Mooresburg DK is spun locally to me, from the fleeces of local sheep to boot! It's 100% Cotswold/Dorset cross fleece spun into a bouncy 2-fold yarn in a Double Knit weight. Rustic, soft and lustrous all at the same time. It's good stuff!

Mineral

 Sea Storm

 Soft

Each 100g skein is 238 meters (260 yards) and $25 USD. I cannot wait to cast on another sweater in this yarn, but haven't been able to settle on the perfect pattern. Think I'm getting close though!

I recently finished knitting this Humboldt Sweater by the brilliant and lovely Anna Maltz. It calls for 2 yarns held double throughout, and I jumped at the chance to use Mooresburg as the main yarn (I used Giant Peach with a natural grey Wensleydale yarn) 

Just about every Viola yarn is going to be represented in this update, so I am working hard to narrow my favourites down for this list...and here they are...

Golden Oak

Sock yarn was especially tough to choose, as I am really into mixing heel and toe and contrasting colours into socks...it's just an excuse to have 3 times the colours!

The highly coveted mauve-ish Eclipse that I have managed to recreate...just this one time.

Surf

 Mooresburg

I just finished up a pair of socks in the Mooresburg colorway and loved it so much I'd be happy to cast on a second pair this minute!

Which leads me straight on into the sock kits that will be also be available. To save you some of the trauma of choosing 3 whole skeins of yarn , I've put together 4 different options for kits! Each kit contains 1 100g skein and 2 25g skeins of sock yarn! When you purchase the kit, I will also send a download code for Emily's Favourite Socks. Everything you need!

from left to right: Surf (MC) with Titus and Eclipse, Graffiti (MC) with Amaranth and Soft

Mustard Seed (MC) with Bronte and Eclipse, Golden Oak with Bronte and Blot.

I'll be sharing more previews as Saturday draws nearer. Still to come is Mohair Lace, MCN Worsted, Polwarth and Alpaca, Merino Lace, Merino Fingering and Merino Singles 4 ply. How exciting!

shop update!

At long last it is time for a SHOP UPDATE! 

Click over the the VIOLA etsy shop next TUESDAY, FEBRUARY the 2nd @ 3pm EST for the latest and greatest!

I know, it's been a while. The past few months at Viola HQ have been action packed, and the time has flown by since the last shop update. I'm really excited about the yarns and colours that are lined up for next Tuesday. I think They're well worth the wait, hope you do too...

Polwarth + Alpaca is back at last! It's been away for a while, so for those of you who do not remember, Powarth + Alpaca is spun by my lovely friends at John Arbon Textiles. It's a blend of 70% Polwarth 15% Brown Alpaca and 15% White Alpaca. The natural hint of colour in the undyed yarn gives the finished colours such richness and depth. The yarn itself is light as air, soft, squishy and warm. It's good stuff!

I knit myself a Quill shawl in Polwarth + Alpaca and it has seen a LOT of action this autumn/winter. It was a perfect yarn and project pairing! Recently, I've been dreaming of a fair isle garment knit in this delightful stuff. Still in the dreaming/planning stages with that project...

 
Perhaps the best bit of news, however, is that MOHAIR LACE is returning! In the olden days of Viola (pre England) I dyed a very similar base, and it was so dreamy. When I took up dyeing again last year, I struggled to get the same base again. Just when I thought all hope was lost, this stunningly beautiful yarn appeared! Talk about good fortune, I'm still jumping for joy! 

The new Mohair Lace is almost exactly the same yarn as it's predecessor. It is a blend of 72% Kid Mohair and 28% Silk. Each 50g skein is 420 meters long.

I've just finished up a shawl (a very late birthday present for my mum) using Mohair Lace doubled with Merino Lace. The Mohair is in Twig (light golden brown) and Merino is in Ghost. I cannot even say how pleased I am with this project. I often find it really difficult to knit something so simple...always wanting to throw in some crazy detail, cable, stripe, lace, all of the above. Keeping it simple really paid off this time round!

It's a standard garter stitch triangle with this picot bind off. I'm going to be borrowing this shawl ALL THE TIME...I'll have to knit another one...that's ok. For anyone interested in knitting their own Mohair Cloud Shawl (that's what I'm calling it) I'll have lots of Mohair Lace coming up in the update, as well as Merino Lace to team it up with.

I used a 5mm needle, 2 full skeins of Mohair Lace and just over 1 skein of Merino Lace. It's big enough to wrap every which way, and light soft and cozy to boot! I wore it the other day layered over my favourite Mohair sweater (knit a very long time ago, and worn all the time!) Wearing all those layers of Mohair, whilst sorting Mohair Lace was a great treat.

i almost kept this...

Sharing the yarn that 'I almost kept' has become one of my favourite things about shop updates...suppose I just love pretty pictures of yarn. Don't we all?!

Today's shop update is very exciting, because it features the return of SOCK yarn! I've mentioned this already, I know, but I just love it so much. As a very serious sock knitter, I did stockpile a lot of Viola sock before I went off on my little break, but it was running low (and I was getting a bit panicky). Just in the nick of time, Viola Sock is back and I've managed to NOT keep it all!

Winterwood Sock

Bronte Sock

Wild Rose Sock

Black Lodge Sock

Truth be told, I want all of the sock yarn. All of it. But I cut myself off at 4 colours, gotta reign in the sock craziness!

There's lots of lovely Merino Lace as well and this rich green Eclipse is hands down my favourite!

Runner up is another Eclipse on Merino Lace. There is so much going on in this colour, I've spent more time that I should just staring at it!

And last, but not least, Cosmic Merino Lace. This colourway is quickly becoming a favourite of mine as well. Each skein came out quite differently on this base, but each one is seriously cool too!

Hope to see you today @ 4 pm EST for all this and more great yarn too!

BIG NEWS...

This post is appropriately titled indeed, it is chokablock with news. I'm excited! It's a bunch of stuff that I've known about for ages, I don't know how it hasn't slipped out in a little explosion of enthusiasm...anyhow, I managed to keep it together until now, the big unveiling!

First off is my favourite; I am about to launch a Kickstarter Campaign to help fund the completion of my new dye studio! For anyone who does not know about Kickstarter, it is a crowdfunding website. I create a profile and a project page, outlining just what it is that I would like to fund, what costs are involved and what I want to achieve. Then, I come up with a whole pile of fabulous rewards for anyone who is interested in supporting my campaign. That's the short version. 

I can't wait to share more information about the project and rewards, and exactly that will be trickling out from now to the project launch date (mid November) and beyond! For now though, I will say that helping me complete my dye studio will not only mean that I can produce more yarn more efficiently...so that's a good thing. It will also mean that you have access to brand new and exclusive yarn, limited colourways, lots of Viola swag, studio visits and...more stuff that's going to remain a surprise. Phew, so that's my biggest news!

Up next in this action packed post is next week's shop update. Wahoo! While this update won't be the biggest, it can boast the return of SOCK YARN. I've finally resurrected one of my all time favourite Viola yarns. This is the yarn that I hoard like a maniac, seriously. I knit a lot of socks, like a lot, and it's my favourite base hands down. So it's back! In addition to sock I'll have Merino Lace and Merino Fingering as well. I'll share some photos next week as update time approaches! For now, here is the triumphant return of sock yarn in Cosmic...

So please tune into the Etsy shop next Thursday November 5th @ 4pm EST

Last, but not least on the list of exciting is the end date of our Breaking into the Pretty KAL. There are loads of lovely finished projects on display in the Ravelry group, and hopefully a few more will squeak in before Saturday's deadline. I'm looking forward to the random draw Sunday morning, and will announce the winner as soon as I know (as well as get chatting to them about their yarn-y prize). So much fun! I loved participating, even though I think I missed the point and kept casting on MORE new projects. I did get an awful lot knit though. Here are my last 2 pairs of socks, all finished on time and sent to their recipients (knit from Viola sock yarn too!)...

Congratulations to all those who have completed, good luck to everyone who is still trying to get their projects done before Saturday and thank you to everyone who participated and chimed in on Ravelry. It's been loads of fun!

I almost kept this...

It's shop update time again. Always very exciting (and very busy) here in Viola-land. I'm really enjoying my new tradition of posting my favourite skeins from each update. So, without further adieu, here are the skeins that I almost kept from Tuesday's upcoming update...

Ok, oh man, this one was really hard. I'm just jumping in with my number one, ultimate, the best new colour. Phew. I'm calling it Cosmic...in keeping with the totally cosmic kick I've been on these days. This guy a prototype. There will be more, but it's going to change slightly next time round, so yeah. It's a big deal! The yarn is Merino Singles 4 ply and there are 9 skeins going into the shop. I want a saggy, oversized sweater knit in this...but I'm not keeping it ;)

Next in the ranks is this Blushy beauty, also on Merino Singles 4 ply. I'm calling this one an Eclipse as it's not close enough yet...but it's just about all of my favourite things all mixed together...dusty pink, coppery streaks and plum splodges. Phew, too exciting!

An old favourite. I can't figure out how it's taken me so long to return to Mineral, a colourway from the good ol' days of Viola. Here it is on MCN Worsted, and there's 10 whole skeins of it coming your way. cozy autumn jumper methinks.

I can't get away from it. I just love Ice Berg. Every batch I dye is captivating to me, it's only a matter of time before Ice Berg doesn't make it onto this list...Here it is on Merino Lace and there's lots to go round with 6 skeins total!

And last, it's Giant Peach. Yep, I'm back to this again. I've dyed it up this time on Merino Fingering, again, with lots to go round (10!) So get in there, this soft, subtle and warm colour is the favourite of all Viola team members...but we're be seeing you on Tuesday.

Tune into the etsy shop Tuesday, September 1 @ 4pm EST

Hope you enjoy!