Sunday 1 May 2016

Independent Yarn Shop Day: Hanging out at the Countess Ablaze. . .

Yesterday was Independent Yarn Shop Day so I popped over to Manchester to check out the Countess Ablaze Dye Studio which is located in Swinton, a quick train ride out of the city centre.





It was packed with knitters all happily working away, sipping tea or coffee and nibbling on cupcakes and the piles of chocolates and Tunnocks teacakes kindly provided by the shop. We had to hang around on the edges before two seats opened up, but there was plenty of yarny goodness to examine while we waited.

The Countess Ablaze who uses primarily British wool for her bases, is ALL about colour!



I'm trying not to buy any superwash wool otherwise I'd have been seriously seduced by the vibrant and intense sock yarns hanging up.

Fortunately, she also dyes non-superwash wools and I bought two 500m skeins of The Rt. Hon Ronaldsay light fingering in the Oh Kelly! colourway.  I'm in love with this deep, deep green and I think I'll have enough to knit a summer cardigan or top.  Her English Gentleman DK range is 50% Bluefaced  Leicester and 50% Masham and I fell hard for the autumn colours skein that also has a smokey purple-blue running through it.  The final skein on the right is completely out of my colour comfort zone but I think it would be part of a fun summer top; I just need to find the right pattern now.


Brityarn was also there with a trunk show of some of her favourite wools.  I bought one of her sturdy canvas bags and two lovely skeins of Blacker Tamar 4ply. They will be set aside until Kate Davies' new Haps book comes out later this year.


Thanks to Countess Ablaze and Knit British for all their happy enabling, and a very pleasant afternoon.

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