Dear Reader,
I'm back home after a whirlwind trip to Cologne to visit h+h for the first time. h+h is a big trade show for yarn, fabric and notions, geared towards shop owners and companies. I've mostly been to yarn festivals, which I adore, and I was dreading the visit a little bit. You see, a good few years ago, when I had just started my project bag label, I went to a similar trade show for fabric. I came back extremely intimidated and doubting myself - I had not had the courage to talk to a single person or vendor.
So, I wasn't sure what to expect, both from myself and from the show. Luckily, my dear friend Jule from woollentwine was also visiting h+h, and we decided to spend the day together. And let me tell you - it was so, so, so lovely. Yes, I was intimidated at first as well, but then Jule and I went and talked to the first people (the lovely folx at Isager), and after that, it was smooth sailing!
I met quite a few people I'd been wanting to meet for a while, got a lead on stitch markers produced in Europe, and just really enjoyed being among yarn people. (A very special mention also to my friend Aleks Byrd who we hung out with most of the day - it was such a pleasure!)
So - you can do things that scare you. Ask yourself why they're scary, and what you can do to make them less scary. (Doing them with a friend almost always helps.)
We will have a few new things coming to the shop as a result of visiting h+h. For now, though, let me gently lead you to our just-launched all-natural sock yarn Close and the very special limited edition yarn from Woolly Mammoth Fibre Co. - both now in the shop!
Hanna Lisa x
New on the blog: A closer look at Close!
There's a reason we're called "Making Stories" - I love sharing how and why the amazing yarns, notions and patterns we're lucky enough to carry are created. The makers behind them are all, without exception, dedicated, wonderful, thoughtful people, and so talking with them about their products is such a joy.
This week on the blog, we're taking a closer look at Close, the all-natural sock yarn by Ovis et cetera we just started carrying. The minute I spotted it on Saskia's Instagram, I knew that I wanted it for the shop. It's custom-spun by the folx at John Arbon Textiles who really, really know their stuff when it comes to creating yarn. I talked with Saskia about all things Close - read through for the full details on why and how she created this special, non-superwash, natural sock yarn.
| Read the full post |
Heads up: Manchelopis prices will increase on April 28
As with a lot of other industries, the rise in energy prices has also been affecting supply chains in the yarn market.
The lovely folx over at Wooldreamers, the company behind Manchelopis, just reached out to let us know that they'll be adjusting the wholesale and retail prices for Manchelopis on April 28.
Until then, you can still get Manchelopis at the old price of €7.70 per plate - from April 28 onwards, it'll go up to €8.50.
Manchelopis is an unspun yarn - we've talked about how to knit with unspun yarn and what to knit with it before - and an absolute delight to work with. You also don't need a lot of it for a sweater! I recently took some pictures of my finished Gentle Lopi Tunic (yes, a blog post is coming!) and weighed my final garment, and it came out at just under 350g - which means I used less than 4 plates. Whoa!
| Shop Manchelopis |
Have you seen the latest podcast episode yet?
I'm sharing my latest FO, current WIP, and a much closer look at Close and the WMFC Limited Edition Yarn in it!
| Watch the full episode |
Last, but not least...
... our Issue 9 Kits are retiring on April 15! If you've been wanting to get your hands on one of these curated kits, now is the time!
| Shop Issue 9 Kits |