NEW Fibres from Ashford Wheels & Looms

There are two new stunningly luxurious fibres 

from Ashford Wheels & Looms! 

And The Fibre Detours Boutique is selling them right now!

100% White Baby Alpaca 

& 

Silk, Alpaca, Fine Merino Blend.

100% White Baby Alpaca (21.5 micron)

Silk, Alpaca, & Fine Merino Blend

100% White Baby Alpaca (21.5 micron):  Baby Alpaca Fibre is extremely soft, sensuous, and supple. To say that this fibre is luxurious is not good enough. 
The fibre is slippery, contains drape, and has very little elasticity. This is a fibre that can do it all: Blend, Dye, Felt, and Spin.

What is the difference between Alpaca and Baby Aplaca? Baby Alpaca is always the first shearing, while all other shearings are simply called Alpaca. The first shearing is the preferred shearing for many since it is finer and softer than the later shearing.
Sold in multiples of 3.5oz (100g) for $17.00 CAD.   That's $4.85 per ounce.

20% Silk, 30% Alpaca, & 50% Fine Merino (19 micron) Blend: This blend is sumptuous, extremely soft, and full of luster. All of the fibres work together creating items with good elasticity, nice drape, and they are very warm. 
Working with this blend is a dream! It is a great for dyeing, felting, and spinning.
Sold in multiples of 3.5oz (100g) for $17.50 CAD. That's $5.00 per ounce.

A hat for fun...

I wasn't feeling very well after vacuuming and cleaning my upstairs studio on Sunday afternoon. I tried to do some knitting to take my mind off the pain, etc. Unfortunately though knitting just wasn't cutting it.

While I put my knitting aside I saw the racing stripe yarn I made a few weeks ago. It is made from Purple Corriedale and Circus Northern Lights rovings. You can see the post here. The first thing that came to mind was HAT.

After I quickly determined the WPI (which was 8 WPI, making it a bulky yarn #5) I grabbed my 8mm crochet hook and began crocheting.

I decided I'd adapt a regular hat or toque pattern. You know the kind... Form a chain do 6 sc. in the centre; then double the number of sc.;  then add 6 sts every row evenly.

For my pattern I opted to change to an hdc after the first two rows to see more of the yarns colour. I worked in pattern (adding 6 sts every row) until I was able to cover my ears. For me this was 10 rows, so I had 72 sts. I didn't want to go too much wider because I wanted a slouchy hat not a beret.

So, I took it in by doing an hdc, then joining 2 hdc together every 5 sts finishing with an hdc. Still the edge wasn't tight enough but I didn't want the hat to get too much longer. I went back to the sc and worked 1sc followed by a join 2sts with a sc all the way round. It fit lovely. I gave it a finished edge of a sc round worked even.

As you can see my hat worked out beautifully!

This made the rest of my day feel much more manageable. I was so happy and proud of my work. I love doing little projects like this one to lift my spirits. 

This scarf is called Ronbiais pattern C. It’s made with...

This scarf is called Ronbiais pattern C.

It’s made with Noro Silk Garden Lite. I’m using colour #2066 Lime, green, pink.

The yarn is fantastic to knit with and the colour blends are perfect. I’m making it on a set of Cubics from Knitter’s Pride. Both the yarn and needles are available from my online boutique.

http://ift.tt/1iLn1Rr

NEW! Kiwi Super Flyer from Ashford Wheels & Looms

There's a NEW Kiwi Super Flyer 
from Ashford Wheels & Looms. 

It has a HUGE 1 1/8" (2.7 cm) orifice with free-flow yarn guides. The Super Bobbin has a 500gm capacity! And you get 3 of them! When you buy the Kiwi Super Flyer a Simple Tension Lazy Kate is included.
Available in Natural and Lacquered Finish.

How much does it cost?
Natural Finish: $250.00 CAD; Lacquered Finish: $319.00 CAD

Contact The Fibre Detours Boutique if you have any questions or if you would like to put a hold on a Kiwi Super Flyer.

New Product from Ashford Wheels & Looms!!!

We are VERY Excited!

Spinning adventures♡ Instead of core spinning these 2 batts I...

Spinning adventures♡

Instead of core spinning these 2 batts I decided to makes singles. I wasn’t sure if I’d chain ply or something else. I opted for the something else. I’m going to ply them together. At least I’ll do a sample to see how it looks.

Playing with colours. I made a few small batts using a single...

Playing with colours.

I made a few small batts using a single ounce of red, blue, and yellow. I changed up the base colours the amounts blended and just had fun.

The exception is the purple and magenta batt made from some left over fibres.



Now I’m going to core spin each to see how they look.

My relationship with socks

Ever since I was little I never liked to wear socks around the house. I don't regularly wear slippers either.  Maybe this is why I never really tried to master knitting socks.

I've attempted a few and only finished a single pair of sock. I like the socks. I even wear them, but I found them difficult to make. They aren't the same size, though I thought I had taken proper notes and followed them. I tried them on as I went yet still something went wrong. The pattern was top down using a thicker sock yarn (i.e., using 4mm needles). Using the same pattern I tried to make another pair, but those turned out horrible!

Now that the boutique is carrying great sock yarns I thought I'd try again. I went looking online for a new sock pattern. I found this one via my search on Ravelry. The pattern is called Mary's Sock KAL. The yarn I picked is called Purple, Burgandy, Green #309 Footsie by Diamond Select.

They are toe-up socks made two at a time. They were easy to make. I had no worries about different sock sizes since I was making them both at the same time.The pattern is so easy to follow I'm sure that once I'm comfortable with making them I'll be able to switch up the stocking stitch to another pattern easily.

I would highly recommend this pattern to anyone who wants to knit a pair of socks!

I've had them on since I finished them last night - and I still love them. I've now converted to someone who wears handmade socks - all the time.

I'm beginning a second pair today...That is after I pick which yarn I want to make them with. I think I might try Parrots - Hachito Sock Yarn by Mirasol. What do you think?