Yarn from Hobart

Two weeks ago I was in Hobart for work. I usually go to Hobart every 6 weeks or so and I really enjoy being there.

When I go to Hobart I always seem to go shopping. It might have something to do with the Hobart office being almost next door to a great little yarn shop called The Stash Cupboard. I had hoped to take some photos of the shop but sadly I ran out of time on my last trip.

They have a great range of luxury yarns and I always buy something when I’m there. This time I bought some Shilasdair Luxury 4ply which is an angora/merino/camel/cashmere blend with a lovely tweedy blended look.

I chose two skeins in both Tansy Gold and two in Fleece Cloud. The Fleece Cloud is undyed and I believe the Tansy Gold is actually dyed with Tansy flowers.

I’m making a shawl from my own pattern – the Plus One Shawl. I designed it to use five balls of 8ply yarn, four in one colour and one ball in a contrasting colour. You knit up the first three balls of the main colour as a garter stitch shawl and then when you get to the fourth ball you start the lace edging pattern, alternating the last ball of the main colour with the ball of contrast colour.

Before you start the lace section you count how many stitches you have and then use a table to determine which row of the lace to start on. This means you don’t end up running out of yarn or ending up with heaps left over.

I’m using the four skeins of Shilasdair Luxury 4ply instead of 5 balls of 8ply. I’m going to knit up both of the Fleece Cloud skeins and then both of the Tansy Gold. It’s a variation on the original pattern which I think will work really well.

A simple shawl makes great train knitting (or plane knitting for flying to Hobart). The plastic bags that The Stash Cupboard put your yarn purchases are great for train knitting too. The little drawstring top and the transparent back make them well worth keeping for storage or active projects.

I just might have to buy some more yarn on my next business trip.