ANCIENT ARTS YARNS DAY + A SURPISE!
Monday, July 31, 2023 – Ancient Arts Yarns Day (Plus a Surprise Kit)!
As it turns out the overall theme of today’s email is Ancient Arts Yarns! We have a new Colour of the Month offering, as well as a special Shawl Kit & KAL to tell you about.
Be sure to read to the end for a hand knitters ‘must have’ tool.
Congratulations to one and all who were able to take advantage of last week’s Sale Week! And many thanks to all of you for your patronage, friendships and inspiration that you share with us.
Don’t we think that Abby deserves a “WELL DONE” on the success of her very first email as guest writer last week!?! Didn’t she do an incredible job!?! Thank you Abby for all your hard work.
This week, Abby has one more article to mention to all of you in keeping with the theme of last week’s email...
The Croft Woodside Christmas Blanket Kit - $349.98
Our Christmas in July event may be over now but we just have to show you this festive Christmas blanket! An instant heirloom, the Croft Woodside Christmas Blanket will be a piece that will be cherished every holiday season! This Blanket is a fairisle afghan designed by Jenny Watson, and the pattern is available as a free Ravelry download.
We are very excited to offer all of you these blanket kits from Berroco using West Yorkshire Spinners yarn! The kit includes a copy of the pattern as well as 15 skeins of The Croft Aran in Stanydale (6 skeins), Reawick (4 skeins), and Sullom (5 skeins).
Croft Aran Yarn
Fibre: 100% Shetland Islands Wool
Yardage: 166 meters / 182 yards per 100 gram skein
Gauge: 18 sts / 4” on 5.00 mm or US 8
Wash Instructions: Machine Wash, Flat Dry
Blanket Measurements (Width x Length): 55x56 in or 140x142 cm
These kits are perfectly put together to create your own Woodside Blanket, however if you would like other options, take a look at the free pattern here. We would recommend checking out Berroco Vintage or Anthem Worsted as an alternate yarn/fibre choice.
To Pre-Order: call us at 519-474-0403 with your name and payment information.
Pre-Ordering deadline is Wednesday, August 9th, 2023.
Pre-order now!
STAYCATION SHAWL KITS & KAL
KAL starts August 17, 2023
It’s Summer KAL time here at Ancient Arts! Last year we took a summer road trip with the Summer Road Trip Shawl, but this year we are going to stay closer to home and have a Staycation!
Photos © Stephanie Seufert
Sample Shown in Roaring Twenties
with Garden Party Mini’s Set
Summer trips are a lot of fun but sometimes we just want to stay home and enjoy some self-care. For us that means a fun knitting project that keeps one entertained while enjoying some sunshine, a patio, and a tasty glass of iced tea or something even more exciting!
The Staycation Shawl is all about spending a day in a beautiful garden and is filled with easy-to-work stitch patterns that include garden paths, flower borders, and fun pops of colour. This shawl is rated an easy intermediate knit and is a great way to relax with stitches that look complex but are delightfully straightforward.
KAL Timeline (more details further down)
August 17 - KAL starts with a Zoom meeting
August 31 - Second Zoom Meeting
Sept 14 - Final Zoom meeting
Sept 17 - Last day to enter for Prizes
Sept 19 - Prize winners announced
We have placed our order with Ancient Arts for their limited edition colourways that are available in a limited number of kits – so if you’re interested…DON’T DELAY!
TO ORDER – come in or call in (519-474-0403) with your payment information to purchase & reserve your kit colour.
Each KIT includes
- 2 skeins Socknado (350m/100g each) in a semi-solid colour
- 5 mini skeins Socknado (70m/20g each) including two speckle or variegated colours and three semi-solid colours.
- Pattern is included (reg. $10)
- $124.98 / kit
About the Yarn...
Ancient Arts Socknado is made from top quality merino wool blended with just the right amount of nylon making this three ply yarn luscious, silky, bouncy, and a joy to knit and wear.
Kit Colours & Availability
- Roaring Twenties & Garden Party – 2 available
- Roaring Twenties & Midnight Swim – 2 available
- Roaring Twenties & Purrty & Flirty – 1 available
- Irish Linen & Garden Party – 1 available
- Irish Linen & Midnight Swim – 1 available
TO ORDER – come in or call in (519-474-0403) with your payment information to purchase & reserve your kit colour.
About the pattern & KAL…
Yardage: 950 - 1050 mtrs of fingering weight yarn (#1)
The pattern is available to purchase separately for C$10.00 (but is included in the Shawl Kits). The pattern will update once the KAL begins!
Gauge: 20 sts and 32 rows = 4” in Stocking stitch, blocked
Needle: 3.50 mm x 100 cm / US 5 x 40” circular needle or size needed to obtain gauge
Note: the Bobbles are optional; we can leave them out, or decorate with some fun buttons instead.
If you already have yarn, you are welcome to join the KAL and use your own yarn. When choosing mini skeins, they should contrast with your main colour so that if the main colour is light, the mini skeins are medium to dark shades, and if the main colour is dark, then the mini skeins are medium to light colours. The main concern is that there is some light and dark contrast with the main colourway. You do not need to use speckle colours if you prefer solid colours, and you will want at least one mini skein to be semi-solid as it will be used for lace.
During the KAL there will be three Zoom meetings with lots of tips and tricks to keep your KAL a stress-free Staycation experience.
Zoom meetings will be on August 17th, with two more following on August 31st, and September 14th.
In addition to social media posts, we will run threads for the KAL on Facebook in our group Ancient Arts Yarns Community and on Ravelry in our group. As always there will be PRIZES for everyone who is participating, and you will be able to tag us on social media with #staycationshawlkal for additional entries!
Important Dates
August 17 - KAL begins with a Zoom meeting-link will be available on our main website page.
August 31 - Second Zoom Meeting.
Sept. 14 - Final Zoom meeting.
Sept. 17 - Last day to enter for Prizes.
Sept. 19 - Prize winners announced!
Pre-order now!
August Colour of the Month
Ancient Arts Colour of the Month for AUGUST is now available for pre-ordering…it is a LIMITED EDITION colourway that is ONLY available during the month of August.
ORESBERG SHIP, NORWAY
This month we head to Norway to see some of the finest examples of Viking Era artifacts ever found. The artifacts come from a Viking ship that was excavated in 1904-05, from a burial mound on the Oseberg farm near Tønsberg, Norway.
Scientific dating suggests that the ship was buried around AD 834, although certain parts of its structure date from as early as 800. This indicates that this was an actual sea-faring ship, and not built just to be used for the burial. The ship itself is made mostly from oak and is decorated with elaborate woodcarvings. The ship is 21.5m (70.8') long and 5.1m (16.7') wide, with a mast of approximately 9-10 m (30-33') in height.
Photo © Petter Ulleland
There were four elaborately decorated sleighs and a richly carved four-wheel wooden cart, along with the horses to pull them. There were household goods such as a bed with elaborately carved bed-posts, a narrow wooden loom, wooden chests, and a collection of luxurious textiles which included woolen garments, imported silks, rugs and woven tapestries.
"On the tapestry wove we warrior's deeds..."
Old Norse poetry tells us that the tapestries were used to tell stories of battles and heroes. Some of the fragments show war-horses, chariots, both male and female warriors holding shields and spears, and even some bodies hanging from a tree.
Watch a fascinating 5 minute video on the tapestry here.
After being buried underground for over 1000 years, the tapestries are in fragments - one of which is shown above. A couple of things that will interest fibre enthusiasts is that the best preserved colour in the tapestry fragments and linens was red, a colour that was achieved by using madder root. The sails of Viking ships were often dyed red, or in red and white stripes. The practice may have signified ownership or may have been designed to instill fear into their enemies (or both!). Sails were very large, generally square or rectangular shaped, and woven from either flax (light and strong) or wool (heavier and longer lasting).
ORESBERG SHIP, NORWAY Colourway
Photo Museum of Cultural History
The August Colour of the Month has echoes of the colours in the tapestry and in the clothing found with the women. There is also brown for the wood of the boat, the carts, the wooden chests, and the wooden loom.
The “Oresberg Ship, Norway” Colour of the Month (COTM) colourway is dyed on Ancient Arts Socknado base (fingering weight #1); made of 80% superwash fine Merino wool and 20% nylon with 350m/100g; $32.98 each.
To Pre-Order: call us at 519-474-0403 with your name, payment information and number of skeins needed. Pre-Ordering deadline is Saturday, August 19, 2023.
Have a look at how beautifully August COTM pairs with contrasting colours…
ORESBERG SHIP, NORWAY and CHAMPAGNE
ORESBERG SHIP, NORWAY and THE BRINY SEAS
ORESBERG SHIP, NORWAY and SCARLETT
Left to Right: Champagne, The Briny Seas, Oresberg Ship, Norway, and Scarlett
BACK IN STOCK…
London Yarns very own 30th anniversary colourway …‘THIRTY, FLIRTY & THRIVING’.
This fun knit would be great with our ‘Thirty, Flirty & Thriving’ colourway!!
‘This shawl was born out of multiple spontaneous actions. My boyfriend spontaneously decided to take me to a fibre festival, Chantelle from Coriand3r Knits spontaneously decided to let me sample knit for her, I spontaneously decided to design my first pattern, and we spontaneously took a trip to the middle of nowhere and had this photo shoot. That’s a lot of spontaneity.
This pattern was designed to show off the amazing (colours of) assigned pooling yarn. As long as one quarter to one third of the skein is dyed in a contrast colour, you should be able to knit this pattern.
In terms of yardage, this shawl was knit using one skein of fingering weight (464 yds), but you could easily create a larger shawl by using more yarn and knitting it to your desired size.
Be sure to swatch to achieve gauge and test out your dip fans! Since the contrast colours of assigned pooling yarn is not the exact same length, you will want to play around with what works best for your skein! Not every fan will be exactly the same, so feel free to play around with it and enjoy the pops of colour!
Last but not least, this pattern is meant for advanced beginners! There is a detailed video tutorial in the pattern for the fan stitch, and the rest of the shawl is in simple stockinette.’ – quoted from pattern page
Finished Size: 54” wingspan x 14” depth, with 464 yds and blocked
Yarn Suggestions:
Pattern: We can purchase this pattern on your behalf for $8 CDN and have it email directly to you.
Gauge: 24 sts and 34 rows = 4” in Stockinette
Needle: 4.00 mm (US 6) or size needed to obtain gauge
HAVE YOU SEEN THIS…?
A ‘must have’ tool for hand knitters!
$7.98 ea
The Tappet tool (also called a Latch Tool) is used to re-latch stitches on a knitting machine but it is also useful to hand-knitters for fixing mistakes.
Hand knitters can use this handy-dandy tool when fixing dropped stitches on hand knits.
This double ended tappet tool has two different sized hooks – one end is sized for DK, worsted, aran, and chunky yarns, while the other end is perfect for lace and fingering weight weight yarns. The tappet tool has a comfortable plastic handle that prevents wrist and hand strain.
We hope that you are enjoying your summer!
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