lots of new stuff!!

[redwitch]

Oh boy am I happy! I complain about the terrible range of knitting things available in NZ a lot. Recently I have:

-found a LWS with a Saturday knitting group
-it also sells laceweight/2-ply, which I haven't seen anywhere else (never mind that it's $6.5 for 25g)
-found reasonably nice merino 4-ply which I prefer for socks at $3 a ball (shame that happened a couple of weeks AFTER I paid almost $80 for 4 balls of Rowan 4-ply Soft)
-bought some knitting machine cones with thin wool for cobweb/almost laceweight

and my Amazon box just arrived with 4 lace books!!! Also a craft chain here now has 3 Lion Brand types of wool,nothing appealing yet but it's promising! Maybe more lines from them will turn up as winter progresses! Although I am thinking about a cushion from the thick and quick chenille... my knitting options are increasing all the time it seems!

Only thing left... more laceweight choices, some alpaca and cashmere wool being available, and good circular needles! What terrible range and quality our ones are... but last time I was in HK I found a pair of Addis, might be back there soon and will look for some more!

:happydance::happydance:

Oooh off to read my new books... how am I supposed to study for exams now?

[five_six]

Oh, I am sooooo envious of you, I'm practically reading over your shoulder as we speak :teehee:

I would love to find a knitting group here, but to no avail at the moment. I wonder how I would get one started up, maybe I'll have to look into it - unless there is no-one else in this whole state that knits, but I doubt it.

Have fun with your new presents!

[Susan P.]

Lucky girl :-) Do you like the Naturally (NZ) range? I have loved some of their yarn.

[redwitch]

I have used a bit of their stuff.

The merino Haven 4-ply: I found it a bit splitty, after tinking it just once or twice it would look nasty and ratty when unknitted, fortunately it knits up okay even then, but I prefer Patonyle instead, equally soft and wears a teeny bit better.

And the nicely dyed '4-ply' in hanks, gorgeous colours and we don't have any other handpainted/whatever available here, but it knit up so thin I would really call it a 3-ply, not quite right for socks as I had intended.

Oh and the Merino et Soie, not as nice as I expected, I wondered whether it was third-grade silk and 3rd-rate merino, a bit scratchy, however that was a dark colour and the lighter colour of it I used was much nicer, seems to be the way with many light colours, something about the dye I guess.

I do however intend to keep an eye out for other products by them when appropriate for a project and try out a bit. I think that the $3 a ball merino is not quite as nice and well-spun as say the Rowan but for 1/6th the price I don't mind. Which wools of theirs did you like?

[Susan P.]

Woodland I thought nice..and lovely colours..I've had that fluffy, bedraggled issue also with some yarns when undoing a line..Paris Mohair is a classic for that.. but another Naturally I used and liked a lot..gone right out of my brain. It'll come to me and I will post it.