Note to yarn dyers: name a colourway after a book, and some of us may not be able to resist ...
This is a skein of aran weight Bluefaced Leicester *(55%) and Baby Alpaca (45%) called South Riding. It should be just the thing for a simple pair of mittens, and I love the colours; the book is pretty good, too, as you'll see here.
The yarn comes from Great Woolly Owl where you'll find quite a few other literary favourites (some of which have also found their way to my house).
* Should you come upon a Bluefaced Leicester in the field, you will recognise it thus: "It should have a head like a solicitor"! That's according to a breeder quoted in Philip Walling's most interesting Counting Sheep: A Celebration of the Pastoral Heritage of Britain
I have just bought (in Topping and Co.) Winifred Holtby's The Land of Green Ginger. That sounds like a good colour for Great Woolly Owl.
Posted by: Claire | 03 December 2014 at 07:53 AM
It certainly does!
By the way, Harriet was telling me again yesterday how much she enjoyed her visit to Topping & Co., and she is not one to go into raptures over bookshops, so full marks to them.
Posted by: Cornflower | 03 December 2014 at 08:02 AM
I was in there again last Sunday and it was nicely busy so I have high hopes for them.
Posted by: Claire | 03 December 2014 at 09:20 AM
The mittens will be so lovely and warm! Sometimes, if alpaca gets wet, it can carry a whiff of the beast so if a snowball fight is in the cards...
Posted by: Darlene | 03 December 2014 at 11:56 AM
I adore the book (now have about three copies of it as I couldn't resist the Virago edition to add to my less decorative earlier versions!) and that wool looks lovely. If only I could knit!
Posted by: Liz F | 03 December 2014 at 12:05 PM
I'm in love with this company (and I love Loop too, close enough to visit)- am so very tempted, though I have enough stash and projects at the moment.
Posted by: Carol S | 04 December 2014 at 12:41 AM
When I was in they said business had been very brisk, and I hope that continues.
Posted by: Cornflower | 04 December 2014 at 03:06 PM
I'll bear that in mind, Darlene!
Posted by: Cornflower | 04 December 2014 at 03:06 PM
You'll have to learn, Liz!
Posted by: Cornflower | 04 December 2014 at 03:07 PM
Loop is wonderful, and yes, I have quite enough wool to be going on with too, but it's good to have a range to choose from when it's time for the next project (or that's my justification for the moment!).
Posted by: Cornflower | 04 December 2014 at 03:09 PM
Yes, but how to store? My ongoing problem, and then how to search through without it becoming a massive project in itself? My TBRs take enough managing...
Having written that I did dream about those shades last night.
Posted by: Carol S | 04 December 2014 at 04:56 PM
I've been matching up the patterns in my Ravelry queue with my yarn acquisitions, so I have a list (not set in stone, of course) of future projects. It may also be a good idea to print out the pattern and bag it up with the yarn - and the needles if they are not already in use - so that everything is to hand.
Posted by: Cornflower | 19 December 2014 at 05:44 PM