Ok so firstly *whistles innocently* the shop isn’t going to be open till later this week (I hope) since there are a few last bugs I need to sort out. However it is still moving forwards.

However on a related note, I finished my first item of clothing out of Oxford Kitchen Yarn! I am very excited. :)

Minimalist Cardigan by Ruthie Nussbaum (Interweave Knits Fall07)

My Ravelry Post: here
Yarn: Oxford Kitchen Yarns DK in Pumpkin, about 10×50g skeins.
Needles: 4.5mm
Notes: I probably could have make the next smaller size since the shoulders ended up a little wider than I am, which meant that the sleeves originally ended up in that no-mans-land of too long to be 3/4 length but too short to be full length. So I ripped them back a couple of inches, and now they are fine. Also I tweaked the cap shaping because the last part was too long. (I’m not sure if that’s a problem with the pattern of certain sizes or not?)

I was a bit worried about the stocking stitch edge rolling too much, but - while obviously it does roll - the collar construction actually works really well, and i’m really happy with the finished effect. Obviously if you wanted it to sit flat you could always knit it as garter instead or something but then your cardigan would be wider.

Conclusion: I really love this cardigan. I’m really happy with the tweadiness of the semi solid colour way, and it was a fun and relatively quick knit (about 3 weeks from start to finish). Despite my usual loathing of actually knitting moss-stitch I enjoyed this pattern a great deal. I didn’t even mind knitting it in pieces and sewing it up (I’m pretty proud of my finishing too. ;)

I’m wearing it right now as I type.

(In my defence I was in flipflops and the path was very lumpy…)

Sometimes you go to the local farmers market and are overcome with the need to bring home a giant cottage loaf, and fill it full of onions and mushrooms, and tomatoes, and swiss cheese and bake it in the oven for half an hour, and then marvel at the huge sandwich you have created, and then manage to eat half said sandwich over the two remaining meals of the day.

And by you I mean Will (who ate his half in one sitting, because he has hollow legs - and a flat stomach. ;)

And by you I also mean me (who ate it over two meals, and thought it was amazing.)

—

Hopefully the shop will open in the next 24 hours. However in the meantime I’m going to go buy a new housephone, since you have to punch ours to have any hope of hearing the person at the other end, and then I’m dropping in to Felix’s Craftanoons so that I can baby the autumn cold that is threatening to take me over, and finish the first of my minimalist cardie sleeves.

(Oxford Kitchen Yarns - some of my first offerings. ;)

The problem with having a big secret project was that because I couldn’t talk about it, I didn’t talk about anything. I’m like that - I want to tell you *everything* and if I can’t I tend to sit on my hands and tell you nothing at all.

However now I get to tell you what’s going on, which is both exciting and nerve-wracking - so much so that I’ve been putting off writing this post.

So here goes:

I now run Oxford Kitchen Yarns. I dye yarns in our tiny galley kitchen here in Oxford (hense the name) using natural dyes - many of which are gathered in a sustainable way from near where I live. Others are bought from suppliers within the UK. I am working hard to make sure that none of my colours come from endangered species (even though that means I’ve had to turn my back on some good dye matter that is still freely - and legally - available).

I feel very strongly that this business should have a minimal impact on the environment, and anyway there are always other colours. That’s the beauty of it.

Currently I’m dyeing Bluefaced Leicester yarns, that are grown (i guess wool is grown?) and spun here in the UK. They behave very much like merino, and are lovely and soft.

At the moment I’m dyeing sock yarn, lace weight, DK and 4ply. I’m going to start posting the first batches of yarns to the shop in the next few days. I’ll let you know when stuff is up. :)

I’m knitting up one of my test dyelots as the Minimalist Cardigan from the lastest Interweave. Hopefully I’ll be finished in the next couple of weeks, though I’m actually really enjoying knitting it, despite my hating knitting moss-stitch. (I think it’s because it’s a sort of double moss stitch, which makes me want to knit just one more row…) Anyways I’ve knit the back, and both fronts, and I’m halfway through the first sleeve.

(Felix took some photos of my yarns at a Bluestockings meeting. You can see more images at her blog here.)

While I’m here I want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone at Oxford Bluestockings for being so incredibly supportive all the way through this process. It’s been a real leap into the unknown for me, and they’ve cheered me on entire time. It makes me really happy that they’ve also become my first customers. :)

You can read about what Liz and Felix have to say about Oxford Kitchen Yarns here and here (Liz) and here (Felix). And yes they’re my friends, but they’re also rabid yarn shoppers - as I know from experience. ;)

So there you go.