Spring Class Schedule

We have some new exciting classes for you guys, starting soon!

all of our classes can be booked online at www.fluph.co.uk, over the phone, or in person. 

BEGINNERS KNITTING

Date : Saturday the 9th May 2015

Time: 10.00am - 1.00pm

Price: £35 which includes all materials

In this 3-hour class, learn the basics of knitting, including casting on, the knit and purl stitches and casting off. We’ll also look at reading patterns and understanding knitting terms, materials and equipment and how to get started on your first knitting project.

Level: Beginner

Skills required: None

 FINISHING YOUR KNITS

Date : Saturday the 9th May 2015

Time: 2.00pm - 5.00pm

Price: £35 which includes all materials

In this 3-hour class, learn the essential skills for putting together your hand-knitted garments, such as seaming (including easy shoulder seams using short-rows and three-needle cast-off), easing the various pieces to fit, grafting, weaving in ends, blocking, sewing on buttons and more.

Level: Intermediate

Skills required: Casting on and off, knit and purl, increasing and decreasing, reading a pattern

Materials: 4 x 10cm swatches (2 garter and 2 stocking stitch) on stitch holders. Materials can be collected once class is booked.

KNITTING TIPS AND TRICKS

Date : Saturday the 20th June 2015

Time: 10.00am - 1.00pm

Where: fluph

Price: £35 which includes all materials

In this 3-hour class, learn a whole series of techniques to make your hand-knitted garments look beautiful, including accurate swatching, choosing/ substituting yarn, picking up dropped stitches and recognizing and fixing other mistakes, choosing the right increases and decreases, picking up stitches neatly for a button band, joining a new ball and weaving in ends.

Level: Advanced beginner

Skills required: Casting on and off, knit and purl, increasing and decreasing

Materials: a 10x10cm stocking stitch swatch (on needles) Materials can be collected once class is booked.

STEEKING- MUG COSY

Date : Saturday the 20th June 2015

Time: 2.00pm - 5.00pm

Where: fluph

Price: £35 which includes all materials

In this 3-hour class, we will explore how to safely cut your knitting so that you can turn a jumper into a cardigan, resize a garment up or down, add armholes and more. This traditional technique is intrinsic to Fair Isle, Scandinavian and other colourwork knitting traditions and is also useful when knitting cables or other patterns that are more easily worked in the round, for knitting with self-striping yarns and for those who prefer knit to purl…

We’ll look at the various types of steeks, as well as the yarn and stitch patterns commonly used when steeking. Participants will work and cut two different kinds of steeks on their swatches and will learn how to secure the steek once cut, add a knitted band and incorporate a steek into a garment. You will also receive a pattern that turns the swatches into a sweet mug cosy.

Level: Intermediate

Skills required: casting on and off, knit and purl, increasing and decreasing, reading a pattern: some experience knitting in colourwork or cables will be helpful but not essential

Materials: 2 completed swatches (instructions for these will be provided after you book your place)

Karina is Back

I am so happy to announce that the epicness that is Karina Westermann is back teaching at fluph. 

All classes are avalible to book online at http://www.fluph.co.uk/#!workshops/c1faw ,

 in the shop or over the phone at 01382 690190. All classes must be booked and payed for in advance. 

If you missed the chance of a class with Karina at the EYF, this is your chance. 

Date : Saturday the 7th March 2015
Time: 2.00pm - 5.00pm
Where: fluph
Price: £35 which includes all materials
Level: Confident knitters.


Karie Westermann will walk you through all the techniques you need in order to incorporate beads into any knitting project. You will learn how to choose the right beads for your project, which technique to use when, and how to care for your beaded projects. This class includes a beaded cuff project as well as pointers on how to use beads in colourwork and lace projects.

http://www.fourth-edition.co.uk/



Date : Saturday the 7th March 2015
Time: 10.15am - 1.15pm
Where: fluph
Price: £35 which includes all materials


For crochet:

Are you a knitter who is mystified by crochet? Fed up seeing knitting patterns that use crochet? Feeling slightly scared by using just a hook to create thing?

This workshop will teach you the essential crochet stitches, read a crochet pattern, understand crochet terminology and then show you just how crochet can be applied to your knitting.

Together with Karie Westermann, you will learn the basic stitches and the terminology - as well as explore how to combine knitting and crochet.


http://www.fourth-edition.co.uk/



Date : Saturday the 2nd May 2015
Time: 10.15am - 4.15pm
Where: fluph
Price: £45 which includes all materials and lunch


Learn how to knit colourwork with perfect tension. The class includes instruction on two-handed colourwork techniques (incl. Brief introduction to continental knitting) and how to choose the perfect colours using colour theory.

http://www.fourth-edition.co.uk/

Gifts for knitters...that isn't yarn part 7

If you are a bit behind on your gift buying, remember you can still buy a gift voucher and have it posted out. Tomorrow is the last day for UK postage or if your as organised as I am (not very) I will be in the shop on the 23rd...you can pick one up then. 

Joint Birthday, Christmas party!

It has nearly been a year! Oh my word, i have been running my own business for a year! We opened on the 14th of December 2013 and have been loving every minute...SO to celebrate this momentus occasion we are turning our knit night on the 4th of December into a bit of a doo. To make the night even better our really good friends Clare Devine and Jess of Ginger Twist will be coming through to party with us, AND they will have their smooshy yarn and fantastic patterns with them. I cant wait! You are all invited and silly jumpers are optional.

Drops Catalogues

The new drops catalogues have literally been dropped off by the lovely DPD man!

There are four in total, full to the brim with patterns. One of which is specifically for baby things, you should see the patterns, they are adorable! There are both knitting and crochet patterns. The best bit....they are only £1 each! Ridiculous. 

   

 

 

 

 

the Queen of socks came to visit

 

So last Saturday the sock Queen that is Clare Devine came through to sunny Dundee to pass on her socky knowledge. I may have gotten a little overly excited when she showed me all her tiny sock samples, Tiny socks! they are the cutest thing. not to mention the tiny sock blockers!  

Much fun was had, lots of tea consumed, plenty cake eaten and  we also learnt how many different types of heels there are and for what purpose you would use them! The favourite seemed to be the Alan Partridge heel. The thing i really enjoyed was (apart from all the teeny socks) was listening to Clare teach, this woman knows her stuff, but she is very approachable if you need to ask questions, and the south african accent! Do you think she would read me bed time stories? Is that creepy? ANYWAY, all of the students left with teeny socks of their own, and even though the heavens had opened they all left with a smile on their faces, and Clare with a clarkies in her belly! 

 

   

 

 

 

 

that time with the penguin!

My Grun and her love of shawls.

So after wittering on about my Grunny and happing her bits, I went in search of a photo of my Grun wearing what is now a very hip and trendy accessory, well in my opinion. Yes those two small people are myself and my brother...and yes my Grun really is that small!

Simmerdim

Continuing with our shawltastic summer I finally knit a Simmerdim by Gudrun Johnston. I was however coerced into knitting it by sock Queen Clare Devine and the cheeky minx that is Ginger twist, by saying "All the cool kids have knit one" and that's like a red rag to a bull. So obviously I had to cast on immediately!! I decided to work this one up in the scrumptious Artesano 4ply. This yarn is divine to work with, because its alpaca its so soft but with the lace section its nice and airy! I am in love with this yarn. Pop in past the shop for a good squish and a flounce about with the shawl on!





Pattern is $5.00 and the yarn is £5.49 and this pattern only needs two hanks :)

We have a new window display! Its the summer shawltacular over at fluph this July/August! I adore shawls, they are no longer granny chic (well I know my Grunny loves a good shawl to hap* her bits!) but glorious draped pieces of cloth to wrap around your shoulders on a warm evening to layering up under a jacket for the colder weather. Our window features four beautiful shawls all using yarn from fluph! 

 

The first shawl is Different Lines knit by my current knit designer crush Veera Välimäki, I love the strange shape of this shawl, I received one as part of a swap at Christmas and its my FAVE shawl to throw around my neck. This gorgeous specimen is knitted in our Drops Alpaca which is a sooper smooshy 4ply and my favourite of the drops line.  (pattern is €3.90)



This second stripy seductive number is Dream Stripes by Cailliau Berangere knit in the super smooshy Manos Del Uruguay silk blend and silk blend fino. However any 4ply yarn would work perfectly! Such a great wee pattern with a little bit of lace on the end.  (this is a free pattern)

This saucy little number was kindly knitted up by the awesome Louise Reilly (if you dont know this girl, you really should!! go find her on twitter) once again in the super squishy Drops Alpaca. You all need to come see this beaut in the window the stitch pattern is stunning and such a great size to throw over your shoulders or wrap around like our glamorous model! (HA!) Veil of Leithen by EastLondonKnit (this pattern is £3.50) 

  

Our fourth and final shawl is much more stunning in real life than wrapped around a mannequin. This shawl was knitted by one of my besties Hannah Dickson in some super soft Primula by Adriafil and edged with some stunning orange Schoppel-Wolle Gradient. The pattern is Smooth Move by Stephen West and is quite a large shawl, the right size for long summer walks with close friends, or for covering your shoulders whilst enjoying a cold glass of something with friends on a nice summer evening!  (this pattern is $6)

These shawls all really need to be seen in person. If you too have caught the shawl bug there is a tonne of inspiration on the fluph pinterest boards. Then knit all the shawls and drape them all over your body! Its the new way forward in shawl wearing!!

  

*hap in Doric is to cover. for example "hap your lugs" is to "cover your ears" stop listening in. 

Laurence's Thistle socks

So something super exciting to share with you all today (i know its a day late, i had a bit of a drama with a delivery)

The creative wonderfulness that is Laurence has designed fluph an exclusive sock pattern.
Look at its awesomeness. It has a wee thistle on the side and is perfect for beginner sock knitters looking for something a bit more than a plain sock!

This pattern is available in kits in the shop. The kit will include, a set of double pointed needles, two balls of sock yarn (enough to make the socks) and of course the pattern.
The yarn in question is Lang Jawoll that is available in super cute summer colours and includes a wee spool of reinforcement thread for heels and toes, to make your hard work last even longer

The Kit is only £8.50, perfect for birthday presents, thank you gifts or just because, so pop into the shop and grab one. Oh and it comes in a cute wee hand screen printed fluph paper bag! Smoosh!

Epic socks of Epicness!

So socks seem to be the recurring theme on my pinterest boards at the moment ( so many pretty ones with beautiful detail) However if like me you are a bit of a newbie to sock knitting* self patterning yarn is a god send! You can focus on making an awesome pair of socks and let the yarn worry about the funky patterns. This has to be my fave self striping yarn at the moment, because it doesn't just work up in stripes or spots, it does this super cool psychedelic wavy pattern!
The other cool thing about this yarn is that two strands of yarn are hand dyed at the same time so that you get a fairly identical pair of socks. However you do need to follow the instructions when unwinding it from the disc it comes on, because the two strands are together you need to hook it on a door handle or make a small person stand and hold the disc, whilst you wind it into two separate balls. DO NOT do what i did and try and wind off one with my yarn winder and forget about the other, i ended up spending an entire knit night untangling myself (I should always follow instructions). The yarn itself is really nice to work with, no splitting and I had no joins in my disc which is always a plus. I did however have a bit of a freak out with the pattern not working on the foot of my sock (i did mine toe up) but i feel this was down to the heel I did, thinking about it an afterthought heel would have been much better and the pattern would have probably worked up perfectly. Hindsight huh! Before blocking i did have a sneak wear of the socks and they feel so toasty on my feet (I may be converted to hand knit socks!). When i did get round to washing/blocking them, quite a lot of the black dye came out of the sock into the water, however this wasn't noticeable in the black colour so I think some dye crystals were hanging about, and not once did I end up with black fingers or needles! Weird. 

Yarn details

Name -            Schoppel-Wolle Flying Saucer

Rav link -         Here

Weight -            4ply/fingering

yardage-           100g = 420m approx.
Tension-           30sts x 42rows
Needles-           2 - 3mm, UK 11 - 14, US 0 -2

Fibres-              75% new wool, 25% nylon
washable? -      Machine washable at 40 degree

extra-                the pattern works best over 60 to 64 stitches

Price-                £11.90

There are thousands of patterns out there for socks however i have collected a few that would be excellent for using with this yarn. I used the Two at Once, Toe-Up Magic Loop Socks by the knit picks crew (link) excellent if you suffer from second sock syndrome, and FANTASTIC instructions on how to magic loop! Highly recommend. 

Another good vanilla sock pattern by the Knitmore girls (link) a very straightforward cuff down sock knit in the round. 

Lastly how about one for the men in our lives (link) again cuff down in the round! 

Have I managed to convinced you that you need this yarn in your life? Come and smoosh it!! I promise you wont regret it! 

P.s Keep your eyes peeled for some exciting socky news on the 3rd of June!! I cant wait! 

* (this yarn is also very cool if you are not a beginner sock knitter) 

Soak

Soak has landed in fluph. But what is soak Leona? So you know that wonderful lace shawl that needs blocked, or the well loved pair of knit socks that need a wash, what do we not do with them? put them in the washing machine. Why? because they will felt! Correct, we hand wash our hand-knits and crochet. This stuff is like washing powder, but its specifically for using alongside delicate bits, (no not those bits!) You only need a teaspoon to every gallon of water, it cleans that precious item and it makes it smell DIVINE! oh my word, they should be perfume! It doesn't even need rinsed.

The big bottle that does a massive 75 washes is £14.95 and the wee one that does 18 washes is only £8.95. Come down and have a sniff! your yarn will thank you for it!!

New squishy stuff of the sock kind!

New yarn new yarn we have some new yarn! So many colours, yuuum! Right so we have topped up the crazy zauberballs with some funky new colours, shall we look closer?

One of the grey and green MAY have jamp into my stash pile, and by may have, it totally has! 

We are all about the sock yarn this update. This beautiful set of specimens is Lang Jawoll sock yarn. the magic thing about these, apart from their stunning colours, is each ball (roll?) comes with a wee bobbin or reinforcement thread for the heels and toes. Perfect! could also be saved for darning if you end up with your big toe poking out! 

More Zauberballs (crikey i may have a wee crush!) this time its Zauberball Gradient, its like a Zauberball but thicker, Aran weight actually! and its oh so soft! I can see them eyeing me from where I sit, but no I shall resist! 

These cheeky chaps are missing their colour. oh nose! if you are of the dyer persuasion this stuff would be perfect for whipping up socks of your own colour. 

So I have been saving the best of this socky bunch till last. 

These my lovelies are flying saucers. These magical creations, i cant even put into words how awesome they are. Basically these are dyed so you get two socks of identical colour with this crazy intergalactic wave pattern. ALSO on the inside of the label you get a free sock pattern. I'm sold, in fact that's what I will be casting on at knit night this evening. 

LOOK AT THEM! I will just leave those here while I go and do some crochet.

Unicorn yarn and cherry blossoms!

Firstly let me show you the beautiful new yarn we have in stock. Its Manos Alegria in the most beautiful colours, we even have some in neon, and we all know I have a love for neon. Its a 4ply 100 gram skein that contains a massive 445 yards. smoosh! These photos do not do the colours justice, i am currently working with one of the neon skeins for a shop sample and its like knitting with a rainbow dream. you need to come in and have a smoosh for yourselves, i can even give you some alone time ;) 

Before I go let me quickly show you these cherry blossoms! These were flowering on a tree straight across from the shop, i adored looking at these flowers every day, SADLY the wind has claimed most of these guys, glad I snapped a few pics and we will just have to wait until they are back next year!