Autumn is such a beautiful time of year in Edinburgh with nature bursting with the most amazing colours and subtle hues. To keep alive the memories of this very brief season, check out Shilasdair’s luxurious blends of hand-dyed yarns from the Isle of Skye in the shop, it is hard to believe that such rich and vibrant colours can be achieved using natural dyes found in nature.

Rich and vibrant autumn colours can be found everywhere, but very soon the wind and the rain will completely strip the trees bare and turn everything into mush!

If you need a soft worsted/dk weight yarn, check out Cascade’s Lana D’Oro (alpaca/wool) range, currently stocking 14 colours in the shop and a few more colours have been added to the Cascade 220 Heathers.

It is definitely sweater season, a great quick and simple top-down pullover project using the Cascade include Arleen. This yarn is also great for quick hats, cowls, mitts and scarves.

Winter is fast approaching and Be Inspired Fibres has managed to squeeze in a few more classes before Christmas.

Coming up..

Knitting Seamless Sweaters with Emily Wessel, Tin Can Knits,
4 x 2 hour sessions, Mondays, 11th, 18th & 25th November and 2 Dec. 6.30pm – 8.30pm

Knitting Toe-Up Socks with Circular Needles with Jo Kelly, Director, EdinYarnFest
2 x 2 hour sessions, Sundays 17th & 24th November, 2.30pm – 4.30pm

Yarn Pony’s Hand-Dyed Yarns Trunk Show, Saturday, 30th November, 10.00pm – 5.00pm

That Polished Knit, Finishing Techniques for Hand Knits with Kristen Orme, Saturday, 7th December, 2.00pm – 5.00pm  (Repeated Class)

Click here for further info on the classes.

We had some really inspiring and very successful classes on colourwork and lace work in September to get us into the mood for knitting this winter, as the nights are starting to get longer, darker and colder.

Be Inspired Fibres has lined up two classes in October, one half day workshop on “Finishing Techniques for Hand Knits”, which is scheduled for Saturday, 19th October in the afternoon. We are really lucky to have Kristen Orme, who works for Eribe’s Knitwear Designs in the Borders to help us tidy up those loose ends and teach us how to sew up seams or even how to avoid them altogether.

Scheduled for Sunday, 27th October is a practical one-day workshop on “Knitting Triangular Shawls” with Karie Westermann.

Karie will be focusing on the different construction methods of triangular lace shawls, how to choose patterns, yarns and needles, how to read charts correctly and to troubleshoot. How to cast-on for lace and bind-off and how to block. You will also get an opportunity to knit a mini shawl sample to take home at the end of the day!

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Bookings can be made online at Be Inspired Fibres’s Events or pop into the shop.

Based in Uruguay, Malabrigo produces a very affordable line of hand dyed yarns of incredible softness and stunning color variations. Each skein is totally unique, even though they are dyed in the same pot.

Be Inspired Fibres is currently stocking 11 colours of the Malabrigo Worsted, which is an aran weight, very soft and has a slightly felted feel. Malabrigo Worsted knits up very quickly, so perfect for those last minute gifts, especially hats, scarves and cowls.

Sometimes using variegated yarns can be a bit of tricky, besides using 2 skeins and alternating rows to even out the colours, choosing the right patterns can really help to avoid pooling effects.

I am currently knitting up a skein of Malabrigo Worsted in Comfy Junkie, which is a variegation of dark browns and pale greys.

I am using a free cowl pattern called Barbara Cowl by Shannon Cook, which is a very simple two row pattern repeat and very effective for showcasing highly variegated yarns. Although the pattern is for a cowl, it can easily be adapted to a scarf.

Here are some reds, pinks and oranges..

and some blues.

Winter in Scotland is particularly cold and damp, so when Ysolda Teague, a leading designer who grew up in the Marchmont area came up with her latest pattern Strokkur inspired by traditional Icelandic Lopapeysas cozy sweaters with the colourful yoke patterns, it was definitely a cue for me to stock Istex’s extraordinary Lett Lopi.

Icelandic wool has extraordinary qualities, which are perfect for sweaters in Edinburgh. Garments knitted up with the Lett Lopi are extremely lightweight, but warm at the same time, with exceptional water repellant characteristics. Despite its hard looking appearance, the wool doesn’t seem to irritate my eczema on my hands, the knitted fabric is very lightweight and best worn as an outer garment and over a light polo neck.

I am currently stocking 27 beautiful colours in the shop ranging from rich plums, blues, greys, blues, browns and ambers.

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It was lovely to see familiar faces from my regular knitting groups and also new faces from the neighbourhood turn up on Saturday’s soft opening. It went well, apart from the new cash till, which decided to play up on the day!

A bunch of beautiful flowers arrived on the day from my sister Sayon, who lives in Banbridge, Co. Down. It was totally uncanny, as the bouquet of flowers were the exact same colour as the stock of Fyberspates Vivacious 4ply a new range of vibrant hand dyed yarns, which arrived the day before.

Thank you for all the best wishes!