New in store: Malabrigo yarns!

There are days in your life that stand out from all the others. The ones you remember fondly years down the track, when all other days have faded from memory. I like to think that the day the boxes containing Malabrigo yarns arrived at Woolarium will be remembered thus forever more.

For what is not to love? Hand dyed yarns so soft to the touch - it's yarn heaven! We currently have the Merino Worsted and the Sock in-store and online, and both are absolutely divine.

The Merino Worsted is 100% supersoft merino wool, and each skein contains a generous 192m. This 10ply yarn is perfect for sweaters, cardigans, hats, baby garments, shawlettes and cowls. Our colour range currently contains Blue Graphite 508, Pearl Ten 69 (shown above), Burgundy 41, Frost Gray 606, Ravelry Red 611, Tuareg 98 (shown above) and Polar Moon 9. No matter which colour you choose, you'll love wearing these hand-dyed yarns.

The Sock is a 4ply yarn with each skein containing a whopping 402m. This 100% merino wool is ideal for lighter weight garments, baby clothes, delicate laces - and socks, of course! We currently have 7 colours available - Lettuce 37 (shown above), Ochre 803, Eggplant 811, Persia 852, Indiectita 416 (shown above), Tiziano Red 800 and Impressionist Sky 806.

If there is a particular colour that you'd like that we don't stock, please let us know and we can order it in for you. You can see the full range of colours on the Malabrigo website, plus lots of patterns to inspire your knitting.

We also have the below free patterns in store, so come on in to see the yarn and pick up one of the patterns of your choice.

And last but not least, it's our birthday this weekend - come along and celebrate with us! The details are:

Woolarium Birthday Party

Dates:
Saturday 20th September, 11am - 5pm
Sunday 21st September, 11am - 4pm

Birthday Treats:
20% in-store purchases (exclusions apply)
Birthday Cake
Spot Prizes for Best Hand Knits/Crochets seen in-store!

* 20% sale applies to in-store purchases only. Excluded from sale are Malabrigo yarns, and Baby Alpaca, Staccato and Kavo by Shibui.

Woolarium is turning one - let's have a birthday party!

Can you believe it? Woolarium is turning one - and we can think of no better way to celebrate and to thank all of our wonderful customers for their support during our very first year than with a fabulous birthday party!

So pop in to Woolarium during our birthday weekend (Saturday 20th + Sunday 21st September, 2014) and join in the fun. There will be cake, balloons and more pompoms than you can poke a stick at!

What? Balloons and pompoms not enough? Ok - how about 20% off pretty much everything in the store?* It's our birthday gift to you, because after all, we couldn't have done it without our amazing customers.

We will also be having spot prizes for the best hand knits to make an appearance during our birthday weekend, so don your favourite knitted garments and come along and join in the fun.

Our regular Sit'n'Knit will be running on the Sunday. Bring along your current project, have some cake and enjoy the party!

Woolarium Birthday Party
Dates:
Saturday 20th September, 11am - 5pm
Sunday 21st September, 11am - 4pm

Birthday Treats:
20% in-store purchases (exclusions apply)
Birthday Cake
Spot Prizes for Best Hand Knits/Crochets

* 20% sale applies to in-store purchases only. Excluded from sale are Malabrigo yarns, and Baby Alpaca, Staccato and Kavo by Shibui.

Shibui Mix Party

It's been a busy winter here at Woolarium, and we finished it off in style by hosting a Shibui Mix party. There was mulled wine and beautiful homemade dips. There was a brilliant talk by Kirsten Johnstone. And there was yarn for our lucky attendees to play with - lots and lots of gorgeous Shibui yarn!

Shibui Knits is a yarn company based in Portland, Oregon. They produce the most incredible yarns, each carefully developed according to their design philosophy - 'elegant with a touch of bitterness', which is what the word shibui means in Japanese.

Singularly captivating on their own, the yarns can also be combined together to create stunningly beautiful knit pieces. During our 'mix' party we provided each guest with samples of different Shibui yarn, and our happy party of knitters had enormous fun creating their own mixes. Linen with Silk Cloud? Why not? How about Merino Alpaca with Pebble? The possibilities for creating beauty are endless.

But as if knitting with gorgeous yarn wasn't fun enough, we also had a fascinating and illuminating talk by Kirsten Johnstone. Kirsten runs her own knitting pattern label, Assemblage, and has also designed for Shibui (Trapezoid, Aperture and Blur are some lovely examples of her work).

Kirsten's talk covered everything, from how she began knitting, to designing her own knits, to collaborating with Shibui. She shared her incredible knowledge of the yarns and their characteristics, and explained her design processes, before wowing the crowd with her samples. If we weren't inspired by knitting with Shibui yarns before then, we certainly were after her presentation!

The evening was a hit, and thoroughly enjoyed by all who came. Each guest got to take home a sample of each of the yarns provided, plus a 'Mix Cheat Sheet' which detailed the properties of each yarn, and the resulting gauges when combined. Perfect for all of the 'mix' projects we're sure to be seeing in the near future.

Here at Woolarium we have a huge range of Shibui yarns, with colour palettes ranging from perfect neutrals to deep jewel shades. We'd love to see you in store to see this fabulous yarn for yourself, and keep your eye on the blog and the newsletter for more parties and events. In fact, we have a very special party happening very soon...!

In the meantime, feel free to drool over this picture of Shibui yarns, all in the Tar colourway. From left to right: Pebble, Cima, Baby Alpaca, Linen, Silk Cloud and Merino Alpaca. You can view all the Shibui yarns and colourways on our Shibui page.