We have been working on boosting up our samples here in the shop. These projects are a great opportunity to show off our favourite yarns and some of our favourite designers. All of the patterns we have used are available in the shop, either as a hard copy or through the Ravelry In-store program. This is a fantastic program that allows designers to sell through local yarn stores. When they are designated for the program and a pattern is sold in a shop, a portion of the sale goes to the designer, just like with any wholesale scheme, except that the customer still gets the pattern added to their Ravelry library, and we can print it out for you!  This is an amazing service for everyone involved, shop, designer and customer. We are really embracing this program as it allows us to 'carry' thousands more patterns in the shop without taking up valuable shelf space or funds. Instead we only pay for a pattern when it is sold. This means we can really help you find the perfect pattern, instead of making do with one that isn't quite right from a more limited selection! Our mannequin is currently in summer mode, wearing a Wool and the Gang Supremes Sweater, knit in the Ivory White Shiny Happy Cotton. We love this yarn, and this pattern has been a hit in the shop since we got it! It's got a boxy shape that is breezy for the summer, and comes in three different stitch pattern options for fun customization. Snood_Diana Since this summer in London has been chilly so far, we have also added a lightweight cowl to keep the edge off! We used one skein of The Fibre Co.'s Meadow in Prairie to knit the Fairy Mist snood by Julie Crawford. This snood is a great pattern as it includes instructions to knit it in multiple weights of yarn, so you can really use any yarn you like. The only change we made was to make it a bit shorter to only use one skein. We are happy to have this snood in the shop to show off this unusual yarn, and help everyone imagine it knit up. Meadow is a blend of Merino Wool, Baby Llama, Silk and Linen. It has a subtle drape with a slightly slubby texture from the silk and linen. The colours are slightly heathered as the different fibres take the dye in different ways, creating a final yarn with amazing depth that works well for both the lace and stocking stitch sections in the pattern. Snood_pin Lastly we topped the snood off with a sheep head shawl pin from Jul Designs. These white brass beauties are available as ewes or rams. They are a perfect intersection of beautiful and functional pieces. They are great worn as a brooch, shawl pin, or even a hair stick! Take a peek at the samples in the shop the next time you are in to see these yarns and patterns in action!