Last night, our little shop filled with knitters and crocheters for a delightful event. We welcomed special guests Jeni Hewlett and Rachel Coopey, designers and yarn-makers from the UK. They arrived with a big box of books, enough to fill our teacart.
Jeni and Rachel began by telling us a bit about their journey into the world of knitwear design, then unloaded a huge pile of knit and crochet samples for show and tell.
Jeni shared a bit about the hand-dye process that makes her Fyberspates colorways so multifaceted and painterly, where skeins are dipped into multiple dye baths, one color after another. Thinking of garment wearability, Jeni favors semi-solid colorways rather than high-contrast variegates, and so the Fyberspates colorways are designed to look well-blended in the finished fabric, rather than streaky.
Rachel came to knitwear design with a background in jewelry-making and a penchant for sock knitting. When she partnered with Fyberspates to create her own sock yarn, she wanted it to have a few specific qualities: light colors for good stitch definition, tight twist for durability, and solid shades with a bit of color interest. CoopKnits Socks Yeah! is all this and more.
Rachel gave sock-sizing advice while signing copies of her books.
Michael del Vecchio, our Fyberspates sales rep and a designer in his own right, also spoke about the importance of quality materials, and the care that goes into the sourcing of fiber at Fyberspates.
Thanks to all who joined us, and thanks to Jeni, Rachel, and Michael for coming to our shop! We had such fun, and look forward to seeing what’s new from Fyberspates at market this weekend.
Look for Fyberspates yarns and books here at the shop!