Ippikin

I have a million thanks to give to the LYS Search feature on Ravelry. I'm lucky to have the map light up like a little christmas tree in Los Angeles, but around Bridgnorth, it's a slightly rarer sight. So when I found out about Ippikin, I had to sink the £20 travel fare to visit.

Unfortunately it had to rain on the day we set out, but I was determined to travel anyway (and Jason was such a great sport about it too!) The moment we spotted the shop I snapped just one photo and ran inside for shelter. You'll have to see for yourself if you get there--the place is a little yarn haven.

Among local brands carried are Rowan, Lion Brand, Opal, and much more. I had a great time squishing skeins that I've only seen photos of online.

There's also a nice little nook to knit and chat. On the day I visited, a small crochet class was currently in session.

Lesley was a fantastic host and was a tremendous help to me. I let her know I was looking for some local yarns and she showed me big parts of the wall devoted to these gorgeous skeins of soft wool! I chose 4 skeins of Woolyknits' Aran for Bapsicrafts. These skeins will each turn into lovely Condyle wristwarmers that I'll have for sale in the shop. :] Woolyknits' yarn is spun in their mill in Saddleworth, Yorkshire in the valleys of the Pennines in northern England. I'm more than excited to have this part of Britain on my needles and to share it with shoppers of Bapsicrafts. :]

And, of course, I made a rather large personal purchase. I don't allow myself the luxury very often at all, since I'm kind of in practice of not having a personal stash when I can help it.  But these yarns! I've seen sock after sock knit in Regia or Opal yarns and, crap, here's my chance! The Rhubarb colorway, and this variegated bluish shade of the Opal yarn are going to look fantastic as socks.

I'm not going to cast any of those on just yet, since they'd most likely be in progress for a while. I anticipate not being allowed to knit at all on the airplane back, so sparing myself of a sock wip in the suitcase will be the best idea.

As for the DK Knitcol yarns, well..

...my hand slipped.

Small stash update! these are the two new personal skeins I brought with me from home. We’re looking at a half-used skein of Dark Grey Mark Patons Classic Wool (a growing favorite, hopefully they’re available in the UK), and two skeins of Wool-Ease Thick and Quick in Charcoal Grey.

I'm absolutely mesmerized by the look of that marled yarn--so exciting! Maybe I'll nab a similar looking wool around here and knit my second pullover with it.

Hooray for windowsill yarn pics~ It was drizzly, so this was my source of natural light.

These will be my first two personal knits of 2014! I’m going for a pair of fingerless mittens and a chunky loop scarf, both of my own design. The sooner I finish these things the braver I’ll be in the cold english winter months ahead. :]

What’s new in your yarn stash? Anything planned for your yarn?

Hello 2014!

It’s January 3rd, 2014 and I’m diagnosing myself with first-page syndrome. Artists and writers will know what I’m talking about. You buy yourself a new sketchbook, planner, or journal and stare at the first page, almost afraid to make that first mark because you might ruin your shot at this new wonderful fresh start.

It was at this point today that I realized that this is exactly the thing new years goals are for—this is the fear I need to practice conquering daily, so instead of staring at false start after false start hoping for the ‘perfect’ entry to happen, I’ll just go right ahead and get to writing to you about what’s happened lately.

First of all—Hello to 2014! The big news here is that I’m living in England for the first half of this year with Jason for a semi-sabbatical.

Expect more:

• “Places” posts: I plan to visit some lovely places around here in the UK, and would love to share photos with you.

• Personal knitting projects: Knitmeter tells me that I’ve knit a total of about 10.3 miles in 2013, and imo not enough of that knitting was for me. 2014 can do to be a year of more selfish knitting.

• Reviews/handmade appreciation I’ve been catching a lot of really beautiful handmade show and small businesses around the internet and locally! One personal resolution this year was to buy handmade, and giving props to crafters could be a good part of that too. :]

What this semi-sabbatical means for Bapsicrafts shoppers is that for now, only ready-made items will be available for purchase. We’re looking at about 80+ items available to be shipped to you from my little shop. I will steadily stock up on different color variations of existing made-to-order designs as I can. It will take time to send finished knits home but it will happen, so check back soon or drop a line if you don't mind the long order turn-around!

Oh, and my brother was nice enough to take the time to handle shipping for Bapsicrafts back home, so orders should continue to work smoothly as before!

Thanks for being such wonderful readers everyone. I hope you had a great holiday season and new year's celebration, and I hope your resolutions for 2014 stick! I'll write a bit about how my 2013 resolutions went and this year's plans next time. :]