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Thursday 8 September 2011

Yarn Shopping at Affinity

I have said it before, I am not to be trusted in yarn shops.  The colours call to me, the textures tempt me and the assistants...? well assist me to part with my money. My stash resides in a trunk under my bed, it is filled to the top, I have to sit on it to close the catch and JTH says if I buy any more yarn we will have to put the bed on stilts.  But there is nothing like wandering the shelves and lusting after yet another hank of jewel coloured merino.  The background picture to this blog gives you an idea of the sort of temptation I give in to far too readily.  It is by kind permission of my local wool shop (I thought you might like to see all of it).



But what about on line shopping? Until recently this did not really do it for me.  Sure I have shopped at a few when I knew exactly what yarn I wanted but until recently virtual shopping for yarn did not give me the purr of pleasure I get from my LYS (or John Lewis rapidly expanding department). But things are changing, yarn lovers are entering the fray.

My friend and fellow yarn addict Vandy Massey has recently pulled off a little miracle with her new online yarn shop Affinity Yarns


Her website is elegant and unfussy.  Sooo easy to navigate.  And she delivers the delicious yarns exactly as promised with clear information on delivery times before you buy.  All the information on the yarn (that these days I have to get out my glasses to squint at the ball band when I am in a shop) is clearly set out on each product page. This is what she says about my favourite 'go to' yarn Debbie Bliss Cashmerino

There's plenty to tempt too, including the rainbow selection of yarn from Yarnscape hand dyed by Alison


Yarnscape Dance is our September GiveAway

This is where I want to say something about what is so special about Affinity .  Vandy sells what she loves and she loves hand dyed, hand spun, natural fibers. As well as gorgeous Yarnscape you can browse and buy fabulous yarn by Fiberspates and wonderful Jarol Aran (undyed yarn from specific breeds of sheep)

I think it is very important whenever I recommend anything to you that I try it out properly first.  So last Friday evening I ordered two skeins of lace weight yarn, yarnscapes wintersea and I'm pleased to say it was promptly delivered by our postman on Monday morning



The yarn is beautifully soft and sheeny and its name absolutely perfectly describes its colour.


I used to live close to the Northumbrian coast and gunmetal streaked with blue and cream is exactly the colour of the sea on a sunny, chillingly cold, winter's day.

Vandy had told me that Alison of Yarnscape lives and works not far from her and this meant that Vandy could offer Alison's almost entire colour range on a 3-7 day delivery,  because Vandy can just ring Alison to get the colour in.  If Alison does not have any ready she can dye to order in the week.  Well I happened to leave a comment on Alison's blog to say I had ordered some of her yarn and she emailed back 'Oh it was you was it?  Vandy rang me for another skein'.  So I can say it works! Affinity only offers what Vandy would like to knit with herself and can deliver on time as promised  and when it arrives you will be very happy.

xx

C

5 comments:

Sarah Jane said...

What beautiful colours. I have started knitting again but am slightly disappointed with the patterns available these days. I am a tight knitter and a little rounder than I used to be! I find that the patterns are quite small and in the case of my last project very badly written. Any suggestions on patterns for us larger girls?

Jacqui said...

Such lovliness. i have just had an online yarn crawl and ordered wool from 4 different shops!! Now another one to add to my list - and there is always the fab new one that has opened up on the island. xx

Kristyn Knits said...

What a nice review of Affinity! enjoy your knitting!!

Vandy said...

Thank you so much, Catherine. I'm so pleased you enjoyed your yarn shopping. I am a real addict, as you say. Currently knitting a Christmas present using some Fyberspates Scrumptious. Absolutely delicious! :-)

Anonymous said...

I love yarn shopping! & I agree it is soooo hard to say no to such gorgeous colors & soft textures <3
& I am too getting more 2 online shopping! very dangerous lool,, u got lovely choices! :)