We pride ourselves on the wonderful yarns, sourced from around the world, that grace the shelves of Loop. But of course we hold a special place in our knitty hearts for British wool. So when we got the chance to stock the very classic and very British Toft yarns, we jumped at it! Their alpaca fur pom poms might have also had something to do with it…

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It is now properly cold here in London but, as knitters, we’re embracing it. This winter, one of our biggest joys will be knitting with the newly arrived Eden Cottage Yarns. Hand dyed in Yorkshire, dyer Victoria Magnus’ colours all carry a silvery tone and romantic atmosphere of the northern English landscape. At Loop we now carry two of Victoria’s yarns: the merino and silk blended Titus 4-ply – utterly gorgeous for lace shawls and other special accessories – and Bowland DK – a Blue Faced Leicester wool that we can’t wait to make piles of jumpers in. Here’s a glimpse of some of the beautiful skeins just bursting with knitting potential. (And don’t forget to read to the end for info on how you can win one!)

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We know it’s still over a month until Christmas but, as knitters, we’re inherently inclined to plan ahead. A few years ago we compiled lists of what we would ask Father Christmas for if the elves made yarn and haberdashery and we thought it would be fun to do it again! We think it might be useful when you’re compiling your own wishlists, or if you’re thinking about shopping for a knit or crochet inclined friend. We also mentioned a few years ago that you can create an online wishlist from any shop using the Amazon Universal Wishlist Button. That way, as you’re browsing our online shop, you can add things to your wishlist for Father Christmas to see!

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We’re doing our best not to turn the heaters on in the shop this week, in spite of it getting very cold – what is knitwear for, after all? We’ve had delivery of some lovely things which have reminded us just how well us knitters do “warm”. We can’t think of a better way to keep toasty than with the magic of cables – those deceptively simple twists that create a  wind-proof, double-thickness fabric. If they’re good enough for seafaring Irishmen, they’re good enough for us.

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Look what’s landed at Loop this week, just in time for the cold weather. It’s the beautiful, rustic and warm Heirloom from Fancy Tiger Crafts. Raised, milled and dyed in the US, it’s a 100% Romney wool yarn.  Romney sheep are the descendants of English medieval longwool breeds, and produce a lustrous, hardworking wool with a long staple length, which is perfect for warm, sturdy items that will hold up to wear for years to come. We love that the name they chose for this yarn, Heirloom, reflects that. And it’s not just the fibre that we love so much about this yarn – it’s those colours! Fancy Tiger teamed up with hand-dyer Jeane deCoster of Elemental Affects to create a fun and modern palette of colours – we can’t decide which is our favourite!

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We journeyed north last week, introducing you to the best Scandinavia has to offer at Loop. Today we’re staying north, but a little closer to home – Scotland! Loop is full of beautiful yarn, patterns and gifts from this textile history-rich land and we’re so pleased to be sharing them with you in their best autumn colours.

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Last night at Loop we had the pleasure of welcoming Eline Oftedal, talented author of Knit Nordic, for a little show and tell. Accompanying her was a cameraman from the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation! We sure gave him a lot to take in as it was one of our busiest knit nights in a long time! We were so inspired by Eline, and the wonders of Scandinavian knitting in general, that we decided to devote today’s blog post to the quite large library of Scandinavian knitting resources at Loop, and some of our favourite Scandi yarns!

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We are coming to you live from the Knitting & Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace in London! We’ve set up our stand, and are two days in to this amazing show. It’s been lovely to see Loop customers – both our regulars (you know who you are!) and those of you who have travelled from afar (including California!) for the show. We’re also so excited to be introducing the newest addition to the Loop family, Shalimar Yarns Breathless!Follow the thread…

Yesterday was quite the dreary autumn day here in London, but happily the postman dropped off an unassuming box, which, when opened, revealed an amazing riot of colour that immediately brightened the shop. Freia yarns from Knitwhits are completely unique in that they have hand-painted colour transitions, creating a beautiful ombre effect. The possibilities are endless with this yarn – stripe it, fairisle it, make a Pop Spots or Spectra with it, or let the yarn do the talking and give it some good old stocking stitch. We think it’s pretty hard to go wrong with these amazing colourways.Follow the thread…

We may have mentioned Kristen Kapur of Through the Loops one or two (or three!) times on this blog. And you may have heard us go on a little bit about the gorgeousness of The Uncommon Thread yarns. (Here, here, here and here.) So we like them both a little bit. Okay, maybe a lot! And when Sophie knit up a sample for the shop of a Kristen Kapur pattern, using The Uncommon Thread Tough Sock, a little magic happened.

This is the Rivington Cowl. Knit up in Tough Sock, in Peat and Confetti*, it’s subtle, springy and just right for autumn days.

Don’t let the name Tough Sock fool you. Though it is indeed tough, and perfect for socks, this yarn has a soft side too. And its twist gives it a little spring, making this cowl stretchy without the risk of losing its shape. Ce Persiano – the dyer behind The Uncommon Thread, makes us love neutrals in ways we couldn’t have imagined, and Plata, the main colour in our sample, is a case in point. Confetti, a beautifully speckled colourway, works surprisingly well with it. Of course, we couldn’t resist thinking up other colour combinations for this dreamy cowl. We can’t get enough of greeny-yellow and grey combinations like this one, comprised of Meadow Grass and Cumulus. 

We love the drama of this combination – Toast and Lust.

And here’s one for you purple lovers out there; it’s Into Dust and Aged Merlot.

The Rivington Cowl takes just one skein of each colour for the medium size, which is the one shown here. There are instructions for a smaller and larger size. For the larger size, you’ll need one more skein of your main colour. Sophie’s label for the cowl is as lovely as the sample!

Happy autumn knitting!

*Oops! In our original post we named the colours Plata as Spumoni. Both combinations do indeed look lovely!