Hi, just quick message to let everybody know:
SATURDAY 28 APRIL the shop will be CLOSING EARLIER at 16H30
Please excuse us for any inconvenience, and thank you for your understanding.
olann [uh – lan] wool
Ireland has an abundance of great yarns and indie dyers, and here at Kaleidoscope we are very pleased to be stocking another fabulous Irish yarn!
‘Olann’ is owned and run by Jess Kavanagh, a very talented young artist and dyer who likes to create sophisticated colours on ethically sourced yarns.
In their small workshop they dye yarn in small batches, using experimental dye techniques and traditional materials, they are makers and designers. Colour inspiration comes from the surrounding Irish countryside, the mountains, valleys, forests and sea.
Olann source their yarn from farms with ethical practices in Argentina and Uruguay. These farms guarantee mulesing free processes of obtaining the fibres which means a fair and humane treatment of their sheep.
Olann are environmentally friendly using non toxic acid dyes and a food grade citric acid as a setting agent, all the dye is exhausted so that there is zero nasty stuff being poured into the drains. Water is often re-used to also minimise our water usage and wastage.
All the beautiful new Olann yarns will be arriving next week (27/4/18 ) at Kaleidoscope and in our E-shop – 23 colours in merino singles ( fingering 4 ply) 9 colours in Sock lite ( 3 ply fingering ) and 6 colours in merino DK.
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Snail Yarn at Kaleidoscope
I met Valentina Consalvi a while ago at Edinburgh yarn festival, and I’m so pleased to have her beautiful yarns in our shop! I hope you’ll like them too.
Valentina lives in Ariccia, near Rome. Snail yarn started in 2013. She learnt to dye starting with food colours, then experimenting with natural dyes and acid dyes, she finally I opened her shop in August 2014.
Using only Merino wool from South America or Falkland to avoid the mulesing issues, Bluefaced Leicester bred in UK, and other high quality fibres, all specifically spun for hand knit. She strongly believes in protecting the environment and nature.
Although at first she loved the bright, saturated colours she now loves more the subtle, muted shades, the timeless colours, inspired from nature, like the ones in her gradient sets.
“I want my yarn to be used for projects that will last for a lifetime and will pass the fashion trends”.
You can see our collection of Snail yarn in our E-shop:
http://www.kaleidoscope-shop.be/product-category/yarns/snail-yarns/
Yes it’s back at long last!
In a world full of expensive cutting edge technology, it’s comforting to know that there are still some simple gadgets that don’t cost the earth and really are effective.
The sweater stone is one of them. This simple natural pumice stone will catch and remove all those irritating little pills ( balls) on the surface of your clothes with very little effort and more importantly NO BATTERIES!
It’s true, I’d tried the razors, combs, brushes, and battery operated gadgets all of which promised a good result, but quite frankly after various attempts, one made holes, one was just impossible to use, and one just used up too many batteries, I gave up trying. Then I discovered the ‘Sweater stone’ – what a great little product! It really works,
The sweater stone costs 12€, (available now in our E-shop ‘knitting accessories’ click below )
http://www.kaleidoscope-shop.be/product/the-sweater-stone/
This is one gift that will truly be appreciated by everyone who receives it!
I do have a few tips and suggestions:
Be gentle! It is abrasive so you shouldn’t be too heavy
handed or enthusiastic – better to repeat the operation
rather than ruin your favourite jumper!
Use it on natural fibres not synthetics!
Don’t use it on very fine or delicate
woollens/fabrics
It is quite light and fragile so every time you
drop it on a hard floor you’ll damage the corners
I prefer to wash the garment first as this removes some
of the pilling.
And I do find it easier to use whilst I’m wearing the garment, using one hand to pull the garment downwards to create a bit of tension, and gently scraping the surface as needed.
Milo is a 5 ply sport yarn by Manos del Uruguay and is one of our favourites here at Kaleidoscope, we now have a large selection of colours includingthe new multi colours, and many semi solid tonals…
Another great 5 ply sport yarn is the ‘NUA’ yarn by Carol Feller – lots of fabulous colours to choose from and she now has published a new book of patterns’ Nua volume 2′ along with her individual patterns on Ravelry including the lovely jumper ‘Coiled Magenta’ https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/coiled-magenta
Fyberspates have also brought out some lovely new colours for this Spring and we think the Vivacious 4 ply is great value for money, here is our version of Stayin’ Cool by Josée Paquin pattern available to buy in FR AND EN on Ravelry.com https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/stayin-cool
Yes I know, first we have to get through the dreaded month of February (a good reason to stay in the warm and knit! ) but here are a few things to look forward to this spring……
IN FEBRUARY: The latest issue of ‘Laine magazine‘ will be arriving in the shop around 20th! And as this magazine is always very popular you can reserve your copie via e-mail.
Also arriving around the same time will be the new Issue 24 of Pompom magazine!
IN MARCH: From the 13th to the 15th we will be visiting the Edinburgh Yarn Festival 2018 so Kaleidoscope will be closed during this week but we’ll be back early on Saturday 16th to open the shop!
‘Interpretations 5’ by Joji Locatelli and Veera Välimäki will be arriving in the shop around the 3rd week of this month, lots of exciting new patterns to be found in this little gem of a knitting book!
This spring at Kaleidoscope we hope to be receiving lots of gorgeous new wools from not one but two very talented Indie dyers! Watch this space and all will be revealed soon…..
In the meantime you can see some new Spring colours already at the shop starting with Fyberspates – Vivacious DK and Vivacious 4 ply……
We are delighted to have our second delivery of beautiful hand-dyed yarns from ‘Life in the Long Grass’, an artisanal dye studio based in Co. Cork, Ireland, led by Caroline and Jonny. Their name represents the natural life of the wool they dye and the colors are chosen specifically for each season. Here you can see the new colors that are now on sale at Kaleidoscope both in ‘merino singles’ and ‘fine sock’ ….
JOYCE MOONLIT
CRUSH ROSEGOLD
CERAMIC PARASOL
CAULDRON PEWTER
WILD ROSEBAY EVERGREEN
Lots of exciting new products this winter !
The new assortment of yarns from ‘Life in the long grass’ is due to arrive next week (6th December) but we already have quite a few new colours and yarns to choose from, starting with our un-dyed ‘Natural Collection‘…..
‘ SPIRA’
chunky handspun wool/alpaca 100g
‘GORILLA’
super chunky merino 250g / 20m
‘SILK YAK’
4 ply yak/silk 50g/ 200m
Malabrigo Yarns have brought out a selection of new Speckled colours in Mechita single mesh merino……
‘GOTHIC’ 
‘RENAISSANCE’ 
‘CARNAVAL’
‘POIPU’
‘AUREO’ 
Isabelle Kraemer has published a new pattern – the ‘Yana Sweater’ using the exclusive baby alpaca worsted yarn by ‘KOKON’ – we have 8 colours of Kokon worsted and a few copies of her ‘Yana Sweater’ pattern in English. Can’t wait to wear this warm cosy jumper! Just in time for the cold weather…..
Kokon ‘CLOUD’ Kokon ‘MIST’ Kokon ‘JET’
You can find all these products (except the ‘ Yana sweater pattern’) available to order in our E-shop! – you can buy the Yana sweater pattern in English on Ravelry.com click on the link below for details.
Bristol Ivy is one of my favourite knitwear designers, so I’m very excited about the arrival of her brand new hard back book ‘Knitting outside the box’ (price 33,35€ )
We have a few copies available to buy at Kaleidoscope so if you would like to reserve a copy please send an e-mail to Rosalind at kaleidoblog@hotmail.fr
( please don’t send messages via Facebook or instagram as they are easily missed!)
‘Drawing on what inspires her most, Bristol Ivy shares the possibilities that she finds inherent in knit fabric. Utilising exercises she uses in her life as a designer, Bristol encourages knitters to make their own rules and push their creativity, by asking ‘What if?!’. Including 15 patterns for accessories and garments, Knitting Outside the Box is essential reading for the adventurous knitter.
Complete with exercises, techniques, stitch dictionary, and beautiful photography,Knitting Outside the Box is part pattern collection, part reference book, and destined for your coffee table and book shelf for years to come.
printed in the UK // 200 pages // hardcover — includes Ravelry download —
Kaleidoscope now has the very latest book and doll kits from the talented Kerry Lord.
‘Edward’s crochet Doll Emporium’ is the follow up to her other wonderful books including Edward’s Menagerie, Edward’s Birds and Imaginarium.
This wonderful hardback book is full of easy to follow instructions with clear photos on how to make lots of different dolls and their clothes.
The book and kits are currently only available in English ( price 19€ ) – the doll kits ( 31, 50€ ) and the clothes kits ( 19, 50€ )
And here is ‘Lottie’ my first attempt and great fun to make!
