10ply Aran Wt for cooler weather

Getting ready for the cooler weather at The Fishermen’s Wharf Markets, Port Adelaide. The wools are now displayed by weight — The 10ply/Aran weight is enticing to say the least. We have hand-painted as well as commercially-dyed yarns to suit your cooler weather knitting needs!

Knitting Yarns for Winter

Couldn’t resist taking a photo of the beautiful colours in the 3ply wools — great for lighter scarves, gloves, and yes, even lacy socks — and you know how much I love to see your socks when you visit!

For those of you who’ve been up to the Port… yes, it’s a re-organisation and it’s only 1/3 done! Thanks for all the hellos and welcomebacks last week.

For the club enthusiasts, PART II subscriptions are now available.  Seriously, it’s a great deal for knitters.  And Part II is going to be just as special as Part I — so do join us — and if you have any questions, hop  onto our Ravelry Stranded In Oz group and ask around. They’ll tell ya!

See you at the Port, online on Facebook (strandedinozyarns) and Ravelry (strandedinoz), Melissa

The Sunday Shop IS open this Monday, but the hank hunt is SUNDAY ONLY!

Yes, it’s that time again – time for a Bon Voyage Mystery Yarn Hank  Hunt at Stranded In Oz,  Fishermen’s Wharf Markets, Port Adelaide

This year, the rules are: 1 Mystery hank of yarn per customer. Hanks will be hidden in the yarn displays at the Port Market this SUNDAY ONLY!

The voucher discounts, if that’s what you score on your yarn label, are good for 3 months, so you don’t have to use it this Sunday.  Free items with purchase vouchers can be redeemed on the day.  For example, you might win a free set of Kollage Square Needles with your purchase of a 100gm hank of hand-painted yarn!

As per last year, there will be one MEGA discount voucher for 40% off your purchases over $80.00 (regularly-priced items only).

There is only 1 MEGA voucher!

All discounts are for regularly-priced products ONLY and exclude lone hanks and bargain bags.

There will be some neat prizes, including fabulous knitting needles, and special yarn hanks. Happy Hunting!

Good luck to all the hunters!

Stranded In Oz Clubs: Thank you for the lovely feedback regarding the February 2013 club packs.  Here’s a few pics of the surprise goodies for February. Thought it best to start out with some extra fun for the pack, so the dagger and moneybag charm stitch markers seemed appropriate. After all, A Merry Band liked to rob from the rich and give to the poor! Occupy Sherwood? Anyway, thanks for the great feedback. Love seeing the FO reports! So far, we have some winners for the bonus  for April!

Jemma pouch from Namaste, Inc.

Robin Hood Markers

Kollage Square Needles

Stranded In Oz has been a proud stockist of Kollage Square Needles from day one.  I even road tested some early versions of the square circulars (they were so cool, they had wooden and brass tips!)  but those didn’t make the final cut!). That said, there was one large run of them that had some problems.  Here at SIOz, if something isn’t right, we tell you and we fix it! So, when the Mach II needles were announced I said, damnit, they are such a good product, but if the kinks aren’t out of these babies, they’re going bye bye.

After getting the Mach II needles in, I gave them out to frequent knitters to test knit. Here’s Alison F’s review of the New Kollage Circs, made in the US of A:

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After a few hassles with Kollage needles (cables coming out of the needles, even when not in use and the coating wearing off quite badly after what I felt was very little use – my mother had needles from before WWII that weren’t as worn as the old Kollage needles were after just one garment), I was a bit reluctant to try again.

I’m glad I did try them again. The needles I am road-testing are 2.5 mm circs with the ‘firm’ cable. And boy, is that cable firm! It took a little while to get used to the firmness of the cable, but after an inch or so of sock I was flying. The firmness of the cable makes it very easy to pull through when doing Magic Loop. The points are fantastically sharp and would be great for lace. The wool I was using is a bit splitty and normally I would use blunter needles, but once I got used to sharpness of the Kollage, it was fine. The new coating on the needles so far is great. No signs of wear, enough grip to hang onto the stitches and enough slip to let them go. The cable join is still a bit of a problem if you are a tight knitter, it could be a little smoother, but hey, if that’s the only thing I can find wrong with these needles then who is going to quibble. Not me.

The square needles produce a lovely even stitch and they are still strangely relaxing to hold. I was very dubious about how hard square needles would be on my hands as I suffer from some hand problems, but once I tried them I was convinced. Interestingly enough, these new needles felt squarer than the old ones. I was more conscious of the shape of them in my hands, but not in a bad way. The only other issue I had with the needles and cable was the colour. As someone who mostly knits in black, grey or darkish purple, counting the stitches at night was a bit difficult. But this may not be an issue for other people as my eyesight is poor anyway. Will I buy another set? Most likely. I like a good sharp needle (except when I sit on them) and the cable is really firm. I think it would be great for 2-at-a-time, even though I don’t do that often as most of the time my brain can’t cope with sorting it out. Cheers Alison

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Thanks Alison for the informative review.

Just got word back from another customer who’s testing the new Kollage Square DPN’s — she loves them, and she’s 80+ years old! And it takes a lot to convince her to change needles, so there you go!

There are plenty of Kollage Square Needles in stock,  so why not check them out?

Wool with Hemp in Sherwood Forest

Here are the simple guidelines for 2013 — to get extra goodies!

1) First, knit or spin and knit (yeah, that’s right) all of your club pack’s yarn or fibre into one garment/project by the 10th of every club mail out month. So, for example, get your yarn and fibre for Feb 2013, finish knitting, block your project, and post a photo on Ravelry or email it to my email address, **by the 10th of April**, and get an extra goody in the next club pack. So, the deadlines are the 10th of every pack mail out month.

Why should only 1 or 2 people per month get a prize? So, that gives you nearly 7 weeks or so to finish knitting with your SIOz club packs.

2) the goodies will be neat tools, or accessories, or yarn/fibre — hey, if all of you knit and share your fo piccies your yarn by the next club pack, I’ll be happy to send out the fun!

3) This time ’round, you don’t have to knit the club pattern for the pack; however, if it’s 3 or 4ply yarn, no double stranding, m’kay? I’ll be posting the FO’s here, so we’ll be the judge if it doesn’t pass muster! Just be sure you mark your project in your projects on Ravelry and be sure to tag it strandedinoz.

4) There will also be  big prizes as well — whoever does meets all three of Part I’s deadlines, you’ll get a Bonus Prize – something extra special — yarn or fibre of course. This is also to ensure those of you who are only Part I subscribers don’t miss out on a chance to win a nice prize. That’s right! I’ll run the same thing for Part II — so if you are waiting to subscribe for then, you’ll have a chance to get some more cool stuff too.

We had two grand winners from 2012 — I used my discretion and decided that there were 2 knitters out of the group on Ravelry who really put in a lot of effort to share what they’d knitted and get into the spirit of the club, so Kelly and Anna are both getting prizes this month for 2012. One missed out just by knitting a diff object than the socks for the Grand Prize, but really, it was a great effort Anna!

Congrats to Margaret and Anna for winning their extra yarn for their December pack knitting!

Please feel free to add comments, suggestions regarding how we can make this year’s subscription knitting fun for all!
Melissa

A thank you to the SA Handspinners and Weavers Guild for inviting me to chat with them about what I do. It was nice to see what they have been up to over the summer — very busy group!

Right — I’m in the midst of club subscription preparations for Feb 15th — a reminder to club members — your discount codes were sent out and a reminder posted on the Rav — if you’d like anything added to your order, remember, you don’t pay any extra shipping!

From Feb 6-13th, , Stranded In Oz is running a SALE – 20% off all Namaste, Inc. Accessories, subject to stock on hand, with no further discounts applying.

We’ve a nice selection of cases, including the new Devin, which is lovely and sooooo useful!

Devin Wristlet

merino singles – deep blue sea

Ten Reasons to Join Us in 2013, in no particular order:

1) A 15% club discount for all members on regularly-priced SIOz products– up from 10% from previous years? Why? Because it’s my way of saying thank you
2) Packs will have at least 100 gms of Stranded In Oz’s unique hand-painted yarn or fibre, a project pattern, and a goody
3) This year’s offerings, like 2011 and 2012, will have at least one Namaste, Inc. goody. Why? Cuz they’re cool, useful, and you like ‘em
4) Packs will include tools like stitch markers and needles, depending on the packs. I get asked a lot for the stitch markers and for the most part, they’re only available to clubbies
5) New gear (you didn’t think I’d rest on my laurels did you?)
6) Old faves – yarns and fibres (because you are so awesome and are kind enough to send feedback)
7) Additions to your club pack orders do not incur additional postage (bargain!)
8) A new contest format! Stay tuned, it’s goooooooooood
9) The service you expect from a knitters/fibre spinners club. Whenever something does go wrong, on those rare occasions, we do our best to make it right.
10) And of course, MERRIMENT! Yeah, Robin Hood-related fun

Be sure to ‘like’ strandedinozyarns on Facebook if you are on there. I’m generally logged on when I’m in Oz, especially, so it’s the fastest way to get a hold of me. That, and email to melissa AT strandedinoz DOT com

If you have any questions regarding subscriptions, please contact me.

Stranded In Oz will be at:

The Embroiderers’ Guild of South Australia Inc…

Summer School Market Day
on Friday 11th January 2013
at Hosanna Heights
101 Morialta Road
ROSTREVOR

2PM to 6PM

I’ll be there with the finer threads as well as bits and pieces to keep your fingers busy during the summer months and beyond!

Hope to see you there!

Nepal Lace Single

HiyaHiya Circular Needles

Offer good from Jan 1 through Jan 8, 2013. Discount applies for ALL customers. Overseas orders will be charged ONLY the additional cost of postage.

To join the SIOz Ravelry Group — check out the group link page– if you aren’t on Ravelry, join UP!

You may also ‘like’ us on Facebook at strandedinozyarns!

Club Info: The club pricing is changing for 2013, with the increase due to shipping costs via AusPost. If you have any questions regarding the Knitters or Spinners Clubs, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Yarn Lots: There are new lots coming out in the next week, including new hanks of lace merino that you’ve been asking for! You will not want to miss getting this yarn as it’s sold out every time I’ve painted it!

Merino Lace Single

Hope everyone has a happy and healthy new year!

And the 2013 Knitters’ and Spinner’s Club Sub Product listings are active, so have a look and if you are interested, subscribe early — the price will rise in January as I will be raising shipping costs in 2013 (I haven’t upped them for December even though AusPost HAS). If you’d like this sent as a gift, we are happy to send you a gift card for your recipient, or send it for you.

The colours for the 2013 clubs will be: The Robin Hood Colourways! You’ve asked for it (and you know who you are) so hey, why not? They’re some of my favourites too. Here’s a sample of just one of the colourways, called Robin Hood…

Robin Hood Soysilk Ribbon DK and Wool and Hemp

Yearly subscribers enjoy no additional charges for Registered Post as well as a 10% discount code good for Stranded In Oz regularly-priced products!

Thank you so very much for the positive response already — it’s gratifying to know that our subscribers enjoy Stranded In Oz yarns and fibres so much that they subscribe for the year! If you have been looking for a knitter’s subscription, know this:  Stranded In Oz is a professional, full-time yarn, fibre and design business; I take great pride in my experience and customer service .  For me, it’s all about making the artfibres so that you can make something fabulous for yourself, family, and friends. And wow — it’s an honour and privilege to design yarn and patterns that people enjoy.

So thank you. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Melissa, Stranded In Oz