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Hello from ECY Shedquarters! We had a really great weekend after some really lovely posts on Twitter from Emma Mitchell aka @silverpebble . It was so lovely of her and so great to see all the orders that came in as a result; what a welcome relief after a difficult time. Today I am excited to tell you about our next update which will be the super exciting, brand new Keld Aran. Keld Aran is a blend of extrafine merino with linen, the same as you will find in Keld Fingering. This yarn is essentially two strands of Keld Fingering, which is a singles yarn, spun together. You can read all about this exciting new yarn in our blog post about it. The update is scheduled for 9am (UK time) on Friday 15th October so may already have happened by the time you read this. All colourways included in the update can be found in the flickr album and you will also find colour combination suggestions here too. This is a MASSIVE update which is not normally how I would introduce a yarn but as soon as I got my hands on it I fell in love and am sure you will too! That means there are plenty of colours to choose from and you should find something to suit any project.

Our Yarnlings™️ are having a great time at the moment! It’s so fun to pack these up and then to see your unboxing pics – thankyou for sharing them. It’s also really fun seeing what you make with them; Louise Tilbrook made a really cool pair of striped scrappy socks using them. We were asked for crochet ideas for them, so we’ve put together a Pinterest board full of (off-Rav) pattern ideas – you can see it here. We are building up other boards that will help with inspiration too. If you have any suggestions to add to it do let us know! We’ve also added an option for getting 15 Yarnlings™️ but without the jar, in case you just want the yarn (and because I’ve nearly run out of jars again and need to buy more!).

Following on from our Bowland DK update we have published a Patterns and Projects blog post to help you with inspiration of how to use this wonderful yarn. We have a whole page devoted to our Yarn Specific Blog Posts which shows all the links arranged by yarn. This page can be found directly from the Blog menu.

As things get back to normal I have been able to record three episodes of The Wholly Irregular ECY Shedcast over the past couple of weeks. In them I talk about the update yarns, samples made using the yarns and general ECY news. Episode 16 (the third of this run) is a bit of a reintroduction to ECY so if you are new to us please do check it out! You can find all episodes of the Shedcast on our YouTube channel. There might even be another episode up by the time this is published!! 🤣

Hello all! We have been a bit quiet over here in ECY Shedquarters as I have been off for surgery (I’m still recovering but a bit more mobile for work — I’ve got a long way to go yet). It definitely feels as though summer is over, it is getting a lot cooler and I am needing to wear more of my woollens now. I feel the cold really badly as well, so by the time it’s properly cold I’ll be completely bundled up. 😆

I have two updates to tell you about. Both have already happened but were quite large updates so there is plenty still to choose from. The first update was Bowland 4ply (100% Superwash British Bluefaced Leicester). I was looking back through past updates and was really shocked to see that the last big update of this yarn was 18 months ago!! Considering this is a classic ECY base it really is quite a big deal, but supply was really limited for quite a while and we got distracted with other things (as you do!).

This update is all semisolids which are perfect for garments, stripes or colourwork. You can browse the colourways in this update in the flickr album and we have also included some combination suggestions. There are also a few yarn packs of multiple colour combinations in the Bowland 4ply collection on our website. Image shows Bowland 4ply in colourways Linen, Apricot Tulip, Cloudberry, Azalea and Dianthus.

The second update is Bowland DK. Another long-term favourite, Bowland DK is also 100% Superwash British Bluefaced Leicester. This update is also all semi-solids as I really do see them as the core of my business. You can browse the colourways and colour combination suggestions in the update flickr album and find all available Bowland DK on our website. The image shows Bowland DK in Cottage Original 2409211415, Thunder, Tarn and Larkspur.

I have recently seen a lot of pattern inspiration focused around stripes; Veera Valimaki’s recent book and the Douglas Cardi by Andrea Mowry in particular. The cardi really inspired me and so I went up to the garage (aka stock room) and pulled together some new five colour DK yarn packs but using two x 100g skeins of each colour rather than one.

There is a new menu category for “5 colour DK packs 1kg”. We have also converted these into yarn packs specifically for the Douglas Cardi with different size options based on the yarn requirements. Most sizes use two skeins of each colour but if you are at either end of the range the quantities of yarn have been adjusted for you. The sizing from the pattern is shown in the listings to help you out.

There are also a number of Milburn DK packs; these have more size options so please do check carefully to make sure you get the right one for you. Design specific yarn packs have their own category in the Yarn menu to make it even easier to find them. One of these selections is shown in the images.

Moorit has launched!
We are so excited about Moorit, a new crochet magazine. We have copies of the magazine and yarn packs for the cover design which is a wonderfully cosy sweater in Whitfell Chunky. We also have a preorder running for Pendle Chunky in a selection of colours all shown in the image. The preorder will close on 15th October so make sure you get orders in before then. Yarn packs for the Cumulo sweater are listed by size with the sizing from the pattern detailed on the product page. All yarn packs come with a discount to the price of the yarn sold separately.

Inspiration
Also on the website we have yarn packs for the Shikhar wrap by Jaya of Apoorva Designs, which was released in August (I didn’t quite get the yarn done before my surgery so it’s had to wait). You can find more information about this wrap on the pattern page on Payhip. The Shikhar Wrap is made up of sections of different stitches and patterns inspired by architectural elements of the Taj Mahal, including striped chevrons, honeycomb lace, an intarsia floral design and an arched section. The wrap uses sparkly Rosedale 4ply in Natural, Red Kite, Larch and Charcoal and these yarns can be bought together as a yarn pack at a discount compared to buying the yarns individually. This can be found in the Design specific yarn pack collection. Also, for a limited time Jaya is offering a free copy of the pattern to the first five folks who buy the yarn! In with your order you will receive a discount code to be used to get the free pattern from Payhip.

We still have plenty of five colour hand dyed yarn packs that could be used the the Stephen West Shawlography MKAL or Starting Point/Fading Point if you are taking part in Joji’s Fall KAL. These packs could also be used for any other five colour (500g) 4ply/fingering weight pattern. Check out the available selection in the “Five colour 4ply pack – 500g” collection.

I finally have some good news about our Milburn DK production. We have received new batches of Althaea, Night Sky and Natural which is a massive relief. Natural has been out of stock for a REALLY long time! This also means more DK yarn packs have been added to the website as quite a lot of our combinations use it. There are more colours in the queue to be restocked and we expect those to start arriving in the next few weeks!

Oops, I seem to have rambled on again! I will try not to leave it so long again next time,
Happy Crafting!! x

Things are quite difficult here at ECY Shedquarters at the moment. Lots of UK yarnies are struggling with the drop in sales at the moment (I tweeted about it recently and got a lot of sad DMs from various folks). This isn’t a cry for pity or help by the way (I’m pragmatic about it!) – just an explanation of where we’re at; and if you see people trying harder than ever on social media or reducing general stock levels this is probably why. If you are one of our EU or U.S. customers (the U.S. shipping charges tripled last year) and are still buying yarn from the UK then I really have to thank you profusely because I am acutely aware that the fees and stuff are not in your favour!

Brexit is the gift that keeps on giving. It’s basically a case of fighting something that’s actively trying to destroy my business and livelihood (and many others). We keep on dealing with things that it throws at us, and hopefully we will continue to do so, but it’s just constant and it feels so unnecessary. Plus it’s costing money which I don’t have. If you’ve ever wondered why on earth I’ve developed a love of running, this might help to explain why I do at the moment, as it’s the one thing that absolutely forces my brain to switch off (or should I say, into ‘trying to breathe’ mode 😆😆). Apologies for being ranty, but I do feel like I need to communicate sometimes about what is happening behind the scenes here.

Anyway… on with the yarn as that is what you are here for! I have added lots of new yarn to the website. Most recently was a few dyelots each of Pendle Chunky and Titus Fingering. We haven’t been able to get hold of Pendle Chunky for ages and so even though it is now summer in the UK (just about, haha) we had to have a little bit of a restock.. plus it is winter elsewhere in the world! (Pendle Chunky in Viola is shown in the images) Titus Fingering was really popular when we introduced it and we couldn’t resist restocking Sea Spray which sold out really fast, and adding a few other colours. Plus Falling Leaves (soft gold) is featured in The Knitter magazine which is out now. (Titus Fingering in Peony is shown in the images)

Before that we had updates of Brimham 4ply and Brimham DK. Brimham 4ply is our extrafine Merino/nylon sock yarn. Although we class this as a sock yarn it is a great all-rounder. It is soft enough for garments while being hard-wearing enough for items that get heavy usage. It’s soooo soft. If you would like some inspiration of how to use Brimham 4ply check out our Projects and Patterns blog post which can be found in the Yarn Specific Blog Posts section of the blog. (Brimham 4ply in Delphinium is shown in the images)

Brimham DK is the same Superwash Merino/nylon blend that you will find in Brimham 4ply but in DK weight. It is SO squishy and lovely. We debuted Brimham DK last year (in amongst the beginnings of the pandemic chaos!) but think it has been underrated so it is back this year with some different colourways. If you have a project you have made using Brimham DK that you would be happy for us to share in a blog post please drop us an email with the details and a high res image. Laura and I will also be starting projects using it very soon – we didn’t realise that we haven’t done yet! (Brimham DK in Pollen is shown in the images)

We have loads more yarn in progress and that includes Titus 4ply which should be going live on 7th July, a big Hayton 4ply update (finally – hooray!!!), Pendle DK which is even softer and more lush than it used to be, and the return of Brimham High Twist!

Don’t forget you can get a 10% discount on orders with a pre-tax value of over £100, excluding shipping costs which are calculated separately. Enter code 100THANKS in the discount codes box during checkout, to redeem it. Multiple codes cannot be used.

Would you like to see Eden Cottage Yarns in your LYS?
Well so would we! In 2014 I made the difficult decision to stop offering hand-dyed yarns to wholesale customers in all but a few cases, because I just didn’t have the infrastructure to be able to do it. However, 2021 finds ECY in different premises and with a whole team at my disposal, and I now think we are in a good position to start doing wholesale hand dyed yarn again. People already on our Wholesale Newsletter (I’m not sure if any of you are here) already know this but I thought it would be good to let you all know too.

So if you have a yarn store or know of one that might be interested they should get in touch by emailing us on [email protected] This is especially important to us for international stores as we continue to be impacted by the increased strain imposed by Brexit (I’m sure you can see now why I’m constantly ranting about it 🙈).

This next bit is for EU customers and it is REALLY important that you read this please (U.S. customers can ignore all of this!)
As of 1st July there will be changes to the rules regarding shipping orders to the EU. Orders below €150 (that’s £135 at today’s exchange rate) will incur VAT alongside potentially-higher customs charges upon import and we will not be able to join the IT system which would allow us to pay them until some time after 1st July (we have no idea when, and the only current system available is literally thousands of pounds to use). We have looked into limiting EU orders to those over €150 but this is not really feasible and actually it doesn’t benefit anyone as they’re also still liable for VAT and carriage fees anyway (just maybe less of an impact than on the smaller orders). A number of other sellers have decided to stop sales to the EU completely but we REALLY don’t want to do that.

There are a number of possible solutions in development and as soon as one becomes available to us we will implement it. Until that happens we will continue to ship orders to the EU but they will be classed as Delivered Duty Unpaid. This means there will be additional carriage charges to pay before the parcel will be delivered. Please do be aware that these charges are much higher than just the VAT alone, and if you return the parcel without accepting the fees we will be charged instead which would be really detrimental for us at what is already a very difficult time (it would force us to suspend EU orders altogether), so please, please, PLEASE consider that orders will be subject to additional fees at your end. It is out of our control unfortunately. Orders over €150 remain the same as they have been since January the 1st.

As soon as we are able to sign up for a system to allow us to include the fees upfront we will do so but as with everything else our government is woefully unprepared for these changes making it impossible for anyone else (especially us small businesses) to be prepared either. All of this being said, we are hoping to have a few more wholesale customers in Europe over the next few months which will help for ordering within the EU. I really hope you will stick with us though this difficult period – it’s pretty amazing that we’re still here as it is and I am so grateful to be able to say that.

If you’ve read this far I just wanted to say THANKYOU! We often get such lovely emails and comments, and it really does make our days. I generally try to be cheerful and positive, and that genuinely helps a lot with dealing with stuff, but I do believe in being realistic and communicative too.

Thank you again ❤️
– Victoria xox

Hooray! The sun has finally started shining here at ECY Shedquarters and I am so ready for it! Flowers are coming through, the birds are singing (so loud!), and I had my first Covid jab at the weekend. All this positivity really helps get the creative juices flowing and I am excited to bring you lots more lovely yarn. There’s nothing nicer than sitting in the shade on a sunny day and working on the latest project. 😍

Our next update will be going live on the website on Wednesday 2nd June at 3 p.m. UK time and will be Keld Fingering, our Merino linen singles yarn. We have been blown away by how popular this yarn is and the last update sold so quickly that we had to bring you more. And when I say more, I do mean an absolute mountain of it! I am *so* excited to unleash this lot!

You can find the update album on our flickr containing all the update colourways (there are quite a few!!). You can find an Introduction to Keld Fingering and our Keld Fingering Project and Pattern inspiration blog post on our new Yarn Specific Blog Posts Index. This is a fab new page which lists all the blog posts that are related to individual yarns. On the subject of blog posts, we have separated our posts out into four categories to make it easier to find what you are looking for. I have already mentioned the Yarn Specific Blog Posts, we also have FAQs, Shedcast Show Notes and ECY News which covers everything that doesn’t fit under any other category! Just click on the Blog heading in the main menu on the website to find links to all the blog sections.

Have you seen my latest new pattern? Riverside Walks is a large asymmetric triangular shawl combining fluffy garter stitch with sparkly lace sections which fade along the shawl. The pattern is available on our website and on Payhip but we have closed our Ravelry store. The pattern uses two skeins of Lowther Lace in Riverside with a Rosedale 4ply mini skein fade set in Ash but you could use a single 100g skein of any 4ply/fingering weight instead of the fade set. Our testers did a fantastic job in helping get this pattern ready to release and you can see some of these in our Riverside Walks blog post (in the ECY News section).

A few months ago we opened a preorder for hand-carved sheep, cows and shawl pins from Wood Works Crando. They are now finished and in transit from Japan! All of these have excited homes to go to but we are hoping to run another pre-order in the next few months. If you would like to find out as soon as the new preorder goes up drop us an email to [email protected] and we will add you to the list.

The bumper Pendle 4ply update is finally here! It went live on Monday, but don’t worry you haven’t missed out. I’ve been alluding to this update for ages — I had about 20 dye lots to play with which was really exciting for me as it meant not having to narrow down my colour choices so much. But then *everything* got in the way and it’s been sat waiting for ages for the photography to happen. On Monday the stars (or… clouds) finally aligned and I got all the photos done!

There are so many amazing colours for you to choose from, some deep and rich, some soft and pale and some variegated favourites. Pendle 4ply is an old favourite: pure Superwash Merino. It is soft and bouncy yarn which is great in shawls, accessories and garments. The only thing I wouldn’t recommend it for is socks because it is soft and fine wool, so after a few washes it’ll get a bit felted, and if you wear socks hard it would do the same. Not that it isn’t lovely on the tootsies, but it’s not the most ideal sock yarn. I have photographed lots of combinations of these yarns and you will find these in the update flickr album. Colours shown are: picture 1 – Mirkwood, Meadow Rue and Allium, picture 2 – Harbour, Cottage Snow Queen and Granite.

Also in flickr we have added combinations of Coniston Fingering with Keld Fingering to provide colourway inspiration for the latest pattern release from Jaya of Apoorva Designs. The Color Pop Shawl (picture used courtesy of Apoorva Designs) was first published in yarnpeople issue 5 but has been re-released with a new sample. Color Pop is a top-down, winged triangular shawl that uses a simple two-colour slip stitch pattern which creates coloured dots and lines that run across the length of the shawl giving it a classic texture. The shawl is a quick knit and also makes for a great start for those eager to learn slip stitch knitting. It uses one skein of Coniston Fingering as the main colour with one skein of Keld Fingering as the contrast colour. You will find the combinations on page 4 of the Two Colour Combination album. Combinations shown are Coniston Fingering in Ash with Keld Fingering in Dandelion and Coniston Fingering in Flowering Currant with Keld Fingering in Winter Garden.

🌼 Spring Sale 🌼
We had lovely weather here at ECY Shedquarters over the weekend so we thought we would do a spring sale to help clear the decks of some older batches. You can find all the reduced items in a section on the home page of the website, the prices have been reduced so you don’t need a discount code and you can still use the 100THANKS discount code for orders with a pre-tax value of over £100.

Having a clear out means more space for all the exciting yarn we have coming up over the next couple of months. Around mid-March we have a sparkly update including the introduction of Silverdale 4ply (like Rosedale 4ply but with silver stellina sparkle instead of gold!!). This is a huge update of Rosedale 4ply and Silverdale 4ply, full and mini skeins plus fade sets and rainbows! Late March we will have Keld Fingering – our super popular merino/linen singles yarn. Plus we have Hayton DK and Bowland DK almost ready for you and Bowland Aran going into the dyepots today and a lot more waiting to be dyed!!

I have been off my feet for a while recovering from a procedure on my foot and that has slowed down yarn production but has meant I have had lots of time to work on pattern admin.

The first pattern I tackled was Rokeby, one of my oldest patterns – first released in 2010 😱 – fingerless mitts or fingerless gloves using two colours of Milburn 4ply™. They feature a houndstooth check pattern and an optional flip top to convert them into mittens. To revamp the pattern I obviously had to make a new sample, which turned into two samples 😆 and it reminded me how much I love houndstooth. Anyway, my point is that the pattern has been updated with new pictures and some clarifications to the instructions. You can get the digital download on our website. If you had previously purchased the download from either Ravelry or our website you should have had an email with the new version. If you had previously bought the pattern on Ravelry and can no longer access the site just pop us an email and we will send you a copy. The pattern contains two colour combinations and both have been made available as kits on the website alongside another bonus combination. You can choose from Fern with Charcoal, Black Tulip with Dusk or Estuary with Wicker. The kit includes a digital download of the pattern rather than a printed copy so you will receive that via a link in an email.

After working on the mitts I had the houndstooth bug and just had to keep going with it. From that the Rokeby Cowl was born! This cowl uses one 50g ball of each colour (I have used Milburn 4ply™ in Estuary and Wicker) and I have designed it so that you use as much of the ball as possible. The pattern is available on our website and you can also buy it as a kit in the same three colour options as the mitts so that you can make matching accessories or not! It is up to you. I have recorded a Shedcast about the design if you would like to know more and at the end of it I have included a demo of two-handed stranded colourwork knitting to give you an idea of how I do it. Check out the Shedcast over on the Eden Cottage Yarns YouTube channel — don’t forget to subscribe if you haven’t already! 😍

I have managed to get a couple of hours of photography done and so Coniston Fingering (Merino/mohair singles yarn) is live on the website now! I know you are going to love the great selection of colourways I have for you, some semi-solids and some variegated favourites. I have included my Carnations colourway (shown in the images, also shown is Dark Oak) too, in honour of Helda Panagary’s beautiful design, Frosted Neckerchief, from issue 131 of Inside Crochet. Digital copies of the magazine are still available online.

Liz Corke is the latest designer that we have interviewed for our blog and it is a really interesting read! To find out more about Liz and her designing process head over to the blog and do be sure to check out Liz’s website (we have a link to it in our blog post) for her latest pattern releases Claiseach and Dromanach. Claiseach is a hat made using a single skein of Hayton DK in Snow Leopard and Dromanach are mitts made using Hayton 4ply in Woodland Strawberries. The colours used for these two designs are both quite simple with a base of natural cream with dapples of colour providing interest. We have a small amount of new Hayton DK including Snow Leopard coming soon so will let you know when that is available. Woodland Strawberries will be available on Pendle 4ply when that update goes live (hopefully in the next week).

Milburn 4ply™ Yarnlings™ — Yes you read that right! Would you like a way of using different colours of Milburn without having to buy full balls? If so these packs are for you. On the website you will find a curated selection of Milburn 4ply™ Yarnling™ sets with options to suit any project. There are colour themed packs, bright packs, soft packs and a set of neutrals. We have also added a set of all 19 colours from the current palette. This set will also include Damson and Moss Yarnlings™ for free while stocks last so you will actually receive 21 colours for the price of 19! If you are new to the concept of Yarnlings™ we have a blog post which answers all the questions you might have.

Hello all! ECY Shedquarters has been enjoying some wonderful snow this past few weeks. It has been beautiful to look at but has given us a few issues with getting to the post office. The delays were never more than a day so there is nothing to worry about if you have placed an order.

The time has finally come for us to unveil the new addition to the Milburn palette. Please welcome Dusk!! Dusk has been an ECY classic for many years and we are sure it will be as popular on Milburn. To read more about this exciting new colourway check out our blog post about it. You will find our colour combination suggestions (the image shows Natural, Dusk and Estuary) on flickr and yarn packs including Dusk will be being added to the website over the next few weeks. Kits will gradually be updated with Dusk as an option over the next few weeks (this is quite a big job!!). If you see a kit on the website but would like to order it in Dusk before the option has been added choose another colour option and let us know in the order notes that you would like it in Dusk.

We have also been busy with producing the hand-dyed yarns you would expect from us. The snow makes it harder to get the yarn photographed so we aren’t able to give as much warning of when updates will be going live. The best way to find out when yarns go live is to sign up to our newsletter. You will find a link for this on the website. To give you an idea of what we have coming up, updates in progress include Pendle 4ply, Coniston Fingering, Lowther Lace, Rosedale 4ply and the introduction of Silverdale 4ply! Plus Bowland DK and Hayton DK so that should be plenty for you to choose from!

Our most recent update was Oakworth 4ply and before that we also snuck a few colourways of Bowland 4ply on to the website. Both of these yarns are pure Superwash wool, Oakworth 4ply being NZ Polwarth and Bowland 4ply being British Bluefaced Leicester. Oakworth 4ply is shown in colourways Hot Choc, Secret Garden and Cottage Original 2801210952. Bowland 4ply is shown in Murmuration and Larkspur. They are both really great all round yarns and I have done a great selection of colourways for you. Oakworth 4ply is a wonderfully versatile yarn. My latest pair of Daydreamer Socks used Oakworth 4ply in Bog Myrtle. You might not think of using a pure wool yarn for socks but the Polwarth wool is up to the test! This yarn is also great in shawls like Echoing Green by Jaya of Apoorva Designs which you can see in the images.

As we have Hosta and Larch included in this update we also have kits for this design back on the website. Our colours have evolved a bit over time and you can see the difference in Larch in the image. If these are not your colours there are plenty of other two colour combinations you can choose from and these can be made into a kit using the Add-on kit. If garments are more your thing, the Blossoming Sweater by Rachel Illsley of Unwind Knitwear is a beautiful design with colourwork detailing. This pattern is currently only available through Ravelry but showcases the yarn beautifully. Rachel used Driftwood and Briar Rose.

Friday will see the unveiling of our latest Milburn colourway! Yippeee! The announcement will be made in our newsletter at 1 p.m. and will be on social media shortly afterwards. You will be able to buy this new colourway on 4ply and DK from Monday 1st February at 9 a.m. UK time.

Friday also sees our Oakworth DK update go live at 1 p.m. We had hoped to have this update before the end of December but we ran out of time and haven’t really had suitable photography weather through January. Oakworth DK is pure Superwash Polwarth wool, so it’s more woolly than Merino, and I find it more hardwearing too. It’s a lovely crisp, solid yarn (it’s still smooth though) which softens with use. It makes a really nice addition to our stable as it is quite different to the merino and BFL bases. Colourways shown are Thunder, Twig. and Steel

A little bit earlier in the month we had a large mini skein update including Brimham 4ply and Nateby 4ply. Both of these yarns are Merino/nylon blends with Nateby being our original sparkly yarn also including silver lurex (picture shows Nateby colourways Hyssop, Faded Bloom, Hedgerow, Falling Leaves, Stone and Ash). There were also a few mini skeins of Rosedale 4ply (picture shows Damson, Coal and Tide) and the new Silverdale 4ply — these are also sparkly Merino/nylon blends but with Stellina – Rosedale has gold Stellina and Silverdale has silver! (see what we did there?!😆). We had hoped to have a full update to introduce Silverdale 4ply but the yarn is not currently available to us so this is on hold for a little while longer.

I have a couple of bits of shipping admin to share with you. With all the drama relating to shipping delays that the last few months brought us we have added another service level. You now will see the options for Standard shipping (split into first and second class for the UK only), Courier, and now the new Airmail Tracked & Signed option (1st class Signed For in the UK only). Signed For/Tracked and Signed is a way of adding extra peace of mind to your shipping without the extra cost associated with a courier shipment. This is a new offering for us and it may lead to some teething problems but hopefully it will be a positive addition all round. Take a look at our Shipping Info page to check out all the changes.

Customers in Europe are likely to experience delays in receiving their orders as the UK and EU work through the teething problems of the new trade deal. Please do be aware that if you are in the EU and placing an order with a VAT registered company in the UK, you are almost definitely going to have to pay an import tax. This is instead of the VAT that you would previously have paid as part of the order. It is the same system as you would use if you are ordering from America, China or any other non-EU country. Delivery agents (e.g. couriers/postal services) will also add their own fees on top of the import tax to cover their administration fees — we can’t tell you how much it’ll be because we are not given any indication of it at all. Sadly this is not something that we have any control over and is the new normal. Please do take this into consideration when placing orders as it will increase the overall cost of the order and the fees will have to be paid for you to receive your order.

We have also had notification that one of our main (and most reliable!) couriers has suspended part of their European service until they are more able to cope with the increased complexity of the process. When booking courier shipments we always do our best to find an appropriate service for the price charged to our customers. As the courier market is so variable at this time we may in some cases not be able to find a service to suit. In this case we will contact you to discuss possible options, whether this would be an increased cost for the shipment or the use of an alternative service. This is reflected on our Shipping Info page.

That’s the boring bit over with! The lovely Sophie McKane (aka Unicorn Designs) gave up some of her time for an interview with us about her life and designs. She is a fabulous knitwear designer specialising in (but not by any means limited to) garments for children and fingerless mitts. You can find links to the recent patterns she has released using our yarn on the Design Collaboration page but please be aware that some of the older links may be for Ravelry. Head over to our blog to read the interview.

We’re still working differently to how we used to, due to Covid restrictions and being as careful as possible. Between that and Brexit-related delays (which I’m sure will be a recurring theme for some time to come, sorry!) my turnaround time on yarn is about the same as last year – slow! It’s fine and I for one am not unhappy about it; it’s just different. We’re increasingly seeing undyed yarn being unavailable because of Covid and Brexit shipping issues mentioned earlier, and I’m not sure when that’s all going to be cleared up, so in the meantime I’ll just be doing updates of what I can actually get! Here’s an idea of where we’re up to (yarn availability notwithstanding):

Bowland 4ply – nearly ready
Oakworth 4ply – dyed
Pendle 4ply – this is a big one and currently in the dye pots
Coniston Fingering – waiting to go in the dye pots
Lowther Lace – waiting to go in the dye pots
Titus 4ply – planned
A sparkly update including mini skeins (hopefully Rosedale and Silverdale 4ply!) – aiming for mid-March
Bedale 4ply – planned
Bowland DK – aiming for April
Titus DK – pencilled in for May

The yarn updates are coming thick and fast now so with no further ado allow me to introduce Keswick Aran! As you may be able to guess from the name this is the same tweedy Merino yarn we have had in fingering and DK weight but in aran weight. If you have tried either of the other weights you will know that it is lovely soft Superwash Merino with donegal neps in cream, brown and black throughout. I love this blend so much and dyeing it is super-fun. On lighter colourways the darker neps show through and on darker colourways the lighter neps are more prominent. It just adds another exciting dimension to the yarn and really inspires my creativity. This yarn went live on the website on Friday but we have some stock still available. Colours in the images are Woodland, Faded Bloom and Slate.

The week before we added some Askham 4ply to the website to support the release of ViTalina Craft’s Lacystorm Sweater pattern which you can find on Payhip and Ravelry. Askham 4ply is a luxurious blend of baby alpaca and silk which some will remember from our mill dyed range of the same name. Now it is only available as a hand dyed yarn and we have a really nice selection available on the website. Colours shown in the images are Cloudberry, Scorched Moors and Meadow Rue. You will also find our Festive Fun colourway available on both Pendle Chunky and Nateby 4ply, these are likely to be the last batches of this colourway for 2020 so don’t leave it too late if you want to add a skein or two to your stash.

Over on the blog you will find a post about Christmas posting dates. If you are thinking of ordering but want items to arrive before Christmas please take a look at the blog post and allow plenty of time! There is also a new Shedcast up on the Eden Cottage Yarns YouTube channel so please do check that out.

Can it really have been a month since my last post?? I have so much yarn to tell you about so it must have been!!

The updates have been coming thick and fast but don’t worry there is plenty to choose from. Our most recent update came this week and was Eldwick Lace, our luxurious mohair/silk blend. We now have so many colours for you to choose from and enough available stock to suit almost any project. We couldn’t update Eldwick and not also add some Bowland Aran at the same time. Why? you may ask… For Woodbine sweater yarn packs of course!! This pattern has been amazingly popular and is a fabulous snuggly winter jumper. Fiona Alice released the pattern recently so it is now available to buy directly from her and we have two yarn pack options available, the original Oak/Bark colourway and a version pairing Rambling Rose with Bark and Eldwick Lace in Briar Rose.

This latest update also means we have restocked a small quantity of Cat Knits aran weight yarn packs. So at the time of writing we have the book – Cat Knits by Marna Gilligan and yarn packs for all 16 of the designs available on the website. The perfect gift for knitters who love cats!

On the subject of gifts, we know this festive season is going to be challenging for many and so we wanted to offer any little assistance we can. To do this, we have a new blog post full of Gift Ideas (https://www.edencottageyarns.co.uk/blogs/news/gifting-in-2020). One of our couriers mentioned the other day that they are as busy now as they would normally be in the last week before Christmas so please do take into consideration that shipping may take longer than you expect and allow plenty of time for delivery!

Also on the blog you will see the first of a new series of blog posts detailing patterns and projects by yarn type. The first one published is Askham 4ply in readiness for an update coming very soon. We really wanted this to be a way of showing how others have used each yarn and providing pattern inspiration without Ravelry. It isn’t a database but we do see it as a living entity like our Design Collaboration page. If you would like to have a project shared on the blog there will be information about how to do so in the post. We love seeing your makes! Another new category you will find on the blog is Shedcast Show Notes. These are lists of links for any items mentioned in the Wholly Irregular ECY Shedcast which you can find on the ECY YouTube channel. We try to release the Show Notes as quickly as possible after the Shedcast but it most definitely is Irregular…

Other recent yarn updates you may have missed have included Pendle Aran, Carlisle Fingering and Nateby 4ply. All three are merino based yarns, Carlisle is singles fingering weight, Nateby is our original silver sparkle 4ply and Pendle Aran is perfect for those wintery projects and quick makes. Some of the colourways include autumnal seasonal specials so make sure to grab them before they are gone. We have also snuck a new batch of Nateby 4ply in Festive Fun on the website as the last batch sold so quickly.Milburn DK in Steel is finally back in stock meaning we also have yarn packs for Magic Circles by Janie Crow back in stock with or without the pattern.

The last bit of news I have for you relates to patterns. My Ambleside Shawl pattern has been revamped with a new sample and updated pictures. If you have previously purchased the pattern you should automatically have received an update for it. If that purchase was on Ravelry and you are no longer using the site please do email us. The new version uses Hayton DK which we just to happen to have a great selection of. Also recently released using Hayton DK is Louise Tilbrook’s Barn Door Cowl. It is available on Payhip and looks so wonderfully squishy and snuggly!

Phew… well done for making it this far! I won’t leave it so long next time!! 🤣