Look back in affection

With the New Year just cast on, it's a good time to remind ourselves of what 2013 brought us - and didn't it do well? Early in the year, we blogged about Veera Välimäki's Color Affection shawl, and someone suggested a Knit-Along, and from then on, it was one glorious striped shawl after another! There was so much fun to be had in choosing colours and exchanging tips, and while the image above captures the range of gorgeousness well, it's not even the full tally. The real total is probably more than one hundred, because we lost count around seventy five with, happily, no end in sight! It was our biggest Knit-Along so far, and who knows what will follow it in 2014? Apart from being wonderfully talented and inspiring designers, what did Ysolda Teague, Aoibhe Ní, Carol Feller, Mary Jane Mucklestone, Gudrun Johnston and Woolly Wormhead have in common this past year? They all led workshops at This Is Knit, and the result was delighted crocheters and knitters with new skills and finished objects. There's nothing quite like the happy buzz from the teaching area upstairs when there's a workshop in progress, and it's something we're looking forward to hearing more of! Aoibhe Ní and Carol Feller were guests of ours right here on the blog, too when they wrote guest posts for us. Aoibhe's was a fascinating insight into how her flourishing design career has developed, and Carol's was a field report on her visit to TNNA, the US trade fair for yarn stores (and it's as exciting as you'd imagine). And in August, a little earlier than previous years, we had the Yarn Tasting. What a night, with both Louisa Harding and Debbie Bliss there to present their new designs and yarn. So many samples to try out, so many garments to try on, so many friends old and new - it's the best night of the year, and we can't wait for the next one! Very very special thanks to Louisa and Debbie! Over the years they've become valued friends of This Is Knit's. We'd like to wish them both a very happy new year, and hope that it brings them back to see us again. Over the year, we've seen so many beautiful finished objects, too. Babies were characteristically well provided for - there was Jenny O's wonderful colourful blanket, for example (and the same post featured a beautiful blanket of Lisa's too)... ...and we can't resist showing you the Candy Floss booties again, because they're probably the year's most cooed-over sample in the shop. There was also a very special This Is Knit wedding this year, so once again, our very best wishes to Nadia and John. As the year drew to a close, we had the excitement of the Irish Yarn Club 2014, which led us neatly into thoughts of this new year and what it'll bring yarnwise. There's no doubt that there will be beautiful things to show you right through the year, and that most of them will be made by you, our talented and inventive customers. Seeing the yarn come back in through our doors, its final destiny all fulfilled, is truly the best part of running a yarn shop. So from all of us at This Is Knit, may we wish you a very happy New Year! We can't wait to see what it brings, can you?