Verra's Notebook

Peace Fleece!

I'm super excited to have added Peace Fleece to the Verra line-up!  In addition to having some great yarns the company's mission is right up our alley.  Peace Fleece is brainchild of Peter and Marty Hagerty, who through the work of their yarn company, are committed to helping historic enemies cooperate and prosper through trade.  Seriously, does it get much cooler than that?  

From the Peace Fleece story included with their kits: 

"Our office is a sheep farm in Maine, a crowded family apartment in Moscow or the back of a pickup truck somewhere between Tel Aviv and Jericho.  After we return from each trip, we appreciate the courage of our partners, many of whom are in the midst of a political, social or economic crisis and some are living in a war zone.  By working with people who sell wool and tend to livestock every day, we hope to find  common ground that can slowly lead to mutual understanding and interdependence, no matter how deep the hurt or how old the conflict."  

To read more of the Peace Fleece story, visit their website. 

A quintessential fall yarn, Peace Fleece Worsted is a sturdy blend of wool and mohair in tweedy color combinations that just begs to be made into hats and sweaters.  

Looking for some inspiration?

Accordion from Knitty (a kids cardigan) -- free pattern!

Central Park Hoodie (a classic women's cardigan) [rav link]

28thirty (super cute cropped jacket) [rav link]

Sweet Double (double-breasted jacket)

Be on the look-out for more great products from Peace Fleece at Verra in November!

More than a dozen reasons that I'm not blogging right now...

updates soon!  

A Project Spectrum Category and More New Yarn

I've been doing a relatively good job of keeping people updated about what's new at the store via the product update emails*, but I haven't done as well here on the blog so consider this a bit of a catch-up. 

A Project Spectrum category!  For everyone working on Project Spectrum this year, I've decided to add an easy category from the main yarn page to help you find the current color/theme.  The color for March & April is green.

New Rowan Scottish Tweed DK colorways: Thatch & Thistle

New Malabrigo colorways: Malabrigo Silky Merino Black & Malabrigo Worsted Merino Azul Profundo

2 new books from Kim Hargreaves: Nectar & Amber

*If you'd like to receive monthly product update emails all you need to do is register with the site and you'll be able to select whether you'd like to subscribe to the product update and/or quarterly newsletter emails.  You can unsubscribe from either list at any time.

Back & A Shop Update

I'm back from San Diego -- TNNA was fun and let me just tell you, after two plus weeks of no sunshine a trip to San Diego is something out of an alternate dimension.  I briefly considered lying down on the sidewalk to further aid the forgotten sensation of soaking up heat, sunshine and vitamin D, but I figured it would disturb the other tourists.

There was a giant box of Dream in Color waiting at the office door for me when I arrived at home! What a nice coming home present.

A few new colors in Smooshy Sock and the new Smooshy Sock Semi-Solid.  I think Grey Tabby is my favorite, seconded by either Cinnamon Girl or Gold Experience.  

The new Kim Hargreaves books, Amber and Nectar are up in the shop as well.

Coming in February:

New Rowan Scottish Tweed DK colors

New patterns

And very possibly a Malabrigo update

New to the Shop: Fibre Company Terra

4 new colors in a new yarn to start out a new year.  Terra is a worsted weight blend of wool, baby alpaca and silk in Fibre Co's luminous shades.   

Also, for those of you keeping track, Organik Atoll is back in stock.

New Malabrigo in the Shop

New colors in Merino Worsted and Silky Merino.  A new yarn for Verra -- Merino Chunky -- it's the three ply kettle-dyed super-soft beauty shown above.  Good stuff.

Smooshy Sock & Shokay Shambala back in stock

The UPS man has been very good to me this week.  Most colors of Smooshy Sock and all colors of Shokay Shambala are back in stock!  

We've also added some new colors for each:

Shokay:

Grape

Meadow

Smooshy Sock:

Nightwatch

In Vino Veritas

Butter Peeps

Deep Seaflower

Gothic Rose

British Sheep Breeds: Black Welsh

photo by Brian Forbes

Black Welsh sheep were specifically bred for their black fleeces and the wool, known as Cochddu (reddish brown) was much sought-after by merchants for it's distinctive color. Flocks of Black Welsh are found throughout the United Kingdom, as well as a small population in the US. The worldwide population is approximately 10,000.

photo by Just chaos

The Black Welsh is a small sheep with no wool on the face. The rams are typically horned and the females are hornless.

Rowan British Sheep Breeds: Black Welsh

British Sheep Breeds: Bluefaced Leicester

Bluefaced Leicester, also known as, Hexham Leicester, Bluefaced Maine and Blue-headed Maine, originated near Hexham, England in the early 1900's. The name "Bluefaced" refers to white hairs growing on black skin, which results in a "blue" face. The breed was originally developed from Border Leicester and cross-bred ewes in the region to develop the blue face and finer fleeces.

photo by Magic Foundry

Bluefaced Leicester are found primarily in Northern England, Scotland and Wales. A larger animal, rams weight is approximately 250 lbs. with the average fleece weighting 2 to 4.5 pounds.

photo by Magic Foundry

Rowan's Bluefaced Leicester Bulky Yarn:

British Sheep Breeds: Jacob

The new British Sheep Breeds line from Rowan features four different breeds: Jacob, Bluefaced Leicester, Suffolk, and Black Welsh.

So I did a little research...

photo by Just chaos

No one really knows the origin of the Jacob breed. Sources for the black and white coloring and multiple horns range from Africa and Spain to Scandinavia.

The name Jacob comes from the Biblical story of Jacob's efforts to breed spotted sheep and goats, which is thought to be one of the earliest records of selective breeding.

Recently, the breed has become more popular; once Jacobs were only kept at a few large estates in England.

photo by Sean Dockery

Jacobs are valued by breeders not just for their appearance, but also their inquisitive personalities. Both males and females have multiple horns and may have two, four or even six horns. Jacobs are smaller sheep -- the ewes weigh 100-120 pounds. A typical fleece is only 3-4 pounds.

photo by Sean Dockery

And the finished product?

Mid-Brown Jacob