Cornish Wools - our new website and Village Crafts for Knitters!!

We have finally made it after a long 5 months!!! our new Cornish Wools website is up and running and there for all to see. It's been a long hard slog but it really has been worth it and I am so pleased with the final result. It will need some tweaking as we go along and there are lots more items to put into the online shop but what a relief........



And now we are now well into July and the Summer is here and for a real change we have had some lovely summer weather this year. The Village Crafts shop is looking good with all the tables and parasols and Jenny and Lisa's Peppercorn Summer Cafe doing a roaring trade with their bistro type meals and snacks. Inside we have new displays of jewellery and artistic feltwork by Teona and Patricia Lomax. The Gallery is now the textile crafting shop with lots of super new knitting yarns, knitting patterns, needles and accessories.




We also have a spinning and weaving corner with the Ashford Traditional Spinning Wheel, Ashford Knitters Loom, carders, drop spindles and so that you can get spinning our own Cornish wools carded wool bats and pencil rovings. We also have the Schopple Finger Wolle which comes in an exciting colour range and is a wonderful way to get started on the wheel.





In the craft and gift shop we have a interesting range of greetings cards, lots of artist cards and photo art views to 'Stan and his Surfboard', traditional and
just plain funny! If you need a greetings card then this is the place to find one.

We also have our very own 'Perranuthnoe Greetings Card' desiged especially for us by local artist Wendy Fyers. Its quite unique.



You can find our new website on www.cornishwools.co.uk

'Sea' Knits - having a laugh!

What a laugh we had at this weeks knitting group gathering, topics of conversation ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous, I really don't think I have laughed so much in a long time. That's not to say that we didn't get any knitting done, I did aim to finish the back of the sweater I am knitting in Sirdar Eco yarn, a lovely soft and natural coloured DK Yarn but it didn't happen, what with interested customers coming into the Gallery with cries of 'Oh what's going on here, how lovely a knitting group' and then stopping for a chat. It's amazing how interested people have been to see our group enjoying just getting together knitting, laughing and with much nattering going on, not to mention the tea and biscuits!

Pauline brings her best friend Tess who is neatly tucked away in the window alcove (as neatly as you can tuck a wonderful and very beautiful ex racing and now rescued by Pauline, greyhound). Pauline is knitting a throw with different patterned squares which is coming on a treat, I'm not quite sure who is going to end up snuggling into the throw whether it will be Pauline on chilly winter evenings or perhaps the beautiful Tess will win out in the end with those beguiling eyes of hers, after all she is very special.

Chis was again on hand to guide and advise, she is a expert knitter, who has been knitting for many years and this week she was just finishing a scarf she has knitted for a Hospice charity event. It was brightly coloured with a mix of unusual and textured yarns of many complimenting colours.

Bev was knitting what is known as the 'Bob Marley' Bag, again brightly coloured and knitted in a variegated yarn and talk about 'big' it was hanging off her knee from all sides. But this will all change when it goes in the washing machine to be felted, so its any body's guess, it will either come out at a reasonable handbag size or something more akin to a 'dolly bag'. So watch this space lets hope Bev has beginners luck on her side.

Sue and her friend Di came again and we were also joined this week by Frances from Ashton. It was good to see everyone enjoying themselves and the afternoon passed very pleasantly and quickly.

1st gathering of the 'sea' knits knitting group

The sun is shining and its a lovely day - but very cold, exactly right for a bracing walk with the dogs along the cliff tops. Cornwall at its best!

On my last post I told you about the launch of our 'sea'knits knitting group and tomorrow is the day it all begins - Wednesday 10th February 2pm until 4.30pm in the gallery at Village Crafts. You are welcome to join us.

The group is for those who are able to knit - it doesn't matter is you're not very good just so long as you can knit, we will be on hand to help if it's not going well. Shortly we will be putting on a workshop 'Knitting for Beginners' and so watch this space and there will also be posters around the villages near by.

If you want to find out more then phone the shop on 01736 711808.

New knitting yarns in the shop this week are Recycled sari silk yarns and Lang 100% Merino DK (so soft)in a selection of colours also Lang Mille Colori which is a beautifully soft, varigated yarn in wonderful subtle colours. So do come in and have a look at our yarn selection.

Through Village Crafts we also manufacture our own lable knitting yarn, 'Cornish Wools' produces 100% wool yarns from the fleece of sheep kept locally within a 30 mile radius of the shop. Currently we have in stock Lleyn 100% pure wool in Aran, DK and 4ply and shortly we will have Alpaca yarn in DK & 4ply in a selection of natural colours together with a Merino & 10% nylon 4ply sock wool (the Merino fleece I bought from Yvonne who farms and keeps a flock of beautiful Merino sheep near Lydney in Gloucestershire because as yet I cannot find any locally or in Cornwall!).

Currently we stock Sirdar Escape, Crofter DK, Eco and Denim. We also offer our own Cornish Collection of Merino & Nylon sock wool dyed to our own specification replicating the seasons in Cornwall - this is so soft and yet wears well and the colours are really lovely. Lynda Philips produces an artisan yarn, hand spun and dyed by her at her studio in Penzance, this is such a lumpy bumpy yarn and very soft.

Snow's all gone! - SeaKnits knitting group begins

I just could not show you this photo - it is my most favourite of all my snow photos but now the snow has all gone and today the sun was shining and the day has been really lovely. So you need to see this now as we will probably not get any more snow this year.

So to SeaKnits - my new knitting group.

Village Crafts has launched a knitting group with the name of SeaKnits based on the fact that we are in the unique position of being only 200 meters from the beach and the sea. We will shortly be making the Gallery at Village Crafts the home for the group, this last weekend saw us rejigging all the funiture and stock in there to make way for a working table and enough chairs for our knitters. We have recently got in more yarn stocks and will shortly be ordering Bergere de France and Artyarn to add to the Sirdar range and artisan yarns we currently stock. If you would like to join our knitting group which will be on Wednesday afternoons from 2pm to 4pm then please contact the shop on 01736 711808 or leave a comment on this blog.

If you are on holiday in our area then please book yourself in - we would love to meet you and for you to join our SeaKnits group whilst you are in Cornwall.

Happy New Year 2010

The New Year of 2010 has certainly come in with a blast, sub zero temperatures, snow the likes of which we have not seen for many a year and now gale force wind and pouring rain - Oh for the balmy Cornish Winter days when it has been posible in the past to sunbathe bikini clad in the middle of February!!



12th January 2010



















11th January 2010

More anon.

Truly beautiful feltwork from Teona

I am absolutely blown away by the shear beauty of this felt work by Teona. It is so fine, exquisitely soft and really stunning. I have never seen felt work like it!

This black and white scarf is so soft and exquisitely beautiful. It is also totally unique. It measures 169 x 1.5cm and is priced at £49.










These hats are very different and quite unique, on right a black felted wool cloche style with a gorgeous pink flower price £59 and the left a similar style but black with a light grey turn back and an applique pink flower design with a scattering of diamante studs price £49. Both very 1920's design and very flapperish!




This gorgeously soft and very fine felted wool scarf is light grey in colour with a black design running down through and finishng with a black felted rose. It is decorated at both ends with more roses. Price £45
A dream of a scarf!

The black felted wool hat has a turn back cuff and is decorated with 3 diamonte studs. Price to follow.








This stunning black and scarlet red scarf is not only so soft but is just a joy to wear. Felted wool with the red design running down through the length of the scarf finishing with a felted red rose. Both ends of the scarf are decorated with more roses. There are two sizes and prices are £45 and £59.
This is my favourite!












And finally 'Still Life' a felted wool collage. I am rather lost for words here, this work is so amazingly real, so tactile and yet a real work of art. This would be a total joy to own. Priced at £130


If you are interested in purchasing any of the above items then you can either contact us by email www.perrancrafts@gmail.com or you can phone the Village Crafts shop on 01736 711808 and we will be pleased to send you the item you require. My apologies but we do on have an online shop at the moment.

Valerie

Ravelry - I'm there - come and find me!

The news today is that I have managed to get myself, Cornish Wools and Village Crafts on Ravelry, the worldwide chat room for knitters everywhere.

If you visit me 'Prussia' and the Cornish Wools entry you will see that I have not managed to master the general workings of the site quite yet, but I am there!

New yarns into the shop last week were Sirdar Escape DK and Sirdar Eco DK (100% pure wool, natural and undyed). We also took delivery of Prym Bamboo knitting needles and lots of other associated knitting bits and pieces.

Over the last 3 weeks the weather in this part of the UK has been really bad with so much rain and gale force wind but my dogs Sharna and Layla just love it and romp and play even as they do in the middle of summer, they never seem to mind just how wet they get.

Today - the good news is that the sun is shining and the rain has gone for the moment together with the wind - and its just lovely!

The picture here was taken from the cliff path looking out to the Greeb rocks, near to Boat Cove.