Author: Caerthan

Dyer, knitter and weaver. Owner of Triskelion Yarn and Fibre.
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Announcing Lludd DK – our new organic Merino yarn

We were going to launch our new Lludd DK organic Merino yarn at the Wonderwool show, but due to the show’s cancellation (see previous blog post), we’re going to be bringing it forward to today. As people will be missing the show deals, we’re offering the same deal on sweater quantities of Lludd that we would have offered at Wonderwool, and with free UK postage (non-UK orders get free postage if you spend over £110). We may all be missing the show, but you can still get the new base at show prices.

Lludd DK is a beautifully squidgy, springy and bouncy yarn, as you’d expect from Merino, but because it hasn’t been superwash treated and coated with polymers, you get to experience the wonderful true handle of Merino fibre: still lusciously next-to-skin soft, but with a slight ‘tooth’ and velvety tactile character. The shine and brightness of the unadulterated fibre yields a superb depth of colour, and I’ve come up with a palette of luminous semi-solid colourways to take advantage of that.

Lludd DK would normally retail at £20 a skein. In keeping with our Wonderwool launch offer, you can buy sweater quantities of four or more skeins at a 10% discount (while my current stock lasts). On top of that, you’ll get free UK postage. Just like being at the show! Even better, you can also use your reward points for up to 10% of the order value for a total 20% discount. You can order whichever colour (or combination of colourways) you like, as I’ll be dyeing them as a single dyelot for you as soon as you place your order. So, no rushing to grab the colourway you want before it sells out – you’re guaranteed to have the exact colourway you want!

We’ll also be doing a similar deal on our luxury Rhiannon 4-Ply base (a luscious 50/50 blend of extra fine non-superwash Merino and silk), with a 10% discount on three or more skeins, also with free UK postage. Just select a colourway from the new Rhiannon palette, and I’ll get a single dyelot on the go just for you.

On top of that, if there’s a sweater quantity of a particular yarn base/colourway combo that’s not on the website, just get in touch with me via the Contact Us page. If I have the undyed yarn in stock, I’ll happily give you the same deal on it, i.e. 10% discount, free UK postage.

To order either the Lludd DK or Rhiannon 4-Ply ‘virtual show’ deals, just select your yarns as normal on the website, and then you’ll see an appropriate coupon code added to the checkout page. Just click on all coupons to apply them, and then select the Free Postage option when it appears.

Free postage will apply from now until the COVID-19 crisis is done to all UK orders over £55, and to all non-UK orders over £110 – jut select the coupon code on the shopping cart page.

There’ll be some special, one-of-a-kind projects released over the next few weeks, so keep an eye out on our social media channels!

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COVID-19, UK Shows and the Lludd DK launch

I’m sure it comes as no surprise to any of you that Wonderwool has sadly been cancelled due to COVID-19 escalation, and I’m pretty sure that our booked summer shows will shortly follow suit. Whilst the cancellations are obviously the right thing to do, they’ve been a bit of a blow to us at Triskelion because they form a significant part of our income; Triskelion Yarn being, in fact, our only source of income here at Pistyll Gwyn Farm. Hence, we’re going to be rejigging the way we do business until the COVID-19 crisis is behind us.

Firstly, until we have a full lockdown on all non-essential businesses, we’ll be opening our studio space as a Triskelion Yarn shop. While the studio isn’t finished yet in terms of plumbing and electricity (that was going to be addressed by our Wonderwool takings), the space is dry and bright and is able to be used as a yarn showroom. We’ll be asking visitors to contact us the day before they come, so that we don’t have more than three or four person single parties here at a time, and there’ll be handwashing facilities available. Please bear in mind, though, that it won’t be particularly accessible – we can adjust the ‘standard setup’ for visitors who can’t manage stairs, but we’re not wheelchair accessible. It’s clean and light, but at the end of the day, it’s a barn on a farm – we really need to stress that the facilities are basic!

Secondly, we’ll be having targeted offers on a number of yarn bases and/or collections, in the same way as we do at shows. For example, our new Lludd DK base (organic merino) will be up in the webshop this weekend with a 10% reduction on 4 skeins or more, with free UK postage – essentially the deal you’d be getting in-person at Wonderwool. There’ll be a similar deal on our luxury Rhiannon base next week. We’ll be bringing in free UK postage over £55, and free worldwide postage over £110. We have other deals in the pipeline, too, so keep an eye out for coupon codes on social media, and definitely sign up for our newsletter (at the bottom of this page) if you haven’t already done so.

Thirdly, because cashflow issues are going to hit us badly, and we want to stay in business and keep Gwen and Emrys in bonbons, we’ll be putting a temporary brake on the Triskelion reward points. From today, you’ll only be able to use up to 10% of the order value as reward points, rather than the usual 33%. However, your points will continue to accrue as normal, and you’ll be able to use them all in full once this crisis has passed.

Lastly, please stay safe, and follow the instructions that your government’s medical advisors give you (wherever you are). Also, there appears to be some evidence coming to light that the virus can stay active on some surfaces for up to five days, so I would advise leaving your order parcels somewhere out of the way for four or five days before using/opening them, just to be ultra cautious. It goes without saying that we’ll notify everybody if we have to go into quarantine for whatever reason.

Strength and solidarity with you all, and may the odds be forever in your favour 😉

Caerthan and Rick

 

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Introducing Mama Qucha

Recently, I took the opportunity to try out some Peruvian Highland wool yarns from Chester Wool. And I’m in love.

Peruvian Highland Wool is a non-Superwash wool sourced from small farms in the mountains local to the mill in Peru where the yarn is spun. The sheep are merino/Corriedale crossbreeds and the fibre has a 27 micron count. As it’s not as fine and soft as merino, the fleeces would otherwise just go to waste – everyone wants the superfine merino. However, Andy and Jeni at Chester Wool have bought up the clip and given the local farmers a source of income they wouldn’t otherwise have had.

Whilst it may not be as soft as merino, the yarn is actually perfect for socks, and indeed for any garment or accessory that needs a bit of extra wear. It’s comparable to any other Corriedale yarn I’ve come across: smooth spun, with a beautifully crisp and squishy handle, and is wearable next to skin for me. The sock yarn (4-ply/fingering weight) isn’t high-twist, but has a sturdy twist suitable for socks – I’ve knit a pair up at a 8 sts per inch gauge, and they’re very durable and cosy.

The yarn is *incredibly* bouncy and springy, with a lot of body – masses of squish – and the staple length (from what I can see from pulling fibres out) is fairly long, which means less pilling. Also, the Corriedale side, with its lustre longwool heritage, yields wonderfully luminous, soft colours with my acid dyes. The stitch definition is superb, making for lusciously smooth stocking stitch and spectacular cable definition.

In addition to supporting the incomes of the Peruvian farmers, we’re also donating 10% of all profits from this yarn base to a selection of ocean-based environmental charities, with a spread of education, science, conservation and activist organisations. As many of you know, marine conservation and protection is close to my heart, with a proportion of Triskelion Yarn’s profits every month going to the Sea Shepherd charity. Given these links, we chose the name of the Mayan goddess and protector of the oceans and marine life to be the name of the new base: Mama Qucha.

I’m also currently testing out the sport, DK and worsted weight versions of this wonderful fibre, but the sock/4-ply was just too good not to do at least a small initial release of it for Triskelion customers to try out. The inital release is of ten oceanic colourways, some reworked old favourites, some new colour additions. I hope you’ll love them as much as I do!

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Triskelion at Purlescence’s Christmas Open Day

We’re very pleased to have been invited back for the Purlescence Christmas Open Day near Wantage on Saturday 1st December 10am – 4pm.

This is a great little annual event in the beautiful countryside setting of The Firs Farm, Leckhamstead, just a stones throw from where the Great British Bake Off is held.

As well as a chance to see, feel and buy our yarn, there is the whole Purlescence shop and studio to enjoy with cafe and comfy couches to knit, chat and share ideas and projects. Have a look at the Purlescence website to see what they have on offer, and for more details about the Christmas Open Day.

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Announcing Scylfing Sock

We’re very pleased to announce Scylfing Sock, an addition to our range of British wool yarns. Spun to our own specifications, it’s a yarn with a single purpose in mind – hard-wearing, eco-friendly and dazzlingly beautiful socks.

Scylfing Sock is a blend of 50% Bluefaced Leicester, 25% Gotland and 25% Wensleydale. The fibre is from British sources, non-superwash, and the yarn is spun by Laxtons in Yorkshire. It’s a 2/7Nm yarn (the same as our Scylfing 4-Ply yarn) but spun at a higher twist than normal, which makes for strong, long-lasting socks with great wearability. The yarn is firm and crunchy in the skein, and knits up with a smooth, squishy handle at 8 to 10 stitches per inch, giving a chunky fabric with a wonderfully woolly character. The combination of three lustre longwools gives Scylfing Sock a superb lustre and colour responsiveness, with the grey Gotland fibre giving the colours an unparalleled depth.

Initially, Scylfing will be available in 18 colourways. Most are based on our current Scylfing production colourways, but we’ve adjusted them a little to show off the Wensleydale bling. Expect a little brighter, a little more intense. We’ve also included some neutrals for formal business and more understated socks, and a handful of colourways inspired by Pantone’s Fall 2019 palette for more trendsetting toes.

Scylfing Sock will be available from the Triskelion Yarn website from Monday 13th August, and will be available in person at the Swansea Festival of Stitch, where we’ll have a stand at the Maker’s Market on the 18th and 19th August in the National Waterfront Museum.

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Boycotting Iceland

Hybrid blue whale killed by Icelanders

Iceland is in the middle of what appears to be its largest whale-culling in years, against the worldwide moratorium on whale-hunting, culminating in the recent explosive harpooning of an endangered blue whale (possibly an even rarer hybrid). Until Iceland and the Faroe Islands stop this barbaric, brutal practice, Triskelion Yarn will be boycotting them. This means that no Triskelion products will ship there, and no lopi yarn will be bought. No patterns will be bought from Icelandic and Faroese designers. Any yarn business – including designers – who support Icelandic or Faroese businesses or tourism will also be boycotted by Triskelion Yarn.

This bloody, cruel and utterly barbaric practice must end.

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Triskelion Yarn at Fibre-East 2018

Triskelion Yarn at Fibre East 2018

Saturday/Sunday 28/29 July 2018 at Redborne School, Ampthill, Bedford, MK45 2NU.

We’re pleased to say that we’ll  be at this year’s Fibre East event near Bedford. Come and see us at the Triskelion stand for all your favourite yarns and some special event bargains.

Fibre East is an annual event created to celebrate all things natural fibre and handmade, with a focus on the Best of British: supporting the finest quality British wool, made from the fleeces of British sheep, reared by British farmers.

For full event details visit the Fibre East website.

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Triskelion Rewards

We’ve reinstated a major, much-missed feature to the website as of today: Triskelion Reward Points.  It’s a points-based system, like Airmiles and other store/credit card type rewards, that gives you a discount on any future Triskelion products bought through the website (and hopefully in-person at shows, in time). We did have a system running in 2013-2014, but due to circumstances beyond our control, the whole thing went belly up and took everyone’s outstanding points with it. Rest assured, that won’t be happening this time, as the same people who power our website have provided the framework for the new Rewards system.

Initially, it will operate pretty much as a 5% discount, i.e. for every twenty pounds you spend, you’ll get one pound off of your next order. £1 spent on the website earns 10 Rewards points, and you get a £1 discount for every 200 points. As a caveat, there may be times when the baseline £1 = 10 earned points rule may vary, so selected product lines *may* offer a lower rate, whilst others may operate at a higher rate.

Triskelion Reward points accumuate and can be cashed in at any time – when you go to the checkout to pay, it’ll give you the option of using your earned Rewards points against up to one third of the total order value. The product pages and the cart all show how many reward points you’ll get, and you can check how many reward points you’ve earned by going to the Reward Points tab on the My Account page once you’ve logged in. Triskelion Reward points are redeemable against anything in the shop except for shipping.

In a nutshell:

  • You get around 10 Triskelion Reward points for every pound spent (usually)
  • 200 Triskelion Reward points equates to £1 discount (usually)
  • Points can be used to discount up to 33% of an order’s value

Anyone registering with Triskelion as an online customer from now on will also get 600 points thrown in for free (i.e. £3 off your first purchase from us if you want to cash your points in straight away) and, if you review any products you buy from us, you’ll get 1000 points for your first review as a thank-you. If you want to register with us as an online customer and haven’t, you can register here.

At the moment, this only applies to online customers buying through the Triskelion website. We want to be able to offer Rewards to customers buying at shows, so we’re currently assessing the feasibility of this. We’re hoping to have something in place by the time we get to the Fibre East show in July.

And now for the really good news…

If you’re an online customer of Triskelion Yarn, all of the orders you’ve placed with us since we started our online shop are now retrospectively eligible for Rewards, and we’ve assigned a large proportion of those points to your balance. If you go to your Rewards page, you’ll find a tasty stash of points ready for you to splash out on your next order (or more!) with us. This would pretty much recover any losses during the Great Points Catastrophe of 2014, and ignore any points you redeemed. So, a bargain!

The points scheme is just one part of a more comprehensive Triskelion customer loyalty program coming in the near future. The full Triskelion Rewards program will require being a newsletter subscriber, so please do make sure you’re registered and have opted in. To be clear, the basic points scheme doesn’t require you to be a newsletter subscriber; only the full Triskelion Rewards program will have that requirement.

If you have any questions about the scheme, please do get in touch with us via email or any of our social media channels.

Happy shopping!

Caerthan

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Triskelion Sock Club

Subscriptions are now available for the Triskelion Sock Yarn Club!

A monthly delivery of a range of fabulous non-nylon sock yarns, hand-dyed by us in West Wales in a range of colourways and dyeing styles. Subscriptions can run for 3, 6 or 12 months, and as with all Triskelion yarn clubs, they can be paused, restarted or cancelled at any time, and are £18 per month (£15 for non-EU customers) plus postage.

The wool fibres planned are Corriedale, BFL, Wensleydale, Gotland and Masham, with some other strong fibre breeds in there too. Other fibres include alpaca, mohair, organic cotton and linen.

Most of the yarns will be a 2-fold sock weight construction (2/7Nm and 2/8Nm, i.e. 4-ply/fingering/sport range), some with a high twist, with a DK or two thrown in for decent boot socks. A couple will probably be luxury-type sock yarns for lounging around in at home, and we have a wonderful organic cotton and linen yarn for a lightweight summer sock.

All of these will be hand-dyed here in Talog in a range of colourways, some semi-solids and some variegateds, using low-impact acid dyes.

Subscriptions can run for 3, 6 or 12 months, and as with all Triskelion yarn clubs, they can be paused, restarted or cancelled at any time. You can pay via PayPal or Stripe at the checkout, but we highly recommend using Stripe, as it gives you far greater control over your payment times and dates. Payments made in one calendar month will be for the delivery in the next calendar month (e.g. July’s payment will be for August’s yarn) and delivery is usually at the end of the second week of the month. You can put your subscription on pause at any time by going to the My Account page on the Triskelion website and following the instructions, or restart or cancel a subscription in the same manner. If you pay via Stripe, you can also change the day of the month when your subscription payment is made.

When you book your subscription, we’ll also sign you up to our monthly Triskelion Sock newsletter, which will give you details about the month’s yarn and colourway, and will include recommended patterns and the occasional competition and giveaway or two! We’ll keep you in the Sock Club even if you don’t renew after your subscription expires (as long as you’ve completed three months of a subscription) so you’ll still have access to any offers we may have, however you can, of course, unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time.

We hope to see you in the Triskelion Sock Club soon, and remember, there’s always a place to humblebrag your latest Triskelion projects in the Facebook Triskelion Yarnies group!

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Triskelion at Wonderwool 2018

Triskleion Yarn at Wonderwool

Saturday 28 – Sunday 29 April 2018
Royal Welsh Showground Builth Wells
Saturday 10am – 5.30pm, Sunday 10am – 4.30pm

Come and visit us at Wales’ biggest wool & natural fibre festival. We’ll have the full Triskelion range there and some special offers for our ‘local’ show!

There are loads of other exhibitors and trade stands covering all aspects of felting, knitting, weaving, spinning & crochet. As well as great food stands there are demonstrations and workshops throughout the weekend which can be booked in advance online. So lots to see and do! Find out more from the Wonderwool Wales website.

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