Amy Butler is making her annual visit to us on Wednesday 18th August for a yarn-tasting evening. In a break from tradition, we are having the do at the shop because rather than a formal talk, Amy will be mingling and chatting and signing books instead. So we have a very limited number of tickets on sale for £3.50. This gets you in to the best party in town (!) plus a little goody bag of Amy’s yarn to try and endless wine and nibbles plus we will be offering discounts on all of Amy’s products for the evening. Please ring the shop on 01684 892079 to purchase a ticket or just call in to buy one. It will be entry by ticket only because of the space limitations.

Yes, believe it or not it is our 5th birthday on 22nd July and we are having a spectacular week of offers from Monday 19th July to celebrate. Every day we have 25% off 5 different products, different things each day, as you can see from our flyer above.

We can’t offer everything that’s on here on the website but if you are a web customer and there is something you would like, please either ring or email on the day. For items that are on the website we will have promotional codes on the home page of the website each day.

Start planning your knitting!

The Webmaster is taking part in Swimathon 2010, the world’s biggest fundraising swim. He is swimming 5K at Ledbury Swimming Pool and has been in training for a few weeks now. It was touch and go at one point when he couldn’t get further than 3k without getting cramp but he seems to have overcome that hurdle now which he attribues to ‘Gatorade’ half an hour before training.

I am toying with the idea of spectating the Swimathon as it would seem like I was being supportive (which I am) while being an excellent knitting opportunity! It would be like in America when they knit at baseball games. Kind of.

The money he raises will help Marie Curie Cancer Care provide care and support to people with cancer and other terminal illnesses. Sadly we have come across their wonderful work in our own family and know what a great cause this is.

Just click on http://my.artezglobal.com/personalPage.aspx?SID=284258 and make a secure online donation using your credit or debit card. We would both be grateful for any amount you can give.

Thank you!

Sorry! When I last updated the website I forgot to do the workshops and now the Webmaster is doing some sort of upgrade on his PC and can’t update them for a few days.

Anyway, just so that you know, we have a Rowan Learn to Sew workshop on Saturday 10th April. It is a brilliant introduction to sewing with a machine. You make a tote bag which means you can learn all the basic techniques and you end up with something cool at the end! You don’t need to own a machine, we have machines for you to use. You can choose your own fabric from our range which now includes the new Amy Butler Love Collection! The cost is £39.95 which includes materials, buffet lunch and 10% discount on any purchases on the day.

Just give us a ring on 01684 892079 if you would like to book.

I have bought a tunic pattern from Sew Liberated. It is SO great. I have already made a dress which I love so much and I have also snuck home some fabric from here with flowers and birds on which I’ve covetted for ages. That will be a shirt by Saturday night I hope. I also have some fantastic pea green towelling which I will use to make the dress in a Boden-esque manner for wearing by the pool on holiday.

So, get sewing!

We are running our first sewing workshop on Saturday 28th November with Rowan Design Consultant Erica Pask. You learn how to sew on a machine by making a small tote bag in 2 contrasting fabrics. We have machines here that you can use or you can bring your own.

It costs £39.95 for the day, 10am -4pm and that includes lunch, all materials and a 10% discount on anything you want to buy on the day. It’s a great time to learn to sew! You could be making little bags as christmas gifts and that is just the start. Next year Erica is visiting us again for an intermediate class which will cover more advanced techniques such as putting in zips and making buttonholes.

If you would like to book for the 28th or would like more info, please give us a call on 01684 892079.

I was updating the Rowan Workshop schedule for the rest of the year today and realised that there are only 3 workshops left!

I had an email from Sarah Hazell who is running the British Breeds textured knitting workshop and she ran it for the first time this week at John Lewis on Oxford Street and everyone loved it so I think that would be a great one to sign up for. It is the first knitting workshop that Sarah has done for us because usually we rope her in to do the crochet ones so we are pretty excited. Plus the British Breeds yarns are so lovely.

Emma King’s beads and sequins workshop is also getting booked up pretty quickly. I think it’s a great subject to help you add a bit of sparkle to you projects. I knitted some gloves for Pat for christmas last year and incorporated some beads into a normal plain pattern and it just made them look extra special. A great subject for the lead up to christmas!

Please give us a ring or email if you ever want more info on our workshops. Also, look out for new Rowan sewing workshops! Coming soon…