Kanagawa KAL

                 Clockwise : Sea Star. Crustacean. Rockweed. Atlantic. 

Holiday gift knitting all done?  Settling in for a long winter's rest and wondering what to cast on next? How about joining Emily, Sonya, and Beverly (loveaslug , knitsonya , PoMoGolightly on Ravelry) for their KANAGAWA Mitten KAL?  Limited edition Nash Island TIDE POOLs are available at clementine and on our web store! Each colorway contains six mini skeins (60 yds each of 6 colors), the perfect amount to make a pair of KANAGAWA mittens by Through The Loops and have enough left over to make this great TRIG hat by Mary Lou Egan. 

The Kanagawa KAL will begin in January, after the holiday rush, as life quiets down and winter settles in.  You can order your KAL Tide Pool yarn HERE or HERE.  The Kanagawa mitten pattern is available HERE.  And the TRIG hat pattern is available HERE. And don't forget to post pics of your finished KAL projects on the Nash Island and Starcroft Fiber Fans Ravelry group page HERE.  

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Starcroft LIVE

Starcroft's new web store is live! Check out our new logo designed by Holly McBride.  

On Our Story page we share with you the history of Nash Island Wool and the making of Nash Island Yarns. 

On our Shop page you can fill your cart with Nash Island TIDE yarn...

and Nash Island FELTING WOOL for your holiday knitting and felting projects. 

With the website up and running and the house building in it's finishing stages I am looking forward to getting back to the mill and working on the 2015 clip after the holidays. First up is a batch of Nash Island FOG. I'll let you know as soon as it's ready!

Through the Year with Through the Loops

I've been terribly remiss with sharing my project 'Through the Year with Through the Loops'. Knitting these shawls has been my tiny oasis amidst the hustle of summer house construction and the bustle of fall gardening and winter prep. I'm ready for deep snow and long dark quiet nights filled with more Through the Loops shawl knitting. 

                                            JUNE ~ Nefertem

                                  indigo dyed handspun wool/silk

                                JULY ~ MKAL15  Liz Christy

                       handspun wool/silk & Nash Island FOG

                                         AUGUST ~  Vestry Street

                            handspun wool/silk & Done Roving yarn

                                          SEPTEMBER ~ Thalia

                                              handspun wool/silk

Shawl patterns by Kirsten Kapur ~ Through the Loops. You can purchase a paper copy of Kirsten's book - Kirsten Kapur Shawl Book One here, or a digital copy here.Check out Kirsten's other shawl patterns on Ravelry.

2015 Handspinning Fleeces for Sale

The 2015 Nash Island handspinning fleeces are ready! 

NEW this year we have six colored fleeces for sale!  After several years of working to improve the breeding stock on one of the smaller islands we are thrilled to finally be able to offer beautiful dark chocolate brown and dark gray fleeces along with our traditional 'fog-washed' pure white handspinning fleeces. 

Our Romney/Coopworth/Island Descendent fleeces average between 4 - 6 pounds each and cost $12.00 per pound. 

If you are interested in purchasing a Nash Island handspinning fleece please e-mail me at jani@starcroftfiber.com or call 207-852-0295. PLEASE NOTE : If you had previously e-mailed me about purchasing a 2015 fleece, please e-mail me again! (Due to a technical problem with my e-mail all my saved e-mails were erased :(

New Obsession

I have never encountered the obsession for knitting shawls until I saw this (gasp) and tumbled full-tilt into complete obsession. 

I must confess I had previously admired several of the shawls in this book draped across the back of a chair in a sunlit NYC apartment (the image still haunts me.) Perhaps that was the dawning of obsession.  This sweet little book by Kirsten Kapur of Through The Loops has become my constant traveling companion. 

I don't do fussy. I don't do complicated. But from the simple beginning through the rhythmic building of the main body to the grand finale of a touch of lace at the outer edge I am enamored with these shawls. 

In full obsession mode I will be knitting them all, a shawl a month (there are 10 in the book). It's lambing season on the island so while I watch lambs it's  Nefertem on the needles in a hand spun lamb & silk blend shibori hand dyed in indigo. For June I'll be joining the Through The Loops Mystery Shawl knit along, and then perhaps add one more from Kirsten's Ravelry shop to round out the year.

     

I was waiting for a new obsession. I love the thought of a collection of shawls. Perhaps when I'm not wearing them I'll drape them over a sunlit chair to simply admire. 

You can purchase a paper copy of Kirsten's book here, or a digital copy here. Join the June Mystery Shawl knit along here. Check out Kirsten's other shawl patterns on Ravelry.  Oh, and her Blog too!

And if the photos in the book lead you to yearning for more...check out Gale Zuckers blog!!

Calm before the (next) storm

The weather has been a bit difficult. Storm following storm following storm. Finally a brief calm morning to run out to the islands and check on the girls. 10 am launch, snow & wind due at 2 pm.

With temps hovering at +5, it's a bit of a wait for the motor to warm up. With the harbor frozen over, a beach launch on the lee side is necessary. 

A quick sweep of the hard packed snow covered island as dark clouds begin to roll in. 

Despite the white on white camouflage, all sheep are accounted for as they march to the shore for elevensies seaweed snack.  

And back to hot cocoa and warm fire as the first flakes of nor'easter # I've lost count descends. Comforted in the knowledge that all is well on the islands and in awe of those hardy island girls. 

Clementine

Nash Island LIGHT and our new TIDE yarn are now available at Clementine in Rockland, Maine. 

We are busy working on a new WebStore for online shopping. In the meantime, if you need a Nash Island yarn fix you can call the nice lady at Clementine, she is happy to mail you some. 207-596-3905. 

Also to be found at Clementine ........

There is lots of winter still to come, lots of crafting yet to be done. 

PS : Clementine is a new fabric & yarn boutique located at 428 Main Street in Rockland, Maine owned by my daughter Leah. 

Tide's In

     Contemplations for spinning up a new yarn have been simmering on the back burner for quite some time.

     A duel purpose sturdy sock / fine stranded color work yarn. (Made from Nash Island wool, of course.)

     A large backlog of wool, the realization that getting caught up was never going to happen, and my impatience to play with said yarn finally brought things to a boil. 

     And so, with a little help from our friends at Green Mountain Spinnery*....

    Introducing - Nash Island  TIDE yarn 

 A sturdy woolen spun** DK weight yarn made from 100% Nash Island ewes wool. 

     Currently simmering on the front burner in dye pots, TIDE  will be making it's debut next week, exclusively at Starcroft's POPup store at lf8elevate, East 7th Street, New York City. January 13 - 18. 

And I will be knitting some socks. 

* their machines are much larger and FASTER than mine

**  they produce a woolen spun yarn, we spin semi-worsted

Out of the Woods

When my dear friend Gale (pictured here with her friend Cleat) e-mailed me a few months ago with an offer to do a pop-up store in New York City in January, my imagination mind immediately thought, 'Yes!  That sounds like a lot of fun!'.  Then my introvert mind thought, 'Oh, my, NYC is so far away...and there are so many people there' (I live almost in Canada, in the woods, and there are 428 people in my town). My logical mind thought, 'You don't have any yarn made'. And my optimistic mind thought,'But you have lots of wool and a month or so to make some'. A hefty debate ensued.

 In the end, optimism and imagination won!

So the house building was put on hold (again) and holiday handcrafting Santa took a sabbatical. 

Machines have been humming. 

Dye pots have been bubbling. 

And the yarn has been piling up. 

I am very excited to be headed out of the woods next week to bring a bit of my corner of Maine to NYC. 

Starcroft will be popping-up at lf8elevate on East 7th Street, NYC, January 13-18. 

Doesn't that sound like a lot of fun?