the twisted yarn

Knitting, crochet, running, and silliness.

Yarn Giveaway!

by 187 Comments

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ENTRIES. RESULTS WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN A BLOG POST SHORTLY.

Who’d like to win some beautiful hand-dyed yarn, regardless of where in the world you’re knitting/hooking? And for those not quite lucky enough to win, who’d like a stonking great discount off said yarn?

Do I perchance hear a ‘yes’ at the back, there?

OK, well first let me tell you a little about the yarn in question, because I realize that you’re too discerning to grab at any ol’ shifty string.

Deep in the Leicestershire countryside, a woman named Fran McCarthy works at her independent yarn dyeing business. Maybe you’ve come across her before, or maybe you’ve yet to encounter the loveliness of her Etsy shop, Burrow And Soar. She produces a number of different things, but her speciality is sock yarn in 100g skeins: plenty of merino with a twist of nylon because, as I pointed out for non-knitters in my last post, feet are bastards.

Look!

Burrow and Soar on Etsy

And the yarn? She generally sources British breeds worked in British mills, focusing on the Southdown sheep where possible.

Fran originally contacted me weeks ago to talk about her work, and I’m very glad that she did. (Do you know the feeling when you just have a really good instinct about someone?) Of course there are loads of indie dyers out there doing great work, but some people just have an exceptionally visionary eye for colour combinations, and Fran is lucky enough to be one of those people.

I posted the other day about the yarn that Fran sent me after we’d corresponded a’while. No, I didn’t pay for it (DISCLAIMER!!) but no, my fickle head hasn’t been turned by a mere freebie to the extent that I’ll call gorgeous on something that isn’t properly wonderful. Look at this yarn:-

Burrow And Soar yarn

To be honest, I was nearly sold as soon as I saw the name of the colourway on the left: ‘English Landscape With Yarn’. Yes it’s sock yarn, but I’m knitting a shawl (Cladonia) to show off its beauty. Look, here’s a (badly, badly, badly-lit) photo I took whilst calculating WPI (wraps per inch): isn’t there something very English and Constablesque about these colours together?

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And this isn’t surprising, because Fran uses the colours of her (outdoor) surroundings to inspire most of her work. She focuses especially on the colours of her garden, which presumably explains all those luscious blues and purples and pinks in the screen-shot above.

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Fran’s attention to detail extends to the naming of her work. Most of the names of her colourways are inspired by history or by plays on words. (I couldn’t help smiling at the jumble of purples she’s called Gratuitous Violets.)

And just in case you’re not in the market for yarn, she also sells lovely knitted things (her fairisle is divine), as well as hand-dyed tote bags like this one below. Meet my new project bag:-

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But enough of that: there’s a giveaway and a discount to be discussed.

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Fran is offering one super-lucky reader the chance to win their choice of skein of her yarn. This competition is open worldwide. If you’re extra-terrestrial (on the space-station, say) then she regrets that postage costs make your participation prohibitive. Apologies. But if your primary residence is somewhere on planet Earth, then you’re in.  To enter, simply comment below, leaving some way of contacting you (email, Ravelry username, Twitter handle, or link to your own blog, etc). And for an additional entry, leave a comment under this post on the ‘Yarn’s Facebook page. Liking and sharing is much appreciated, thank you kindly, because we want lots of people to see this pretty yarn. This contest will close at midday GMT on Thursday 20th August. The winner will be drawn at random. I will pass the winner’s contact details to Fran so that they can choose their skein, and I will also announce the winner here.

But wait! There’s more!

You, and any yarn-lovers you happen to know, can also gain a massive 15% off throughout the Burrow And Soar store simply by entering BURROW15 at the checkout. Not bad, huh?

Trust me, you want this yarn. Go have a browse, my friends.

Comments

  1. Beautiful yarn – looking forward to seeing the end product as I have been eyeing up Cladonia as my next project. If you get a chance can you blog about WPI…I am intrigued:)

    Reply

  6. i would love to win and love all the colours especially the green multi ones! Thank you for the chance to win 😄

    Reply

  10. Wow, the colours are wonderful and the names are definitely inspirational! Either WordPress or Ravelry (purplekatie85) will do for contact should I be so lucky! 🙂

    Reply

  12. Oh man, I love that yarn. (Don’t worry, I know you be not a man.;)
    Seriously, the yarn is gorgeous, and Cladonia is a beautiful shawl. I’m pea-green with envy! And I’m too lazy to knit lace so I’ll just have fun being jealous of yours. 😉 Hope the pox scats soon.

    Reply

  17. The colors are so rich. I really love the earthy greens and golds and browns. Beautiful. Savannagal on Rav.

    Reply

  25. Thank you for this amazing giveaway!
    I would love to win this yarn.
    Would be a perfec birthday present for me..love yarn.
    Email:Melodie10@gmx.fr
    FB:Jens Ken Lundstrom
    Cross my fingers!

    Reply

  31. Ooh, the colours! I’ve just been browsing and my goodness they’re gorgeous. I’d love to win but would also sort-of dread it because I might have to actually choose! Nevertheless, just in case, I’m alicadabra on Ravelry (which reminds me that I really must update a few things on there..)

    Reply

  37. Yum, yum, yum. I feel like now I know how Golom felt looking at the ring. Reach me at ClarissaL on Ravelry. Yes, please do!

    Reply

  45. How lovely… I’m in New Zealand, which I promise is not prohibitively expensive for shipping. The yarn colours are gorgeous, and even if I don’t win, I can see a purchase in my near future! My Rav user name is “ScottieJill”

    Reply

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