Friday 19 February 2016

Origin Stories & Updates

Now every Superhero, and Super villain has one, unless you're the Joker and then well you just cray.....

Not saying i'm any of those things, but I thought I'd share a little bit about my origin story or how Third Vault on the Left and Third Vault Yarns and Designs came to be.

I've always been a crafty person and I love to dabble in things and have a rather terrible or beautiful habit of throwing myself into a new craft very wholeheartedly until i'm at least decent at it (or blindly bashing on anyway, shhhhhhh!).

Anyway I learnt to knit at a very young age. I was taught by my mother on the playground, didn't have the patience to appreciate it at that age though as I was far more into footy and fashion design. I grew up always wanting to be a fashion designer and loving sewing, designing at every chance I got. I loved making things for everyone, to the point I'm pretty sure my family got a little tired of my handmade gifts for Christmas, Birthdays, (but you know I was having a clear out and I found a little lavender potporri bag I hand sewed for my mother, for a long ago mother's day tucked into one of her drawers, long since stopped smelling, but cherished).

Over the years I re-discovered knitting, making random things and putting them down to go to the UFO pile in the sky. I still remember the cringeworthy bright orange and chocolate brown scarf I decided to make my mother on our large family holiday to America, I spent a fair amount of my time in that Huntington beach house, proudly knitting that acrylic horror. That's not me talking down about acrylic, it has its uses and you can get some really lovely acrylic, evidenced by my spanish hauls from New year 2015, this however was bargain bin walmart stuff.

Fast forward to University I'd finished Textiles A Level and was currently studying my first year of Computer Science at University (I know right, a little bit of a disconnect). I decided at the end of the year I wanted to do a fashion show, a whole collection of outfits telling the story of a young lady, morning to evening and random stops in between. That was great fun, a little harsh on the student budget because by this time I was in LOVE, with Silk, not the cheapest certainly but it turned into some gorgeous pieces.


Fast forward 2010-2011, I was on placement at Microsoft and had seriously messed up knees. On crutches for 4 months and nowhere near as flexible or able to be kneeling on the floor drafting patterns and cutting fabric. I made one thing that whole year, I loved it but I took so many breaks making it, definitely a lot more labour and pain than love at the time. I got back to university, my social and crafting pursuits wildly up in the air (I still struggle with my knees at points). Promptly joined the Stitch n Bitch society which had undergone a massive overhaul whilst I was away and took back to Knitting like a fish rediscovering water. I've been doing it ever since. 

The next year I with a couple of friends took over the committee and in the spring/summer term, after discovering a love of hand dyed yarn, decided to teach a workshop for the members. Promptly taught myself through youtube videos and random tutorials, tested out a couple of things with another friend and comittee member and taught the class. Everyone loved it and so did I, Never really stopped since. I taught another dyeing workshop, kept dyeing for myself and eventually did some commission dyeing. Upon graduating I said F- this I want to do something I love and share my love of geekiness colour and yarn with others so here I am now :) I took up knitting design, mostly to assuage the designing bug that just wouldn't quite and my complete inability to knit a pattern, jumper or otherwise without making changes for me, or playing with the design. Be fearless knitters people!
 My own origin story !
My first 2 hand dyed yarns, food colouring and white vinegar :)


On a serious note, getting back in to knitting did a wonderful thing in helping me through a time when I took a big knockback, and suddenly found that I couldn't do half the things that I loved. Yarn, Colour and Squishyness, played a very large part in adding a little bit more joy to my life. In getting into dyeing yarn for sale, I wanted to share that feeling and love, the evocativeness of colour, the tactileness and the ability to dream and create with something and make it that much more beautiful with the work and love we put in.

In other more current news, Unravel started today! I'll be there from tomorrow morning, checking in with Porpoise fur and Yarn in the City in the Barley Room and the YARN oh the YARN.
I found myself singing today ( as per my recent fortune cookie, "sing every day")

"You put a spell on me, and I want your yarn!"

So yeah I might be leaving my purse little lighter and my bags a little heavier!

I'll also be wearing the Sample of my Newest Shawl Pattern Stained Glass, published last week and only on Limited Time Discount for a few more days.

Only available on Ravelry at the moment

I might also be wearing the fingerless gloves designed to be knit with this shawlette in a kit of two 50g skeins of fingering weight. Come find me if you want a preview :D.


There will be a large shop update next week and a final teaser for the Firefly yarn club (only 2 more spaces). Until I get the whole box finished and sent out.

Until next time, let me know if you'll be wandering at unravel, we can have a knit, chat and a yarn ogle :P

Friday 5 February 2016

This Quarter Y'all, it's just so Goram Shiny!

I keep saying there are exciting things going on this year and it's true I can barely contain myself! For now I'll just stick to exciting things happening this quarter.

Firstly Sign ups are live for this Quarter's Yarn Club. Woooooooo! Firefly! There are only a limited number in total, and some of them are already gone to subscribers! So if you want a club box or exclusive skein sign up here now!


From next week I'll be posting little teasers of the goodies in the box, which I'm really excited to share, however the full contents of the box will remain secret until all the boxes are received in March.

Stained Glass Shawlette will be published this month, so keep an eye out for it, you never know, there might be a limited time discount when it goes live! It uses Misha's Obsessions Merino Silk yarn as part of our #yarniedesignerswap, so check out her yarns and look out for the gorgeous socks she designed in Third Vault Yarns Companion 4ply.

Coming up this month for those in London and the surrounds, Unravel 2016 is happening at Farnham Maltings. From Friday the 19th to Sunday the 21st, there are workshops, talks, and a fabulous list of exhibitors! Also exhibiting is the brainchild of some wonderful ladies London knitters should know and love, or at least have heard of, Yarn in the City! They are launching the London Craft guide, a fantastic book of amazing patterns, for the craftsmen/women and the many bicraftstitchual or is that polycraftstitchual among us, I never know! It's currently available for pre-order over on the Yarn in the City blog. I can't wait to get mine! They will also have some of Third Vault Yarns on the stall including the custom colourway I dyed for YITC. They're posting teasers of it knitting up on Instagram so go take a look, it's got me far too tempted to grab it all back! It will be alongside some fantastic yarns from other Dyers we know and love.

March looms very quickly after that, to much baited breath and Club box reveals!

I'll be teaching a dyeing workshop at my alma mater, Oh Leeds how I miss you!

Though the event on everybody's lips, that has so many guarding their wallets and adding to those savings in preparation is Edinburgh Yarn Fest! We're only adding to those savings to have a massive splurge really! I'll be there shopping, possibly with some samples and coupon codes, but also just to hang with some of the wonderful people. Including Porpoise fur, I wouldn't be surprised if Rachel uses her knowledge of science and chemistry to add pheromones to her fibre because it's just to dye for! I don't even spin...... yet! Also gracing us with her presence will be Kate of Cowtown Knits, what better way to view her patterns than with all the yarn around us, so we can match it to what we want to knit, sounds like a plan y'all!

All that and I've not even really touched on half of it! FAR TOO EXCITED!

Deadpool next week people, deadpool next week.......

What are you looking forward to this Quarter?