Dear Kay,
Well, Beata Jezek is driving me crazy.
Beata is the proprietor of Hedgehog Fibres, a yarn dyeing enterprise in Cork, Ireland.
(When can we go to Cork? I’m building quite a list of places we need to visit. Iceland, Cork, the entire coastline of the Baltic Sea . . .)
This yarn jumped out at me amid the madness of Vogue Knitting Live, one little skein, greener than green can possibly be, all slashed up with bits of brown and red and aqua.
Why is Beata Jezek driving me crazy? It’s because I came across this skein yesterday, dropped pretty much everything to wind the yarn, and started knitting whatever pattern was in front of me—the Alegria Shadow Shawl I just finished knitting in that sunshiney Manos. I don’t know when I’ve been so in thrall to a ball of yarn. I don’t care what I make with it; I want only to watch the colors show up on the needle.
Please poke around the Hedgehog Fibres site. It’s such a brilliant explosion of color. I mean, if it can make a gray-lover like me cast on, it’s very powerful stuff.
Also: I am finding that I need a wardrobe of Fringe Supply Co. Bento Bags. Each project needs its own little knot-tied bag. I’m going with chambray for my Hedgehog Twist Sock, shade Pod.
How did Hedgehog Fibres get its name? Well, back in Beata’s home country of Slovakia, jezek means . . . hedgehog.
Love,
Ann
PS Get your name in the pot for the Euroflax Eight-Skeinstravaganza Giveaway. Enter here by leaving a comment. (Apologies for the long scroll to get to the Comment window—our blog was designed by goblins.) Deadline for entries is 6 pm Central standard time today. We’ll pick a random winner and notify him/her by email.
I just took a weaving class and now want linen so I can weave tea towels.
I would like a ticket on that tour 🙂
But don’t forget, we’ll want to see all of Ireland, not just Cork . . .
Yes!
Yes, hedgehog fibers! I love her use of color! Just a week or so back, I bought some yarn from her in her website update. What a crazy adrenaline rush that was! I felt like I won, though, because I did score some skeins. And of course, they are beautiful. Your shawl looks beautiful, too. I can’t wait to see the finished product.
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Every yarn I clicked on was SOLD OUT? Is it ever available?
Check the shops that sell it -listed on her web site, Convent and Chapel in a tiny tow in Australia always have good quantities and they ship world wide. My favourite colour currently is Down by the River!
I have (so far) resisted the temptation that is Hedgehog color. So beautiful and diverse! I have a fairly significant stash of Alegria, so I feel it is just a matter of time; I know long term resistance is futile. ????
I own Do Ewe knit In Westfield New Jersey and we carry all of Hedgehog Fibres we cant get enough of it. I will be visiting her Studio in June to place my fall order…
Love love love Hedgehog Fibres! Her colors are amazing and the yarn knits up beautifully…you can find it at The Loopy Ewe and Simply Socks Yarn if you aren’t able to make it to Ireland in person!
Count me in on that trip! Had a brief stopover in Iceland last summer – minus the actual sweater – and must go back. Haven’t been to “God’s country”, as my priest refers to Ireland (he’s from County Cork!) but really want to go. Sounds like a religious trip…God’s country, wool, yarny goodness, sheep…
I was in Cork, briefly, in 2007. I say briefly because after my husband drove up onto the sidewalk in our rental cr, he was so flustered we drove out of town before he got in trouble for it. We were on our honeymoon and driving on the other side of the road, navigating the roundabouts, and using a gear shift with his right hand all became to much in that one moment. Ireland is my favorite place, especially the Dingle peninsula. Go as soon as you can!
Oh my word, what is that colorway? Pretty please?
My Kelly roots are showing.
The shade is Pod.
Pod.
I love that.
Thank you! Snagged the last skein of Pod from Hill Country Weavers. Couple of other colorways might also have fallen into the mail from Simply Sox. Enabler!
(And I’m such a tough sell…)
Since I’m also having a Spring fling with green yarn, the gray shawl I’d been working on all winter will just have to wait. This time of year always makes me crave color. I regret I missing Hedgehog Fibres at VKL!
Mary, I actually bought this skein from the wonderful Cindy Fitzpatrick, owner of Conversational Threads in Pennsylvania–she had a booth at VKL. I bet it’s worth a call there to see what Hedgehog they may have in stock. 610-421-8889 http://www.conversationalthreads.com/
Love that yarn! And I also have to put in a yes vote for the Bento bags. I took my little red and white striped one to France with me last year and it was the perfect receptacle for travel knitting. I’m pretty sure I need more.
I’m going nutso over the Hedgehog Pod yarn and the Bento bags will definitely find their way into my home!
I can’t comment on my favorite yarn and why because I’m such a novice. I do want some of the linen yarn though….I don’t have a piano but I do have a bathroom and would love to knit some hand towels with that yarn. Is there a pattern for the towels?
Hi Jan! The ones in my bathroom are mostly freestyle patterns I made up as I went along. There are actually two hand towel patterns in our first book, Modern Daily Knitting: The Curious Knitter’s Guide, available at your library or bookstore.
Reminds me of spring. Beautiful green bursting forth..
I have an Ireland trip yearning too. Love linen yarn, which is more accessible $ wise. LOL
Of course I went straight to Hedgehog Yarns (all sold out, although there might be one store in the Boston area that sells it) and thence to the blog and thence to Stephen West, and then….I bought the Penguono pattern from Rav. Seldom see anything I want to knit for myself, but that might be IT!
Well, that was a truly enjoyable half hour, looking at Hedgehog Yarn’s website and her Instagram feed. Thank you. I now feel as though I cannot rest until I have purchased just one skein!!
Anyone make a bento bag? I see you tube how-tos.
I just finished a Willow Cowl from one skein of Hedgehog Fibres sock yarn in Boombox, the most beautiful mix of pastels with shots of saturated color. It’s a perfect spring flowers colorway–pink, peach, pale blue, and pale green with blobs of magenta, tealy turquoise, and grass green.
When I saw the skein at my LYS (the fabulous Fibre Space in Alexandria, VA), I certainly didn’t “need” it, but oh, did I have to have it! It was deepest, darkest early February, and those colors were like the promise of spring. I’m so glad I got it and so glad I knitted it up so quickly. I’ll be wearing the cowl as soon as our temperatures drop back down to normal.
Ok, so now I want a skein of that yarn and a bento bag. Thanks for that. Stealth enabling of the highest order.
Must. Knit. Down. Stash. Before. Clicking.
Love!
Yes, the bento bags are wonderful. There’s something classic and classy about them. And I could definitely use all that Euroflax!
I am going to have to order some Hedgehog Fibers. Love the colors. The Euroflax would be wonderful and that is a perfect project. I saw it last year and wanted to knit it , now it is a must knit for this summer.
Thanks
Can we see the shawl with Manos maiz?
Beautiful colors!!
Euroflax for washcloths looks wonderful. Always use Cascade Ultra Pima Cotton which I love and wears forever. Would love to try your favorite.
“…to watch the colors show up on the needle.”
I couldn’t put it into words……this is it.
Thank you