Interview: Marni from Touch Yarns, New Zealand

Welcome to a new feature on the Spin A Yarn blog, where we'll be asking some of our favourite designers and yarn suppliers all sorts of questions.

It's fairly apt that we kick this feature off by interviewing Marni at Touch Yarns, whose beautiful skeins of yarn, spotted by Joyce while on holiday in New Zealand, inspired her to open the shop in Bovey Tracey in 2006.

Touch Yarns are a family business, based in Central Otago, New Zealand. Spin A Yarn customers will know them for the boucle and brushed mohair/merino skeins of yarn which are so popular for shawls, wraps and blankets.

Skeins hanging in Spin A Yarn

Interview:

Q: When did you start manufacturing yarn?
A: In 1991

Q: What inspired you to start your business?
A: I come from a farming background and for over 20 years had a specialised flock of natural Coloured merino, halfbred sheep and 250 mohair goats. An avid spinner and weaver, I made garments for my family, finding that the fine yarns did not have the prickle factor of some of the coarser yarns on the market. So began the quest to produce soft, fine yarns.

Q: Your 12 ply brushed and boucle skeins are some of the most popular yarns in our shop – our customers love the range of colours. But what is your personal favourite yarn from all the yarns you manufacture?
A: I love them all of course but my current fave is a new shade brushed 748. It is designed by my son Glenn who now does the bulk of our dyeing and colour range development.

Vibrant autumn colours

Q: What are the inspirations behind the gorgeous shades of your handpainted yarns?


Hand painted merino and silk 2 ply

A: We take inspiration from the beautiful environment and landscape here in Central Otago, New Zealand, we are very spoiled in that regard. And, we are constantly on the lookout for absolute gorgeousness that be translated into handpainted colourways.

Q: What do you find the most challenging aspect of the business?
A: Learning to ‘drive ‘ my smartphone, ipad etc! Luckily my grandchildren Sam & Hannah can be called upon to help- such is the world we live in.

Q: And which aspect do you most enjoy and find most rewarding?
A: There are so many things to love about what I do. I love creating. Nutting out fibre combinations, colourways, and designing patterns that I know people will use to create wonderful pieces for the people in their lives they love. I love that we produce a world class product and our customers get so much enjoyment from it. And it is very rewarding that our yarns are finding their way to every part of the globe- it’s wonderfully exciting.



Touch Yarns Showroom

Q: We know and love your alpaca, merino and possum yarns here at Spin A Yarn – will you be venturing into any other exotic fibres?
A: Our latest fibre combination is our Possum Silk Merino 2ply. It is a worsted yarn and has divine handling.
We took this to Vogue Knitting Live in New York earlier this year and the response there was amazing.

 



Happy Knitting! Marni
 
    

Stunning kits from Touch Yarns have arrived

 Possum, silk, merino worsted spun



Wool and merino kit

This is not just yarn, this is hand painted, feather light, silk, possum and merino yarn. The wool and merino kits are 440 metres and come with a pattern for Feather & Fan or Lacy Openwork.

The Possum, silk, merino worsted spun are a generous 465 metres and comes with a lovely lace pattern.

Elephant for sale!!

It's sale time at Spin A Yarn and yarn addict Sarah Jackson came in with  Ella the Elephant to find bargains on our designer yarns.

Sarah knitted Ella with a variety of allsorts from her stash from a free Rowan pattern.

It is originally knitted in cotton glace, order now and get 10% off in our online Yarn Boutique

 Ella the Elephant free pattern download

Blogging again at last!

Its been a long time since I blogged, not because life has been boring but because too much has been happening.

My younger daughter is now living and working in Singapore just as we did for 18 years. In fact Chrissie was born  there and now feels that she has arrived back home again.
Anyway we were persuaded that we needed to fly out and revisit Singapore as well as our favourite spots in Malaysia and Thailand.

Such a long flight.... good excuse to go away for a whole month's holiday leaving my wonderful team of girls to look after the shop.

After a couple of days in Singapore we took a short flight on a very small plane to Tioman Island, Malaysia,  which is where they filmed South Pacific many years ago. I'd forgotten how blue and warm the sea is and how white the sand. Also how peaceful with no people on the beach!!

Did lots of reading and knitting. It really was an idyllic holiday.

Singapore was as hot and busy as usual but fortunately there was no nasty haze when we were there.
Sorry about all these beautiful blue skies but now that England is so beautifully and sunny, I don't have to feel guilty anymore.

It was wonderful escaping from a cold England to the sunshine and arriving back here to such good weather. The summer already seems to have been very long and we're still in the first half of July.
We were able to catch up with lots of old friends still in Singapore including my old quilting group. Quilting not knitting is what I did mostly in Singapore.
The final beautiful beach in the photo is on Rawa Island in Malaysia. We started going to Rawa Island in 1979 when it was just like camping on the beach now it is quite a luxurious resort.

Good friends came over to see us for a night and brought a cake for Chrissie's 30th birthday.


David stayed on with Chrissie in Singapore for another 3 weeks but I couldn't stay away from Spin A Yarn any longer.
Flew back on my own to find out that Katie my elder daughter and her husband Dan are expecting a baby in the New Year while their Springers had had 9 puppies.
Katie collapsed while teaching and had to go into hospital to be rehydrated. I was devastated as my beautiful border collie dog Flynn collapsed and I discovered he has a tumour in one front leg so is now on strong pain killers. He seems quite happy for a while but don't expect him to last long..................

Its not been a quiet few weeks! I'll finish here and get back to knitting topics next time.
I was trying to post a picture of Katie with the puppies I took at home today but not sure where the photo has disappeared to.
Some techie person will help me I'm sure.

The newsletters have all been labelled and are just waiting to be franked now. They look beautiful and we are very pleased with the printer. We have arranged for them to be picked up on Tuesday so you should all Start receiving them on Wednesday.

Back to knitting next time.

Joyce

Louisa Harding Fashion Show for Macmillan

This April, Spin a Yarn is proud to host a fashion show with designer Louisa Harding at the Devon Guild of Craftsmen. We have put on a number of fashion shows in the past but this is our first with Louisa and we’re excited to meet her.

Last November, Louisa proved her mettle by undertaking a trek into the Himalayas to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. As well as being sponsored for the trip she also designed hat patterns – the proceeds of which added to a handsome total.  So far she and her group have raised £180,000!

Louisa’s cause is personal as her husband was diagnosed with Lymphoma in January 2011 and the Macmillan team were a huge support for her family. There aren’t many of us who haven’t been affected by cancer in some way and Macmillan is a name most of us will recognise. Inspired by Louisa’s story we will be giving half the money we raise at the fashion show to Macmillan Cancer Support and half to our usual charity the Devon Air Ambulance Trust. Louisa’s hat patterns are also available to pick up in our shop in Bovey Tracey for any amount you wish to give to her charity.

In other news, it’s Spin a Yarn’s 7^th birthday on the 4^th of July and we will be celebrating with a week long sale on all yarns and accessories! Loyalty Card holders get an extra 10% off. This sale will also be available on our website www.spinayarndevon.co.uk so don’t forget to register online before then.

Details of Louisa’s trek are available on her website http://www.louisaharding.co.uk/macmillan/

While I'm away from the shop I'm missing the arrival of MillaMia yarns from the Swedish sisters design team. Also expecting the beautiful Artesano sock yarn to arrive any day now.
If any of you have a favourite yarn that we don't stock don't forget to get in touch with you suggestion; you never know it might be on my list of yarns i need to buy next. I'm looking at Malabrigo, Erica Knight and Habu at present.

Jersey continued

Must get out and take some piccies in the snow soon. Meanwhile I've got my Andes neck roll in Debbie Bliss's Andes to complete as well as Anniken's pretty little shawlette, Mar Menor, knitted in Botany Lace and a random misplaced rib scarf I'm knitting in 2 strands of Angel Prints together because a ball got tangled in some luggage and is a brilliant easy knit.

We're so proud of our son here working as a PWC accountant surviving his first busy season working from 8.00pm until after midnight most days. He is so mature now and took his parents out for a delicious seafood meal last night at the Navigator seafood restaurant at Rozel overlooking an exciting Atlantic sea.

I love to watch the lashing waves while my husband just thinks puke!1