Winter is coming...

It feels funny typing that when really it is summer that is coming but if you have read or watched "Game of Thrones" (George R.R. Martin) then you will recognise the quote. Game of Thrones has just started airing on the new Sky channel SOHO and I am loving it so far. I am probably only a couple of nights reading from finishing the the book as well! If you love epic medieval fantasy novels then I highly recommend it - it has everything from action, suspense, political intrigue to the spooky supernatural.

This month Tri'Coterie is offering a range of "winter" yarns with a bent towards Game of Thrones - think greys and black, sparkly snow and a wintery palette.



















For stripes this month, Maylin chose the banner colors of the Stark family - wardens of the cold and icy north - in greys and white.






























I had an advance sample of this as a BFL wool sock yarn and decided to knit it up into something 'not socks' to see what happened to the stripes in a FO that wasn't a sock.






































I know, it looks a little strange but this is a new pattern called "vertebrae" by a friend of mine, Kelly Brooker of knit-so-quaint, and it was designed to be frontless. Ideal for spilly babes or for use when baby wearing - when the baby has their front to yours but you want some coverage for their back and arms. The lack of front pieces makes this a fast knit,even on 4ply, and I love how the stripes turned out. Very very cute. This is the 3-6mth size and used about 75g of yarn. At the moment a free version is available on Ravelry (newborn in 4ply) and the extended version for babies (for which I was helping test) will be up soon. She is also working on a kiddie version as well and hopefully in the future an adult sized pattern. I think it would make a lovely summer cardy for when you want to keep a breeze off but it's too warm for too much fabric.

The other wintery yarn offerings for this month include some gorgeous gradient colours. I'm in love with this one:




























Huge gradient shawl maybe?


This month we are also trialling having a pattern offered alongside the yarn which is an exciting new avenue for us.






























This is my new pattern "wolfsbane" and is knit in gorgeously soft baby alpaca (chunky/14ply). The semi-solid grey colourway is aptly named "direwolf".
I love how the grey tones give it a really wolfish look. The pattern is an easy lace panel flanked with cable twists. There is a provisional cast on in the middle of the scarf which is probably the hardest part if this is a new technique to you, but otherwise it is a lovely fast knit, perfect for when winter really is coming.

We are offering a special on the yarn - 10% discount if you have purchased the pattern. This is available until Dec 15 (or until stocks last). Wolfsbane is available for purchase for $3US.

You can see all of the November winter yarns at the Tri'Coterie group on Ravelry.

And now I'm off to read some more Game of Thrones!