Blog Posts - Ancient Arts Yarns

One of the most fun jobs I have with Ancient Arts is to plan new yarn bases. I’m always on the look out for a great yarn mill with something super yummy to offer. It can be a challenge at times as there is so much wonderful yarn out there (and so much not quite …

I’ve been knitting my whole life,and I have knit every place I’ve been. It’s just a part of me. I knit at lunch break in school, lunch and coffee break at work, waiting in doctors’ offices. I always have a pair of socks on the go, because they are a small project that’s easy to …

I’ve been working on Idunn by Ragga Eiriksdottir for myself since Boxing Day. It’s one of those beautiful sweaters that gets in your queue and becomes a bucket list item. I’ve liked it and wanted to knit it since it came out, then I had the opportunity to hear a talk by Ragga at Knit …

CYO Caroline A few days before Christmas the ladies of Ancient Arts were discussing the Christmas break and what we should be doing, both in our personal lives and for the business during that time. Being as we are a yarn company, blog posts and knitting are never far from the discussion, and it occurred …

One of the times of the year that is most fun is colour development time. I am lucky enough to be able to do some of this throughout the year for a variety of reasons including clubs, custom requests by a LYS, special events etc., but once a year I choose an overarching theme that …

A question I am often asked is “What is it like to be a hand dyer?” I think there can be a lot of mystery and mythos around hand dyeing as a career. Some see it as being very artsy, ethereal, and connected to a higher creative plane. Certainly one of my friends who finally …

Where does inspiration come from? For me, inspiration comes flying from just about anywhere, and shows up in various states of completion. Often it’s a medley of memories, colours, and history that all come together into one overall idea. Sometimes, I have no idea where it comes from! A great example of such a medley …

Knitting is a long time love of mine. I love the process, the yarn, the colour. I love touching and ogling yarns. I love the process of making things. I’m a maker. I obsessively hobby. I’m one of THOSE people. I like to learn how to do everything myself, I wish to be beholden to …

I am often asked where I get the yarn that I dye for Ancient Arts. One would think it should be a simple process. Go to the yarn store, choose something nifty and nice, buy it, take it back to the studio, dye it, and start hugging it! Alas. It isn’t anywhere near this easy. …

For this week’s blog post we decided to check in with each one of the Ancient Arts knitting team to get some thoughts from each of us on the Stacked Stitch Wrap KAL. For me, Caroline S, the KAL is proving to be a really unique and fun experience. I have a confession to make. …

A trip to TNNA is always a fantastic experience, both for the show and for the chance to get to know a part of the United States that we, as Canadians, might never have visited before! This show was no exception as most of us had not yet had the chance to visit the beautiful …

One of the most enjoyable times of our year is when we have the opportunity do shows and fibre festivals, where we come face to face with the people for whom we dye our yarn and seeing the fantastic things they do with it. However, some of these events are very different because, instead of a …

Today we have a special treat for our blog readers: a behind-the-scenes peek inside the dye studio! Here at Ancient Arts ,we use many dye techniques to create our colours, and we dye over 130 colours!  Even though there are so many they all have one thing in common:  they are all created using some form of …