Blog Posts - Ancient Arts Yarns

If you follow us on social media, I’m sure you’ve seen the release of the Wayward Wind Poncho by Julie Turjoman. The Wayward Wind Poncho is the perfect layering piece for a crisp fall day, this poncho features subtle dimensional stitches that enhance the yarn’s richly variegated tones. The pattern sample is knit in 3 …

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 …

As a designer, I like my own work. That is, I finish something, and if I’m not happy with it, it won’t ever get published. But every now and then, there is a design that so closely resembles my vision, and means so much, that I can barely stand it! In Flight is one of …

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 questions I see posted quite often on knitting forums… “The pattern is talking about “Ease” What does this mean?” The writers go on to question negative vs positive ease, the amount of ease, why there is so much ease, etc etc. Ease in a pattern refers to the fit of a garment...

Christmas is sneaking up on me right now. I’ve never been huge on knitting for Christmas gifts. I have to be honest and admit that I’m a selfish knitter. One too many times I’ve knit something and had that gift unappreciated. I occasionally knit for gifts, but I usually wait for inspiration to strike, for …

Recently I was offered the incredible opportunity of attending the Investiture for the Order of Canada at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. For our American friends that may not know what that is, the Order of Canada is the Canadian Honours system that recognizes outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation…

This year for the Holidays, Ancient Arts is doing a Knit-A-Long that’s a little bit different. Most knitters/crocheters/fibre artists have at some time (or all the time) decided that making home made gifts is the way to go. I think we’ve all been there, starting with a great idea and then losing the joy in …

I will tell anyone who asks me about Holiday Knitting that I never go down that road. I don’t knit gifts for the Holidays. Not this knitter! Nope. Never. And that, my friends, is what we, members of the knitting world, call a big fat lie. I don’t knit gifts…except for a couple of pair …

I’m a natural fibre snob. I’ll be the first to admit it. I work REALLY hard at not being too disparaging of synthetics, mostly because I don’t want to discourage anyone that does crafting. I don’t want to make a handcrafter feel that their hard work is not valuable because they used acrylic. But it’s …

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. …

I come from a long line of adventurous women: My Great Granny Jeremina got on a ship at the end of the 19th century with nothing for company but a spinning wheel, and set out from Shetland to Vancouver Island. My Grandmother Birthe got on a ship after World War I and travelled – alone, mind you! – …