The sunshine, alpacas and the countdown to shearing.

It used to be that my job here at TOFT was very seasonal. Generally we did the majority of our sales September-February and the summer months were quieter times for designing and planning the next season. 

With the growth and popularity of our workshops, the coffee shop and the Studio in general, this has all now changed. With the sunshine of the last few weeks people have visited the farm in droves to come and enjoy seeing the alpacas at their best. 

Photo by Ella Harlow. 

We shear for three days from the 20th May, and we'll see the herd transform from the cuddly teddy-bears currently standing in the fields to skinny creatures bounding round the paddocks with renewed energy. It is an exciting time of year for me as we grade our fleeces and send them off to the mill. Nine years ago the fibre from the TOFT herd sustained the sales of the whole business throughout that busy winter sales period. Over time the level of business has massively expanded and we now not only buy fleeces in from other alpaca farms, but process several tonnes of wool too. This year our TOFT fleeces are going to be spun into our FINE yarn range, and we hope to have these in stock by September. 

So if you've got the chance over the next few weeks then come over to see the alpacas in their full glorious fleeces. You can even join us at shearing for a farm tour and cream tea if you would really like to experience this process yourself.  It's where it all starts, and a great reminder to all knitters about where the yarn on their needles comes from. 

Oh deary me.. Where did three months go?

Has it really been that long? 

The pace at Toft at the moment is quite hard to keep up with, hence the silence. Edward's Menagerie has sold like I had never imagined, and our Studio is buzzing with hundreds (yes hundreds) of people every week coming to learn to crochet. 

The team has expanded again to welcome new staff and interns and that has made for a very dynamic group that will be heading us up into the busy winter period. The Cornflower Cafe has become a permanent fixture and we will be changing our opening hours to Wed-Sun from October 1st. That means a whole extra day at the weekend for more workshops! 

Meanwhile the AW14/15 collection is looking top-notch and we're ready to photoshoot next week for an October launch. 

Basically life is good, but busy, so keep up over on Facebook or Inatagram as I can't promise to snatch 15 minutes again for a while. But I will try... 

A long overdue post about the best knitting workshop EVER!

I'm not much of a knitter really, and truth told since I've mastered crochet I have never really looked back. So, when asked by a friend to bring some yarn away with me on a ski holiday to teach her to knit I was initially a bit dubious (and genuinely concerned that I might have forgotten how to do it!).  

I have skied with the same group of friends for a few years. Every year we go to a different place, sometimes we drive, sometimes we fly, but this year we decided to take the train all the way to the mountains.  We were looking at a full day of travel and it seemed like the perfect excuse to get our knit on and I had my eye on some charcoal chunky that was crying out to become a big beanie. 

Once I floated this idea to the general group I was astounded by the reaction from both the guys and girls. I ended up boarding the train with 1.2kg of yarn! An intensive knitting lesson and six beanie hats coming right up! 

Needless to day it was one of the best knitting workshops I've had the pleasure of teaching.  Lots of wine, bread, cheese and some great vintage (6yrs isn't bad!) TOFT yarns I've been stashing away for a rainy day.  My best friend, husband, her husband and not one but TWO other guys and myself all made a hat and wore it with pride that holiday. Couldn't really ask for much more!