Bicester Wools

I thought you might like a look round one of my favourite shops. Bicester Wools - 'the little shop that holds a lot'- is an absolute must if you're ever in this part of the world. It's a family run business and is crammed full of yarn, fabric, haberdashery ... I just love it.

So, let's start with some yarn ...

 

See that crochet blanket? That's what made me buy one of every colour of Stylecraft Batik a few months ago. I'd seen the yarn before but didn't think it looked very exciting 'in the ball'; seeing this lovely blanket (I think it's the Carousel Blanket) changed my mind. 

You can also see some of the new Sirdar Colour Wheels at the front of the display. These are 150 g cakes of DK weight yarn, in some lovely colourways. I decided for once that I wouldn't go for the rainbow option, opting instead for shade 201, Colourama. That's the one with the knitting stuck in it - the colours blend into each other beautifully.

I didn't take a picture of the wall of Stylecraft Special DK, I was too busy raiding it for colours.

I'm still stuck on choosing the colours for this pattern

There's also  Sirdar yarn, Rico yarn, James C Brett yarn ... you get the idea. Here's part of the Rowan display.

Lovely knitting bags too - I especially like those ones with the sheep on. One of the most exciting things though is this ...

Sock yarn! This is the only bricks and mortar shop I know that always has a good selection of sock yarn (sorry about the blurry photo, I get excited around sock yarn). I bought three balls from here, two glittery and one plain which I shall probably weave with. There's more sock yarn in these drawers, including some DK weight.

They've got a good selection of books too. As with all their ranges, you can tell that they've been chosen personally. This means that you find things here that you don't see in other shops.

As if that wasn't enough, the shop also has a huge range of quilting fabric, both on the bolt and in terribly enticing bundles and charm packs. If you can't resist the fabric but don't know what to do with it, they also run Patchwork Classes.

What else? Well, there's the cross stitch and other embroidery kits ...

Again, the personal selection shows - some lovely things here.

Or you might want some of these ...

... or these ...

Perhaps some buttons or other haberdashery? Haberdashery - one of my favourite words.

And then, of course, you might need a basket to keep it all in ...

Can you see why I love this shop so much? Needless to say, the owners are very friendly and knowledgeable about everything to do with yarn and fabric; a visit is always fun (even if I do come out considerably poorer).

There's so much to see, these few photos don't do it justice - you'll just have to visit for yourselves. A good day to go would be Saturday, 29th April as that's the day of their fabric sale - like you needed any more persuasion! One more picture ...

Beautiful Batiks

I hope you've enjoyed this little tour. Do let me know what you think if you visit.