Pickles

As you know I visited Norway at the end of July for a glorious week of site seeing.

It would have been rude not to check out the local yarn shops so the lovely Eline Oftedal took me to one of her favourites called Pickles.

More of a yarn boutique this shop is in a particularly trendy part of Oslo, a bit like Shoreditch in London (about 10 years ago) or Manchester’s Northern Quarter. What was different about them is they only stock their own yarns.  Some looked vaguely familiar – their tweed was the absolute spit of Debbie Bliss’ Fine Donegal – but their 4 ply heathered yarn made me stop in my tracks. Yummy and in 100g balls – what could be better?

All the label says is that it is Pure Wool and that you can knit it with needles from 2.5- 4mm needles.  Unlike some of my favourite tweedy/heathery yarns, like Spindrift, this one is finer and more regularly spun.  The colours are more tonal and subtle, and the twist just a bit tighter.  I loved it! And when I contacted the store to find out more, it turns out the yarn is spun in the UK although I can’t tell you any more about it at the moment.

Here’s a bit more background about Pickles for you.  The store I visited has only been open for 3 years, although they have sold online for 8 years and the e-shop evolved out of a very popular blog.  I was told by Kristin that the idea behind the brand and its patterns is ‘to present fun, modern design with a nostalgic hint. The construction is very important, and we always aim to make a garment in one piece if possible.’ Their style is kind of Purl Soho with a Scandinavian twist.

I bought 3 balls of yarn and have already swatched them ready to be knitted in to gloves.  The greeny hues were actually an either/or to go with the orange, but I like the way they all work together.  The yarn blooms very nicely when it is blocked so I am looking forward to spending more time with it.

The good news is that Pickles ships worldwide and, if I have calculated correctly, a 100g ball is around £10.