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Time for a break

Noro Silk Garden Sock

Just a heads up for all our lovely customers! We’ll be taking a short break during the first week of the school holidays to have some much-needed family time. Our house-sitters have quite the menagerie to look after – sheep, pet lambs, ducks, chickens, chicks, budgies, cats, and fish! And then there’s the garden… So we won’t be asking them to run the shop on top of all that!

This means that any orders placed between Sunday 25th September 2023 and Sunday 1st of October will ship on Monday 2nd of October.

We apologise for any inconvenience this slight delay in shipping orders this break might cause. But we’re sure you’ll be aware of how important and bit of R&R is for a happy life! Looking forward to a bit of Noro knitting!

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Notes on Zealana yarns

Zealana yarns

Zealana yarns are some of the finest I’ve ever come across. Milled by Woolyarns in the Wellington region of New Zealand they predominantly feature natural fibres, and luxury ones at that.

NZ fine merino, NZ brushtail possum fibre, NZ cashmere, and silk.

These are all luxurious fibres.

One of the things I appreciate most about these yarns is the quality of their engineering. Possum fibre is notoriously difficult to spin – it is a short fibre and prone to shedding or pilling. I’ve found that even after several years of wear, garments made with Zealana yarns maintain their ‘fresh’ clean, new, look. I have made garments with similar compositions of fibres as Zealana’s merino/possum yarns, but produced by another mill. However, I’ve been rather disappointed in how quickly they’ve pilled and ended up looking shabby.

Including silk in some of their yarns also gives a beautiful sheen to the fibres. This is enhanced as it’s worked up into a garment. All of the fibres used in Zealana yarns are very soft and non-scratchy, which makes the final products very comfortable to wear.

Zealana also have a commitment to environmental considerations:

“At Woolyarns, we take our environmental responsibilities seriously. As part of our commitment to sustainability, we have implemented an Environmental Management System (EMS) that is designed to minimise our environmental impact and promote sustainable practices throughout our operations. Our EMS is based on the internationally recognized ISO 14001 standard and is aligned with the principles of sustainability, including reducing waste, conserving resources, and promoting environmental stewardship.”

You can read more about Woolyarns and their sustainability here.

The Zealana yarns range includes

Kauri Worsted

Kauri Fingering

Rimu DK

Kiwi Fingering

Kiwi Laceweight

Heron

Air Laceweight

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The Campaign for Wool

Mynx String Therapy is a proud supporter of The Campaign for Wool.

Green woolmark logo

Why Wool? It’s simple.

Natural and renewable – wool is grown not made; every year sheep grow a new fleece. Wool products also use less energy than man-made fibres during manufacture.

Sunsafe – wool has naturally high UV protection.

Flame retardant – wool fibre has a higher ignition threshold than many other fibres and is flame retardant up to 600°C. It also produces less toxic fumes in a fire.

Biodegradable – when disposed of, natural wool fibre takes only a few years to decompose, and with a high nitrogen content, wool can even act as a fertilizer.

Breathable – wool’s natural structure allows it to absorb and release water vapour into the atmosphere, keeping you warm in winter and cool in summer.

Non allergenic – wool is not known to cause allergy and does not promote the growth of bacteria. With microscopic scales, wool fibres can trap dust in the top layers until vacuumed away.

Durable and elastic – wool fibre can be bent 20,000 times without breaking and still have the power to recover and return to its natural shape. Quality wool garments look good for longer.

Easy care – modern wool can be machine-washed; retaining a small amount of natural oil, wool fibre resists dirt and grease.

Multi-Climatic – wool acclimatizes to its surroundings.

Naturally insulating – wool can insulate the home providing and retaining warmth, and reducing energy costs.

Read more about the Campaign for Wool here:

Campaign for Wool logo