Hello it's Jane Ellison and here are some of my thoughts of the Mirasol Yarn - Nuna.

Nuna is such a beautiful addition to the Mirasol Yarn Collection that fits in perfectly and feels as if it has always been in the collection! 

It feels so luxuriously soft to knit with, and almost delicate but has a strength. 

I used this yarn to design garments like a man's tank top and a women's waistcoast, a baby's crew neck cardigan and a bolero. 

On paper these are all classic shapes, I feel they are garments that should last all seasons fashion trends. 

The tank top is inspired by a 1940's fairisle  top, but it uses a slip stitch. So this technique uses 1 yarn over 2 rows, yet by slipping the stitch it looks like fairisle. 

I love it because to me it represents what I feel knitting should be, easy to follow, simple to knit yet creates a unique garment.

T'ika

The Mirasol T’ika yarn is made from the finest Peruvian cotton, which is the pima cotton. Pima cotton is one of the finest cottons due to the fact it is an ‘extra long staple’ this gives it strength and a luxurious soft quality, a silky quality.

The Pima cotton also absorbs the dye to give beautifully rich colours.

The length on the 50g ball is 83m/91yds and it is a double knitting weight.

Suggested tension/gauge is 28 rows to 22 stitches on a 4mm (US 6) needle.

The Quechuan name means Humming-bird.

The new shades for Spring Summer are Turquoise 513, Deep Pink 514, Navy Blue 515, Crimson 516, Chocolate 517 & Emerald 518.

Samp’a

For this season we added 8 new shades to the Samp’a range without discontinuing any of the current shades.

Samp’a is a 100% Organic Cotton that is spun in Holland. All the shades are naturally dyed. 

It has 110m/120yds to 50g. Suggested tension/gauge is 28 rows to 22 stitches on a 4mm (US 6) needle.

The new shades are Charcoal 609, Nettle 610, Grass 611, Marigold 612, Walnut 613, Lychee 614, Lavender 615 & Blueberries 616.

Samp’a in Quechuan means light, soft, delicate, humble. I think this describes the yarn beautifully, as even though as a cotton it has strength, the way it is grown and dyed makes it a very delicate yarn.

Latest pictures from the Mirasol Centre

We've just received the latest images from the centre that were taken around Christmas.

Here they are:

The children in costumes for a presentation.

The parents of the children doing a traditional dance for a special event.

A selection of the drawings made by the children.

Some of the mothers waiting for the Christmas celebration.

The Kindergarten children posing for the photograph.

Celebrating Christmas time with drinking chocolate & Panettone.

The Nativity represented by the children & parents.

Hap'i

The second new yarn for Mirasol this Spring Summer was Hap’i

Hap’i is made from 100% Tanguis Cotton and is like a slub, where the yarn goes thick and thin. The cotton takes the dyes so well that they are strong and deep.It has 120m/132 yds per 100g and in Quechuan Hap’i means interesting.

Suggested tension/gauge is 24 rows to 16 stitches on a 5mm (US 8) needle.

Nuna

New for the Spring Summer Mirasol introduced 2 new yarns, Nuna and Hap’i. While to the existing shades, T’ika and Samp’a we added 6 new shades.

I thought I would introduce each shade and today it’s Nuna!

Nuna is made in Peru from 40% merino wool and 40% silk with 20% bamboo. The merino wool gives the yarn elasticity, (which means it is a very forgiving yarn to knit with, if your stitches are a little uneven, wool eases them into uniformity!) the silk takes the dye and gives the yarn that lovely deep shade as well as a beautiful shine, the bamboo in Nuna isn’t dyed and gives the yarn it’s individuality.

It also has 175m/191yds per 50g, an amazing length! Suggested tension/gauge is 36 rows to 24 stitches on a 3.25mm (US 5) needle.

All the yarns in the Mirasol Collection have Quechuan names, this is the local dialect of the area where the Mirasol Centre is.

Nuna in Quechuan means soul; spirit; conscience.

A beautiful name for a beautiful yarn.

The Centre....

As we were putting the books from the Mirasol Collection onto the blog, it made me look at the pictures of the centre again.

It is so amazing that in September 2007, it looked like this:

8 months later in May 2008 we were looking at pictures like this:

It is due to the support the Mirasol Yarn Collection has received from everyone: distributors, reps, retailers and knitters.

THANKS TO EVERYONE!