Yesterday I took a day trip to Dublin to visit Showcase which is Ireland’s Creative Expo.  I have been meaning to go to this for the last several years but the timing never worked out well for me before.

This year I wanted to drop a few samples and posters to Studio Donegal so I actually planned for the visit.  As well as Studio Donegal both Cushendale and Kerry Woollen Mills had stands there.  There are some new yarns coming out for both Studio Donegal and Cushendale.  Studio Donegal have launched the ‘2-ply Merino’ yarn that is just wonderful!  This is the same yarn that was know as ‘Soft Donegal’ that was used in Contemporary Irish Knits to knit Rossbeg.  This yarn has the colored flecks just like the Aran  Tweed but it has the super soft merino as well a 2 ply (rather than singles) structure.  Well worth a try – I know that This Is Knit have lots in stock and I’m sure most other yarn shops will also have it shortly also.

The second new yarn from Irish mills is Cushendale’s lace weight yarn.  You can buy this from The Yarn Room, there are just a few colors right now but it won’t be long before they roll out a bigger range.  It’s not an especially soft yarn but I suspect that just like the other weights once it is washed and blocked it will feel great and wear well.

I’ve got a few little surprises being released in the coming year using all this new yarn, how could I resist :)

It of course wasn’t just yarn at the show, there were quite a few stands that really caught my eye when I was there:

Woolcore has a huge range of products (lots for babies) that use wool fleece.  I saw a few on pieces on the stand that I couldn’t see on the website that use waxed cotton backing and fleece inside.  Everything felt so great and were beautifully made.

I got a kick out of Bog Buddies – definitely an innovative use for peat!!

Fellow Cork business with super soft fleece kid’s clothes- Ba~Goose.

The coolest lampshade ever at Klickity.  And for you Origami lovers there was Japanese Papercraft.