Merry Christmas

The Gather shop and Studio will be closed from 23 December, and we reopen on Wednesday 2nd January. Christmas wishes to all; I hope it's beautiful, and your New Year's celebration is merry!! And so we welcome our Summer with open arms; and like I say below, only sheep think that knitting is just about wool. So people; our shop is stocked with summer yarns to spark your creativity; think cool cottons, crisp linens, and wild and flowing silk and bamboo yarns!! We kick start our new year with the KIDS FELT JEWELLERY WORKSHOPS on Friday 4th January, our first SOCIAL KNITTING AFTERNOON on Saturday 5th January, and a SUMMER KNITTING WORKSHOP on Sunday 6th January. SO!! - Thank you to all our Gather patrons, I've had an amazing year with this new project. Its been a lot of hard work with shop renovations, branding, and sourcing products; amongst all the studio activity of overseas workshops, new collections, a book release and a new book contract, amazing costume design projects and improvising the shop to function for our locals and visitors. I look forward to seeing you again in the New Year.

Natural Dye Workshops

Hey Gatherer's of old and new, we are hosting Natural Dye Workshops during Summer; on Sunday 27 January, and on Sunday 17 February, to be held in the print workshop of Aroha & Friends. Experience how to use dyes from the wildest of nature, trees and forests, derived from ancient recipes. Recipes made from berries, flowers, roots and insect resins that are steeped in history. Experience the stories of the Ancient Dyes; Stories of secret recipes coveted by spies, of cargo that traversed continents and created countries, colours which robed Vestal Virgins, clothed Robin Hood and his Gang, and uniformed Armies of Ancient Kingdoms. Once forbidden and still sacred Colours, Colours that are still grown, harvested, gathered, smoked by fire and blessed by ancient deities. Can it be any more enticing than this, even if its to just absorb the heady fragrances of this old, old world. Register at Gather for the workshops. email info@thegathershop.com, or telephone 06 835 1384.

Above images from Gather's Tumblr Site. Various images sourced from the Gather Journal, Kinfolk Magazine, and India Flint's book Eco Colour.

Above / Plant Dyes available at Gather.

$50 Gift Suggestions at Gather

If you're like me and leaving your Christmas shopping to the last minute, but still want something reealllyy special, I've got some Gather gift suggestions for you for around $50.

1.Porcelain Butterfly Wall Ornament. 2.Bird Notebook Journal. 3.Rimu Knitting Needles. 4.Handspun Silk Yarn. 5.CrossStitch Kit. 6.Handmade rabbit by artist Katherine Quinn. 8.Last Minute Gifts Pattern Book. 9.Wide Bow Scissors. 10.Handwoven Flax Basket. 11.Knitted Cactus. 12.Handspun Art Yarn. 13.Felt Necklaces. 14.The Paper Garden book by Molly Peacock. 15.Porcelain Dragonfly Wall Ornament. 16.Handknitted Zebra. 17.Graphic Notebook Journal. 18.Box of 5 types of Pins.

SUMMER WORKSHOPS

We are hosting a range of great workshops over summer. Bookings and registrations for all workshops are through the Gather shop. Email us on info@thegathershop.com, or telephone us on 06 835 1384 to reserve your place. Classes are small, so book in early to avoid the disappointment of missing out!!

Any questions / please call us 06 835 1384, or email info@thegathershop.com.

More Beautiful Books

A couple of new beautiful books in store. 'More Last Minute Knitted Gifts' by Joelle Hoverson, is a gorgeous hard-cover pattern book with ideas for gifts for all the family. A great way to spend the Christmas holidays, and useful all year around really.

'55 Christmas Balls to Knit', by Scandinavian knitting duo Arne & Carlos. Have a ball learning how to make Christmas decorations following the patterns of these 2 dudes.

All is Calm, All is Bright

This was a gorgeous night; thank you to all those who joined us for a champagne for our late night shopping event on Wednesday night. It was lovely to meet some first timers to Gather, and of course always nice to see our regulars. The whole street came alive with festivities, and we were happy to rest our weary feet at the end.

Images by Anneliese Hough.

$20 Gift Ideas

Gift Ideas for under $20 at Gather.

1. Pompoms 50c each. 2. Handmade Wooden Knitting Needles from $15 - $20. 3. Mother-of-Pearl Buttons from Merchant & Mills $12. 4. Blank Journal Notebook $20. 5. Fine Japanese Linen Yarn $15. 6. Silk&Mohair Yarn $19.50. 7. Colour Pencils $20. 8. String $12. 9. Fine Sewing Needles $15. 10. Tailors Beeswax $15. 11. Patterned Tapes from $6. 12. Wide Bow Scissors $20. 13. Black Bulb Pins $20. 14. Le Cahier Rabbit Notebook $4.95. 15. PomPom Pencil $15. 16. Sock Pattern book $12. 17. Honeycombe Tissue Balls $6 - $12. 18. Striped Sock Wool $13.50. 19. Silk Yarn $15. 20. La Cahier Deer Notebook $12

Viva Magazine

We have a nice little mention in yesterday's Auckland newspaper the NZ Herald, in the lifestyle liftout - Viva Magazine.

Our VIP Shopping Night...

We have a special prize giveaway on Wednesday night; for every purchase made, go into a draw to win a $100 Gift Voucher. This can acquire many a wondrous thing at Gather.

On Tumblr this week.....

You can now follow the Gather shop's inspiration board on Tumblr. This week we're meandering through Valley's of Bark, Field & Grass; reflecting our whole summer fibre vibe we have in the shop at the moment.

More new books....

We have a couple of new books in store, which I'm excited about. Pop Knitting by Britt-Marie Christoffersson. With a career in textiles spanning from the 60's, this Swedish lady is a legend, and this book is revolutionary for home knitting, her ideas for stitch techniques are amazing.

Now Kaffe Fassett is another legend. The ladies swoon over Kaffe and his genius for colour and pattern, and apart from having his work in the permanent collections of the V&A, he has churned out a prolific amount of work over 30 years and still continues to do so.

Festivities Ahead

Save this Date: Wednesday 12th December, we are part of the Christmas on Tennyson late night VIP shopping event from 5pm - 9pm, at Gather. We have Emily playing some Violin concerto for us in the store this night, plus we have champagne, and delicious food for you to enjoy while you shop. So the shop is looking festive in preparation. We've got some gorgeous paper tissue decorations from Poppies for Grace, and we also now have Gift Vouchers, for those not sure which knitting ephemera to buy for loved ones.

Bowerbird Book

By Sibella Court. We have this beautiful book now in stock at Gather.

Bowerbird by Sibella Court from Sibella Court - The Society inc. on Vimeo.

RMIT Exhibition

I was reminded of this opening night recently, The RMIT, Endless Garment Exhibition, which I was invited to exhibit in. Well the discussion was about having to make nerve wrecking speeches; this was one of those occasions. I had to make a special address on this night. Some people are great at this, but I have to say, it still terrifies me.

Gather on Tumblr

You can now follow us on Tumblr. The Gather tumblr is an archive of images that inspire the product selection in the shop.