{"id":4502,"date":"2018-05-16T02:46:29","date_gmt":"2018-05-16T09:46:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/?p=4502"},"modified":"2018-05-16T02:46:29","modified_gmt":"2018-05-16T09:46:29","slug":"countess-ablaze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/?p=4502","title":{"rendered":"Countess Ablaze!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As you may know, I am currently spending 2 months traveling through the UK and Europe. There are a few reasons for the trip, but among the primary ones are to visit family members and friends that I have not met or seen in ages, and to explore the knitting culture firsthand on the &#8220;other side of the pond&#8221;! I recently got a chance to do the latter by visiting a yarn store in Manchester, England &#8211; Countess Ablaze!<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve been visiting my aunt Jem for the last week since arriving in the UK, and we went into the city to see this yarn store. I found it through Google which is a good thing as my aunt was unaware of its presence. Ironically, we had visited a haberdashery a few days prior that was less than 2 minutes away! Anyway, given the lack of yarn shops in Manchester (so unlike Vancouver, BC), I was thrilled to find this gem of a shop right in the downtown core! I quickly found out however, that it&#8217;s a yarn dyeing studio, not a typical yarn shop.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-2-1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4504 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-2-1-400x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-2-1-400x225.jpg 400w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-2-1-600x338.jpg 600w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-2-1-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-2-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>If you look closely you&#8217;ll see Countess and I standing in the window. Just a heads up, when you arrive you&#8217;ll have to ring the bell to get someone to let you in. That&#8217;s because there are 3 floors to this studio! The first is the main retail space. The second is a combined show room and partial workspace where shipments are sorted and other packages put together. The third floor is exclusively staff and where the dyeing takes place. Countess is often up there working her magic! I say magic because from when you first step into the studio you feel like you&#8217;ve walked into a rainbow! Or you&#8217;re walking over the Bifrost into the magical realm of Asgard! I have been in many a yarn shop and seen many displays but the sheer magnitude of colour in this one is astounding!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-4-copy.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4505 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-4-copy-400x165.jpg\" alt=\"sock yarn wall\" width=\"400\" height=\"165\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-4-copy-400x165.jpg 400w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-4-copy-600x247.jpg 600w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-4-copy-150x62.jpg 150w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-4-copy-1024x422.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-4-copy.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>As a custom dyer, Countess has her own brand of sock yarn and fingering weight yarn. There is also a sign warning you that the names of the colourways may offend your sensibilities &#8211; how polite considering that is also says, &#8220;Oh well&#8221;! This character directly reflects that of Countess and she is brashly unapologetic. She has set out to do things differently, and she has succeeded beyond expectations!<\/p>\n<p>I wasn&#8217;t surprised to see books and accessories in the studio, but again, not all the usual suspects. She has a great collection of books and needles that aren&#8217;t everywhere else. It just adds to the charm and character of the studio. I continued my journey to the second floor and was pleasantly surprised at the great combination of functionality and practicality of the space. Bright and colourful, it just envelops you in warmth. There is a fabulous courtyard which unfortunately is restricted to the store owners along the street, but the windows along the wall allow a tremendous amount of sunlight to flood the displays. Perfect for lighting the brilliant colour and the table where many a knitter has sat and worked happily, whether in the studio to get some help\/instruction on a project, or as a participant in the knitting group meetings held on Saturdays! I plan to attend the one on June 23rd so I hope to see you there. Here&#8217;s a little peek into more of the colours and yarns in the store.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tiled-gallery type-rectangular tiled-gallery-unresized\" data-original-width=\"1170\" data-carousel-extra='null' itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageGallery\" > <div class=\"gallery-row\" style=\"width: 1170px; height: 290px;\" data-original-width=\"1170\" data-original-height=\"290\" > <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 165px; height: 290px;\" data-original-width=\"165\" data-original-height=\"290\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-small\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/?attachment_id=4507\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"161\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"286\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"4507\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-5-e1525992748309-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1440,2560\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Countess-5\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-5-e1525992748309-225x400.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-5-e1525992748309-576x1024.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-5-e1525992748309-scaled.jpg?w=161&#038;h=286&#038;ssl=1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-5-e1525992748309-scaled.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-5-e1525992748309-600x1067.jpg 600w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-5-e1525992748309-84x150.jpg 84w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-5-e1525992748309-225x400.jpg 225w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-5-e1525992748309-576x1024.jpg 576w\" width=\"161\" height=\"286\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"161\" data-original-height=\"286\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"Countess-5\" alt=\"A great selection of KnitLit awaits you.\" style=\"width: 161px; height: 286px;\" \/> <\/a> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\" itemprop=\"caption description\"> A great selection of KnitLit awaits you. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 165px; height: 290px;\" data-original-width=\"165\" data-original-height=\"290\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-small\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/?attachment_id=4511\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"161\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"286\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"4511\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-9-e1525992621628-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1440,2560\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Countess-9\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-9-e1525992621628-225x400.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-9-e1525992621628-576x1024.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-9-e1525992621628-scaled.jpg?w=161&#038;h=286&#038;ssl=1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-9-e1525992621628-scaled.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-9-e1525992621628-600x1067.jpg 600w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-9-e1525992621628-84x150.jpg 84w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-9-e1525992621628-225x400.jpg 225w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-9-e1525992621628-576x1024.jpg 576w\" width=\"161\" height=\"286\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"161\" data-original-height=\"286\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"Countess-9\" alt=\"Every column and spare space is uded for display.\" style=\"width: 161px; height: 286px;\" \/> <\/a> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\" itemprop=\"caption description\"> Every column and spare space is uded for display. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 165px; height: 290px;\" data-original-width=\"165\" data-original-height=\"290\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-small\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/?attachment_id=4515\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"161\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"286\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"4515\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-14-e1525992586271-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1440,2560\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Countess-14\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-14-e1525992586271-225x400.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-14-e1525992586271-576x1024.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-14-e1525992586271-scaled.jpg?w=161&#038;h=286&#038;ssl=1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-14-e1525992586271-scaled.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-14-e1525992586271-600x1067.jpg 600w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-14-e1525992586271-84x150.jpg 84w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-14-e1525992586271-225x400.jpg 225w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-14-e1525992586271-576x1024.jpg 576w\" width=\"161\" height=\"286\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"161\" data-original-height=\"286\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"Countess-14\" alt=\"What would be better than relaxing in this chaise lounge with all this yarn?\" style=\"width: 161px; height: 286px;\" \/> <\/a> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\" itemprop=\"caption description\"> What would be better than relaxing in this chaise lounge with all this yarn? <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 511px; height: 290px;\" data-original-width=\"511\" data-original-height=\"290\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/?attachment_id=4514\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"507\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"286\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"4514\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-12-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1440\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.7&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;SM-N950W&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1525956992&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.3&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;80&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.02&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Countess-12\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-12-400x225.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-12-1024x576.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-12-scaled.jpg?w=507&#038;h=286&#038;ssl=1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-12-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-12-600x338.jpg 600w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-12-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-12-400x225.jpg 400w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-12-1024x576.jpg 1024w\" width=\"507\" height=\"286\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"507\" data-original-height=\"286\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"Countess-12\" alt=\"One of Countess&#039; designs.\" style=\"width: 507px; height: 286px;\" \/> <\/a> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\" itemprop=\"caption description\"> One of Countess&#8217; designs. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 164px; height: 290px;\" data-original-width=\"164\" data-original-height=\"290\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-small\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/?attachment_id=4513\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"160\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"286\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"4513\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-11-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1440,2560\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.7&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;SM-N950W&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1525956940&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.3&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;200&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.03030303030303&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Countess-11\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-11-400x225.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-11-1024x576.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-11-scaled.jpg?w=160&#038;h=286&#038;ssl=1\" width=\"160\" height=\"286\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"160\" data-original-height=\"286\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"Countess-11\" alt=\"Another, this one with an ingenious zippered back! Countess likes to do things that others haven&#039;t!\" style=\"width: 160px; height: 286px;\" \/> <\/a> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\" itemprop=\"caption description\"> Another, this one with an ingenious zippered back! Countess likes to do things that others haven&#8217;t! <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <\/div> <!-- close row --> <div class=\"gallery-row\" style=\"width: 1170px; height: 331px;\" data-original-width=\"1170\" data-original-height=\"331\" > <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 585px; height: 331px;\" data-original-width=\"585\" data-original-height=\"331\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/?attachment_id=4512\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"581\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"327\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"4512\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-10-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1440\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.7&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;SM-N950W&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1525956749&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.3&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;160&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.02&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Countess-10\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-10-400x225.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-10-1024x576.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-10-scaled.jpg?w=581&#038;h=327&#038;ssl=1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-10-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-10-600x338.jpg 600w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-10-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-10-400x225.jpg 400w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-10-1024x576.jpg 1024w\" width=\"581\" height=\"327\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"581\" data-original-height=\"327\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"Countess-10\" alt=\"The space is very well organized with everything out on display, even as packages are being bundled!\" style=\"width: 581px; height: 327px;\" \/> <\/a> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\" itemprop=\"caption description\"> The space is very well organized with everything out on display, even as packages are being bundled! <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 585px; height: 331px;\" data-original-width=\"585\" data-original-height=\"331\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/?attachment_id=4517\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"581\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"327\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"4517\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-15-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1440\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.7&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;SM-N950W&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1525957204&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.3&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;160&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.03030303030303&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Countess-15\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-15-400x225.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-15-1024x576.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-15-scaled.jpg?w=581&#038;h=327&#038;ssl=1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-15-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-15-600x338.jpg 600w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-15-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-15-400x225.jpg 400w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-15-1024x576.jpg 1024w\" width=\"581\" height=\"327\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"581\" data-original-height=\"327\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"Countess-15\" alt=\"Boxes of yarn for your viewing pleasure.\" style=\"width: 581px; height: 327px;\" \/> <\/a> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\" itemprop=\"caption description\"> Boxes of yarn for your viewing pleasure. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <\/div> <!-- close row --> <div class=\"gallery-row\" style=\"width: 1170px; height: 331px;\" data-original-width=\"1170\" data-original-height=\"331\" > <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 585px; height: 331px;\" data-original-width=\"585\" data-original-height=\"331\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/?attachment_id=4510\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"581\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"327\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"4510\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-8-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1440\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.7&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;SM-N950W&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1525956719&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.3&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;160&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.02&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Countess-8\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-8-400x225.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-8-1024x576.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-8-scaled.jpg?w=581&#038;h=327&#038;ssl=1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-8-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-8-600x338.jpg 600w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-8-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-8-400x225.jpg 400w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-8-1024x576.jpg 1024w\" width=\"581\" height=\"327\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"581\" data-original-height=\"327\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"Countess-8\" alt=\"More colour!\" style=\"width: 581px; height: 327px;\" \/> <\/a> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\" itemprop=\"caption description\"> More colour! <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 585px; height: 331px;\" data-original-width=\"585\" data-original-height=\"331\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/?attachment_id=4508\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"581\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"327\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"4508\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-6-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1440\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.7&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;SM-N950W&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1525956581&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.3&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;200&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.02&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Countess-6\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-6-400x225.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-6-1024x576.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-6-scaled.jpg?w=581&#038;h=327&#038;ssl=1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-6-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-6-600x338.jpg 600w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-6-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-6-400x225.jpg 400w, https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-6-1024x576.jpg 1024w\" width=\"581\" height=\"327\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"581\" data-original-height=\"327\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"Countess-6\" alt=\"It never ends!\" style=\"width: 581px; height: 327px;\" \/> <\/a> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\" itemprop=\"caption description\"> It never ends! <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <\/div> <!-- close row --> <\/div>\n<p>If this has whetted your appetite to visit the studio, I am glad and urge you to do so! If you&#8217;re unable to visit I recommend you check out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.countessablaze.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">COUNTESS ABLAZE<\/a> and join her group the Antisocials! They&#8217;re quite friendly (despite the name, lol) and you&#8217;ll get some great insight into the Countess as well as firsthand news about upcoming specials!<\/p>\n<p>Hugzzz \ud83d\ude0e<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As you may know, I am currently spending 2 months traveling through the UK and Europe. There are a few reasons for the trip, but among the primary ones are to visit family members and friends that I have not met or seen in ages, and to explore the knitting culture firsthand on the &#8220;other [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4504,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[579,898,196,187,62,105],"tags":[987,969,1129,985,1128],"class_list":{"0":"post-4502","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-a-common-thread","8":"category-close-knit-community","9":"category-community","10":"category-just-knitting","11":"category-lys","12":"category-reviews","13":"tag-dyeing","14":"tag-knitting","15":"tag-knitting-around-the-world","16":"tag-lys","17":"tag-traveling","18":"pmpro-has-access","19":"czr-hentry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Countess-2-1-scaled.jpg","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pNDS0-1aC","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4502"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4522,"href":"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4502\/revisions\/4522"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ittakesballstoknit.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}