🎵 L-O-L-A Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola 🎵

Hello Yarnies! <3 

Sooooo I have another confession to make...(it seems this blog is mostly a list of my confessionals hehehe). I have never heard the song 'Lola' by The Kinks.... Oh most definitely, I have heard of The Kinks. 'You Really Got Me' is 👌 But 'Lola'...nope, nada, zip. I'll show myself the door...

In case you're in the sin-bucket with me. This is the song which has everybody singing. 

But we aren't here to talk about four lads from North London! We are here to talk about another sweet seductress: 'LoLa' by Garn Manufaktur. 

Formally introducing 'LoLa' by Garn Manufaktur to our Yarnish Collection. We have just restocked our classic range, so what a perfect time to chat about all things LoLa!

A bit about Garn Manufaktur

All the way from beautiful Soßmar, Germany, Garn Manufaktur is still relatively new to the yarn world. Having launched their small family business selling wool and accessories in 2003, they quickly sky-rocketed to success!

Only 5 years ago, they made the brave decision to craft their own wool brands and offer them under the brand name 'NEXT Yarns'. It all started with NEXT StriFi Big, the specialised felt wool for knitting felts. Then, they moved to 'NEXT ReCotton', recycled textile yarn. 

In 2015 they took another big leap and developed the first yarn from their manufactory; the most beautiful LoLa gradient yarn. And oh man, are we glad they did! 

These gorgeous cakes of yarn are like nothing else on this planet! LoLa consists of 8 delicate threads in various tones and hues to create the perfect colour gradient and endless unique colour combinations across the LoLa range.

The LoLa uniquely combines multiple colours together, slowly transitioning from one to the next by only changing one thread at a time. This means that you will experience a soft and gradual change (seriously, you will need to employ Detective Holmes to find the colour change!) 

This yarn is wrapped by hand and curated with love. Currently, there are over 80 official LoLa colourways, that's a huge number of color possibilities! Due to this crazy extensive colour selection, Garn Manufaktur believes that their 'creativity knows no bounds!' And I think they might be on to something <3 

The LoLa is a perfect blend of 50/50 cotton and acrylic, and is machine washable at 40 degrees. These superior fibres do not scratch and have a fine, silky shine. Cakes at Yarnish come in 300g and are approximately 1125m in length. We would also call it fingering weight. 

Crocheting with LoLa <3

Working with this yarn is an experience in itself. The yarn is so soft and glides with every stitch! I must admit, I was a wee bit nervous to crochet with it. Only because I have never, ever used anything like it before!.... but from the moment I pulled out the center strand (as this yarn as already been caked for our convenience), I knew I was in love! 

It's gentle and delicate, yet it holds the stitches so beautifully. I wanted to crochet an original Mel Harrison design (which I'll link to later), and I was able to achieve the most perfect drape! This yarn is perfection when it comes to throws, shawls, scarfs and blankies, because of the drape. And the colour transition was flawless. For my first time working with this yarn, I felt like I was on Cloud 9! 

There were a few times I made some mistakes in my pattern, and it was like this yarn said to me 'Reneé, its OK, just frog me and I promise I won't tangle!' This yarn is a crocheter's/knitter's BEST friend! 

Now Available @ Yarnish!

We have just restocked this gorgeous yarn and they are available here. There are currently 16 new colours to choose from! 

The Yarnish and Co. LoLa Debut

So I spoke about how there are over 80 different colour combinations and palettes. Well, we can add 10 more to the list of beautiful LoLa colourways. Recently Mrs Yarnish invited the Yarnish Design Team to develop their own personal colourways. 

Yarnish and Co. released limited-edition special 'Yarnish and Co. LoLas', as pictured below. We absolutely love them and it seems that you do too, as they sold out within hours! These little gems are slightly smaller than the classic loLa's at 200g each. 

The second batch were also super hot, and flew out the door before Nicole could finish uploading them to the website! 

Each Yarnish and Co LoLa tells a story about each designer.

Starting at top left to right:

Mrs Nicole Yarnish - designed her beautiful colourway from a sweet little nest of blue eggs;

Fiona - Her love of purple and all things purple!;

Me, Reneé - Designed after my darling daughter and the Sakura flower; 

Middle row from left to right:

Mel - A beautiful colourway designed from her beautiful Peony blanket pattern;

Tegan - Shares her dream marriage between blue and purple tones! 

Mari - who has a uber obsession with saturated colour, she designed her colourway from her super vibrant, and very loved, bedspread from when her and her husband were newly wedded;

Melody - who decided to move outside her comfort zone and choose soft beautiful pastels, with the coastal sunset being her inspiration. 

Katt - who loooooves blue and designed her colourway accordingly, also to pay homage to her brand 'BlueBuggs';

Emma - the Eucalyptus was her inspiration and she chose colours which are reminiscent of Native Australiana. 

Shelby - last, but certainly not least, Shelby lives in this colourway! Yellows, oranges, rust and a punch of teal. 

Nicole then surprised us with our very own Yarnish and Co. Bobbel Boxes. You could say these are LoLa's much heftier cousin; the Bobbel Box is a collection of 10x50g cakes, essentially the LoLa stretched over 1870m of yarn! 

Sadly these limited Yarnish and Co Lola's and Bobbel Boxes are sold out. But stay tuned for when Mrs Yarnish might surprise us again! 

Stage fright? You're not alone!

If you are super lucky to get your hands on a beautiful cake of LoLa goodness, you may be wondering 'what can I do with it?' You're certainly not alone, this was totally me! This yarn is so perfect and a gorgeous accessory on the yarn shelf that it may be a bit overwhelming to think about using it. 

So I have curated a list of lovely patterns which a few of us at Yarnish have made using our LoLas! I have also linked the patterns too :) 

Although many of these have been made with the Yarnish and Co. LoLas, the classic LoLas would look absolutely stunning in any of these makes! 

Nicole - This is Me shawl 

Using her own Yarnish and Co. LoLa, Nicole crocheted the most beautiful shawl. The pattern is called 'This is Me' by Wilma Westenberg. You can find the pattern here. 

 Shelby - Choose your Path - Popcorn

Using her own Yarnish and Co. LoLa, Shelby has crocheted the timeless 'Choose your Path - Popcorn', an original Yarnish Makes a pattern by Tegan Howes. Available here. There is another style available too. Its called the 'Choose your Path - Puff' available here. 

 Mel Harrison - Peony

Mel Harrison is currently crocheting her beautiful original design 'Peony'. This stunning pattern is available here. 

  Renee - Evermore Bloom

Speaking of the lovely Mel Harrison, I also crocheted one of her beautiful designs, the 'Evermore Bloom'. This was my first time crocheting something other than amigurumi and I absolutely loved every stitch! The pattern is available here. 

If this inspo isn't enough for you, then here are some beautiful makes from our Yarnish Community: 

Shelley Cottom

Anne Hoogeveen - Lotus Flower

Pattern available here. 

Miranda Simpson - Evermore Bloom

The pattern is available here.

Shona Guthrie

Pattern available here. 

I hope you enjoyed this very special LoLa blog post! If you have used a LoLa before, then let us know what you think!