The Bobbin Sisters

The Bobbin Sisters Jo … yarn and book lover in equal measure! Dyeing and selling my Dyed by the Book yarns in the heart of the world’s first book town. 📚📚📚

Mr Bobbin’s purposely mismatched socks caused some consternation amongst knitting chums who prefer their knitting to be ...
25/09/2026

Mr Bobbin’s purposely mismatched socks caused some consternation amongst knitting chums who prefer their knitting to be perfectly balanced (looking at you Debs 🤔😇). So, to redress the balance, here are some VERY matchy matchy socks, hot off the needles!
👏👏👏
The pattern is the Twizzler Sock by. , cuffs, heels and toes are Jawool oatmeal (or ‘porridge’ as the elder bobbin baby has described it) and the stripes are a very old Regia yarn —- bought seven years ago, wound up immediately, abandoned immediately (🤷).
🧶🧶🧶
Completion of this pair was spurred on by attending a very welcoming knit and natter session at a coffee shop in my village! Didn’t take me long to sniff that out!
🤗🤗🤗

Now the heavy moving is done, the furniture is in place and the boxes we could unpack (need shelves for books) have been...
21/09/2026

Now the heavy moving is done, the furniture is in place and the boxes we could unpack (need shelves for books) have been unpacked, I’ve been able to set up my desk space in the study. Reaping the benefits with some early morning sock knitting and podcast catch ups. This one is bigsislittlebromakingshow, the back episodes of which have been accompanying my study settling in.
Happy Monday, all!
👏👏👏

Already the weeks spent packing up our Hay house seem a distant memory (we’ve been in Oxfordshire for one whole week😂). ...
15/09/2026

Already the weeks spent packing up our Hay house seem a distant memory (we’ve been in Oxfordshire for one whole week😂). However, these socks, knitted for Mr Bobbin in snatched moments of respite, will always remind me of that hectic time.
🏡🏡🏡
He needed persuading to embrace the deliberately mismatched look — harlequin if you will — but he’s jolly pleased with the result and I had so much fun knitting them. The Vimto cuffs, heels and toes were the last of some Stephen And Penelope Hex yarn that has now graced three pairs of socks. Who even am I that I’m making a concerted effort not to have leftovers going back into stash?
🤔🤔🤔
The two main colours are Jawool from LANGYARNS in oatmeal and green. The pattern is my own recipe specifically to fit Mr B.
🤗🤗🤗
Socks are the perfect souvenir of life moments! Do you have any hand-knitted socks that evoke particular memories? Or is it just me?

We moved into our new house on Monday, accompanied by an airbed, two camping chairs and my latest sock-knitting project!...
09/09/2026

We moved into our new house on Monday, accompanied by an airbed, two camping chairs and my latest sock-knitting project! It’s now keeping me occupied whilst we wait for the arrival of our furniture; today, soon, any minute now …
🤞🤞🤞

SOCK SATISFACTION!👏👏👏A couple of weeks ago I made Summer Lee Classic Bobble Socks using a skein of my Agatha Christie’s ...
12/08/2026

SOCK SATISFACTION!
👏👏👏
A couple of weeks ago I made Summer Lee Classic Bobble Socks using a skein of my Agatha Christie’s Greenway (dyed in my final dye bath!). They are the socks in the bottom right square in the image.
🧶🧶🧶
Turned out they only took me 48g of my 100g skein to knit. Now, normally I would pop the remainder in my cavernous bag of sock yarn leftovers promising to return to it at some point in the future - ho ho - and move on to the next bright shiny new skein. But here’s the thing … said cavernous bag has been packed away ahead of the house move. I know! Yarn should have been packed last not first! And all I have left myself with is a small organza bag (the kind yarn suppliers often send their wares in) of sock yarn to tide me over. I couldn’t therefore consign half an unused skein to the bag and just leave it there as room in the bag is precious. So, against my strongest inclinations, I cast on another pair of socks with said yarn. Once again I turned to a Summer Lee pattern, this time Mermaid Avenue, and added in a contrast colour I found in the bottom of a project bag (I’ve packed all of those, too!) to trick myself into thinking this was a new colourway! I didn’t bank on how much yarn the mermaidy scales would hoover up so I ended up playing quite a game of yarn chicken (see top right for actual leftovers) which thankfully I won. Phew!
😊😊😊
Two beautiful pairs of socks and no leftovers. Lesson learned! Use the whole skein straight away!
😇😇😇

SOCKS 4 SANITY! 👏👏👏It has not escaped my notice that in the mere 14 weeks since we decided to take the plunge and move t...
06/08/2026

SOCKS 4 SANITY!
👏👏👏
It has not escaped my notice that in the mere 14 weeks since we decided to take the plunge and move to Oxfordshire I have knitted 6 pairs of socks and have a seventh pair on the needles. I have never before been so sock prolific! Buying and selling houses is well-renowned for being one of the most stressful moments in one’s life and I think I am knitting all that stress into socks!
😂😂😂
It’s the socks that are keeping me sane!

TIME FOR A NEW CHAPTER! 🧶🧶🧶The bucket of yarn in this image is a very special one as it contains the final skeins dyed b...
31/07/2026

TIME FOR A NEW CHAPTER!
🧶🧶🧶
The bucket of yarn in this image is a very special one as it contains the final skeins dyed by Bobbin Sister Yarns.
😯😯😯
I am hanging up my pinny and have closed the dye shed door for the last time! Mr Bobbin and myself are off on our next adventure, heading to Oxfordshire to live nearer to our beautiful bobbin babies.
👏👏👏
My time as Bobbin Sister Yarns has been the best — dyeing yarns with book related themes, how could it not be? It’s been a blast but I’ve recognised that as a business it is intrinsically linked to the wonderful town of Hay on Wye and therefore I shan’t be taking it with me on this next chapter.
😊😊😊
I’m full of gratitude for the love you have all given to BSY both locally and on ‘the socials’. It’s allowed me to meet some fabulous people and I’ve made some of the best friends! Thanks and love go particularly to Jules Julie North, Abi Gift Shop & Gallery, Hay-on-Wye and Gill theoldblacklion_hayonwye for running with some of my crazier ideas for the local yarn community. And of course to all who have purchased yarn over the past few years.
❤️❤️❤️
Hoping to still post on here about yarn and the like so it’s not really goodbye … but wanted to say a heartfelt thanks again for being here!

Two more pairs of socks! 👏👏👏On the left, the Classic Bobble Sock and on the right, the Hibernal, both by Summer Lee 😊😊😊T...
29/07/2026

Two more pairs of socks!
👏👏👏
On the left, the Classic Bobble Sock and on the right, the Hibernal, both by Summer Lee
😊😊😊
The variegated yarn is my own ‘Ms Christie’s Greenways’ and the solid is Stephen And Penelope Hex in the Vimto colourway.
🧶🧶🧶
It’s turning out to be a Sock Summer!

What I’ve learned about my sock knitting of late!🧶🧶🧶Here are my two most recently finished sock projects. I love, love, ...
16/07/2026

What I’ve learned about my sock knitting of late!
🧶🧶🧶
Here are my two most recently finished sock projects. I love, love, love both completed pairs but I have learned some significant things in the process of knitting them.
🤔🤔🤔
🧶 I do not like knitting DK socks! The pair on the left is a present for a chum and it’s a great pattern — Sourdough Socks from the Homestead Collection by and gorgeous yarn from bought from . That all said, I didn’t enjoy the knit. I love knitting 4ply socks and also aran socks but it turns out not socks in between. Maybe it’s because there are only a few stitches less on the needle than a 4ply sock but I think it’s the needle size … 2.5mm needles are my happy place and the 3mm just didn’t feel right in my hands. When I cast these socks off and started the pair on the right of the image, I let out an audible sigh of contentment.
🧶 If you take measurements, keep them with you and follow them! This pair, to my own sock recipe and in WYS Signature Birds Starling was intended as a gift for the Bobbin Son. I have all his measurements written down in my sock book but I knit these socks in the wild and clearly decided that I would be able to keep those measurements in my head. How wrong I was! These socks are beautiful but they are much too short. I was so cross with myself! However, they are knitted to someone else’s foot length — mine! So every cloud!
🧶🧶🧶
Off now to wrap up the only DK socks I’ll ever make, pop the Starling socks into my own sock drawer and choose some new yarn for a pair of socks for the Bobbin Son!
😉😉😉
Every day is a school day!

Beat the heat and come join us for a couple of hours of crafty chat . Our Sticks & Twine gathering takes place on the ...
13/07/2026

Beat the heat and come join us for a couple of hours of crafty chat . Our Sticks & Twine gathering takes place on the second Tuesday of the month and is a great place to escape the hubbub of the summer and indulge in some convivial chat with likeminded crafters.
🧶🧶🧶
The team at the OBL produce a delicious simple supper menu on a Tuesday evening which some of us take advantage of but if you just want to have a drink and a chat then that’s perfectly okay too.
😊😊😊
Hope to see you Tuesday!

Address

Hereford
HR35EQ

Opening Hours

Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Bobbin Sisters posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to The Bobbin Sisters:

Shortcuts

Share

Category