Lots of Yarn and Christmas Cheer
- Dec 1, 2023
- 4 min read
So many hours crocheting and honestly, I'm starting to feel a little Loop - y!
Merry Christmas 🎄
When I was in the hospital overnight with cellulitis in 2015, I was crocheting with Spotlight wool, and one of the night nurses noticed what I was doing. The nurse was a crocheter herself and suggested a yarn from a company called Bendigo Woollen Mills, and I have not turned back to Spotlight yarn since. Here is some information about the yarn I have been using for a little under nine years and many more years to come.
Bendigo Woollen Mills
Bendigo Woollen Mills is one of Australia’s largest manufacturers of hand-knitting and crochet yarns. They are located in the historic gold mining town of Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, and all the yarns are made on-site, beside their shop, by their dedicated team.
The wool is grown in Victoria or in central New South Wales, Australia. Bendigo Woollen Mills uses Merino and First Cross Merino/Border Leicester wool to make their beautiful and great-quality yarn.
The Manufacturing Process for the Classic and Luxury Yarns
The source of the raw fleece wool is Victoria and central New South Wales, Australia.
The spinning, dyeing, balling, packaging, warehouse, shipping, and administration are all done by the amazing Bendigo Woollen Mills dedicated team. They buy its cotton in singles from China. Australia does not spin enough cotton for people’s needs, and their wool spinning machines do not have the capability to process the cotton fibres into singles. When Bendigo Woollen Mills receive the cotton singles, the process is very similar to the process for the wool yarns: the cotton singles are piled together to create 4 ply, 8 ply, or 10 ply cotton balls or yarns, then the machine twists and dyes to create the 200-gramme balls that we all love.
The dye lot changes very frequently; even though your most recent order is from the same dye lot, Bendigo Woollen Mills cannot guarantee that the same dye lot will be available when you place your next order. They do try to ensure the shades are consistent; sometimes there will be variations from one dye lot to the next.
Bendigo Woollen Mills is located in the historic gold mining town of Bendigo, Victoria, Australia (north of Melbourne). They work 24 hours a day, 5 days a week, to keep up with customer order demand. They have a huge variety of different yarns and colours to choose from. They also keep in touch with their customers through emails and social media, Facebook and Instagram.
The wool produced is Australian-grown wool from the New South Wales Highlands region. Bendigo Woollen Mills produce yarns with other fibres, including alpaca, mohair, silk, milk fibre, bamboo, wool, and cotton. The historic buildings are occupied by the Bendigo Woollen Mills, which were built in 1901 by the Bendigo Electric Supply Company and were part of the Bendigo power generating and tramway complex. Bendigo Woollen Mills is the largest manufacturer in Australia of hand knitting yarn.
Price list (Au) for the Bendigo Woollen Mills yarn. Pricing can vary.
Cotton 4, 8, and 10 ply - $16.00 per 200 gram ball (One of my favourites)
Classic 2, 3, 5, 8, and 12 ply - $14.50 per 200 gram ball (One of my favourites)
Luxury 8 and 10 ply - $16.00 per 200 gram ball
Luxury 3 and 4 ply - $18.50 per 200 gram ball
Ready to spin yarn - $46.00 per 1 kilo
Fine Merino sock yarn - $14.00 per 100 gram hank
Fine Merino 8 ply - $14.00 per 100 gram hank
Shop Hours:
Monday to Friday: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Saturday: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Sunday: Closed
Office Hours:
Monday to Friday: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Weekend and Public Holidays: Closed
Address: 4 Lansell Street, Bendigo, Victoria 3550, Australia
Phone Number: 03 5442 4600
BIG W Giving Tree
I have donated crochet toys that I have made to the BIG W’S Giving Tree this year.
This holiday season, BIG W is very proud to bring joy and happiness to people in need by supporting and spreading kindness to kids and families in the community through their hospital tokens and the Giving Tree initiative. The Giving Tree is supported by the Salvation Army and Good360. The Giving Tree is available in store, and customers can donate from the 1st of November to the 23rd of December 2023.
BIG W Giving Tree is now in its 3rd year and is a chance for customers and staff to support local families and people in need. These charities can be found all across our beautiful country, Australia, ranging from women’s shelters, services for children and youth at risk, schools, homeless shelters, and children in hospitals. To help the people in your community simply buy an unwrapped, sealed, and unopened gift and place it under the amazing Giving Tree at any BIG W Store around Australia. This holiday season, BIG W is inviting customers to help them raise money for people in need across Australia. 100% of the donations are going to BIG W’s major hospital and research institute partners in each state of Australia:
New South Wales: Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation
Victoria-Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
Queensland Children’s Hospital Foundation
Western Australia: Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation
South Australia: Women’s and Children’s Hospital Foundation
Together, we can make a difference and bring joy to people who are most in need this Christmas.
Fun Fact!
In Ireland, it's said that you leave a bit of your soul trapped in everything you crochet. So to avoid this, you should always work in a hidden mistake so that your soul can escape.
Repeat Crafter Me Crochet Along December Square (Penguin)
Video Pattern:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fek45S8KoU
I hope everyone has a very crafty, happy Christmas and a happy new year.
I've gotta go! Your girl is hooked and busy ❤
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