Inspiring Yarns

11/06/2026

Needle felting is one of our favourite textile workshops. Its so good for just letting the mind relax as you work away with wool and a needle, no patterns to read, no stitches to count.

This workshop we will draw on the surroundings Glenside Farm Comber for inspiration to create a 2D landscape piece and a little felted sheep.

This workshop is free and all materials are provided but please only book if you can be sure you will attend as places are limited. If you are able and would like to make a donation to help us continue to provide free courses there are links on the booking form.

Info & booking:
https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=23503320&appointmentType=94325583

11/06/2026

Increase your knitting skills at our Intarsia Knitting Workshop.

This workshop will introduce you to the intarsia knitting method and you’ll get to try out our very special Local Yarn, spun from a local flock right here in County Down.
You’ll come away with this sweet little sheep which makes a perfect pocket front or even frame it as your first intarsia project!

Full info & booking:

https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=23503320&appointmentType=94230762

11/06/2026

New course available to book now!

Åsa has been working away on some crochet doilies lately and it got us thinking…who remembers going to grannies (or maybe great-grannies) house and wondering what on earth the little frilly cloths on tables were all about or the lacy bath mats and toilet role dollies?!? Well we stopped short of the toilet roll dolls but we absolutely think there is a place for a bit of nostalgic style in modern homes. We are embracing our inner grannies and getting down with the doilies!

Who’s with us?

Booking & info:

https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=23503320&appointmentType=94229559

08/06/2026

Well now! Claire and Åsa have only gone against everything that feels normal and safe, taken a big ole step outside their comfort zones and recorded a podcast! Is it polished and slick? Of course not! But please feel free to check it out on YouTube and will filter it out to most other podcast hangouts. Please help us out by sharing, liking and subscribing, although if you’re not careful you’ll encourage us to follow it up with episode 2! https://youtu.be/MjVaMoJRdYY?si=vaG9AUjY2Y0toi9o

13/05/2026

Just to let you know our Tuesday night Yarn Together will not be on Tuesday 19th & Tuesday 26th May while we have a little break.

Starting again as scheduled from Tuesday 2nd June!

13/05/2026

New course available to book now!

Learn to Crochet at Inspiring Yarns and make yourself this sweet & useful little towel and cleanser pad set in lovely soft cotton. It’s perfect for a day at the beach to remove sand and suncream or to just brighten up your bathroom!

Crochet hook and yarn is provided and you can choose your own colour combination to suit.

Starting Wednesday 3rd June from 7PM-9PM in our Newtownards shop.

Course runs for 4 weeks.

https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule/af6a90f7/?appointmentTypeIds[]=93097852

07/05/2026

We’ve been all about Gathering Stitches Festival lately and haven’t shared much else!

But if you are curious our project to build a wool mill is still ticking along behind the scenes…

We are talking with lots of different people and doing a lot of research, so there is plenty happening just not much we can share!

However, we did get a first batch of yarn spun which is very exciting! 😃

The fleeces came from sheep reared in Comber, which is less than 15 minutes drive from our shop. They are a flock of crossbred ewes, mainly Suffolk Cheviot with Blue Texel so we got a lovely range of natural colours. These skeins were spun in the UK at the lovely mill who did an amazing job for us, in the future though we hope we will be doing this bit ourselves!!

We’ve even had a go at dyeing some up and they take colour like a dream 😍

We will be bringing a small selection of skeins & our sample knit with us to so if you are going, come along to our stall and have squish of this lovely woolly Northern Irish yarn!

02/05/2026

This seems like a lot of closures for one post but it’s just one of those times where we have a lot on!

Monday 4th we are closed for the May bank holiday.
Friday 8th we are closed as we will all be setting up for , Saturday 9th we are at the festival, Monday 11th and Friday 15th we are closed for the team to have a little rest!

Our website & eBay shop are always open though 😉

26/04/2026

22/04/2026

Just back from another Inspiring Yarns retreat weekend at The Causeway Hotel…thank you so much to our guests for making it such a lovely experience!

Here’s a little bit of feedback we received…

‘’Thanking Inspiring Yarns for organising the Causeway Craft Retreat. If you want a relaxing weekend away with like minded people then one of these retreats is the place to be.
I’ve talked about trying embroidery on knit wear for a long time but these girls encouraged me to actually get going with it and I’m pleased with the result.
Lots of fresh air too if you want it. No pressure at all.’’

No pressure at all, just how we like our retreats to be…It’s all about taking time out for yourself to indulge in your crafts without the usual day to day distractions! 😊

As always thanks go to the management and team at for being so welcoming, keeping us well fed with delicious meals and making sure our weekend stay is both comfortable & relaxed.