Your Cart is Empty
Chatting 80s cartoons, marled yarn, and cosy toes with Amanda from Prado de Lana
One of my favourite things about working with stockists is seeing the yarn take on a whole new life. Someone else’s ideas, colours, stories - sometimes things I’d never have dreamed of - all brought to life with yarn that started on the farm and ended up in their hands.
Amanda, who runs Prado de Lana in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, is one of those people. She’s a friend, a fierce fibre person, and one of the earliest stockists of our yarn. Every October, I stay with her and her family for Rhinebeck - there’s always wool, dogs, and plenty of tea. So when she sent over photos of her new sock kits, I couldn’t stop grinning. Think 80s and 90s cartoon vibes - Jem and the Holograms, Care Bears, Garfield - but make it woolly.
We had a quick catch-up about the project, and it felt only right to share the joy.
That’s Amanda’s starting point - summer memories, sleepovers, pool days, playing flashlight tag, and renting VHS tapes from the local library. Each kit is a little nod to that nostalgia, built around the kinds of socks you want in your project bag on a long car journey or lazy afternoon.
She told me, “I’m not much of a sock knitter, but I aspire to be one. And Garthenor Preseli and Teifi come in the best colours - how could I not make sock kits inspired by the 80s and 90s out of them?”
And really, that’s the heart of it. The yarns were already sitting in her stockroom, waiting. The colours sparked the ideas. And the rest came together in a way that feels joyful, but intentional.
The 80s kits - like Care Bears and Jem and the Holograms - use Preseli, which Amanda picked for its bright, punchy palette. The 90s kits (including Beavis & Butthead, Ren & Stimpy, and Powerpuff Girls) lean on Teifi and the marled magic of Number 2. “The marls remind me of the angsty grunge period of the 90s,” she said. “They’re perfect for that era.”
Every kit includes three 50g skeins (150g total) and a free pattern. The 80s sets use Two Week Wait Socks by Bolly Blatcher - a toe-up pattern with stripes and contrast toes and cuffs. For the 90s sets, Amanda picked Lemon and Lavender Socks by Sari Nordlund - a cuff-down style that really lets the marled yarn shine. “Nothing too complex, but not so boring to be disinteresting,” she said. “Both patterns offer little techniques that can stretch beginner knitters, but also give experienced knitters something fun and meditative.”
And yes, all the yarns - Preseli, Teifi, and Number 2 - passed the stitch definition test. “Knitting with them is a dream. Lovely handle, great stitch definition.”
We talked favourites. Mine’s Garfield & Friends - partly for the colours, partly because it’s just so ridiculous. Amanda picked two. “From the 80s kits, it has to be Care Bears. Highland and Gorse are probably my favourite Preseli colourways, and I had a Tender Heart Bear stuffy as a kid. For the 90s, Powerpuff Girls. The hot pink of Shuttle 04 in Teifi with Chimney from Number 2 - it’s so good.”
You can see the joy in the way she talks about them. These aren’t just random combinations - they’re curated, familiar, a little daft in the best way. She started with the patterns, then pulled colours that felt right. Jem came first, then the ideas snowballed. “It was almost like having you next to me creating them,” she said. “We both love marled yarns and woolly wools. This project felt like a natural extension of that.”
I won’t give too much away, but there’s more coming. The kind of project that takes fleeces from a farm not too far from Amanda’s and turns them into something new. “The most special thing is that we support and encourage each other - in our businesses and in life,” she said. I couldn’t agree more.
In the meantime, if you want a little flash of nostalgia in your sock drawer - or on your needles - Amanda’s kits are available now. Some are already running low, so go and grab one if it speaks to your inner 80s kid.