Podcasts about blacker yarns

The picture of a flock of primitive-breed sheep, the last of their kind, living on an island off the northeast coast of Scotland, has a certain romance to it. Plenty of knitters, spinners, fiber artists, and citizens of the modern world might idly dream of living on such an island and tending such a flock. With no background as a farmer and only a few years as a shepherd, Jane Cooper decided to bring that dream to life. Enchanted by the fiber of the Boreray sheep, and with her life transformed by a class on knitting with rare breeds, Jane decided to buy a small parcel of land and start a spinner's flock by adopting a few wethers from another farmer. In a short time, however, she found herself with more land—and more sheep—than she planned for. And so began her adventure as the shepherd of the “lost flock,” a group of sheep whose ancestors had escaped the official registry. Since obtaining her first sheep in 2013, Jane not only developed her own breeding program but established several other breeding flocks in the Orkneys. She has explored the recent and ancient history of her sheep, from the Vikings who used dual-coated wool in their sails to the breed registries established in the 20th century (and traced how her own sheep came to be called “the lost flock.”) This episode is brought to you by: Treenway Silks Treenway Silks is where weavers, spinners, knitters and stitchers find the silk they love. Select from the largest variety of silk spinning fibers, silk yarn, and silk threads & ribbons at TreenwaySilks.com (https://www.treenwaysilks.com/). You'll discover a rainbow of colors, thoughtfully hand-dyed in Colorado. Love natural? Treenway's array of wild silks provide choices beyond white. If you love silk, you'll love Treenway Silks, where superior quality and customer service are guaranteed. Links Orkney Boreray website (https://orkneyboreray.com/) The Lost Flock book by Jane Cooper US edition (https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/the-lost-flock/) and UK edition (https://chelseagreen.co.uk/book/the-lost-flock/) Blacker and Beyond (https://www.ravelry.com/groups/blacker--beyond-with-ffsb) Ravelry group Blacker Yarns (https://www.blackeryarns.co.uk/) and The Natural Fibre Company (https://www.thenaturalfibre.co.uk/) Woolsack (https://woolsack.org/) British wool website

Today I talk about a Cabled Headband by Tina Saunders. I used Blacker Yarns in a worsted weight. This was from Knitting 2012 Calendar by Accord Publishing

Thanks for listening to episode 103 where I share how great John Arbon Devonia holds up when knitting and frogging and knitting and frogging.  Also in this episode we introduce Cornish Garden by Blacker Yarns, Rauma Finullgarn has some exciting new shades and there's lots of books and periodicals newly available.  Enjoy!   Stay connected:   Join our newsletter!  Youtube Instagram Facebook Pinterest Email: info@thewoollythistle.com

Hello there and welcome to The Crochet Circle Podcast and the show notes for Episode 37 – Feeling Festive?   In this episode, I cover: Old Dog New Tricks: CAL Updates; Final Destination; En Route; Feeding the habit; Quick News Beats; Big Up and J’adore?   This podcast is sponsored by my online crafting company, Provenance Craft Co.  Thanks to everyone who tunes into the podcast whether it is through Stitcher, Podbean, Spotify, iTunes or the YouTube Channel. Your support and engagement are really appreciated and makes running a podcast very special and worthwhile.    If you would like to support the podcast, you can do that through Patreon:   1 – Old Dog New Tricks Today’s Old Do is all about fixing crochet when a hole appears in it.  My friend Lisa went to put on one of her crocheted shawls and discovered that somehow there were two ends poking out that was once a fully formed stitch.  She wasn’t sure how to fix it, so I said I would have a go.    On investigating the shawl there were a few areas where loose ends were showing and one knot.  I don’t know what caused the yarn breakage but suspect one of three things: 1 – moths 2 – the shawl was trapped in a drawer or door at some point 3 – the yarn has worn at particular points (it was skinny single merino) The good news is that you can fix crochet, the bad news is that I don’t think one method fixes all.  With Lisa’s shawl, she provided me with her leftover yarn (always a good reason to keep some spare) and I knew that the broken stitches were quadruple trebles.      Key to fixing these holes was spit splicing new yarn onto the tiny ends of yarn that were poking up.  If you have never spit spliced before, it is a wonderful way of joining two ends of yarn together and works particularly well with wool or yarn with high wool content.  You can do it with superwash yarn, but it may take a bit more effort for the splice to take.  If you are new to spit splicing, here is a link to a YouTube video on how to do it.     Ensure that you are joining to the loose piece at the top of the row so that you are starting from the correct height.  Do the same with the bottom strand of loose yarn so that it won’t unravel further and weave this end in so that it is secure.   Go back to the newly spliced yarn at the top of the row and crochet the missing stitch as per the pattern.  I finished by adding a slip stitch to really bed the new stitch in.  Weave in the end.       If you don’t have enough yarn to do a spit splice, you may be better of tying a knot in it (this will likely create a puckered area in your work though) and then try to felt the two ends together (like the spit splice but without cutting any of the plies out).  This should help to secure the ends which you may be able to weave in and tidy up.      2 – CAL Updates  I haven’t recorded it yet, but hopefully, this weekend, I will have announced the #SockCAL winners on Instagram, Ravelry and possibly a YouTube video (time allowing).   Charlie and I are colluding again on a Christmas Eve CAL.  At any point on Christmas Eve, you can start a new project.  Last year we did it as a One-Skein Wonderland CAL and this year it is up to you what you make and with how much yarn.  The bundle is still up in the Ravelry group from last year, so if you need some inspiration for one skein projects, go and take a look.    As usual, you can crochet, knit, weave, do whatever yarn-based craft you please.  This is all about having a chilled-out project that you can work on during the Festive Season and the month of January.    The CAL starts on the 24th December 2018 and ends on Sunday 27th 2019.  It is going to be a very chilled out CAL, mainly because I am flat out at the moment and don’t want to over-commit myself again.    Use #ChristmasEveCAL and #ChristmasEveCALFO to show off your projects and finished objects.   3 – Final Destination Do you remember me saying that I was going to get time off in November and that I was going to finish all my WIPs before the end of 2019?  Did you believe me?    It hasn’t quite worked out like that.  I sort of forgot about a project that I signed up to do and got the go-ahead on two rather large commissions that I need to deliver by mid-December…   So, there has been MUCH crocheting going on, but I can’t show you properly until March.   When I have large work crochet projects on the go, I tend to turn to other crafts as my personal crafts and vice versa.  What this means is that I have finished up a couple of long-term knitting WIPs that I had on the go.     The first is a DK weight jumper which is called Joyride.  It’s a free pattern on Ravelry and was really quite quick to make, even though I started it at the beginning of February. I made a few modifications and hope to get my project notes up on Ravelry shortly.   All of my other FOs are socks.  I have listed all of the patterns and yarns used.  Of particular interest are two new yarns that I used.  The first was Tania’s (TJ Frog) Dorset Horn wool, which has no nylon in it whatsoever, just pure wool.  We were both vending at Yarnporium together and had a little chinwag about the viability of using Dorset Horn for socks.  I thought it was worth a try because of the decent staple length of the fibre and sturdiness of the twist and wool that Tania has had spun.   Needless to say, Tania is currently testing out her new striped (Suffragette coloured) socks and will report back so that I can let all of you know how well her Dorest Horn wool has performed in sock form.        The other yarn of note is 70% SW wool and 30% nettle.  I bought this yarn when I was at Stephen & Penelope’s in Amsterdam and loved working with it.  It’s plump, warm and silky.  The nettle makes a real difference to yarn.  I haven’t worn the socks yet because I wanted to show them off, but even just from trying them on, I know that these are going to be toasty.  I think that the Onion Sock Yarn would be amazing for crocheted socks.  I need to find some more because I think that it would be incredible in a pair of Deanne’s (Addydae Designs) Baseline or Segue Socks.   If you are UK based and interested in this yarn, you can get it from Wild & Woolly in London.  There are other stockists worldwide, just search for Onion Yarns Sock Yarn.        The stripey fellas were a quick make for my Father-in-Law because everyone needs a woolly hug every now and then.  They were knitted in West Yorkshire Spinners Mallard colourway.   The Eddisbury Socks are a pattern by my friend Gill, using Socks Yeah!   My other FO was for Crochetzine’s latest issue.  I said that I would pull together a tutorial on intarsia crochet and I wanted to work that around something festive, so created an intarsia Christmas cracker.  If you aren’t familiar with Crochetzine, it’s a mini crochet magazine on Instagram and it’s run by Chrissie, Sarah and Sharma.  It is going from strength to strength and every month they have a new load of stories, giveaways, patterns and tutorials.  It is a genius way of delivering crochet content to crafters for free.      Sometimes the smallest and simplest things take the longest time.  That is certainly true of this little cracker!     In other news, I have had the laser cutter up and running.  I have been working on a collaboration with Becci and Markus from RiverKnits and Nu Shearman from Hide and Hammer.  I will talk more about the collaboration and kit sales in Quick Newsbeats, but that is another reason for the knitted sock extravaganza!     4 – En Route As alluded to, I have to whopper crochet commissions on the go at the moment and they are taking up almost all of my crafting time.  My fallen Leaves socks are sitting patiently, waiting to be picked up again.  I know that as soon as I turn the heel on the first one, I will be away and they will be finished in no time!    5 – Feeding the habit Given the number of yarns shows I vend at, you would think that is when I get the majority of my yarns.  Not the case because you spend all your time setting up, vending and then taking down.  That said, at Yarnporium, I did manage to sneak away for a few minutes because I was told that I must go and see Becca at Mahoodly.  I wasn’t disappointed, especially as I seem to be on a mini skein kick at the moment.  She dyes on 100% British Bluefaced Leicester.      We also went to Glasgow for a night to meet up with my Dad.  We managed to cram a lot into just over 24 hours, which included two (yes two!) yarns shops!  I had arranged to meet Fiona and Lorna at Queen of Purls on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, Lorna couldn’t make it, but I had a lovely afternoon with Fiona, chatting to Zoe (the yarn shop owner) and her sister,  whom is also now dyeing and has a company called The Sleekit Hare.  You can find her yarns at Queen of Purls and although Zoe is closing the bricks and mortar shop down because she is moving, her online shop will remain open.      I also bought a skein of Zoe’s yarn in glorious mustardy colour to go with the mini skeins and a 50g skein of variegated to go with some of her yarn I bought last time I was in Glasgow!   After Yarnporium, I took a little trip to Richmond to go back to Tribe Yarns.  I picked up some Isager yarn to crochet a lightweight top with.  I have crocheted with their Alpaca 1 before, held double, and it creates the softest fabric with gorgeous drape.  I also bought some Isager Silk Mohair to add some texture to parts of the top.      Milli also had Isager Spinne which is made in Denmark and 100% wool.  I hadn’t touched this wool in the flesh before and wanted to give it a try as it is really quite rustic in it’s unblocked state.  This will become my version of the shawl that I am currently making under commission. I am currently reviewing what my yarn buying habits might be in 2019…   6 - Quick News Beats  Global Hook Ups – I said that the hook ups would be back in December, but looking at my calendar, I just can’t make it work.  So here are the suggested dates for the first half of 2019:   January – 12th Saturday (night) and 13th (morning) February – 9th Saturday (night) and 10th (morning) March – 9th Saturday (night) and 10th (morning) April – 20th Saturday (night) and 21st (morning) May – 11th Saturday (night) and 12th (morning) June – 15th Saturday (night) and 16th (morning)   Festive collaboration – the project that I have been working on with Nu and Becci goes love on Friday 7th December and the kits are available to buy at the RiverKnits website up to Monday 10th at midday or until the limited edition stocks have run out.  There is a knit version of the kit and a crocheted version.  I’m not yet confident enough to design a crocheted sock, but the yarns amounts should be perfect for Vicki Brown’s Sweetheart Socks or Deanne’s Segue Socks.        7 – Big Up I have a new YouTube podcast for you.  It’s called The Green Bean Podcast and it’s by Katie Green, formerly of Blacker Yarns.  Katie lives on the Cornwall/Devon border and podcasts about her crafting which is mainly sewing, illustrating and knitting, but she does also crochet.  It’s a lovely gentle podcast and her dog Jack often appears in it.    8 - J’adore I was thinking about the things that make me feel festive or that I look forward to over the Christmas period.  Here is what I came up with: 1 – Satsumas are in season and I could eat a bag a day! 2 – Mulled wine is perfectly acceptable on a Sunday afternoon as I sit by the fire. 3 – Seeing little children being excited by the magic of the festive season. 4 – Christmas cake is allowed. 5 – Unsolicited access to marzipan.  Hmmmm, marzipan. 6 – Making things for people I love.    Have a fabulous December and festive season my lovelies.  I will be back on Friday the 4th January!   Fay x   Instagram: Crochet_Circle_Podcast  Instagram: provenance.craft.co   Instagram: FayDHDesigns YouTube: The Crochet Circle Podcast Crochet Clan on Mighty Network: Invite            

Sweater weather is finally here and we couldn't be happier! On this episode of the podcast we've got a new yarn from Blacker Yarns to tell you about, as well as TWO giveaways! Our Sponsor This episode of the podcast is sponsored by Garthenor, providing a variety of sustainable, organic British wool products in an ecologically responsible way. See Garthenor’s glorious yarns at the GLYC Mini-Yarn Market after party, or on their website at www.garthenor.com. News and Events Kirstie Allsopp's The Handmade Fair, Hampton Court Palace, London - September 15-17 Yarndale, Skipton - September 23-24 The Great British Sewing Bee Live, ExCel Centre, London - September 21-24 Shetland Wool Week, Lerwick, Shetland - September 23 to October 1 Thread, Farnham Maltings - September 30 Masham Sheep Fair, Masham - September 30 to October 1 GLYC Anniversary KAL Winners! Random chat thread participant - heckythump/Helen from Hull, winner of a skein of Destination Yarn Letter Plus in the colourway Oslo Random finisher - katt94/Katherine from Somerset, winner of a skein of Countess Ablaze Sovereign in the colourway Rebelling Against Suburbia Make Happy - aka What we're working on Rachel is working on not losing her mind while also prepping for Yarndale and plotting to knit all the things in handspun. She's also making incremental progress on her Starting Point. Allison almost finished her Fireflies Rising in time for the GLYC (thwarted again for another year!) and is moving on to her Bousta Beanie to get it finished in time for Shetland Wool Week. New Season New Yarn We chat about a gorgeous new yarn from the good folks at Blacker Yarns. Brushwork is this year's birthday yarn for Blacker. It's a sport weight yarn spun up in 50g balls and 152 meters/165 yarns and available in 8 colours. The yarn is a lofty, bouncy combination of 20% alpaca and 80% wool - 70% from Scottish Bowmont sheep and 10% from Castlemilk Moorit, on the Rare Breed Survival Trust Watchlist.  We chat about our autumn knitting plans too and want to hear about yours! Giveaway #1 To help you with your own autumn knitting plans, Blacker Yarns have generously provided us with two balls of their new Brushwork yarn to giveaway! In the comments for these shownotes, share a patterns suggestion with us (including the Ravelry link!) of what you'd make with this lovely yarn. We'll keep the content open until September 20th, 2017 at 11:59pm BST. Make sure you tell us your Ravelry name so we know how to get a hold of the winner! Giveaway #2 - and a lovely discount! Last March Josh joined Team YITC for the Blacker PodKAL that led up to EYF and she designed and knit the most glorious colourwork sweater. She's just released the pattern after reworking it for Tamar 4-ply (the original was knit in Cornish Tin) and it is now available on Ravelry! Josh would like to kindly offer YITC podcast listeners 20% off the Stranded Gradient Sweater pattern. Use the code YITC20 before Tuesday, September 19th at midnight (Amsterdam time zone). Thank you Josh!! We'll also giveaway one copy of Josh's pattern. To enter the giveaway, please leave a comment on the Episode 67 giveaway thread on Ravelry and tell us what colours of Blacker Yarns Tamar you'd use for your own Stranded Gradient Sweater. The contest will be open until September 20th, 2017 at 11:59pm BST. *** Many thanks for joining us for another episode! You can find the podcast on iTunes and Stitcher Radio (please rate, review and subscribe!) and you'll find us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, in our Yarn in the City group on Ravelry, or in person on Wednesday nights at our knit night at The Goat on the Rise  between 7 and 10pm. Have a great couple of weeks and we’ll chat with you soon!  Music credits (available on NoiseTrade) Ridiculously Happy (feat. Twilight Meadow) - Owl City  

A bonus 'Short Rows' episode! Lydia and Sophie count down to Pomfest in July and chat to Sonja Bargielowska of Blacker Yarns, plus there is a review of Blacker's new Samite Silk Blend - ooh! Thanks to Blacker Yarns for sponsoring this Pomcast!

Show sponsor The Knitting Goddess comes over to chat about an exciting collaboration with Blacker Yarns - full shownote will be at www.knitbritish.net

This is our bumper Edinburgh Yarn Festival 2017 episode! We chat about some of the folks we met, our highlights and our hauls. Thank you so, so much to the incredible Jo & Mica for running such an amazing event and to Louise Scollay and Blacker Yarns for the wonderful Podcast Lounge!

On this episode of the podcast we  chat about what's making us happy at the mo, including an update on our progress with the Blacker PodKAL for the Edinburgh Yarn Festival and the new #yarnlovechallenge on Instagram. We also find out what happens when you love yarn so much that it leads you to making your own. For that conversation we’ll be chatting with our friend Carmen from A Yarn Story in Bath, who’s been working with Sharon from Great British Yarns on a new joint venture, Walcot Yarns. Grab your favourite beverage and your WIP and let's go! What we’re working on (aka Make Happy): The Blacker Yarns PodKAL continues apace! Allison has her SSS well underway, and Rachel is casting on for her Inglis Mitts as we record (better late than never!) The projects shown on Ravelry and Instagram all look amazing and there are some truly speedy knitters out there! We have some special kudos too, for those of you who have come on board #teamYITC: Hdayananda is knitting with a gorgeous green Cornish Tin for her In the Pines Pullover Mariette694 is making a capelet/wrap of her own design in both Tamar and Cornish Tin that is look stunning already And then there’s Josh (breiwerken on Instagram) who is also making his own colourwork design out of Cornish Tin that is nothing short of amazing! If you want to join in with the Blacker PodKAL, it’s not too late! Here are the details: Any design or pattern you want (some great freebies on the Blacker Yarns website) Must be knit with Blacker Yarns to be eligible for prizes and discounts at EYF Can be used in combination with other yarns too Chat thread in Blacker Yarns Ravelry group Tag with#BlackerPodKAL on social media & Ravelry Cast off date is 4th March (just in time for EYF!) If you wear your FO at EYF you can get a discount on more Blacker Yarns! There are multiple teams and you can be on more than one – we hope you’ll tag your projects with #teamyitc so that we can see what you’re working on for the KAL (we’ll have a special #teamYITC prize too!) In other make happy news, Allison has been working on a (gorgeous!) super secret deadline project, and doing lots and lots (and LOTS) of sewing. Rachel has been working on a design for Walcot Yarns, but has managed to finish her Vestvember project (again, better late than never). She's also been doing lots of #spinningSundays. Yarn Love Challenge Okay, the #yarnlovechallenge is something that you’ve probably seen popping up on Instagram in the last couple of day and it’s pretty fun so we wanted to let you know about it. It’s a daily Instagram photo challenge put together by @oharethey and @maryheatherb from Ravelry to celebrate the idea that “Yarn is Love”. We agree! Yarn Love There are fewer things we love more than a new yarn. And we were particularly excited when we found out that our friend Carmen was working on a brand new bespoke yarn – Walcot Yarns. If you haven’t heard us mention Carmen before, she is a North American transplant like us and the owner of A Yarn Story – a specialty yarn boutique in Bath that is stuffed with gorgeous yarns from around the world. Aside from the yarn itself, what got us really excited to chat with Carmen is that she developed this new yarn with in collaboration with Sharon from Great British Yarns – also in Bath. We got Carmen to chat with us and tell us more about Walcot Yarns and what exactly is involved with bringing your own yarn to market. Wrap up You can find the podcast on iTunes and Stitcher Radio and us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, in our Yarn in the City group on Ravelry, or in person on Wednesday nights at our knit night at The Goat on the Rise between 7 and 10pm. Everyone’s really friendly and we hope to see you there! Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade) Ridiculously Happy (feat. Twilight Meadow) - Owl City

Welcome back Yarn and Fibre Lovers! We're excited to be back post-holidays, refreshed and recharged and ready for another year of yarn-y shenanigans with you, and along with some changes to the podcast too! A new KAL/CAL to kick things off We're delighted to announce that we will be participating in this year's Podcast Lounge at the Edinburgh Yarn Festival. To get everyone excited about this year's EYF, Blacker Yarns and Louise Scollay of KnitBritish are teaming up to host the #BlackerPodKAL. Lots of other podcasts are participating too and we hope you'll join us for Team Yarn in the City! Here's some more details: Cast on date is Thursday, January 19th Any design or pattern you want (some great freebies on the Blacker Yarns website) Must be knit with Blacker Yarns to be eligible for prizes and discounts at EYF Can be used in combination with other yarns too Chat thread in Blacker Yarns ravelry group Tags with#BlackerPodKAL on social media & Ravelry Cast off date is 4th March (just in time for EYF!) If you wear your FO at EYF you can get a discount on more Blacker Yarns! In addition to being eligible for #BlackerPodKAL prizes we're also going to come up with some exclusive to Team YITC members too. Watch this space! What we've been working on Rachel clearly had delusions of grandeur with her Christmas knitting plans so she's still working through those and gives us and update. It sounds like the beginning of 2017 is also already chock-a-block full of knitting deadlines too! Allison is happy to be finished the Hogwarts scarf and still working away on her toe-up socks, as well as a few other things. #spinningsundays What we've also been working on is getting back to our spinning. We made a pact on New Year's Eve that we were going to try and do some spinning every Sunday this year in the hopes that we'll accomplish a lot more. Care to join us? Tag photos of your spinning on Instagram with #spinningsundays and #YITCspinningsundays so that we can find you! Make Happy After the bonkers year that was 2016 we really want 2017 to focus on the positive so we've come up with a simple theme for this year: Make Happy. We'll be threading this theme through all of our interviews and podcast chatter this year and hope you'll let us know how you find the conversations, as well as join in with your own thoughts, stories and images. Please tag us on social media using #YITCmakehappy. Wrap up You can find the podcast on iTunes and Stitcher Radio and us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, in our Yarn in the City group on Ravelry, or in person on Wednesday nights at our knit night at The Goat on the Rise between 7 and 10pm. Everyone’s really friendly and we hope to see you there! Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade) Ridiculously Happy (feat. Twilight Meadow) - Owl City

Podcasting about percolators, ponchos, and Pendleton woolens. Plus, we have two giveaway winners! Marsha's Projects Marsha is making good progress on the Rodeo Drive poncho by Staci Perry. She has been focused on this one project and is making good progress. This despite a cabling accident caused by "knitting while podcasting" two weeks ago. Kelly's Projects Kelly is continuing with the Curious Case of the Crazy Stitch Cardigan by Michele DuNaier. She can't figure out why it seems to have two sides (since it is crocheted similar to the way garter stitch is knitted, doing the same thing on each side), but she thinks she now has it back on track. Kelly has also been doing a small amount of spinning while sitting in the living room enjoying the Christmas tree. "Advent-ewes" Marsha visited the Pendleton Woolen Mill in Pendleton, Oregon. She tells us all about the history of the company and the tour she had of the facility. The wool that Pendleton uses is scoured in Texas--probably at the same facility that scoured the wool for the fabric in the fabric CSA that Kelly has purchased. Here is a link to the scouring company and here is an article about the expansion of their scouring operation. Marsha took lots of pictures of the Pendleton Woolen Mill and the milling process. Marsha also discovered that the Beach Boys wore Pendleton shirts and called themselves the PendleTones. Marsha's brother Mark splurged and bought a Pendleton blanket. Marsha was able to visit the mill because she was spending the weekend in Walla Walla, Washington, where she and Kelly attended Whitman College together. She and Kelly reminisce about some of the familiar places and their college days. Giveaway! Two winners were drawn. One lucky winner will be getting a skein of Countess Ablaze yarn and a totebag that the Countess was kind enough to throw in with Kelly's order. The other will take home three skeins of Blacker Yarns from the Woolly Thistle Shop. These skeins were contributed by Claire of the Woolly Thistle and the New Hampshire Knits podcast. Upcoming Events Kelly and Marsha will be attending Stitches West! It starts on February 23, 2017 and that is also the deadline for the Great Poncho Adventure. Share Us! If you enjoy the podcast, please share it with a friend! Just tell them TwoEwesFiber.com! On the blog, the white box below the post has little buttons for sharing by mail or social media. If you are reading shownotes from your podcast app, use the podcast sharing button. Thanks!  

Welcome to The Crochet Circle Podcast. Here are the show notes from Episode Eleven - HOP to it.    In this episode I will cover: Yay Crochet or Nay Crochet; the final instalment of Yarn Club Review; Book Review of Raw by The Crochet Project; Take Two; Quod the Rav; The scene for 2017, New World Order and the final segment What's Good?   This podcast is sponsored by my online crafting company, Provenance Craft Co.  Thanks to everyone who tunes into the podcast whether it is through Stitcher, Podbean, Spotify, iTunes or the YouTube Channel. Your support and engagement are really appreciated and makes running a podcast very special and worthwhile.    If you would like to support the podcast, you can do that through Patreon:   Thanks to everyone that tunes in to our podcast whether it is through Stitcher, Podbean, iTunes or our new YouTube Channel. Your support and engagement are really appreciated. We love doing the podcast and it makes it even more worthwhile knowing that there are people that really love it and are sat at their computers pressing refresh on publish day!    The people that both have a birthday on publish date are Christinadesigns (Christina) and Felicious (Felicia) - Happy Birthday both!   1. Yay crochet or nay crochet It's a yay.  Last podcast I showed a crocheted baby blanket for Emma and her new daughter Matilda.  Emma comes to the crochet and knitting club that I run, Woolgathering Sandbach, and a few of us crocheted the baby blanket.  I really love making things for other people, especially little folk.     Winkie has also finished the postal scarf that we have been working on.  He really loves it but says it's a little itchy and needs washing!  Take a look at how cute he is in it:   2. Yarn club review The final instalment of the Yarn Club Review covers off an ongoing blanket subscription and details of a new shawl club subscription that is open at the moment. Becca, another Woolgatherer (PixieCaticus on IG and Ravelry), signed up to a blanket club ten months ago.  Every month she has received 3 x 50g of hand-dyed superwash Merino from one of two indie dyers - Dye Candy (dyecandy on IG) or Unbelievawool (unbelievawool on IG) and the next stage of the blanket pattern.   The banket subscription is £21 a month and Becca has two months left to go.  She has really enjoyed receiving the yarn through the post and she like many others found that there was yarn leftover, so the dyers offered an extended pattern for those that wanted to do it.  She has also kept on top of the club by making the next set of hexagons within a couple of days of them arriving and will still have yarn leftover which she can use for other projects.     The other part of the yarn subscription review that I wanted to point you towards is a new shawl club by Vicki Brown. I saw what she was up to on Instagram and emailed her for more details.         The Crochet Shawl Club: Starting from January 2017 Vicki will be launching one crochet shawl pattern every two months as part of a club. Every other month (January, March, May, July, September and November) she will produce a box which will include a printed pattern and hand-dyed yarn to work up that shawl (dyed by Vicki exclusively for this club).  Each box will be available to purchase singly and will go on sale a month prior to shipping or you can sign up to all six for a fabulous saving (£20). Each shawl pattern will be new and exclusive to box subscribers for two months, after which time the pattern will become available to purchase individually. All yarn will be sock/4ply weight and will be on a range of bases and fibres varying from month to month. However, she can happily accommodate any allergies or personal dislikes. All patterns will use a 3.5mm or 4mm hook. The first box and the full subscription are available to purchase now over on etsy. Single boxes are priced at £20 and include UK postage, postage within Europe is an additional £1.50 and postage for the rest of the world is an additional £3 For the full 6 month collection, the cost is £100 and includes UK postage. Postage within Europe is an additional £9 and £18 for the rest of the world. The contents will remain a mystery until they have been delivered to your door, but you can find some sneak peeks over on Vickie's instagram page. Vicki has also very kindly offered one of the shawl clubs up as a prize for one Crochet Circle listener/viewer - more on that in the future...   3. Book Review - Raw by The Crochet Project I was very kindly sent a digital copy of Raw by the lovelies at The Crochet Project in collaboration with Blacker Yarns.  As you know, I won't review a book unless I have crocheted at least one thing from it.  You can see from the below photo, I have managed to make both the Mamble socks and the Newham hat from the book. The book has six patterns - a cardigan, sweater, socks, shawl and matching mittens and hat. It was all crocheted using Blacker Yarns in natural shades, showcasing British breeds.             The socks are toe-up in construction and I used a yarn that had very little elasticity but is lovely and warm and very sheepy! Having already made a pair of Joanne's crocheted socks, I was familiar with her style, although this one had a different heel construction.  I found the sock easy enough to crochet, although I struggled a little with the heel construction. The first time I tried it out I found it hard to keep track of where the heel steps were, called a bridge stitch (this will make sense to you when you read the pattern).  I ripped it out and started the heel part again. putting a place market on each decrease, now knowing that I needed to be able to identify them better.  That did the trick.  I couldn't find and reference to bridge stitch anywhere so I am not sure if it something that Joanne has created.  It works for the construction but took a bit of fiddling.  The socks are lovely to wear and I would like to crochet these again in something like Socks Yeah or West Yorkshire Spinners so that I can compare them to my first pair.     The Newham hat has been crocheted in 100% Merino Knit by Numbers from John Arbon. I played around with the hat construction a little because I like quite a tight hat and the book photos show it being looser on Joanne.  I really loved the rib construction for the brim which is crocheted as one long piece and then joined to make a round before picking up stitches.  The pattern shows a simple colourwork chart that you go by to create the pattern in the round.  This is really easy to follow but unfortunately, when I started this part of the hat I was really quite ill and mucked it up a little.  Luckily my two colours aren't in high contrast so it isn't really obvious.  This is not a shortfall of the pattern, I was really quite poorly!  I love the finished hat and it is gorgeous to wear.   Overall, with Raw you get exactly what you would expect from Kat and Joanne at The Crochet Project - really nice simple patterns with interesting design elements, beautiful photography and good yarn choices. The book is available on their website and is £10 for the digital copy and £12 plus P&P for the hard copy which includes a digital download code.  It is written in UK crochet terminology and the US terms are given in the abbreviations.   I would recommend this book.  There is something for all types of crocheters and if natural shades aren't your thing, it is simple to change to colours.      4. Take Two TAKE TWO is a collection of 8 crochet patterns, each shown as two designs - sixteen patterns. You can buy: A printed copy (which includes an instant digital download) £12 from here.  I am fingers crossed hoping that the hard copy books will arrive in the third week of December so that I can post them out ASAP.   or   A digital copy for £10 here or by searching for Take Two on Ravelry in books.            I would love to see your finished makes and you can add them to the Ravelry page FO thread and use #TakeTwoCrochet to share your makes on Instagram.   5. Quod the Rav Ravelry is huge, both in terms of the number of people that use it but also the functionality that it has to offer.  In this new section, I want to show some of the things that Ravelry can do and ways that you can use it to get the most from the site.  It can be quite an intimidating website so I am hoping to demonstrate how you can really use it to your benefit and help others to do the same through the way that you use and record projects on Ravelry. In this podcast, I wanted to cover how you can try to verify whether a pattern is worth purchasing or not?  A question was asked in the group thread and so I have pulled together some information on how I check a pattern out pre-purchase.  I have used a pattern that I have purchased, knitted, recorded and people have found helpful.                           In case you are wondering why this section is called Quod the Rav, you can blame Eddie Izzard and his sketch on Latin.   6. Setting the scene for 2017  At the beginning of 2016, I set myself a few crafting goals that I wanted to achieve by the end of 2016.  These have given me a gentle steer through my 2016 crafting and I have achieved or been working towards all of them: 1 - Learn how to make socks.  So far I have knitted ten pairs and crocheted three pairs and will hopefully reach 14  by the end of the year (festive socks for Jenny and The Duke). 2 - Learn how to do colourwork.  I took part in a KAL and used it as a project to work with British breeds and test my colourwork skills.  I also learned to do crochet colourwork with the Newham hat from Raw. 3 - Dye some of my own yarn.  I organised a workshop in September and a bunch of us dyed British yarns.  It was great fun and I am working my way through my own hand-dyed yarn which makes projects even more special. 4 - Take part in CAL/KALs.  I have taken part in two KALs but up until now haven't found a CAL that I wanted to do.  Luckily, we have the Christmas CAL coming up (details further down) which I am very excited about! 5 - Put better project notes up on Ravelry.  I have really tried hard on this one.  I get so much help from going through other people's projects that I feel I should offer the same level of detail.  There is no doubt that it is time consuming but I love going back and seeing how much work went into projects. 6 - Take better photos of my projects.  I can see the difference in the photos that I take now compared to when I started on Ravelry.  To me this helps to sell myself as the owner of KNIT IT - HOOK IT - CRAFT IT and a podcaster, so hopefully my photos will only get better as time goes on. I am going to open a thread on Ravelry called Setting the scene for 2017.  I will add my crafting goals for 2017 (I will also be talking about them in the January podcast) into that thread and you are all very welcome to do the same.  My plan is to review it every quarter to see if I want to focus on other things or document what has really caught my attention - like making socks has in 2016!   Get thinking, what do you want to be working in 2017?     7. New world order As you are all aware, Lynne is no longer doing the podcast and so I wanted to reassure people that I have every intention of continuing to podcast on a monthly basis.  Podcasting is a great way for me to get inside the crafting industry and understand what is happening and how I can be part of that.  It makes me craft more, want to learn new techniques to share with you and it is a great way of engaging with lots of lovely people about this very yarny passion. So here is what you can expect from The Crochet Circle Podcast in 2017: 1 - A podcast that is published on the first Friday of every month for video on YouTube and also audio via Podbean etc. 2 - Vlog style videos on YouTube showing my yarn based antics and general bits and bobs. 3 - The usual content on social media.  My intention is to focus mainly on Instagram because it allows me to show off yarn-based things so easily, share your makes (tag crochet_circle) and it is a very positive social media space.  I will put the occasional thing out on Twitter but most content will be on IG. 4 - Continue to grow the content and engagement in our Ravelry thread. We have so many lovely people that post in that thread and long may it continue.  At some point, I may have to ask whether others want to come forward as moderators. 5 - I want to keep the standard sections like Yay crochet or nay crochet, WIPs, FOs, Feeding the habit, What's good and of course reviews when there is something to review. 6 - I work with a lot of different yarns and so that I can review them all and let you see what I am working on, I am going to pull together a yarn review format for Instagram.  That way I can let you know what I think of the yarn but I can show off more yarns rather than having to wait for the podcast.  If you aren't on Instagram, all of my Crochet Circle photos are automatically uploaded onto Pinterest. 7 - I want to introduce some new sections like Quod the Rav.  Others will come as the podcast moves into this new phase, but I want it to be informative, useful and fun.   8. Christmas CAL  There is a lot of excitement about a Christmas CAL!  I opened up a thread on Ravelry with a poll and 88% wanted to work from the same pattern with 12% wanting to choose their own.  So that everyone can be happy I think that CAL should be either! For those of you that want to work from the same one pattern, take to the Christmas CAL thread to decide which pattern you all want to work from - you just need to decide in enough time to make sure you have enough yarn and are ready for the CAL start date.   The CAL starts on the 24th December 2016 and the end date is the 31st January 2017, so choose a project that is realistic for that timeline. I am going to cast on two things (possibly three)!  The pattern that you folks choose for the CAL and another of my own choice (and possibly a new design that is currently bubbling in the recess of my brain). I may have purchased some Christmas themed yarn from Vickie Brown...   9. What's good? The reaction to the fact that I am going to continue with the podcast has been lovely.  It is a shame that Lynne no longer wants to continue with it but I am really heartened by the fact that so many people want the podcast to continue and are supportive of my solo endeavours - thank you, you lovely people!   Happy listening, watching, festive season and crocheting.   Fay x   Instagram: Crochet_Circle_Podcast  Instagram: provenance.craft.co   Instagram: FayDHDesigns YouTube: The Crochet Circle Podcast Crochet Clan on Mighty Network: Invite

In this episode we chat with designer Dianna Walla and catch up with all the knitting gossip and news from Pom Pom magazine. Our craft agony aunt Juju answers your knitting dilemmas and our top three has a special Norwegian flair! Thanks to Blacker Yarns and Green Mountain Spinnery for sponsoring this episdoe.

New projects this time for both Marsha and Kelly. Also lots of poncho talk and information about The Great Poncho Adventure.  The Ewes are making ponchos!  There are also two yarn giveaways announced this episode. For photos and to subscribe to the podcast, visit the shownotes on our blog. Marsha's Projects Marsha has started her shawl with the NoCKRs yarns she got from Duren Dyeworks last year in commemoration of the retreat.   The pattern is Good Vibes by Nadia Crétin-Léchenn.   She was ready to start her poncho with some Spirit Yarn, but decided that it was not the right yarn for the pattern.  Instead she is going to find some yarn that is better suited.  Late breaking news!  Marsha got some yarn for the poncho! The pattern she is using is The Rodeo Drive Poncho by Staci Perry. Kelly's Projects Kelly has made some progress on the crocheted Crazy Stitch Cardigan. It's a pattern by Michelle DuNaier.  She has started on the shoulder and is almost ready to start the second side of the sweater.  She also had a project that was both started and finished since the last episode!  She made two pair of Helmikuu Boot Toppers (by Sunshine Ravioli) while on a camping trip.  The yarn was leftovers of Rowan Soft Tweed.  Each topper took less than a skein, so about 75 yards per topper.  It was great to use up these leftover skeins. Yarn Giveaway The Two Ewes have two giveaways this episode!  Thanks to Claire from The Woolly Thistle, (and the New Hampshire Knits podcast) we have three skeins of Blacker Yarns to give away:  Blacker Classic, Westcountry Tweed, and Blacker Swan.  All are DK weight, 50 g balls of yarn.  Go to the Ravelry group and answer the question in the Woolly Thistle Giveaway thread to be entered to win.  Thank you, Claire for supporting the podcast with these three skeins to give away to listeners!  Here are the skeins that will be given to one lucky winner! The second giveaway is one of three GORGEOUS hand-dyed skeins Kelly bought from Countess Ablaze in England.  Kelly told The Countess that she was going to use one of the skeins for a podcast prize, so she included a free tote bag in the order.  So the lucky winner will win a skein of The Blue-Faced Baron fingering weight yarn in the color "This Ain't a Scene"  and a black Countess Ablaze tote. "Advent-ewes"  The Great Poncho Adventure has started!  It's a poncho-a-long.  Details are in the episode and in the Ravelry group.  Make a poncho, a ruana, a buttoned wrap or a cloak.  Start a new one or finish a work in progress.  If you post on Instagram use #ponchoadventure

Frank's Spirit Yarn Afghan is finished and the Two Ewes are celebrating!  Project planning has begun for Marsha's next blanket and Kelly is once again making progress on the handspun Funky Grandpa cardigan. Join us for a fun episode full of fiber adventures! Marsha's Projects The epic blanket is finished!  Marsha finished Frank's Spirit Yarn Afghan and it is fantastic!  The pattern is Garter Squish by Stephen West although it was made to be bigger than the pattern.  Finished measurements are 6'8" x 5'7" and it weighs 5 pounds, 8 ounces.  This blanket contains the memories of her father Frank.  It was made from yarn that she used to make him a sweater many years ago.  It also contains the Spirit Yarn from destashes, the Goodwill, and yarns from friends (including our listener HockeyRachel).  This blanket is filled with good karma! During the podcast we had another live bind-off.  Marsha finished another washcloth or dishcloth.  This one was the Atomic Washcloth pattern and she edged it with crochet while we were talking. Kelly's Projects Kelly is back to working on her Handspun Charlotte Cardigan.  She is using the Funky Grandpa pattern and knitting with early handspun from a sheep named Charlotte. She is now working on the second sleeve and is almost done.  Next is picking up the button band and selecting buttons from her button stash. Kelly talks about the joys of knitting with handspun and the importance of not waiting until your yarn is perfect or you have found the perfect pattern. Kelly has also made progress on the blue crocheted cardigan that she is making.  The Curious Case of the Crazy Stitch Cardigan by Michele DuNaier.  The interesting construction is more curious than the stitch!  "Advent-ewes" Kelly purchased yarn from The Woolly Thistle.  St. Kilda Lace by Blacker Yarns is a blend of Soay and Boreray wool.  Yarn from sheep she had never heard of was just too much of a temptation!  For those interested in the two primitive breeds, here is a link: Sheep of St. Kilda.   Soay and Boreray Sheep Society Claire of New Hampshire Knits podcast and owner of The Woolly Thistle interviewed a US shepherd at Rhinebeck who has Soay sheep in her episode number 52.  While in the Woolly Thistle shop, she also found Manx and Hebridean yarns, both with mohair.  They are sock yarns (a bit on the heavy side of fingering weight) and will probably be part of some argyle socks for Robert. Next episode check in to hear about a giveaway of some other varieties of yarn provided by the Woolly Thistle for Two Ewes listeners! Marsha had another call from the Goodwill. (No, not on her phone, she just has a "spidey sense" about these things!)  It resulted in the purchase of 22 skeins of one type of yarn and several other skeins of a couple other brands.  Plus, she found some cones of wool and a cone of cotton/linen that she sent to Kelly.  Wow! If you enjoy the podcast, share it with a fiber friend, or two!  Send them to the website or share the podcast link with them!  Help spread the word about the Two Ewes Fiber Adventures!

Hello! In this episode, we have previews of some of the special goodies that vendors are bringing to the Yarnporium in a few weeks, and Rachel gets a wee bit worked up about a very recent design controversy (feel free to fast forward that part). Many thanks to Julie of Knitted Bliss for sharing some of her thoughts with us on the subject of modifications/mashups/originality. Grab your coffee and let's go! Shout outs, news and events: Winner of Mad Colour from Episode 46: Congratulations to Wei-Lin for being picked by Random.org to win the Mad Colour eBook from Tin Can Knits! And thanks to Alexa and Emily for provide the contest prize. 22nd-23rd October: Bakewell Wool Gathering 29th-30th October: Kendal Wool Gathering  1st November: Last day for advanced tickets to Yarnporium! 5-6th November: Yarnporium extravaganza! King's College London on the Strand, WC2R 2LS. Show will be open from 10am-5:30pm Saturday and 10am-4pm on Sunday. 10-13th November: Geeky Puffin Knit Palooza, Farnham - classes, marketplace and a London Yarn Crawl led by Alli! 12th November: Festiwool, North Herts College, Hitchin What we're working on: Allison is working on not much because she's been sick as a dog for much of the last week. But she did whip up a Zigging Hat out of the luscious Rosy Green Wool Big Merino Hug.  Rachel finished the Zigging Cowl to go with Allison's Zigging Hat. Both of these will be paired with the Yarnporium pattern, the Zigging Mittens by Renee Callahan! She's also been working on her Kippen Cardigan by Kat Goldin in secret under her desk during a work week that involved a lot of listening to audio. Then we get to the controversy that very recently blew up on social media/Ravelry: The I'll Pack A Cowl for Rhinebeck vs. Baa-ble Hat debacle brings up issues that are near and dear to our hearts here at Yarn in the City: community, respect for people's work, and fair and living wages for designers and other wool industry members. We talk with Julie from Knitted Bliss about her Modification Mondays, what actually constitutes an original design, and there are a few mentions of the dreaded "C" word (that would be copyright...). If you get tired of hearing Rachel carry on, feel free to jump ahead. Yarnporium Specials: The Yarnporium is only a few weeks away, but our vendors have some fantastic special goodies they're bring with them for the show! Blacker Yarns are bringing a selection of the delicious Rosy Green Wool Big Merino Hug that we've used to rework the Zigging Hat and Cowl by Renée Callahan from the London Craft Guide. Renée has designed a pair of mittens to complete the set and the pattern will be in the Programme Guide for the Yarnporium! Midwinter Yarns will have their wonderful, sheepy, lanolin-y Ullcentrum 3-ply, as well as a new Finnish Aran wool in six natural colours. Inspiration Knits will have her book and patterns, and spectacular yarns from Eden Cottage Yarns and Countess Ablaze!!! As well as another special surprise to be revealed later... A Yarn Story will be bringing her vast inventory of Hedgehog Fibres loveliness, as well as a very special Parisian visitor for the weekend: the yarns of La Bien Aimee. Finally, Frankie will be flying the flag for John Arbon and is bringing a specially curated selection of their best products, including the Knit by Numbers 4-ply! *** You can find the podcast on iTunes and Stitcher Radio and us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, in our Yarn in the City group on Ravelry, or in person on Wednesday nights at our knit night at The Goat on the Rise between 7 and 10pm. Everyone’s really friendly and we hope to see you there! Have a great couple of weeks and we’ll chat with you soon! Music (all available on NoiseTrade): Michigan Left - Arkells Hey Doreen - Lucius

We're back from Yarndale with lots of colourful news to share, including interviews with Alexa from Tin Can Knits (and a giveaway of their new book!) and Joy from The Knitting Goddess! Sponsor: The Loveliest Yarn Company is a new online yarn shop bringing you the loveliest yarn and knitting accessories.  Buying yarn online can be a bit fraught so they have gathered the best into one place.  They have knit, washed and worn everything so people know it’s all been tried and tested by knitters. The Loveliest Yarn Company stock artisan hand dyed yarn from Life in the Long Grass, organic merino from Rosy Green Wool, some great stalwarts of the yarn world from West Yorkshire Spinners, irresistible accessories from Merchant and Mills and lots more.  All from theloveliestyarncompany.co.uk. Podcast listeners can get 10% off in October with the code YITCEnabled2016.  If you aren’t shopping for yarn at the moment, sign up for their newsletter on the site.  Shout outs, news and events: 3rd-9th October: Spinzilla 5-9th October: Knitting & Stitching Show, Ally Pally - If you're going, please say hello to our awesome sponsor Michelle from The Loveliest Yarn Company who will be on stand C28 with her beautiful yarns! 8th October: Little Grey Girl birthday party, Countess Ablaze Studio in Manchester 9th October: YARN the movie, various locations - we'll be at Hackney Picturehouse in London 10th-16th October: UK Wool Week 15th October: Stitch Solihull stitch up 22nd-23rd October: Bakewell Wool Gathering 29th-30th October: Kendal Wool Gathering  But of course our big and exciting news is that advance tickets and workshop registration for Yarnporium the 5th and 6th of November are now available!  We're thrilled with the stellar line-up of tutors and classes that we've arranged for the Yarnporium. Classes run 3 hours each and are on both Saturday and Sunday with offerings from Julia Billings, Renée Callahan, Kat Goldin, Joanne Scrace, Juju Vail and Karie Westermann. Click here to see the list of all workshops or click here to register or buy your tickets! What we're working on: Allison is working on the sleeves of her Porpoise Fur handspun sweater (see? they're hidden in the photo above!) as well as getting ready for Spinzilla this week. What to spin? What to spin? Rachel was too busy getting ready for Yarndale (and recovering from Yarndale) to get much knitting done but did manage to finish her sweater design in The Fibre Co.'s new Arranmore yarn which will be an exclusive pattern for A Yarn Story.  Mad About Colour Our theme for this episode is a colourful one thanks to the release of Tin Can Knits latest book Mad Colour and a new collaboration between The Knitting Goddess and Blacker Yarns for Blacker's St. Kilda limited edition lace weight. We interview both Alexa from Tin Can Knits and Joy from The Knitting Goddess with lots of chatter about colour and why we love it. Mad Colour Giveaway! Tin Can Knits have kindly given as a copy of the Mad Colour e-book to give away to a lucky listener! If you'd like to enter for a chance to win, leave a comment on these show notes by Thursday, 13th October. Tell us which pattern you'd knit first, your favourite colour, and your Ravelry name so that we can notify you if you're the winner. We'll announce the winner on the next episode of the podcast. Good luck! You can find the podcast on iTunes and Stitcher Radio and us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, in our Yarn in the City group on Ravelry, or in person on Wednesday nights at our knit night at The Goat on the Rise between 7 and 10pm. Everyone’s really friendly and we hope to see you there! Have a great couple of weeks and we’ll chat with you soon! Music (all available on NoiseTrade): Michigan Left - Arkells Hey Doreen - Lucius

In this episode we talk to Caitlin ffrench about her dyeing and designing, and her soon to be released book! We also take your questions to knitting guru Juju Vail, and cover all our usual crafty topics. Plenty of giggles as usual! This episode is sponsored by Blacker Yarns. Thanks Blacker!

Hiding there until Baby Bears want their dragons.. Do you hide in your cave too? Wots e Craic - Lets Knit September Issue with Sachiyo Ishii Mini Knitted Woodland Book and Sarah Keen and her 100 Little Knitted Projects Review Section - Cornish Tin II from Blacker Yarns. Get it on 20 September and choose from 7 dyed colours with extra added grey. http://www.blackeryarns.co.uk/ UNKAL - the final winners are announced. Please contact me with your name and address to post you your prize. Legends of the Fall - Sign up by 15 September for an awesome swap. Coming Up Mum Mum Mum Section Me Me Me - Gypsy Headband by Tina Saunders using Wheal Kitty Cornish Tin II by Blacker Yarns Colour Collusion by Jan M Hamby Toothless by Nicoles Nerdy Knots Smooth Operator Socks by Susan B Anderson (I did some in the car the day after I recorded so they count in here). Shoppy Section - www.etsy.com/shop/caithnesscraft Bla Blah Blaaaah - LouiseHunt on Raverly Caithness Craft on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest. Louisej2010 on Flickr get podcast from www.caithnesscraftcollective.podbean.com

Shout outs: iTunes reviewers and some lovely Ravelry messages about the podcast and the book - thank you! Also huge shout out to podcast interviewee Clara Parkes, whose new book Knitlandia landed on the New York Times bestseller list! And we have a winner for the skein of Tamar Lustre blend from Blacker Yarns! News and Events:  16th April - A Yarn in the City talk and book signing at Knit With Attitude in London. We'll be talking about how we got started with the Great London Yarn Crawl and how the rest of our events, and now our book! grew from there. 23 - 24th April – Wonderwool Wales, Builth Wells Fairgrounds. We're going for the day with the London Guild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers, and the coach is now full! What we're working on: Rachel has finished her Honey cowl and that's all. Allison finished her Heggelia mitts and has started a sweater for a new baby and is faffing about trying to find something else in SweetGeorgia Yarns to knit. Free Your Skeins! We have a lovely chat with Jo Milmine of the award-winning Shinybees podcast and the Golden Skein yarn club, about how she started her podcast, building community, bringing people together and why you should use your precious, special skeins. New Giveaway - Wool Tribe! We have a cheeky last-minute giveaway as well - a copy of the hotly sought after Wool Tribe, the official program to Edinburgh Yarn Festival 2016. To enter, leave a comment on these show notes by end of day Easter Monday (March 28th, 2016) and tell us your favourite memory of EYF either this year or last year, or one that you say while watching the festival from afar on social media. We'll announce the winner on episode 34 of the podcast. *** As always, please let us know what you think through comments on the show notes, send us an email at hello@yarninthecity.com or via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. You can find us on iTunes or Stitcher Radio(and please consider leaving a review for us!), or download us directly from the Yarn in the City website.   And on Wednesday nights you can find us at knit night at The Goat on the Rise pub on Battersea Rise, close to Clapham Junction station in SW London. We meet from 7pm to around 10pm. The food is great and the knitters are friendly. Join us!  Music (all available on NoiseTrade):Find My Way - Brooke Annibale1000 Ships - Rachel Platten

On today’s podcast we’re chatting about some new goodies that have crossed our desks at Yarn in the City HQ and they’re two of our favourites: yarn and books! We’re reviewing another awesome new yarn from Blacker Yarns and we’ve also got chat about two new books, including one for our crochet followers.  Shout outs:  Shout outs to Sarah from Crafts from the Cwtch, Louise at Inspiration Knits, LCG contributor Catherine Hopkins and Julie from Knitted Bliss who have all written reviews of the London Craft Guide on their blogs. Thank you!   Shout out as well to Lyndsey at Countess Ablaze who’s amazing studio in Manchester is well, amazing. And a hello to all the knitters from the Joeli’s Kitchen Retreat in Manchester last weekend.  Book news:  All orders and pre-orders up to the end of February have now been sent out. If you pre-ordered a copy and you haven’t received a postage invoice from us, please check your email for a notice from Paypal, and email us at hello@yarninthecity.com if you haven't received on and let us know.  News and Events:  March 18-19 – Edinburgh Yarn Festival 2016 – marketplace, classes, general awesomeness. – Rachel will have copies of the London Craft Guide on her Porpoise Fur stand so you can pop by and take a look for that!  March 18-20 –  H+H trade show, the largest stitching-related trade show in Europe, is taking place in Cologne, Germany. 23 - 24th April – Wonderwool Wales, Builth Wells Fairgrounds. We're going for the day with the London Guild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers. Spaces are filling up quickly so check on our Ravelry board for all the details.  Note from us: we realized after recording this episode of the podcast that we teased you unnecessarily by hinting at news to this year's Great London Yarn Crawl and we're sorry we forgot to mention it! This year's GLYC will take place on Saturday, 10th September and we're once again looking for volunteer yarn guides. If you'd like to help out, please email us at hello@yarninthecity.com with "I'd like to volunteer for this year's GLYC" in the subject line. Thanks! What we’re working on:  Rachel is almost done with her Honey Cowl in handspun and is dyeing like crazy for EYF. Allison finished the Tulip Cardigan she had picked up again in the last episode, and is so close to being done with her Heggelia mitts! And is anxiously planning what new thing she’ll cast on next.  Two of our favourite things: yarn and books  Yarn Review: the new Tamar Lustre Blend by Blacker Yarns. Book reviews: Crochet Yeah! By Joanne Scrace and Kat Goldin of The Crochet Project, and Penguin by Anna Maltz. Correction: we mistakenly mentioned Navia as the yarns used in Penguin. Yarn support was actually provided by The Island Wool Company. We apologise for the error! And a giveaway! Leave a comment below telling us what you'd make with a single skein of the new Tamar in fingering weight. Name the pattern and leave your Ravelry name and we'll keep the contest open until end of day on Monday, March 14th. The winner will receive this gorgeous skein of Tamar and we'll gift you the pattern you selected on Ravelry if you don't already have it! As always, please let us know what you think through comments on the show notes, send us an email at hello@yarninthecity.com or via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. You can find us on iTunes or Stitcher Radio (and please consider leaving a review for us!), or download us directly from the Yarn in the City website.   And on Wednesday nights you can find us at knit night at The Goat on the Rise pub on Battersea Rise, close to Clapham Junction station in SW London. We meet from 7pm to around 10pm. The food is great and the knitters are friendly. Join us!  Music (all available on NoiseTrade):After the Fight - Jars of ClayDaisy Child - Brave BabyFind My Way - Brooke Annibale

My new design, Crooked Ewe Cowl, is available on Ravelry for the special introductory price of $3 until 3/1/16. In this episode I share the inspiration for the design, the curious name, and a few tips. I also talk about my recent foray into two-at-a-time, toe-up, Fish Lips Kiss Heel socks. Kindly sponsored by Quince & Co and KnitCircus Yarns. I am also a Craftsy Affiliate. Please consider visiting my web site before purchasing a Craftsy class or materials as I receive credit for it. Thank you! A big thank you to sponsors of the Knitting Pipeline Retreat: Klose Knit in Urbana IL The Fiber Universe, Peoria IL Ewe-nique Yarns, Morton IL Peddler’s Way Quilt Co Washington IL Le Mouton Rouge Knittery, Bloomington IL I am going to Curioushandmade’s Country Manor Retreat in Cumbria! March 14-17. I’m going to tie this in with a visit to my good friend in Troon, on the west coast of Scotland and then to Edinburgh Yarn Festival. At the Edinburgh Yarn Festival there is a Podcast Lounge sponsored by Blacker Yarns and organized by Louise of KnitBritish Podcast. I’ll be in the Podcast Lounge Friday and Sat March 18-19 sponsored by Blacker Yarns and KnitBritish Podcast for the Podcaster meet up on Friday 1-2 PM and on Sat as well. Show notes are found at www.knittingpipeline.com.  

As always, show notes can be found at www.stitchedtogether.co.uk. Come and join the conversation on the Stitched Together Podcast & Patterns Ravelry Group board. Stuff and ThingsSpin-A-Long 2015 winners are:Fondant Fibre Harlequin Bites - Post 13: HappyDebsSara's Texture Crafts Merino Batts in the Porto colourway - Post 8: jamiewalcottI mention the Toy KAL being co-hosted by the Victorian Studio.Done and DustedHitofude by Hiroko Fukatsu knit in Araucania Botany Lace in the 2118 colourway.Vanilla Ribbed Socks in Countess Ablaze Viscount of Spark in Riots & Revolts. Started out as Zigzagular Socks by Susie White of the Prairie Girls Knit and Spin Podcast.Nose to the GrindstoneClincher by Ash Kearns in Perran Yarns MCN 4ply in the Muddy Pops colourway.Vanilla Socks incorporating the Fish Lips Kiss Heel by Sox Therapist in Fab Funky Fibres Self Striping Sock Yarn in the Mish Mash colourway.KnitBritish Breed Swatchalong KAL using Wensleydale Longwool Sheep Shop DK and Blacker Yarns North Ronaldsay Aran.Yarn Geek Fibers BFL in the Iron Man II colourway. I am using a Neal Brand spindle in Black Palm and Ivorywood.Sara's Texture Crafts Polwarth in the Final Frontier colourway. I am using an Enid Ashcroft Vita Tibetan spindle made from Yew and Paduak.Blast From The PastFluvial by Marjorie Dussaud using Malabrigo Sock in the Violeta Africana colourway. Knit in September 2012 as a test knit.Splashed OutBlacker Yarns Cornish Tin 4-ply in the Bottalack Blue colourway and DK in the Dolcoath Turquoise colourway.Chester Wool Company Tibetan 4ply un-dyed.Online CommunityLouleigh has donated one of her bags for a giveaway. I will close the draw in 14 days. Go to the thread on the Ravelry Board and let us know why you love project bags.

Hello and welcome to the AWARD WINNING Shinybees podcast. That's right, we won 'Most Engaged Audience' at New Media Europe, which means you're officially an award winning audience! This week there's a big thank you, as you'd expect, along with my top three take-aways from the New Media Europe conference. In short: be yourself, community is key and embrace failure. If you aren't failing, you aren't learning. There's some Socktober news for you from the UK Sock Knitters group on Ravelry and BritYarn's GBSocksAwayKAL. I review Blacker Yarns' latest spin, Cornish Tin, a 10th birthday, one-off yarn, developed from ten all-british suppliers and available in one neutral and four dyed shades. Finally there's a sneak peek at what's coming in the next few weeks and months. Show notes as always are at www.shinybees.com Music for this episode is provided courtesy of Music Alley and is by Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need A Drink'.

Sue Blacker runs the Online Only eCommerce business Blacker Yarns, which is the retail side of her yarn spinning mill The Natural Fibre Company. Sue balances production, wholesale and retail to grow her business to over £500,000 Turnover. This is a business which embraces its niche customer base by understanding their needs, holding true to it's own values, and celebrating the provenance of every product they create. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

Yarn in the City is proud to be sponsored by A Yarn Story. A Yarn Story specialises in hand-dyed yarns and luxury fibres. They carry yarns from indie dyers near and far, such as The Uncommon Thread, SweetGeorgia Yarns and Life in the Long Grass. Find them at www.ayarnstory.co.uk, or in Bath on Walcot Street in the heart of the Artisan Quarter. What's going on: Allison was interviewed on Episode 7 of the SweetGeorgia Yarns podcast - go have a listen and enter to win a Soakbox! Jo Milmine of the fabulous Shinybees podcast, who very kindly interviewed us in Episode 54, has been nominated for the UK Podcasters Awards in two categories. Hooray Jo!!!! Click here to go and vote for Shinybees (don't forget to scroll down to get the Best Games and Hobbies category). 3rd September: Kate Atherley will be teaching her "Math for Knitters" class at A Yarn Story in Bath. 5th September: The 3rd edition of the Great London Yarn Crawl, and the Yarn in the City Pop-Up Marketplace, which will include the Indie Designer Spotlight. You can follow along with all the pre-Crawl chatter in our Ravelry group. You can also go here to read about our collections of charity knitting for Knit for Peace. 6th September: YITC workshops on Knit Design and Pattern Writing with Kate Atherley, Soho, London 8th September - 3rd October: Waste Nothing - Finding a Home for the Discarded, an exhibition by the London Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers happening at the crypt at St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square, London. 18-20th September - The Handmade Fair, Hampton Court Palace 26-27th September - Yarndale, Skipton Auction Mart, Yokshire 3-4th October - Swiss Wulle Festival, Zug, Switzerland 18th October - Come hear Heather Ordover of Craftlit and "What Would Madame DeFarge Knit?" fame talk about "What Knitting Does to Your Brain: the many benefits of knitting (and crocheting) - this time backed by 95% more science!" - tickets will go on sale 1st August. 23rd-26th October - Autumn Gwlana, Beggar's Reach What we're working on: Allison has finished her Reverb Shawl by Felicia Lo, which she did in a gradient bundle of Party of Five from SweetGeorgia Yarns. Rachel is still working on a series of accessory designs for The Fibre Co, in their lusciously chunky Tundra yarn (60% llama/30% merino/10% silk). But while on travels around the US visiting loads of yarn shops in the guise of checking out potential places to live, she fell down and got a kit for the Aranami Shawl by OlgaJazzy (Rav link) from Knit Knack in Arvada, CO, including some gorgeous Frabjous Fibers Wonderland Yarns.  Celebration: We are celebrating our 20th Episode (yay!), the Indie Maker community in London and the UK (hooray!), and also got to talk to Sue Blacker of Blacker Yarns about their very special 10th Birthday Celebration yarn, Cornish Tin. This yarn is made from a blend of ten different fibres, and comes in a 4-ply or DK weight. Sadly, it is only available in very limited quantities - for those of you going on the Yarn Crawl on Saturday, both Nest and Knit with Attitude will have Cornish Tin available, in advance of it's official release on 18th September! Blacker Yarns very kindly provided us with a sample of the yarn to play with AND a full skein of the 4-ply in Wheal Rose Red to give away to one lucky listener! To enter, leave a comment on this post and tell us what pattern you'd knit with this yarn. We will pick a random post as a winner. Entries are open until 11:59 pm BST on 10th September, 2015. Thanks for joining us again! You can find us on Ravelry, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, or go leave a review for us on iTunes. Please don't hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback with us, and please come say hi at any of the events we're attending if you get a chance! Everyone is also more then welcome to come join our Wednesday night knit group from 7-9 pm (or longer) at The Goat on the Rise, Clapham SW11 1EQ. We'll be there the rest of July, but on hiatus for August, with plans to start back up again after the big GLYC weekend in September. Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade)Loneliness & Alcohol - Jars of ClayMorning Light - The Dirty Guv'nahs

This week we have a little yarny news, Enablers' Corner and the Sock Surgery with Clare Devine. The Shinybees Podcast is sponsored by Blacker Yarns. Check out their new summer yarn, Lyonesse: a 50% linen, 50% wool blend, perfect for summer knitting and creating cool, breathable garments. Lyonesse is available in DK and 4ply now, in five colours and a neutral at www.blackeryarns.co.uk. Enjoy making shawls, cardigans and more this summer with Blacker Yarns Lyonesse. News wise, the winner of the Wollmeise giveaway is announced along with the start of a new giveaway. If you've even wanted a knitted Shaun the Sheep, this is the competition for you. Highland Wool Festival takes place at Dingwall Auction Mart on 23rd May 2015. Ripplescrafts needs to be top of your list if you are going (and if you aren't!) Enablers' Corner has a few pattern suggestions for summer garments in cotton, bamboo and linen yarns like those suggested in the last episode. The Sock Surgery returns and Clare is talkign about variations on the short row heel. As always, shownotes are at www.shinybees.com Music is provided courtesy of Music Alley and is Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink'.

I’m very excited to share the fifteenth episode of the Woolful podcast. Today we get to meet two fiber folks, both women with a special love for Gotland sheep and both with unique fiber journeys that have taken them to interesting and inspiring places…Sue Blacker of Blacker Yarns and The Natural Fibre Company and Kim Goodling of Vermont Grand View Farm. Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Portfiber, a wonderful shop in Portland, Maine, specializing in one of a kind, hand-dyed fiber and yarn. Casey has curated an incredible collection of spinning fiber including yak, Chiri, Alpaca, Polwarth and hand-dyed blends. You can visit Portfiber in person when in Portland Maine or shop online at portfiber.com Fiber folk 1: Kim is a passionate ambassador and breeder of Gotland Sheep, dyer, entrepreneur and hardworking mom. She runs a beautiful farm in Vermont where she hosts farm stays and a great selection of fiber related classes. She recently launched her online shop of Gotland yarns and fibers at gotlandwoolcompany.com You can find her at grandviewfarmvt.net and on Instagram @vtgrandviewfarm. For this week’s “Man on the Street” I asked a handful of fiber enthusiasts to answer a question, shared by Cady in our Raverly group. “What […]

Learn the basics of what to consider when choosing yarn for socks this week with my guest hosts Clare Devine and Kate Read. We chat about fit, durability and aesthetic and why considering each of these for your project is important. There is a rundown of the latest instalemtn from The Golden Skein Power of 3 Club, Autumn Harvest. This included yarns from Sylvan Tiger, Hartlam and Kettle Yarn Co. Finally, we have a preview of the latest yarn to be offered from Blacker Yarns in Cornwall. West Country Tweed will be available in 4 shades, undyed, blue, purple and olive and comes from sheep from just two farms in Devon and Somerset. It will be available from 14th November 2014 at www.blackeryarns.co.uk Full show notes are available at www.shinybees.com.

In which we extend our thoughts and prayers to those affected by storms near and far, and in which we discuss nasty colds, prolonged podcasting absence, rapid Master Knitter responses and successes, the end of an era in which Solveig reigned in the world of Bohus, responsible use of GPS and liquor, Finnsheep, the Knitting Pipeline Maine Retreat, visiting with dear friends, Blacker Yarns, designing colorwork mitts and more!!

Hello from the Cheshire Plain. Thanks for allowing me this moment of self-indulgence (yes, I know, a very long momemt!) Links Knit A Journey podcast; My Forest Canopy Shawl; Mum's Socks; Mum's Mrs Beetons; The Infamous Bobble Hats (apologies, I DID put a bobble on my Father-in-Law's!); Venezia and Autumn Rose sweaters by Eunny Jang; Lissuin by Ann Kingstone; Carol Feller at Stolen Stitches; Ann Kingstone; Information on Cumbrian dialect and the sheep counting system; Sheepfold; Blacker Yarns. Music: Rondopolska by Barry Philips, from the album Tråd, available from Magnatune. We have a listeners' map. Please go on over to pop in a pin - we're covering 4 continents now but I'd still love to see where you all are! Feel free to leave a comment here or at http://www.yarnsfromtheplain.blogspot.com/, or email me at yarnsfromtheplain AT googlemail DOT com. We have a Ravelry group here, so come on over to chat. You can find me on Ravelry as talesfromtheplain and on Twitter as talesfromplain (although Tweeting can be sporadic!). TTFN, Nic

Hello from a slightly overcast Cheshire Plain. In this episode I talk about the original Woolsack, twitch over big art projects and small children and say thank you. A lot. Works in Progress/Woolsack Update: To console myself after last week, I cast on a new Woolsack Cushion, using Sheepfold and Jamieson of Shetland yarns. It's a Blacker Yarns pattern, the Celtic Yarns Cushion, and Ravelry details are here. In addition, I recapped on the aims of the Woolsack project amd the origins of the word. Here is a shot for the UK Parliament's Flickr stream that I found of the Woolsack: I also interrupted myself to take a photo of this little fella: Something I really like: Llama BBQ bites! Thank You!: Thank you to everyone who responsed to my meltdown last week. The squares are starting to roll in. Thank you also to the lovely sandcola, who was my partner in the Fabric Postcard swap over on the Caithness Craft Collective podcast. Upcoming Events: Cheshire Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers are taking demonstrating and holding their exhibition at West Kirby Library on Tuesday 10th, Thursday 12th, Friday 13th and Saturday 14th April. Come along and say hello! The Guild is also hosting a Woolsack Stuffing Event at Frodsham Community Centre, Fluin Lane, Frodsham, Cheshire on Saturday 21st April, 11am-3pm. This event is open to anyone in the area to drop in and stuff your cushion. There is carparking at the Centre and refreshments. Wonderwool Wales is at the Royal Welsh Showground, Built Wells, Powys, Sat 28th and Sun 29th April. Links: Woolsack; Sheepfold; Jamieson's of Shetland; CogKNITive Podcast; Caithness Craft Collective. Music: Rondopolska by Barry Philips, from the album Tråd, available from Magnatune. We have a listeners' map. Please go on over to pop in a pin - we're covering 4 continents now but I'd still love to see where you all are! Feel free to leave a comment here or at http://www.yarnsfromtheplain.blogspot.com/, or email me at yarnsfromtheplain AT googlemail DOT com. We have a Ravelry group here, so come on over to chat. You can find me on Ravelry as talesfromtheplain and on Twitter as talesfromplain (although Tweeting can be sporadic!). TTFN, Nic

Hello from a gloriously sunny, if blustery, Cheshire Plain. In this episode I talk about my crafty AD/HD, bemoan a lack of pictures and send you a postcard from my recent break in the Lakes. Works in Progress: I cast off my Damson! It's not yet blocked, but Ravelry details are here.You can't see the loopy border in this shot, but proof that it is indeed finished. I've also been dying more yarn (Kid Silk Lace from Posh Yarn) and fibre (more BFL and also some Falkland Sliver from DT Craft & Design, and a selection of Gotland curls from May Hill Gotlands (gotland_mayhill@yahoo.com) in the Forest of Dean and carded grey Gotland from Blacker Yarns) to use up the dye solutions from last weekend. Talking of last week's marathon dying session, I used the dyed Sheepfold Clotted Cream and some black Hebredian to crochet a set of interlocking rings for the Cheshire Guild's exhibition on the theme of circles. I also took the dyed BFL fibre and needled felted it on in a series of cirlces along a length of the undyed BFL top which I'd lightly needled felted to keep the wave of the fibre visible. Of course I've not been so clever as to take photos of them before I handed them over to the Exhibition Secretary, so you'll have to wait a while, or come and see the Exhibition! Woolsack Update: I've been working on more little squares using JaneKAL pattern recipe to make up cushion fronts and backs made by members of the Guild and seaming some of them together. It looks like we could have over 30 cushions just from the Guild alone, let alone any from members of the public who come along on the day. I'm so excited! I've also started warping up my loom to weave a cushion in Wool City Wool 4ply from Texere Yarns. A Postcard from ... the Lake District: Sadly the vast majority of photographs I talk about in the clips were lost when my memory card corrupted, but I have this shot of me behind Dove Cottage... ...my Cream Tea... ...a view from the drive north from Windermere, showing Derwentwater glistening by Keswick... and a shot of some of the alpaca... : Links: Woolsack; Keswick Launch on Derwentwater; Dove Cottage; I Wander'd Lonely as A Cloud, read by Graham Williams for LibriVox; Find out more about The Terrible Knitters of Dent at the Dent Village Heritage Centre; The Alpaca Centre; Wonder of Wool exhibition at Rheged; Susan Crawford; Kate Jenkins; Freddie Robins; Joss Wrigg; Amy Twigger Holroyd. Upcoming Events: Cheshire Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers are taking demonstrating and holding their exhibition at West Kirby Library on Tuesday 10th, Thursday 12th, Friday 13th and Saturday 14th April. Come along and say hello! The Guild is also hosting a Woolsack Stuffing Event at Frodsham Community Centre, Fluin Lane, Frodsham, Cheshire on Saturday 21st April, 11am-3pm. This event is open to anyone in the area to drop in and stuff your cushion. There is carparking at the Centre and refreshments. The WOW exhibition runs at the Rheged Centre, Cumbria until Sunday 15th April and is open daily. Wonderwool Wales is at the Royal Welsh Showground, Built Wells, Sat 28th and Sun 29th April. Music: Rondopolska by Barry Philips, from the album Tråd, available from Magnatune. We have a listeners' map. Please go on over to pop in a pin - we're covering 4 continents now but I'd still love to see where you all are! Feel free to leave a comment here or at http://www.yarnsfromtheplain.blogspot.com/, or email me at yarnsfromtheplain AT googlemail DOT com. We have a Ravelry group here, so come on over to chat. You can find me on Ravelry as talesfromtheplain and on Twitter as talesfromplain (although Tweeting can be sporadic!). TTFN, Nic

Hello from a blustery Cheshire Plain. This episode is entirely focussed on the Woolsack project, including an interview with JaneKAL My Woolsack Cushions are detailed here and here. Links: The Woolsack site (www.woolsack.org) has a long list of suppliers of British Yarn. I've mainly been using yarn and fibre from Sheepfold and Blacker Yarns. Music: Rondopolska by Barry Philips, from the album Tråd, available from Magnatune. We have a listeners' map! Please go on over to pop in a pin - I'd love to see where you all are! Feel free to leave a comment here or at http://www.yarnsfromtheplain.blogspot.com/, or email me at yarnsfromtheplain@googlemail.com. We have a Ravelry group here, so come on over to chat. You can find me on Ravelry as talesfromtheplain and on Twitter as talesfromplain (although Tweeting can be sporadic!). TTFN, Nic