Podcasts about knitbritish

Joy McMillan of The Knitting Goddess joins the show today to talk about how her business has moved towards sourcing solely British and some very local yarns. Topics discussed include the difference between British and British Overseas Territory when it comes to yarn, mislabelling of yarns, wanton misrepresentation of yarns as British and what you need to think about when doing a custom blend yarn.   History of The Knitting Goddess The Knitting Goddess started around 13 years ago, and having originally been a stockist of yarns from across the world, has steadily moved to all British yarn offering. By this, Joy means mainland Britain specifically, and she works hard with UK based mills to source yarn as locally as possible even within the UK. This includes having her own, custom yarn spun, One Farm Yarn, with a total mileage from sheep to yarn of just 72 miles. Overseas Territories Joy and I discussed the difference between British and British Overseas Territories when it comes to wool: specifically here, the Falkland Islands. Whilst I am a huge fan of Falklands Merino because it is great quality and the sheep are not dipped as there are no pests, and there is no pollution, Joy is less keen. This is not because it isn't excellent quality, but because it has to travel so far to be processed, which is inefficient. We discussed the relative merit of opening a scouring plant in the Falklands and how, if fleece has travelled so far, then why not use Merino from Australia of New Zealand instead. Whilst Joy is very keen to stay as local as possible, I am more liberal in my yarn tastes, but I like to know where it is from and as much of the story as possible, so I can make a good buying decision. This brought us on to marketing and labelling of yarn. Misleading Marketing This was a big focus of our discussion, probably because it is a huge bugbear for a lot of people. Whilst it's ok to make informed choices to buy yarn from further afield, it's not ok for companies to try and pass off yarn as being from a certain place, when it isn't. Don't give a yarn British branding when it is spun in Peru, then be coy about it. That is not cool and devalues the British cachet. How Do You Find Out If A Yarn Is British (or Local?) It can be hard to know where to go to look for information on where a yarn is produced, from fleece source, to spinning and dyeing . It is definitely not a habit of yarn companies to show this sort of information, although consumers are becoming increasingly aware of it and are asking the question, thanks in no small part to people like Louise Scollay of Knit British and Felix Ford of Knitsonik and their clear labelling campaign. Joy recommends asking the mills who produce the yarn  as a first stop, but also that dyers and sellers need to make it their business to find out where yarns are produced, if they don't know already. Joy has a personal preference to buy from as close to home as possible, but advocates buying Falklands Merino (or anything else that is clearly labelled) as long as you actually get what you are buying. You know where it has come from and you have an awareness of the level of treatment of the animals and labour conditions in the supply chain, which allows informed choice. Basically, if you're buying something super cheap from the other side of the world, somebody will have paid for it somewhere down the line.   British Yarn Has Value   The number of dishonest brands trying to piggyback the British yarn label indicates clearly that British yarn has value and that these brands need to be called out on their mislabelling. Simply putting a label on in the UK does not make it British yarn.   Support Local   Joy is such a fan of supporting local as there is a rich history of wool production in Yorkshire, which continues to this day. Although she is based in the affluent area of Harrogate, she is right next to West Yorkshire, which has a high unemployment rate and associated issues which come from that. Joy believes in making a difference to local business through her business, and this ambition dictates a lot of her business decisions, even down to moving spinning of her yarns to Yorkshire-based Laxton's.   How to Design a Custom Spun Yarn   Joy has a number of custom and small run yarns under her belt, and it's an interesting subject to discuss. A lot of hand dyers buy blank yarn that is already mass-spun and has specific qualities designed for a more mass appeal product. J Joy worked very closely with Laxton's to develop her One Farm Yarn. Creating a custom yarn is mildly terrifying because you don't actually know what you are going to get until the yarn comes back, at which point, it's too late to change it. She put a lot of trust in Laxton's to help her make the right decisions, and as the company has incredibly experienced staff, which have worked in a variety of places in the wool industry, they were perfectly placed to advise and ensure success. Spinners have more knowledge about how certain fleeces and spins work together to produce the characteristics that a dyer wants in their yarn. Custom Spun Wool is the New Craft Beer   Joy and I compared the recent interest in craft beer to that of more niche breed wools and small batch yarns. What would once have been the preserve of bearded anoraks (real ale) is now super hipster and called craft beer (the beards remain but are more fashionably kempt). Has the same thing happened with yarn, and now we're moving away from the Fosters of yarn (merino) to something a bit hoppy, with bite? Listener Discount Code   Joy very kindly has offered 10% off to listeners of the show with the code SHINYBEES10 until 17thSeptember 2018. Only one code per order. Find Joy Online You can find Joy at www.theknittinggoddess.co.uk Full shownotes for this episode are at www.shinybees.com/118 Music for this episode used with kind permission of Adam and the Walter Boys, with ‘I Need a Drink', available from iTunes

Welcome to Episode 82 of New Hampshire Knits, where I share the latest news at The Woolly Thistle, and all about my latest FO, Silver Forest.  There's plenty on the needles too  and plans are coming together for TWT Fall Sweater KAL -  I hope you join me for this episode and start planning your own sweater knitting ready to join in the KAL.  Thanks for listening!.   Show notes & links: John Arbon Textiles - Knit By Numbers DK Little Grey Sheep - Hampshire DK   Susan Crawford's Fenella and Exelana   Silver Forest Yoke Sweater by Jennifer Steingass @knit.love.wool   Jamieson & Smith Shetland Supreme 2003, 2005, 2001, 2009   Calix by Elizabeth Doherty @bluebeestudio  Blacker Lyonesse Balvraid Hap from Blacker Yarns   Birlinn Yarns Peaty Brown 4ply Voe Vest by MJ Mucklestone     TWT Fall Sweater KAL on Ravelry, #TWTsweaterKAL2018 Faithmead of Wales: Teeswater, BFL, Corriedale, Leicester Longwool Louise from Knit British: #naturesshadesalong     Einrum from Iceland   Erika Knight 100 Blue   Tuku Sock and Tuku Fingering   Rauma Yarns   “Bloomsbury” by Marie Wallin calls for Rowan Felted Tweed DK    “Vintage Shetland Project” by Susan Crawford is in it's second's printing coming in the next few weeks.  Click here to be notified when preorders go live.   Laine Issues 1-5 now available Handy Woman by Kate Davies, coming to TWT soon   Kits:   Peerie Flooers by Kate Davies in Jamieson & Smith Ola Sweater Kit by Ella Gordon - sold out, more to come Burra Cowl in Jamieson Spindrift - sold out, more to come Paterson in Susan Crawford's Fenella - cover design on Vintage Shetland Project - kits available Fair Isle Cap Kit in Jamieson & Smith Heritage yarn

Clare Devine of #KnitShareLove rejoins me on the podcast this week, as we catch up with her after quite a while since her Sock Surgery days on the show. Clare is now in Australia, the country where her knitting adventure began, in a totally-unsuitable-for-knitting Broome. Now based in Brisbane, which is pretty warm, and presents its own knitting challenges. Since her last appearance on the show, which was shortly after the adult edition of her book, Sock Anatomy, was released, she's been involved of lots of exciting projects and collaborations. She's designed her first cardigan pattern, as well as working with UK dyers Joy McMillan of The Knitting Goddess and Jess James of Ginger Twist Studios. Recently, she's turned her attention to working with and raising the profile of home-grown talent in Australia. We briefly digress into the development of independent designers on Ravelry and the idea of training to be a designer.  In terms of local talent, Clare recommended Circus Tonic Handmade, a former geneticist PhD turned hand dyer. She also shared a wonderful story about Tarndie, a farm around two hours west of Melbourne. She used this yarn in a project during her first stay in Oz, having been recommended it to use for a felted bag. Around seven years afterwards, she met Jools of Woollenflower, who waxed lyrical about how wonderful this yarn from Tarndie was, and how Clare must visit when she went back to Australia. After a stint working one day a week in a yarn shop in Melbourne, the owner asked if she would like to teach at an event at... you guessed it... Tarndie. Tarndie have Polwarth sheep and have been farming for many years, The yarn is spun in New Zealand. They have also been in collaboration with Great Ocean Road Woollen Mill, which is local to them, to produce a Super Bulky yarn called The Henry. This is made from a mix of Alpaca and Wool. There aren't many boutique yarn spinners - a lot of the clip is merino, which is sent to China for processing. Clare talked about a Gotland sheep farmer called Cheryl, who is based in Victoria. She has the only flock of Gotland sheep in Australia and breeds for diversity rather than conformity. As a result, her sheep have a wide arrange of colours in the fleece. Clare talked passionately about the importance of educating customers as to why local and boutique yarns can be expensive, as well as why they can make great choices. She promotes these yarns by using them in her design work, and also because it allows local knitters to access the yarns, as many people like to knit the pattern with the exact yarn. She advocated being enthusiastic about yarns and  producers, as the likes of Louise Scollay has with KnitBritish, to help share these great products and knowledge with others. Clare can be found at www.knitsharelove.com or as @knitsharelove on Instagram. Full show notes and links are at www.shinybees.com/112

Hello and welcome to 2018! Not quite sure where the last two months went to be honest, but there you go! On the Needles Contoura by Woolly Wormhead in BabyLongLegs Mesmerino DK Mystery Hat B by Woolly Wormhead in Stanley Sport. In The Weave Shed I have taken some of the designs for upholstery that I created in project 4 at college and reworked them in very fine silks to explore the possibility of small art pieces. Yarn Shops Galore The Wool Boat - Colin and Carole's Creations on the Emma Maye. Checkout out their blog or Facebook page for up-to-date information on where they will be moored. Something I Really Like The Farmers' Country Showdown on BBC1. Rhian's episode is episode 10 of Series 2 and is available until the 15th February. Shop Update Currently there is a 20% off sale until the end of January using the coupon code CHEERUP. This is off all products in the shop as well as the brand new Dyeing Day workshops I have put up for March and June. Don't forget that if you sign up to the newsletter you will be sent regular codes for subscriber discount. On The Horizon Waltham Abbey Wool Show Sunday 21st January at the Marriot Hotel, Waltham Abbey. Edinburgh Yarn Festival 14-18th March (marketplace 15th-17th) My 100th episode! No big party like Knit British, but I thought I might have an Ask Me Anything section - those of you who have stuck with me through the last 8 years, especially the lean ones (LOL), can have a chance to take part in an interactive segment. You can either email me your question, or ask it on Twitter using the hastag #askYFTP. Links Lucy Neatby Music Rondopolska by Barry Philips, from the album Tråd, available from Magnatune. Make Contact! We have a listeners' map. Please go on over to pop in a pin - we're covering 5 continents now but I'd still love to see where you all are! Please feel free to leave a comment here or email me at yarnsfromtheplain AT googlemail DOT com. Yarns From The Plain now has a Facebook page here - come over and hit that like button! There's a Ravelry group for both the podcast and the shop, so come on over to chat. You can find me on Ravelry as talesfromtheplain, on Instagram as @yarnsfromtheplain and on Twitter as @yarnsfromplain. TTFN, Nic x

This episode is kindly sponsored by Scotch Tweed is a small family textiles firm based in the Scottish Borders. Run by Angela with a huge amount of technical and know how support from her Dad, Gerald - they have a wealth of experience in the weaving and textile trade - over 57 years to be exact!! Their aim is to bring top quality tartan and tweed fabric, along with other Scottish goods and apparel (including Highland Wear) to their customers at the best possible value. Angela is happy to speak to anyone at anytime in regards to their requirements - if you cannot see what you are looking for on the website give her a call - the number is on the website www.scotchtweed.co.uk and is a UK Freephone Number. Firstly there is the Caithness Segment where the War of the Orange fruit is concluded. Then Blether with The Aftermath Wots e Craic Watching Knitting Dish Videocast Hawthorn Cottage Videocast Louleigh Knitting Videocast Nadia of Cottage Notebook podcast Happy 100 Episodes to Twinset Designs and Knit British. Loch Ness Knit Fest 19-21 October Custom Socks Knit to fit your feet by Kate Atherley Circular Knitting Workshop by Margaret Radcliffe Swap Run down of the Christmas/Winter decoration swap 2017. Thank you everyone for taking part. Especially Purplepollypocket. Me Me Meeee Section Fireflies Rising by Helen Stewart Scourie Hat by Woolly Wormhead Moonraker Cowl by Kourtney Robinson Arboreal by Jennifer Steingass Crochet - Groot from Kati Galusz, SpiderMan by Kati Galusz I am Groot by Mary Annarella Sewing - Tweed from Scotch Tweed and Harris Tweed. Pattern is https://www.amazon.com/10-Minute-Blocks-Suzanne-McNeill/dp/1574216694 by Suzanne McNeill Shoppy Section www.etsy.com/shop/caithnesscraft Or PayPal.Me/Caithnesscraft Drams Glen Orchy Blended 5 year old from Lidl Blah Blah Blaaaa Section Louise Hunt on Raverly, Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram as CaithnessCraft

Welcome to The Crochet Circle Podcast and the show notes for Episode 23 - I blinked and it was December.   In this episode, I cover: Quick news beats; Old dog, new tricks; FOs; WIPs; Feeding the habit and 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:   1 - Quick news beats #Fridayisdyeday - It was great to see people dyeing on #Fridayisdyeday.  If you are interested in having a go, take a look at the blog post that I pulled together.  #Fridayisdyeday takes place over on Instagram on the last Friday of every month.     If you fancy having a go, it would be great to have you on board.  You don't need to dye, you can simply show off what you are making with indie dyed yarn - it's all about celebrating hand dyed.   We even have a theme tune.  Lyndsey's husband Alan thought he would be cheeky and sing a song all about it and Lyndsey's love of wool.  I have added the video to the end of the podcast.   Global Hook Up - a quick update on this one.  The platform that I was hoping to use was Google Hangouts but it isn't fit for purpose.  I need to find a platform whereby there can be a certain level of interaction and as many people as want to can join in and see what is going on. I'm not quite back to the drawing board on this one because we (Matthew has been in his office doing test calls to me on my laptop in the dining room) have looked at so many platforms.  Some are clunky, some don't do what they promise and some simply can’t offer what they are advertising.  We are now looking at an app called Zoom.  Whilst you do have to download it, it's pretty user friendly and Grace from Babbles travelling yarn podcast is using it for Virtual Knit Nights. My plan is to work this up over the festive period and when I am ready to do a test session, I will pop a thread up in Ravelry giving you all the details for those that want to help with that session.   My sincerest apologies for those of you that were waiting in YouTube for a live broadcast on Saturday 25th November.  I had cancelled it but YouTube had other ideas.     CALs for 2018 - Thank you for all the fab ideas so far.  Keep them coming in.  In the January podcast I will announce what the CALs will be for 2018.    Christmas Eve CAL - Charlie from Love Charlie podcast and I are teaming up together to host the One Skein Wonderland CAL.  You can hook on at 00.01 on the 24th December.  The idea is to look out that special skein of yarn (100g) or maybe you have one coming as a present on the 25th? I have mine already and I am allowed it on the 24th! Woohoo.  Feel free to make a project up with mini skeins if that is what you want to do.  We aren't going to be really strict.  It's more about having a special skein to work from and a quick project that you can fly through during the holidays.   There is a thread on Ravelry so that you can suggest one skein projects.  Thank you for all the suggestions so far.  If you go to The Crochet Circle Group (not forum) in Ravelry, you will see bundles on the right-hand side.  I have added a load of others too, from hats and shawls to toys and market bags.  Any new suggestions to the thread will also be added to the bundle.   We have three prizes for this CAL.  A lovely project bag from Emya handmade, The Accessories Project Book One (signed by Kat and Joanne) and an icing dye kit from Charlie.   Special Skein Competition - I have a quick turnaround competition for you this month.  Gilly from Fjord Fibres has kindly donated a skein of her Norwegian wool blend yarn - it's lush.   The deadline for the competition is going to be Friday 8th December at 12pm, so that I can get the prize into the post early the next week and hopefully the recipient has it for the Christmas Eve hook on.   To enter you must do one of two things but feel free to go for a double entry and do both: 1 - Go to Ravelry and in the thread, say which of Gilly's colourways you would most like to work with and why. 2 - Go to Instagram search for my post on the competition (it will be published at some point on the Friday), make sure you are following Gilly, Charlie and me and comment on what you would make with the skein that is up for grabs.   I will draw a winner through random number generation on Saturday 9th December.  Good luck. Gilly is also offereing readers a 20% discount code in her Etsy store, you just type in CCP20 at check out.     Festive Shoutouts Episode - I hear from a lot of listeners and watchers that the people they live with, be it friends, parents, partners, they have to put up with your love of podcasts.    To give something back, I want to do an extra podcast that will go live on Christmas Eve where I give shoutouts with your messages.  I have run this past a couple of people already and the answer was that this would be well received and a bit of fun.   If you would like me to read something (it can be funny - nicknames are 100% encouraged) out to someone special in your life then go to the Ravelry thread.  I will then record the messages in advance and press publish on Christmas Eve.    I will not be wearing a Christmas outfit but may have a Christmas decoration up, a mince pie in one handy and a cheeky Amaretto in the other.   2 - Old dog, new tricks I have a couple of quickies for you this month.   The first may be known by some of you but I happened across it when I was scrolling through Ravelry the other day.  Quite a while ago Ravelry started asking whether your pattern was in US or UK terminology when you uploaded a new one.  The first time this happened I emailed Ravelry and asked whether they planned to start filtering projects out on terminology.  They said they may do at some point but there were no plans in the near future.   Now, if you start using the filters down the left-hand side when you are searching for patterns, there is a filter quite far down for Crochet Terminology and it is split into UK, US and unknown.  I know that many people struggle with knowing which terminology a pattern is in.  I'm not saying this is fail-safe, but it may help some of you.    The second is all about socks again - I may be obsessed!  I have a load of shop-bought wool and silk-blend socks.  They are threadbare on the soles, toes and back of the heel but the calf and top of the foot is fine.  I hate throwing things out that still have some life in them through a bit of reuse and creative thinking.  I am the kind of girl that will eat a previously unopened yoghurt even if it's a month out of date.  If it smells alright, eat it!   I currently have eight pairs of socks that have worn through and I'm not willing to just pop them in my compost bin.  Instead, I have turned them inside-out and machine sewn them across the bottom of the calf area.  I then cut below the sew line (make sure you cut towards the heel and not towards the cuff).  Turn the sock back out.  Et voila you have a perfect sized pouch for a 100g cake of yarn.  If you do a centre pull cake, you will have a lovely little protective pouch around your yarn that saves it from being dragged along the floor, picking up dust, getting tangled...      It takes just a few minutes to make these up and they are amazing for yarn management and storage in your project bag.  I'll come back to you next month with whatever scheme I dreamt up for the remaining part of my socks.  Now, where's that yoghurt?    3 - Finished Objects  I was vending at Nottingham Yarn Expo in November and the preparation and aftermath of that have really impacted on my crafting times.  I have still managed to whip through some bits and pieces though.   The biggie is my Homebody Sweater designed by Megan Shaimes.  I have added project notes giving all of my measurements, row and stitch counts.  Just go to my projects (MaDashper) and you will see it in there).  I am so chuffed with this jumper.  I fiddled around with the yarn, using 4 ply rather than bulky and came down to a 4.5mm instead of a 6.5mm hook so that I could get a tighter fitted jumper.  I love the way my hand dyed wool turned out.  I was aiming for a proper 80s stone washed denim affect and am really pleased with the outcome.  The jumper only took 281g so I have 210g left over and plan to make a big squishy cowl with it because the Bluefaced Leicester (BFL)/Masham mix is light, airy and oh so warm.    Next up was a very quick make.  Off the back of finishing a jumper and having a deadline cardigan to knit, I wanted a project that I could tackle in a morning.  This mini hot water bottle cover was featured in Issue 21 of Crochet Now and was designed by my friend Helen Eccles. I crocheted it using a beautiful skein of The Little Grey Sheep's Hampshire DK.  It's lovely wool, quite full for a DK and the tonal shifts in the skein are beautiful.  You think it's a solid colour and then you see a little patch of seaweed greeny/brown. All in, this took me about 4 hours to make and it required about 47g of DK using a 4mm hook.     The final bits I have been working on are hand embroidery.  I have started selling embroidery bag kits in the shop which means that I have to make some up to show off.  I really loved choosing which colours would go where.  For me, I got the relaxation of adult colouring with a useful project bag at the end of it.       4 - Works in progress I have one major WIP on the go at the moment - a knitted cardigan.  I've not got much further than the rib and I have to have it finished for Christmas Day...   ...hmmmm.  I have worked out that I need to be averaging about 10 rows a day throughout December to hit the deadline.  A knit row takes about 10 minutes and a purl is 15.  On the upside, the sleeves can be started now rather than when I am at the end of the body parts, so I can at least break up the monotony of purl rows with more knit rows.  I sincerely hope my friend Frazer appreciates this.  He is one of less than a handful of people I would make this much effort for and it is the only one he is ever going to receive from me.     5 - Feeding the habit  So, it looks like a lot, but I only bought one skein - I promise. Glacier and Moroccan Tagine - both by Fjord Fibres (Glacier is my Christmas skein from Matthew and Gilly sent me Moroccan Tagine as a treat - I am very lucky).   Bear in Sheep’s Clothing - Killadoon. Bernie and I did swapsies at Nottingham Yarn Expo.  She got a bear bag embroidery kit (of course) and I got wool (of course).     North Ronaldsay Wool - I didn't buy this from Brit Yarn for a specific design but there is a design purpose behind it.  I want to get to know our British breeds a little better and Louise at Knit British is running something called Wool exploration in 2018 with a new breed being reviewed and discussed each month.  First up is North Ronaldsay, then it's Gotland, Ryeland and Jacob (all of which I already have in my stash).  My plan is to report back each month and let you know how I get on and build up something - possibly a blanket, but mainly my knowledge of how British breeds handle and which are best suited to the types of crochet I design.     As for these goodies, my pin was a gift from the ever-lovely Claudia at Crochet Luna podcast.  I tried to buy one and I wasn't allowed!  The crochet hooks are rather special too.  I commissioned them from Hayley of Fireweed Fibres.  Not only does she dye yarn, she also goes stick foraging.  These amazingly ergonomic and tactile crochet hooks are individually chosen as a branch by Hayley before prep, whittling, sanding, varnishing and pyrography.  I cannot tell you how lovely these are as things of beauty and as crafting tools. If you would like something similar, just drop Hayley a line, she is very lovely.      My Dad was on a trip to Iceland and this little lot turned up this morning.  It's a new to me yarn from from a new Icelandic producer, Einrum and is an 80:20 mix of Icelandic wool and Mulberry Silk from Thailand.  I have a design in mind for this, I just need the time to get my hook out!     6 - What's Good My brain is starting to filter through what I want 2018 to look like. At the beginning of every new year, we sit down and write a list of all the things we want to achieve in the following 12 months.  It can be silly stuff or major goals to be achieved.   As part of the January podcast I want to review my 2017 craft goals, set new ones for 2018 and give you a bit of a run down for what I want to achieve personally, professionally and with the podcast.  Not wishing to get all business-like, but this way of thinking gives me clarity and means that I deliver an interesting (hopefully) podcast every month.       Until 2018 - I cannot believe that I have just typed that.   Fay x   Instagram: Crochet_Circle_Podcast  Instagram: provenance.craft.co   Instagram: FayDHDesigns YouTube: The Crochet Circle Podcast Crochet Clan on Mighty Network: Invite  

welcome to episode two

I visit Ginger Twist Studio in Edinburgh

Fair Isle, Colour consuming and squishy yarn

I have knit festival FOMO

The first tentative steps into podcasting!

Hello and welcome to the CLN podcast. Today’s show is part of the Cottage On Tour series where I leave the cottage behind for a little adventure. So grab that cuppa and settle in to hear those voices of Knitbritish, Jared Flood, Carol Feller and Tin Can Knits to name a few. Today’s show is […]

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

Happy Halloween everyone! We've got a bonus podcast episode for your listening pleasure today, and hopefully it will whet your appetites just a bit more for Yarnporium! 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, November and December with the code YITCEnabled2016.  If you aren’t shopping for yarn at the moment, sign up for their newsletter on the site.  News and Events:  The are no new events. Just the Yarnporium. Happening November 5th and 6th. November 1st is the last day to get your early bird pricing on advance tickets.  After that you'll have to pay £10 for a day ticket and £15 for a weekend ticket. OK, it's not entirely true that nothing else is going on... 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 Entire month: we hope you’ll join along with Felicity Ford of Knitsonik and Louise Scollay of Knit British in the celebration of all things wool that is WOVEMBER. What we’re working on:  Rachel is knitting Green Memories by La Maison Rililie.  Allison is comfort knitting. Destressing with a Hogwarts scarf for Harry and the slowly growing Garter Goodness shawl by Stephen West.  More Yarnporium awesome-ness: There are a few more Yarnporium special events to highlight: Pom Pom Quarterly will be hosting designer signings with Stephen West and Justyna Lorkowska! Justyna there on Saturday from 11am to 1pm and Stephen from 1-3pm. Stephen will also be around on Sunday from noon to 2pm.  A Yarn Story will be bringing in an uber special exclusive: La Bien Aimée hand-dyed yarn from Paris. AYS is bringing a selection of colours on the Merino Singles base. They will also be bringing yarns from Hedgehog Fibres, The Fibre Co., Julie Asselin and SweetGeorgia Yarns.  Inspiration Knits designer Louise Zass-Bangham will be bringing her book Knit Play Colour along with yarns for many of the patterns. She will have a wide selection of yarn from the Countess Ablaze (who NEVER does yarn shows but sells online only or out of her Manchester studio) and also a wide variety from Eden Cottage Yarns. It's a lovely way for both of these yarn companies to be at the Yarnporium when they couldn't otherwise!  Midwinter Yarns have a new Aran weight yarn in 6 natural shades called Suomivilla that they are bringing to the Yarnporium. They also have official Baa-ble Hat kits that include the original pattern by Donna Smith, or people may be interested in getting the yarn to make Donna's new hat and cowl pattern!  Kettle Yarn Co. are debuting their brand new Baskerville DARK yarn which contains more Gotland than the original for added depth and halo to Linda's already gorgeous colours. She's offering 10% off purchases of Baskerville DARK skeins to the first 10 customers who use the codeword "GOTLANDFOREVER".   We're also delighted that designer Karie Westermann is joining us all the way from Glasgow. Karie doesn't get down south too often to teach so we feel it's a real coup to have her! Even better, Karie has designed a brand new workshop that is being taught for the first time at the Yarnporium: Knitting the Landscape. In this workshop Karie will help knitters explore how to express their memories and thoughts of a specific place through their knitting using texture, stitch patterns and colour.  While we're crazy for all the yarn fumes that will be at the Yarnporium, it's also a perfect weekend to start Christmas gift shopping and many of our vendors will have non-yarny items for all the BKFFs out there include Wendy Fowler's gorgeous yarn bowls, glass stitch markers brought in by C.C. Almon of JavaPurl Designs, and wonderful project bags by The Little Grey Girl. Joe's Toes and The Knitting Shed also have fantastic kits if you'd like to make something for little people on your list.   We're also excited to welcome new vendors Mahliqa (knitted jewellery kits), Chunky Row and Once Upon a Time Skeins as well as local to London yarn dyers Travelknitter, Whimzy, The Wool Kitchen and Easyknits and local fibre dyer Porpoise Fur!  Finally, Sarah from Crafts from the Cwtch will be taking over our Instagram feed on the Saturday of the show - be sure to say hi! Woolly Wovember:  WOVEMBER is an amazing grass-roots movement to recognise and celebrate wool in all it's forms. Read their open letter to the Campaign for Wool and see how to get involved. We're also going to take part in Vestvember - come join in! *** 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

Got knitting goals for 2016? Lots of wild plans? Let me help you get super focused with my five top tips for knitty goal setting. For not the first time on the podcast, we talk about David Bowie's package and Labyrinth. Join us on the first Shinybees Virtual Knit Night by becoming a patron of the podcast over at Patreon. In Enabler's Corner, it's about KALs again with the Nature's Shades KAL at KnitBritish and the Vintage KAL at The Golden Skein. Then we have a lot of chat about goal setting. Lots of people hate goal setting. Goal setting for knitting can help you achieve your ambitions this year, done well. I have put together 5 tips for setting goals so you make progress without being overwhelmed. In the review section, Woolly Wormhead's 'Painted Woolly Toppers' takes centre stage. It's written for hand painted yarns and comprises of ten patterns for hats. It's a great looking book with lovely styling and very interesting construction on the knitting front. Show notes are at www.shinybees.com Music for this episode is Adam and The Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink'.

The Two Ewes want to shine a spotlight on Front Range Bags by Nancy Totten. Nancy has generously offered a project bag from her shop to a lucky Two Ewes listener. Kelly has one of her bags in SF Giants fabric and it's great! High quality, nice and roomy, and lots of handy features. It was the perfect bag for the Crackerjack Cowl project during baseball season. To enter, take a look in the Front Range Bags shop and report back to the contest thread in the Ravelry group. Tell us which bag you like best (exclusive of the custom orders) and let us know about your favorite features in the project bags you use. A winner will randomly selected during our podcast episode 30. Thank you Nancy! We appreciate the opportunity to spotlight your bags and your shop! Marsha finished her Antarktis Shawl by Janina Kallio. The color is brighter than any photo can show! Marsha continues to work on her Lanata Cardigan by Amy Christoffers and her Virus Shawl for the Two Ewes Crochet Along. Kelly is continuing her crochet along project which she is calling Hippopotamine. She is using the Happypotamus pattern by Heidi Bears. She is also obsessed with finishing A Bigger Affection using the Color Affection pattern by Veera Valimaki. A big oops! on the Crazy Vest needs to be repaired with surgery. It's the Mielie pattern by Hilary Smith Callis. Kelly's only finished project is a swatch of 2-ply, handspun Wensleydale for the Knit British Breed Swatch Along. Here is a link to the Knit British podcast episode and blog talking about the Swatch Along. Kelly's swatch is also a sample of yarn she is now making for her Aunt Betty for a vest from the Wensleydale. Marsha had a few "advent-ewes," one of which was Fiber Fusion, where she watched the fleece judging and succumbed to wool fumes and bought two more fleeces! One is a silver Gotland and the other is Romeldale in a variegated color. On the second day of Fiber Fusion, Marsha attended a class on how to select a fleece. The class was taught by Judith McKenzie (a national treasure if ever there was one!). Marsha also visited Yarnia in Portland. At Yarnia customers create yarn by combining strands from multiple cones into one one-of-a-kind yarn. Kelly had an "advent-ewe" of her own at the Pacific International Quilt Fest. This included a giant exhibit of mind-blowing textile art! A photo gallery will be posted in a separate blog post. Meanwhile, here is a link to this year's competition winners!  

We're back with a little light enabling in the form of the #Scollaykal in Enablers' Corner this week. Head on over to KnitBritish and BritYarn to find out more. In news, it's Woolfest this weekend coming and I am looking for a roving reporter to give us the skinny on what the show was like. Want to help us with our MakeItFit2015 statistical analysis? head on over to our survey and input your vital statistics (and a few other measurements). In Wippin' Piccadilly, there is Lush by Tin Can Knits, Owls by Kate Davies and Guardian Angel by Sally Cameron. Finished objects include Aestlight by Gudrun Johnston and Lapsang by Clare Devine. How do you store your finished objects? There's lots of chat on how to store stash, but what about all the stuff you've knitted? There are some outtakes from The Beast which cover a couple of yarn reviews. And lion hair. Shownotes as always are at the blog - www.shinybees.com Music for this episode is by Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink' available via Music Alley.

Welcome in to another episode. This week we have some yarn based news for you. There will be a trunk show at Fluph in Dundee on 27th May 2015 with Nic from Yarns From The Plain, from 2pm-8pm. Also, there's a new group on Ravelry for those hopelessly overcommitted types; The Hotel For The Hopelessly Overcommitted. Come and join the fun there if you ever feel slightly stretched on the knitting front. In Enablers' Corner I announce the collaborative project between myself and Louise Scollay of KnitBritish podcast: Make It Fit 2015. It's going to be an investigative piece looking at lots of different aspects of knitting to fit, with the aim of empowering you to tailor garments to your requirements. It will take place mostly on the blogs and you can contact us at makeitfit2015@gmail.com. There are a couple more yarn recommendations for summer knitting courtesy of lovely listeners. Finally, Wippin' Piccadilly is back with not a great deal of progress! How do you keep your knitting on track? Shownotes with all links are available on the blog. Music is provided courtesy of Music Alley with Adam and the Walter Boys and 'I Need A Drink'.

Short rows are for life, not just for Christmas. We embrace the short row this episode in the Sock Surgery, where Clare Devine joins us again and we start our new sock for April. In Enablers' Corner, we chat about the #hapalong being run by Louise Scollay of KnitBritish. Ever been interested in traditional Shetland knitting? Now's your chance to learn a little more! There's a giveaway of a skein of Wollmeise to members of the Shinybees Ravelry group. To enter, hop over to the thread on Ravelry and tell me what your favourite bit of the podcast is. The Sock Surgery introduces the short row heel and different methods for doing short rows. Clare also reviews Big Foot Knits by Andi Smith and there is a giveaway on her blog at www.yarnandpointysticks.com. To ensure you never miss an episode, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or your podcatcher of choice, or on the blog to receive notifications straight to your inbox. As always, shownotes are at www.shinybees.com and music is provided by Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink' via Music Alley.

Hello from the M40. Listen in as I prattle on to keep myself awake on a trip to Oxfordshire! Off The Needles I finished the Sheep Yoke Baby Cardigan! I love the little sheepy buttons, which came from Textile Garden at Unwind Brighton.       I also got round to blocking my Rainbow Revontuli made with my Krafty Koala merino nylon   WIP Crack Away! So lovely to see all the finished items clocking up! No one has yet finished up a WIP that is as old as my whale... You can take a peek in the thread here. Don't forget it's being co-hosted with the Knit British I'm chugging away slowly on my Dorothy, a Natural Dye Studio pattern. Good job crochet blocks don't need much bandwidth...Something I Really Like Podcaster meet ups! I also want to say thank you for my little project bag from RunKnitDig, which I was given at Unwind Brighton. Also plotting and planning the PodRetreat....Upcoming Events PodRetreat is back! If you are interested in joining me, Jo from Shiny Bees, Louise from Knit British and Chrissy from Stitched Together in Chester Thursday 19th- Sunday 22nd February, the rooms are ensuite and cost £160. If you're prepared to share, the price will drop to £80. There will be an additional £10 towards breakfast and evening meals. There will also be a meet up at some point on Saturday 21st February.LinksCaithness Craft CollectiveKnit.Spin.CakeHarbour YarnsGeeky Girls KnitiMakeA Playful DayMusic Rondopolska by Barry Philips, from the album Tråd, available from Magnatune.Make Contact! We have a listeners' map. Please go on over to pop in a pin - we're covering 5 continents now but I'd still love to see where you all are! Please 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. TTFN, Nic x

Get your game face on, we're going to play. Blether - Games Hello Section Wots e Craic - Rebecca Danger Books, 50 yards of Fun, Knit a Monster Nursery and The Big Book of Knitted Monsters. Thank you Sue. Shoppy Section - www.etsy.com/shop/caithnesscraft for Tartan tastic project and tote bags. Still a couple of Outlander bags available. Castle Fraser Throughout the Year by Aurelie Colas which is a wonderful knitting eBook via Ravelry Pass it on - Wollombidreamer suggests this blog for Kitchener Stitch help. Thank you. http://techknitting.blogspot.com.au/2007/05/easier-way-to-kitchener-stitch-also.html Swap Knitalong Lush Cardigan Knitalong be done by 14 September and there are loads of prizes by following myself, Knit British, KnitSpinCake or ShinyBees chatter threads. Me Me Me - mostly gardening. Drams - Isle of Skye Blended Malt Whisky. Contact info - caithnesscraftcollective@gmail.com  Ravelry as LouiseHunt, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Etsy as CaithnessCraft  Flickr as louisej2010 and www.caithnesscraftcollective.podbean.com

Wots e Craic Mentioning the Dear Green Shawl by Anna Fisk via pHop Undone Capelet by Catchloops, Elanor King, Pebble Beach Shawl by Helen Stewart The Golden Skein yarn club http://www.thegoldenskein.com/ New podcast - Plutionium Muffins via iTunes or http://www.plutoniummuffins.com/ Shoppy Section Please visit www.etsy.com/shop/caithnesscraft for some new tartan project bags including Outlander Inspired Ancient Fraser Tartan bags. Swap Cake Swap - Post by 20 August One Cake recipe and 3 cake related items. Knitalong Lush Cardigan by Tin Can Knits.  Follow the chatter around Knit British, ShinyBees and Knitspincake podcast groups on Ravelry. Brilliant prizes and lots of blethering going on. Me Me and Meeeeeeeeee Section Totally Vanilla Socks by Socktapus Beginners Lace Shawl by JuJu Vail via the Loop London website Lush Caridgan by Tin Can Knits Drams with a Kilchoman Single Malt Whisky Contact me at caithnesscraftcollective@gmail.com  Ravelry as Louise Hunt and Group is Caithness Craft Collective. CaithnessCraft on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter. Flickr as LouiseJ2010 Music is by Marc Gunn with Wild Mountain Thyme via www.musicalley.com

Nothing to do with James Bond and everything to do with the return of the pattern pick this week, on the theme of Octopus. Octopi?! We have a round up of the lattest knitting news and anouncements, with the eagerly anticipated Unwind Brighton festival taking place on 12-13 July. There is also the launch of a fabulous new collaboration between Clare Devine of Yarn and Pointy Sticks and Sock Anatomy fame and the wonderful Jess of Ginger Twist Studio, who is dyeing the yarn for the colection. Keep your ears open for Scotland's answer to Unwind - The Edinburgh Yarn Festival. There is some knitalong news from P-Hop, who are running a Commonwealth Games KAL and from my good self, as I am teaming up with the Louises of Caithness Craft Collective and Knit British podcasts and the ever amusing Aimee of KnitSpinCake podcast. We're going to be doing a Lush Along of the Lush cardigan by Tin Can Knits. Lots of lovely prizes lined up, so come and join us. The pattern pick, as mentioned, covers a variety of cephalopod delights. I review Fluph in Dundee for our Yarn Shop Review and then there is a quick Wippin' Piccadilly update to ease those of you who are worried about the state of my knitting mojo.

This episode is now dedicated to our hero Moiraeknittoo from Ravelry who helped me upload this episode. Get that ski outfit out for we are going for Freshies at the top of the ski slope. My blether is about Fresh and New and how to keep it going. I recommend you go listen to our Louise Scollay on Knit British podcast on iTunes or www.knitbritish.net New thread for support for Running people on the Caithness Craft Collective Group on Ravelry and you can then go find CorrieBerry's knitting running pattern. Its very funny http://www.plutoniummuffins.com/couch-5k-knitting-pattern/ Swap for the under a kilo box should be posted out about the 1st February please. Anything crafty in a box/bag 950-999g. Recommendation to go look at http://www.keenedgeknives.com/ and then befriend JDoll25 on Ravelry and help her along with her knitting. I just think she's lovely. Strandwanderer Shawl by Lea Victoria - Thank you to the giftee she's very lovely - I didn't say that on the podcast and meant to. Baby Eyelet Cardi by Linda of ClickertyClick Infinity and Beyond Broomstick Lace Infinity Scarf by Heidi Nieling Caithness Segment has a bit about the wheeling and deeling of the kings in charge this episode. Shoppy Section - I have a good deal for you in there. But you may have to be quick. https://www.etsy.com/shop/caithnesscraft caithnesscraftcollective@gmail.com LouiseHunt on Ravelry CaithnessCraft on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram Etsy www.caithnesscraftcollective.podbean.com  Flickr - LouiseJ2010 The music is Lizzie Davies with All about the weather from www.musicalley.com