Podcasts about knitsonik

It's so good to be back with you bringing another series of Making Stitches Podcast to your ears!My guest for this episode is Felicity aka Felix Ford, an artist who works in colour, sound and yarn. I first heard about Felix's work when a mutual friend contacted me and suggested she might be a good guest for the podcast – she was right!Before our chat which features in this episode, Felix asked to send me a couple of her books and an invitation to join one of her online courses so I could get a proper feel for her work. I signed up for the ‘Colour at Play' Course in the hope I would be able to improve my skills at marrying colours together when I design a crochet project. In addition to this, I discovered that Felix had a podcast herself – the KNITSONIK Podcast in which she recorded sounds and wove them together with interviews, chats about her work and her own musical compositions.I really enjoyed getting to know Felix through her work, and then by chatting to her late last year ready for this podcast episode. It was genuinely joyful to hear about Felix's experiences including learning to colour match oil paint to a basket of eggs, how designing yarny covers for her walking stick diverted conversations with strangers away from her disability to her creativity and how her work with sound, colour and yarn has led her to setting up the KNITSONIK school.I have to say a huge thank you to Felix for being so generous with her time and for allowing me to use some of her music in the podcast episode. You can find the KNITSONIK podcast here if you would like to hear more of Felix's audio work. (I can especially recommend the Shetland Wool Week episode)You can find the KNITSONIK website here.For the full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches Podcast website. To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi.Making Stitches  Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.

Send us a textWhat do sound and knitting have in common? You'd be forgiven for thinking not much, but both have been constant companions across the life and career of sound artist and knitter, Felicity Ford also know as Felix. Join sobel as she visits Felix in her St Leonard's home to talk about her journey into field recording, soundscape composition and using this skillset to document the process of wool production. Felix also shares her perspective on why celebrating domestic sounds is a feminist pursuit, her maverick approach to disruption traditional notions of sonic art and how all of us can find a little magic in the everyday. In fact, isn't that what art is all about? Felix would argue. Felix also runs her own online knitting school called Kitsonik, so it only felt right for Isobel to be taught some knitting while we were there. LINKSListen to Felicity Ford's sound works >>Find out more about Knitsonik >>Read Felicity Ford's PhD Thesis on the Domestic Soundscape >>If you loved listening to this week's episode of the podcast, leave a review wherever you're listening now and let me know

In this episode, summer rain, and the last of the summer socks; the return of things from our life; baking chocolate cookies; and more glorious stranded colourwork from Knitsonik and Friends, (aka my friend, Felix.)

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 81 where I tell you all about my time at the Spring Squam Art Workshop (spoiler alert: I loved it!) and I have an FO!  There's plenty On The Needles and some plans are being hatched.  And of course, there's a Woolly Thistle update.  Enjoy!  Shownote links:   The Woolly Thistle   Squamartworkshops.com   West Highland Way by Kate Davies   Color work Playbook by Knitsonik    Breeze by Making Stories     Handy Woman by Kate Davies, coming to TWT soon       Silver Forest Yoke sweater by Jenn Steingass   Jamieson & Smith Shetland Supreme   Tidal Yarns   Honey Plum by Melody Hoffman @bmandarines     Sweet Lace Pie (pattern not released yet but is coming) by Annie Rowden @byannieclaire     Balvraid Hap by Blacker Yarns   Birlinn Yarns   Calixby Elizabeth Doherty   Blacker Lyonesse     Marie Wallin's new book BLOOMSBURY is available for preorder direct from Marie.  The Woolly Thistle will have it in stock shortly and we're getting lots more Rowan Felted Tweed DK for which the patterns are written.   John Arbon Knit By Numbers DK   Fenella by Susan Crawford Vintage now in stock and Excelana will be in the shop soon.      Tuku Sock 03 Auri for the Lotta Dress in Laine 5   By Hand 6: Blue Ridge Mountains     Amirisu     Peerie Flooers Kit     Burra Cowl Kit     Dishes from Highland Stoneware   Vintage Shetland Project sold out at TWT but there are copies available at your LYS.  More copies coming to TWT soon.  You can read Franklin Habit's review on Mason Dixon website here (who also has several copies for sale).

Thank you for listening to Episode 77 which features a conversation with Knitsonik creator Felicity Ford. Our chat took place while at Edinburgh Yarn Festival last month. Enjoy!! The Woolly Thistle Knitsonik Colorwork Sourcebook Knitsonik Colorwork Playbook will be available at The Woolly Thistle as soon as possible. #NHKmittenKAL2016 Christiandatter Mittens @scandiwork @ovisetcetera Riddari Sweater Lettlopi Magnolia Sweater @camillavad Einrum Icelandic yarn Tidal Yarns

Episode 2-5 of the podcast is now live. In this episode of the podcast, the wonderfully talented Felicity Ford aka Knitsonik joins me on location in This is Knit during her recent workshops in Dublin.This episode is jampacked with information and the more I get to chat with Felicity the harder it was to concisely sum up our conversation and still do it justice. Please have a listen to the podcast in Felicity's own words and see her warm and charismatic personality come to life in the audio. Then Pop over to cottagenotebook.ie/listen to look through the show notes. 

This week is a VERY laidback episode in my kitchen talking about the Edinburgh Yarn Festival with Felix Ford, aka KNITSONIK. Visit main page at knitbritish.net

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

KNITSONIK shares sounds recorded on her EDIROL R-09 (EDDIE) at Shetland Wool Week in 2013, 2014 and 2015

KNITSONIK shares sounds recorded on her EDIROL R-09 (EDDIE) and speaks with Patrick McGinley of the framework radio show about its 500th show.

Sophie and Lydia talk to Felicity Ford (AKA Knitsonik) and catch up on their Summer antics so far!

KNITSONIK shares sounds recorded on her EDIROL R-09 (EDDIE) to give her latest knitting projects some context and a sense of place.

KNITSONIK explores sounds recorded on her EDIROL R-09 (EDDIE) and describes designing stranded colourwork from this device. Also interviews from Edinburgh Yarn Festival and a new accordion song.

Shout outs: Thanks to Deb, who applauded our musical choices, and asked how we pick the songs, so we go on at length about that. Many congratulations to Catherine, our guest on Episode 8, who welcomed her new granddaughter last week! And a shout out from us to the people in our lives (in the knitting world and outside) who are having a bit of a hard time right now - we're thinking of you all. What's going on: 15-16th May: I Knit Fandango, Royal Horticultural Halls, London. We will be there at the Porpoise Fur booth - come say hi! 15-17th May: Gwlana, a knitting retreat in Pembrokeshire, Wales with Brenda Dayne of Cast On and Felicity Ford of Knitsonik. 16-17th May: John Arbon Open Weekend, South Molton, Devon. 23rd May: Highland Wool Festival, Dingwall Mart. 25th May: The Shipston on Stour Wool Fair, Shipston on Stour, South Warwickshire 30-31st May: Proper Woolley, Holsworthy, Devon. 20 June: the Brighton Knit and Make Social - come down to the beach with us for a day of hanging out and relaxing! What we're working on: Allison is working on a Big Brother Sweater for a newly-minted big brother, and she's going to be test knitting a cowl for Rachel in Kettle Yarn Co's new Islington DK as soon as Rachel gets a move on and writes up the pattern. She's started a new scarf with some YFP Shetland handspun (leftovers from Rachel's Nymphalidea) and a gorgeous grey DK out of stash. Cleaning up the office netted her some un-catalogued stash hiding away, so she's updated that. She's also been spinning and getting excited about Susan Anderson's book The Spinner's Book of Yarn Designs. Rachel has been dyeing. And dyeing. And dyeing some more. She's also knit up the KYC Cowl prototype (will be released at the end of June), and has done a bit of spindling on her Massive Spindle Sweaterlot. Because spindle spinning a sweater's worth of yarn is a good idea. Really. But mostly she's been dyeing. Upcoming excitement: Our special feature this week is all about upcoming events, specifically I Knit Fandango and our next Yarn in the City event - a mini-crawl in Brighton on 20 June. We highlight vendors we're looking forward to seeing at the Fandango, and talk a bit about what will be on the Porpoise Fur stand. We also chat about the Brighton trip, and the shops involved. This is going to be a very mellow and low-key event, and we really hope you can join us! Tickets are available now.   As always you can find us on Ravelry, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. 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 welcom to come join our Wednesday night knit group from 7-9 pm (or longer) at The Goat on the Rise, Clapham SW11 1EQ. Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade)Loneliness & Alcohol - Jars of ClayFierce Flawless - Ani DifrancoEverything You've Done Wrong - SloanWriting on the Wall - Bear's Den

What's going on, aka The Madness that is the Month of May:3 May: Love your Yarn Shop Day! Local events include Erika Knight at Nest (Friday night, give them a heads up if you're joining them), Debbie Bliss at Wild & Woolly and 10% off purchases at Knit with Attitude.9-10th May: Stephen West is teaching two classes at Loop in Islington - Knit a top-down shawl and Colour play the Westknits way!14th May: Knit a Tulip for ME Kick Off at Double Tree by Hilton London in Chelsea. The Nymphalidea shawl WIP - knit in Porpoise Fur fibre in the YFP and Clotted Cream colourways. 15-16th May: I Knit Fandango, Royal Horticultural Halls, London. We will be there at the Porpoise Fur booth - come say hi!15-18th May: Gwlana, a knitting retreat in Pembrokeshire, Wales with Brenda Dayne of Cast On and Felicity Ford of Knitsonik. The Mini-Marketplace on Sunday afternoon is open to the public, and will feature Triskelion Yarns, Purlescence, Beads by Laura and Hand Dyed by Kate. 16-17th May: John Arbon Open Weekend, South Molton, Devon.23rd May: A Yarn Story Grand Reopening! In their new digs at 128 Walcot Street, Bath BA1 5BG from 18th May.23rd May: Highland Wool Festival, Dingwall Mart.25th May: The Shipston on Stour Wool Fair, Shipston on Stour, South Warwickshire30-31st May: Proper Woolley, Holsworthy, Devon. Vendors include A Yarn Story (with some Porpoise Fur fibre), Midwinter Yarns, John Arbon and Wildcraft.What we're working on: Rachel's gorgeous Windmill Bay Stole is finally off the needles! Rachel has completed not one, but two things - hooray! First up is her Windmill Bay Stole, 8 stinking feet of fingering weight alpaca lovelieness. There is much relief that it is finished. She's also finished a handspun shawl for the Porpoise Fur booth at I Knit Fandango - Nymphalidea from Knitty.com designed by Melinda VerMeer, in Clotted Cream and YFP (aka fluorescent yellow) Shetland. She is still working on Painted, and has started another handspun shawl - Penrose Tile by Carol Feller.Allison finished her Green Memories colourwork hat for the Yarn in the City Not-a-KAL-KAL, and has done some spinning, as she is about to start adding to her fibre stash in a monthly fashion with the Hello Yarn Fiber Club.Charity KnittingWe start off with the amazing charity knitting done by 2014 Great London Yarn Crawlers, who donated over 150 items to our charity partner Refuge. We will be collecting again for Refuge this year, so please bring any and all charity items to the kick off party at the Yarn in the City Pop Up Marketplace on 5th September.We also recently learned about AYME (the Association of Young People with ME), an organization that supports the estimated 25,000 children and young people in the UK who suffer from myalgic enchephalomyelitis, also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. AYME is launching an awareness campaign called "Knit a Tulip for ME", with a goal of collecting one knitted tulip for every ME-affected young person in the UK in 2015. So far, they've collected 5,000 woolen tulips, and they are holding an official launch on 14th May at the Double Tree by Hilton London - Chelsea with a display of some of the tulips already contributed. The campaign also has a Justgiving page, if you'd like to make a donation. You can also email Jackie (scroll down for the email address) for the pattern and a sponsorship form. There are a number of other charity knitting opportunities out there, including Knit for Peace, which supports people in India, Pakistan and Rwanda. There's also a wealth of charity knitting groups on Ravelry, including Knit Aid UK, Charity Crafting UK, and the innocent and Age UK's Big Knit (love the smoothie hats!).As always you can find us on Ravelry, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. 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 welcom to come join our Wednesday night knit group from 7-9 pm (or longer) at The Goat on the Rise, Clapham SW11 1EQ.Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade)Loneliness & Alcohol - Jars of ClayFierce Flawless - Ani DifrancoEverything You've Done Wrong - SloanStraight for Your Heart - Sarah Peacock

Shout outs:Many thanks to Felix for a wonderful Quotidian Colourwork workshop on 26th March! And many thanks also to our participants, who were fabulous and enthusiastic and brought wonderful inspirations and made lovely swatches. A wonderful time was had by all except for Allison, who was very sick and had to miss out. Sad faces all around... Allison's knitting bag that was to be her source of inspiration for the Knitsonik workshop - another time! Felix now has a thread in her Ravelry group for people to share their swatches, so check it out for some amazing colourwork experimentation! And if you need to get any yarn for your stranded colourwork explorations, our sponsor Tangled Yarn is offering 15% off Jamieson & Smith yarns through 26th April. Just use the code "KNITSONIK" at checkout.What's going on:25-26th April: Wonderwool Wales, Builth Wells.9th May: Wharfe Wool Fair, Otley, near Leeds.9-10th May: Stephen West is teaching two classes at Loop in Islington - Knit a top-down shawl and Colour play the Westknits way!15-16th May: I Knit Fandango, Royal Horticultural Halls, London. We will be there at the Porpoise Fur booth - come say hi!15-17th May: Gwlana, a knitting retreat in Pembrokeshire, Wales with Brenda Dayne of Cast On and Felicity Ford of Knitsonik.16-17th May: John Arbon Open Weekend, South Molton, Devon.23rd May: Highland Wool Festival, Dingwall Mart.25th May: The Shipston on Stour Wool Fair, Shipston on Stour, South Warwickshire30-31st May: Proper Woolley, Holsworthy, Devon.What we're working on: Allison's finished Beeswax Hat Allison finished her Beeswax Hat in Mrs. Moon's Plump DK and it is glorious! She's also finished the first mitt for the book, and has started the second. Hooray!Rachel finished the first of her Boat Race hats, and has gotten 40+ rounds into Hat 2 before ripping it out to the ribbing and starting over again (setbacks are part of designing, right?). She's put a few more rows on the Windmill Bay Stole and, as there weren't enough things already in the works, she cast on for Inspiration Knit's Painted with her unicorn yarn - Wollmeise Pure in Edelstein.Taking care, slowing down, and a special interview with Kate Atherley:We talk about taking "Me" time, scheduling, bullet journaling and general ways to slow down and reassess at the end of the year's first quarter.  We also talk to Kate Atherley about her new book, "Pattern Writing for Knit Designers", which is an invaluable resource for anyone even remotely considering writing a knitting pattern for other people to follow. You can find Kate on her website, and purchase the electronic version of the book here, or a physical copy here. We're starting a SW London Knit Night! Come join us at The Goat on the Rise on Wednesday, 22 April from 7 pm onwards. Please pop over to our Ravelry group and let us know if you'd like to join us - that way we can be sure to book enough space for everyone. We hope to see you there!As always you can find us on Ravelry, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. If you enjoy the podcast, please go leave us a review on iTunes - the more reviews and ratings we get, the more likely other like-minded people are to find us.Please don't hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback with us, and come say hi at any of the events we're attending if you get a chance!Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade)Loneliness & Alcohol - Jars of ClayEverything You've Done Wrong - SloanSlow Down - Austin Kolb Band

KNITSONIK introduces Gwlana Knitting Retreats by Brenda Dayne. We talk about the forthcoming May edition, at which KNITSONIK will be teaching.

KNITSONIK introduces Tall Yarns'n Tales comrades, Linda de Ruiter and Andrea Franklin. We talk about textiles. Brenda Dayne reads "To be of Use" from "A Knitter's Manifesto". Gwlana May 2015 is briefly profiled.

Shout outs:Many thanks to our sponsor, Tangled Yarn, who stock a wide range of gorgeous yarns, patterns and tools including Jamieson & Smith Jumper Weight and Supreme Jumper Weight. Both yarns are spun from 100% Real Shetland Wool and are perfect for Fair Isle and colourwork. Tangled Yarn also stock Felicity Ford's  KNITSONIK book.Tangled Yarn is offering Yarn in the City fans an exclusive 15% off Jamieson & Smith yarns until April 26th. Just use the discount code KNITSONIK at the checkout. What's going on:Ongoing: YitC Not-A-KAL KAL, in our Ravelry group. First round runs through 1 June.27-28th March: British Alpaca Futurity and P-Lush show in Coventry. Mmmm...alpaca!25-26th April: Wonderwool Wales, Builth Wells.9th May: Wharfe Wool Fair, Otley, near Leeds.15-16th May: I Knit Fandango, Royal Horticultural Halls, London. We will be there at the Porpoise Fur booth - come say hi!16-17th May: John Arbon Open Weekend, South Molton, Devon.23rd May: Highland Wool Festival, Dingwall Mart.25th May: The Shipston on Stour Wool Fair, Shipston on Stour, South Warwickshire30-31st May: Proper Woolley, Holsworthy, Devon.21 June: Muse Connection Vol. 2 (sadly sold out already!), and the YitC Team runs the Nike Women's 10K in Victoria Park - details on how to join us are here.In the works:Allison has started and finished a gorgeous Saguaro Hat (designed by fab GLYC Volunteer Renée Callahan, aka East London Knit), and is still plugging away on her Beeswax Hat by Amy van de Laar. She has gotten back to work on a fingerless glove project for the YitC Book too. Just look at those cacti! The Saguaro hat - pattern by Renée Callahan of East London Knit Rachel has not finished anything, but has lots of things newly started/in progress, including a Wool Eater Blanket by Sarah London that is completely addictive. She's also working on a new design project inspired by The Boat Race, and is blogging her design process - Installment 1 and Installment 2 of her Design Diaries are up for your perusal.Recaps and Reveals!Allison had a fabulous time at the Edinburgh Yarn Festival, and managed to grab audio with some lovely people: Hamming it up with the lovely Karie Westermann - a really good sport about Alli's selfie-stick! John Arbon, from John Arbon Textiles in DevonKarie Westermann, knitwear designer extraordinaireJo, one of the co-organizers of EYF, who confirms that it's back on again for 2016. Hooray!!!!!On the Reveal side, we are thrilled to give you a preview of some of the vendors we will be welcoming to the Yarn in the City Pop Up Marketplace on 5th September 2015. They include:A Yarn StoryEden Cottage YarnsGinger Twist Studios John Arbon Textiles Kettle Yarn Co Knit With AttitudeLoopMidwinter YarnsOf Cabbages and Kings Pom Pom QuarterlySkein Queen The Fibre CoTextile GardenYAK / Yarn and KnittingYellow Bear WaresWe are thrilled to have them on board, and we look forward to being able to add even more awesome names to the list in the coming weeks!As always you can find us on Ravelry, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. 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!Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade)Loneliness & Alcohol - Jars of ClayEverything You've Done Wrong - SloanFierce Flawless - Ani DiFrancoLeave a Message - Rude King 

KNITSONIK talks about raising silkworms for a Sonic Trail commissioned by TATE Modern in 2014. Includes munching silkworms and a rehearsal of the CaBAAret song for the Edinburgh Yarn Festival.

Our sponsor: Many thanks to our sponsor, Tangled Yarn, who stock a wide range of gorgeous yarns, patterns and tools including Jamieson & Smith Jumper Weight and Supreme Jumper Weight. Both yarns are spun from 100% Real Shetland Wool and are perfect for Fair Isle and colourwork. Tangled Yarn also stock Felicity Ford's  KNITSONIK book.Tangled Yarn is offering Yarn in the City fans an exclusive 15% off Jamieson & Smith yarns until April 26th. Just use the discount code KNITSONIK at the checkout.     Shout-outs:Big thanks to Jordan, Allison's partner for his technical assistance in recording this episode's interview, and a shout out to our Bath Half marathon buddy Helen, who was sadly not able to run with us because of injury. But we'll get a chance to run with her again, as we've got a Yarn in the City team for the Nike Women's 10K run on 21 June. Details are on our Ravelry group, and everyone is welcome to join us!What's going on:Festival season is in full swing - hooray! 14-15th March: Edinburgh Yarn Festival - Alli will be in the Podcast Lounge and at the Ca-baa-ret. Please go harass her!13-15th March: Dornoch Fibre Festival, in Dornoch, Sutherland.27-28th March: British Alpaca Futurity and P-Lush show in Coventry. Mmmm...alpaca!25-26th April: Wonderwool Wales, Builth Wells.9th May: Wharfe Wool Fair, Otley, near Leeds.15-16th May: I Knit Fandango, Royal Horticultural Halls, London. We will be there at the Porpoise Fur booth - come say hi!16-17th May: John Arbon Open Weekend, South Molton, Devon.23rd May: Highland Wool Festival, Dingwall Mart.25th May: The Shipston on Stour Wool Fair, Shipston on Stour, South Warwickshire30-31st May: Proper Woolley, Holsworthy, Devon.In the works: Allison's Garter Squish is off the needles - a quick and satisfying knit! Allison is working on the Beeswax Hat by Amy van de Laar, in some gorgeous new Plump DK from Mrs. Moon,  and the Helix Cable Vest by Shiri Mor. She finished her Garter Squish Blanket (to the tune of +2000 yds out of stash!), and her sheep have mostly stayed cold, although she did get some gorgeous fabric at the Knitting & Stitching Show at Olympia.Rachel is almost done with Latticewing Version 3 (to be released soon!), worked in some lovely (green) Canopy Fingering from The Fibre Company. Her Windmill Bay Stole is almost through the middle lace section, and she's finished a woven handspun scarf (with Hello Yarn Fiber Club yarn, of course). She's been distracted from finishing things by her new Christmas toy, courtesy of her wonderful mother: a Classic Carder. Card all the things!!!!Cold Sheep Update:We've been pretty good at our cold sheep efforts, although Rachel was struck by a bolt of inspiration which resulted in a Baa Ram Ewe order (she needed the proper colour of a particular yarn!). However, we have agreed that "work" stash (for designing or samples) is quite separate from "personal" stash, so she has been given a pass for the moment.We also did a bit of swapping at The Muse Connection Volume 1, put on by A Playful Day and Curious Handmade. Alli's offering wasn't snatched up, so she gifted it to a friend to make up for the skein she selected at the swap. Rachel left two skeins and brought home two skeins, but ended up with more yardage then she swapped out. Hmmmm....Also a bit about our Yarn in the City 10K team (details here). Come run with us!Crazy about Colour!As we get closer and closer to the KNITSONIK Quotidian Colourwork class at the end of the month, excitement is building to play with ALL THE COLOURS OF WOOL! We talked to Felix, our intrepid colourwork guide, about her upcoming retreat with Brenda Dayne at Gwlana, her first knitting projects, the importance of colour and sounds in her life, her inspiration and a bit more about what participants can expect from the class. There are still a few slots available, so please come join us! A link to tickets and more information can be found here.As always you can find us on Ravelry, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. 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!Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade)Loneliness & Alcohol - Jars of ClayEverything You've Done Wrong - SloanChasing Color - The Canvas Waiting

KNITSONIK republishes a radio show about Daphne Oram, Delia Derbyshire and Maddalena Fagandini; originally created for MuseRuole in 2013.

We have a guest on this episode! Say hello to chopkinsknits. Welcome Tangled Yarn! Awesome sponsor:We are thrilled to have Tangled Yarn joining us as our first YitC Podcast sponsor! Tangled Yarn specialises in hand-dyed yarn and natural fibres from smaller independent suppliers both here in the UK and further afield. They offer free UK shipping on orders of £25 or more, or free international shipping on orders of £75 or more.Tangled Yarn also carries a tempting and colourful selection of Jamieson & Smith yarns, which we'll be using in the Quotidian Colourwork workshop that we're hosting with Felicity Ford of Knitsonik. Some of the gorgeous yarns on offer at Unravel. These beauties were on The Fibre Co. stand. What's going on:We recap Unravel briefly and chat about the following upcoming events:5-8th March: the Spring Knitting and Stitching Show at Olympia Central, London8th March: the Muse Connection, hosted by A Playful Day and Curious Handmade. Sadly, this installment is sold out, but stay tuned for future events.15-16th March: EYF26th March: Felicity Ford is coming to London to teach her Quotidian Colourwork Class with us at Homemade London. Get your tickets on the Events page!25-26th April: the 10th anniversary of Wonderwool Wales in Builth Wells15-16th May: I Knit Fandango at the Royal Horticultural Halls in Westminster, where we will be at the Porpoise Fur booth!In the works:Catherine is working on a the Vivid Blanket by Tin Can Knits, for her impending grandchild. She's also working on a pair of socks in SweetGeorgia Tough Love Sock, doing them two at a time on two circs, and doing her best to incorporate them as an accessory at every opportunity.Rachel finished her Sooper Sekrit YitC Crafty Guide sample knit in gorgeous Eden Cottage Yarns Bedale (which we may have mis-identified as camel/silk -- it's actually yak and silk. Weep for us). Other then that, she's had a knitting fail as half-term was spent trying to prevent her kids from killing themselves on skis, eating too much cheese (is there really such a thing?), and falling asleep on the couch at 8:00 pm. On the spinning front, she's decided to jump on the Garter Squish bandwagon, and is spinning up some of her teensy wee fiber stash to get started. Allison's Munchkin Blanket by Amy Swenson Allison finished her Munchkin Baby Blanket by Amy Swenson, and it is gorgeous!!!! She's on stripe 8 of 13 in her Garter Squish blanket (by Stephen West) and has wound the yarn for her GLYC Not-A-KAL KAL project. Photo courtesy of Catherine Hopkins Six Items Challenge:Catherine is participating in a clothing fast called the Six Items Challenge to benefit Labour Behind the Label, a charity supporting garment workers around the world. For six weeks, participants wear only six items of clothing from their wardrobes (knickers, shoes and accessories are thankfully exempt). Money raised in the Challenge will be used both to directly support garment workers and to campaign for further awareness.You can follow Catherine's progress on her Six Items Challenge on her blog, and find her fundraising page here (as of this writing she's the leading fundraiser for the challenge - go C!!!). You can find Scrapianna's blog here.As always you can find us on Ravelry, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. 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!Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade)Loneliness & Alcohol - Jars of ClayFierce Flawless - Ani DifrancoEverything You've Done Wrong - SloanDesperate Dreams - Jess Pillmore

Dr Felicity Ford (Artist, Oxford Brookes) Abstract With influences as diverse as Rebecca Solnit, Kate Davies, Brandon LaBelle and Pauline Oliveros, Felicity Ford’s KNITSONIK projects connect and extend dialogues within contemporary scholarship of knitting and sounds. Emphasising the sense of place perceptible in both wool and field recordings, Felicity explores how creative knitterly and sonic activities can be incorporated into daily life to positively emphasise connections between the sensing body and its territory: knitting and field recording are framed as cultural practices that can actively inform and shape our sense of place. For the Civic Matters lecture series, Felicity will contextualise and explore recent ventures pertinent to these themes such as the KNITSONIK Stranded Colourwork Sourcebook – a crowd-funded publication on the theme of translating your everyday environment into stranded colourwork and Listening to Shetland Wool – a lecture presentation given at Shetland Wool Week exploring how listening to sounds can help us apprehend textiles in the specific geographical and cultural context of Shetland.

KNITSONIK shares a sound diary, announces forthcoming workshops and social events, reviews YOKES by Kate Davies and explores the wonders of electricity as a source of knitterly inspiration.

Shout outs:Thanks to MindfulKnits, Whitehart, Scienceknitster, and Jen at the Purple Purl in Toronto for their support and feedback. Also huge thanks to Rockabella Crafts for leaving a review for us on iTunes!What's going on:1 February - the deadline to submit your entry to A Playful Day's Design-along contest! See all the details on her website, and the entry thread is on her Ravelry group.7 February - the Grand Opening of YAK (aka Yarn and Knitting) in Brighton.20-22 February - Unravel, at Farnham Maltings. We will be there on Sunday, with our mothers in tow. Come say hi!14-15 March - Edinburgh Yarn Festival in (strangely enough) Edinburgh. Allison will be around, and will be at the Podcast Lounge so go harass her and bring her pink yarn!26 March - Felicity Ford, fibre and sound artist, of the Knitsonik podcast and the Knitsonik Stranded Colourwork Sourcebook (which we reviewed in Episode 1, and you should get it immediately if you don't have it already) will be doing a workshop in Central London, hosted by yours truly. Stay tuned for more details and tickets coming soon.25-26 April - Wonderwool Wales, in Builth Wells, which we may be attending as another epic Girls' Weekend Away.In the works:Allison is still working on her Munchkin Blanket by Amy Swenson, as well as getting geared up for a quilt for the same baby. She started the Garter Squish blanket by Stephen West, but had to rip it out due to an attack of gauge goggles. She's also just started a sample knit for the YitC Crafty Guide - yippee!Alli is also participating in the Dryathlon, a fundraiser for Cancer Research UK. If you'd like to make a pledge you can find her team page here.Rachel is working on a super secret circular sample knit for the YitC Crafty Guide with some gorgeous yarn from Eden Cottage Yarns. She finished the knitting of the Heinous Ecuadoran Yarn of Doom, but now needs to dig out some yarn from her stash for the ribbing and button bands before it's all done and dusted. Her Insight Pullover is up to the armholes, and she's faffing around with stranded colourwork knit flat (booo!!!!!). Allison suggested trying out Norwegian Purling. Beth Brown Reinsel has a great video of the Norwegian Purl on You Tube.In spinning news, Rachel (ever the scientist) has been doing some experimenting with her equipment to determine which wheel is faster. The non-statistically significant sample size of one suggests that the Hansen miniSpinner, although it feels slower, is actually faster for singles then a single treadle Lendrum. Last, but not least, she has finally finished spinning up Alli's Christmas present from 2013: a sweater-lot of handspun sport weight yarn in three different shades of orange for the Gradient Pullover by Amy Miller. Watch this space for future swatching evidence!Annihilating your Comfort Zone:We talk about goals for the year, and the idea of setting CLEAR goals, rather then SMART goals. We talk about colour comfort zones, mystery knitalongs, and ways to push ourselves creatively, professionally, personally. There is a somewhat tricky analogy made by Rachel in regards to risk taking and skiing, and we admit that we've got some CLEAR goals coming up for Yarn in the City this year.Conclusions:Where you can find us: Ravelry, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. Come join us for some stash-down knitting of GLYC-acquired yarns.Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade):Loneliness & Alcohol - Jars of ClayEverything You've Done Wrong - SloanLet Go - Toby Lightman

KNITSONIK thanks Kickstarter backers who funded the production of the KNITSONIK Stranded Colourwork Sourcebook; includes sounds by Ian Rawes of London Sound Survey; Fergus Ford singing; kazoo and the sounds of the steam organ at Palmer Park.

KNITSONIK thanks Kickstarter backers who funded the production of the KNITSONIK Stranded Colourwork Sourcebook. Includes Tom of Holland; Shetland Sheep, an Irish goat and Oliver Henry, Woolman at Jamieson & Smith.

This is the official jingle for The KNITSONIK Stranded Colourwork Sourcebook. It explains the concept for the book I am producing this year after running a successful funding campaign on the popular Kickstarter website. It is a very simple jingle, it uses just 3 chords and the words are "The KNITSONIK Stranded Colourwork Sourcebook, shows you a special way to think and knit and look. It shows you how to translate things that you love into knits, to make colourwork from biscuit tins and plants and roads and bricks. The KNITSONIK Stranded Colourwork Sourcebook; if you've not heard of it you could take a look." I am sharing it with the world in celebration of the fact that my project is now fully funded, and that everyone who made this happen is awesome.

KNITSONIK explores the textures of places through knitting and sound; includes projects by Holly Rumble and James Saunders; Brighton's "Knitting the map" and knitting patterns by Brenda Dayne, Jane Dupuis, and Kate Davies.

KNITSONIK explores the idea of exploring the texture of places through knitting and sound; includes field recordings from Estonia and Cumbria, and sounds recorded on Christina Kubisch's soundwalks.

KNITSONIK explores the idea of Soundwalks; reviews "From the Sea to the Land Beyond" (a BFI DVD release) and discusses legwarmers as iconic fashionwear for celebrating female physicality.

KNITSONIK is all about site specific sounds of seas and fires. This KNITSONIK show explores the different timbres of fires to knit beside; bells in Oxford; and the soundscape of the Outer Hebrides, as presented in Cathy Lane's recent release.

KNITSONIK is all about economics and heritage. This KNITSONIK show explores the sad closure of Jacksons department store in Reading and the wonders of Shetland, where a thriving contemporary wool industry draws on a long history of hand knitting.

KNITSONIK is reflective and festive. This KNITSONIK show explores sheep bells in Dartmoor, the sonic joys of Christmas decorations, the creation of a vintage bell garland and many lovely environmental sounds recorded in Shetland.

KNITSONIK is festive! This KNITSONIK show explores the sounds of sheep bells, the joys of sonic spindling and jingling stitch-markers. It also features an accordion song.

I was touched that on a trip to the UK, (travelling from Canada) the famous Spilly Jane of Spilly Jane Knits bought her singing bowl with her, in order to give me "a sound" following all of our wonderful interchanges on Twitter over the past few years about everyday sounds, bird sounds, knitting sounds and many other KNITSONIK matters. Here is Jane's wonderful singing bowl, played in the incongruous setting of The Swan pub, near Hyde Park. Thanks Spilly Jane! #singingbowl #knitters #soundz #listening #spillyjaneknits