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This week I'm digging deep on Leah's Friendship Sampler Quilt and running loads of math calculations and drawing diagrams. It's a lot of work in a short space of time that needs to be done before Thanksgiving! So this episode is just a quick check in on how things are going as I relax and pack away my collection of lace scraps into a new apothecary cabinet. Read more here: https://freemotionproject.com/2018/11/pattern-writing-in-a-hurry-quilting-friends-podcast-82.html
Meet Nika Gordham-Harrison and learn how she started quilting just a few months ago and is already designing her own quilts and writing patterns. Discover why she felt pushed to design her own quilts and what inspires her designs. The second half of the podcast, I turn it over to Nika and she asks me questions about writing and selling quilt patterns too. You'll get to hear from us both in this episode and get a unique take on quilting design and pattern writing! Find the show notes here: https://leahday.com/episode59
Yarn in the City is proud to be sponsored by A Yarn Story. A Yarn Story specialises in hand-dyed yarns and luxury fibres. They carry yarns from indie dyers near and far, such as The Uncommon Thread, SweetGeorgia Yarns and Life in the Long Grass. Find them at www.ayarnstory.co.uk, or in Bath on Walcot Street in the heart of the Artisan Quarter. What's going on: Allison was interviewed on Episode 7 of the SweetGeorgia Yarns podcast - go have a listen and enter to win a Soakbox! Jo Milmine of the fabulous Shinybees podcast, who very kindly interviewed us in Episode 54, has been nominated for the UK Podcasters Awards in two categories. Hooray Jo!!!! Click here to go and vote for Shinybees (don't forget to scroll down to get the Best Games and Hobbies category). 3rd September: Kate Atherley will be teaching her "Math for Knitters" class at A Yarn Story in Bath. 5th September: The 3rd edition of the Great London Yarn Crawl, and the Yarn in the City Pop-Up Marketplace, which will include the Indie Designer Spotlight. You can follow along with all the pre-Crawl chatter in our Ravelry group. You can also go here to read about our collections of charity knitting for Knit for Peace. 6th September: YITC workshops on Knit Design and Pattern Writing with Kate Atherley, Soho, London 8th September - 3rd October: Waste Nothing - Finding a Home for the Discarded, an exhibition by the London Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers happening at the crypt at St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square, London. 18-20th September - The Handmade Fair, Hampton Court Palace 26-27th September - Yarndale, Skipton Auction Mart, Yokshire 3-4th October - Swiss Wulle Festival, Zug, Switzerland 18th October - Come hear Heather Ordover of Craftlit and "What Would Madame DeFarge Knit?" fame talk about "What Knitting Does to Your Brain: the many benefits of knitting (and crocheting) - this time backed by 95% more science!" - tickets will go on sale 1st August. 23rd-26th October - Autumn Gwlana, Beggar's Reach What we're working on: Allison has finished her Reverb Shawl by Felicia Lo, which she did in a gradient bundle of Party of Five from SweetGeorgia Yarns. Rachel is still working on a series of accessory designs for The Fibre Co, in their lusciously chunky Tundra yarn (60% llama/30% merino/10% silk). But while on travels around the US visiting loads of yarn shops in the guise of checking out potential places to live, she fell down and got a kit for the Aranami Shawl by OlgaJazzy (Rav link) from Knit Knack in Arvada, CO, including some gorgeous Frabjous Fibers Wonderland Yarns. Celebration: We are celebrating our 20th Episode (yay!), the Indie Maker community in London and the UK (hooray!), and also got to talk to Sue Blacker of Blacker Yarns about their very special 10th Birthday Celebration yarn, Cornish Tin. This yarn is made from a blend of ten different fibres, and comes in a 4-ply or DK weight. Sadly, it is only available in very limited quantities - for those of you going on the Yarn Crawl on Saturday, both Nest and Knit with Attitude will have Cornish Tin available, in advance of it's official release on 18th September! Blacker Yarns very kindly provided us with a sample of the yarn to play with AND a full skein of the 4-ply in Wheal Rose Red to give away to one lucky listener! To enter, leave a comment on this post and tell us what pattern you'd knit with this yarn. We will pick a random post as a winner. Entries are open until 11:59 pm BST on 10th September, 2015. Thanks for joining us again! You can find us on Ravelry, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, or go leave a review for us on iTunes. Please don't hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback with us, and please come say hi at any of the events we're attending if you get a chance! Everyone is also more then welcome to come join our Wednesday night knit group from 7-9 pm (or longer) at The Goat on the Rise, Clapham SW11 1EQ. We'll be there the rest of July, but on hiatus for August, with plans to start back up again after the big GLYC weekend in September. Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade)Loneliness & Alcohol - Jars of ClayMorning Light - The Dirty Guv'nahs
Yarn in the City is proud to be sponsored by A Yarn Story. A Yarn Story specialises in hand-dyed yarns and luxury fibres. They carry yarns from indie dyers near and far, such as The Uncommon Thread, SweetGeorgia Yarns and Life in the Long Grass. Find them at www.ayarnstory.co.uk, or in Bath on Walcot Street in the heart of the Artisan Quarter. What's going on: 22nd August: The 10th Anniversary edition of the TTC Knitalong, the inspiration for the GLYC, in Toronto.. 3rd September: Kate Atherley will be teaching her "Math for Knitters" class at A Yarn Story in Bath. 5th September: The 3rd edition of the Great London Yarn Crawl, and the Yarn in the City Pop-Up Marketplace, which will include the Indie Designer Spotlight. 6th September: YITC workshops on Knit Design and Pattern Writing with Kate Atherley, Soho, London 8th September - 3rd October: Waste Nothing - Finding a Home for the Discarded, an exhibition by the London Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers happening at the crypt at St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square, London. 3-4th October - Swiss Wulle Festival, Zug, Switzerland 18th October - Come hear Heather Ordover of Craftlit and "What Would Madame DeFarge Knit?" fame talk about "What Knitting Does to Your Brain: the many benefits of knitting (and crocheting) - this time backed by 95% more science!" - tickets will go on sale 1st August. 23rd-26th October - Autumn Gwlana, Beggar's Reach What we're working on: Allison has cast on the Reverb Shawl by Felicia Lo, while still working on her brother's Skulls Sweater. The Toddler Hoodie and She's A Waterfall shawl have been pushed to the bottom of the queue as they aren't quite so time sensitive. Rachel is working on a series of accessory designs for The Fibre Co, in their lusciously chunky Tundra yarn (60% llama/30% merino/10% silk). In fact, she manages to cast off the current project during the podcast. Otherwise she's working on recovering from Fibre-East. Retreat and Recharge: In typical fashion, we wander around and about the topic of retreats for a while, including discussing our first retreat experiences, reasons to go on a retreat, and falling down the rabbit hole of all the yarny/crafty retreats that are out there. Whatever you do, don't go check out Clara Parkes' list of retreats and events on Knitter's Review. Our favourite possibilities include Les Soeurs Anglaises (including Asa Tricosa and BYOP) and a two week cruise to South America. 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 also more then welcome to come join our Wednesday night knit group from 7-9 pm (or longer) at The Goat on the Rise, Clapham SW11 1EQ. We'll be there the rest of July, but on hiatus for August, with plans to start back up again after the big GLYC weekend in September. Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade)Loneliness & Alcohol - Jars of ClayEverything You've Done Wrong - SloanFierce Flawless - Ani DifrancoRetreat - Howie Sutherland
Yarn in the City is proud to be sponsored by A Yarn Story. A Yarn Story specialises in hand-dyed yarns and luxury fibres. They carry yarns from indie dyers near and far, such as The Uncommon Thread, SweetGeorgia Yarns and Life in the Long Grass. Find them at www.ayarnstory.co.uk, or in Bath on Walcot Street in the heart of the Artisan Quarter. What's going on: 25-26th July: Fibre-East, Ampthill, Bedfordshire. Rachel will be flying solo at the Porpoise Fur booth that weekend, so come by and say hello! 22nd August: The 10th Anniversary edition of the TTC Knitalong, the inspiration for the GLYC, in Toronto.. 3rd September: Kate Atherley will be teaching her "Math for Knitters" class at A Yarn Story in Bath. 5th September: The 3rd edition of the Great London Yarn Crawl, and the Yarn in the City Pop-Up Marketplace, which will include the Indie Designer Spotlight. 6th September: Workshops on Knit Design and Pattern Writing with Kate Atherley 8th September - 3rd October: Waste Nothing - Finding a Home for the Discarded, an exhibition by the London Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers happening at the crypt at St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square, London. 18th October - Come hear Heather Ordover of Craftlit and "What Would Madame DeFarge Knit?" fame talk about "What Knitting Does to Your Brain: the many benefits of knitting (and crocheting) - this time backed by 95% more science!" - tickets will go on sale 1st August. What we're working on: Allison got to Canada and got to try her Skulls Sweater on her brother, and he loves it! In celebration, she allowed herself to cast on She's A Waterfall by Dani Sunshine, with Lioness Arts Silky DK in "Aquae Sulis". Sadly, she left Rachel's spindle on the coffee table at home, so there has not been much spinning. Rachel has finished her handspun Bagatelle Cowl, and has picked up her long-neglected Marie Curie Mittens by Emily Bujold. She has been doing a lot of spinning, finishing off some Hello Yarn Fiber Club superwash Targhee, some Lac Blanc Ile de France from Porpoise Fur, and a bump of Southern Cross Fibres Falkland. An interview with Brenda Dayne: We talk about the history of Gwlana, the upcoming Gwlana retreat the 23rd-26th October that we're planning on attending with Caerthan Wrack of Triskelion Yarns, and what's in store for future events. There are still a few spaces available - why not join us for a weekend of inspiration, camaraderie, and knitting? 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 also more then welcome to come join our Wednesday night knit group from 7-9 pm (or longer) at The Goat on the Rise, Clapham SW11 1EQ. We'll be there the rest of July, but on hiatus for August, with plans to start back up again after the big GLYC weekend in September. Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade)Loneliness & Alcohol - Jars of ClayEverything You've Done Wrong - SloanFierce Flawless - Ani DifrancoSomething on Your Mind - The Atomic Hound Dog
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