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Hello and apologies for this very belated episode of the podcast! Programming notes: Our summer podcasting schedule is a little out the window at the moment due to international travel. We meant to have this episode up two weeks ago but were somewhat thwarted... This episode also has some audio challenges that we weren't able to fix or re-record so we hope you'll bear with us as it's a shorter-than-usual episode. We're going to figure out an alternative for the next couple of episodes. Episode 64: Quiet We've got a shorter than usual episode this time around with another mini update on the Great London Yarn Crawl (which is NOW SOLD OUT!), some upcoming events and a discussion about taking time to be quiet and reflect this summer. Our Sponsor This episode of the podcast is sponsored by Garthenor, providing a variety of sustainable, organic British wool products in an ecologically responsible way. See Garthenor’s glorious yarns at the GLYC Mini-Yarn Market after party, or on their website at www.garthenor.com. GLYC2017 Update As of the time of recording, there were 6 tickets left for the GLYC! (YITC: And we are now SOLD OUT!). If you do miss out, keep an eye on the YITC Ravelry board for anyone who has to pass on their ticket later in the summer. We've also go some awesome doorprizes for this year's GLYC thanks to some of the good vendors from Pomfest! Keep an eye on our Instagram for more hints! Events 20-22nd July: Woolfeis, near Oban, Argyll 29-30th July: Fibre East, Ampthill, Bedfordshire 1 August: 1 September: “A Touch of Silk” exhibition, Whitchurch Silk Mill, Hampshire – exhibition of work from Guild members in Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, and the Isle of Wight 5th August: Yarnfolk Festival of Wool, Whitehead, Northern Ireland – a new event dedicated to all things fibre, and showcasing the best of local and international fibre arts. Exhibitors include Skein Queen, Townhouse Yarns, Fine Fish Yarns, and Dye Candy, as well as many others. 19 August: AGWSD Summer School 2017 Open Day and Trade Fair, Sparsholt College, Hampshire Other updates The summer knitting thread is up an running in Ravelry – come over and share your summer knitting plans and goals with us! Make Happy – aka – What we’re working on Rachel had a bit of a break with TdF spinning last weekend due to travel, but has now caught up and finished three of the four Tour de Fleece colourways (with the last one ready to go on Wednesday’s stage 18! She’s also finally started her Fireflies Rising for the GLYC anniversary KAL, in Hedgehog Fibres sock yarn in the colourway Lupi (an exclusive colourway for A Yarn Story). Allison is working on her Fireflies Rising for the GLYC Anniversary KAL too, as well as her Sprite’s Fen Shawl. She's also going to pack her Raindrops and her Martinique Beach Cowl for her holiday knitting. Quiet In which we discuss the value of taking a bit of quiet time for crafting and getting back to basics. *** Many thanks for joining us for another episode! You can find the podcast on iTunes and Stitcher Radio (please rate, review and subscribe!) and you'll find us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, in our Yarn in the City group on Ravelry, or in person on Wednesday nights at our knit night at The Goat on the Rise between 7 and 10pm. Have a great couple of weeks and we’ll chat with you soon! Music credits (available on NoiseTrade) Ridiculously Happy (feat. Twilight Meadow) - Owl City
Rachel is back in the co-pilot seat after the holidays, and we talk about project monogamy (is that a thing?), upcoming yarn celebrations and get two of our knit night regulars to tell us about their creative collaborations in colour and yarn. News and Events 6 May: Yarn Shop Day! A few shops have helpfully let us know that they have some big things planned for this special day Countess Ablaze in Manchester will be having a pop-up shop featuring BritYarn, Whistlebare and The Little Grey Girl to sell their goodies! Details here. A Yarn Story in Bath will be celebrating Yarn Shop Day and their third anniversary with cake and the launch of the colours for their bespoke yarn, Walcot Yarns. There are a few other surprises in store so be sure to pop in if you're in the area! If you’re in London, Yarn Shop Day would be a perfect day to explore the East London Yarn Triangle where you can visit Knit With Attitude, Wild & Woolly (also celebrating their three year anniversary) and Fabrications. 10 June: World Wide Knit in Public Day on Saturday, June 10th! Check out their website to find an event near you. Make Happy While on holiday, Rachel finished the shawl design that was kicking her butt (and freaking out her yarn support!), which will released shortly. The only other project she took with her was her Kippen Cardigan, and she's now working on the second sleeve with a lot of collar to go. This past week she also started spinning up some fibre for a collaboration with two colleagues of the woolly variety, which is slated for release this autumn. Allison is anxiously awaiting the delivery of her SGY Joji Mystery KAL kit from Vancouver (she got Kitsilano) and is in the meantime working on a baby blanket for friend. Colourful Collaboration Our knit night includes a whole bunch of wonderfully creative and inventive people, and we are thrilled to have been able to get two of them to come talk to us for the podcast! Lola Johnson, otherwise known as Third Vault Yarns, and Kate Bostwick, who designs under the Cowtown Knits label, tell us about their relationship with colour, their sources of inspiration, and their collaboration which has produced two gorgeous kits - Lambton Panes and Chainlink Mitts - with more to come! Wrap up Many thanks for joining us for another episode of the podcast and super huge thanks to Lola and Kate for being with us! You can find it on iTunes and Stitcher Radio and you'll find us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, in our Yarn in the City group on Ravelry, or in person on Wednesday nights at our knit night at The Goat on the Rise between 7 and 10pm. Have a great couple of weeks and we’ll chat with you soon! Music credits (available on NoiseTrade) Ridiculously Happy (feat. Twilight Meadow) - Owl City
Rachel is away at the moment so Carmen from A Yarn Story fills in as co-pilot to Allison on this episode. We realised after we recorded the podcast that we didn't explain very well about being at H+H, the craft trade fair that happened this past March 28-30 in Cologne, Germany. Allison was there on the SweetGeorgia Yarns stand and Carmen was helping out as German translator and answering questions about having the yarns in her shop in the UK. Now that you have that as context, this episode includes chatter about things we saw at the show, along with our usual bits of news and events and what we're working on. News and Events April 23 - Spaces are still available for the upcoming coach trip to Wonderwool from London with the London Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers. Click here for more details and to book your space if you'd like to join us. May 6th - Yarn Shop Day is back! This is great opportunity to show your love for your local yarn shop (LYS). It's also the three year anniversary for A Yarn Story and Wild & Woolly! June 10th - Join us at The Village Haberdashery for our World Wide Knit in Public Day event. We'll have more details for you soon! Make Happy - aka What We're Working On Carmen, who regularly wishes she was an octopus so that she could have more things on the needles is working on a second neckerchief to match the one she made for Allison for their matching dresses that they wore on the SweetGeorgia stand in Cologne. She's also been finding her fade this week and working on the hot shawl of the season. Carmen also has a few things needing sleeves before they can be completed. In addition to sewing a matching Moneta dress for Carmen, Allison has finally finished the sooper secret project and talks about the special Lucca lace pi shawl that she knit in honour of a friend's wedding. She also cast on a new project out of SweetGeorgia yarn so that she could knit on the stand at H+H and is knitting the Foolproof cowl out of deliciously yummy Cashluxe Spark. A Yarn Shop Buyer's Road Trip In this segment we get into a bit of a geeky craft business behind the scenes discussion about various ways that shop owners find yarns and other interesting bits for their shops, as well as some of the trends and things that we think are coming down the pipe for the later seasons this year. Wrap Up Many thanks again to Carmen for co-hosting this episode! 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 credits (available on NoiseTrade) Ridiculously Happy (feat. Twilight Meadow) - Owl City
On this episode of the podcast we chat about what's making us happy at the mo, including an update on our progress with the Blacker PodKAL for the Edinburgh Yarn Festival and the new #yarnlovechallenge on Instagram. We also find out what happens when you love yarn so much that it leads you to making your own. For that conversation we’ll be chatting with our friend Carmen from A Yarn Story in Bath, who’s been working with Sharon from Great British Yarns on a new joint venture, Walcot Yarns. Grab your favourite beverage and your WIP and let's go! What we’re working on (aka Make Happy): The Blacker Yarns PodKAL continues apace! Allison has her SSS well underway, and Rachel is casting on for her Inglis Mitts as we record (better late than never!) The projects shown on Ravelry and Instagram all look amazing and there are some truly speedy knitters out there! We have some special kudos too, for those of you who have come on board #teamYITC: Hdayananda is knitting with a gorgeous green Cornish Tin for her In the Pines Pullover Mariette694 is making a capelet/wrap of her own design in both Tamar and Cornish Tin that is look stunning already And then there’s Josh (breiwerken on Instagram) who is also making his own colourwork design out of Cornish Tin that is nothing short of amazing! If you want to join in with the Blacker PodKAL, it’s not too late! Here are the details: Any design or pattern you want (some great freebies on the Blacker Yarns website) Must be knit with Blacker Yarns to be eligible for prizes and discounts at EYF Can be used in combination with other yarns too Chat thread in Blacker Yarns Ravelry group Tag with#BlackerPodKAL on social media & Ravelry Cast off date is 4th March (just in time for EYF!) If you wear your FO at EYF you can get a discount on more Blacker Yarns! There are multiple teams and you can be on more than one – we hope you’ll tag your projects with #teamyitc so that we can see what you’re working on for the KAL (we’ll have a special #teamYITC prize too!) In other make happy news, Allison has been working on a (gorgeous!) super secret deadline project, and doing lots and lots (and LOTS) of sewing. Rachel has been working on a design for Walcot Yarns, but has managed to finish her Vestvember project (again, better late than never). She's also been doing lots of #spinningSundays. Yarn Love Challenge Okay, the #yarnlovechallenge is something that you’ve probably seen popping up on Instagram in the last couple of day and it’s pretty fun so we wanted to let you know about it. It’s a daily Instagram photo challenge put together by @oharethey and @maryheatherb from Ravelry to celebrate the idea that “Yarn is Love”. We agree! Yarn Love There are fewer things we love more than a new yarn. And we were particularly excited when we found out that our friend Carmen was working on a brand new bespoke yarn – Walcot Yarns. If you haven’t heard us mention Carmen before, she is a North American transplant like us and the owner of A Yarn Story – a specialty yarn boutique in Bath that is stuffed with gorgeous yarns from around the world. Aside from the yarn itself, what got us really excited to chat with Carmen is that she developed this new yarn with in collaboration with Sharon from Great British Yarns – also in Bath. We got Carmen to chat with us and tell us more about Walcot Yarns and what exactly is involved with bringing your own yarn to market. Wrap up You can find the podcast on iTunes and Stitcher Radio and us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, in our Yarn in the City group on Ravelry, or in person on Wednesday nights at our knit night at The Goat on the Rise between 7 and 10pm. Everyone’s really friendly and we hope to see you there! Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade) Ridiculously Happy (feat. Twilight Meadow) - Owl City
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
Hello! In this episode, we have previews of some of the special goodies that vendors are bringing to the Yarnporium in a few weeks, and Rachel gets a wee bit worked up about a very recent design controversy (feel free to fast forward that part). Many thanks to Julie of Knitted Bliss for sharing some of her thoughts with us on the subject of modifications/mashups/originality. Grab your coffee and let's go! Shout outs, news and events: Winner of Mad Colour from Episode 46: Congratulations to Wei-Lin for being picked by Random.org to win the Mad Colour eBook from Tin Can Knits! And thanks to Alexa and Emily for provide the contest prize. 22nd-23rd October: Bakewell Wool Gathering 29th-30th October: Kendal Wool Gathering 1st November: Last day for advanced tickets to Yarnporium! 5-6th November: Yarnporium extravaganza! King's College London on the Strand, WC2R 2LS. Show will be open from 10am-5:30pm Saturday and 10am-4pm on Sunday. 10-13th November: Geeky Puffin Knit Palooza, Farnham - classes, marketplace and a London Yarn Crawl led by Alli! 12th November: Festiwool, North Herts College, Hitchin What we're working on: Allison is working on not much because she's been sick as a dog for much of the last week. But she did whip up a Zigging Hat out of the luscious Rosy Green Wool Big Merino Hug. Rachel finished the Zigging Cowl to go with Allison's Zigging Hat. Both of these will be paired with the Yarnporium pattern, the Zigging Mittens by Renee Callahan! She's also been working on her Kippen Cardigan by Kat Goldin in secret under her desk during a work week that involved a lot of listening to audio. Then we get to the controversy that very recently blew up on social media/Ravelry: The I'll Pack A Cowl for Rhinebeck vs. Baa-ble Hat debacle brings up issues that are near and dear to our hearts here at Yarn in the City: community, respect for people's work, and fair and living wages for designers and other wool industry members. We talk with Julie from Knitted Bliss about her Modification Mondays, what actually constitutes an original design, and there are a few mentions of the dreaded "C" word (that would be copyright...). If you get tired of hearing Rachel carry on, feel free to jump ahead. Yarnporium Specials: The Yarnporium is only a few weeks away, but our vendors have some fantastic special goodies they're bring with them for the show! Blacker Yarns are bringing a selection of the delicious Rosy Green Wool Big Merino Hug that we've used to rework the Zigging Hat and Cowl by Renée Callahan from the London Craft Guide. Renée has designed a pair of mittens to complete the set and the pattern will be in the Programme Guide for the Yarnporium! Midwinter Yarns will have their wonderful, sheepy, lanolin-y Ullcentrum 3-ply, as well as a new Finnish Aran wool in six natural colours. Inspiration Knits will have her book and patterns, and spectacular yarns from Eden Cottage Yarns and Countess Ablaze!!! As well as another special surprise to be revealed later... A Yarn Story will be bringing her vast inventory of Hedgehog Fibres loveliness, as well as a very special Parisian visitor for the weekend: the yarns of La Bien Aimee. Finally, Frankie will be flying the flag for John Arbon and is bringing a specially curated selection of their best products, including the Knit by Numbers 4-ply! *** You can find the podcast on iTunes and Stitcher Radio and us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, in our Yarn in the City group on Ravelry, or in person on Wednesday nights at our knit night at The Goat on the Rise between 7 and 10pm. Everyone’s really friendly and we hope to see you there! Have a great couple of weeks and we’ll chat with you soon! Music (all available on NoiseTrade): Michigan Left - Arkells Hey Doreen - Lucius
We're back from Yarndale with lots of colourful news to share, including interviews with Alexa from Tin Can Knits (and a giveaway of their new book!) and Joy from The Knitting Goddess! Sponsor: The Loveliest Yarn Company is a new online yarn shop bringing you the loveliest yarn and knitting accessories. Buying yarn online can be a bit fraught so they have gathered the best into one place. They have knit, washed and worn everything so people know it’s all been tried and tested by knitters. The Loveliest Yarn Company stock artisan hand dyed yarn from Life in the Long Grass, organic merino from Rosy Green Wool, some great stalwarts of the yarn world from West Yorkshire Spinners, irresistible accessories from Merchant and Mills and lots more. All from theloveliestyarncompany.co.uk. Podcast listeners can get 10% off in October with the code YITCEnabled2016. If you aren’t shopping for yarn at the moment, sign up for their newsletter on the site. Shout outs, news and events: 3rd-9th October: Spinzilla 5-9th October: Knitting & Stitching Show, Ally Pally - If you're going, please say hello to our awesome sponsor Michelle from The Loveliest Yarn Company who will be on stand C28 with her beautiful yarns! 8th October: Little Grey Girl birthday party, Countess Ablaze Studio in Manchester 9th October: YARN the movie, various locations - we'll be at Hackney Picturehouse in London 10th-16th October: UK Wool Week 15th October: Stitch Solihull stitch up 22nd-23rd October: Bakewell Wool Gathering 29th-30th October: Kendal Wool Gathering But of course our big and exciting news is that advance tickets and workshop registration for Yarnporium the 5th and 6th of November are now available! We're thrilled with the stellar line-up of tutors and classes that we've arranged for the Yarnporium. Classes run 3 hours each and are on both Saturday and Sunday with offerings from Julia Billings, Renée Callahan, Kat Goldin, Joanne Scrace, Juju Vail and Karie Westermann. Click here to see the list of all workshops or click here to register or buy your tickets! What we're working on: Allison is working on the sleeves of her Porpoise Fur handspun sweater (see? they're hidden in the photo above!) as well as getting ready for Spinzilla this week. What to spin? What to spin? Rachel was too busy getting ready for Yarndale (and recovering from Yarndale) to get much knitting done but did manage to finish her sweater design in The Fibre Co.'s new Arranmore yarn which will be an exclusive pattern for A Yarn Story. Mad About Colour Our theme for this episode is a colourful one thanks to the release of Tin Can Knits latest book Mad Colour and a new collaboration between The Knitting Goddess and Blacker Yarns for Blacker's St. Kilda limited edition lace weight. We interview both Alexa from Tin Can Knits and Joy from The Knitting Goddess with lots of chatter about colour and why we love it. Mad Colour Giveaway! Tin Can Knits have kindly given as a copy of the Mad Colour e-book to give away to a lucky listener! If you'd like to enter for a chance to win, leave a comment on these show notes by Thursday, 13th October. Tell us which pattern you'd knit first, your favourite colour, and your Ravelry name so that we can notify you if you're the winner. We'll announce the winner on the next episode of the podcast. Good luck! You can find the podcast on iTunes and Stitcher Radio and us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, in our Yarn in the City group on Ravelry, or in person on Wednesday nights at our knit night at The Goat on the Rise between 7 and 10pm. Everyone’s really friendly and we hope to see you there! Have a great couple of weeks and we’ll chat with you soon! Music (all available on NoiseTrade): Michigan Left - Arkells Hey Doreen - Lucius
Apologies in advance for any sound issues in this episode of the podcast - we're on either side of the pond at the moment, and do not have access to the best recording setup while that is the case. In this episode we chat about taking our yarn on the road - Allison to Scotland and Rachel to the United States - and we've got some great shops to tell you about, along with our tips on what makes the perfect road trip project. Sponsor: The Loveliest Yarn Company is a new online 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. The Loveliest Yarn Company stock artisan hand dyed yarn from Life in the Long Grass, organic merino from Rosy Green Wool, irresistible accessories from Merchant and Mills and lots more. Podcast listeners can get 10% off in July, August and September by using the code YITCEnabled2016. If you aren't shopping for yarn at the moment, be sure to sign up for their newsletter on the site. News and Events: GLYC 2016 tickets are on sale! The event is now over 50% sold, with five routes sold out, out so don’t wait too long to get your tickets! We've also started posting our sponsors for GLYC2016, including title sponsor Erika Knight! Other sponsors include Cocoknits, Daughter of a Shepherrd, The Little Grey Girl, Owl About Yarn, Pom Pom Quarterly, SweetGeorgia Yarns, Third Vault Yarns and Tin Can Knits, Now until 4th September – the Missoni Art Colour exhibition is on at the Fashion & Textile Museum in London. 30-31st July - Fibre-East, Ampthill, Bedfordshire. 5-6th August - the British Wool Show, York Auction Mart, Murton, York. 12-19th August - Knitting & Crochet in the Faroe Islands with Carol Meldrum 12-18th August - Hiking and Knitting between Fire and Ice, with Helene Magnusson, Iceland. 20-28th August - Yarn Along the Rockies, Colorado Front Range What we're working on: Allison is obsessed with her Wavedeck Shawl by Kate Atherley, and will be done shortly. She's also started the Garter Goodness Shawl by Stephen West. Rachel is working on Lambton Panes from Cowtown Knits, and her Kippen Cardigan by Kat Goldin from the Crochet Project, as well as a men's sweater design for A Yarn Story in the luscious Arranmore from The Fibre Company. The Tour de Fleece is now done - you can see photos of her spinning (and the rest of Team Porpoise Fur) on her Ravelry board. Summer Road Trip: Allison hit five shops in three days in Scotland, and she tells us all about her visits, including a trip to the New Lanark Mill. Rachel has grand plans for Fiber Space in Alexandria, VA; Looped Yarn Works in Dupont Circle, DC, and WEBS in Northampton, MA in the immediate future. She might also hit Dyakcraft,Golding Fiber Tools and Spunky Eclectic! Thanks so much for listening! Please leave us a comment or send us an email at hello@yarninthecity.com with your thoughts, or let us know what you think via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. You can also find us oniTunes or Stitcher Radio (and please consider leaving a review for us!), or download us directly from the Yarn in the City website. Or come join our Ravelry group to keep up to date on all the latest news, and join in the London Craft Guide craft-along! On Wednesday nights you can find us at knit night at The Goat on the Rise pub on Battersea Rise, close to Clapham Junction station in SW London. We meet from 7pm to around 10pm. The food is great and the knitters are friendly. Join us! Music (all available on NoiseTrade): No Matter Where We Go - Whitney Airport Bar - Martin Courtney
So....it's been a while since we've gabbed at you, hasn't it? Our apologies for the delay in getting this episode out; Allison was away at TNNA and our kids are in the final push for the end of the year, so it’s been a bit manic. So for this episode we thought it might be best to have a catch up. Shout outs, news and events: 1) HUGE shout out to everyone who joined us for our first ever WWKIPDay event. It was great to see so many new faces and we hope to see a lot of you back at knit night. Sorry we forgot to take pictures! Ack! 2) Shout out too to Karie Westermann, who has funded her Kickstarter for her book, This Thing of Paper. Karie has more than doubled her fundraising goal and we couldn’t be more pleased for her. Kudos Karie! 3) Another shout out to our friend Carmen from A Yarn Story in Bath. This week in the UK people are voting on whether or not the UK should stay in the EU. Carmen wrote a blog post about how a Brexit could potentially affect her business. Take a look. 4) Our awesome podcasting pal Jo Milmine of the Shinybees podcast won this year's Best UK Podcast award. We're well chuffed for her. Congrats Jo! 25-26 June - Woolfest, Cumbria 1st July - tickets for GLYC 2016 go on sale!!! 16-17th July - Yarningham, a new show in Birmingham 16-17th July - Jyväskylä Summer Knit Festival, Jyväskylä, Finland 30-31st July - Fibre East, Ampthill, Bedfordshire GLYC 2016 update: Less than two weeks to go before tickets are on sale! We’re still looking for volunteers to help make this event great so if you think you might be able to help us out, please get in touch! Tickets will be £18 and you can get them directly through our website at yarninthecity.com. All net proceeds from the event will again be donated to Refuge, and we will also be collecting knitted items for Knit for Peace. Every knitted item gets you an entry into the raffle for a huge basket of goodies! London Craft Guide update: The London Craft Guide is now available in France! The book is still in English though… You can now find it at Boutique Le Comptoir and l’Oisive Thé et Tricot and La Bien Aimée in Paris. Our London Craft Guide CAL (Craft-along) is in full swing! Be sure to tag your social media shares with #LCGCraftalong on Instagram and Twitter, or LCGCraftalong on Ravelry. What we’re working on Rachel has had a bout of startitis. She's still working on a test knit for Kettle Yarn Co., but has also cast on for the Kippen Cardigan by Kat Goldin, a Neat Ripple baby blanket from Lucy at Attic24, and the Talisman Shawl from Helen Stewart's The Shawl Society. Allison is still working on the Toddler Hoodie, and is recovering from TNNA. Oh the yarn fumes! Catching up: Boy is there catching up! TNNA, new jobs, summer plans, and more. *** Thanks so much for listening! Please leave us a comment or send us an email at hello@yarninthecity.com with your thoughts, or let us know what you think via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. You can also find us on iTunes or Stitcher Radio (and please consider leaving a review for us!), or download us directly from the Yarn in the City website. On Wednesday nights you can find us at knit night at The Goat on the Rise pub on Battersea Rise, close to Clapham Junction station in SW London. We meet from 7pm to around 10pm. The food is great and the knitters are friendly. Join us! Music (all available on NoiseTrade): Come to Light - Arkells Bittersweet Summer - Stephan Lucka
In this episode of the podcast, we review Tracey Todhunter’s new book, Women’s Weekly Guide to Crochet, which is inspiring us to pick up our hooks. Along with the usual - shout-outs, chat about what we’ve been working on, upcoming events and a very special announcement! Shout outs, news, events: Shout to all the regulars and new faces at our knit night who took over three tables in the pub this week, and thanks for everyone’s yarn show tips! Thanks to everyone who commented on the last episode of the podcast, and congratulations to our giveaway winner of CC Almon’s book Coffee With CC – Clare! News and events: 18-24 April: Makers for Fashion Revolution photo challenge hosted by Karie Westermann, aka Kariebookish, on Instagram. The idea behind the challenge is to get conversation happening within the making community about where our clothes come from. 21 April: A Yarn Story is bringing their Shibui Mix Party to Omnibus, in Clapham. This one-off special event will give you a chance to learn more about the Shibui Mix Concept and try out their various yarns to create your own personalized textures for your knits. Space is limited but tickets are still available for £15, a portion of which will be credited to any yarn purchases made on the evening. 23-24 April: Wonderwool Wales in Builth Wells. 30 April- 1 May: The annual Knitter’s Folic in Toronto! 30 April: Wooltastic Mini Pop-Up Wool Show, Walton Village Hall, Cumbria. 30 April: Yarn Shop Day - show your love for your local Yarn Shop by popping in to see what they have. In Manchester, Brit Yarn will be having a special pop-up at the Countess Ablaze studio. In Bath, A Yarn Story will have a yarn tasting of all their Fibre Co. yarns and will have a world-exclusive of The Fibre Co.’s newest yarn, Arranmore! 7 May: Wharfe Wool Fair, Ilkley 21 May: Highland Wool and Textile Fair, Dingwall Mart 21-22 May: Baa Baa Bazaar at the Shepley Spring Festival, Shepley. UK Fibre and Yarn Events group on Ravelry. What we’re working on: Rachel is working on the Crocheted Starburst Baby Blanket by Sara Rivka, and the Coffee Date shawl by C. C. Almon. In finished objects, she's blocked the world's largest shawl (Freshwater Shawl from the last podcast), and finished her latest shawl design. Allison finished Your Mileage May Vary by Joanne Scrace and finished spinning her Porpoise Fur fibre club from January resulting in 138 yards of worsted weight yarn. She’s now back to working her way through her WIPs and on a couple of baby and toddler sweaters. Book review: Women’s Weekly Guide to Crochet by Tracey Todhunter Tracy Todhunter, a long time crochet designer and teacher, has a new book out that is perfect for those, like us, who are not the most accomplished crocheters. Great photos, tutorials and tips for all! You can find it on Amazon UK and in your local yarn store. It's also available in the US, as Crochet: Learn It. Love It. Wonderful Wonderwool (and other Yarn Show) Tips At our most recent Knit Night, we asked for tips from our compatriots on how they get ready for wool shows, and we share their thoughts with you. And speaking of yarn shows… We have a big announcement: the Yarnporium is coming!!!! All the details that are currently available are here, and stay tuned for more announcements in the coming weeks. If you are interested in vending at the Yarnporium, more information is here, and if you'd like to volunteer, there's information here. *** Please let us know what you think through comments on the show notes, send us an email at hello@yarninthecity.com or via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. You can find us on iTunes or Stitcher Radio (and please consider leaving a review for us!), or download us directly from the Yarn in the City website. On Wednesday nights you can find us at knit night at The Goat on the Rise pub on Battersea Rise, close to Clapham Junction station in SW London. We meet from 7pm to around 10pm. The food is great and the knitters are friendly. Join us! Music (all available on NoiseTrade):Sunstroke - WylderOffer Up My Love - Midnight PilotThe Good Life - Midnight Pilot
With the Easter holidays and our kids still off school we've got another international Skype session of the podcast for Episode 34. We hope you'll bear with and that the sound isn't quite up to our usual standard. News, Events & Shout Outs 16th April - Our next book event for the London Craft Guide is being hosted by Knit With Attitude! Join us from 2-4 at the shop for some light snacks and a chat about our journey from the Great London Yarn Crawl to the London Craft Guide! Maya and her team are also generously offering 10% off in the shop and they've paired up the projects from the book with yarns from their shop - check out their blog post to see them all! Please RSVP to Knit With Attitude just so they have a sense of numbers - this is a FREE event! 21st April - Carmen from A Yarn Story is bringing her Shibui Knits Mix Party to London! The event is being held in Clapham and gets underway at 6:30pm. Find all the details and book your ticket on the AYS website. 23-24 April - Wonderwool Wales gets underway for it's 11th year at Builth Wells in Wales. We'll be popping in for a whirlwind visit on the Sunday on a coach visit with our guild from London and are already starting to make our lists of what we'd like to see! 30th April - The third annual Yarn Shop Day is coming up soon! Check out their website to find a participating shop near you and show your love for the awesome yarn shops we have across the UK. Big shout out to our US iTunes review from bjoy -thank you so much! Another shout out to Wild Thistle Farm in Pattston, ME, who accosted Rachel on the train from Boston to Brunswick to ask her (knitting with commercial yarn) if she was a spinner. They have Shetlands people - off you go!We also have a winner of the copy of Wool Tribe generously provided by Edinburgh Yarn Festival in Episode 33 - Rachelke! Please get in touch with us and let us know how to get that to you, and congratulations! What We're Working On: Allison is going great guns on her baby sweater, and has finished the sleeves. She's also been cranking out a new crocheted shawl from Joanne Scrace's new book The Shawl Project Book 1. Rachel has finished her Freshwater Shawl by Andrea Mowbry and Annie Rowden, in fantastic Triskelion Yarns Elen, and is spinning up some of her March Lab Goddess Fibre Club Wensleydale. She's also just discovered that her recent Yarn Chicken winning streak will come to a stunning halt if she continues with her current shawl design project, so there's some frogging in her immediate future. Book Review: Coffee with C. C. In this episode we review C. C. Almon's new book, Coffee with C. C.: A 7 pattern caffeine inspired knitting collection. Disclaimer: Rachel was the tech editor for this project, so take her comments with however many grains of salt you need. The collection includes six sock patterns, ranging from plain vanilla (French Vanilla Cappuccino socks) to more elaborate (I Love You More Than Pumpkin Spice socks), and also includes a shawl pattern. The patterns include lots of textured stitches and interest, but straightforward constructions so they are perfect for new or less experienced sock knitters looking to expand their skills! The hard copy of the book can be purchased from the JavaPurl Designs website for $18 plus shipping, and the eBook is available through Ravelry for $16 plus shipping. *** As always, please let us know what you think through comments on the show notes, send us an email at hello@yarninthecity.com or via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. You can find us on iTunes or Stitcher Radio (and please consider leaving a review for us!), or download us directly from the Yarn in the City website. And on Wednesday nights you can find us at knit night at The Goat on the Rise pub on Battersea Rise, close to Clapham Junction station in SW London. We meet from 7pm to around 10pm. The food is great and the knitters are friendly. Join us! Music (all available on NoiseTrade):1000 Ships - Rachel PlattenIt's Not - Aimee Mann
We are back from Farnham, and are slowly recovering from the fantastic weekend that was Unravel! In this episode, we talk about the show, get a North American perspective on Unravel from Kate Atherley, and cover the usual news, events and current projects. Shout-Outs So many shout outs today! First up is a shout out to the lovely Sarah from Crafts from the Cwtch (go check out her blog now!). Sarah has written the first review of the London Craft Guide, and we are so glad she enjoyed the book! Another big shout out to Maylin who sent us a lovely note on Sunday about the book that really helped us power through the end of a very long weekend. Finally, thanks so much to everyone who came by the booth and looked at the book, checked out the yarn and shared it with their friends! We'd particularly like to thank Julie of Evie and Lily who came by throughout the weekend to keep us up to date on her Instagram efforts. Book news So, the book is launched, which means we are up to our eyeballs in fulfilment. A few local yarn shops picked up their wholesale orders at Unravel, so if you are looking to find the book in the wild, you can get it at Nest, Wild & Woolly, and Knit with Attitude in London, A Yarn Story in Bath, and Fig Tree Yarns in Jersey. It will also soon be available at Loop,Handweavers Studio & Gallery and Stag & Bow in London, and at The Old Pharmacy in Faversham. If you preordered the book before 17th of February, you should now have received a Paypal invoice to cover the shipping on your book. If you have not received this invoice, please let us know via the contact links at the bottom of the page, and we will get you sorted out. Upcoming Events 28th February - Decorative Estonian Cast Ons with Lucinda Guy at YAK in Brighton 12th March - Introduction to Brioche and Shawl Shapes with Bristol Ivy at Loop. The Brioche class is sadly sold out, but the Shawl class will look at how to create different shawl shapes and then add stitch patterns and play with unconventional shaping. 13th March - Knitting Outside the Box with Bristol Ivy at Loop. This full day class is great for people interested in designing, or just wanting to experiment. 16th March - Introduction to Brioche with Bristol Ivy, this time at YAK in Brighton. A good alternative if you miss out on the Loop class. 17th-20th March - Edinburgh Yarn Festival 2016!!!! Classes start on the Thursday, marketplace is Friday and Saturday with associated other goings on. Rachel will be there with Porpoise Fur and will have the book available, so if you'd like to check it out (or get some spinning fluff), come on by! What we're working on Rachel finished her Because Sock Yarn by Kate Atherley, in the amazing Yarn in the City colourway dyed for us by Third Vault Yarns, and upon showing it to the designer, discovered that there was some (ultimately highly successful) user error involved in her sample. More on that to come in a future blog post. She also finished a second colourway for the Ironwork hat, and has started a shop sample for A Yarn Story and a handspun Honey Cowl (she might be the only person in the world who has not knit this yet) out of SweetGeorgia BFL/silk in the "Rogue" colourway. Allison has sadly missed out on having a new FO for this episode, but she's forging ahead on her Candy Bag sample, her handspun Gradient Pullover, and a very long-standing WIP, the Tulip Cardigan. Unravel-ed This episode we sit down for a quick Stitch n' Babble with the lovely Kate Atherley, who has recovered enough from her trans-Atlantic jet leg to tell us a bit about her impressions of Unravel and the differences between UK and North American shows. Please forgive the occasional long pauses as we were all feeling the effects of a seriously wool fume heavy weekend. As always, please let us know what you think by tweeting, liking, or loving our posts when you see them go up onTwitter,Facebook and Instagram – or even better, leave a comment in the shownotes, post on our Ravelry board or send us an email at hello@yarninthecity.com. You can find us on iTunes or Stitcher Radio (and please consider leaving a review for us!), or download us directly from the Yarn in the City website. Our Knit Night is every Wednesday from 7:00pm to 10:00pm at The Goat on the Rise in Clapham Junction. We'd love to have you join us! Music Credits (all available on NoiseTrade)A Rainy Week in Paradise - Elessar ThiessenMorning Light - The Dirty Guv'nahsAfter the Fight - Jars of Clay
We're excited to finally be able to share this episode with you as we've had it in the can for a while. We've got an interview with Clara Parkes of the Knitter's Review about her latest book, Knitlandia: A Knitter Sees the World. It makes for a slightly longer than usual episode this time around but we hope you'll stick with us to the end. Image from @abramsbooks on Instagram News, Shout-outs, Announcements and Contest Winner! Big congrats to Kate Price who is the winner of a pair of tickets to Unravel. Kate - please send us an email and we'll connect you with the good folks at Unravel for your tickets to the show. Shout-outs to Helen Stewart of Curious Handmade for sharing her #3thingsforyarnlove, Jenny from Owl About Yarn and CaroTrike from Ravelry. Coming up next in the London and UK knitting scene:10th February – It’s the next Late Night Knitty Lock-in of 2016 over at Wild & Woolly. Check out the details on their website. 13th - 14th February – Cécile Balladino is teaching her Eclectic Gipsyland crochet class at Loop. These are the same class but offered on two different days. The class will teach Cécile’s techniques for lace motifs, joining as you go, surface crochet and more. This is not a beginner’s class and you will be expected to already know how to crochet. NEW Listing - 14th February - There's a Mass Knit-In for Knit Aid called All You Knit Is Love happening at The Book Club in London. 20th February – For those of you up north, Karie Westermann is teaching her Two-Handed Colourwork for Fair Isle and Nordic Style Colourwork class at Be Inspired Fibres in Edinburgh. 19th - 21st February – Unravel is happening at Farnham Maltings. Our Yarn in the City stand will not only have the London Craft Guide but yarn from some of our favourite folks as well including Kettle Yarn Co., Eden Cottage Yarns, SweetGeorgia Yarns, Orkney Angoras and Third Vault Yarns (including a custom colourway exclusive to Yarn in the City!). A reminder if you didn't see the update on our blog that you can pre-order the London Craft Guide for £15 only until the 18th of February (let us know in the special notes on your order if you'd like to pick it up at Unravel). Once the book launches at Unravel on the 19th of February the price for the print book will be £16.50. 26th - 28th February – Joeli’s Kitchen Retreat in Manchester. Featuring classes with Kate Atherley, Karie Westermann, Joeli and other great teachers, as well as a mini marketplace on the Sunday that will include Countess Ablaze. On and Off the Needles New exclusive Yarn in the City colourway from Third Vault Yarns Rachel finished a sample sweater in advance of her Knit a Sexy Sweater class at A Yarn Story in Bath. She's also been working on knitting up a sample of the Because Sock Yarn project from the London Craft Guide in our new custom colourway from Third Vault Yarns. Allison finished both her Grown Up Booties and She's a Waterfall projects since the last episode and is back on her Gradient Pullover and now on the third and final band of colour. She's also been crocheting squares for a new sample of the crochet project from the London Craft Guide. Knitlandia Clara Parkes' new book Knitlandia: A Knitter Sees the World comes out on February 16th and we were incredibly lucky to have a chat with Clara when she was visiting London back in December. Our topics veer from Knitter's Review to her books (Knitters Book of Yarn, Knitters book of Wool and Knitters Book of Socks) to her Great White Bale project and first foray into Clara Yarn. Following our interview we talk about some of our favourite essays from the book. As always, please let us know what you think by tweeting, liking, or loving our posts when you see them go up on Twitter,Facebook and Instagram – or even better, leave a comment in the shownotes, post on our Ravelry board or send us an email at hello@yarninthecity.com. You can find us on iTunes or Stitcher Radio (and please consider leaving a review for us!), or download us directly from the Yarn in the City website. Our Knit Night is every Wednesday from 7:00pm to 10:00pm at The Goat on the Rise in Clapham Junction. We'd love to have you join us! Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade)A Rainy Week in Paradise - Elessar ThiessenMorning Light - The Dirty Guv'nahs
Now that we’re a few weeks into 2016 we’re curious as to how you’re all doing with your resolutions or goals for this year. We’ve also been doing some thinking about our own plans for Yarn in the City this year and had our own thoughts that we wanted to share with you. Shout outs: C. C. from the Geeky Girls Podcast. The Dublin Brooks Hotel Knit Night, who introduced Alli to the beers of Galway Hooker. Best. Brewery. Name. Ever. What’s Happening: 30th January - Renée Callahan of East London Knit will be teaching Brioche Basics and Brioche Next Steps classes at A Yarn Story in Bath. 30th January - Woolly Wormhead is teaching two classes at Knit With Attitude, a Knitting in the Round Masterclass and her Turning Sideways class. 31st January - there is a Learn to Darn class happening at Wild & Woolly. Participants are encouraged to bring a woolen garment that needs mending and will learn both invisible and decorative techniques by a professional Japanese clothes mender. 4th-7th February – the annual French stitching show L’Aiguille en Fete takes place at the Porte de Versailles in Paris. This show is jammed with all kinds of inspiration! 5th – 7th February – Purlescence is hosting a weekender featuring the KNITSONIK Colourwork and Bespoke Yokes workshops with our good friends Felicity Ford and Brenda Dayne. If you missed Gwlana last fall, Felicity and Brenda are cramming their classes into two full days (and a Friday evening kick off) at Purlescence’s new location in Oxfordshire. 6th - 7th February – Rachel is teaching an Introduction to Drop Spindling and How to Knit a Sexy Sweater class at A Yarn Story. 10th February – It’s the next Late Night Knitty Lock-in of 2016 over at Wild & Woolly. Check out the details on their website. 13th - 14th February – Cécile Balladino is teaching her Eclectic Gipsyland crochet class at Loop. These are the same class but offered on two different days. The class will teach Cécile’s techniques for lace motifs, joining as you go, surface crochet and more. This is not a beginner’s class and you will be expected to already know how to crochet. 20th February – For those of you up north, Karie Westermann is teaching her Two-Handed Colourwork for Fair Isle and Nordic Style Colourwork class at Be Inspired Fibres in Edinburgh. 19th - 21st February – Unravel is happening at Farnham Maltings. We will be there with two stands – a joint Porpoise Fur/Yarn in the City stand where we will be debuting the London Craft Guide! We’ve just found out that our stand will be located in the Barley Room, so we do hope you’ll come and say hello! 26th - 28th February – Joeli’s Kitchen Retreat in Manchester. Featuring classes with Kate Atherley, Karie Westermann, Joeli and other great teachers, as well as a mini marketplace on the Sunday that will include Countess Ablaze. Giveaway: Speaking of Unravel – we still have a pair of tickets to giveaway. To enter, leave a comment in the show notes for Episode 28 and let us know what you’re looking forward to seeing at the show. We’ll draw a name on February 1st and announce the winner on the first podcast episode in February. Contest note: this pair of tickets is for a single day’s entry to the show and does not include any travel to Farnham. Good luck! Save the Date! We’ve finally figured out the date for this year’s Great London Yarn Crawl,which will be held on Saturday, 10th September. Mark the date in your calendars now and stay tuned for more details this spring! What we’re working on: Rachel is working on a sample of the Waterloo Mitts, our pattern from the London Craft Guide, in Eden Cottage Yarns Whitfeld DK. She is also working up her Knit a Sexy Sweater class sample by knitting the Middlefield Pullover by Melissa LaBarre from New England Knits, in Elann Peruvian Highland Chunky. She's finished knitting her Dark & Stormy, but the buttons and grosgrain ribbon are still to be done. She's finished spinning for the first Unravel hat and is almost ready to cast on. The first stage of the project is in her Design Diaries segment on her blog. Allison has her first FO of 2016 off the needles – the Quaking Aspen shawl by Courtney Kelley. She’s also finished spinning some Porpoise Fur handspun from the Lab Goddess Fibre Club and is working it up into the Grown Up Booties by Ysolda. She is also almost finished with her She’s a Waterfall shawl by Dani Sunshine. 2016 - The Do-Over: After last episode’s chat about themes for the year and having a focus for this year, we decided that we wanted to come up for one for our year. There are already lot’s of things out about being creative this year, all of which are great. But we were wondering if there was something we could do that would tie in to what Yarn in the City is all about. We also wanted it to be something that anyone could take part in, no matter how big or small, and in whatever way felt right and personal to them. We’ve been inspired by Calgary, Canada’s mayor Naheed Nenshi, who challenged his council and the citizens of Calgary to do Three Things for their community as a way to increase civic engagement (an overview here). The idea was simple: if there are over a million people in the city of Calgary and every person did three things to make the city better –image how amazing an already great city would be. When we were thinking about what we wanted to focus on in 2016 we looked back to the things and themes that resonated with us last year. And they were stories of people within our yarn and fibre community doing great stuff that makes it better for everyone. Whether it’s people who are spreading the passion of wool like the Wovember team, or podcasters likeShinybees and Curious Handmade, who demonstrate than knitting podcasts can build community, or show organisers like Jo and Mica who saw a void in their own community and created the Edinburgh Yarn Festival to fill it. As a community we’re sharing knowledge and learning from each other and asking questions. So this year we want to encourage you to do three things for the world wide yarn and fibre community. Think about what is important to you. Think about what you’re good at. Talk to your friends and figure out how you can make a difference, however small. Then we’d like you to do those things, and tell us about them on a dedicated Three Things for the yarn and fibre community thread on our Ravelry board, or on our Facebook page. You can even tweet or Instagram at us. Use the hashtag#3thingsforyarnlove so we can see what you're up to and cheer you on! And once you've done three things, do three more, and three more, and three more... As always, please let us know what you think by tweeting, liking, or loving our posts when you see them go up on Twitter,Facebook and Instagram – or even better, leave a comment in the shownotes, post on our Ravelry board or send us an email at hello@yarninthecity.com. You can find us on iTunes or Stitcher Radio (and please consider leaving a review for us!), or download us directly from the Yarn in the City website. Our Knit Night is every Wednesday from 7:00pm to 10:00pm at The Goat on the Rise in Clapham Junction. We'd love to have you join us! Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade) Howlin' At Nothing (Live in Denver), S. O. B. - Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night SweatsBright Lights and Amplifiers - American OperaLove in the World - Devon Heath
What's going on: 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 September - Rachel is teaching Learn to Spin: Drop Spindle, and How to Knit a Sexy Sweater Part 1: Swatching at A Yarn Story in Bath - spaces still available! 26-27th September - Yarndale, Skipton Auction Mart, Yorkshire 26th September - 4th October - Shetland Wool Week 5th - 11th October - UK Wool Week. Also happening in Canada (17th-29th September), France (25 - 27 September), and The Netherlands (12 - 18th October). 5 - 11th October - Spinzilla! A tru 6th October - TwinSpin, a partnership between the Association of Guilds of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers and the Campaign For Wool. The London TwinSpin will be held at Royal Festival Hall foyer from 6:00 pm. Just look for the folks with the spinning wheels and/or spindles in one of the corners on the main level. 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 and blocked her Skulls Sweater for her brother. All that's left is steeking and zipper insertion - hooray! In celebration she's cast on the Sproutlette Dress by Tanis Lavallee, in some gorgeous Dragon Wings yarn purchased in Ontario. Rachel is working on the last couple of designs for The Fibre Co, in chunky Tundra (60% llama/30% merino/10% silk). She's also cast on the Jewels pullover by Amy King to try and get ride of some Rowan boucle yarn that appeared mysteriously in her stash. Still going on the Aranami Shawl by OlgaJazzy (Rav link). And getting psyched up for the first Porpoise Fur fibre club that is starting in October - check out the details here. That's a Wrap: Well. The 3rd Annual Great London Yarn Crawl and the Yarn in the City Pop-Up Marketplace have been and gone, and were a huge success on the day. Thank you all so much for coming along an participating! In particular, we thank: Our fantastic volunteers at both events!!!! The shops, for participating and wholeheartedly getting in to the spirit of the day. Our Sponsors The Indie Designers, Kate Atherley and Brenda Dayne The Vendors at the Marketplace All the Yarn Crawlers, who helped us raise £1302 for our charity partner, Refuge. Our husbands and kids for putting up with us through all this madness. We've managed to catch our breath and start looking ahead to next year's plans, and will update you soon with more details. Thanks for joining us, and for all your support this year! You can find us on Ravelry, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, or go leave a review for us on iTunes or listen to us on Stitcher Radio. 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) upstairs at The Goat on the Rise, Clapham SW11 1EQ. Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade)Morning Light - The Dirty Guv'nahsLoneliness & Alcohol - Jars of ClayHands & Hearts - Katrina Stone
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
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
In which we are A) punchy, and B) 12 years old (and not necessarily in a good way)...What's going on:15-17th February: Craft Hobby + Stitch International in Birmingham20-22nd February: come join us at Unravel, in Farnham Maltings!28th February: Alli is doing a Soak demo at A Yarn Story in Bath.1 March: Bath Half Marathon!!!!! (send us good mojo and strong leg vibes please)5-8th March: the Spring Knitting and Stitching Show at Olympia Central, London15-16th March: EYF, and the sure-to-be-amazing Ca-baa-ret!21st March: Rachel is teaching two classes at A Yarn Story: Drop Spindling and Beginnings and Endings. 26th 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! In the works:Rachel has had a major fail in her Insight Pullover, which she discusses at great length, but thankfully without tears (she also blogged about it). To console herself, she cast on the Windmill Bay Stole by Sashka Macievich with some lovely green Drops Alpaca, and also cast on Teresa's Lined Mittens by Mavis Adam with some Herdwick from Prick Your Finger that she bought on the 2013 GLYC.Allison is almost done with her Munchkin Baby Blanket by Amy Swenson (just in time to ship it back to North America via Mom-post). Her Garter Squish Blanket is eating up stash, despite a small oversight in the knitting, and she's cast on for another Starsky and Hutch tea cozy by Jeni Hewlett (so adorbs!).We highlight the ongoing Not-a-KAL KAL on our Ravelry board. This is open to anyone who has been on either edition of the Great London Yarn Crawl and wants to knit up any yarn purchased at either event - WIPs or new projects welcome! The first round of the KAL runs from 1 Feb - 1 June, and there will be prizes! And Alli has plans for the next instalment...Serious talk: loving/valuing yourselfWe discuss value: valuing our skills as makers, as professionals, and why doing something for "exposure" ain't always what it's cracked up to be. With reference to the Fiber Factor (and kudos to Skacel for their response) and Things to Never Say to a Knitter. Value yourselves, your time, your skills and your passions folks!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 Difranco
Crafty Christmas Puddings! A short(-ish) and sweet podcast today, with some as-yet-unfinished gift knitting, a bit about our Christmas traditions, a quick look back on the past year, and what's to come, and Happy New Year wishes for you all.What we're working onAllison is working on Rachel's Bonfire Night Cowl in SweetGeorgia Superwash Six in the gorgeous Mulberry colorway. She is also still working on a Chunky Cabled Hat from Purl Soho for her husband, after a minor knitting malfunction required some ripping. Rachel is working on the amazing Cattywumpus Hat by Elizabeth Green Musselman, as well as finishing up a long-neglected Hedgehog Hat by Elise Cohen. Over the course of the episode, she also realises that she owes her husband a Copenhagen Hat, so that's next on the needles.Family TraditionsRachel waxes rhapsodical about the British Institution that is the Christmas Pantomime, but reveals that this year, they are hitting the bright lights of Leicester Square. Allison and her boys are hitting the pub for Christmas dinner this year, and are just happy to be in the same city for Christmas. We also talk about the slipperly slope of opening "just one" present on the night before Christmas, and various scarring experiences from our pasts. Bath Road Trip Round UpIn which a great time was had by all as we visited A Yarn Story (recently featured in Knit Now Issue 42 and Inside Crochet Issue 61), Country Threads, the overwhelming Bath Christmas Market (including visits to Bijoux Beads and The Makery) and Wool.Year in ReviewMost of the year was spent in the run up to GLYC 2014, which raised over £800 for Refuge - thanks to all of you for your support! We put out a call for submissions for our upcoming book, and took a fabulous day trip to Bath. Stay tuned for another road trip (to a slightly closer location) in Spring 2015, the release of the book, and perhaps a few other London-based events scattered here and there. And the Great London Yarn Crawl is on again for 5th September 2015, with a big surprise upcoming - watch this space for details coming in early January!Wrap UpWe wish you all a very Merry Christmas (or other Winter Solstice holiday of your choosing), and hope to bring you much more yarny news and goodness in 2015. We'll be back in mid-January, so we will talk to you then!Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade):Falling Like Snow - Canaries in the Coal MineAll I Want - John BrazellWonderful Christmastime - Joel Rakes
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