The Shinybees Knitting and Yarn Podcast: Recent Episodes
Jo Milmine
The podcast for those who like their knitting, yarn and comedy in equally large measures. Hosted by UK knitter Jo Milmine, there are regular interviews with all your favourite designers and dyers. Get the latest knitting news, yarn and pattern book reviews, show updates along with local yarn shop visits and knitting related travel. Business minded? Enjoy the interviews with knitting and yarn entrepreneurs for top tips and inspiration on making it in the industry. Enjoy the finest funny knitting pattern 'picks' that Ravelry has to offer.
Knitting is out and cross stitch is in this week, as the temperature in the UK makes it a bit less fun to be playing with yarn. Nobody likes to knit with sausage fingers, after all. After discovering 8BitNorth Cross Stitch thanks to an uncharacteristically helpful suggested post on Facebook, I've tripled somersaulted into a cross stitch obsession. Having never had across stitch 'stash' before, I'm now edging ever perilously closer to having one. Guess it took some indie/Brtipop and pop culture themed cross stitch patterns to make a stitcher out of me! Full Shownotes and links at www.shinybees.com/178 Music this episode is with kind permission of Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink', available from iTunes.
Hybrid Yarn festivals continue in this episode where Jo is joined by Aimee of KnitSpinCake podcast to review her experience of attending Unravel's hybrid yarn show. Aimee took part in the social aspects, saw some of the vendor showcases and, after attending one workshop with Bristol Ivy, promptly booked onto another with her the next day. Aimee covered the organisation of the show and we discussed some of the technical aspects of how it was run, from a visitor's point of view. She shared her views on the workshop offerings as well as the vendor spotlights. You can find Aimee @knitspincake on Instagram and the podcast at http://knitspincake.blogspot.com Full shownotes are at www.shinybees.com/177 Music for this episode is with kind permission of Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need A Drink' available from iTunes.
This week we're exploring the evolution of yarn festivals through the past year or so. Many of the festivals were forced to cancel their in person offer and have looked to alternative methods of putting on their event. After discussing the idea of online events this week, Unravel Festival's hybrid approach piqued my interest. Having not been a fan of the endless parade of vendors on Instagram live as an alternative to the traditional yarn show, I was interested to see how they are looking to combine an in person element with an online offer. This will be both on the vendor offer, as well as workshops being offered online and in person and a series of talks on offer. Whilst I don't think Instagram live yarn shows offer a great user experience, a show hosted on a specific platform focused on offering a show-like feel could add a lot of value to the industry. You can find all the details for Unravel at https://farnhammaltings.com/events/unravel-2021 Full shownotes - www.shinybees.com/176 Music for this episode is 'I Need a Drink' used with kind permission of Adam and the Walter Boys, and is available from iTunes.
Knitting, gin, books and a lucky scarf. This week's show is dedicated to Liz Marley aka @greensideknits, dear friend and listener of the podcast. An epic knitter and all round awesome, kind and witty person who will be very sadly missed. There's a general update to get us started, with the tale of Liz's Lucky scarf and how it continues to bring me good luck years later. The podcast will be on the move again in summer to Surrey. Knitting-wise, I've been working on my #DeliciousLIttleJoysKAL project which still isn't finished. After a false start where I re-learned the lesson that one is never too old for a lifeline, I'm focusing on getting at least one row a day in on that project. I'm also working on a modular blanket project using West Yorkshire Spinners ColourLab DK to make a Nintendo themed blanket. Gin-wise, there's a recipe for a refreshing sloe gin fizz. On the book reviews, sticking to the Fantasy/Steampunk angle we have a review of the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carrier, Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw and The Stranger Times by CK McDonnell. Full shownotes and links at www.shinybees.com/175 Music is Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need A Drink' used with kind permission.
If you have a knitter in your life, you'll appreciate this roundup of knitting gift ideas, that isn't more yarn. In this episode, we'll cover some suggestions for six alternative ideas for gifts for knitters. 1) Adidas Samba Fox trainers 2) A wool blanket 3) Project bags 4) Sheepy themed toiletries 5) Stuff to protect the yarn 6) Sheepskin producers, slippers or moccasins. Shownotes and all links at www.shinybees.com/174 Music as always with kind permission of Adam and the Walter Boys - 'I Need a Drink', available from iTunes.
Following Ep 171 about great patterns for baby knits and Ep 172 about good yarns for kids and baby knits, this week is a roundup of all the community feedback on both these subjects. I’m also asking for some suggestion on behalf of Kat, a lovely listener, who is undertaking a fairly arduous physical challenge. She’d appreciate some suggestions on how she can record this with an accompanying knitting project. All of the chat for this feedback occurred within the Shinybees Podcast Community. You can join for free at shinybees.com/community Kat’s Project Hey Jo, do you remember the interview question 'What yarn would you take on a desert island'? I have a similar dilemma: I'm planning to embark on a long distance hiking journey from Belgium tot Santiago the Compostela (2400km). Not in one go, spread over different holidays. Not sure if I'll ever make it but I like the clear focus. I'll be starting hopefully in March with the first stretch from home to the south trough Belgium. That should fit in the current Corona regulations. Being a Knitter, I find myself contemplating the travel knitting almost as much as the actual walking :D I can't take a lot of yarn to keep weight down. I plan to take two projects: * A recreational lace shawl * A project that captures the memories of the journey day by day. Could be as simple as one garter ridge per km. Or I'm thinking some sort of modular knit with every small module representing a day. I don't really know what I want to track yet: weather (sun, rain, cold,...), feelings, distance, landscape. I don't think I can take colours to represent the different items because it's hard to predict how much yarn I would need per colour. Maybe texture is better. Anyone got ideas? Yarn, patterns, textures? Which items I could track? Yarns for Baby Knits Continued From the community, here are some further suggestions on great yarns for baby and kids knits. Helen Swann suggested Sheepjes Colour Crafter as a good alternative to Stylecraft DK. It’s 100% acrylic, like Stylecraft DK, but squooshier, with a fair amount of drape. At £1.99 per 100g and in 94 shades, there’s bound to be shades you will like. Wendy Dinnage has been knitting for a couple at work who are expecting a baby. They’re vegan and very environmentally aware. Wendy decided to use Nurturing Fibres Eco Bamboo as it has great eco credentials. Patterns for Baby Knits A perennial favourite, Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Baby Surprise Jacket from The Knitter’s Almanac was suggested by Helen Talbot and Linda Hartley. Knitted With Love by Jane Ellison is a favourite of Nichola Nolan. It’s currently out of print, but most of the patterns are available as single patterns from Purl and Jane. Nevis top-down cardigan from Marianna’s Lazy Daisy Days was suggested by Laura Stephens. This designer also does some lovely preemie sizes too. Alison Naylor’s favourite is the Overalls with Cable Detail and Dorothy Helen baby blanket by Oge Knitwear. Leafy Abby Blanket from Silk and Wool by Leyla Alieva was suggested by Maureen Bulger. She’s knitted it a number of times and it’s gone down really well. A couple of bonnet suggestions – from Anna Friberg, the Sunshine Bonnet by Katarina Lindhagen, and the Beloved Bonnet by Tin Can Knits was suggested by Laura Stephens. Jade Hawson, who is a new listener, did a fantastic Mosaic Blanket (Purl Soho) using a colour changing gradient yarn, which looks fab! Anna Jordan suggests the Gramps Cardigan by Tin Can Knits. Anna Grim likes to make Allsorts the Owls for new parents. Linda Hartley favours the Troublemaker Cardigan by Kathryn Folkerth. Shownotes for this episode are at www.shinybees.com/173 Credits Music for this episode is by kind permission of Adam and the Walter Boys with ‘I Need a Drink’.
Following on from ep 171, today we are covering some of my go-to baby and kid knitting yarns. Split into 3 sections, we'll cover 4ply, DK and patterned yarns, at a variety of price points. There are also different fibres covered, so if you don't like animal fibre, or you don't want to use synthetics, there is a suggestion for you. 4-ply yarns are Regia Baby Smiles My First Regia, Drops Baby Merino, Adriafil Rugiada 4ply Sparkly, Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk 4ply, Sirdar Snuggle 100% Merino 4ply. DK yarns are Sirdar Snuggly Baby Crofter DK, West Yorkshire Spinners Colour Lab DK, Stylecraft Special DK, West Yorkshire Spinners Bo Peep Luxury DK and Rowan Baby Merino Silk DK. Patterned yarns are King Cole Big Value Baby 4ply Print, Stylecraft Merry Go Round DK, James C Brett Baby Twinkle Print DK, West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4ply Cocktail and Sirdar Snuggly Pattercake DK. Full show notes and links at www.shinybees.com/172 Join the Shinybees Podcast Community at www.shinybees.com/community Music for this episode is with kind permission of Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink' available from iTunes.
Knitting Patterns For New Babies I’m now an Auntie! And that means I actually need to produce some knitwear for the little fella. As such, it seemed a good idea to talk about good knitting patterns for new babies. I have already sent on some hand-me-down hand knits from Sanimal that were knitted by my Mother-in-Law. One was a really cute jumper with little intarsia (yay!) insects on. The other is a cardigan with fishes on the yoke and little orange buttons in the shape of a fish. That was a Tin Can Knits pattern, that was bought from Fluph in Dundee, and knitted in West Yorkshire Spinners Airedale in a petrol blue and a neon orange wool/acrylic blend. Knitting Yarn for Knitting For New Babies Before we get into the patterns, I think it’s worth talking a little about yarns. I have a lot of new knitters who have just begun to listen to the podcast. As such, I’ll share a few tips about choosing yarn for knitting for new babies. If the recipient’s offspring is a knitter, you can be a bit more adventurous in your yarn choices. You’re not going to be adding on a lot of extra work for them to look after the fibres when washing them, as they are already likely to be experienced in looking after fibre that can felt easily. Commercial sock yarn is my secret weapon when it comes to yarn for baby knits. It’s very hard wearing, you can often machine wash it and it wears really well. They tend to be in bright colours and self-patterning, which can produce an impressive effect with very little effort. If they aren’t a knitter, or are not that experienced, although you might be tempted to knit something in a beautiful delicate yarn, think about the recipient. They will be devastated if they ruin the yarn and felt or shrink the item. They also will have to spend time and effort on caring for it that they likely don’t have, if they have a new baby. There is a space for acrylic. Sometimes that is all the budget will stretch to, and it’s easy to look after and launder for people who are not used to looking after wool items. My go-to acrylic blend is Sirdar Snuggly. It’s a polyester/nylon mix and comes in a range of colours and is affordable and widely available. Stylecraft also do a great range of brightly coloured acrylics that are affordable and easy to get hold of. If you definitely want a natural fibre, consider using something like Debbie Bliss Cashmerino, which again comes in a range of colours and is easy to get hold of. Patterns 1) Kaya Mei by Jamie Hoffman Published in Knitsophy designs, this is a free pattern for a worsted weight fair isle beanie. It is sized 6-12 months up to adult. This would work really well with a patterned yarn combined with a plain yarn. 2) Basic Baby Hat by Heather Tucker This is a free pattern for a DK weight basic baby beanie, with a ribbed bottom, stocking stitch body. I like to knit this in patterned yarn and add a ridiculously oversized pom pom on top. 3) In Threes: A Baby Cardigan by Kelly Herdrich This worsted weight cardigan is a super customisable pattern, with the resulting garment lasting quite a long time due to the design. It’s also really easy to extend the length to get some more wear out of it. It’s a paid pattern available for USD $6. The garter stitch yoke adds nice detail without being too complex. 4) Pilo Cardigan by Imke von Nathusius This is a classic unisex, staple, fingering weight cardigan with raglan sleeves and buttons. Sized from 0-3 months to 7-8 years, it’s plain stocking stitch that could work in most yarns. It’s available for €5. 5) Kashti by Liz Corke This is a square DK weight blanket that has a main colour and a border made up of 6 different coloured stripes. It’s a great way to use up a set of minis or scraps. Blankets are always useful and popular, so it’s a good choice. 6) Easiest and Fastest Baby Booties Ever by A La Sascha A super free patter for some worsted weight booties. Everyone loves a set of booties! 7) Little Dino by Susan B Anderson This knitted toy pattern is both cute and a super opportunity to try lots of techniques in one small project. If you’re a new knitter, this could be a useful project to upskill quickly. It’s available for $5 US. 8) Kicking Bag for Babies by Annika Sanimal was gifted one of these and it was a super useful item, especially when he was small. You can quickly pop the baby in the little bag and keep them snug and cosy. It’s fingering weight, so ideal for using us scraps or a much-loved skein of hand dyed. And it’s a free pattern. Winner. What are your favourite or go-to patterns for knitting for new babies? Let me know over in the Shinybees Podcast Community, @shinybees on social or via email. Full shownotes available at www.shinybees.com/171
What will be the knitting trends for hand knitters in 2021? Not that I am in any way an authority on the finer points of craft fashion and popularity, but these are my predictions for what will be a knitting trend in 2021.
Knitting Trends For 2021
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Intarsia It’s not the first time Intarsia has featured in my list of predicted trends for the year, and it’s not quite fulfilled its promise as yet in terms of reaching that top knitting trend popularity. There have been a few notable patterns, but it has still to reach mainstream appeal. I think this is because the patterns haven’t been quite ‘must have’ enough, but also it’s a bit of a fiddly and more involved technique. Once one of the big designers gets in on this, I think it Intarsia will become a bigger trend.
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Texture We’re all in need of some comfort as we slide into a second year of restricted living. As such, I think a big knitting trend this year will be chunky texture. Think big, thick comforting cables, heavier weight yarns and any project you can wrap yourself up and cocoon in.
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Textured Yarns Hot on the heels of the knitting micro-trend of holding mohair yarns double with a smooth yarn, I think textured yarns will be more popular. This may be in the form of novelty yarns (ok just me). More likely, it will be as an interest in different yarn constructions in natural fibres. Bouclé, chainette and fringed yarns will emerge in popularity. Designs will also feature bigger textured elements, such as fringing, tassels and frills.
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Tank tops Once the preserve of the 70s, then the 90s, tank tops or knitted vests are going to be a catwalk trend this year. As such, expect them to become a hand knitting trend this year too. Whether it be stranded knits or more utilitarian pieces, expect more patterns for knitted vests.
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Checks and Plaid Hand knitted checks will become more popular in 2021. Whether it is a tartan style, plaid, checks or argyle, it will emerge as a knitting trend.
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Sophisticated Loungewear High quality knitted loungewear that’s a bit fancier than athleisure will be a big trend. Not necessarily hand knitted versions, but commercially available knitted garments as opposed to synthetics.
Yarn trends for 2021 I think more interesting yarn constructions will increase, particularly in natural fibres. Stash usage will increase as stock backlogs from Covid and Brexit delay distribution. What are your thoughts? What do you think will be a big knitting trend in 2021? Let me know in the comments below!
What do you want to hear on the podcast? Finish this sentence: “If I could get Jo to make a podcast on anything, it would be…” – put your answers in the comments or email me at info@shinybees.com
DeliciousLittleJoysKAL The Delicious Little Joys KAL has come to a close. Prizes will be given out over the next week or so. It’s been great to see all the finished objects. The everyday Delicious Little Joys have been fun to join in with, especially right now when there isn’t much going on. I’m still working on my Glitz at the Ritz shawl by Helen Stewart. It’s a free pattern you can find on Knitty. Full Shownotes at www.shinybees.com/170 Music for this episode is with kind permission of Adam and the Walter Boys, with I Need a Drink, available from iTunes.
It's a new year so naturally, there's a lot of chat around about challenges, projects and planning. Today's episode is about knitting challenges. Are you taking part in any for 2021? Don't worry if you aren't; hopefully this episode will still be useful for you, and there is no lack-of-challenge shaming! There are plenty of variations on the theme of challenges, when it comes to knitting. Knitalongs would fall into this bracket, along with projects like Make 9, where you select 9 things to make during the year (not all of which have to be knitted). Dear friend of the podcast Helen Stewart of Curious Handmade Podcast is running the 20 for 2021 challenge. This is more flexible as far as challenges go, and is almost a series of prompts, designed to encourage you to try different things in your knitting, without any pressure. There's a hashtag to go along with it #20for2021 and you can tick off multiple prompts for one project, which means you don't need to do 20 projects to take part. A temperature blanket is another idea for a year long challenge. Louise Tilbrook of Everyday Knitter completed one of these in 2020, and has an ebook available, should you wish to create your own version. Here are my top tips for knitting challenges. 1) Don't feel like you have to do a challenge. It's your knitting. Do what you want. 2) Avoid the FOMO. Don't get swept up with the latest knitting celeb MKAL for a garment or accessory you're never going to wear. this about what you would love to have knitted. Break down what you need to learn or practice in order to be able to do that project. Choose mini projects to help you learn those skills in a more achievable and quick way. Use materials that make you excited and inspired to work with them. 3) Cut yourself some slack. If you don't keep up, so what? It's your hobby and it's the thing you are trying to learn and it should be fun, not an obligation. Enjoy the process. Full shownotes and links at www.shinybees.com/169 Music with kind permission of Adam and the Walter Boys.
This episode is fairly light on the knitting chat as my creative exploits this week are mostly focused around creating a vision board for 2021. My word for the year for 2021 came courtesy of Gery Cinnamon and his song 'Canter', which I heartily recommend checking out. Make it the radio edit f you have kids around, as the original is tagged explicit. The lyrics really called to me and I decided from that to make my word of 2021 'Canter'. Along with this there is some chat about vision boards and their utility. I have done vision board exercises with my business retreat attendees for years. Having discussed them this past week with my current coaching group, I chat some more about them in this episode. Have you ever done a vision board? I'd love your feedback and any good resources you would recommend. If you haven't made on before - are you considering it? Full show notes are at www.shinybees.com/168 Music for this episode is with kind permission of Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink', available on iTunes.
This week we take a trip down memory lane to 2014, and a pattern pick I originally recorded for A Playful day podcast. It's a Christmas themed one, and it - of course - contains some great comedy knitting patterns. In the news, I talk about Podcasting Unpacked. I was also a guest on the Brewtime Podcast with Fiona Brennan and I heartily encourage you to take a listen. Full show notes at www.shinybees.com/167 Music for this episode is Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink', available from iTunes.
This week is a quick chat on Scotch Eggs and a surprising fact about Scotch Egg knitting and crochet patterns.
Moth infestation in knitwear is every knitter's worst nightmare. In this episode I cover some of the background of which kinds of moths chew knitwear in the UK and how to get rid of them. There are only two, but they do a lot of damage and they're on the rise. You can tell you have an infestation usually when there has already been damage and you find little holes in the knitwear. It's common for these to be in areas like the sleeve and neck. Moth larvae are the culprit (adult moths don't have the mouth parts needed for knitwear decimation). The problem you have with larvae is they're very hard to see. They are around 1mm long which makes it easy for them to slip into the knitwear unnoticed. Unless you have go go gadget eyes, you're unlikely to see them. There are ways to deal with the pesky blighters. The best way is to prevent them in the first place, which may not always be possible, especially if you live in an older property. Cleanliness is key, so vacuum inside the wardrobe regularly and ensure clothes are spread out on the hangers and kept off the floor. Adding natural repellants such as lavender, eucalyptus, laurel, rosemary, patchouli and cedar will dissuade the adults from wanting to lay eggs in the wardrobe. Keep valuable and out of season clothes in storage bags to prevent access. If you have an infestation, step one is to remove all the items from the wardrobe and clean them all. Either launder at a high temperature (60 degrees), dry clean or steam clean them, or clean them and put them in a freezer for 48 hours, which will kill eggs and larvae. Clean the inside of the wardrobe by hoovering right into all the crannies and removing dust. Wipe's the surfaces with a damp cloth with detergent, anti-bacterial spray or diluted white vinegar to remove dirt and eggs. Full show notes are at www.shinybees.com/165 Music Credits: Adam and the Walter Boys, 'I Need A Drink' used with kind permission and available from iTunes.
With all the joy sucked out of life at the moment, it's time to turn festive up to 11! As a massive Christmas fan, I'm always one to have the real tree picked out, chopped down and in the house by the last week in November. This year, I'm planning to go a little bigger on the decoration front and add quite a bit more to interiors to get in the spirit. After all, it's not like we're going to be anywhere but indoors for a while. And when it comes to fairy lights, more is always more. So this week I have a pattern selection to share with you for knitted Christmas wreaths. I'm aware some of my lovely listeners don't celebrate Christmas, so I've been sure to add some suggestions that are suitable for you too. As always, there's a mix of free and paid patterns. Where possible, links go to designer's own sites. Be aware some links go to Ravelry if you have accessibility difficulties on that site. Pattern Pick - Knitted Christmas Wreaths 1) Woolly Wreath & Garland by Church Mouse Yarns and Teas 2) Awreatha by Rachel Kluesner 3) Woodland Wreath by Frankie Brown 4) Hampstead Wreath by Wendy Baker and Belinda Boaden 5) Merry Knitmas Advent Wreath by Sue Stratford 6) Christmas Jumper Wreaths by Zoe Michel Images and links to these patterns are in the full show notes at www.shinybees.com/164 Credits - Music for this episode is with kind permission of Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink' available on iTunes.
The #DeliciousLittleJoysKAL is coming! Having not hosted a KAL for a long time, I was inspired to do one given we are now in the second, not that exciting sequel to the original lockdown part one. Delicious little joys is the theme and the idea is to embrace the idea of looking for delicious little joys in the every day. Indeed, it’s about actively building in joy to your day. It’s gonna be miserable in the Northern hemisphere soon, so finding ways to bring joy will be a positive thing. Yarn is any that brings you joy. Pattern is any joyful pattern. We start on 15th November and will continue until we don’t need any more joy (which might be around 1st February 2021. It can be a fresh cast on, or one you have had around for a while. Sewing, Crochet or any other craft is welcome, so long as it is joyful. All the chat will take place in the Shinybees Podcast Club on Mighty Networks (shinybees.com/community to join) and you can use the hashtag #DeliciousLittleJoysKAL on social if you like. Things to help with joy: Chase gin #Ginabled Yoga With Adriene Early morning brews with a fantasy book Chocolate Brownie Cake Honey Flapjacks Knitting The For Fox Sake jumper yarn I had originally planned to use – West Yorkshire Spinners Croft – is reported to be a bit pilly. As a result, I’m now considering Eden Cottage Yarns Milburn DK or West Yorkshire Spinners Bluefaced Leicester, if I can find enough balls in the right colours. Books I’m now up to #7.5 in the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch. They continue to suffer from the plot-dropping-off-a-cliff in the last 20 pages. Once I accepted this would be the case, I could just enjoy the books for what they are. Winterblaze by Kristen Callaghan was a surprise library find and I enjoyed the strong female protagonist in this book. It’s set in Victorian London and the world building and plot were good. It’s a bit racy in parts, but not at the expense of a great story. Worth a look. Infinity Son by Adam Silvera was dreadful. I’m glad it was a library book, or I would have been rather annoyed. Zero worldbuilding for the first book in the series, meandering ‘yoof’ dialogue and sterotyping, boring and predictable. Abandoned at page 85. Avoid. A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende. Heartily recommend this interesting historical fiction set in the Spanish and Chilean revolutions. Full showotes at www.shinybees.com/165 Music for this episode with kind permission of Adam and the Walter Boys with ‘I Need A Drink’ available from iTunes.
You may or may not have heard before about the infamous folklore that is the Boyfriend Sweater Curse, also known as The Sweater Curse. The Love Sweater Curse occurs when a knitter undertakes to knit a jumper for a significant other, and this leads to the breakdown of the relationship - sometimes before the recipient has even received the gift! In a 2005 survey, 15% of knitters reported having experienced this very curse. 41% believed that it might be true. SO it's worth knowing about, even if you don't believe in it. This subject came up as I am about to -finally - undertake knitting a jumper for my massive husband. On the way to the knitting, the topic of Wiganese food is covered in some depth, including the Wigan Kebab, Babbie's Yed and Smack Barm Pey Wet. It is via this high carb and extremely beige route that one's Southern husband - who has some very questionable chip habits - came to earn the honour of having his very first jumper knitted for him. Remember - it's a barm cake. It's not a bap, bread roll, bread cake, cob, muffin or any of that nonsense. We'll have no trouble, here! Full show notes at www.shinybees.com/162 - bread based controversy on any social where I'm @Shinybees. Music for this episode is 'I Need A Drink' with kind permission of Adam and the Walter Boys and is available to download via iTunes.
Socktober continues to inspire in this episode where I have a pattern pick of ten colourwork sock pattern ideas to share with you.
I'm joined in this episode by Tania Ashton Jones of TJ Frog to talk all about Dorset Buttons.
Tania and I met a few years ago now when she was at the start of her business journey in the yarn world, having previously been in the Royal Navy for 22 years. She came back to knitting via a retreat in France and was hooked. After a happy coincidence where she was introduced to Dorset Buttons via a workshop with her friend, Tania became obsessed with making them, and set about learning about the history of the button.
Tania described some of that history, from the original tiny sheep horn buttons, through metal and linen buttons and into the more common types found today. They come in a variety of designs and can be made from any sort of yarn. Originally from Dorset herself, Tania never learned about the button making as a child at school, although happily she reports that some schools do now teach this.
Tania currently lives in a small community on the Isle of Skye, and uses her surroundings there, as well as her heritage in Dorset to inform and inspire the products she makes. Knitting still features alongside the Dorset Buttons, and Tania has a very special range of yarns that she created with some very high provenance wools from Dorset and Skye. Indeed her latest Cheviot yarn is grown at the end of her driveway!
Along with the yarn, Tania also has project bags and needle holders, which are made of linen and are a nod to the linen fabric originally used to make the Dorset Buttons. These are sewn by a company in Edinburgh, and again reflect Tania's commitment to products with a story and collaborating with other businesses.
If you've ever been curious about the Isle of Skye, you should give Tania's podcast a try. Along with the weather (a constant and ever changing source of conversation for us Brits, but particularly so on the West Coast of Scotland!) she talks about what she is making, creativity as well as interviewing textile related businesses on Skye. It's the perfect way to armchair travel to Scotland, so give it a listen!
Tania has very kindly offered 10% off all items in her shop until 10th November 2020 with the discount SHINYBEES10.
You can find Tania at http://tjfrog.co.uk
Full show notes and links at www.shinybees.com/160
Socktober lends its inspiration this week, where I have a rundown of ten previous banging' Shinybees episodes that cover some great sock themed content. There are a couple of interviews, as well as some expert advice from Clare Devine on the Sock Surgery, all handily signposted from this episode. You'll find all the links in the shownotes at shinybees.com but here is the shortlist: Ep 27 - Toe up or Cuff Down For Socks Ep 29 - How to Make Socks That Fit Ep 33 - How to Fix Your Socks When They Go Wrong Ep 35 - Cast Offs For Socks Ep 38 - Louise Tilbrook - Everyday Knitter 'Science by Day, Socks by Night' Ep 43 - Short Rows for Socks Ep 53 - Knitting Socks for Summer Ep 62 - Kate Atherley - Custom Socks Ep 68 - Socks Yeah - Rachel Coopey In other news, I've completed my Snawheid and had the sewing machine out to sew up a split crotch (not mine). I've welcomed in a new family member to Shiny Heights - Dave the Mini - and have been drawing unnecessary police attention. Also in this episode is some information about Developmental language Disorder. I've just signed up to be an ambassador for raising awareness of DLD. You can find more at RADLD.org. Music for this episode with kind permission of Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink', available from iTunes. Full show notes at www.shinybees.com/159
There are some great knitting sites available and I often forget that not everyone has discovered them yet. That was the case this week during a discussion on the Shinybees Podcast Community, when I shared the new Knitty First Fall publication, and found that some people had never heard of Knitty! So, this week I have shared some of my favourite knitting sites that I come back to often, specifically to help those new knitters that have started listening tot the podcast during lockdown, or that have started listening after returning to the needles. Knitty is the first example. It's been running since 2002 and has a great mixture of free patterns, articles and tutorials for all levels of knitter. Run by Amy Singer, it's a treasure trove of pattern inspiration and is where a lot of new pattern designers go to cut their teeth designing. Anyone can submit a pattern to Knitty, and there is some good guidance about what a new designer needs. to bear in mind when doing so. Next up is the Craft Yarn Council, where you will find lots of industry standard information about things like sizing, conventions etc. There are also plenty of downloadables for icons and other paraphernalia to use on your patterns. Guidance for the new designer is plentiful and aimed at helping you make good design submissions. Yarnsub will help you find yarns to substitute in for the yarn a pattern calls for. Knitting History Forum has a large array of resources and reading lists for learning more about historical aspects of knitting from all over the world. Tin Can Knits have very kindly provided not only a massive array of knitting patterns, but also a pattern collection specifically designed to facilitate teaching knitting - The Simple Collection. They also have tutorials on their website for every technique used in their patterns as well as pretty much everybpther technique going. Music for this episode is Adam and the Walter Boys with I Need a Drink, available on iTunes Full show notes at www.shinybees.com/158
The RAF Comforts Committee was formed by the Air Council in October 1939 to determine the type and quantities of 'knitted comforts' required for the RAF as well as arrange for their collection, storage and distribution through their depots. Inspired by a random eBay purchase of an RAF Comforts Committee pin badge some years ago, and recently rediscovering said badge, this episode delves into a little of the history of the RAF Comforts Committee. Full show notes at www.shinybees.com/157 Music for this episode with kind permission of Adam and the Walter Boys, with I Need a Drink, available from iTunes
This week is sponsored by Back to School, specifically the absolute abomination that is school shoe shopping. Despite indeed having no school for the kids, I decided to brave Clarks and get the pre-requisite footwear on a special early morning appointment. Sadly, this did not prevent the usual dick move behaviour when shopping for shoes from my dearly beloved offspring. Naturally, this inspired a back to school themed Pattern Pick. Full show notes at www.shinybees.com/156 Music for this episode with kind permission of Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink' available from iTunes.
Following an existential corona crisis a few episodes back, I've added more blonde streaks, I'm working on the Mini and I have been looking for some vintage inspired pieces to add to my wardrobe. This week I've gone through A Stitch in Time Volume 2 by Susan Crawford and Jane Waller to select my top five must-knit patterns. These have been chosen for their versatility in modernising the look to be wearable now, even if you aren't a vintage fan. The styling of the A Stitch in Time books is sublime and I love the extra information that is included about the historical social and economic conditions of the time, and how these shaped fashions. There is also a section with rules of thumb to assist with adjusting the patterns to achieve the perfect vintage fit. My top five patterns are: 1) The Jan Sweater 2) Fair Isle Cardigan 3) A Warm Jacket with an Unusual Bubble-Stitch Yoke 4) Warm Jumper 5) Sports Sweater You can find all these patterns along with 75 more in the A Stitch in Time Volume 2 book which is available at susancrawfordvintage.com for £35 print and £25 PDF. Full show notes at www.shinybees.com/155
This week it's about finding a mindless way to feel productive by painting the fence. There's a lot going on at Casa Shiny and my parents have been restricted again in Greater Manchester, along with a load of friends, so the 'rona is making its presence felt. Thus, I have included some quality Youtube material to give you a giggle, including the Floppotron and the genius that is Sexy Sax Man. I've done some knitting on the Snaw Heid hat in between roaming Sussex and Kent looking for a new place to live. Reading wise, it's been all about The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman. She's a northerner and a knitter, so it was always going to be good. I've also just discovered the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch. Full show notes at www.shinybees.com/154 Music for this episode is with kind permission of Adam and the Walter Boys - I Need a Drink which is available on iTunes.
Eight years of the Shinybees Knitting Podcast means today is my Octopodiversary! Not sure if that is even a real world, but I'm now going to own it on the whole internet. This show is a roundup of my top 8 episodes of the past 8 years. Maybe you're a new listener and haven't gone that far back yet. perhaps you've been listening for a while - maybe since the beginning - and have forgotten these episodes. I'd forgotten some of the stuff and I was in them! There are some soundbites from each episode for your listening pleasure, which should bring a smile to your face and a giggle to your heart. 1) Ep 36 - The One With The Circus Music and a Trip to New Lanark Mill 2) Ep 3 - The C Word 3) Ep 34 - Making it as a Knitwear Designer with Kate Davies 4) Ep 55 - Vintage Shetland Project - An Interview with Susan Crawford 5) Ep 13 - The Cat in the Hat 6) Ep 51 - Still Got It 7) Ep 118 - British Wool, Sourcing and Labelling with Joy McMillan of The Knitting Goddess 8) Ep 120 - Rusty Ferret with Leona-Jayne of Fluph Full show notes at www.shinybees.com/153 Music for this episode very kindly provided by James Milmine (original composition) and Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink' - available from iTunes.
This week there's a new home for the podcast community on the horizon, so there's a lot of chat about that - and about the general negativity of social media in general. The podcast is intended to be a fun and uplifting experience, so I am reluctant to bring listeners to a community on a platform that is negative and horrible to be on. I'm fleshing out the platform ready to move over, but the podcast community will be leaving Facebook in the next couple of weeks. A roundup of knitting fails follows this chat, and I discuss needing to rip back an 80% complete jumper. Full show notes at www.shinybees.com/152 Music for this episode is Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink' available on iTunes.
We’re back after a regrettable rain and laptop-based accident, which caused an unplanned break in the schedule. If you decide to do yoga outside, remember to bring your computer back in when you are finished. If you live in the North, it’s probably going to rain, even if it is cracking the flags currently. A two-week break from any sort of work has encouraged me to pick up the needles again. I’ll tell you about that a bit later. Interiors and Decorating I’ve made the most of the unscheduled break by having some decorating work done in the house. Farrow and Ball’s Stiffkey Blue is the colour of choice for my spare room/office/podcast ‘studio’. Stiffkey is a dark blue, which I had colour matched at Valspar as it’s more cost effective than buying Farrow and Ball paint. I’m a massive interiors fan. The current options for styling are an Edwardian Gentlemen’s Club vibe or something a little softer. Being a huge lover of Victoriana, Scots Baronial architecture and bank lamps, I’m sort of leaning towards the Gentleman’s Club approach. Interiors I am looking to source more locally since lockdown. I’ve been a supporter of provenance in knitting yarns for a long while. As long as we know the provenance of yarn, it allows us to make informed choices about what we purchase. Taking this forward, I’m looking to expand this care and attention to supply chains and sustainability to everything I bring into my house. Yarn-wise, you should definitely listen to Ep with Joy McMillan, where we discuss yarn provenance in great detail. This is one of my all-time favourite interviews. Labour Behind The Label This campaign group has written a report about the state of some of the factories in Leicester that are supplying fast fashion online retailers such as BooHoo and ASOS. You can find the report here and they are @labourbehindthelabel on Instagram. Unclear Labelling and Misleading Marketing I bought a cupboard this week from an online store that gives a very ‘British’ appearance in its marketing. When the item arrived, it said ‘designed in the UK’ on its box, but said it was ‘made in PRC’. This annoys me, because many people don’t know that PRC is the full name for China, and it feels like it is deliberately trying to hid the fact that it is manufactured there. It’s more sustainable to have locally-manufactured things, so I’m actively trying to do that. I’ll be joined soon on the podcast by UK Manufacturing expert and champion Kate Hills, from Make It British to discuss the UK wool manufacturing industry. What I’m Knitting Still working on the Compass Sweater by Tin Can Knits. I’m now on the sleeves and am really loving the result so far. It’s going to be really cosy. It’s knit in Excelana DK, from Susan Crawford Vintage. Future Knits I’ll be casting on Orchidacea by Susan Crawford in Nurturing Fibres Supertwist DK. Eight Bit Geekalong by Lattes and Lamas has massively caught my imagination. It’s a free pattern for a mystery knitalong for a colourwork sweater. The swatch clue is already available and the first proper clue is dropped on August 2nd. This pattern is only available on Ravelry [WARNING: there have been some problems for users on the Ravelry website and the Epilepsy Foundation has issued a seizure warning for the website. Do not use it if you may be at risk]. The Queen Bee Pullover, also by Lattes and Llamas looks to be in my future. Surely the Shinybees needs a bee themed colourwork pattern! Susan Crawford Vintage New Website I’ve been revisiting a lot of Susan’s back catalogue recently as I’m planning to re-embrace the tank tops I was so fond of wearing in my earlier years. I used to be very fond of vintage clothing, so I have been looking at some vintage style patterns. There are some really nice patterns, such as the Jan Sweater and the Sun Ray Ribbing Sweater. You can find these and all her other patterns at susancrawfordvintage.com Full shownotes are at Shinybees.com/151 Credits Musis for this episode is with very kind permission of Adam and The Walter Boys with ‘I Need a Drink’
Here we are at episode 150! This week's planned content has been rejigged so it's a little later than planned. There have been some issues with accessibility on Ravelry which meant it is unwise at this stage for me to add any further links to the site. There's lots of information out there about the problems. TL;DR the new site design is giving people visual disturbances, migraines and in some cases, triggering seizures. At the moment, the Ravelry team don't appear to be communicating that they are listening to these valid concerns, so for the time being, I will not be adding new links to the site from here. I am - at this stage - not removing existing links as that sends traffic and pattern sales to designers and dyers - some of whom also fall into the circle of being negatively affected by the recent design changes on Ravelry. I will review this regularly and will remove existing links if it becomes apparent that the potential for harm will remain indefinitely. I have many links to Ravelry on my site and all of us knitters have been long term users and benefactors of the site. I implore Ravelry to listen to the feedback and make the changes that are needed in order for us all to continue to benefit from the site, without excluding disabled people. In lieu of knitting content, I talk about resin jewellery and review a kit I bought from Resin8.co.uk. Full shownotes are at shinybees.com/150 Music for this episode is Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink'.
I've dug up some long term WIPs this week and it has heartily revived my knitting mojo! I've been stuck at home for 13 weeks on my own with two children. I never thought I would have to do this amount of time on my own with kids ever. Not without some kind of park I can go throw them on or grandparents, I can go throw them at. Or, you know, even just being able to go to the pub and have a drink, frankly. So I'm feeling quite proud of myself in some ways. That's pretty good. Right? You know, everyone's still alive. Everyone's reasonably happy. Things are getting done. People are functioning more or less. Some days more, some days less. That's how it is. And I'm sure it's very similar story for you, or it is from those of you that I've been speaking to.
Last orders at the bar for the content marketing 101 content calendar creation online workshop that I'm doing with Farnham Maltings. It's taking place next week, 23rd June 2020.
On with the knitting then, and the kind of title of today's quick chat. I have actually knitted this week. I'm very pleased. Now, I recorded last week's episode and that was on StashFit and it was a semi review, semi rumbling, introspective about the philosophy of stash and why it's difficult to get rid of some times. I think at times, the stash has a lot of emotional weight that it probably isn't entitled to. Depending on, you know, maybe where you've been, when you've bought some then or who you are with, there's a lot of memories involved. I also found a ton of WIPs lying around. I love a good WIP. I love a good project bag. I've got loads of them. And the problem with project bags is, if you've got more than one, it don't matter if you've got a WIP in it, because you can get the other one and just put a new WIP in that. And before you know, it, there's all these legacy WIPs lying around in baskets, The thing with a WIP is if it's a WIP that's been there for a while, it's not like a new cast on. It can feel like one, because it's a bit new and exciting, but it isn't necessarily a new cast on, so you don't feel guilty about knitting on that instead of the thing you're supposed to be finishing. So I had a rummage around in there, and I found a Snaw Heid hat, which is a pattern by Kate Davies for a 4 ply bobble hat, with little snowflakes on it, and then a really pretty crown. The last time I remember vigorously working on this (and I say vigorously, I have only knitted about two inches of it) was when I lived in Elgin in Scotland. If you've been listening for a while, because this podcast has been going for nearly eight years now, or even if you started listening a few weeks ago, like Helen, but you've gone through the Elgin chapter, you'll know that that was 2015. I just picked it up and started knitting on it. I thought I could totally get this finished. I feel really motivated now to finish this because I'd forgotten all about it. So that's what I did. And it was really enjoyable. Actually, I was quite excited about the whole thing. I think there's something that feels deeply satisfying about it being such an old WIP as well. Now it isn't the oldest whip in that basket by a country mile. There's definitely stuff in there from at least 2013 and earlier. I'm knitting this project in Nurturing Fibres is the Basotho Blanket, self stripe colour way, with the pony grey contrast colour, and the pony grey contrast color is acting as the main colour in this hat. I'll be back again next week, episode 150. In the meantime, please have a lovely, lovely week happy crafting and I will speak to you again soon. Cheers. Full shownotes and links at www.shinybees.com/149 Music for this episode is with kind permission of Adam and the Walter Boys, with 'I Need a Drink' available on iTunes.
After the revelation of Ep 146, where I talked about seriously considering a Full and Complete destash, which may or may not have been a mid-Corona crisis, this week I review a method for creating a stash that fits. It's not some ghastly attempt at enforcing small stashed and yarn diets - far from it. The StashFit process is a well designed method for achieving a stash that creates joy and excitement, instead of guilt and dread. Cate Carter Evans of Infinite Twist is the dyer behind the system, and she surveyed and worked with many knitters to refine the StashFit process, as well as determine the optimal stash size. Full shownotes at www.shinybees.com/148 Music for this episode is from Adam and the Walter Boys, with 'I Need a Drink', used with kind permission.
Some patterns to comfort or soothe might be what you need right now. This episode has five patterns with that cosy, comforting feeling for you to check out. Also there are three resources for finding great podcasts by BIPOC and/or Women of Colour on all kinds of subjects. It's not always easy to identify podcasts made by hosts from a more diverse range of communities due to siltation on search. Luckily, there are great directories out there to help! Full shownotes and links at www.shinybees.com/147 Music for this episode is by Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink' available on iTunes.
Have you ever considered a complete destash? As in, getting rid of all your stash, totally, and starting again from scratch? Or not starting again? In this episode Jo confesses to having more than a passing consideration for getting rid of all of her painstakingly-assembled-over-nine-years-and-three-continents stash. It's triggered somewhat of a life audit in other areas (or maybe vice-versa). Jo asks some tough questions as to why this might be happening, and invites you to come along on the ride whilst the stash audit takes place. Full shownotes at www.shinybees.com/146 Music for this episode with kind permission of Adam and the Walter Boys, 'I Need a Drink' available on iTunes.
This week, we're all about the cats. Despite being a non-cat lover, it is hard to deny that there are some great patterns out there for cat themed - well - everything! Whether you are looking for knitting or crochet, fine yarn to heavy yarn or even cat hair, there is a suggestion for everyone today. 1) Cat in a Corset by Anna Hrachovec 2) Cat Love by Sweater Freak 3) Cat Hair Finger Puppet by Kaori Tsutaya and Amy Hirschmann 4) Cat in the Night Mittens by Lumi Karimitsa 5) Slouchy Cat Hat by Maria Gilligan 6) Cat Lover Blanket by Marken of the Hat & I 7) Cats Love Sweaters by Christine Landy 8) Dinosaur by Sara Thomas 9) Cat Window Valence by Christine Nault 10) 095 Cat Sphynx Findus with Wire Frame Amigurumi Full shownotes at www.shinybees.com/145 Music for this episode with kind permission of Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink'.
Hello and welcome to all new and returning listeners! I planned for today’s episode to be a short one, however, once I got into the flow of chatting, it ended up being a full lengther. There’s been lots of chat in the Shinybees Podcast Community on Facebook. I’m still looking for a new home beyond Facebook. I’ve found social media and the news to be extremely negative at the moment. I’ve responded to this by judiciously muting and blocking of overly negative people and content. This has been an overwhelmingly positive thing. Sidenote – school whatsapp groups are the work of the devil and should be avoided. I’ve also been taking part in Home by Yoga With Adriene. This is a 30 day freebie program on YouTube for a daily practice. She’s non-judgy and it feels quite achievable. Be kind to yourself, dear listener. You’re trying your best, and nobody is running the same race that you are. Kitty Couches are the order of the day, in particular the Kitty Couch – Green Sofa pattern by Candy Clayton. You can get this belter on Ravelry for $1.99. Give your cat the personal sofa they truly deserve in one of three exciting shapes! I did a pattern pick way back where I had a pattern pick with cats wearing hats, including a pimp hat (I think that was called ‘my pimp paw is strong’) On the knitting front, I’m still working on the Compass Sweater by Tin Can Knits. This pattern is being knit in Susan Crawford Vintage Excelana DK, which is a great workhorse yarn. I would love if the pattern had options for waist shaping, which they usually are in Tin Can Knits patterns. Even a recipe for the shaping in the notes area would be really useful. I’ve also finished my Lush Cardigan in Countess Ablaze Grande Merino DK. I’ve finally found suitable buttons to complete the garment, courtesy of Jess at Ginger Twist Studios. These are from Incomparable Buttons, which manufacture handmade ceramic buttons in South Africa. The company has a strong focus on economic empowerment. The colour of the yarn is great, but I think the merino is too soft; it’s already bobbling at this gauge. The other two Lush cardigans have been plumper DK and the resulting fabric has been thicker, denser and harder wearing. What I’m reading… Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman Saltwater by Jessica Andrews Wonder by RJ Palacio A Discovery of Witched by Deborah Harkness. You can find me over at goodreads.com/jomilmine Full shownotes are at shinybees.com/144 and music from this episode (with kind permission) is Adam and the Walter Boys with ‘I Need a Drink’.
Staying home has encouraged a wave of new and returning knitters. After receiving many knit-related requests over the past 6 or so weeks, this episode is a compilation of my favourite ones. Finding good resources, particularly free ones, can be a bit tricky I find. I'm also massively fussy about certain things that probably don't bother many people! My favourite resources are: Sheep and Stitch, Very Pink Knits, Purllinknitting, Knitty Grotty by Aneeta Patel and Knitting 1010 - Knitting For Beginners at Paradise Fibers. With that caveat, you can find links to all the resources at shinybees.com/143 Music for this episode is Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink' - available on iTunes.
Today we’re having a bit of a catch up, with some knitty chatter along with some discussion of recent reads during lockdown. I’m also gardening quite a lot at the moment, so I talk about that. There hasn’t been a huge amount of knitting at Chateau Shiny. I’ve noticed on social media that this seems to be a fairly common problem for knitters at the moment. As such, there has been a lot of planning and looking on Ravelry, and not a lot of knitting. I’m taking the attitude that this is like an athlete preparing for a race. More of a mental approach to knitting. As there hasn’t been a lot of actual knitting to discuss, today, it’s more of a covid time capsule of what’s going on here. My hope is that I can keep you company for 30 minutes or so, a little bit of light entertainment with a side of knit. Life in lockdown continues. The children continue to alternate between being bored and being too tired to do any school work. The Beast produced some choice Covid artwork, declaring her death from ‘bore’. It was terribly Victorian of her. Not Charlie Dimmock Gardening has featured in the creative pursuits over the past week. I’m not the most accomplished gardener, so it’s been trial and error, including the regrettable purchase of four Buxus balls. What I didn’t know from Pinterest, is that English Buxus smells of cat pee. Joy. I’ve also been accidentally ordering massive plants from the local garden, due to not having any pictures or dimensions. I’ve been planting some Begonias into hanging baskets and playing frost roulette. They’re not supposed to be planted out yet I don’t think, but I went for it as the weather is due to be good for the next couple of weeks. As long as it isn’t frosty, it should be fine. If you have any good recommendations for gardening people to follow, who aren’t too serious, please let me know! Mini Driver Lockdown has reignited my love for driving. A new car is high on the list for post-covid life. My current ride is called Norman. Remember the Twix advert that was all grey, and the main character was Norman? He had a very grey and boring life, until he ate a Twix. This is how Norman the car makes me feel. The speakers are – frankly – inadequate for singing along to Tiffany. Wholly lacking in bass, despite being the upgraded speaker pack. You can hear about how Norman tried to kill me in the pod retreat 2 episode. Poppy the Naughty Nova features in the first car story. My Mum is an absolute demon when it comes to running cars on fumes. The Nova was once stolen and used in a smash and grab at Debenhams. Despite me thinking my second car was called Rob, I remembered afterwards it was actually Derek. Curry has also been bringing me deep joy in lockdown. My favourite curry house has reopened and is providing the fine people with excellent curry. Gratitude has been high. Lockdown has recreated a semi-permanent feeling of post-China come-back, where when you find a little victories in being able to get things easily. Or read signs. What things can you do today to get a little victory? Knitting-wise, there hasn’t been a lot, as afore-mentioned. It’s difficult when knitting is a method for grounding and calming the mind, or as a creative act. I’ve found it strange that I don’t want to knit. This is also for no good reason; it’s almost a mental block. I’m not at a hard point in the pattern, I’ve enjoying the yarn, I just can’t be arsed. Not being able to be arsed isn’t really a feeling I am accustomed to associating with my knitting. Instead, I have taken to researching what patterns I will be knitting when the mojo comes back. I have just purchased Evolution by Susan Crawford. Orchidacae is definitely my pattern for the Nurturing Fibres yarn. I also love Denby, which is part of the collection. This is a colourwork hat with both a beanie and slouchy option. You can order the printed book at susancrawfordvintage.com and you will receive all the pdf patterns as they are released, followed by the printed book. Beaded knitting seems to be calling to me at the moment. I might need to knit a Boo Knits pattern when I can get some beads. A lot of people don’t enjoy the stop-start nature of beaded knitting, but I just love the fancy sparkly effect. Enquiries have been increasing from people looking for baby knitting yarn. I’ve also had a lot of people asking about learning to knit resources. I will cover these in the next episode as the free resources can be incredibly hit and miss. I’m also planning to crochet a African flower blanket. Reading I’ve read the following recently: Recipes for Love and Murder – Sally Andrew Death on the Limpopo – Sally Andrew Old Baggage – Lissa Evans Unnatural Magic – C M Waggonner The Last Smile in Sunder City – Luke Arnold You can find me on Goodreads if you want to connect there – www.goodreads.com/jomilmine Music for this episode is by kind permission of Adam and the Walter Boys, available on iTunes.
Today’s episode is all about repairing hand knit socks. I have a pair of socks that I have accidentally worn through the heel of, and I wanted to repair them. I’ve collated some resources and options for repairing knitted items. If you’re struggling with existential crises/dread/ennui as a result of over-thinking everything, Dr Shiny’s recommendation is vigorous consumption of comedy videos and memes. And Tiger King. Link to Bits n Pieces by Artemisia Methods for Fixing Hand Knit Socks The easiest way to repair worn-through hand knits, is to repair the thin patch before it actually wears through completely. You can do this using several different methods. Using reinforcing thread is a popular way, where you follow the pattern of the stitches to make the existing ones more sturdy. You could also use the same yarn you used initially, if you have any available. You could go in-between and use a finer gauge yarn to duplicate stitch and strengthen the yarn. This method is known as Swiss darning or duplicate stitch. It’s helpful to have a darning mushroom or egg to do the repair, to spread the stitches out to make them easier to see. It will also help to avoid sewing the two sides of the sock together! Apparently an incandescent lightbulb will also suffice as a stand in. If you've already worn through the fabric and are the proud owner of a holy sock, you're going to need a different approach. This will take the form of making a patch of some sort. You can either pick up stitches and knit a patch, or knit a patch and sew it on. There are a few options that are a combination of the two as well. There are videos linked in the show notes. Full shownotes and links at www.shinybees.com/141
Today there is a review of Knit Accessories: Essentials and variations as well as some DK pattern ideas for sweaters and some random chat. I have found my way back to my knitting this week. This may have been due to admitting I was struggling with finding the mojo for the knitting. I realised part of the problem was that knitting, for me, is a way of ordering my thoughts. This became apparent when the thoughts immediately began to race upon picking up the needles. I decided to sit with the feeling and luckily, it appears to have abated and I can knit again. Love for Podcasting I am really enjoying being back behind the mic on a more regular basis. It seems that podcasting is a form of reaching out for me. When I started the show, I lived in rural Limpopo in South Africa and was quite isolated. It was hot, not many people knitted and the knitters that were in SA were a long way away in Joburg or Cape Town. I feel like this recent inspiration is connected to that – once again, I am physically isolated, despite being at home and near friends. I love that it is a running joke about how I know someone wherever we travel. These friends are – more often than not – as a result of the podcast or knitting. I also love how I can ‘be’ with people all over the world via the podcast. Just this week, I’ve been on an oil rig in the North Sea! Audio is a conversation and I love the idea of keeping you company. DK Weight Pattern Ideas Feedback I have just brought back a sweater quantity of Nurturing Fibres Supertwist DK in the colourway Sapphire from South Africa. I have found that there weren’t many patterns that were appealing to me on Ravelry. I asked the lovely listeners of the show for some suggestions for patterns. Laura Stephens suggested to look at patterns by Libby of Truly Myrtle. Lori Hathaway suggested to look at the patterns by Kim Hargreaves. Then there was a big confusion about Kim Hargreaves (knitwear designer) versus Kim Catterall (bird on Sex in the City). Oops! There also was some chat about Rowan Kidsilk Haze which surely must have reached the stage of being knitting nostalgia now. I have settled for now on one of two patterns for this yarn. The choice is between Cloudburst, which was originally part of the Drift Collection for Eden Cottage Yarns. The other option is Orchidaceae, which is by Susan Crawford and is part of her new collection, Evolution, which is available now. I was intending to buy this collection anyway, so I was pleased to be reminded about this. Habitation Throw Is knitting anything like a garment beyond you right now? If so, Helen Stewart of Curious Handmade has just made her Habitation Throw free for the month of April 2020. The pattern is still for sale and all proceeds from sales of this pattern will be donated to the UN Refugee Agency. Yoga Don’t compete with other people or yourself is the main feedback for yoga. If you fancy something different for the kids, they can try Cosmic Kids Yoga. Sammy’s Calamities I have great ambitions of writing a series of childrens’ books based entirely on the calamities of Sam. These are all true stories of actual perils experienced. Podcast Recommendations We Fix Space junk Diary of a Space Archivist Review of Knit Accessories, Essentials and Variations by Kate Atherley This book was originally published in 2012 and was re-released last week. I offered to review this as I am getting a lot of requests for suggestions of how to get into knitting at the moment. This book is ideal for that purpose. The book begins with a section on ‘before you start’. I know that when I got back into knitting, it was lead entirely by some somewhat dodgy yarn found in Poundstretcher. I like how the recommended yarns include indie and commercial yarns, hitting all the budgets. It also has a section on substituting the yarns for non-wool yarns and different fibres. Swatching is covered in a decent amount of detail. This is a subject that ca often be skimmed over in beginner-suitable books. Let’s face it, swatching isn’t fun and you can usually get away without it for accessories. The necessity of the activity is explained and there are instructions for how to alter your needles if your gauge is off. The side notes that accompany the patterns are solid and really help to draw attention to the important points. My favourite aspect of the book is the addition of the ‘design your own’ element for each group of patterns. This takes all the maths out of making alterations to your projects, particularly for yarn changes. The book contains lots of examples of projects knitted in different weights and dye styles of yarn. In summary: Pros Design Your Own sections in each group of patterns Cheat tables for the yarns and lengths Cons Would love to see some DK in the patterns Links to videos or tutorials for the techniques would be great additions Full Shownotes at www.shinybees.com/140
Getting used to a new normal is tricky. This week has been challenging for most people and today there is a little bit of chat about that, along with a review of Wist Tha Bahn by Joy McMillan. You can hear more from Joy in her interview on the podcast at shinybees.com/118. This is a collection of 6 multi-colour shawls with Northern roots designed by Joy. All the patterns use British wool produced in the UK and dyed by The Knitting Goddess. Full Shownotes at www.shinybees.com/139
Hello and welcome to another slightly strange episode of the Shinybees podcast. This episode has not followed my usual inspiration and research process and I think at the moment, that’s ok. I have some knitting patterns for you today, and I will be talking a bit about what I’m up to. I’m going to try and keep away from labouring the finer points of the virus, as we’re all hearing enough about that from other sources.
I will talk about some of the things that I am doing and thinking, in the hope that it might help you. Either way, it will record some of this for the future when I forget all about it, much like the mishaps that I have blanked from memory that I have shared with you in the past. Shoutouts This episode I have shoutouts for Maureen Dubary in Johannesburg, South Africa and Jennifer O’ Brien in Australia. I’m working on getting a shoutout from Joe Wicks for the kids on Joe’s PE Lessons. I’m going to try having an unusual name, unusual location and timing the comment to be one of the top ones when it gets to the break. I shall keep you updated of my success or otherwise in this noble quest.
If you would like a shout out on the podcast, just send me a message. Everyone loves a shoutout.
Listener question – school I received a question from a long time listener, Daniele, regarding what I am doing about school for my kids. My children already follow a sort of distance home school package, and are being set work by their teacher, like a lot of other kids right now. I’m not worrying too much about getting it all done, and am prioritising physical exercise, eating well, staying well and adequate rest over anything else. I am not going to stress about getting the school work done with everything else going on. Nobody in the world is really at school right now, so your kids won’t be behind. It’s not a priority right now as far as I am concerned. I’m teaching them lots of other stuff we don’t usually have time for, such as cooking, nutrition, life skills. For PE you can join the lessons with Joe Wicks. If you want extra sheets or resources, Twinkl is great. You can also download Sal’s recommended websites here.
Community - I’m still looking at a community platform for us to get together whilst avoiding Facebook etc. I’ll be doing Virtual Knit Nights as well – look for details on those soon. Knitting Patterns for DK Jumpers I’m still struggling to find nice DK patterns for a jumper. Whilst there are a lot of colourwork patterns around, I’m looking for a single colour pattern and there isn’t much around. Suggestions welcomed!
Virus Patterns - As I’ve been scrolling the Rav database at length recently, I’ve stumbled across a couple of patterns that are aiming to help foodbanks during the current crisis. Lockdown by Robynn Weldon of Studio Miranda. This is a free pattern to learn brioche – there is a suggested donation of $10 to the Trussell Trust or Food4kids. Don’t Touch Your Face by Nicola Susen of Nicolor Designs. This is a free pattern for a cowl and is part of a wider #solidarknitty collaboration between German designers and dyers to assist German food banks. You can find out more about that here. Covid19 Coronavirus Stuffie by Randi Marchant is a pattern for a replicas of the coronavirus. It’s $3.60. I found it very anatomically correct and therefore quite impressive. The Coronavirus Cloth by Alli Barrett is a pattern for a knitted dishcloth. It’s $2.40 and all proceeds will go to local foodbanks near St John, NB.
That’s all for this week. If you enjoyed the show, please consider leaving a review on iTunes or your favourite podcatcher. Music for this episode is by Adam and the Walter Boys, available on iTunes.
It's been a while since I was last behind the mic, owing to some unexpected turns of events and globetrotting. All is fine now, though, and I am back in the UK, with some podcasting equipment and able to record and speak to you again. This episode is a quick catch up, with a little knitting and an invitation to share some books you're currently enjoying. The show will be recorded as often as possible going forward, as we're now practising self isolation. We're not symptomatic, just being sensible people who are following the advice given. As such, I'm going to be here as much as possible via the podcast over the coming weeks, to keep you company, supply even more irreverent humour and share knitty news.
Full shownotes and links are at www.shinybees.com/137
Yarn Advent Calendars have become increasingly popular in the past couple of years as a more fibre-orientated alternative to the traditional chocolate.
Often, a kit that is specially made by an indie dyer will come with a pattern for the yarn. But what if you don't like it, or you don't have the spare cash to splash on a pre-made kit?
Lots of knitters like to create their own version of the yarn advent calendar by making up small balls or mini-skeins of yarn (or using mini-skein sets acquired elsewhere). Informal kal or swap groups can be found on Instagram or Ravelry, should one wish to engage in a little yarn exchange. This can add a fun element to collecting together yarn and knitting it into an advent pattern. Frankensocks have certainly been popular as an advent pattern, and they are what I have seen most during informal Insta-browsing.
But - there are a host of other patterns springing up which aim to provide a canvas to showcase the advent calendars. Naturally, these can also be used for DIY advent calendars or using up scraps. This episode covers 7 pattern suggestions for scarves, bits, cowls and hats to make good use of your scraps and yarn advent calendars.
Full show notes are at www.shinybees.com/136
This week’s episode is inspired by a recent decision I made to try and knit a hat in a weekend. This was partly prompted by a sudden ten degree drop in temperature here (doesn’t a chill in the air make you want to cast on all the things?) and inspired me to look for a nice, easy pattern. The hat is complete, and I’ve also picked out another four potential hat in a weekend patterns for you to take a look at, in case you feel the need to cast on this weekend.
First up is a bit of news, and I’d like to shout out all the people who have emailed or messaged me since episode 134 was released, expressing their delight at me being back behind the mic. It is truly appreciated, so I hope you won’t mind indulging me in saying thanks to them. It is easy to forget that it isn’t just me, sat in a bedroom, talking to no-one; there are literally thousands and thousands of listeners worldwide. I’m very grateful to each and every one of you, even if you only listen to one episode ever. Thank you!
In other news, I was contacted by a listener of the show, @Zencrafter2 on Twitter is undertaking a challenge leading up to her 50th birthday on 7th December 2020. After hearing about the Knit A Square project, she has decided to try and make 500 squares to donate to the project. That’s over 1 a day – amazing! Let’s all encourage her along (or join in if you wish over on Twitter – her handle is @Zencrafter2.
In other news, I’ve had several requests for some stories from here and a bit of armchair travel. As such, in this episode I share my endeavours to learn Mandarin. I’ve always (up until now) been quite good at languages – or Germanic languages, anyway. Chinese is proving to be a bit more challenging than either of those. I struggle to hear the tones of the language, which is a pretty fundamental part of being able to understand and speak it. There are four tones and two of them sound the same to me, which makes me worry about saying a word and getting the tone wrong and actually saying something rude by mistake! I’ve learned how to say ‘steamed bun’ and can order beer and soda water, but otherwise my vocabulary is limited to words associated with yoga (more on that in another episode) and some very specific work-related words that will be of no use to me in everyday conversations. I am really keen to be able to talk to people here (who are extremely friendly) as well as generally understand what is going on. I would imagine this is what illiteracy is like, as I can’t read Chinese either. It’s hard, but I am determined to be better and not just do the lazy English speaker thing.
I’ve picked out 5 pattern suggestions for knitting a hat in a weekend. These are in thicker yarns with straightforward patterns for maximum speed and satisfaction. Tag me with your projects if you decide to get involved with this or hashtag it up with #hatinaweekend. The first pattern is the one I have knitted, Classic Beanie by Woolly Wormhead. I interviewed Woolly in Episode 61 and encourage you to listen to it. I chose this pattern as I really liked the way the ribs herringboned together as they reached the crown. It’s a free pattern for worsted weight yarn on 4.5mm needles, with multiple sizes. I’m knitting it in Morris & Co Empire 10 ply in the colourway Absinthe. You can download it from Ravelry here. The next suggestion is the Classic Cuffed Hat by Purl Soho. Again, this is a free pattern for a basic worsted weight beanie, the classic design with a bobble on top. It’s really straightforward no-thinking-required knitting and the simple pattern allows for lots of playing around with yarns. Most dye styles will work with this pattern. You can find the pattern here. Swirlwind by Nicole Vanderlee is a worsted weight toque with a ribbed brim and a swirling slipped stitch pattern on the body. It’s a padi pattern at CAN $6.00 and is available from Ravelry. This pattern affords some experimentation room in terms of yarns; it will look great with solids and variegateds alike. The colour changes in the variegated yarns will pop on the slipped stitches. Likewise, striped yarns look great, especially if the same colour is always slipped, as this creates an almost brioche looking effect. Slef striping yarns would also work well. You can purchase the pattern on Ravelry here. The Tchaikovsky Hat by Helen Stewart is next on the list ad this pattern is taken from Knitvent 2017. If you aren’t already familiar with Knitvent, it’s an annual collection of gift knitting pattern that Helen produces each October/November, usually around a theme. The theme for 2017 was The Nutcracker, and you can either buy the pattern separately at £5.34 or as part of the 6 pattern collection at £15.54 here on Ravelry. It’s a DK weight hat, with a ribbed brim and a simple repeating textured stitch pattern, that adds interest for the knitter without it being too ‘out there’ texture-wise for a gift recipient. You can find Helen’s podcast, Curious Handmade, on all podcatchers and at Curious Handmade, and you can listen to her interview on this podcast in Episode 90. Finally we have A Useful Diversion by Elizabeth Felgate. This is a paid pattern (£3.70) doe a deep cuffed 3x3 rib hat with a textured stitch pattern that runs (or diverts) around the body of the hat. It’s described as being just enough to be a useful diversion for the knitter and I think it would look great in a nice, high-twist, solid or semi-solid yarn. You can find the pattern on Ravelry here.
Getting out of a funk: I asked for any tips from listeners as to how to get out of a funk. It seems to be a pretty common thing at the moment, probably due to the amount of stuff that is going on in the world. Anyway, Nichola Nolan got out of her funk after recently meeting Christine Perry of Winwick Mum fame. She decided to crack through some small projects and ‘pull her finger out’. Aimee Croke has got back into the swing of things by carving out time earlier in the day for her accountancy study by getting up early. She knits along on a simple project whilst watching training videos. Carving out the time is the key, and making it a priority, regardless of whether you want to knit, learn a new skill or anything else. That’s all we have time for this week. If you’ve enjoyed the show, please consider leaving a review on iTunes or your podcatcher of choice. Music for this episode is by Adam and The Walter Boys and is available for purchase on iTunes.
After a longer than expected podbreak, Jo is back and talking about turning the wheel when life gets in the way of creativity. Sometimes you just need to get the things done and that doesn't always leave a lot left over for your craft, and that's ok.
How do you keep the creative energy high? The way back to the knitting for me has been through a very simple pattern and some special yarn, to make a gift for a dear friend.
Full show notes at www.shinybees.com/134
How do you keep the creative energy high? The way back to the knitting for me has been through a very simple pattern and some special yarn, to make a gift for a dear friend.
Full show notes at www.shinybees.com/134
This week it's a quick catch up after an unscheduled break in programming thanks to contracting pneumonia. First up, I mention the recent discussion around racism, inclusion and diversity in the knitting community. This podcast has not been as inclusive as it should be in the content produced up to now and I apologise for that.
News-wise, I share a new podcast interview I did that is released now on The InDependant Spouse podcast with Jess Sands, which is a podcast that shares stories from military spouses and veterans in business.
After this, there's a round up of knitting and creative projects that I've been taking part in. Spoiler: I've almost finished writing a book! Shownotes at www.shinybees.com/133
Music for this episode is Adam and the Walter Boys, I Need a Drink.
Carol Feller joins me on the show this week, sharing her journey into knitwear design. Carol Feller (StolenStiches.com) is a designer, teacher, and author living in Cork, Ireland. She has published almost 270 patterns and 7 books, including Short Row Knits (Pottercraft) and Contemporary Irish Knits (Wiley), and is a popular instructor on Craftsy.com with almost 400,000 students. She regularly teaches at yarn shops, fibre festivals, knitting retreats and tours, covering a wide variety of basic and advanced skills including chart reading, garment shaping, short rows, cables, and colourwork. Carol first learned to knit in primary school, and there is a strong history of crafting in her family. In university, she trained as a textile artist, and then as a structural engineer. Both of these backgrounds influence her work, which uses innovative construction methods to create well-shaped and flattering objects that are intuitive and enjoyable to knit, and that make the most out of carefully chosen yarns. She strives to help knitters create beautiful and unique products that they will love to use.
Full shownotes at www.shinybees.com/132
Music by Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink' available via iTunes.
Got yarn show plans for 2019? Are you a show veteran? or have you never been to a show? Somewhere in between?
In this episode I share some top tips for getting the most out of attending yarn shows, including where to find which ones are happening. Looking at why you want to attend (social, shopping, work or a mixture) can help you to narrow down the wide range of options available these days and ensure you get the best experience.
On the shopping side, it's worth saving up if possible, so you have a kitty of money to spend at the show. This can help with planning and budgeting. Some people collect £2 coins all year for instance. Make a list of what you want to make, and consult the stash to see where the gaps are. Once you know what the requirements are, make a list of what you need to get in terms of yardages and weights. This will mean you don't need to find wifi to look it up at a busy show stand and can have the information easily to hand.
Having a priority route planned out can help with avoiding distractions. Check out the guide online in advance of the event so you know where you need to go and in what order.
On the social side, definitely make sure you have made firm plans with anyone you definitely want to see. If you say you will 'see them there' there is every chance you won't because it is busy and full of yarn fumes. Fit in coffee breaks with catch ups and save money by getting a group airbnb if staying over. If your budget is a little bigger, you might decide to travel to a show in Europe and stay only for the day or just one night as an alternative to staying at a longer UK show, so you get a different experience.
Full show notes at www.shinybees.com/131
Music for this episode by Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink' with kind permission.
Daria Rakowski is our guest today to discuss widely varying subjects from eyelash yarn merkins(!) to an overview of the Canadian yarn industry.
Daria is the creative genius behind Cloud 9 Fiberworks, and is based in Winnipeg in Canada. Originally indulging in her love of yarn as a child, she would often be found under the table in her Aunt's yarn shop in Winnipeg, untangling balls of yarn. Still an aficionado of vintage yarns from the period, she also produces hand dyed yarns, both on custom blended yarns just for her as well as on more commercially available yarns for hand dyeing.
Daria takes her inspiration from many places. A lot of her yarns have a nod to fantasy and sci fi (with Star Trek and Harry Potter being two of the bigger influences) and she also draws on random ideas, such as suggestions from customers or other inspiration.
In this episode we also discussed the Canadian market at depth, with regard to what is available to dye onto both commercially and as custom spins. The mills in Canada are few and even fewer are capable of handling long staple fibres. Although there is a great climate for growing wool and fibre in the country, it doesn't necessarily translate to the ability to process these fibres. Also, the market is split into little 'islands' - there is so much geographical distance between groups, that it can be hard to both find breed yarns to try and be brave enough to do it.
Daria had her own yarn commissioned which was a blend of merino, Shetland and Gotland from local farmers, into a singles, fingering weight yarn.
Full show notes for this episode and all links are at www.shinybees.com/130
What will be the five big trends for knitting in 2019?
In this episode I share what I think will be the five top trends for the hand knitting world in 2019.
Based on what has gone prior and general observation of content and social media, I have picked out the following as things to watch.
1) Intarsia - we've seen brioche come and get overcooked and 2018 was definitely the year of the colour work yoked sweater. Intarsia is the next logical step in this progression for me. Bonus: Beads will be big in 2020/1 I reckon.
2) More Commercial Yarns - people will be combining hand dyed with more off-the-shelf, mass produced yarns in classic palettes and colours to tone down the speckled crazy.
3) More Emphasis on Knitting What You Have - not stashing down or cold shipping necessarily (they get done and abandoned every year) but a growing awareness of impact and sustainability generally. This will expand to knitting and encourage people to use what they have over wanton procurement.
4) Purchasing One-Offs - buying will focus more on the luxury, one-off and single farm type yarns that are special, over mass buying of run-of-the-mill yarns.
5) The Death of the One Skein Shawl - both designers and knitters will abandon this mid 2000-teen trend in favour of multi-skein mega shawls along the lines of the fades.
What are your predictions for 2019?
Full show notes at www.shinybees.com/129
It's always a popular time to plan your projects for the coming new year, but do you really need to? I won't be doing Make9in2019 next year (spoiler) bout I will be using other people's ideas for that project as inspiration for what I could consider. The podcast will be going on tour soon and that has prompted some consideration in terms of what to take with me. As it's going to be a little longer than the average holiday, it's taken more consideration in terms of planning what to take. This episode is a discussion around the process I'm in currently in terms of trying to work out what is essential and desirable when changing continents. Full show notes at www.shinybees.com/128
Christmas Jumper Day is 14th December and in today's episode, I'm running through your different options when it comes to embracing this staple of the festive season.
Prompted by a social media post from @fash_rev about the Brits' obsession with the Christmas Jumper. Did you know that we will spend in excess of £220 MILLION on Christmas Jumpers this year?
A quarter of which will end up in the bin?
Charity shops are saying they are overflowing with Christmas jumpers. So, for our first option for acquiring a festive sweater is to go to your local charity shop and get your jumper from them. That way, charity wins twice!
The next option is to consider an onshore supplier for your Christmas jumper. Kate Hills of the Make It British podcast interviewed Bhavik Master, who runs a family knitwear factory in Leicester. They manufacture Christmas jumpers here in the UK. They are acrylic, but at least they are local and they have a good range of designs, including some that are on the nordic end of the festive spectrum. My favourites of these are the Classic Fair Isle and the Penguin Fair Isle design. You can find these at www.britishchristmasjumpers.com and you can hear the full story at makeitbritish.co.uk/008
Your gold plated solution, is, of course, to knit your own jumper that you can wear for the next 30 years, just like Uncle Robert. I've a selection of my favourite 6 knitting and 1 crochet patterns to share with you.
Full show notes and links at www.shinybees.com/127
Everyone needs more knitted hats in their life and today I share seven pattern ideas for hats. I've been out of knitting sorts lately and attempting a new hat is just the ticket to get back into it.
I've gone through a tricky time recently and I wanted to find a way to order my thoughts through the yogic medium of knitting. I was inspired to look at hats as a quick and satisfying project. This would allow the thrill of an FO with minimal commitment of time and effort. Today I'll share seven different pattern ideas for you if you need a quick and satisfying project.
Full show notes at www.shinybees.com/126
Sue Horn of Hawkshaw Sheep in the Scottish Borders is our guest on the show today,. She shares the ups and downs of being a shepherdess, creating your own yarns and fabrics and farm life.
Ever wondered what it is like to commission your own yarns? Sue shares how she decided to produce yarn, as well as how she went about producing fabric from the yarns.
You can find Sue at www.hawkshaw-sheep-yarn.co.uk
Full show notes at www.shinybees.com/125
Yarnporium 2018 is reviewed on this episode of the podcast, where I give you a rundown of what went on at Westminster Central Hall in November. Hosted by the fabulous ladies of Yarn in the City, Allison Thistlewood and Rachel Brown, this was a fabulous event which brought together some of the best UK and EU vendors into a glorious venue in Central London for two days of yarny fun. My Best in Show for this event was RiverKnits, Garthenor and Rosy Green Wool, and you can hear my thoughts on each of these and why you should check them out in this episode. Also I share the story of travelling down south by car with two kids and two dogs in an observational humour fashion. Full show notes and links at www.shinybees.com/124
This week we review the new Tin Can Knits collection - Strange Brew. It's a knitwear collection that embraces everything colour work for the whole family. There's some knitty news and an update on School Council gate. There's also some knitterly news for you covering UK yarn events for the next couple of months including Yarnporium, Ferret Fest and Saturnalia. Full links and shownotes are at www.shinybees.com/123
Sometimes, when something really gets to you because of its inherent unfairness and solid foundations in utter bollocks, you need to speak out. This episode is one of those times. In a departure from the usual format, this week we share the story of a small girl who wanted to be on the school council. Unlike the boys in the class, the girls had to undergo a separate, extra selection level, because they were not boys. I share the full story of how this went down, as I believe that if we have a platform, and we have something to say, we should say it, particularly in current times, where it is a struggle to have women's voices heard. Knitting stereotyping and inclusion also make this conversation, as well as the Slight Edge principle of doing the things that are really easy to do, and really easy not to do, every day, to make things better and effect the change we want to see in the world. Music from this episode is 'I Need a Drink' by Adam and the Walter Boys, available via iTunes.
How do you decide what knitting to take with you when you travel? Do you spend more time choosing what yarn to take than which clothes to pack?
This week we tackle the thorny subject of holiday/travel knitting. A source of much anguish for the average knitter, choosing what to take with you, and what to leave behind, can be like picking a favourite child. Even a short getaway can lead to stash packing that would enable you to survive a zombie apocalypse.
So, today we discuss some ideas for how to decide what to take and what kind of projects lend themselves particularly well to travel knitting. Towards the end of the episode, we are joined again by Leona Jayne of Fluph, with some outtakes from her episode in 120.
Here, she discusses which projects she will be taking on her trip, which includes a 10 and 12 hour flight just to get there. Music for this episode is by Adam and The Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink', available on iTunes.
Full show notes are at www.shinybees.com/121
It's a chatty and fun episode today with the enigmatic Leona Jayne Page of Rusty Ferret/Fluph. Voted back onto the show as a guest for the second time, Leona tells us about how she moved from yarn shop owner into hand dyer.
Rusty Ferret was, when we last met Leona, in the closet as a 'local dyer'. Well, the worst kept secret in knitting was uncovered and Leona was revealed as the dyer behind Rusty Ferret. Rusty is a steampunk gentleman and Leona draws upon all kinds of things for inspiration.
We cover a number of topics in this episode including commercial yarns, DPNs vs magic loop and the economics of Primark clothing. Ever fancied getting into Art School? Leona has the scoop on that.
You can find everything about Leona at www.fluph.co.uk
Full show notes are at www.shinybees.com/120
Music for this episode is used with kind permission of Adam and the Walter Boys, with 'I Need a Drink', available via iTunes.
Shanghai is the destination for this week’s podcast, when I take a trip to not one, but two yarn shops in the area to check out the local knitting scene and the yarns on offer.
The podcast theme music is now available on iTunes for purchase for 79p. The track is ‘I Need a Drink’ by Adam and the Walter Boys, who allow me to use it on the podcast with their kind permission. If you’ve ever wanted to listen to the whole song, go ahead and download it now.
New Project . My new project is currently being built and some of the details have been sent to the VIP waiting list members, who have kindly agreed to help with testing of the site. If you would like to be one of the first people to get access to the site when it launches, you can join the waiting list and have advance notice ahead of the main launch. The site helps you find the perfect yarn for your project in one place, quickly and easily, so you can spend more time knitting. If you’ve ever been in the situation where you need a certain colour of yarn on a certain fibre blend base yarn and struggled to find it, this one’s for you. No more needing to go and search through multiple websites or take a chance at Etsy roulette when trying to find that perfect match. I’ve built the site to have specific search algorithms which will only serve you the yarn and colours you want, instead of a load of random tat a la Etsy. I’ll give you more details and the name of the site in the coming week or two but for now, if you want to get in there early, you can request access here.
Yarn Shops in Shanghai
First up I declare my undying love for the efficiency of the CRH railway system. I visited two yarn shops in Shanghai this weekend, one at either end of the market. This was a fascinating experience and I would highly recommend checking both out if you find yourself in the area. Both are under 15 minutes from the Bund are easily reached via a Didi or the Metro.
Heng Yuan Xiang Yarn Shop
Address: 358 Jinling East Road, Huangpu, Shanghai The company was founded in 1927 in Shanghai as a silky yarns company and produces a variety of goods including wools, knitting yarns, knitted apparel and home textiles. It is the largest annual seller of wool sweaters in China and has more than 100 factories. The brand covers more than 90% of the municipal market in China and became a state-owned enterprise in 1956. The knitting wool brand started in 1991 and in 1997 the brand expanded into sweaters, wool underwear and other knitted products. The company has 5800 sales outlets which run as franchises, with 375 million products available through these franchises. This shop is definitely on the bijou end of the scale, although it is easily identifiable from the street, unlike some yarn shops, which can appear to be ladies wear shops until you actually go inside. It is an Aladdin’s cave, literally full from floor to ceiling with bags and boxes of yarns. Yarns in these shops are usually displayed in boxes with clear plastic covers, which I assume are there to protect the yarn from dust or atmospheric pollution. There were a wide variety of blends of offer including merino, cashmere, yak, cotton, raccoon (!) and man made blends. The Beast selected a 70% cottony viscose and 30% wool in a fetching spearmint shade, at RMB48 or around £5.49 for 300g. I went for a 100% Australian Merino yarn in a guessing by eye DK weight at RMB 102 or £11.67. When in China it is rude not to try their yarns, so I decided to give it a bash and see how it performs for research purposes.
Lotus Yarns Flagship Store (Yarn Avenue) Shanghai
Lotus Cashmere Ltd started in 2007 with the Lotus Yarn brand being established in 2009. Lotus Yarns is the distributor for a low of western brands including Noro, Opal, Louisa Harding, Brooklyn Tweed, KnitPro, Brittany etc. The next yarn store was in the high end Western Joy City Mall. It is a new store which opened in January 2018 and is found on Level 6, the Creator level. It is set up in a very similar way to any western yarn shop in that all the yarn is open on the shelves in hanks or skeins, in easy feeling distance. This makes sense as it is inside a climate controlled mall so it is not subject to as much risk from dust etc. There was a good selection of samples as well as a wide range of notions on offer from familiar brand like KnitPro, Brittany, Clover etc. There was a workshop ongoing at the time I visited which prevented me from reaching the Lotus Yarns as they were behind a large table where the workshop was taking place. Also, it was not obvious who were the staff in the shop as they didn’t appear to have a uniform or clear name badge, and nobody came to assist us. It is definitely worth a visit as it is close to the tourist areas but expect to pay premium prices for the yarn on offer here, particularly if it is imported.
Full show notes and links at www.shinybees.com/119
Music for this episode with kind permission: Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink' available from iTunes.
Joy McMillan of The Knitting Goddess joins the show today to talk about how her business has moved towards sourcing solely British and some very local yarns. Topics discussed include the difference between British and British Overseas Territory when it comes to yarn, mislabelling of yarns, wanton misrepresentation of yarns as British and what you need to think about when doing a custom blend yarn.
History of The Knitting Goddess
The Knitting Goddess started around 13 years ago, and having originally been a stockist of yarns from across the world, has steadily moved to all British yarn offering. By this, Joy means mainland Britain specifically, and she works hard with UK based mills to source yarn as locally as possible even within the UK. This includes having her own, custom yarn spun, One Farm Yarn, with a total mileage from sheep to yarn of just 72 miles.
Overseas Territories
Joy and I discussed the difference between British and British Overseas Territories when it comes to wool: specifically here, the Falkland Islands. Whilst I am a huge fan of Falklands Merino because it is great quality and the sheep are not dipped as there are no pests, and there is no pollution, Joy is less keen. This is not because it isn’t excellent quality, but because it has to travel so far to be processed, which is inefficient. We discussed the relative merit of opening a scouring plant in the Falklands and how, if fleece has travelled so far, then why not use Merino from Australia of New Zealand instead.
Whilst Joy is very keen to stay as local as possible, I am more liberal in my yarn tastes, but I like to know where it is from and as much of the story as possible, so I can make a good buying decision. This brought us on to marketing and labelling of yarn.
Misleading Marketing
This was a big focus of our discussion, probably because it is a huge bugbear for a lot of people. Whilst it’s ok to make informed choices to buy yarn from further afield, it’s not ok for companies to try and pass off yarn as being from a certain place, when it isn’t. Don’t give a yarn British branding when it is spun in Peru, then be coy about it. That is not cool and devalues the British cachet.
How Do You Find Out If A Yarn Is British (or Local?)
It can be hard to know where to go to look for information on where a yarn is produced, from fleece source, to spinning and dyeing . It is definitely not a habit of yarn companies to show this sort of information, although consumers are becoming increasingly aware of it and are asking the question, thanks in no small part to people like Louise Scollay of Knit British and Felix Ford of Knitsonik and their clear labelling campaign.
Joy recommends asking the mills who produce the yarn as a first stop, but also that dyers and sellers need to make it their business to find out where yarns are produced, if they don’t know already.
Joy has a personal preference to buy from as close to home as possible, but advocates buying Falklands Merino (or anything else that is clearly labelled) as long as you actually get what you are buying. You know where it has come from and you have an awareness of the level of treatment of the animals and labour conditions in the supply chain, which allows informed choice. Basically, if you’re buying something super cheap from the other side of the world, somebody will have paid for it somewhere down the line.
British Yarn Has Value
The number of dishonest brands trying to piggyback the British yarn label indicates clearly that British yarn has value and that these brands need to be called out on their mislabelling. Simply putting a label on in the UK does not make it British yarn.
Support Local
Joy is such a fan of supporting local as there is a rich history of wool production in Yorkshire, which continues to this day. Although she is based in the affluent area of Harrogate, she is right next to West Yorkshire, which has a high unemployment rate and associated issues which come from that. Joy believes in making a difference to local business through her business, and this ambition dictates a lot of her business decisions, even down to moving spinning of her yarns to Yorkshire-based Laxton’s.
How to Design a Custom Spun Yarn
Joy has a number of custom and small run yarns under her belt, and it’s an interesting subject to discuss. A lot of hand dyers buy blank yarn that is already mass-spun and has specific qualities designed for a more mass appeal product. J
Joy worked very closely with Laxton’s to develop her One Farm Yarn. Creating a custom yarn is mildly terrifying because you don’t actually know what you are going to get until the yarn comes back, at which point, it’s too late to change it. She put a lot of trust in Laxton’s to help her make the right decisions, and as the company has incredibly experienced staff, which have worked in a variety of places in the wool industry, they were perfectly placed to advise and ensure success.
Spinners have more knowledge about how certain fleeces and spins work together to produce the characteristics that a dyer wants in their yarn.
Custom Spun Wool is the New Craft Beer
Joy and I compared the recent interest in craft beer to that of more niche breed wools and small batch yarns. What would once have been the preserve of bearded anoraks (real ale) is now super hipster and called craft beer (the beards remain but are more fashionably kempt). Has the same thing happened with yarn, and now we’re moving away from the Fosters of yarn (merino) to something a bit hoppy, with bite?
Listener Discount Code
Joy very kindly has offered 10% off to listeners of the show with the code SHINYBEES10 until 17thSeptember 2018. Only one code per order.
Find Joy Online
You can find Joy at www.theknittinggoddess.co.uk
Full shownotes for this episode are at www.shinybees.com/118
Music for this episode used with kind permission of Adam and the Walter Boys, with ‘I Need a Drink’, available from iTunes
This week is a bit of a catch up as I share my Far East adventures so far. I'm in China, and I share some of the funnier/more unusual observations I've made so far being here, including crotchless baby clothes, sleeping in public and appreciative eating.
Also involved is a marching column of riot police.
On the knitting side, we revisit ep 114 (Yarn Snob) and I share some of the submitted entries for the remaining three categories of yarn snob.
Full show notes and links at www.shinybees.com/117
Music for this episode used with kind permission of Adam and the Walter Boys - 'I Need a Drink' - available on iTunes.
Susan Crawford joins me this week and we take a journey through the past three years since Ep55.
The Vintage Shetland Project was officially published in February 2018. The culmination of 8 years of painstaking work, the book is an absolute triumph, both as an academic work, but also as Susan was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer just prior to the original planned publication date.
In this episode we talk about the realisation of The Vintage Shetland Project into its paper form, and discuss a few of the amazing stories that have come out as a result of this research. This includes a hitherto forgotten knitting historian from 1930, whose work was destined to be lost forever until this project and a daring WW2 pilot who believed the Fair Isle sweaters knitted by his doting Aunt kept him safe from the Luftwaffe.
Next, Susan talked about another project, connected to her diagnosis: The Knocker Jotter. Susan was very open about the details of her journey through cancer. This was a creative project that came about with members of her cancer support group, and was very empowering for the women involved.
Finally we return to the present, with exciting plans for Monkley Ghyll Farm. There are naughty Shetland sheep, retreats, workshops and jam and gin on the horizon.
You can find Susan at www.susancrawfordvintage.com
Full shownotes and links at www.shinybees.com/116
Where do you lose knitting time and how can you go about carving out more time to do it? In this week's episode, I talk about the idea of cutting out mindless phone scrolling time to increase your knitting time, and the associated benefits of doing so.
Also we have a news round up for the start of the month, including information about the #titsoutcollective run by Countess Ablaze (along with her new YouTube channel), the Great London Yarn Crawl from Yarn In The City, the Indie Burgh Craft Crawl in Edinburgh and Fibre East.
Full show notes and links for this episode are at www.shinybees.com/115
Yarn Snob. For some it's worn as a badge of honour and for others, it's the worst thing in the world, but what exactly is a yarn snob?
There was (unsurprisingly) no dictionary definition for yarn snob, so I looked up both words individually to arrive at the following:
Yarn Snob noun - A person who believes that their tastes in spun thread used for knitting, weaving or sewing are superior to those of other people.
I looked far and wide to come up with 6, gusting 7 different types of yarn snob, and I'm looking for your help to get that up to a solid ten types.
In no particular order...
1) Acrylic Yarn Snob. Would rather be found face down in a pool of their own urine than knit with acrylic.
2) Novelty Yarn Snob. May or may not embrace the acrylic but would definitely not se seen working with eyelash yarn, tinsel yarn, fun fur, pom pom yarn or any other novelty type yarn.
(These people are missing out on a major joy of life - tinsel yarn. Ed.)
3) Indie/Hand Dyed Snob. If a real person they know hasn't sweated on or broken their back over it, they don't want to know. Machine dyed yarn is the work of satan himself.
4) Luxury Fibre Snob. They won't even knit with a 75/25 Merino/Nylon if it is hand dyed - it's cashmere, alpaca, baby camel and silk all the way here.
5) The Trendy Name Snob. This is the artist formerly known as Wollmeise circa 2012, when people would full up brawl to get their hands on it. Back then, it was the yarn to have (current comparable: La Bien Aimee). They won't use anything that has had its jour.
6) Price Snob. Don't care what it's made from as long as it's stupidly expensive.
7)* The Confused Yarn Snob/ Yarn Swinger. Likes your luxury and hand dyed but also vocal about love for tinsel yarn. Swings all ways when it comes to yarn; doesn't like to save the love for one subset.
Do you identify with any of these? Any more you'd like to offer to get us to ten?
Full show notes for this episode are at www.shinybees.com/114
Dublin is the destination for this week's show. It's a new format where you can join me and (lots of) friends live-is from Woollen in Dublin. The festival took place at the end of May and you can join us there now.
There were lots of great vendors and big name teachers attending on this inaugural festival.
Full shownotes and links (there are a lot of them!) will be available at www.shinybees.com/113
Clare Devine of #KnitShareLove rejoins me on the podcast this week, as we catch up with her after quite a while since her Sock Surgery days on the show.
Clare is now in Australia, the country where her knitting adventure began, in a totally-unsuitable-for-knitting Broome. Now based in Brisbane, which is pretty warm, and presents its own knitting challenges.
Since her last appearance on the show, which was shortly after the adult edition of her book, Sock Anatomy, was released, she's been involved of lots of exciting projects and collaborations. She's designed her first cardigan pattern, as well as working with UK dyers Joy McMillan of The Knitting Goddess and Jess James of Ginger Twist Studios.
Recently, she's turned her attention to working with and raising the profile of home-grown talent in Australia. We briefly digress into the development of independent designers on Ravelry and the idea of training to be a designer.
In terms of local talent, Clare recommended Circus Tonic Handmade, a former geneticist PhD turned hand dyer. She also shared a wonderful story about Tarndie, a farm around two hours west of Melbourne. She used this yarn in a project during her first stay in Oz, having been recommended it to use for a felted bag. Around seven years afterwards, she met Jools of Woollenflower, who waxed lyrical about how wonderful this yarn from Tarndie was, and how Clare must visit when she went back to Australia. After a stint working one day a week in a yarn shop in Melbourne, the owner asked if she would like to teach at an event at... you guessed it... Tarndie.
Tarndie have Polwarth sheep and have been farming for many years, The yarn is spun in New Zealand. They have also been in collaboration with Great Ocean Road Woollen Mill, which is local to them, to produce a Super Bulky yarn called The Henry. This is made from a mix of Alpaca and Wool.
There aren't many boutique yarn spinners - a lot of the clip is merino, which is sent to China for processing. Clare talked about a Gotland sheep farmer called Cheryl, who is based in Victoria. She has the only flock of Gotland sheep in Australia and breeds for diversity rather than conformity. As a result, her sheep have a wide arrange of colours in the fleece.
Clare talked passionately about the importance of educating customers as to why local and boutique yarns can be expensive, as well as why they can make great choices. She promotes these yarns by using them in her design work, and also because it allows local knitters to access the yarns, as many people like to knit the pattern with the exact yarn. She advocated being enthusiastic about yarns and producers, as the likes of Louise Scollay has with KnitBritish, to help share these great products and knowledge with others.
Clare can be found at www.knitsharelove.com or as @knitsharelove on Instagram.
Full show notes and links are at www.shinybees.com/112
How do we get the entire world knitting? It's a mission of mine and today we discuss the five pillars of knitter assimilation: marketing, self-belief, tools and materials, medium and motivation and access to decent resources.
Of course, this are the Shinybees Pentagon of Knitting Assimilation and I think these are the things we need to be considering if we do want knitters to take over the world. More specifically, if we want the entire world to knit. Think how awesome that would be.
Pillar one is marketing. No, it's not just for sleazy snake oil salesmen and here's why: knitting has an image problem. Every man and his dog this that knitting is for Nanas and pregnant ladies and the media and film do nothing to change that view. Everything people see is stereotyped like this and that is a big issue.
Knitting needs to become more relevant and desirable if we want everyone to do it.
Pillar two - self belief. Sit in public and knit and you will get an array of comments like 'oh, I could never do that' and 'I tried to learn when I was a kid and I was terrible at it' and 'It looks so hard!'. Curiosity os the first step to learning, but we also need to deal with the issue of self belief in order to get people to actually try and learn the skill, instead of telling themselves repeatedly that it is too hard.
Pillar three - materials and tools. Very often, a first foray into knitting is a cheap kit with low end acrylic (not all acrylic is created equal) and bendy plastic needles. The instructions are almost always total pants and the whole thing is set up to encourage failure.
Yes, this may be cheap failure but failure is not what is needed for assimilation (see pillar two). We need to be setting newbies up with better tools and nicer yarn, to encourage continuing, and to make the end product worth it.
Pillar four is medium and motivation aka Death to the Dr Who Scarf. How many times have you seen others to have been yourself taught to knit using the Whovian method? Let's just all knit a massive boring scarf that will take forever and hope they stick at it!
Yes scarves are easy and allow for (a lot) of repetition but they are so large they are insurmountable. We need to be bringing the Shinybees Trifecta of project awesome into this: a quick win + right level of complexity + desire for finished item = knitting dreams.
Pillar five is access to decent resources. Most of the freebie videos on YouTube are crap. They are too fast, badly lit, too far away to see what is going on or lately, have an alarming array of props in there. Learning is not about perfectly styled shots; it's about getting the information across in an accessible a way as you can. We need decent resources to point newbies towards.
You can find full links and show notes at www.shinybees.com/111
Jane Murison of Yarnison joins the show this week, talking about knitwear design, fish and chips and the urban landscape as an inspiration.
Jane began designing a couple of years ago, and has several knitting patterns now, that are a homage to the post industrial landscape of Manchester, that she sees every day on her walk to work. A UX designer by profession, Jane enjoys bringing together design inspiration, techniques and the user (knitter) experience in her designs. Not one for 'quiet' yarns, she enjoys working with bold colours and neons to create striking pieces.
Her approach to design is to make things that she herself likes to wear, but struggles to find in the mainstream pattern world. This results in quite quirky and recognisable pieces that can be made as bold or as quiet as one desires, depending upon the colours chosen to make the pattern.
One of my favourite of her patterns is the Urban Hero shawl, which was inspired by the neon yellow flashes of hi-vis vests on the builders working all over the city. There is almost constant construction work, and these vests pepper the (often grey, it's Manchester) landscape with pinpricks of colour.
We discussed the juxtaposition of chevron lace, hi-vis and Batman's cape in this pattern and Jane explained how her approach has ben reflected in other designs, such as Boomtown Beanie.
Builders came up again when discussing how the domestic arts and quite traditionally male construction roles are actually very similar skills when you break them down. Plastering is, in fact, exactly the same thing as buttercream icing.
We also discussed the traditional Friday meal that is fish and chips. Eye-opening.
Jane's favourite yarnies to work with are Countess Ablaze, The Knitting Goddess, Five Moons, Riverknits and Rainbow Heirloom.
In terms of tips for embracing the crazy bright and variegated, Jane recommends pairing with a semi-solid or solid, and avoiding too much detail in the stitches, if you want the detail to be seen. Texture can sometimes work well if you are wanting to play with the colour and create unexpected pops, as she does with her Manhole Cover sock pattern.
In terms of designers that make good patterns that are suitable for pairing with variegated yarns, Jane recommends Curious Handmade's Helen Stewart and Martina Behm (Strickmich).
From her own designs, Urban Festival was specifically created to work with the variegated yarns.
You can find everything about Jane's patterns over on Ravelry and she is @Yarnison on Instagram.
Full show notes, images and links for this episode are at www.shinybees.com/110
Mitch of Surfing Ducks is my guest on the podcast this week, where we discuss a plethora of things that spiral slightly out of control and end somewhere around knitted, transferable 'tramp stamps.'
Yes...
Mitch designs sock patterns with a particular twist; every heel flap is adorned with a quirky design. This led to the brand developing into an almost secret society under the #HiddenHeels theme. The idea is you can have these socks on, and have a heel that is usually hidden from view, but then is brought out on show at exactly the right moment. this moment may well be to secure access to some underground speakeasy with a gin urn.
Mitch is several patterns in now (more have been added since this interview was recorded a few months ago) and each time a new one is released, there is a badge to go along with it. Be one of the first to finish and share pictures of your #HiddenHeels design and collect your limited edition badge.
I don't know about you, but I want all those badges.
We also discuss how Mitch balances her design work against her demanding day job. She began her foray back into socks a couple of years ago after previously finding them difficult. A chance meeting with the lovely Christine Perry of Winwick Mum at Sirdar led to her catching the bug again, thanks to Christine's infectious enthusiasm for the medium of socks.
Mitch had also worked in customer support for a large online retailer and was the pattern support specialist. Through the experience, she was able to gather lots of knowledge and learn exactly what sort of thing trip knitters up when knitting a pattern, and has been able to bring all that to her design work. Her aim is to make knitting easy, and each of her designs adds one new technique, to ease the knitter into developing their skills in an easy feeling way.
Although her patterns look complicated, only the small heel canvas contains the colour changing. Because it is so small, it can be a great way to introduce techniques without it feeling too overwhelming. Brand new sock knitters have knit several of her patterns and had success, so if you are even a little bit intrigued, chances are you will be able to do them.
For her design work, Mitch uses Stitchmastery and Stitch Fiddler (snigger) although she also advocates Excel as useful for charts.
All of her patterns are available via Ravelry, and there are plans to produce ebooks of the collections at a later stage. Mitch is already teaching socks knitting and would love to do more of this as her business expands.
You can find Mitch at www.surfingducks.com.
Links and full show notes for this episode are at www.shinybees.com/109
Speckled yarn is the marmite of the knitting world right now. Outrageously popular, thanks to patronage by the likes of Stephen West and Andrea Mowry, speckles are so hot right now. Or are they?
A straw poll of hardcore Shinybees listeners suggested a 66/33 split between Hot and Not. A lot of people expressed speckles as being something you need to be in the mood for.
But what are speckled yarns? These are yarns that are dyed onto yarn that is a majority of one main colour, with random spots, splodges and flecks of other (often multiple) colours on top. This can be achieved using a variety of different methods, and differs from variegated yarn in that the colours are more randomly spaced and generally shorter lengths.
Who are your favourite speckled yarn dyers and designers who create great patterns for these tricky to use yarns?
Also in this episode I give you a quick catch up of where I have been hiding for a year and also what you can expect from the podcast going forward.
Spoiler: I am in camp Not :)
Where sh*t tea, tray bake and exposure collide!
Lyndsey aka Countess Ablaze joins me this week for a chat about issues facing us crafters and business owners. A recent recipient of an offer of 'exposure' as payment, along with some fairly misogynistic stereotyping of her customer base, The Countess decided to take a stand against this (and raise some actual money for charity in her own, imitable way) by creating some new colour ways.
In this episode we discuss the thorny issue of 'exposure' as a payment for our craft, time and expertise. Is it ever acceptable? Where does the balance lie when offering this as an exchange of value? Why does it seem to be so rife amongst the creative industries and is it a peculiarly female thing?
Next up is misogyny as an everyday blight. Lyndsey shares some examples of when she has encountered this working in her business, including the entirely false notion that her husband bankrolls her little craft hobby business. Spoiler: he doesn't.
We briefly cover the deeply offensive idea that anyone in the North would drink sh*t tea.
Finally, we discuss the use of charity causes to excuse bad behaviour, and as a tag on excuse for self-serving events or initiatives, rather than having them as a focus.
We wrap up with her reply and salute to this - two new colour ways called Sht Tea and Tray Bake and If I Want Exposure I'll Get My Tts Out - with £3 from the sale of each skein being donated to Women's Aid.
Who likes Angel Delight?
This week's episode is definitely on the delight end of the pudding scale as opposed to a seven tier unicorn cake and that's often a good thing. It's a low tariff canter and catch up with no big questions asked or answered and instead we have some light and fluffy as air fun.
In community news, I invite you to come and join the #shinybeescolourworkchallenge over in the Facebook group and try your hand at some stranded knitting. If knitting with more than one colour has been intimidating to you in the past, now's the time to cast that aside and give it a crack. There will be helpful hints and tips posted in the group throughout the month and the occasional Shetland Pony in Fair Isle. Obvs.
In Enabler's Corner I enable you to two not quite yarny but definitely fun (depends on your version of fun for the latter, but I like it) things to try. First up we have the delightfully witty Amy Nolan of Ginger Rainbow who does the most fantastic illustrations and doodles. She's very witty and manages to bring situational humour out in her quirky drawings. I am a big fan. Secondly, we have #hotelroomview, the fun adventures of working on the road and seeing a lot of hotel rooms, hosted by the wonderful Bexx. It really shouldn't be that exciting or gripping, but there is something about these hotel room views that has captured my imagination. It's a bit like looking at house porn on Rightmove.
In Wippin' Piccadilly, I have finished Helen Stewart's Spindrift Shawl and the Everyday Brew by Clare Devine. I'm never knitting with black yarn again. Future/fantasy knit searching has taken me to the Prism hat by Tin Can Knits which is part of the Mad Colour collection which was released in August. This versatile pattern gives oodles of opportunity for creating a one-of-a-kind hat, and is really more like three patterns in one. Also catching my eye from this collection is 1999, a sweater with a masculine lace (that's a thing) panel down the front. The collection itself comprises 16 patterns and is available from Ravelry for $21.60 USD.
Shownotes for this episode are at www.shinybees.com
Music is by Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need A Drink.'
Knitting: Is it just knitting? Or is it more than that?
That's what we are going to be exploring today and in future episodes is how knitting transcends just being handiwork and becomes something much bigger. Today that's going to be using the Pussy Hat Project as an example. This is not a political rant episode, it's about using this case study (yes, I am a Geographer) to understand how knitting can spark change and allow people to be heard on a wider level.
In community news, I'm inviting you to join the new Facebook group - Shinybees Podcast Community. There's loads of chat going on in there about podcast stuff and knitting, Use the Facebook Groups App to avoid having the rest of the Facebook guff making your phone go.
Big goal for this year is 1,000,000 downloads for the podcast. I hope you'll all join me in reaching this target and I'll have lots of info for you about how to make that happen.
Lastly a shoutout for 5647rhats45 for a lovely iTunes review.
Knitting as more than craft is the topic of the chat this week and I'm pulling apart the Pussy Hat Project from a technical/case study perspective. I am staying well away from passing political comment as to my own personal views, so if you are sick of hearing about it, I hope you will still find this useful. There are lessons to be learned around the idea of knitting as more than craft and how we achieve change through the medium of knitting. For those not aware, the Pussy Hat Project aims to provide the people of the Women's March on Washington DC a means to make a unique collective visual statement, which will help activists be better heard. It also aims to provide people who cannot physically be on the National Mall a way to represent themselves and support women's rights.
Whether or not you agree with the politics of this project, there are lessons: power of a community gathered around a common aim; ability to inspire and motivate people to take part; accessibility to new crafters; creation of new connections within the project; the sheer logistical effort involved in managing a project to create and distribute 1.2 million pink hats.
In Enablers' Corner, I enable you to the Not Seen Before MKAL which starts on 31st January 2017. This is part of the Sight is Life project (and collection) which raises funds to support a facility in the DRC who conduct sight saving and restoring operations.
Show notes are at shinybees.com
Music for this episode is Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink'.
Permission. You don't need it from anyone to enjoy your hobbies, especially and most particularly if that hobby is knitting.
This week the chat is about two notions: 1) selfish knitting and 2) hiding yarn purchases from significant others. Selfish is a bad word. It has negative connotations and is not a compliment. Why, oh WHY then, do we use this to describe engaging in our hobby if the thing we are making is for the benefit of ourselves? It's utter twaddle! Nobody expects it from football players or golfers. Nobody calls them selfish for doing their own hobby for their own-flipping-benefit. Why is it an accepted thing as a knitter?
Secondly is the idea of it being a big joke to hide yarn purchases from significant others. To the extent of it being an 'amusing' sign in yarn shops. No, no, no.
You are allowed to give yourself permission to buy whatever you want, whenever you want and knit whatever you want with it for your very own self UTTERLY UNAPOLOGETICALLY.
Also - family who think you knitting in public is antisocial (whilst they play on Facebook) - do one!
In Enabler's Corner I have a huge amount of love for Sam and his geographical knitting and travelling.
In Active Stash Exploration, I revisit a very special skein from South Africa. It is leftovers from the Tanya's Train project.
Show notes are on the blog at shinybees.com
Music for this episode is 'I Need a Drink' by Adam and the Waterboys.
The first show of 2017 brings the project of the year for podcast to you. This year, we're all about Active Stash Exploration. What's that you say? It's definitely not cold sheeping, that is for sure.
First up we have a quick catch up on happenings, before diving in to some news both for the Bees on the business front and for the podcast. Bees Inc is restructuring and that means we will lose some parts of the empire in order to focus on others. There is a free business group on Facebook (Business Without The Boll*cks) as well as a new online community portal that I am currently building. If you're sick of tying yourself in knots about what you 'should' be doing in your business and getting nowhere because of it, I'm the girl for you.
I also organised a business retreat in Cumbria at the end of January. There is one place left - email me to enquire.
On the pod front, I have lots of exciting stuff lined up for the year. The main project will be Active Stash Exploration, but there will also be lots of mini themes and challenges to go along with it. I have started a new Facebook group as an alternative to Ravelry which is getting less engagement in the forums due to the clunky interface. The group is Shinybees Podcast Community.
In Enabler's Corner, I am enabling you to the Brioche Challenge over in Louise Tilbrook's new group on Facebook - Everyday Knitter. If you have ever wanted to learn brioche and have been a bit intimidated, there are loads of great folks over there casting on, ripping back and trying again. If you want a go and need moral support, that is definitely the place to do it. The community is already really chatty and helpful.
Hat Enabling this week is courtesy of Gillian Harkness of Mina Knits Designs with the Rios Rocks collection. It's a group of 6 hats designed in Malabrigo Rios and inspired by the Rio Olympics. If you prefer the more understated look, this could be the collection for you. Quick to knit (worsted weight yarn) and great for nice, semi-solid colours. My favourite is the Rio hat. Collection is available on Ravelry at £14.40.
And then we have Active Stash Exploration. This is my rally against the idea of cold sheeping and stashing down. I've tried it before and I am no good at it, chiefly because when I am told not to do something I have to spend time thinking about how to do it without flagrantly breaking the rules. I hate the idea of depriving myself of something that brings joy. Counter this again the feeling of FOMO when you go into the stash and find stuff you cannot believe you own and you can't wait to knit, but you don't have chance yet.
Active Stash Exploration is the method I will be using to kick those feelings of missing out to the kerb. It's NOT about cold sheeping - the emphasis is on active exploration of what we already have and the stories attached to the yarn. A nifty by-product of this probably will be less acquisition but the emphasis is not on that.
My theme for January is reacquaintance with what I have and thinking about which stories I want to share first. I would love to hear your stories if you decide to join me in this with the hashtag #activestashexploration and in our shiny new Facebook group.
Full show notes for this episode ate at shinybees.com
Music is by Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink.'
This week the show returns after a short hiatus. I'll give you a few funny tales from the past couple of months to get you in the mood for some Shiny On Form thought the episode. Pulling an octagenarian and gatecrashing a funeral are amongst the highlights.
In Enabler's Corner, I enable you to the Tiny Tea Hat collection, which is the mini version of the most popular hats from Clare Devine of Knit Share Love's Tea Collection. It contains Chai, Everyday Brew, Lapsang and Liquorice.
This is where it went off on one for the first time and I enlighten the world to the fact that the latest Hot Right Now craze for Ponytail Hats on Ravelry is in fact nothing to do with Facebook and everything to do with the Manbun.
After this, I review Woolly Wormhead's Painted Woolly Toppers for Kids. Edgy, fun, a little subversive plus impossibly cute kids and interesting hat construction = a winner for me.
Shownotes for this episode can be found at www.shinybees.com, along with highly amusing photos of Vladimir Putin with a man bun.
Music is from Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink'.
As Ravelry is disappointingly light on actual dalmatian patterns, I'm afraid this episode will not contain a pattern pick, but there will be a few of the usual segments you know and love. And a bit of mini Paul Rudd.
Events-wise, coming up we have Yarnporium in London on 5-6 November. I'll be attending on the 6th: please say hi if you see me. And if I am holding any yarn, take it from me. Please. I have two tickets to give away - to enter leave a comment on the show notes on the Shinybees website. Tickets will be given away next week.
The following weekend is Festiwool in Hitchin, Hertfordshire on 12th November.
In Enabler's Corner, I enable you to Northern Yarn. Kate is based in Lancaster and has a great range of local breed, hand dyed and her very own yarn line called Northern Yarn. If you're into local wool or knitting British, she's definitely worth a look. Find her at northernyarn.co.uk.
Wippin' Piccadilly returns. Finished items wise, there is the Talisman Shawl by Helen Stewart in The Wool Kitchen Urban Hints yarn. Nearly finished is the Lush Cardigan by Tin Can Knits in Berry Colorful Yarnings. I'm not loving Frisson by Brittany Wilson, as the pattern is not as fun as I had hoped, although it looks great. Yarn by Toil and Trouble for The Golden Skein.
I have plans for Kindling Hat and Mitts by Helen Stewart (Knitvent 2015) in yarn from The Little Grey Sheep.
I ask for your best hat recommendations for knitting for the family. Let me know your favourites on Ravelry or on social media. I need enabling!
Full show notes are at shinybees.com
Music by Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink'.
The tonne! A century! Episode 100 is upon us and a hearty thanks to all of you that have listened, do listen and are new to listening. Welcome one and all.
Two topics of conversation this week, one of which contains zero knitting and a lot of the young Wigan version of Paul Rudd and his fit-for-his-age Dad. Don't ask...
To celebrate episode 100 (and total credit to one Countess Ablaze for this idea) I am instigating The Great Shinybees Hexipuff Amnesty. Got Hexipuffs? Want to donate them for a good cause? Post them to Countess Ablaze's studio in Manchester then clear your diary for the Great Swinton Sewing Bee (keepers' Quilt).
In support of Monthly Gift Mcr, all proceeds from the raffled off Beekeepers' Quilts (and party) will go to the supply of sanitary products to this charity for distribution to homeless women. #hexipuffamnesty and #sodhexipuffs are your hashtags of choice. I am team #sodhexipuffs, but for every 100 that arrive, I'll actually knit one of the buggers.
Show notes of crazy (and Paul Rudd) at shinybees.com.
Music for episode is Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink.'
Pokemon is the theme of this week's episode as I delve deep into the bowels of Ravelry's pattern database to bring you a pattern pick of joyous wonder. If you've been sucked into the Pokemon Go craze (or PoGo to the cool kids) and you need some suitable patterns to accompany your meteoric rise as a trainer, I have you covered.
From head to toe. In yellow acrylic.
How does a Terry's Chocolate Orange fit into this madness? You're going to have to listen to find out!
Also in the mis we have some Enabler's Corner action with the ever fabulous Boo Knits. She has a new collection out - Boos for Beginners - which will take you from zero to hero. Also entirely appropriate for the more seasoned professional, this is sure to be a great collection for the library that you will find yourself returning to again and again. Want to be in with a chance of winning a copy? Head over to the group on Ravelry and tell me which is your favourite Boo pattern.
Also in knitty news, there is the Cheshire Fibre festival which will take place on 1 Oct 16 as part of the wider North West Fibre Arts Trail. Deets in the show notes at shinybees.com
Music for this episode is Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink'.
This week we're indulging in a current affairs panel TV style format... without the panel. It's just me and three recent knitting related stories that have come to my attention and some thoughts on all of them.
First up there is the story from Dundee of a woman given knitting as a punishment for a road rage related assault. Adamant she was a keen knitter, and that punching a woman in the face was just a momentary old of control before heading into The Knitting Pin, she was tasked with providing 'not a meagre amount' of knitting for charity before December.
Warning - I get a bit cross about this.
Then we have an excellent example of using local resources to overcome service gaps by the Faroese, who have strapped 360 degree cameras to five sheep in an attempt to encourage Google to agree to come and map the place properly for them. You can get a sheep's back view of the Faroes via videos uploaded by the local tourist board. This is magnificent.
Finally we have unexpected fifteen minutes of fame for DyeForYarn, our German friends Nicole and Cordula, who attracted considerable attention his week due to their quirky choices of yarn names. The mugs didn't get it.
Show notes are at www.shinybees.com
Music for this episode is from Adam and theWalter Boys with 'I Need a Drink'.
This is the multi-award winning(!) Shinybees podcast, winner of the Best UK Podcast of 2016.
Thanks to everyone who voted for the show. If you want to see the video of the acceptance speech, it's in the show notes.
Knitting wise, I have been working mostly on Helen Stewart's Talisman Shawl from her Shawl Society club. It's being knit in Urban Hints 'Blood Orange' from The Wool Kitchen.
The #RewindKAL has completed from a prize point of view, but we can keep going with the chat thread as I'm still nowhere near done. I have realised that I am not a slow knitter, I just don't spend enough time knitting.
The Golden Skein's Summer Power of 3 Club featured Eden Cottage Yarns, Dublin Dye and Triskelion Yarn. You can find all details at www.thegoldenskein.com. Signups are open 1-7th July for the Autumn quarter 2016.
Show notes are at shinybees.com
Music for this episode is Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink'.
Karie Westermann joins me this week as my interview guest to tell us all about her journey into designing knitwear. Also a teacher and writer, Danish-born Karie calls Glasgow in Scotland her home since moving to the UK. A regular contributor to knitting magazines and publications as well as independent and commercial yarn companies, Karie became self employed two years ago.
Author of the Doggerland collection, Karie has now embarked upon her first actual print book project - This Thing Of Paper. Previously a book historian, she will be bringing all this knowledge to the new project, which is funded by a Kickstarter (fully funded within 25 hours!)
Kara's journey back into knitting came as a result of quite a serious illness that left her sick in bed for nine months. It was during this time she returned to knitting, which aided in her recovery and became her main occupation shortly afterward.
You can find everything about Karie at kariebookish.com
Show notes are at shinybees.com
Music for this episode is Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink.'
Returning from a mini podcast break, this week I'm joined by none other than the fabulous Countess Ablaze, who invited me to her studio in Manchester to dye some yarn and have a bit of a chat.
News-wise, the Patreon for the podcast is no more - it just was not working for me int he way I had hoped.
On a brighter note, the podcast has made the finals of the New Media Europe Awards in two categories: Best UK Podcast and Audience Appreciation Award. Please vote on Twitter each day for the show as 50% of the marks come from number of votes.
Onto the non-interview interview. Countess Ablaze is an indie dyer based in Manchester in the UK. Queen of brightly coloured and saturated colour ways and fabulously executed wigs, faux aristocrat Lindsey delights in bold and intense colours, as well as grey. Makes the colours brighter, you see...
She began dyeing in late 2011 and has developed her own, super efficient systems and processes to get the fabulous colour ways she produces. The business grew out of what was a very dark time for her and has blossomed into a thriving studio with customers worldwide.
Using very technical methods (mushing) she considers the dyeing process as more of an art than a science for her personally as a dyer.
Champion of eye-searing neon, you'll find everything at Countessablaze.com.
Show notes are available at www.shinybees.com
Music for this episode is Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need A Drink'.
Hello and welcome to a hyper colour episode of the podcast.
This episode is sponsored by the Indie Burgh Yarn Crawl, Edinburgh's official yarn crawl, which is taking place on 11th June 2016 between 10am and 6pm. Visit three of Edinburgh's fantastic yarn stores and indie emporiums: Ginger Twist Studio, Be Inspired Fibres and Kathy's Knits. Enjoy a range of promotions and discounts, get your yarn passport signed and head to the afterparty at the Safari Lounge. Here you'll find a fantastic range of vendors in the pop-up marketplace including Phileas Yarns, Pekoe Tea, K.M. Bedigan, Spun Plum, C.C. Almon, Edinburgh Yarn Festival, Rainbow Heirloom, Rusty Ferret, Queen of Purls, Lesley Taylor, Hand Drawn Yarn.
For more information head to gingertwiststudios.com/indie-burgh-yarn-crawl
Don't forget to vote for the podcast at the New Media Europe Awards. Link in show notes.
The podcast will be on a break for the next two weeks and returning on 7th June 2016.
Enabler's Corner this week is all about the Indie Burgh Yarn Crawl, which I will be enabling you to in a big way. I went last year and loved it.
Alpaca Chatter is all about how to wash and care for your alpaca items.
Finally there is some random chatter about that most famous 1991 flash in the plan, Global Hypercolour.
Show notes are at www.shinybees.com
Music for this episode is by Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink'.
Alpaca is under the microscope this week as a fibre focus for the next few episodes. Before we move onto that thought, I have news for you as always.
First up, the podcast is up for two New Media Europe Awards. Please follow the link in the show notes to cast your vote BEFORE 29th May, when the first round of voting closes. If you want your award back (you are an award winning audience after all!) then you need to get involved.
Also in news the #RewindKAL is ongoing. I have just cast on my Lush Cardigan, so plenty of time to join in still over on Ravelry or on social media with the #RewindKAL. I have some great prizes lined up from Suffolk Socks, Knitting in France and The Golden Skein with some more in the works.
There will be a break in the podcast broadcast schedule following next week's episode, so there will be no episode on 24th and 31st of May. The show will return on 7th June.
In Enabler's Corner we have Lezley Taylor's awesome crochet hook keyrings and stitch markers. Head over to Ravelry to enter the competition to win one of these as well as a set of stitch markers.
Finally we look at alpaca as a fibre as a quick overview before diving into more of a focus on it in the coming episodes. There is a mention for Sir Titus Salt who introduced the fibre to the UK in 1836 and I direct you to the British Alpaca Society's Alpacapedia.
Show notes are at www.shinybees.com
Music for this episode is provided by Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink'.
This week I am joined by Estelle of Midwinter Yarns.Specialising in Scandinavian yarns, Swedish-born Estelle runsMidwinter from her home in the rural Welsh Valleys.
Aided and abetted by her husband Mark, also known as MrMidwinter, she delights in bringing the best yarns Sweden has tooffer to the UK, in her quest to share the culture of herhomeland.
Originally an interior designer, Estelle started her businessafter moving to Wales. She'd often thought of starting a businessbut it was the move and having more space that made it a reality.She's a self-confessed endurance knitter.
You can find everything Midwinter Yarns at www.midwinteryarns.com
Show notes are at www.shinybees.com
Music for this episode is Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Needa Drink'.
Chat abound this week! Catching up is the order of the day. LJ completed the marathon and her derriere is fine, thank you for asking.
Yarn Shop Day is on Saturday and I am looking forward to diving face first into The Countess' Tunnock's. That's not a euphemism; she will have a tower of Tunnock's. If you can't come to Manchester, why not check out what's happening in your area? If you're abroad - stage your own Yarn Shop Day.
In Enablers' Corner, I invite you to be enabled to the ME box. It's a monthly stationery subscription box. If you struggle to find the right sort of cards, this could be the answer to your stationery woes. It's £15 inclusive of postage and you can sign up at martineellis.com between 1st and 7th of every month.
In Scottish yarn news, there's the Loch Ness Knit Fest, 29th Sep - 2 Oct 2016. Also, get yourself to Pitlochry next weekend, 7th May at the Atholl Palace Hotel. Dingwall Auction Mart hosts the Highland Wool Fest on 21st May 2016.
I have some emails from lovely listeners. Props to Westy for looking after his fans and producing funny videos by taking the mickey out of himself.
I take a look at The Knitting Goddess' new yarn, Totally British 4ply. It's an 85% Wensleydale, 15% Shetland blend which is grown, spun, processed and dyed in the UK. It's a great way to access breed yarns with the added benefit of lovely hand dyed shades too. I rather like it. It comes in at 400m/100g and retails at £18.50 per skein.
Finally I ask the question, "Is The It?" for the stash accumulation.
Show notes are at www.shinybees.com
Music is courtesy of Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need A Drink'.
This week I am pleased to welcome the lovely Helen Stewart onto the show. Designer and voice of the award winning Curious Handmade podcast.
Originally from Australia, Helen is quite the nomad and loves travelling. She began designing when she moved to London. It was a part-time venture for a while, until after he second daughter was born. Having become increasingly unhappy in her corporate role and keen to create a situation where she could have flexibility to be with her girls, she took the big leap into designing as a business at the end of 2013. She launched the Curious Handmade podcast around that time and has hosted the weekly show ever since.
She finds inspiration for her designs in many ways but most frequently whilst travelling. High points of her journey have been winning an award for her show, as well as having the opportunity to meet so many interesting and influential people.
You can find everything about Helen at curioushandmade.com and her podcast is on iTunes and Stitcher.
Show notes are at www.shinybees.com
Music is 'I Need a Drink' by Adam and the Walter Boys.
This week I bring you lots of things to be inspired by. The reference to Paula Abdul is not covered within the show but encompasses the idea of 'two steps forward/two steps back'.
First up there's news about Shiny's Hive, and a party to be remembered at Countess Ablaze for Yarn Shop Day on 30th April 2016. Come and join lots of us fun folk between 10am and 5pm and get involved in the fun. Isla of BritYarn will also be there with a trunk show. British Wool a gogo.
I review Yarn In The City's London Craft Guide. It's a crafty guide to London, with lots of insider tips for food and refreshments along the way. It comes with 11 patterns for ghat all important holiday crafting too. You can find everything to do with the book at www.yarninthecity.com
Finally, we have Wippin' Piccadilly with Voodoo by Boo Knits (yes, still) and Frisson by Brittany Wilson. Lush by TinCanKnits for the #RewindKAL.
Shownotes are at www.shinybees.com
Music is by Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink'
Helen Reed of The Wool Kitchen is my super-fun sidekick this episode. Helen is a hand dyer based in Walthamstow in East London, although originally she's a Northern bird, albeit from the wrong side of the Pennines (Yorkshire).
She worked in retail prior to becoming a mum, and once her kiddies were going to school, she decided to start The Wool Kitchen as a business to indulge in her creative side.
A colour addict, you can expect wild and vivid skeins from Helen. Even the pared down colour ways are still bright and lively. The colours need to be released from her head onto the yarn, to allow her to be more colourful and be more creative.
Helen was encouraged into yarntrepreneurship by her evil accomplices at Knit Night and hasn't looked back. She loves to meet new people both in real life and virtually, so you'll find her hanging out most on Instagram (or by her brightly coloured yarn on her stall).
Helen has foolishly offered her Desert Island Skein up as a giveaway this week (let's hope she isn't shipwrecked anytime soon) and you can enter via the thread on Ravelry in the Shinybees group.
You can find Helen as @thewoolkitchen on Instagram and Ravelry as well as her shop on Etsy.
Show notes are at www.shinybees.com.
Music is courtesy of Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink'.
Larissa of Travelknitter is my guest this week on the podcast. Fans of the show will know I am a big fan of her work, in particular her sorcery ability when it comes to creating red yarns. It's a hard colour to dye and she does it so brilliantly, I've collected one of every of her red colour ways.
Larissa is based in East London and is originally from Australia. Travelknitter is a part-time operation that was born out of her need to find exactly the right kind of red yarn (a girl after my own heart). She has lots of great tips for running a business as a side venture as well as very interesting details about how and where she dyes her yarns.
Larissa dyed a colour way for The Golden Skein in the Autumn 2015 club.
You can find Larissa at www.travelknitter.com
Show notes are at www.shinybees.com
Music for this episode is by Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink'.
This week we have a friendly catch up post Edinburgh Yarn Festival. I reassure listeners that knitting on a train with beads is indeed a perfectly safe activity. Come and hear the rundown of Scotland's premier knitting festival. It's not done to death, just a few highlights including my notable mentions for Beyond Measure, Cowtown Knits and Tilly Flop Designs and the Best In Show... which is like Crufts, only without dogs.
We round up with the three dyers from the spring quarter of The Golden Skein. Go and check out Whistlebare, Snail Yarn and Sparkleduck.
Show notes are at www.shinybees.com
Music is Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink'.
This week Gemma Dudley of The Little Grey Girl joins us ahead of her first ever show at Edinburgh Yarn Festival. Purveyor of stylish, handmade bags and notions, The Little Grey Girl is the perfect place to find a beautiful receptacle for your knitting.
Gemma opened The Little Grey Girl in October 2015 and runs it as a side-business from her main day job. A creative at heart. TLGG allows Gemma to explore this and escape from the office environment she inhabits during the day.
A huge lover of hand dyed yarns and the colour grey, you'll find her at www.thelittlegreygirl.com.
Shownotes for the episode are at www.shinybees.com
Music is by Adam and the Walter Boys - 'I Need a Drink'.
Nic Rudd, dyer behind Yarns From the Plain and voice of the popular podcast of the same name is our guest this week on the show.
Based on the Cheshire Plain in north-west England, Nic began her career as an industrial chemist working in the nuclear industry, before moving into what could be considered an equally hazardous environment as a primary school teacher. Having been curious about dyeing for some time, she began to sell her excess stock at local guild meetings, before taking the leap into it as a business, alongside studying for an HNC at Bradford.
A fan of all things British, her yarns are no exception and you can find some interesting blends amongst the Stanley range, which is available in 5 weights.
She has lots of tips for making business work that she freely shares, along with her unbridled passion for Microsoft Excel.
Listeners can get a juicy 15% discount in the Yarns From The Plain shop with the code SHINY15.
You can find Nic and links to all her social media, as well as the blog and podcast at www.yarnsfromtheplain.co.uk.
Show notes are at www.shinybees.com
You can become a Patron of the podcast and join our Virtual Knit Night at www.patreon.com/shinybees
Music is by Adam and the Walter Boys and is 'I Need a Drink'
I'm delighted this week to have Helen join us on the show to tell us about her journey into dyeing. I've admired her work for a long time (and asked her to collaborate with The Golden Skein twice as a result) and always enjoy the way she tells the stories of the yarns she creates and the way she's inspired to do so.
Helen is based in Assynt in the Scottish Highlands and finds endless inspiration in her surroundings and the traditions in the area. She grew up in Southern Africa before moving to the UK in her late teens and has always been surrounded by making and crafting. She began Ripplescrafts after she and her husband, Stevan, moved to live in the Highlands full time from the Scottish Borders.
You can find her at www.ripplecrafts.co.uk
Shownotes for this episode are at shinybees.com.
Music this episode is Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink.'
This week has news, reviews and the potential theft of a bottle of IPA. Yes, it's still a knitting podcast, but we do enjoy a real ale on a regular basis.
First up you can now join me on Anchor and Snapchat as @Shinybees. Prep is ongoing for the #RewindKAL - you can join in over on Ravelry in the Shinybees Podcast group. I also reveal my word for the year. I've never done this before but I feel it's in the spirit of the word to do so. I'd love to hear yours!
Edinburgh Yarn Festival is taking place 17-20 March 2016. I will be offering a session in the Podcast Lounge on how to build a content calendar for your blog or podcast on the Friday afternoon and an informal Q&A on anything business or podcasting related on Saturday afternoon after the Podcaster Meetup, which will be taking place 12.30-2 both days. For those that come, I'll be offering a free power hour consultation to one lucky draw winner.
If you can't make it, never fear: I'm going to repeat the sessions via webinar in the two weeks after EYF. TI'll also make the replays from these available for download. To sign up for these (completely free!) go to http://eepurl.com/bRAWz1
Enablers' Corner warns you at going to www.countessablaze.com and looking at the clubs (closing 1 Mar) and The Rt Honourable Ronaldsay is highly likely to result in a stash based indiscretion. You probably won't escape without buying the lovelies and these yarns are rebels which refuse to be tamed!
To wrap up, I have a first look at Blacker Yarns Tamar.
Show notes available at www.shinybees.com
Music from Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink'. Pass that IPA...
Who knew that Craig David him-very-self would inspire an episode of a knitting podcast? Well, it's happened as this week I pay homage to his ability to not age one bit in a decade and still have perfect eyebrows and corkscrew curls.
Shoutouts to Trish, Jeny and Betsy and join in with the Fish Lips Kiss Heel pattern giveaway over in the Ravelry group, where there are still plenty of folks looking to gift patterns.
The podcast Patron virtual knit night takes place on Thursday 18th Feb 2016 at 2000GMT. To join in, become a patron at $5 or above. Details at www.patreon.com/shinybees.
Project bags are now available in the Swagporium at £4+P&P
February events include Unravel at Farnham Maltings in Surrey. I will not be attending.
Enablers' Corner sends you to a fab tutorial by Clare Devine for the German Twisted Cast On. there will be plenty more where that came from, so be sure to subscribe to her YouTube channel to get all the goods!
Rewind KAL is the name of our next KAL starting on 13th March. If you have ever knitted a pattern in a KAL (or otherwise) and wished you could go back and re-live the experience, this is the KAL for you. Likewise if you'd always wished you'd taken part in a KAL when you didn't, and regretted it, come and knit the pattern now! I will be knitting another Lush Cardigan by Tin Can Knits in Berry Colourful Yarnings Sparkle DK.
Hashtag for the KAL is #rewindkal and there will be a virtual knit night for all those who are taking part.
Finally, there's a review of Take Heart: A Transatlantic Knitting Journey by Fiona Alice.
Show notes are at www.shinybees.com
Music for this episode is Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink'
It's Zoolander-aplenty this episode as I come rip-roaring (sort-of) back from having the flu. Zoolander 2 is out on 12th February and Zoolander is one of my favourite films of all time. I a bit love Ben Stiller. Imagine my surprise, then, that there are indeed no patterns on Ravelry for anything Zoolander themed. Not one. Not even a cheeky little amigurumi Hansel...
So, don't kill the president of Micronesia. Just chill out a bit more. Relax, Derek!
In Enabler's Corner, courtesy of Helen Stewart of Curious Handmade and Paula of Knitting Pipeline, I enable you to the Fish Lips Kiss Heel pattern. Let's get the Sox Therapist and her kids together for a big reunion. Breast cancer ain't fun. I am offering to gift a pattern to the first ten people that reply to the thread in the group on Ravelry.
There are a pair of Edinburgh Yarn Festival tickets up for grabs in a giveaway on the Ravelry group. I'll be attending and taking part in the Podcast Lounge again. You can find all the details at www.edinyarnfest.com
Wippin' Piccaddilly has Owligan by Kate Davies, Voodoo by Boo Knits and a pair of afterthought heel socks in yarn from The Golden Skein. Future knits are pretty much any hat by Clare Devine (Tea Collection) and Frisson by Brittany Wilson, available from Ravelry.
Show notes are at www.shinybees.com
Music for this episode is 'I Need a Drink' by Adam and the Walter Boys.
Glasgow-based knitwear designer and purveyor of super-cute stitch markers, Amanda B Collins, is our guest on the podcast today. Amanda has been designing for a few years, producing patterns for the UK knitting press, including Knit Now Magazine and Pom Pom Quarterly. She has also released her own designs in self published collections as well as a series of shawls inspired by Glasgow. Spoiler: 'Bru' is a favourite of mine.
A doctor by day, she designs in the evenings, when she's not playing Wacky Races in her yellow Fiat 500. We discuss all manner of things, along with the usual questions you'd expect in the interview section. Be warned, there is some deviation down quite funny rabbit holes.
Interview starts at 2:30.
You can find Amanda on Twitter as @owlprintpanda and she blogs at www.owlprintpanda.blogspot.com
Show notes are at www.shinybees.com
Music for this episode is Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink'.
Time to own up to my knitting goals for 2016 after the chat last week about goal setting. I'm planning to knit 4 garments - Owligan by Kate Daves, Mallorn by Ann Kingstone, Lush by Tin Can Knits (again! x 2 perhaps!) and Raindrops, also by Tin Can Knits. If you're fretting about stash or just have ambitions of making it feel under control, or indeed you just want to start the year off by loving what you have, check out Curious Handmade's Stash Appreciation Month.
Join our virtual knit night by becoming a patron of the podcast at www.patreon.com/shinybees
In Enabler's Corner, I direct you to listen to episode 34 of this podcast with Kate Davies. Kate Davies Designs has just been announced as a finalist in the UK Microbusiness of the Year Awards. Amazing stuff. Being a knitting business does not mean it isn't a 'proper' business and Kate has some great words of advice for those looking to start out in the industry, as well as some stellar banter about rhino bums.
The Beadalong has come to a close and I draw your attention to some wonderful projects that have come out of the KAL/CAL. Stay tuned for the next group fun.
Finally I introduce to you the dyers for the Winter quarter of The Golden Skein's Power of 3 yarn club. Go and check out Samantha of Scrumptious Purl in Canada, Helen of Ripplescrafts in the Scottish Highlands and Ana of Toil & Trouble in Salem, Mass. There are no spares available but you can find out more and join the club at www.thegoldenskein.com/clubs. Signups close 26th January.
Show notes are at www.shinybees.com
Music for this episode is Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink'.
Got knitting goals for 2016? Lots of wild plans? Let me help you get super focused with my five top tips for knitty goal setting.
For not the first time on the podcast, we talk about David Bowie's package and Labyrinth. Join us on the first Shinybees Virtual Knit Night by becoming a patron of the podcast over at Patreon.
In Enabler's Corner, it's about KALs again with the Nature's Shades KAL at KnitBritish and the Vintage KAL at The Golden Skein.
Then we have a lot of chat about goal setting. Lots of people hate goal setting. Goal setting for knitting can help you achieve your ambitions this year, done well. I have put together 5 tips for setting goals so you make progress without being overwhelmed.
In the review section, Woolly Wormhead's 'Painted Woolly Toppers' takes centre stage. It's written for hand painted yarns and comprises of ten patterns for hats. It's a great looking book with lovely styling and very interesting construction on the knitting front.
Show notes are at www.shinybees.com
Music for this episode is Adam and The Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink'.
Welcome to the first show of 2016! This week it's all about planning your knitting calendar when it comes to attending shows. What are the top tips for survival? I'll share mine with you today!
Podcast news, there's more detail on both the podcast Patreon and the Shinybees Swagporium. Also, check out my interview with Kathryn Bryant on the Podcast Divas show.
Enablers' Corner features Katya Frankel's new mini-collection, Flatland: Adventures in Geometry.
There's a giveaway of Ann Kingstone's Lace Knits.
In a new segment, I give you the yarn events for this month - Waltham Abbey Wool show on 17th March. In order to prepare you fully for this year's yarny festivities I've also included my top tips for surviving a yarn show.
Show notes are at www.shinybees.com
Music for this episode is Adam and the Walter Boys and 'I Need a Drink'.
This is a Christmas episode, the final podcast for 2015. There is some pensive reflection on the past year for the podcast and I encourage you to be appreciative of your achievements in 2015 and ignore the stuff you didn't manage.
There is a bauble themed pattern selection for you to enjoy. There really is no excuse for you not to have eyelash/funky fur tinsel on your tree next year.
A bit of beadalong chat follows with some tips for swapping out tricky increases in shawls.
The Patreon for the podcast is live now and the Shinybees Swagporium will be throwing open its virtual doors this week.
Show notes are available at www.shinybees.com
Music for this episode is Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink'.
This week it's all a bit festive and we're discussing dogs in comedy Christmas knitwear and that infamous Christmas tradition of the nativity.
In Enablers' Corner, I encourage you to check out Tin Can Knits' 12 days of Christmas, where each day they are giving away one of their patterns for free! Find them at www.tincanknits.com.
In the final Sock Surgery for 2015, I bring together five festive sock patterns to celebrate the yuletide season. I've also pulled together some ideas for gifts for the sock knitter, including a very last minute suggestion if time has totally run away from you. A huge thank you to Clare Devine of Yarn and Pointy Sticks and Kate Read aka Sock Kate for their contribution to the Sock Surgery this year.
In podcast news, I'm starting a Patreon for the podcast, which will be going live on Friday 18th December. This will go towards funding the running costs as well as upgrading the podcast equipment to give you a better listening experience and improving the offering by having a virtual knit night. There will also be a swag shop opening as in the survey you asked for one - what the Award Winning Audience wants, they get! The podcast will always be free at point of use, but if you'd be willing to buy me a coffee per month, you might want to support the podcast.
Show notes are available at www.shinybees.com
Music for this episode is 'I Need a Drink' by Adam and the Walter Boys'.
This week it's a chatty catch up for the most part, with some news on renovations/maintenance issues at Casa Shiny. Roofers: know your limits!
Enablers' Corner directs you to the sale at Whistlebare Yarns. Get 20% off mohair lovelies over at www.whistlebare.co.uk, hand dyed and produced on the farm. Want to meet this small producer? Check out episode 72.
There is also some chat about a visit to the Countess Ablaze studio in Swinton, Manchester. Her hand dyed fabulousness knows no bounds; I'm a fan girl and I am not sorry.
Wippin' Piccadilly returns with a brief canter through ongoing knitty projects including Owligan by Kate Davies, Be With You/Voodoo by Boo Knits and some socks that cannot be elaborated upon yet, as they're in yarn from the most recent quarter of The Golden Skein.
I wrote for Wovember! If you like wool and you haven't already, go over to www.wovember.com.
The Shinybees celebration yarn and podcast swag should be available this week. Get on the mailing list to be the first to hear about it.
Show notes are at www.shinybees.com
Music is 'I Need A Drink' by Adam and the Walter Boys.
Alice Elsworth, our guest mohair expert, returns to the podcast for an interview to talk about life as a farmer in rural Northumberland in the UK. Alice keeps a herd of mohair goats at Whistlebare Farm and her four young sons keep a flock of Wensleydale sheep!
Alice has her yarn spun into a Mohair/Wensleydale blend and hand dyes the yarn herself on the farm, which is sold at various shows and online under the brand Whistlebare Yarns.
If you've ever wondered what it's like to live and work on a small farm, this interview is for you.
In the news section there is some beadalong chat along with a call for those who fancy knitting some advent Frankensocks. Details are in the Ravelry group.
You can find Alice at www.whistlebare.co.uk where there are links to all her social media as well as details of shows and where you can find the farm to visit in person.
Show notes are at www.shinybees.com
Music for this episode is Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need A Drink'.
This week it's all about lace and felt on the show (still with a smattering of mohair after our focus on the Diamond Fibre of late).
Enablers' Corner welcomes the Felt-Ed Kit Club 2016. Introduce yourself (or your children) to the wonders of wet felting with this monthly club. With 12 projects, it would be a great rainy day project or ideal Christmas gift for kids. It's also an ideal intro to the craft for adults curious about making felt. The monthly kit is accompanies by a worksheet and a video tutorial to accompany the project, created by a trained teacher. You can find out more at www.felt-ed.co.uk.
Then we have a review of 'Lace Knits: Magical Methods for Openwork Knitting' by Ann Kingston. For those not familiar, Ann is a Yorkshire-based knitting designer and author, with an armful of books to her name. There is a precis of the patterns as well as my thoughts on the techniques section and the book as an overall offering. Spoiler: I like it. It is available at www.annkingstone.com
Show notes are available at www.shinybees.com
Music for this episode is 'I Need a Drink' by Adam and the Walter Boys.
This week I am delighted to welcome beaded shawl design maven and all round lovely lady Bev, aka Boo Knits to the show. Having long been a fan of Bev's aesthetic, I knitted the Shawl of Awesome for the NMEU UK Podcasters' Awards from one of her patterns, Out Of Darkness.
Boo Knits patterns are the perfect choice for those who want to create a
complicated-looking shawl with minimal effort. Simple and easy to follow - even for a beginner - there are a variety of shawls which would make perfect first beaded projects. One of Bev's designs, Be With You, is one of the featured patterns for the #Beadalong, starting on 18th Nov 2015 over on Ravelry.
Bev encourages you all to knit only with yarn you truly love. Warning: contains enabling.
You can find Boo Knits primarily on Ravelry, where there is a very active and welcoming group to get involved with.
Show notes are at www.shinybees.com
Music for this episode is courtesy of Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink'.
Male knitter? Want to knit socks for the man in your life? Rachel Coopey joins me this week to discuss the finer points of knitting for men, particularly in the sock department.
There's also a Q&A with Alice Elsworth of Whistlebare Yarns in Northumberland, who keeps a flock of her own Angora Goats and produces yarns from their own animals, which she hand dyes on the farm.
The details of the #beadalong are announced. Cast on is 16th November at 8:30pm GMT, live on Periscope (@Shinybees) and the end date is 10th January 2016. Three patterns for knitted beaded shawls have been nominated in the thread in the Ravelry group along with one crocheted section. You can choose any beaded project you like, though, if none of these patterns work for you. Use #beadalong on social media so we can all follow each others' progress. Sign up in the thread on Ravelry.
Show notes as always are at www.shinybees.com.
Music is provided by Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need A Drink'.
Rachel Coopey is our guest of honour in this episode. Rachel is a British knitwear designer and author, with somewhat of a penchant for socks, having written three books on the subject. Also fond of accessories, she has designed for a number of UK and overseas knitting magazines and publications. Her most recent book, Toasty 2, was launched at Yarndale 2015 and is a collection of patterns in Baa Ram Ewe's Titus yarn.
You can find Rachel at www.coopknits.co.uk.
Show notes are at www.shinybees.com.
Music for this episode is by Adam and the Walter Boys and is 'I Need a Drink'.
More mohair is the name of the game this week, where the focus of the episode is on mohair yarns that are available on the UK market mostly (and several are available in the States and elsewhere).
In news, we bid a fond farewell to the iMake podcast after 87 episodes. Martine was the person who inspired and enabled me to podcast by taking the time to share her knowledge on the technical aspects. She's also grown to be a dear friend and I wish her the best of luck in her new creative venture. Thank her for me being here using the hashtag #thankyouMartine.
In Enablers' Corner, I invite you to check out Little Grey Girl. Run by Gem Dudley, it's a emporium of knitting frippery and project bags to delight those with an eye for grey and also those who want a project bag that shies away from crafty twee and towards classic style.
Then it's all about mohair. I round up some choice hand dyed, commercial and from the producer, single farm type yarns for you to try in your adventures with mohair.
Show notes are available at www.shinybees.com
Music from this episode is by Adam and the Walter Boys and is 'I Need a Drink'.
Today we're celebrating that most maligned of fibres: mohair. It's actually rather good if you give it a chance.
In Enablers' Corner, I bring you As Autumn Falls by Amanda B Collins, a new 4-piece pattern collection that is perfect to get you ready for autumn.
In The Sock Surgery, I am talking about mohair, specifically the properties of the fibre and how that makes it a really good choice for socks. You might be surprised at what benefits it can offer in a yarn.
If you want a great article about using sock yarn without nylon, check out Pure Wool For Socks by Clare Devine over at Wovember.com.
Finally, I describe the latest shipment of The Golden Skein's Power of 3 Club. Go and check out DyeForYarn, Travelknitter and Cedar Hill Yarns.
Show notes are on the blog at www.shinybees.com
Music is provided courtesy of Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need A Drink'.
National Knitting Week is upon us: what's on your needles? This week's episode has some podcast and knitty news to kick off proceedings, followed by a chat about Yarndale 2015 and a round up of current and finished knitting.
In parish notices for the podcast, I will be moving house back to The Money Pit in the very near future. The podcast is planned to remain on schedule throughout this geographical disruption. Also, I have set up a newsletter for the podcast, which you can join at http://eepurl.com/bBMENL and will include all the latest podcast news along with some dogs in comedy knitwear.
Also, there's a listener survey for you to take part in. I'd love to hear your opinions, and will be offering a yarny giveaway incentive. Look out for this on the blog and social media for the link.
In woolly news, it's Wool Week in the UK between 5-11 Oct, with most of the activity being focused around London (typical!). The UK Hand Knitting Association is promoting the Commit To Knit charity knitting project as part of National Knitting Week. The Knit A Square charity is in dire need of financial donations to support their operations in South Africa.
The Highland Wool and Textile Fair is happening in Inverness on 17th October 2015.
Yarndale is reviewed with my top tips being Rachel Coopey, Town End Alpaca and Laura's Loom.
Wippin Piccadilly has a finished Owls jumper by Kate Davies and Out Of Darkness shawl by Boo Knits. Ongoing is a Lush by Tin Can Knits.
Shownotes for this episode are at www.shinybees.com
Music for this episode is provided via Music Alley courtesy of Adam and the Walter Boys, with 'I Need A Drink'
Hello and welcome to the AWARD WINNING Shinybees podcast. That's right, we won 'Most Engaged Audience' at New Media Europe, which means you're officially an award winning audience!
This week there's a big thank you, as you'd expect, along with my top three take-aways from the New Media Europe conference. In short: be yourself, community is key and embrace failure. If you aren't failing, you aren't learning.
There's some Socktober news for you from the UK Sock Knitters group on Ravelry and BritYarn's GBSocksAwayKAL.
I review Blacker Yarns' latest spin, Cornish Tin, a 10th birthday, one-off yarn, developed from ten all-british suppliers and available in one neutral and four dyed shades.
Finally there's a sneak peek at what's coming in the next few weeks and months.
Show notes as always are at www.shinybees.com
Music for this episode is provided courtesy of Music Alley and is by Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need A Drink'.
This week is a pacey canter through the usual format. The show is co-hosted by a barrel of fermenting beer. I'm not even joking.
Enablers' Corner returns where I encourage you to check out the map tapestry kits by Hannah Bass (www.hannahbass.com).
In news, there are a number of UK yarn shows coming up including Bristol Wool Fair (11-13 Sep), Yarndale (26-27 Sep) and Highland Wool and Textile Fair in Inverness on 17th Oct.
The Great London Yarn Crawl was a great show. Check out all the patterns by p-hop to get your knitting fix whilst doing your bit for charity by raising money for Medecins Sans Frontiers.
Top 3 favourites from the marketplace for me were: The Wool Kitchen, Travelknitter and Midwinter Yarns.
The pattern pick makes a dive-like return this week, with babies in moustaches and shell attire for pet tortoises, all around the theme of Super Mario.
Shownotes for this episode are at www.shinybees.com
Music for this episode is provided via Music Alley and is courtesy of Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need A Drink'.
Custom Socks a go-go as we welcome author, technical editor and pattern designer Kate Atherley to the show. If you're interested in learning how to write clear patterns that any knitter can use to recreate your design for themselves, Kate has some great tips and lots of experience to share. Likewise, she provides us with her top sock knitting tips in anticipation of returning to the Sock Surgery to close the interview.
In news, the Shawl of Awesome is progressing nicely. Also, Sally Cameron of PinkHairGirl Podcast has released a pattern to help raise funds for the Red Cross Children's Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. The Phoenix Hat pattern is available vis Ravelry and there is a video embedded in the shownotes, where you can hear Sally and her daughter Rachel talk about the project.
Shownotes for this episode are available are available at www.shinybees.com
Kate Atherley can be found at www.kateatherley.com
Music for this episode is as always provided via Music Alley courtesy of Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink'.
Hat mania descends upon the podcast this week as I welcome hat architect Woolly Wormhead to the show. Woolly is a knitting designer who is obsessed with all things hat. Author of 8 books dedicated to all things hats, she delights in exploring the extremeties to which you can take the humber hat. Drawing on her background as an engineer and Fine Art student, she focuses on the sculptural aspects of hat design.
She's a hat architect and she'd like you to be too.
You can find Woolly, her patterns, blog and links to her social media at www.woollywormhead.com
This episode is sponsored by Yarn In The City. For more information visit www.yarninthecity.com
Shownotes are at www.shinybees.com
Music for this episode is courtesy of Music Alley and is Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink'.
How do you go from psychoanalysing serial killers to wool shop maven? Leona-Jayne Kelly of Fluph in Dundee joins us this week to answer just that question. It's a little more straightforward than you might think, and of course, it involves knitting.
The camapign to win the UK Podcasters' Award continues, so please head over to the shownotes for details.
The Shawl of Awesome is ongoing and progressing well. It will be finished in time for the awards!
Events: I'll be at Great London Yarn Crawl and Yarndale in September.
You can find Leona at Fluph at 164 Blackness Road, Dundee or online at www.fluph.co.uk
Shownotes are at www.shinybees.com
Music for this episode is provided via Music Alley courtesy of Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need A Drink'.
Because you know it's all about the stripes, 'bout the stripes...
This week I am pleased to welcome Michelle Berry of Berry Colorful Yarnings onto the podcast to talk about all things self-striping. Based in New Mexico in the United States, Michelle is a indie dyer who specialises in wider self striping yarns. Longer colour changes give options for patterns beyond the usual socks (although they do knit into wonderful socks too!) and sets her yarns apart from the majority of self striping yarns on the market. She often themes here colourways around films or books, with the latest collaboration with Lara Smoot - the Potterful Kits - are an homage to a certain boy wizard. She was a featured dyer in the Spring 2015 instalment of The Golden Skein Yarn Club.
You can find Michelle at www.berrycolorfulyarnings.com
Shownotes for this episode are at www.shinybees.com
Music for this episode is provided via Music Alley and is courtesy of Adam and the Walter Boys with "I Need a Drink".
This week I’m delighted to welcome podcasting legend Brenda Dayne to the show. Voice of the Cast On podcast, Brenda has taught throughout the UK and US in venues large and small, as well as at festivals across the US. Cast On has been downloaded over 2.5 million times since it started in 2005. Brenda lives in rural Wales with her partner, Tonia, and drives fast cars with her knitty partner in crime, Caerthan Wrack. When they’re not cooking up indigo dyed mischief, Brenda also organises the Gwlana Retreats in West Wales.
This episode is sponsored by Yarn in The City. For more details visit www.yarninthecity.com
Shownotes are at www.shinybees.com.
Music for this episode is provided via Music Alley courtesy of Adam and the Walter Boys with "I Need a Drink".
Want to make knitwear that fits the way you want it to?
Step forward Amy Herzog of Custom Fit and Fit to Flatter fame, who is our latest interview guest. Amy Herzog is a Boston-based knitwear designer and author of the book Knit to Flatter,and the popular Fit to Flatter tutorial series.
If knitting things that fit you well is your bag, Amy is here to help with the Cutom Fit system. Use and yarn and any gauge, plug it into Custom Fit and it will churn out a pattern for you that will work perfectly!
Show notes are on the blog at www.shinybees.com
You can find Amy at www.amyherzogdesigns.com
Music for this episode is provided courtesy of Music Alley and is by Adam and the Walter Boys, with 'I Need a Drink'.
We're welcoming Linda Lencovic of Kettle Yarn Co to the podcast to tell her story and introduce us to the Boardwalk Collection. Linda is based on the South Coast of England and specialises in glorious colourways on yarns that are extensively wear tested, for those who believe in fashion that lasts.
This episode of the Shinybees podcast is sponsored by Yarn In The City. Yarn In The City creates experiential, yarn-centric events for knitters and makers, designed to bring people together through a shared love of craft. Yarn In The City organises the Great London Yarn Crawl taking place this year on Saturday 5th September 2015. For more information go to www.yarninthecity.com
Linda has just collaborated with some of the hottest designers on Ravelry to produce the Boardwalk Collection, designed in her Islington DK base, a heady blend of 55% Superwash Bluefaced Leicester and 45% Silk.
You can find links to the collection lookbook, details on where to find Linda as well as our sponsors in the shownotes at www.shinybees.com
Ever wondered what it's like to crowdfund a book? Susan Crawford, knitwear designer and fashion historian is my latest interview guest on the show. Purveyor of all things vintage and woolly, Susan has published 4 books already, which are stocked in the V&A, Waterstones and the British Library.
Four years in the making, Susan's latest project, the Vintage Shetland Project, is about to come to fruition and she is in the midst of a pubslush campaign to fund the initial print run of the book. This amazing project brings vintage knitwear from the Shetland Museum archives to life, with 25 items featured in the book, all with patterns transposed from the original garments and graded for size, to make them available to be enjoyed by knitters today.
Come and get to know Susan in this laid back episode and hear about Nana Ruby, Susan's sprightly Zwartbles and how she'll never audition for The Island...
You can find Susan over at www.susancrawfordvintage.com where you'll also find links to her social media. The Pubslush campaign is here.
Shownotes can be found on the blog at www.shinybees.com as always.
Music is provided courtesy of Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need A Drink'. available from Music Alley.
This week it's an interview episode and I am chatting to the vivacious duo that is Alison Thistlewood and Rachel Brown, the ladies behind Yarn In The City and the Great London Yarn Crawl. Both businesswomen in their own right with their own separate businesses, they are here to chat about all things yarn and business. There's also some agonising over the Desert Island Skeins and some stash chat, amonst all the usual interview questions.
Tickets for the event are now on sale.
You can find Allison and Rachel at www.yarninthecity.com
Shownotes for this episode are at www.shinybees.com
Summer has finally hit in Scotland and it is toasty! This week Clare is back on the Sock Surgery to talk about knitting socks in summer, follwoing on from our summer knitting yarns and pattern suggestions podcasts.
In Enablers' Corner, I talk about Periscope briefly. I'm on there as @shinybees and @TheGoldenSkein.
THe retro perfume review is of Exclamation. Get your bids in the shinybeesinfo@gmail.com or on Ravelry.
Shownotes are at www.shinybees.com
Music is via Music Alley with Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink'.
We're back with a little light enabling in the form of the #Scollaykal in Enablers' Corner this week. Head on over to KnitBritish and BritYarn to find out more. In news, it's Woolfest this weekend coming and I am looking for a roving reporter to give us the skinny on what the show was like.
Want to help us with our MakeItFit2015 statistical analysis? head on over to our survey and input your vital statistics (and a few other measurements).
In Wippin' Piccadilly, there is Lush by Tin Can Knits, Owls by Kate Davies and Guardian Angel by Sally Cameron. Finished objects include Aestlight by Gudrun Johnston and Lapsang by Clare Devine.
How do you store your finished objects? There's lots of chat on how to store stash, but what about all the stuff you've knitted?
There are some outtakes from The Beast which cover a couple of yarn reviews. And lion hair.
Shownotes as always are at the blog - www.shinybees.com
Music for this episode is by Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink' available via Music Alley.
This week there's a little news about the Indie Burgh Yarn Crawl in Edinburgh at the weekend. In Enablers' Corner, we're all about the kits, 'bout the kits, no trouble with Latvian Mitts and Yarnundyed-knits. In the Sock Surgery, we welcome back Clare Devine to review Coop Knits Socks Vol II by British deisgner Rachel Coopey. Finally, due to popular request, there's a perfume review of Tribe, by Coty.
Shownotes and links are at www.shinybees.com. Clare Devine can be found at www.yarnandpointysticks.com.
Music for the episode is Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need A Drink' available via Music Alley.
This week we welcome the fabulous Emily Wessel of Tin Can Knits and Rainbow Heirloom yarns to the show to chat about all things yarny. Max and Bodhi's Wardrobe will be available in print copy from 11 June 2015 and Emily and Alexa have very kindly offered a giveaway which will be hosted on the Shinybees Ravelry group.
Emily came to knitting whilst studying Architecture in Western Canada and met her business partner, Alexa Ludeman whilst they were both working at their LYS. Emily now lives in Edinburgh, Scotland with her husband and seriosuly cute son, Max, who was half the duo who inspired Max and Bodhi's Wardrobe (Bodhi being Alexa's daughter). When not designing for Tin Can Knits, Emily also hand dyes at Rainbow Heirloom. In this interview, she talks in depth about her design process and the influences she draws upon, as well as giving some great advice for those looking to get into the industry.
Shownotes as always can be found on the blog at www.shinybees.com. Emily Wessel can be found at www.tincanknits.com and www.rainbowheirloom.com.
This week we hope to leave Narnia behind and experience something approaching summer after jinxing the entire season by talking about summer knitting in the past few episodes.
News-wise, the Great London Yarn Crawl will be taking place on 5th September 2015. There'll be a marketplace too this year with all proceeds from the event going to Refuge. A Yarn Story in Bath has moved to new premises. BritYarn threw open its virtual woolly doors on 2 June 2015. Go and check it out!
Enablers' Corner highlights our very own Clare Devine who has juts opened pre-orders on Sock Anatomy II. Get socks for the whole family!
The pattern pick is on the subject of 'Sun' (or lack thereof) and has a comedy perfume review for good measure.
Finally the Sock Surgery returns where Clare brings us some inspiration for funky heels to try.
Shownotes are at www.shinybees.com
A departure from the usual podcast format this week as I do a round up of my visit to Highland Wool Festival in Dingwall on 23rd May 2015. Several different makers and producers are highlighted, making this essenially an entire episode of enabling, if you will. Mentioned are Ripplescrafts, Whiteinch Craft Studio, Marcassie Farm Organic yarn, Whistlebare Yarns, Natural Born Dyers, Yarn Garden, Tartan at Heart, South Lissens Pottery and Sky Blue Pink, amongst others.
A chilled-out recap this week will be followed next week by a return to the usual format.
Shownotes are as always at www.shinybees.com
News-wise, it's all about events this week, with Highland Wool Festival taking place on 23rd May at Dingwall Mart. Indie Burgh Yarn Crawl 2015 will be happening on 13/14th June 2015 in Edinburgh, organised by Jess James of Ginger Twist Studio, in collaboration with Kathy's Knits and Be Inspired Fibres. Clare Devine will also be teaching workshops over the weekend; you can find details at www.yarnandpointysticks.com.
In Enablers' Corner, there's a round up of Linne Foirthe Club. Check out Scottish-based dyers Ripplescrafts, Ginger's Hand Dyed and Rainbow Heirloom.
Make It Fit 2015 will be kicking off with a measure-up. More details to follow.
In the Sock Surgery, Clare and I review The Knitter's Curiosity Cabinet Vol II by Hunter Hammersen. You can win a copy of this over at Clare's blog.
Full shownotes available at www.shinybees.com.
Welcome in to another episode. This week we have some yarn based news for you. There will be a trunk show at Fluph in Dundee on 27th May 2015 with Nic from Yarns From The Plain, from 2pm-8pm. Also, there's a new group on Ravelry for those hopelessly overcommitted types; The Hotel For The Hopelessly Overcommitted. Come and join the fun there if you ever feel slightly stretched on the knitting front.
In Enablers' Corner I announce the collaborative project between myself and Louise Scollay of KnitBritish podcast: Make It Fit 2015. It's going to be an investigative piece looking at lots of different aspects of knitting to fit, with the aim of empowering you to tailor garments to your requirements. It will take place mostly on the blogs and you can contact us at makeitfit2015@gmail.com.
There are a couple more yarn recommendations for summer knitting courtesy of lovely listeners.
Finally, Wippin' Piccadilly is back with not a great deal of progress! How do you keep your knitting on track?
Shownotes with all links are available on the blog.
Music is provided courtesy of Music Alley with Adam and the Walter Boys and 'I Need A Drink'.
This week we have a little yarny news, Enablers' Corner and the Sock Surgery with Clare Devine.
The Shinybees Podcast is sponsored by Blacker Yarns. Check out their new summer yarn, Lyonesse: a 50% linen, 50% wool blend, perfect for summer knitting and creating cool, breathable garments. Lyonesse is available in DK and 4ply now, in five colours and a neutral at www.blackeryarns.co.uk. Enjoy making shawls, cardigans and more this summer with Blacker Yarns Lyonesse.
News wise, the winner of the Wollmeise giveaway is announced along with the start of a new giveaway. If you've even wanted a knitted Shaun the Sheep, this is the competition for you.
Highland Wool Festival takes place at Dingwall Auction Mart on 23rd May 2015. Ripplescrafts needs to be top of your list if you are going (and if you aren't!)
Enablers' Corner has a few pattern suggestions for summer garments in cotton, bamboo and linen yarns like those suggested in the last episode.
The Sock Surgery returns and Clare is talkign about variations on the short row heel.
As always, shownotes are at www.shinybees.com
Music is provided courtesy of Music Alley and is Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink'.
Summer is on its way. Honest! This week, we're looking at summer knitting and which yarns to go for when creating projects for the hotter weather.
News wise, I encourage you all to check out Yarn Shop Day by Let's Knit Magazine. This initiative supports 160 local yarn stores nationwide and there are a variety of events in yarn shops on the day within those shops. Yarn Shop Day takes plave on Saturday 2 May 2015.
Brityarn is a new online yarn store, launching on 2 June 2015. With an emphasis on provenance, BritYarn is guided by its Woolly Principles in choosing what to stock and sell. BritYarn is committed to supporting British businesses in all respects. You can find BritYarn on Ravelry and at www.brityarn.co.uk
Enablers' Corner sees an exploration into plant based fibre yarns, specifically cotton, bamboo and linen. The pros and cons of each are discussed, as well as a selection of commercially available and hand dyed yarns with each type of fibre.
The yarn review is of Blacker Lyonnesse, a 50% linen, 50% wool (Falklands Corriedale and Merino), due to launch on 1 May 2015. It comes in five shades and a neutral in both 4ply and DK weights. It costs £5.75 per 50g ball. I review the DK in the colour way 'Aquamarine'. It wil be available from www.blackeryarns.co.uk
Shownotes are available from www.shinybees.com.
Music for this episode is via Music Alley and is courtesy of Adam and the Walter Boys, with 'I Need a Drink'.
Short rows are for life, not just for Christmas. We embrace the short row this episode in the Sock Surgery, where Clare Devine joins us again and we start our new sock for April.
In Enablers' Corner, we chat about the #hapalong being run by Louise Scollay of KnitBritish. Ever been interested in traditional Shetland knitting? Now's your chance to learn a little more!
There's a giveaway of a skein of Wollmeise to members of the Shinybees Ravelry group. To enter, hop over to the thread on Ravelry and tell me what your favourite bit of the podcast is.
The Sock Surgery introduces the short row heel and different methods for doing short rows. Clare also reviews Big Foot Knits by Andi Smith and there is a giveaway on her blog at www.yarnandpointysticks.com.
To ensure you never miss an episode, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or your podcatcher of choice, or on the blog to receive notifications straight to your inbox.
As always, shownotes are at www.shinybees.com and music is provided by Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink' via Music Alley.
Polish deisgner Justyna Lorkowska is in the hotseat this week, chatting about her journey from private primary school teacher, through motherhood and into knitting designer. Designing under Lete's Knits, Justyna has a wide portfolio of patterns, from accessories to garments and for all age ranges, as well as a few for the men in your life (or yourself!). Majoring in chunky texture and cabled details, she's designed some of the favourites of Ravelry, such as Alecia Beth, Alice in Wonderland and most recently, Florrick. She collaborated on a special edition kit for Edinburgh Yarn Festival, designing a shawl pattern, Aisling, for Eden Cottage Yarns.
Shownotes as always are at www.shinybees.com
Justyna can be found at www.letesknits.com
Music for this episode is provided courtesy of Music Alley and is 'I Need a Drink' by Adam and the Walter Boys.
We're back with some enabling, a bit ore enabling and some socks this week. Oh, and baby bums. That is sort of enabling too.
In Enablers' Corner, there is a precis of the new collection from Tin Can Knits, entitled 'Max and Bodhi's Wardrobe'. Modelled by two of the cutest kids known to mankind, both of whom have chubby baby bum on show and one of which is sporting a mohawk, it is sure to have you scouring your friends for babies to clothe, or indeed, considering expanding your own brood.
Wippin' Piccadilly covers finished objects and works in progress. There are very large pompoms on babies. It's a bit baby centric in general at the moment. That isn't a hidden message by the way.
The Sock Surgery is an exercise in self-striping yarn enablement, with Clare's picks of the best places to get your hands on hand dyed and commercial self stripes.
Finally, we round up with a fab giveaway from Tanja at The Knitting Swede.
Shownotes, as always, are on the blog. Music is provided courtesy of Adam and the Walter Boys via Music Alley, with 'I Need a Drink'.
This week, I'm delighted to bring an interview with Stephen West of Westknits. I caught up with Stephen at Edinburgh Yarn Festival where he proclaimed brioche stitch to be the stitch of the year and indeed the new garter stitch, recounted fangirling Ysolda in the early days of his design career and declared Tosh Merino Light in Edison Bulb his Desert Island Skein.
No swants were harmed in the making of this podcast.
Shownotes for the episode are at www.shinybees.com.
Music is provided via Music Alley by Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need A Drink'.
When your favourite author shuffles off his mortal coil, there's little else you can do but pay homage in a knitty fashion. Following the death of Sir Terry Pratchett, this episode could certainly be described as a knitty tribute.
Enablers' Corner takes a non Pratchett-driven form with a rundown of the first quarter yarns from The Golden Skein. These were UK dyer Joy of The Knitting Goddess with the colour way 'Golden Wings Flutter By', dyed onto the Britsock base. This is a 40% BFL, 20% Wensleydale, 20% Alpaca and 20% Nylon, British sourced and spun. Secondly, there is Swiss-based dyeing duo Fides and Gaby of Siidegarte, with the colourway 'Butterfly'. This is dyed onto the Siide-Quirlig base, a heady blend of 70% Silk and 30% Seacell. Finally, there's the fabulour Michelle of Berry Colourful Yarnings, with the colourway 'Peacock's Revenge', dyed onto the Saturated Sock base. This is a 75% Superwash Merino, 25% Nylon base and is a self-striping yarn.
The pattern pick is back, with less emphasis on the comedy and more on a collation of Discworld themed patterns. A brief history of Discworld time is offered for the uninitiated.
In the Sock Surgery, it's all about afterthought heels. Get that self-stripe out my friends!
Clare also introduces a new book review section to the Sock Surgery. This episode is a review of Sock Architecture by Lara Neel. Clare's verdict: not for beginners, but and excellent companion book for those interested in more technical knitting aspects. There is a giveaway running for this book at www.yarnandpointysticks.com
As always, full shownotes are available at www.shinybees.com
If you like to knit your socks both toe up and cuff down, you're probably already familiar with British designer Louise Tilbrook. If not, listen in for her take on all things yarn and running a business within the industry by night, and working as a scientist during the day.
In Enablers' Corner, there;s a quick rundown of Edinburgh Yarn festival purchases, with mentions for Knockando Woolmill and Whistlebare Yarns.
The main interview segment is with Louise, where we cover all the usual questions that you hear in the entrepreneur interviews.
Finally, Clare Devine rejoins us with her top tips from knitting toe up socks in the Sock Surgery.
Shownotes, as always, are availabel at www.shinybees.com. Music from this episode is from Music Alley and is 'I Need a Drink' by Adam and the Walter Boys.
Edinburgh Yarn Festival is on the horizon and all of that wardrobe planning you did to make sure you were impeecable turned out in beautiful knitwear for the day should be upon you. And me. but it's not, because my knitting is not finished. Is yours? Don't worry if not, because in today's episode we discuss methods of overcoming your wardrobe malfunction in Enabler's Corner (warning: contains enabling).
The Sock Surgery returns with Kate and Clare, discussing what to do when you have finished those socks. The merits of blocking your socks and how to wash and care for them are important subjects to consider if you don't want all your hard work to go to waste!
Full shownotes for this episode are available at www.shinybees.com.
Story time this week where there is a roundup of all the happenings at PodRetreat2015, including patio chairs, statues of Elvis and fuse box infernos. If you want several good reasons why you shouldn't buy French cars or Welsh farmhouses, you'll find them here.
In Enablers' Corner, we visit New Lanark UNESCO World Heritage Site in Scotland and learn a bit about the mill and social impact it had. There's a quick description of the facilities on offer there as well as inforation about the yarn they spin, which is the main thing we all want to know about, after all.
Finally, the Famous Shinybees Pattern Pick returns and it's a bit of a crazy one on the subject of 'ball'. Warning: may cause you to laugh so hard you urinate.
Show notes as always are on the blog at www.shinybees.com.
It's all about the socks this week. Clare and Kate return to discuss different methods for casting off top down socks as well as a brief overview of cast-offs for toe up socks.
In Enablers' Corner, I announce a new, one-off collaboration between The Golden Skein and Edinburgh Yarn Festival. Based on the format of the Power of 3 Club, the Linne Foirthe (Firth of Forth) Club is a celebration of the Edinburgh Yarn Festival and the Scottish yarn scene. Edinburgh is home to an array of wonderful designers, dyers and yarn shops and the photo draws its inspiration from the iconic Forth Bridge, which is 125 years old this year. The club is on sale on 15th February 2015 at 1900 GMT at The Golden Skein website.
On the sock front, Kate and Clare discuss casting off, with Kitchener Stitch and cinching of the toes being the two main methods of casting off a top down sock. Clare loves Elizabeth Zimmerman's sewn bind off as her go-to for toe up socks.
In the Agony Aunt section, Clare answers a question on using magic loop for two-at-a-time socks with a heelflap construction. Clare recommends a tutorial at knitbettersocks.com.
Kate joins me in person to discuss how she has found her first month in the Sock Surgery and gives a precis of the Tarsi Grande pattern as well as the Hullabaloo yarn from The Golden Skein's winter 2014 club.
Full shownotes for this episode are available at www.shinybees.com
Music for this episode is courtesy of Music Alley and is Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I need a drink'.
Special guest Kate Davies, of Kate Davies Designs, joins us on the podcast this week to discuss her journey as a designer and writer, from her previous life as a university academic to the current day. She shares the highs and lows of running your own enterprise as well as a glimpse into her everyday life as a designer.
You can find Kate Davies online at www.katedaviesdesigns.com, as well as on Ravelry, Twitter and Instagram.
As always, full shownotes are available at www.shinybees.com.
It's very socktacular this week with the return of the Sock Surgery. The show kicks off with a review of the 9.5" (9") / 23cm asymmetric circular needles from Kinki Amibari, kindly given for review by Rachel at www.tangled-yarn.co.uk. Clare will also be reviewing these on her blog in the near future. My verdict: quite good fun for knitting socks, very disco handbag friendly. If you want to be in with a chance to win a set of these, head over to the Ravelry group to enter!
Sock Surgery this week covers how to fix common things that go wrong when you start knitting socks, chiefly the losing of stitches singly or in multiples.
Finally, the Agony Aunt section covers resizing of socks to fit you, chiefly how to go about making patterns suitable for 56sts size socks.
Full shownotes are available at www.shinybees.com.
Music for this episode provided via Music Alley: 'I Need a Drink' by Adam and the Walter Boys.
Lots of Edinburgh Yarn Festival news this week for you and there's a pair of weekend tickets up for grabs for a lucky listener. The Podcast Lounge is shaping up to be a fun area to chill out over the weekend of 14-15 March 2015. Clare, Kate and I will be hosting a Sock Surgery drop on Saturday 14th. If you have any sock knitting woes, come and see us to get help with them! I'll be hosting an informal Q&A on the Sunday which is being referred to currently as 'Enterprise Enabling' to answer any questions you migth have about starting your own business. I'm a huge fan of enabling in all senses of the word and more than happy to share my experience with any of you.
The Indie Burgh Yarn Crawl is back for its second year. Date for you diaries is 13 and 14 June 2015.
Yarn And Knitting are opening their bricks and mortar shop in the North Laines in Brighton. Their Grand Opening party is Saturday 7 Feb, 2-6pm.
In the Enablers' Corner, there are two new to me podcasts for you; Wooldiaries of South Africa and The Baarmygirls in the UK.
Wippin' Piccadilly is back. There ahs been some casting on.
Full shownotes are available at www.shinybees.com.
Music for this episode is provided courtesy of Music Alley and Adam and the Walter Boys with "I need a drink".
It's finally arrived! Casting on our wonderful socks in the Sock Surgery is upon us and this week we welcome back Clare Devine and Kate Read to discuss that most crucial of techniques: casting on. If you want help for the whole year on your sock knitting, you're in the right place.
The episode opens with the Enablers' Corner, a new official segment, where you'll find all sorts of enabling to help you achieve your crafty goals. Having made the realisation that I am a knitting 80%er, I asked the gurus of the Stash Heap Challenge group on Ravelry for some tips on how to overcome this. These go from the slightly laissez-faire finishing projects as you need the needles for somethign new, through to full on organised spreadsheets and indivisual criteria. Move over, Eurovision! If reducing your WIPs is an ambition of yours, there is plenty to go at here.
In the #SockSurgery we are talking all things casting on. There is also the first Sock Surgery Agony Aunt question, which discusses how to adjust your pattern for a narrow heel. Got Agony Aunt questions yourself? Come over to the Shinybees Ravelry group and post them in the discussion thread.
As always, show notes are available at www.shinybees.com. You can find all things Clare Devine at www.yarnandpointysticks.com.
Music for this episode is provided courtesy of Music Alley and is 'I Need A Drink' by Adam and the Walter Boys.
The enabling continues at pace this episode, where there is lots of #FreeYourSkeins2015 chatter, along with the introduction of the Stash Heap Challenge group. Want to join a group with lots of ideas of how to get control of your yarn collection? These are your people!
There is a bit of a discussion about feminism, the fact Loose Women is the worst TV programme ever made and the lack of any artistic merit in R&B music. It gets a bit shouty. You have been warned. Have you ever been sterotyped from a knitting perspective?
We welcome Sarah Chy of www.knittingsarah.com to talk about her experience of setting up and growing an online knitty community.
Shownotes can be found on the blog at www.shinybees.com. Come and join the Shinybees Podcast group on Ravelry and join in the fun!
We’re all about enabling this week on the podcast. The latest knitty news is on the agenda, along with some world class enabling and the official announcement of the Sock Surgery Year of Socks.
New Year's Resolutions. How do you do yours? Do you have crafty resolutions each year or do you go down the word of inspiration route? I am a big proponent of just making changes when they need making rather than waiting for New Year. This year I will stop knitting knitwear that is too big and knit to my proper size! 2015 is the year of knitting to my figure. Waspish waists and 50’s styling are go!
#FreeYourSkeins2015. This is The Golden Skein’s take on Project365. Want to get a one skein pattern suggestion per day to enable you to knit your lovely skeins in stash? Walk this way my friends! We will be doing a post a day over on the Golden Skein blog, which we will share around on all the usual social media. Feel free to join in with the hashtag #FreeYourSkeins2015 and show us what you are making or pattern suggestions to be included.
Edinburgh Yarn Festival is taking place on 14 and 15 March 2015 at Edinburgh Corn Exchange, there will be a huge marketplace, workshops and the podcast lounge amongst other exciting things. There are some great vendors that you don’t see everywhere as well as a great Scottish contingent!
Sock Surgery Year of Socks will be kicking off in episode 31, due out on 18th January and casting on the following day, 19th January. The socks for the first month will be top down heel flap construction and Kate will be following Clare’s Tarsi pattern. For those who would like to try something different but still with that construction, Clare will be doing a pick of 5 patterns at various skill levels to enable you along no matter what your experience levels! The hashtag for this will be #SockSurgery. Come and join us!
Full shownotes for this episode can be found at www.shinybees.com
It's the last day of 2014 and the last podcast of 2014. I simply couldn't allow you all to fall into the cold, harsh light of January without a comedy knitting and yarn podcast episode to cheer you along. Excuse my lemsip induced dulcet tones and slightly dulled reactions during this quick-step instalment of the podcast.
The giveaway for WTF Knits by Gabrielle Grillo and Lucy Sweet is ongoing. To enter the draw, leave a comment on the blog post for episode 27.
Wippin' Piccadilly
It's been a finishing palooza over here at Shiny Heights! Off The needles we have the Cardamom Rose cowl by Thea Colman. Also off the needles and onto the head is the Hipster Hat by Tin Can Knits.
Still ongoing is the Quadratic Shawl by David O' Kelly for Eden Cottage Yarns. Also new on the needles is the Kunye shawl by Clare Devine, which is a pattern that was designed to celebrate a year of The Golden Skein. The KAL is ongoing and there will be prizes. Hashtag is #tgsonekal and the details are over here on Ravelry. Anyone is welcome; if you have 400m of fingering weight yarn and 4mm circular needles, get yourself over there!
Review of Yokes by Kate Davies
My copy of the latest book by Kate Davies arrived a few weeks ago, and I am now sufficiently familiar with it to give you my informed opinion. It's a collection of 11 designs along with essays that covers all kinds of yokes from countries all around the North Atlantic as well as interviews on the subject. RRP is £19.99 and it is available now from Kate Davies or a variety of local and online knitting emporiums.
That's all of this episode and for 2014. A big thank you to you all for listening this year; I hope you've enjoyed the direction the podcast has gone in and will join us for 2015. There are lots of big plans ahead for the year of the sheep!
As always, feedback and comments are always appreciated. Happy Hogmanay!
It's a yarn, comedy and sock knitting palooza this episode as we review WTF Knits and welcome Clare and Kate for the Sock Surgery.
It's time for your luxury yarn fix, with the latest offering from The Golden Skein. Check out our yarns from Knitsch in New Zealand, BaT'at in Yorkshire and Eden Cotatge Yarns in Yorkshire. There's also an announcement of the #tgsonekal, a knitalong to the pattern "Kunye" which was designed for us by Clare Devine. Details over at The Golden Skein group on Ravelry. There will be prizes. Very nice prizes.
Interested in weird and wonderful knitting patterns? I review WTF Knits: Weird Adventures in Wool by Gabrielle Grillo and Lucy Sweet, published by Bantam Press. Available now, it's a cracking little stocking filler that is sure to have you chuckling into your knitting. Want to win a copy? Enter the giveaway over on the blog at www.shinybees.com
Finally we have Clare and Kate back on the show for the Sock Surgery, discussing the pros and cons of toe up and sock down for knitting socks. We also revisit the needles choice aspect of episode 25, with feedback and discussion from out lovely listeners.
Full shownotes for this episode are available at www.shinybees.com
Ever wondered what it is like to write a knitting book whilst you homeschool your 3 children? Wonder no more, as Sally Cameron aka PinkHairGirl joins us from South Africa for an interview about just that. Learn about some of the trials and tribulations of how she accomplished writing a knitting book as well as picking up some top tips in general. She also kindly offered a copy of her book as a giveaway prize.
Wippin' Piccadilly returns with mentions for the Lapsang pattern by Clare Devine, Hipster by Tin Can Knits and Cardamom Rose by Thea Colman.
On our yarn shop travels, I review Nairn Wool Shop, aka Calendonian Craft Connections and Wool on the Brae.
Show notes as always are available at www.shinybees.com
Ever wondered how to choose needles for your first attempt at knitting socks? Want to hear some more about those other methods you might not have tried yet? Clare Devine returns to give us the low down on needle choices for knitting socks, ably accompanied by Kate.
We also have a review of a new knitting book from South Africa, by Sally Cameron. Msanzi: South Africa on my Needles is a knitted journey from the beaches of the south to the baobabs in the north. Fifteen patterns for all the family are accompanied by breathtaking landscape photography from Cape Town based Andre van Rooyen.
Giveaway for this episode is kindly sponsored by Linda of Coach House Yarns, a new to the scene UK indie dyer. The colourway reviewed is 'Tiger Tiger' in the Everyday Sock base. Check out her shop on Etsy, where you can also find a range of colourways inspired by the film Labyrinth.
Full shownotes with links are available at www.shinybees.com
Learn the basics of what to consider when choosing yarn for socks this week with my guest hosts Clare Devine and Kate Read. We chat about fit, durability and aesthetic and why considering each of these for your project is important. There is a rundown of the latest instalemtn from The Golden Skein Power of 3 Club, Autumn Harvest. This included yarns from Sylvan Tiger, Hartlam and Kettle Yarn Co.
Finally, we have a preview of the latest yarn to be offered from Blacker Yarns in Cornwall. West Country Tweed will be available in 4 shades, undyed, blue, purple and olive and comes from sheep from just two farms in Devon and Somerset. It will be available from 14th November 2014 at www.blackeryarns.co.uk
Full show notes are available at www.shinybees.com.
Hello and welcome to a special bonus Hallowe'en episode of the podcast. Take a break from the tedium of opening your front door to little kids dressed in black and high on sugar and e numbers to go for a quick canter through the history of the day. To go along with this, the infamous pattern pick returns with the somewhat apt theme of pumpkins.
As always, shownotes are found at www.shinybees.com. Enjoy!
Command and Conquer it ain't. Well, maybe. This week sees the latest happenings in my world, along with a quick virtual canter through this year's trip to Yarndale. In Wippin' Piccadilly, the Lush cardigan by Tin Can Knits in Blacker Swan is complete, and Quadratic by David O Kelly at Eden Cottage Yarns is on the needles. A new section is announced in the podcast: the Sock Surgery with Clare Devine and Kate Read. There is a giveaway PALOOZA jointly sponsored by Ginger Twist Studio and Yarn and Pointy Sticks designs. Finally, we have a one on one interview in the Ginger's Hand Dyed studio in Edinburgh, with the ever fabukous Jessica James. Join us as we chat Brigantia, red acrylic and sweaty little piece of chocolate.
Shownotes as always at www.shinybees.com. I am Shinybees on Twitter, FAcebook and Instagram. Enjoy!
This week the episode has nothing at all to do with card games and everything to do with yarn. We have a quick intro from my new house, creaks included, followed by a bit of knitting news. Then, there's the triumphant return of the Wippin Piccadiily section, in which we hear why you should listen to Clare Devine and not some random lady on YouTube. Then, the bit you've all been waiting for: an interview with the ever fabulous Victoria Magnus of Eden Cottage Yarns, recorded at Unwind Brighton. She talks all things yarn and business and gives a real insight into her journey into the business, spidery cottage and all.
As always, shownotes are at www.shinybees.com.
This week we finally round-up Unwind Brighton, which took place on 12-13 July 2014 in the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange. There is also a run-down of the progress of the #lushpodkal Lush knitalong, by Tin Can Knits. I'm using Blacker Yarns Blacker Swan yarn for this - use the code LUSH5634 for 10% discount until 14 September 2014.
There's also an interview with the ever fabulous Clare Devine of Yarn and Pointy Sticks designs and George of Yarn Garden, about yarn, the universe and everything. George is in no way like Heisenberg of Breaking Bad, it would seem, but he does like a slice of passion cake. Possibly not as much as Clare enjoys lockable stitch markers. Listen in to figure out exactly what I'm talking about.
Shownotes are available at www.shinybees.com and music is provided by Adam and the Water Boys, via Music Alley.
Nothing to do with James Bond and everything to do with the return of the pattern pick this week, on the theme of Octopus. Octopi?! We have a round up of the lattest knitting news and anouncements, with the eagerly anticipated Unwind Brighton festival taking place on 12-13 July. There is also the launch of a fabulous new collaboration between Clare Devine of Yarn and Pointy Sticks and Sock Anatomy fame and the wonderful Jess of Ginger Twist Studio, who is dyeing the yarn for the colection. Keep your ears open for Scotland's answer to Unwind - The Edinburgh Yarn Festival. There is some knitalong news from P-Hop, who are running a Commonwealth Games KAL and from my good self, as I am teaming up with the Louises of Caithness Craft Collective and Knit British podcasts and the ever amusing Aimee of KnitSpinCake podcast. We're going to be doing a Lush Along of the Lush cardigan by Tin Can Knits. Lots of lovely prizes lined up, so come and join us.
The pattern pick, as mentioned, covers a variety of cephalopod delights. I review Fluph in Dundee for our Yarn Shop Review and then there is a quick Wippin' Piccadilly update to ease those of you who are worried about the state of my knitting mojo.
The funk has been slam dunked by admitting we have a problem, Houston! This week we have a roundup of the knitting news, including a fab new yarn shop that will be opening, Harbour Yrans, and the coutdown to Unwind Brighton is well and truly on. The Second Quarter of The Golden Skein Power of 3 Yarn Club is revealed. We discuss tactics for alleviating a knitty funk in the Wippin' Piccadilly section and I resolve to do a giveaway of yarn from my recently frogged project. Leave a comment on the thread for this episode in the Ravelry group to enter. Finally, we have a yarn shop review of Ginger Twist Studio in Edinburgh.
Coming from Scotland in the depth of the knitting funk of 40,000 years, the crafty mojo has left the building. This episode sees the return of Wippin' Piccadilly, a short pattern pick and a new South African knitting video podcast for you. There's also a yarn shop review of Be Inspired Fibres of Edinburgh.
Tune in for the latest knitting news on upcoming events in Brighton and Edinburgh. There is a rundown of all the gossip from The Golden Skein and a yarn shop review of The Woolly Brew in Pittenweem. Finally, the pattern pick returns on the theme of 'bunny'. No cats were harmed during thr production of this podcast. Keep an ear out for a slightly vocal cohost!
This episode has more than its fair share of swans, clowns and unicorns. There is a quick catchup of news and a brief intro to my new abde in Fife. A large section is dedicated to PodRetreat and there is a giveaway associated with this. Finally, the pattern pick this week focuses on Unicorns.
This week there is a lot of news regarding various things. The Golden Skein is explained and you can find everything to do with this UK yarn club at www.thegoldenskein.com. We have a book review of Clare Devine's first ebook, "Sock Anatomy: Dissecting Heels and Toes". The Wippin' Piccadilly section returns, as does the pattern pick, which is on the topic of 'child hat'.
This episode has, amongst other things, cats in various hats. The secret project - The Golden Skein - is revealed. There is an update and some information about podretreat and a review of a patterned yarn dyeing workshop at Purl City Yarns. Wippin' Piccadilly is back with a disappointing lack of progress on all fronts and there is my favourite pattern pic since the Movember episode. Enjoy!
This week sees Jo joined by special guest stars Nic and Aimee from Yarns From The Plain and KnitSpinCake podcasts. A break from the usual schow format, we discuss all things Yarndale. Mistly, we talk about Stuff Nic Bought. Prepare to be enabled! Shownotes at www.shinybees.com.
A change of location this week, and a permanent one at that, from South Africa to the UK. There is an update of news since the last episode, along with some musings on the subject of change. I introduce my new domicile and the Wippin' Piccadilly section returns with not a lot done to be fair. The famous Shinybees Pattern Pick makes a triumphant return. Will there be snakes and dog sweaters today?
Travelling with knitting - how do you do yours? This week there is a lot of travel chatter along with an awful lot of news. There is a round up of the best blogs from Knitting and Crochet Blog Week 2013. The Knit a Square KAL is coming to an end as we will be starting a new KAL - the Pennies Per Hour of Pleasure KAL - phopkal with Kate of Katestwirl blog, the new co-ordinator at P/hop. The South Africa section covers the culinary delight that is Potjiekos.
This episode takes us on a galactic journey courtesy of a shagadelic young Shatner as he captains the Starship Enterprise though The Original Series. The news section brings us up to date with the Knit A Square KAL/CAL and we discuss the 4th Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week, run by Mimi of Eskimimimakes blog. The Wippin Piccadilly section returns as does the pattern pick, which this week has a somewhat Trekkie feel.
Hello and welcome to Episode 8 of the Shinybees podcast: Snake Eyes. This slightly rougher around the edges podcast is brought to you again from sunny South Africa. Thanks very much for joining me again after a break due to the arrival of Samuel Douglas. He came in a rather speedy fashion, 5 days late. There was quite a bit of yarn buying going on due to the inconvenience of being late to me, from Loop, Knitting Goddess and Flamboyance Yarns.
We start off the episode with a few hellos, and briefly mention the stronghold of newborn night-time waking that is the #3amclub. This is followed up by the latest happenings in Limpopo, including the untimely demise of a Black Mamba in the garden.
The pattern pick for this week is also inspired by all things snake. Be careful to avoid Willie the Trouser Snake! All the patterns can be found in the set on Ravelry.
In the South Africa section we return to the north to talk about Mapungubwe National Park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Here, you can see the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe rivers, as well as see Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa, all from one spot. Take a treetop walk to see the great grey-green greasy Limpopo River or go on a game drive and see 4 of the Big 5.
Welcome (0:25)
Hello and welcome to the show notes for Episode 7 of the Shinybees podcast: Catch up. This is the first episode since the Podcaster hangout with Martine from iMake, Amanda from Craftlife and Laura from Apocalyptic Diner. The audio for the show is Episode 50 of the iMake Podcast or you can watch the video here. There is some lamenting on pregnancy old wives tales and inappropriate belly touching.
Thongman is going to be making a guest appearance on the podcast, and I am taking questions for him via email, Twitter or Ravelry. I am enjoying the Africa series on BBC1 at the moment.
I was the proud winner of a £5 voucher for the fabulous Flamboyance Yarns. Check out my favourite colour way: Box of Crayons.
In the shout out, I mentioned the ‘White and Colourful’ projects by Suuf. Go and check them out!
Hi to Barb and Tracie from the 2 Knit Lit Chicks podcast, who kindly played my promo in Ep 35. They have been on my list to download for ages and are a great listen.
Wippin’ Piccadilly (14:48)
Only one finished object, miraculously – Adam’s Hat. This is a hat for the new Shiny baby, which I finally guilt tripped myself into making. The pattern and yarn are both by Nurturing Fibres. The Stripe Study by Veera Valimaki has been frogged and will remain in exile for now. Damask is back from hibernation so I can try my new Chiaogoo Red Lace needles. Owls by Kate Davis is still ongoing but has not received any attention as I won’t fit into it for some time yet! The Mielie socks made a special guest appearance on the Podcaster Hangout, one is complete and the other is in the middle of having the heel turned. Finally for the knitting, I cast on a cardigan for the baby, just an ordinaryKing Cole pattern.
Sewing wise, I mentioned the fabric I used for the apron in the Caithness Craft Collective apron swap. I also have made a raft of baby aprons for The Beast from cotton, using a pattern I designed myself. At sewing class, I have been working on a hooded top, as well as some pajamas and a dressing gown for HBM.
South Africa (29:40)
We travel to Robben Island World Heritage Site to learn about political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela.
Wrap-up (36:05)
Thanks very much for joining me again. If you would like to get in touch, I am Shinybees on Ravelry and Twitter, you can leave a comment here on the blog or email me at shinybeesinfo@gmail.com.
Hello and welcome to Episode 6 of the Shinybees podcast. This week, we have another pattern pick in honour of Movember. This is followed by an interview with South African indie dyer, Carlé, of Nurturing Fibres. There are also details of the December podcaster hangout, which will take place on 8 December 2012 at 1900 GMT.
This week we have a return to some old favourites. First of all we have a run-down of recent happenings in Limpopo, followed by a reattack on Episode 3 - The C Word. Random musings feature the theme 'FEAR' and in Wippin' Piccadilly, I share a very special recent project. A trip to Stellenbosch to taste wine is our SA section and then there is the return of the Shinybees Pattern Pick.
Enjoy!
This week we have a close encounter of the rhinoceroidal kind. There is a podcast news update and we are joined by Justus for the South Africa section to make some Malva Pudding before we wrap up. You will definitely need a cup of tea to wash that down! Pull up a chair and enjoy.
This week we take a trip to the Kruger National Park in search of the 'Big 5'. For those unable to spot the Big 5, we have the Shinybees Big 5 for your perusement! There is the return of the Wippin' Piccadilly section and we hear why Google is not always your friend, especially in Afrikaans.
Show notes, as always, can be found at http://shinybees.wordpress.com
This week we take a turn around Kwa-Zulu Natal and visit Durban and Swaziland. There is food in the form of the Bunny Chow, weddings in the snow and a trip to Ngwenya Glass. There is the usual on and off the needles section in Wippin' Piccadilly and the South Africa section is spread across the whole episode. Finally, there is a review of the International Quilting Convention Africa before Marlaw plays us out with 'Missing My Baby (Pii Pii)'.
Full shownotes and links can be found, as always, at http://shinybees.wordpress.com.
This week, Jo talks about warthog watch. There is an on and off the needles section, and in the South Africa section, Jo is joined by special guest Tanya to discuss the South African social ceremony that is the braai. There is a book review on The Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook, before wrapping up. Shownotes for the episode can be found here.
Grab a glass of Stellenbosch's finest and let's sit round the fire!
Hello and welcome to the pilot episode of the Shinybees podcast. British girl Jo talks about knitting, sewing and crafting from South Africa, along with a liberal helping of South African language, food and culture. Grab yourself a rooibos, a glass of Amarula or the Cape Winelands' finest and cosy up for a bit of chatter.