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episode 22: knitting communities

Published by louise

I have been thinking a lot about the different knitting communities I belong to and how we are tied together in different ways with sticks and string.
This week I am also looking at Podcast Lounge news, a hap KAL and tea inspired knits!

Listen right here, on iTunes or my Podgen page

| Show Notes

Aural Pleasure
I have been quite busy since we last met, but have been ably assisted at the computer by audio podcasts and audio books. Having listened twice to the awesome Radio 4 adaptation of Gaiman’s Neverwhere I am currently listening to The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins on Audible. If you are interested in Audible, you can try a free trial.

Cast on / Cast off
Still currently knitting on Camille Cardigan, by Gretchen Ronnevik. I have one sleeve left to do and then it is done. The best bit about working in chunky yarn is that you can see results very quickly!

Also, since last time, I have completed the Lapsang Cowl, by Clare Devine. This is part of her new Tea Collection of hats and cowls that will just call to you on a cold day!

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The collection will be added to throughout the coming weeks and months and so far I think I need to knit ALL of the patterns! The collection cost £10, currently. I knit my version of the lapsang cowl in Ginger’s Handdyed flumps chunky in Hocus Pocus (which is not available at the moment in the chunky, but you can check out the shade here in Jess’s humming DK weight). It is a warm, squishy, soft-soft-soft merino yarn and have barely taken the thing off.
Watch out in coming weeks for a Ginger Twist Yarn review and GIVE-AWAY!

Hap-along (Cassidy)
There has been some chatting in the KnitBritish Ravelry group about having a hap KAL.
A hap is a square or triangular (half) shawl from Shetland, which has what is described as traditional Shetland construction, in that the centre is commonly knit first and the stitches are picked up to knit a lace border. Once an item of everyday wear in Shetland the shawl has had a bit of a resurgence thanks to designs by Kate Davies, Gudrun Johnson and Brooklyn Tweed. IF you search on Ravelry, there are a number of patterns to choose from – some with the old shale border and some with different lace incorporated into the border.

The KAL will be happening in April and I will be running it for a while (no-one likes tight KAL deadlines). You can knit the hap in any weight or colour; it doesn’t have to be British wool (but I will love you forever, if you use some!) and you can knit any form of hap (including a hap cardigan!) There will be small prizes and the only rules are that the pattern you use must be described as a hap in the pattern name or notes on Ravelry. I will also accept patterns which are described as “Shetland traditional construction” – these include contemporary turns on the hap from Shetland Trader – Flukra, Aestlight, Simmer Dim and Loren.

Hansel © Gudrun Johnston used with kind permission

Aestlight © Gudrun Johnston used with kind permission

I think you will see that there is something for the traditional and contemporary tastes. I will definitely be knitting a traditional square hap and looking forward to planning colour choices.
If you are interested then you can join in with the chat in the Ravelry group and watch the blog for upcoming posts and pattern suggestions.

Podcast Lounge
I am planning a “Come and Have a Feel” session….of British wool, of course! We will be doing this on the morning of Sat 14th March at the Edinburgh Yarn Festival. You will be able to get to grips with some breed yarns that you may have not encountered before and create some ‘tasting notes’ reviews. I am really looking forward to this and maybe introducing you to some yarns that you will be inspired to run out and find at EYF. Many of these yarns have been provided by Blacker for your squishing pleasure, but I will have more info on what you can expect to see, nearer the time.

If you have any questions for our Technique agony aunt, Carol Meldrum – who is also teaching at the EYF – then contact me with those. Got gauge issues, not sure how to execute a particular technique, general knitting woes??? get in touch! (apologies for the photo, carol is gorgeous…I am just crap with an iphone!)

Bring your technique woes to Agony Aunt Carol Meldrum - she can only answer problems about knitted boyfriends, though

Agony Aunt Carol Meldrum – she can only answer problems about knitted boyfriends, though – not your real ones.

You can find all Podcast Lounge details at www.edinyarnfest.com and also by clicking the Podcast lounge tab on the KnitBritish website!

Blasta Comin’ At’cha
Blasta podcast is a new monthly audio show from Clare and Dearbhla, who are in Ireland. Listen to their promo – I think you will agree that the craic will be awesome with this pair, as they fix on a crafty theme each month and explore it over a pint! See you at EYF girls!

Knitting Communities
You will have heard me talk about this before and community has been on my mind a lot with organising Podcast Lounge.
We are tied together in numerous different ways with sticks and string. We have our physical craft circles, knit nights, guild meetings and classes and when we go online those communities just expand! Social media, podcasts, blogs and the veritable society that is Raverly – which is made up of numerous communities and groups – We can be in one community, or many and we can be both online and in the real world. Being involved with online communities can share into our RL knitting worlds – we arrange meet ups, KALs, events, etc and membership and interest grows.

There are different ways we come into these communities, but it is all because we share an interest in knitting. It doesn’t matter what the skill level is; we are all seeking to do something or be part of something that our craft is centred on. We might be founder or core members or we could be a bit more transient or lurk on the fringes of a community until we see if it is for us, or not. The benefits of being a member of your communities are support, sharing knowledge and skills, affinity, belonging and, if you are lucky, friendship….we don’t even know one another’s real names at times, but we can form very strong bonds.

Knitting communities are not homogeneous – those sticks and string are not tied into one place. I feel very lucky to be involved in all my knitty worlds and have met people through this that I can call friends. Read some of the member messages in the KnitBritish thread and see how knitting communities are a real life-line for some people. Do let us know about your knitting communities too. Do you feel part of a community or do you see social media, etc as being separate to you and your crafting community?

KnitLocal
I am constantly in awe of those of you outside the UK who want to try and knit with British wool and discover the charm of it for yourself. As well as promoting British wool I do also want you to think about your own local wool industries and local yarns and I would love to hear from you listeners outside of the UK on this topic. What are your local breeds? What is the wool like? Do you prefer it over imported yarns? You can drop me a line via the contact page or you can try leaving a message on KnitBritishPodcast on skype. This is something that I am trialling. You can leave a voice or video message and I may play it (the audio) on the show. Leave a Voicemail for Knit British!

Postbag
Clairette in the ravelry group asks if we have yarn budgets? What are your yarn buying habits?
The postman brought an amazing package from evieandlily on Ravelry, who wanted to give me a podiversary present of British wool. A bulging package of breed yarn came in the post last week – dyed by the Natural Dye Studio and in an array of different breeds – this was a really spectacular treasure from generous evieandlily. Some of this will become a prize for KB readers and listeners, but I will make something really special with some of it, so that I remember the kind gesture from Julie. Thank you so much xxx

Hellos and thanks
The usual love and hellos to my knitting communities on Raverly and the blog and podcast!

Coming Up
Next episode will be around the 1st March and I will have yarn review of Ginger Twist Luscious worsted, a look at the Bletchley Collection from Eden Cottage Yarn and Joanna Scrace and two superb giveaways!

Don’t Forget!
There are TWO giveaways on the blog until February 20th…TWO pairs of tickets are up for grabs over here.…and you can win a copy of the Penguin Knitting book here

| Information
Music: Jara with Don’t Wait available on musicalley.com

The Penguin Knitting Book

Published by louise

While I was sitting at Edinburgh Airport recently I saw this charming book that I just had to buy.

The Penguin Knitting Book was first published in 1957 and was written by James Norbury. Norbury was highly influential in the world of knit – a knitting designer who was chief designer at Patons, post WWII. He was a knitting historian, teacher, author and also had popular knitting shows on the BBC during the 50s and 60s (Why don’t we have such a thing now?).

The 2014 re-issue of this classic means that Norbury’s inimitable wit and knowledge can be available for a new generation of knitters.

Beginning with a potted history of knitting from early examples to the present day – the “present” meaning the late 50s couture knitwear of Christian Dior and Lola Prussac – Norbury then looks at wool.

1950s Anny Blatt

Almost any fibre is suitable for knitting. Cotton, silk, the new nylon yarns, rayons and wool all having their right use and proper purpose in the pursuit of the craft.

The right purpose is the important thing. Always buy the right type of wool or fibre recommended on the knitting instructions you are using.

While I heartily agree with selecting the right wool for the right project, I do wonder though, what Mr Norbury would have to say about yarn substitutions that we all do today?

After looking at the importance of wool, needles and notions we are also told how to care for our yarn and that starts with good hand care.

Rough hands and Rubbed Wool

The care of the hands plays an important part in producing perfect knitted fabrics. To-day many women do their own chores. Soap powders and detergents are being widely advertised and used. That is why the hands may get slightly rough, and when you are knitting please do take that little extra care of your hands. Rub a good cream into them occasionally to keep them smooth, or if the fingers seem slightly rough pour a little icing sugar into the palms of your hands and rub it all over the hands themselves. This will act like a very fine sandpaper and smooth off the roughened ends of the fingers.

Getting right down to business there are excellent chapters on casting on, basic stitches and techniques, such as increases and decreases, with accompanying stitch patterns (written) to highlight the new stitches you have learned.

My absolute favourite part of the book is Chapter 6 – It’s the Finish that Counts; here Norbury takes us through the process of washing and blocking the pieces of a sweater and truly these skills have not aged – who hasn’t grappled with the blocking of a garment at one time or another? This chapter also contains my favourite passage in relation to looking after your knit items.

The way I have seen some women treat their knitteds fills me with dismay. I find myself wondering if women think they can maltreat them as much as they like without harm. I have seen jumpers flung across a chair. I have shuddered at cardigans hanging from an ordinary hook behind a door. The idea seems to be ‘oh it’s only a woolly so it doesn’t matter’.

When you are not wearing your knitted garments fold them neatly and place them in a drawer.

Mr Norbury may well shudder if he were to walk into my kitchen just now, with a jumper flung in the back of my chair and a cardi hanging from a door handle!

This is a novel-sized paperback and, of course, it is a knitting book that is laid out a lot differently from what we are used to today. There are a plethora of patterns in here, from shawls and stoles, to baby items, gloves, sweaters, socks and not forgetting a good stitch directory too.

The instructions have all the brevity of vintage knitting patterns in that there are no schematics and the images are limited to black and white plates which are scattered throughout the book. It would have been wonderful if Penguin had asked a contemporary knit designer to preface the re-issued book and add some helpful hints to knitting these patterns and suggesting modern wool to substitute. The book was originally intended to be used by beginners and experienced knitters, but I fear today’s novice knitter might have more of a problem with the patterns than their 1957 counterpart.

Patterns aside, you may not be reaching for the 3ply, but little has changed in terms of our knitting tools, the practice of knitting, preparing the finished item and how to look after our knitted garments and this book is brimming with practical information and Norbury’s tips – and often forthright, at that! I get the feeling Mr Norbury definitely saw himself as leading the charge in the right way to go about your knitting!

If you love and appreciate vintage patterns, your knitting history and lot of knitting charm and wit then you will really enjoy this book.

~~For one lucky winner I have a copy to give-away. Just leave me a comment below and tell me your favourite knitting book in your own library, vintage or otherwise!~~

~~This give-away will close on 20th February. This is the same day as the closing date for the Edinburgh Yarn Festival Weekend tickets give-away, which you can enter by following this link.~~

GOOD LUCK!

~~This competition is open to entrants from the UK and Ireland only. The prize is donated by myself and there is no alternative available.~~

Update 01-03-15. Congrats to Katy. Her comment was chosen by Random.Org. That book will be winging its way to you soon!

episode 21 Edinburgh Yarn Fest plans revealed!

Published by louise

Join me for episode 21 for all your yarn news, reviews and general woolly love!

You can listen here, on iTunes and now on Podgen

| Show notes

Edinburgh Yarn Festival [14-15 March] Podcast Lounge news.

Mica put out my sneaky peek post on events coming up in the Podcast Lounge on the EYF website this week. You can also meet the Podcast Lounge team – my merry band of muckers who are all bringing you something in the lounge sessions. Felix Ford, Jo Milmine, CC & Damaris Almon and Louise Hunt are my dream team and are all bringing a little bit of what you can expect from their shows to the EYF and I can reveal some of those sessions.

Attend the live Sock Surgery with Shiny Bee’s Jo Milmine and designer Clare Devine. Arm yourself with your sock WIPs and put your questions to Clare.
Bring your favourite knitting items and memories to Felicity Ford to record and contribute to a KNITSONIK sound collage
Join us for On the Couch interviews with EYF teachers, exhibitors and VIPs
Come to the Podcast Meet Up event each afternoon and join in with your favourite hosts and fellow listeners for the Podcast panel
Take up the Geeky Girls Knit special EYF Photo challenge

MORE WILL BE REVEALED SOON!

This week Carol Meldrum confirmed to do a Technique Agony Aunt spot on the Saturday. She will be there to answer all your questions on gauge and technical woes. You can email questions for Carol to me louise [at] knitbritish [dot] net, or use the contact form.
I am also organising something suitably British for another session and do tune in next time to hear more!
I have an AWESOME give-away that you need to keep listening for – TWO pairs of weekend entry tickets for the EYF – courtesy of Jo and Mica….keep listening to this episode for the details!

im_going_badge_medium The Woollen / Worsted challenge

In Blacker Yarns January Newsletter they threw down a challenge to try one breed yarn in both the woollen and worsted preparation. I have the Corriedale and Flax DK yarns and I am going to knit socks with them. The flax blend is also available with BFL in 4ply and this is available in both preparations too. You can find the items here. Sue Blacker describes the differences in the processes in this article for Wovember.
If you fancy joining me, I will open a thread in the KnitBritish ravelry group and we can share our findings. It’s not really a KAL, but it would be interesting to know what you think. You can also share your thoughts with Blacker in their Rav group. We will revisit the subject after the EYF!

Website to check out: Yarn Stories
I am ashamed to say that Yarn Stories yarn and design collaborations had totally gone under my radar. Yarn Stories are passionate about the Yorkshire spinning and textile industry and create a very fine merino and alpaca blend yarn at their Huddersfield mill. They work with an extensive and really impressive list of designers to create bespoke designs for their yarn (which comes in 20 colours). I will be reviewing their yarn soon and hopefully bringing you an interview, but do check out their website and fall a little in love. For a limited time only, if you sign up to their newsletter you will receive a great colour-work hat pattern.

Cast on / Cast off

Still knitting the Camille Cardigan by Gretchen Ronnevik, in Debbie Bliss Riva. Also knitting Viewfinder Cowl ,by Tin Can Knits, in this week’s reviewed yarn!

Yarn Review: BFL/Alpaca Lace by Laura’s Loom

Today, I give you a working review of the new BFL Alpaca worsted-spun 2ply lace weight, produced for weaver Laura Rosenzweig and her company Lauras Loom.
Laura is a real wool champ and really cares about provenance. You can view her map here to see where all the sheep, processing, dyeing, etc is done. This BFL comes from the Yorkshire Dales and the alpaca is from Cumbria’s Town End Alpaca. When you team the softest sheep wool with the just-about the softest animal fibre then it is a match made in yarn heaven. Listen in for my verdict. Mentioning Joji Locatelli’s new design, Falling shawl, and Shetland Trader’s Haroldswick stole.
You can purchase the yarn in 50g/250m or 100g/500m skeins and they cost £7.50 (correction from podcast) and £14 respectively. Town End Alpaca also have a sport weight in this yarn.

image copyright: Lauras Loom

Edinburgh Yarn Festival Weekend Tickets GIVE-AWAY

To be in with a chance of winning one of TWO PAIRS of weekend entry tickets to the Edinburgh Yarn Festival (Ordinarily £12 each) then please enter via the Rafflecopter entry below. Please remember that to be eligible you must enter this way, as posting a comment without doing this will mean you have not been entered. The contest will open at midnight on Saturday, 31st January and close on Friday, 20th February. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks so much to Jo and Mica for donating that generous prize. If you feel you can’t wait until after 20th to see if you have won, Edinburgh Yarn Festival tickets go on sale on Sunday, 1st February.

Hellos, Thanks and Cheerios

Thanks for listening to the podcast. I will be back in a couple of weeks with more of the same! I close with a song I heard on Radio 4 this week, which had a special week on knitting programmes. The song is by English music hall comedian Arthur Askey. It is from the 30s and so we will forgive the implication of knitting as ” A useful occupation for a nice little girl”!

| Information

Opening music: Jazz Hole, Blue Wave Theory. Available on musicalley.com.

Closing music: Knitting Song, Arthur Askey found on the Internet Archive

wool shop shout out: Coach House Yarns

Published by louise

Listeners to episode 20 of the podcast will have heard me fall head over heels for the new Corriedale yarn dyed by Linda at Coach House Yarns. As well as the bouncy, velvety qualities of the Falkland Corriedale wool I was really taken by the dye of the yarn and the subtle layering of similar tones of colour to create a wonderful depth.

Linda Gunner dyes her yarn in her Coach House home, in Oldham, which gives her business its name. She has an etsy shop, where you can find her wonderful British base yarns and has recently started a blog. I invited Linda along to KnitBritish to tell us a little bit about about her crafting background, colour inspirations, her love for British wool and what 2015 has in store for Coach House Yarns.

Opulence base: Organic Falkland Merino and silk. Colour: Old Gold 316.50

Hi Linda, Coach House Yarns is an utterly charming brand and your yarns are really beautiful. What got you started and how did you get interested in dyeing?

As soon as I got into knitting and found out that indie dyed yarn existed and I was intrigued by it. How did they do it? I bought a book and read it and got so scared by it! Acid dyes, I panicked!

I tried the food colour and Kool Aid and I wasn’t much of a fan so I left that, but the urge was still there. I just thought ‘Just try it and if it doesn’t work, then it doesn’t work!’. I was hooked after that.

Have you always been inspired to craft and be creative then?

When I asked my mum that question she said that I had a Post Office when I was little and I didn’t want a play set of the stationary so I made it all – my own stamps, pension books and child benefit books ha ha! So I guess that is a yes!

I’ve always loved making things, baking, cooking, scrapbooks.scrapbooks. I’ve always been surrounded by craft too. My mum knits and sews and did this when I was little; she made me Aran sweaters and ballet cardigans, even an A-team jumper for my brother!
My grandma was also a prolific crafter, quilting, knitting; her Fair Isle was beautiful and she was a superb seamstress. My other grandma loved to cook and knitted too, so I guess it’s in the blood really! All strong women crafting.

I too was a child post mistress!- I even ‘hired’ my cousin to be my postman! (Do children still *do* post office?) Anyway…..!

Corriedale Swiss Army base in colourway Moody. £16

I have loved knitting with the Corriedale yarn, it is a beautiful warm wool with fantastic elasticity. Let’s talk a little about your yarn bases; you have organic British Falkland merino and Corriedale and also British wool containing Bluefaced Leicester. How important is provenance to you?

I’m so glad you like the yarn – it’s a very warm and yarn my fingers were all toasty as I knitted with it.
With the bases I wanted to do similar as I do in the rest of my life. I like to support all things British and believe that we need to support our economy and all those that trade in it.
I only eat British meat that I know has been treated well by people that care about the industry and their animals so I wanted my wool in the shop to represent that too. We are fantastic at what we do and it needs to be supported, so as a business that was important to me.

As I mentioned before the colours in all your yarns have a lovely depth. Do you choose the bases due to how they dye?

I didn’t choose the Corriedale base for the way it dyes – I just knew that I had to have this base as it was something different. It does dye beautifully though and the colourways take so differently, but it can take anything. It looks good with a very light natural or looks stunning with a bold pink – it’s fantastic!
It doesn’t like getting wet though! It’s so airy it just sits on the water it makes me smile every time I soak it.

It is airy, and so springy and My Dolittle shawl was exactly the same when I washed it. You are so right, Corriedale is something different – it is fantastic for textured knits and I think a lot of knitters may not be so aware of it’s workhorse qualities.

Where do your colour inspirations come from?

My colourways are inspired by different things: Originally it was just my own colour palette, as I was dyeing for my own knitting before I had the shop.
Some are happy accidents when I thought it would do one thing, but it did something else and was beautiful. Or Movies! Shiny Bees inspired me to look the film Labyrinth for colours!
Other are colours or combinations that I see in a picture of the pebbles I took on Morecambe beach or the trees that I saw while I waited at the traffic lights! Random things I see and I think, ‘ooh! That looks good together’!

Everyday base (BFL & Nylon) in Ludo colourway from the Labyrinth inspired yarns £13.50

What are your plans for 2015?

In 2015 I plan to keep on dyeing and hopefully selling more yarn! I am very new to blogging and having a business so I’m learning so much.
I’ve got some other interesting bases on the cards and new colours to try, so there will hopefully be lots of new things in the shop.

Do you have set shop updates, or do you add to your store regularly?

I won’t be having updates, as such, but will keep adding a few skeins a week and will tweet and blog about it. I’m not too much of a fan of updates as I prefer to see the yarn and buy it so that’s how I try to keep the shop.

What about other goals – will we see Coach House Yarns at any festivals in 2015?

Festivals! Ooh now that’s a little scary at the minute but I would love to do that in the future it would be fantastic! That’s maybe a goal for next year.
My other goal is to dye the perfect grey! I love grey and am on a mission to get that perfect colour of grey that I have in my kinds eye!

Well, if you don’t mind me saying, I think you are already pretty fantastic at grey. I love how your steel colourway manages to look different in nearly every light!

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Linda, thank you so much for dropping in to see KnitBritish. While I know you aren’t vending at any festivals this year I do know you will be at the Edinburgh Yarn Festival and I am looking forward to seeing you there.

: : Information : :

If you are looking for Linda (*cues Hue and Cry on spotify immediately*) you can find her shop on etsy at etsy.com/shop/CoachHouseYarns; she tweets @CoachHouseYarns and you can visit her blog at coachhouseyarns.wordpress.com

If you are interested in Linda’ s bases there is info in the etsy shop and also on her blog, where she introduces some of her bases.

episode 20 and the podiversary

Published by louise

You can also listen on iTunes, or on Podgen

It’s episode 20 and it is the Knit British podcast’s first birthday celebrations. It was in January last year that I tentatively unleashed the first episode. You can listen to it here, if you want a walk down memory lane. Today’s episode is filled with wool, warmth and your lovely wishes!

| Show notes

Feedback

Many thanks for all your feedback and comments from the past two episodes. My conversation with Karie Westermann was something you all really enjoyed. The Edinburgh Yarn Festival exhibitor news also got you whipped up into a frenzy and the buzz of excitement on social media afterwards was palpable. Apologies in advance as the Podcat gets stuck in the wardrobe and tries to upstage me!
IMG_5913[1] EYF Classes are on sale now!

Since Last We Met

While the weather has been stormy I have had a very productive time. This has involved lots of exciting scheduling for KnitBritish and also working on the Edinburgh Yarn Festival Podcast Lounge! I know we have deliberately been playing our cards close to our chests and keeping aa bit of mystery around what will be happening, but news will be dropping very soon so watch the EYF website and here for more info. Also listen to the upcoming podcastr from KNITSONIK for MORE EYF news.
I have also been doing some plotting with Shiny Jo Milmine and while creating mischievous plans for Edinburgh we have been discussing a bit of a collaboration (post EYF) called #MakeItFit2015. If you are a bit trepidatious about knitting a garment for yourself because you worry about knitting the right size, shape, pattern to fit you, then this is something that we will be exploring in the future.

Podiversary!

Yes! Party blowers, silly hats and twiglets! I read out some of the lovely messages in the KnitBritish group and some of the entries in the podiversary giveaway.

IMG_5867[1]

Also mentioning the wonderful piece by Clare Devine for Wovember on the topic of British wool for socks called; Pure Wool For Socks (No Nylon here folks!)

I also get onto the topic of Knit Local for those who can’t get access to British wool in their country, though I never fail to be surprised when I hear of people around the world who are buying UK wool on the basis of my enabling. Once again, I also encourage you to look beyond those floofy yarns and think about what you want your yarn to do in your garment.

Yarn Review: Coach house Yarns

I was sent 100g Corriedale Swiss Army yarn from Linda at Coach House Yarns to review and I quickly fell for its amazing memory and velvet touch.

| Coach House Yarns Corriedale

Weight: Fingering

Skein size: 100g

Yardage: 380 yard

Finish: Steel colourway.

Care: Hand-wash

Price: £16, available in the Coach House Yarn Etsy store

KnitBritish verdict: A great yarn to show off texture. Springy and warm with fantastic elasticity. I love the very subtle layering of similar colours in this yarn.

Listen for the full review and check back on Monday when I have a blog interview with Linda to discuss more about Coach House Yarns!

#FreeYourSkeins2015

The Golden Skein girls, Jo and Kate, have come up with a project365 to encourage us to release our luxury skeins from the stash and help them become something wonderful. Each day Jo is posting a show-stopping pattern pick post at www.thegoldenskein.wordpress.com to enable us to release these precious skeins and give us some wonderful inspiration. There is also a pinterest board with the pattern images and you can use their Ravelry group to chat all things #FreeYourSkeins2015.

Cast On/Cast Off

The Doolittle shawl, by Maia Andreasson is a fantastic long and slender crescent shawl with a triangular lace edging and garter stitch body. It is knit in the Coach House Yarns and I just adore the texture of the garter and the lace in this incredible yarn. (I am afraid the light is awful for photography this week. I will get a better one soon.)

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I also went deeeeeeeep stash diving to find some non-British yarn (don’t gasp! I do have some stash that is pre KB!) I have cast on the Camille Cardigan, by Gretchen Ronnevik from KnitScene Winter 2012 and this is a bulky cardi with lace and a lovely deep rib hem and bands. The yarn is Debbie Bliss Riva and it is a yarn that is doubly unusual for me as its a wool blend! Now I have totally stunned you, we will quickly move on!

Winner

I drew the winner of the aforementioned British Wool give away live by using Random.org. The winner is the very lucky PinkPeking! I will get in touch to send that lovely prize!

Hellos and Thanks

The usual hellos to the new kids in the KnitBritish ravelry group and my undending thanks for your wonderful encouragement and feedback in this first podcasting year

Next Episode

The next episode will be the last weekend of the month. Come back for more news, woolly notions and a lot of fun.

| Information

party noises from freesound.org

music: Craymo – Happy Birthday on musicalley.com

Fair Isle focus

Published by louise

If you listened to episode 19 of the KnitBritish podcast you would have heard me – yet again – talking about my wish to get to grips with Fair Isle knitting ¹ and how I should be resolve to make 2015 the year that I do.

This morning, whilst taking the bus into work, I was listening to the sparkling wit of Jo Milmine on the Shiny Bees podcast. In episode 29 she was talking – like a lot of us have recently – about resolutions and Jo’s is focussing on knitting things that fit and flatter and trusting in patterns. At one point Jo mentions how we knitters can often be a bit hard on ourselves..

‘”I can’t do this, I can’t do that” and I think it is about time we all stopped criticizing ourselves so much and work with what we’ve got.”

While she is talking about fit in knitting and having the courage of knitting for our own body shapes, it made me think about my Fair Isle and how I ALWAYS say I have trouble with it and I can’t do it. This is actually crapola. I can physically knit with two different colours.

: First time I ever used two colours

: Aftur

: Stasis

: Kevin-s Bastion Blanky

: Clint-s hat

: practising, practising

I managed to knit all of the things above. Using colours. From little details on a hat to a yoked sweaters. Therefore I am going to categorically state that in actual fact I can knit with more than one colour. This is not a thing that I cannot do. ….I mean, that IS a lion rampart flag in there …and while they are pulling it out, the tension was pretty dang good for what was my 2nd ever colour-worked thing! (ugh! and whole load of moss stitch in the border, too!)

In the spirit of focussing and using Jo’s wise words of working with what we can do then these are actually the things I find difficult:
a) Wrangling two different yarns, which leads to
b) tensioning problems

These two things can be worked at and practised, but I need to remind myself that while I find it a little bit of a challenge I can still do it. I can produce something that – though I know I struggled a bit with it – to all intents and purposes, is a colourwork item. I even modified the designs on some of the patterns, while others, like the Lion flag I just drew out and gave it a whirl.

Apart from the bag (which I gave a present away in, as a gift bag); the hat (which the lovely fella wears) and the flag (which I knit for a soldier chum, and which was later nicked!) I have ripped or altered everything else and I think it is because I am not sure I like how it looks on me.

The hem band of colour work in the Stasis sweater was not very flattering on me as it drew attention to my belly. So I ‘altered’ it.

The yoke on my Aftur was quite deep and was not very flattering on my chest and so that too was ripped and knit back plain.

So instead of this being an “I can’t do” thing, I think it could possibly be more of case of “I am not sure what suits best”. Deep down I have often thought it is a lot of knitterly effort to put into a garment that I am not sure will suit me. I have decided, with that in mind, that I should change my 2015 knit goal from “learning Fair Isle” to focus on knitting something in colour that I am happy with and I feel is wearable. Not quite so snappy, but you get the picture!

As Karie Westermann and I discussed in episode 18, it is really easy to create colourwork designs of our own with the help of the hugely inspirational KNITSONIK Stranded Colourwork Source Book and you might remember from late last year I was creating a chart inspired by a Tunnocks Tea Cake wrapper, after taking Felix Ford’s class.

I haven’t really done any more on this and have decided to keep on working on these ideas and maybe make something wearable and totally me (and Tunnocks!) Hopefully by creating swatches and using the tools in Felix’s book I can create something from the charts.

Tunnockstopia!

If you hear me say “I cant do….” anything knitterly this year then please shake me and remind me that 2015 is the year that we say, “actually, I CAN”

stranded colour-work by any other word… ↩

episode 19 – vision and vendors

Published by louise

Preview on spotify

UPDATE: Due to space I can no longer host the audio files on the blog, please use your favourite podcatcher or right click the Podgen link below, to listen in a new tab (y’know, so you can also refer to the shownotes whilst you listen!)You can listen to the KnitBritish Podcast here on the blog, on iTunes or the Podcast App and you can also download from podgen.

|Show notes

| Edinburgh Yarn Festival Vendors and Exhibitor News

Jo and Mica let me bring out the big parade again to announce another Edinburgh Yarn Festival exclusive. I read out over 80 vendors and exhibitors who will be at the festival, at the Corn Exchange on 14th & 15th March.
The list is AWESOME and, truly, there is something for everyone here from weaving, spinning, felt, knit, crochet, designers and so very much more. You will see a lot of your favourite indie dyers and sellers here, as well as lots to get to know! Get over to www.edinyarnfest.com and read the list for yourself.
Even more excitingly I can tell you this this is only the first wave of exhibitors….there will be more announcements at the end of the month.
[Post edit note: I must apologise for calling Dye Ninja “Dyen Nina” and I apologise for neglecting to mention MyBearPaw…am not sure how that happened]

There are still a few slots left in some of the classes – if you are thinking of attending the festival then get over to the EYF website and see if you can snaffle a place.

There will be some Podcast Lounge news coming soon too, so keep your eyes peeled.

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| Looking Back and Focusing on the Future

I have a little delve into my old diary and remember all the experiences of 2014; the best ones have included wool and knitting and meeting some absolutely wonderful people connected to those two things. There have been some bends in the road, but you can’t look back with too much regret and bitterness. I feel that when life slaps a big boulder in your path, it takes less energy to just go around it instead of through it!

‘Focus’ has emerged as my word of the year – you may have heard a lot of people taking a word to inspire and aspire to over the year, as opposed to making a traditional resolution. Focus has so much meaning: vision, emphasis, spotlight, concentration, clarity, anchor, centre point, heart/h….it is such an utterly perfect word for the things I want to achieve both personally and on KB. I want to focus on my knitting goals too, specifically Fair Isle, sock and hap knitting in 2015.

What are your knitting focuses this year? Jump onto the KnitBritish Ravelry group and share with us.

| KnitBritish Podcast First Birthday!

We will have a wee shindig in episode 20 for the first anniversary of the podcast and I will be giving away some lovely British wool in celebration. To enter you must join the KnitBritish Rav group and comment in the thread there (Please note that there is NO entry on the blog)

Please comment there and tell us which British breed wool you want to try this year, what you might knit with it and you can even tell us your 2015 craft goals. I will be reading some out on episode 20 and drawing a random entry from that thread on the show. The prize is ~~at least 250g~~ 400 grams of wool ~~(more, but not weighed yet)~~ and includes some fantastic British wool and fibre yarn, most of which has been featured on KnitBritish over the last year – including Fenella, Yarn Garden, Wensleydale Longwool Sheepshop, Town End Alpaca and Jamiesons of Shetland. I will close the thread at midday (UK) on Thurs 15th and episode 20 will be out around 16th January.

| Small Gestures Swap Success

We had a really lovely swap at Christmas by gifting swap partners a pattern from their wishlist on Ravelry. I swapped with IvyFox and received Mama Vertebrae, by Kelly Brooker, in return for Tess Young’s Derwent Water shawl. I have cast on Vertebrae in Skein Queen Voluptuous in Verdigris, but that is as far as I have gotten. I am really chuffed with this pattern and thanks to IvyFox for picking it. Thanks too, to Clare, Kate and Gillian who also sent me a pattern gift over Christmas. I was really, really overwhelmed.

Well, I must go and continue to fill in my new 2015 diary. I hope that 2015 is full of all things magical-awesome for you. Thanks so much for listening and we shall catch up again very soon!

Gratuitous Diary Shot! (in truth, this is a rather monochrome post without it!)

| Information

Title music: Madeline by Ukulele Jim.
End music: Resolutions Six Feet Long by AtomSplit (cos it’s New Year, right?).
Other music: Me without you by Two Fishes.
All songs and artists are available on MusicAlley.com

episode 18: in conversation with Karie Westermann

Published by louise

Spotify Preview:

UPDATE: Due to space I can no longer host the audio files on the blog, please use your favourite podcatcher or right click the Podgen link below, to listen in a new tab (y’know, so you can also refer to the shownotes whilst you listen!)

Podgen

Just before Christmas I got together with designer Karie Westermann to look back at 2014 and discuss her plans for the New Year and hear news about imminent designs releases. Quickly we slipped into a mutual retrospective of the past year and Karie even interviewed me!

I had intended to include this interview as part of the next podcast, but we had such a great chat and covered such a lot of topics that it really deserves a special episode; I can’t think of a nicer way to kick off the new KnitBritish podcast year!

| Show ~~notes~~ low down

Both dosed with the cold (please forgive our odd coughs and wheezes!) we started by looking back at 2014 which, for Karie, included industrial injury; making the decision to become self-employed; the completion of Doggerland Collection and magazine and book commissions.

2014 heralded Karie’s first garment design – the Scollay Cardigan – released in KnitNow magazine in November. The Scollay Cardigan was followed, hot on the heels, by the Koselig vest and Karie joked that she now feels like a real designer now that she is producing garments!

Scollay by Karina Westermann (image used with permission)

I asked Karie about the processes of designing for her own work as well as that of designing for magazines commissions and in collaborations with others, including Lilith, of Old Maiden Aunt yarns and designer Susan Crawford….but without wishing to divulge too much about the work that may be yet to come from her for Susan’s Knits from a Cold Climate, Karie whisks us back to our retrospective of 2014!

Asking me about my favourite knits of 2014, I gush about the Lushes, which leads us to gush on a more general level about the wonder of cardigans. Karie tells us about her own favourite knits – The Orkney Cardigan, by Marie Wallin, her own designed knits Vedbaek, Scollay Cardigan and the Mirja hat and glove set.

The topic of resolution was next on the cards. My knit challenges of Fair Isle and socks aside – we talked about using a word to use throughout the year, instead of making traditional resolutions. What a unique way to think about the coming year and what one wants to aspire to, or achieve. We talked little about what we have enjoyed most about 2014 and what I am looking forward to, which turned out to be what we are both looking forward to….The Edinburgh Yarn Festival. Reminiscing about how fantastic the festival was in 2013, we get excited about how plans for the 2015 festival have evolved and how Jo and Mica have created an amazing buzz for the coming event and the podcast lounge. We also talk about the importance of our knit communities and social media and how they keep getting stronger.

Karie discusses the imminent Old Maiden Aunt 2015 club, which sees her first sock design releases and she reveals she is working on another big concept project. While she gives that project time and consideration it deserves throughout the year, Karie will be releasing a thematically-linked series of stand-alone patterns intermittently throughout the year.

Authors and Artists will be inspired by her favourite books and art but, instead of having the pressure of a strict time-released collection, these patterns will drop like pennies from heaven throughout 2015. There will also be accompanying blog posts which reveal the inspiration behind the designs. The only hints are that the first pattern will be released around the end of January and it is an accessory!

We talk about our favourite knitting memories of 2014; for me that involves other people and #GirlsGoWildForWool trip to Glasgow with Jo Milmine, Clare Devine, Karie and @WonderFishy, which was truly top notch. The LushPodKAL was also a massive highlight for me. I asked Karie about her own highlights and discuss the Nordic KnitWorks event at the National Museum in Edinburgh and Brighton Unwind were her highlights. Karie talked about the different kinds of knitters at these event who belong to different fractions. It is amazing that sticks and string can birth so many different kinds of knitters, from casual knitters to the knitters with a “Capital K”.

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Before we wind up, I asked if Karie had any knit or design challenges for 2015? (Hint: it is not toys.(Thankfully!))

| Important Information

You can find Karie at https://www.kariebookish.net/ on Ravelry and tweeting as @KarieBookish. Please subscribe to her blog & social media to be kept up to date with all her news and design releases.

Music: Ukulele Jim with Madeline. Available from musicalley.com

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