The Shinybees Knitting and Yarn Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode 88 - The Wool Kitchen - An Interview With Helen Reed Apr 05, 2016

Show notes

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'.

Episode 87 - Travelknitter: An interview with Larissa Mar 29, 2016

Show notes

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'.

Episode 86 - Beaded Knitting on a Train Mar 23, 2016

Show notes

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'.

Episode 85: The Little Grey Girl - An Interview with Gemma Dudley Mar 15, 2016

Show notes

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'.

Episode 84: Yarns From The Plain - An Interview with Nic Rudd Mar 08, 2016

Show notes

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'

Episode 83 - An Interview with Helen Lockhart of Ripplecrafts Mar 02, 2016

Show notes

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.'

Episode 82: Commit Feb 23, 2016

Show notes

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...

Episode 81: Re-rewind Feb 17, 2016

Show notes

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'

Episode 80 - Relax Feb 09, 2016

Show notes

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.

Episode 79: OwlPrintPanda - An Interview with Amanda B Collins Jan 26, 2016

Show notes

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'.

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