Yarn in the City

Latest Episodes:

Episode 72: White Christmas Dec 21, 2017

Show notes

We've been incommunicado for a while after Wovember with a shear overload of everything, so our apologies for the long break between episodes! But now we're back, and we chat about upcoming events, our current crazy holiday knitting plans, review a new yarn and share some news about the podcast going into the beginning of 2018.

Events

21st January – Waltham Abbey Wool Show, Essex, EN9 3LX

16-18th February – Unravel, Farnham Maltings, Farnham

15-17th March – Edinburgh Yarn Festival, Edinburgh

Make Happy – aka – What we're working on

Rachel is trying to knit stealth Christmas stockings for family, in addition to finishing off the Woolly Wormhead Mystery KAL hats.

Allison has finished the Martinique Beach Cowl - woohoo! Both sleeves are done on Harrison's sweater, Gaston, and she is working on a pair of mittens and hat for him for Christmas.

White Christmas

A yarn we're thinking about knitting with this Christmas is Hudson Worsted, the new release from The Yarn Collective, curated by Michele Wang. This lovely yarn is 85% merino/15% yak, 197 yd/180 m per 100 g, with a recommended gauge of 20 sts/26 rows to 10 cm/4". It comes in 11 colours and there are several patterns designed by Michele Wang available through the Yarn Collective.

After the review there's some noodling about our Christmas plans, and a fun giveaway – Nudie Knits!

See more at their hysterical website, http://nudinits.com/, and leave a comment in the show notes about your most ambitious holiday knitting plans, successful or not (disaster stories welcome!) Entries will close on Dec 30th and we will post out to you soon after.

Podcast Hiatus

It's been a busy end of the year for us and looks to be an even busier start to 2018 as next November's Yarnporium kicks off in earnest. With that in mind, we've decided to go on a brief hiatus for a few months – this will allow us to get in some good "real" holiday time with our families and begin January refreshed and ready for the very busy year ahead.

Our current plans are to return sometime towards the end of February, so stay tuned to the blog, or our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds so you know when to expect us back!

***

Wrap up

Many thanks for joining us for another episode! You can find the podcast on iTunes and Stitcher Radio (please rate, review and subscribe!) and you'll find us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, in our Yarn in the City group on Ravelry, or in person on Wednesday nights at our knit night between 7 and 10pm. Check the Ravelry thread to confirm location for Knit Night, as we seem to be going back and forth between The Goat on the Rise and The Breakfast Club.

Have a great holiday and New Year, and we'll chat with you soon!

Music credits (available on NoiseTrade)

This Christmas - Sinclair Wonderful Christmastime - Joel Rakes Christmas is All Around - Sleeping at Last Carol of the Bells - Future of Forestry White Christmas - Sleeping at Last

Episode 71: A Woolly Good Time Nov 14, 2017

Show notes

Events

1 – 30th November: WOVEMBER!!!! This year's theme is Woolness: where wool meets wellness

23 – 30th November: London Guild exhibition – The Thames and Southwark: Threads of London Life, Southwark Cathedral, 10:30am - 5:30pm daily, free entry. Also includes a free Introduction to Natural Dyeing drop in session on Sunday, 26 November from 3-5pm.

2 December: Pints, Purls and Prosecco with Nathan Taylor, from 7-10pm!

21 January: Waltham Abbey Wool Show, 10am–4pm

Make Happy – aka – What we're working on

R: Starting point done!!!! On the yoke of her British Blue sweater and working on the two Woolly Wormhead Mystery KAL hats

Weaving in ends video from Tabetha

A: Clue 2 of Cederberg Shawl MKAL – in SGY Tough Love Sock. Jumper for Harrison for Christmas. Looking for more Sirdar Eco Wool DK in "Clay" (soft fawn colour), needs 3-4 more 50 g balls -

A Woolly Good Time:

Alli has visited a couple of shows since the last podcast and gives us a brief rundown: Knit for Peace's The Great Knit Fest at Chelsea Old Town Hall, and the Nottingham Yarn Expo. Then we both get a bit philosophical about wool, yarn and it's importance in our day-to-day lives. How does wool play into your everyday world?

***

Wrap up

Many thanks for joining us for another episode! You can find the podcast on iTunes and Stitcher Radio (please rate, review and subscribe!) and you'll find us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, in our Yarn in the City group on Ravelry, or in person on Wednesday nights at our knit night at The Goat on the Rise between 7 and 10pm. We are now back at the Goat now that their refurb is done.

Have a great couple of weeks and we'll chat with you soon!

Music credits (available on NoiseTrade) Ridiculously Happy (feat. Twilight Meadow) - Owl City

Episode 70: Hat Genius Oct 25, 2017

Show notes

We are full on into the autumn knitting season, and with the impending holidays bearing down on us faster than you think, we find our focus turning to accessory patterns and potential gifts. In this episode, we'll discuss upcoming events and what we're currently working on. We also have an interview with the one and only Woolly Wormhead to share with you!

Sponsor note:

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by Garthenor, providing a variety of sustainable, organic British wool products in an ecologically responsible way. See Garthenor's glorious yarns, including a kit for Isabell Kraemer's new Amory sweater, on their website at www.garthenor.com.

Events

28 – 29th October: Kendal Wool Gathering

1 – 30th November: WOVEMBER!!!! This year's theme is Woolness: where wool meets wellness, and we're hosting an Instagram Photo Challenge!

11 November: Festiwool, at a new venue

11 – 12th November: Nottingham Yarn Expo

Make Happy – aka – What we're working on

Rachel is enthusiastically finishing some long-standing WIPs, after realising that virtually all of her numerous sets of 4 mm needles are stuck in other projects, and need to be reclaimed for new ones! She's polished off her Green Memories hat by La Maison Rillilie, and has picked up her Starting Point shawl again. One sleeve is done on her British Blue 100 sweater, and the second is started.

Allison is working on Clue 1 of the SweetGeorgia Yarns MKAL, but Clue 2 was out last week so she's feeling a bit behind! She's got her yarn wound and ready to cast on for the handspun Belles Filles Shawl KAL.

Hat Genius:

If you like to knit hats, then you've probably heard of Woolly Wormhead, self-described Hat Architect. As knitters of more than one Woolly Wormhead pattern, we were very excited to catch up with her during a recent visit to the UK, and talk about her hats, her design process, her new book, Elemental, and her upcoming double-barrelled Mystery KAL, starting November 1st.

***

Wrap up

Many thanks for joining us for another episode! You can find the podcast on iTunes and Stitcher Radio (please rate, review and subscribe!) and you'll find us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, in our Yarn in the City group on Ravelry, or in person on Wednesday nights at our knit night at The Goat on the Rise between 7 and 10pm. However, the Goat will be closed for refurbishment from the 16th of October for approximately a month, so we've relocated up the hill a little bit at The Breakfast Club on Battersea Rise.

Have a great couple of weeks and we'll chat with you soon!

Music credits (available on NoiseTrade) Ridiculously Happy (feat. Twilight Meadow) - Owl City

Episode 69: Shetland Oct 09, 2017

Show notes

We're back on schedule with this week's episode, in which we talk about Allison's trip to Shetland for part of Shetland Wool Week and dig into the patterns in two gorgeous books: Wool Journey: Shetland by Amber Corcoran, Jaime Jennings, Malia Mae Joseph and Stephen West, and Shetland by Marie Wallin.

Sponsor

Make Happy – aka – What we're working on

Rachel is still plugging away on her yellow Erika Knight jumper in British Blue 100. The change in weather means her wool mojo has returned with a vengeance, so she's also been spinning and had a bit of a slip last weekend, and is now the proud owner of a 10" Cricket loom which is destined for generating lots of handspun handwoven scarves.

Allison has finished spinning her Turning on Shetland from Porpoise Fur, and mostly finished her Martinique Beach Cowl! Still working on Lemon Difficult by Kate Atherley, but mostly has been spinning like a demon for Spinzilla.

Shetland

Alli talks about her trip and all the fabulous places she visited, including Uradale Farm. Then we discuss the five patterns in Wool Journey: Shetland, by Amber Corcoran and Jaime Jennings, owners of Fancy Tiger Crafts in Denver (Rachel visited the shop several summers ago) and Malia Mae Joseph and Stephen West, co-owners of Stephen & Penelope in Amsterdam. See all the patterns on Ravelry here.

Last but not least we talk about the glorious stranded colourwork designs in Marie Wallin's new book Shetland (see all the patterns on Ravelry here). Lushly photographed and full of glorious colourwork designs, this book is definitely worth a look for anyone with a hankering for a challenge!

Other books about Shetland you might want to explore:

Shetland Wool Week Annual 2017
Shetland Oo by Kate Davies and Tom Barr
Colours of Shetland, Inspired by Islay, or anything else by Kate Davies

Wrap up

Many thanks for joining us for another episode! You can find the podcast on iTunes and Stitcher Radio (please rate, review and subscribe!) and you'll find us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, in our Yarn in the City group on Ravelry, or in person on Wednesday nights at our knit night at The Goat on the Rise between 7 and 10pm. However, the Goat will be closed for refurbishment from the 16th of October for approximately a month, so check out the thread in our Ravelry group for our alternative meet up place.

Have a great couple of weeks and we'll chat with you soon!

Music credits (available on NoiseTrade) Ridiculously Happy (feat. Twilight Meadow) - Owl City

Episode 68: GLYC Wrap Up Oct 01, 2017

Show notes

September has been an incredibly busy month, and on this episode we recap the fifth annual Great London Yarn Crawl, including our live interview with special guest Erika Knight.

Our sponsor:

News and Events:

Drawing for prizes from last podcast:

Two skeins of Brushwork: pinkpot on Ravelry

Strander Gradient Sweater pattern: LuisaM

Congratulations to both, and thanks to everyone who posted a comment!

Upcoming events:

7 – 22th October – UK Wool Week

11 – 15th October: The Knitting and Stitching Show, Ally Pally London

14 –15th October: Bakewell Wool Gathering

13 – 15th October: Loch Ness Knit Fest

14 October: West Wales Wool Show, Narbeth, Pembrokeshire

28 – 29th October: Kendal Wool Gathering

1 – 30th November: WOVEMBER!!!! This year's theme is Woolness: where wool meets wellness

11 November: Festiwool, at a new venue!

11 – 12th November: Nottingham Yarn Expo

23 – 30th November: London Guild exhibition – The Thames and Southwark: Threads of London Life, Southwark Cathedral

Save the date...

20-21st October 2018: The Knit-Tea Retreat, sign ups open 8 October, 2017

Make Happy – aka – What we're working on

Rachel is finishing off her shawl pattern for the handspun KAL that will kick off on October 9 after Spinzilla is over – head over to her thread in the Ravelry group to sign up! She's also working on a new sweater design in Erika Knight British Blue 100 that will hopefully be available at the end of the month.

Allison finished her Bousta Beanie, and is almost done with her Martinique Beach Cowl. She's been spinning Turning on Shetland from Porpoise Fur, and is currently working on Lemon Difficult by Kate Atherley.

GLYC Wrap up:

The fifth edition of the Great London Yarn Crawl was a huge success! Many thanks to our volunteers, sponsors and all the participants who came out on the day and made it such a great time, and brought over 100 items to donate to Knit for Peace!

The event raised a total of £817, bringing the five year total to over £4200 donated to Refuge.

Finally - we have the audio from our live interview with Erika Knight at the after party and we love the stories that she has to share from her life in yarn and knitting. She's very passionate! Enjoy!

***

Have a great couple of weeks and we'll chat with you soon!

Music credits (available on NoiseTrade) Ridiculously Happy (feat. Twilight Meadow) - Owl City

Episode 67: New Season New Yarn Sep 14, 2017

Show notes

Sweater weather is finally here and we couldn't be happier!

On this episode of the podcast we've got a new yarn from Blacker Yarns to tell you about, as well as TWO giveaways!

Our Sponsor This episode of the podcast is sponsored by Garthenor, providing a variety of sustainable, organic British wool products in an ecologically responsible way. See Garthenor's glorious yarns at the GLYC Mini-Yarn Market after party, or on their website at www.garthenor.com.

News and Events Kirstie Allsopp's The Handmade Fair, Hampton Court Palace, London - September 15-17 Yarndale, Skipton - September 23-24 The Great British Sewing Bee Live, ExCel Centre, London - September 21-24 Shetland Wool Week, Lerwick, Shetland - September 23 to October 1 Thread, Farnham Maltings - September 30 Masham Sheep Fair, Masham - September 30 to October 1

GLYC Anniversary KAL Winners! Random chat thread participant - heckythump/Helen from Hull, winner of a skein of Destination Yarn Letter Plus in the colourway Oslo Random finisher - katt94/Katherine from Somerset, winner of a skein of Countess Ablaze Sovereign in the colourway Rebelling Against Suburbia

Make Happy - aka What we're working on Rachel is working on not losing her mind while also prepping for Yarndale and plotting to knit all the things in handspun. She's also making incremental progress on her Starting Point.

Allison almost finished her Fireflies Rising in time for the GLYC (thwarted again for another year!) and is moving on to her Bousta Beanie to get it finished in time for Shetland Wool Week.

New Season New Yarn We chat about a gorgeous new yarn from the good folks at Blacker Yarns. Brushwork is this year's birthday yarn for Blacker. It's a sport weight yarn spun up in 50g balls and 152 meters/165 yarns and available in 8 colours. The yarn is a lofty, bouncy combination of 20% alpaca and 80% wool - 70% from Scottish Bowmont sheep and 10% from Castlemilk Moorit, on the Rare Breed Survival Trust Watchlist.

We chat about our autumn knitting plans too and want to hear about yours!

Giveaway #1 To help you with your own autumn knitting plans, Blacker Yarns have generously provided us with two balls of their new Brushwork yarn to giveaway!

In the comments for these shownotes, share a patterns suggestion with us (including the Ravelry link!) of what you'd make with this lovely yarn. We'll keep the content open until September 20th, 2017 at 11:59pm BST. Make sure you tell us your Ravelry name so we know how to get a hold of the winner!

Giveaway #2 - and a lovely discount! Last March Josh joined Team YITC for the Blacker PodKAL that led up to EYF and she designed and knit the most glorious colourwork sweater. She's just released the pattern after reworking it for Tamar 4-ply (the original was knit in Cornish Tin) and it is now available on Ravelry! Josh would like to kindly offer YITC podcast listeners 20% off the Stranded Gradient Sweater pattern. Use the code YITC20 before Tuesday, September 19th at midnight (Amsterdam time zone). Thank you Josh!!

We'll also giveaway one copy of Josh's pattern. To enter the giveaway, please leave a comment on the Episode 67 giveaway thread on Ravelry and tell us what colours of Blacker Yarns Tamar you'd use for your own Stranded Gradient Sweater. The contest will be open until September 20th, 2017 at 11:59pm BST.

***

Have a great couple of weeks and we'll chat with you soon!

Music credits (available on NoiseTrade) Ridiculously Happy (feat. Twilight Meadow) - Owl City

Episode 66: North American Yarn Adventures Aug 29, 2017

Show notes

On this episode we get to share with you some of the amazing makers and shops we've had the opportunity to visit during our travels on the other side of the pond this summer, as well as updates on GLYC, what we're working on, and a session with the Knitting Doctor.

GLYC2017 Update

We have a new vendor to announce for the Mini Yarn Market: https://owlaboutyarn.com/ will be joining us with yarn and project bags and other gorgeous goodies!

The DIY version of the GLYC is now underway! If you aren't able to join us on GLYC 2017, you can do a DIY version for a minimal donation - please consider adding multiple copies of the passport to your shopping cart to increase your donation to Refuge! More details here.

Make Happy

Rachel's Fireflies Rising is now blocked and ready for the GLYC! She's also finished the first half of her Starting Point and started the second, but also managed to finish a new shawl design using some handspun from the Tour de Fleece – there will be a knitalong starting on 6 September for the shawl, so check out her Ravelry group for more details.

Allison finished Sprite's Fen in time for the wedding, and has finished knitting lots of bunny pieces that now need to be seamed together. She needs to swatch again for Raindrops, which leads us to a moment in which Rachel plays Knitting Doctor and we talk about what to do when you realise you haven't used the right size needle for your project (and you really, really don't want to start over!)

North American Yarn Adventures

We've both spent some time in North America this summer, and have had the chance to visit some new shops and makers.

Rachel spent one week in Vermont, and since her in-laws live in a perfect storm of fibre arts makers, she got to spend an afternoon with Hannah Reiger, the artist behind Sky Like Snow – one of a kind hats dyed with farmed and foraged natural dyes, and dyed to create specific pooling patterns in her knit hats.

Allison spent some time working while she was back in Canada, and got to visit some glorious shops, including: Maiwa on Granville island in Vancouver, A Twist of Yarn in Vernon, Stash Needle Art Lounge in Calgary and a plethora of shops in her old stomping grounds of Toronto (The Workroom, EweKnit, Yarns Untangled and The Purple Purl).

***

Have a great couple of weeks and we'll chat with you soon!

Music credits (available on NoiseTrade) Ridiculously Happy (feat. Twilight Meadow) - Owl City

Episode 65: How do you lace? Aug 15, 2017

Show notes

On this episode of the podcast we've got another GLYC update - and then we get into chatting about the ultimate summer project: lace.

Great London Yarn Crawl UPDATE NEW for this year: we've added a DIY version of the yarn crawl for those of you who weren't able to get a ticket or aren't able to attend in London on September 9th. [click here for more details - need to add to GLYC section of website]

Make Happy (aka What We're Working On) Rachel is finished her Fireflies Rising in Hedgehog Sock for the GLYC Anniversary KAL. She has moved on to making her own Starting Point using yarns from stash: Auracania, Artist's Palette, The Knitting Goddess, Dream in Color and Blue Moon Fiber Arts.

Allison is SO close to being finished her Sprite's Fen shawl and is finally making progress on her own Fireflies Rising shawl. She's also been sporadically working on her Martinique Beach cowl.

How do you lace? Summer seems like the perfect time to be working on light and airy things! We chat about lace, some basics, our first projects and experiences, tips, yarns, successes and disasters! If you haven't tried lace before we also chat about some great lace patterns to get you started.

***

Have a great couple of weeks and we'll chat with you soon!

Music credits (available on NoiseTrade) Ridiculously Happy (feat. Twilight Meadow) - Owl City

Episode 64: Quiet Jul 30, 2017

Show notes

Hello and apologies for this very belated episode of the podcast!

Programming notes: Our summer podcasting schedule is a little out the window at the moment due to international travel. We meant to have this episode up two weeks ago but were somewhat thwarted...

This episode also has some audio challenges that we weren't able to fix or re-record so we hope you'll bear with us as it's a shorter-than-usual episode. We're going to figure out an alternative for the next couple of episodes.

Episode 64: Quiet We've got a shorter than usual episode this time around with another mini update on the Great London Yarn Crawl (which is NOW SOLD OUT!), some upcoming events and a discussion about taking time to be quiet and reflect this summer.

GLYC2017 Update As of the time of recording, there were 6 tickets left for the GLYC! (YITC: And we are now SOLD OUT!). If you do miss out, keep an eye on the YITC Ravelry board for anyone who has to pass on their ticket later in the summer.

We've also go some awesome doorprizes for this year's GLYC thanks to some of the good vendors from Pomfest! Keep an eye on our Instagram for more hints!

Events 20-22nd July: Woolfeis, near Oban, Argyll

29-30th July: Fibre East, Ampthill, Bedfordshire

1 August: 1 September: "A Touch of Silk" exhibition, Whitchurch Silk Mill, Hampshire – exhibition of work from Guild members in Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, and the Isle of Wight

5th August: Yarnfolk Festival of Wool, Whitehead, Northern Ireland – a new event dedicated to all things fibre, and showcasing the best of local and international fibre arts. Exhibitors include Skein Queen, Townhouse Yarns, Fine Fish Yarns, and Dye Candy, as well as many others.

19 August: AGWSD Summer School 2017 Open Day and Trade Fair, Sparsholt College, Hampshire

Other updates The summer knitting thread is up an running in Ravelry – come over and share your summer knitting plans and goals with us!

Make Happy – aka – What we're working on Rachel had a bit of a break with TdF spinning last weekend due to travel, but has now caught up and finished three of the four Tour de Fleece colourways (with the last one ready to go on Wednesday's stage 18! She's also finally started her Fireflies Rising for the GLYC anniversary KAL, in Hedgehog Fibres sock yarn in the colourway Lupi (an exclusive colourway for A Yarn Story).

Allison is working on her Fireflies Rising for the GLYC Anniversary KAL too, as well as her Sprite's Fen Shawl. She's also going to pack her Raindrops and her Martinique Beach Cowl for her holiday knitting.

Quiet In which we discuss the value of taking a bit of quiet time for crafting and getting back to basics.

***

Have a great couple of weeks and we'll chat with you soon!

Music credits (available on NoiseTrade) Ridiculously Happy (feat. Twilight Meadow) - Owl City

Episode 63: Summer Along Jul 07, 2017

Show notes

Summer is here (more or less)! And on this episode of the podcast we've got an update on the Great London Yarn Crawl ticket sales, chat about what we're working on and discuss our super summer plans!

GLYC2017 Update

Ticket sales got off to a splendid start on July 1st. Thank you so much to everyone for your continued enthusiasm for this event! At the time of recording this podcast there were 4 routes sold out and only 44 tickets left! There are now 15 tickets left on 5 routes, so don't wait!

We are in the midst of assigning routes to our awesome volunteers so keep your eyes out for the Route threads on Ravelry where you can meet and chat with your teammates!

One more update to tell you all about – please welcome Garthenor as our new After Party Sponsor! Garthenor promotes and provides a variety of sustainable, organic, glorious British wool products in an ecologically responsible way. Their aim is to help secure the future of British organic agrictulture and the British textile industry.

We're looking forward to seeing the Garthenor yarns in person and if you'd like a sneak peek at their yarns, they will also be exhibiting at Pomfest in a few short weeks!

Make Happy – aka – What we're working on

Rachel is busy spinning her fingers off for Team Porpoise Fur and Tour de Fleece! She's also made a bit more progress on her handspun socks, but is very happy that her lost knitting mojo has returned from Tahiti.

Allison finished her Starting Point Mystery KAL by Joji Locatelli, and it is beautiful! She's now working on a pair of Helen Stewart shawls: the GLYC Anniversary KAL, Fireflies Rising, and Sprite's Fen.

Summer Along

Summer seems to be a good time for alongs of various types. We talk about Viola's sweater along and the SweetGeorgia Summer Stories along, as well as talk about our summer plans and travels. What will you be working on this summer? Come on over to Ravelry and join the thread in our group for summer project discussion and support.

***

Have a great couple of weeks and we'll chat with you soon!

Music credits (available on NoiseTrade) Ridiculously Happy (feat. Twilight Meadow) - Owl City

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected