Yarn in the City

Latest Episodes:

Episode 23: Feeling Bookish Oct 16, 2015

Show notes

In which Rachel gets perhaps a bit overexcited about sock math, and we pat ourselves on the backs for Spinzilla.

News and Events:

18th October - What Knitting Does to Your Brain with Heather Ordover, and The Whirled Cinema in Brixton. Tickets are still available.

23-25th October: Gwlana retreat in West Wales.

29th October - 1st November: Geeky Puffin Knit Palooza, in Edinburgh.

10th/17th November - Anna Maltz, aka Sweaterspotter, is teaching a lace and colourwork class for her popular Solja sweater at Wild & Woolly.

15th November - Clare Devine, of Yarn and Pointy Sticks, is teaching "2 at a time anything" at Knit with Attitude.

15th/22nd November - Brioche Stitch Basics with Renée Callahan at Loop.

28th November - the Bath Christmas Craft Crawl!

What we're working on:

Rachel weaves in the ends on her Aranami Shawl as we record, and admits that she has picked up a year-old UFO. She also has been trying to quickly finish a baby Lush by Tin Can Knits for her brand spanking new baby niece, who arrived on 8th October.

Allison is working on the Modish Cowl by Stephen West, and has finished a Marian Cowl by Jane Richmond in some glorious Malabrigo Rasta. Sadly, the Quaking Aspen shawl is currently in a corner contemplating it's sins while it waits in Time Out.

We are both feeling flush with our first ever Spinzilla now behind us - go Team SweetGeorgia!

Feeling Bookish:

We review two books - first up is the Drift Collection, curated by Eden Cottage Yarns, and featuring their Whitefell DK 100% alpaca yarn. Swoon. Full of cozy accessories and gorgeous, wearable sweaters, this collection is a keeper. Head over to the Eden Cottage Yarns Ravelry group to join the KAL/CAL that starts on the 20th of October.

We also review Kate Atherley's new book from Interweave, "Custom Socks: Knit to Fit Your Feet", and Rachel reveals perhaps a bit too much of her geeky, spreadsheet-obsessed side. Chock full of incredibly helpful tips for getting your socks to fit perfectly, we like this one so much that we are going to share the love with you: leave a comment on this post about either your worst sock fitting disaster, or which pattern you'd like to knit from the 14 included in the book, and we will send you your very own copy! Entries close at 11:59 pm on Friday, 30th October, and please be sure you leave contact info so we can get your book to you! And many thanks to Interweave/F+W Communications for providing us with a copy of the book to review and giveaway.

Off the air, you can find us on Ravelry, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. Please leave a review for us on iTunes or listen to us on Stitcher Radio, and don't hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback with us. We are always out and about, so come say hi at any of the events we're attending if you get a chance! Everyone is also more then welcome to come join our Wednesday night knit group from 7-9 pm (or longer) upstairs at The Goat on the Rise, Clapham SW11 1EQ.

Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade)Morning Light - The Dirty Guv'nahsLoneliness & Alcohol - Jars of ClayHands & Hearts - Katrina Stone

Episode 22: Confessions of (former) cold sheepers Oct 04, 2015

Show notes

It's official. We've fallen off the cold sheep wagon in this episode of the Yarn in the City podcast and we tell you all about in addition to our regular segments - and a new feature!

News and Events:

Allison recaps her visit to the third annual Yarndale, where she breathed a lot of yarn fumes. The following events are also happening now, just wrapped up or are happening this month:

Shetland Wool Week

Swiss Wulle Festival

UK Wool Week - where we'll be at the Twin Spin event at Royal Festival Hall on Tuesday, 6th October and also doing a spinning demonstration on Savile Row on Friday the 9th. Come say hello!

Details on the sheep slippers that Allison mentions in Erika Knight yarn can be found here.

The Knitting & Stitching Show - we're going on Wednesday, opening day!

Our What Knitting Does to Your Brain event with Heather Ordover - coming up soon on 18th October. Tickets are still available.

Gwlana retreat in West Wales - and we're thrilled to help Brenda and Caerthan announce the details of Gwlana for spring 2016! You're going to want to save the date now... (May 20-22 2016)

And speaking of saving the date, we're going back to Bath for our own Bath Christmas Craft Crawl, and we'll be doing that on Saturday, 28th November. More details to come soon!

What we're working on:

Rachel has finished her 8-piece collection for The Fibre Co. out of their chunky Tundra yarn, as well as the bouclé cardigan that she's threatening to gift to Allison. She's close to wrapping up the Aranami Shawl by Olga Jazzy and is designing a new shawl out of the Sincere Sheep Cormo Fingering that she bought at Fancy Tiger Crafts in Denver this past summer. Rachel is also swatching for the Angostura Vest by Ysolda Teague that she's planning on knitting out of her new purchase of Cornish Tin.

Allison also has a few FOs: the Sproutlette Dress and Tiny Shoes that are a gift for a friend's new baby. Allison has also installed her first zipper on the cardigan/jacket/Skulls Hoodie that she's finished for her brother. Everything else is being pushed to the side now for Grettir, that she hopes to finish in time for Christmas and her WIP of Quaking Aspen in The Fibre Co.'s Acadia yarn continues.

We're both also getting ready for Spinzilla which starts at 12:01am on Monday, 5th October and we've got plans to spin up some SweetGeorgia fibre - and whatever else we can lay our hands on!

Confessions of (former) cold sheepers:

We confess our sins at falling off the cold sheep wagon, although it would appear that Allison's transgressions of three sweater quantities are far worse than Rachel's three skeins. Hmmmm...

NEW FEATURE - Yarn in the City on the Road!

Something new for us to talk about on the podcasts, the various shops that we've been visiting. Rachel tells us all about the glory and wonder that is Fancy Tiger Crafts in Denver, CO and you can also read her blog post and drool over the photos - they're yummy!

As usual you can find us at The Goat Pub in Clapham Junction on Wednesday nights from 7pm, or in our Ravelry group, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!

Episode 21 BONUS: An interview with Heather Ordover Sep 22, 2015

Show notes

This week we bring you a special podcast episode; an interview with the star of our next event, Heather Ordover.

If you don't know Heather, maybe a reference to Craftlit would help? Or the Madame Defarge series of literary-inspired knitting books? In any event, Heather is coming to London next month, and we are really looking forward to hosting her for her talk on Cognitive Anchoring, or why knitting in boring meetings actually helps your brain work better.

Some links to things we mention:

Cast-On and Greek Muses (Season 2): the origins of Craftlit.
Knitting on a treadmill?
Knitting in the New Zealand Parliament
Telenovelas (for those of you unfamiliar with the concept)
Richard Feynman (because who doesn't reference theoretical physicists in a knitting/crafty podcast?), the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster and the Rogers Commission
Knitted hexaflexagons and the Mexaflexagon

Don't miss out on this very special event! Tickets are available on the event page, and we look forward to seeing you (and your knitting, crocheting, spinning, etc) on Sunday, 18th October!

Episode 21: That's a Wrap! Sep 15, 2015

Show notes

What's going on:

8th September - 3rd October: Waste Nothing - Finding a Home for the Discarded, an exhibition by the London Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers happening at the crypt at St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square, London.

18-20th September - The Handmade Fair, Hampton Court Palace

26 September - Rachel is teaching Learn to Spin: Drop Spindle, and How to Knit a Sexy Sweater Part 1: Swatching at A Yarn Story in Bath - spaces still available!

26-27th September - Yarndale, Skipton Auction Mart, Yorkshire

26th September - 4th October - Shetland Wool Week

5th - 11th October - UK Wool Week. Also happening in Canada (17th-29th September), France (25 - 27 September), and The Netherlands (12 - 18th October).

5 - 11th October - Spinzilla! A tru

6th October - TwinSpin, a partnership between the Association of Guilds of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers and the Campaign For Wool. The London TwinSpin will be held at Royal Festival Hall foyer from 6:00 pm. Just look for the folks with the spinning wheels and/or spindles in one of the corners on the main level.

18th October - Come hear Heather Ordover of Craftlit and "What Would Madame DeFarge Knit?" fame talk about "What Knitting Does to Your Brain: the many benefits of knitting (and crocheting) - this time backed by 95% more science!" - tickets will go on sale 1st August.

23rd-26th October - Autumn Gwlana, Beggar's Reach

What we're working on:

Allison has finished and blocked her Skulls Sweater for her brother. All that's left is steeking and zipper insertion - hooray! In celebration she's cast on the Sproutlette Dress by Tanis Lavallee, in some gorgeous Dragon Wings yarn purchased in Ontario.

Rachel is working on the last couple of designs for The Fibre Co, in chunky Tundra (60% llama/30% merino/10% silk). She's also cast on the Jewels pullover by Amy King to try and get ride of some Rowan boucle yarn that appeared mysteriously in her stash. Still going on the Aranami Shawl by OlgaJazzy (Rav link). And getting psyched up for the first Porpoise Fur fibre club that is starting in October - check out the details here.

That's a Wrap:

Well. The 3rd Annual Great London Yarn Crawl and the Yarn in the City Pop-Up Marketplace have been and gone, and were a huge success on the day. Thank you all so much for coming along an participating! In particular, we thank:

Our fantastic volunteers at both events!!!!
The shops, for participating and wholeheartedly getting in to the spirit of the day.
Our Sponsors
The Indie Designers, Kate Atherley and Brenda Dayne
The Vendors at the Marketplace
All the Yarn Crawlers, who helped us raise £1302 for our charity partner, Refuge.
Our husbands and kids for putting up with us through all this madness.

We've managed to catch our breath and start looking ahead to next year's plans, and will update you soon with more details.

Thanks for joining us, and for all your support this year! You can find us on Ravelry, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, or go leave a review for us on iTunes or listen to us on Stitcher Radio. Please don't hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback with us, and please come say hi at any of the events we're attending if you get a chance! Everyone is also more then welcome to come join our Wednesday night knit group from 7-9 pm (or longer) upstairs at The Goat on the Rise, Clapham SW11 1EQ.

Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade)Morning Light - The Dirty Guv'nahsLoneliness & Alcohol - Jars of ClayHands & Hearts - Katrina Stone

Episode 20: Celebration Aug 31, 2015

Show notes

Yarn in the City is proud to be sponsored by A Yarn Story. A Yarn Story specialises in hand-dyed yarns and luxury fibres. They carry yarns from indie dyers near and far, such as The Uncommon Thread, SweetGeorgia Yarns and Life in the Long Grass. Find them at www.ayarnstory.co.uk, or in Bath on Walcot Street in the heart of the Artisan Quarter.

What's going on:

Allison was interviewed on Episode 7 of the SweetGeorgia Yarns podcast - go have a listen and enter to win a Soakbox!

Jo Milmine of the fabulous Shinybees podcast, who very kindly interviewed us in Episode 54, has been nominated for the UK Podcasters Awards in two categories. Hooray Jo!!!! Click here to go and vote for Shinybees (don't forget to scroll down to get the Best Games and Hobbies category).

3rd September: Kate Atherley will be teaching her "Math for Knitters" class at A Yarn Story in Bath.

5th September: The 3rd edition of the Great London Yarn Crawl, and the Yarn in the City Pop-Up Marketplace, which will include the Indie Designer Spotlight. You can follow along with all the pre-Crawl chatter in our Ravelry group. You can also go here to read about our collections of charity knitting for Knit for Peace.

6th September: YITC workshops on Knit Design and Pattern Writing with Kate Atherley, Soho, London

18-20th September - The Handmade Fair, Hampton Court Palace

26-27th September - Yarndale, Skipton Auction Mart, Yokshire

3-4th October - Swiss Wulle Festival, Zug, Switzerland

23rd-26th October - Autumn Gwlana, Beggar's Reach

What we're working on:

Allison has finished her Reverb Shawl by Felicia Lo, which she did in a gradient bundle of Party of Five from SweetGeorgia Yarns.

Rachel is still working on a series of accessory designs for The Fibre Co, in their lusciously chunky Tundra yarn (60% llama/30% merino/10% silk). But while on travels around the US visiting loads of yarn shops in the guise of checking out potential places to live, she fell down and got a kit for the Aranami Shawl by OlgaJazzy (Rav link) from Knit Knack in Arvada, CO, including some gorgeous Frabjous Fibers Wonderland Yarns.

Celebration:

We are celebrating our 20th Episode (yay!), the Indie Maker community in London and the UK (hooray!), and also got to talk to Sue Blacker of Blacker Yarns about their very special 10th Birthday Celebration yarn, Cornish Tin. This yarn is made from a blend of ten different fibres, and comes in a 4-ply or DK weight. Sadly, it is only available in very limited quantities - for those of you going on the Yarn Crawl on Saturday, both Nest and Knit with Attitude will have Cornish Tin available, in advance of it's official release on 18th September!

Blacker Yarns very kindly provided us with a sample of the yarn to play with AND a full skein of the 4-ply in Wheal Rose Red to give away to one lucky listener! To enter, leave a comment on this post and tell us what pattern you'd knit with this yarn. We will pick a random post as a winner. Entries are open until 11:59 pm BST on 10th September, 2015.

Thanks for joining us again! You can find us on Ravelry, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, or go leave a review for us on iTunes. Please don't hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback with us, and please come say hi at any of the events we're attending if you get a chance! Everyone is also more then welcome to come join our Wednesday night knit group from 7-9 pm (or longer) at The Goat on the Rise, Clapham SW11 1EQ. We'll be there the rest of July, but on hiatus for August, with plans to start back up again after the big GLYC weekend in September.

Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade)Loneliness & Alcohol - Jars of ClayMorning Light - The Dirty Guv'nahs

Episode 19: Retreat and Recharge Aug 17, 2015

Show notes

What's going on:

22nd August: The 10th Anniversary edition of the TTC Knitalong, the inspiration for the GLYC, in Toronto..

3rd September: Kate Atherley will be teaching her "Math for Knitters" class at A Yarn Story in Bath.

5th September: The 3rd edition of the Great London Yarn Crawl, and the Yarn in the City Pop-Up Marketplace, which will include the Indie Designer Spotlight.

6th September: YITC workshops on Knit Design and Pattern Writing with Kate Atherley, Soho, London

3-4th October - Swiss Wulle Festival, Zug, Switzerland

23rd-26th October - Autumn Gwlana, Beggar's Reach

What we're working on:

Allison has cast on the Reverb Shawl by Felicia Lo, while still working on her brother's Skulls Sweater. The Toddler Hoodie and She's A Waterfall shawl have been pushed to the bottom of the queue as they aren't quite so time sensitive.

Rachel is working on a series of accessory designs for The Fibre Co, in their lusciously chunky Tundra yarn (60% llama/30% merino/10% silk). In fact, she manages to cast off the current project during the podcast. Otherwise she's working on recovering from Fibre-East.

Retreat and Recharge:

In typical fashion, we wander around and about the topic of retreats for a while, including discussing our first retreat experiences, reasons to go on a retreat, and falling down the rabbit hole of all the yarny/crafty retreats that are out there. Whatever you do, don't go check out Clara Parkes' list of retreats and events on Knitter's Review. Our favourite possibilities include Les Soeurs Anglaises (including A sa Tricosa and BYOP) and a two week cruise to South America.

You can find us on Ravelry, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. Please don't hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback with us, and please come say hi at any of the events we're attending if you get a chance! Everyone is also more then welcome to come join our Wednesday night knit group from 7-9 pm (or longer) at The Goat on the Rise, Clapham SW11 1EQ. We'll be there the rest of July, but on hiatus for August, with plans to start back up again after the big GLYC weekend in September.

Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade)Loneliness & Alcohol - Jars of ClayEverything You've Done Wrong - SloanFierce Flawless - Ani DifrancoRetreat - Howie Sutherland

Episode 18: How it all started Jul 23, 2015

Show notes

What's going on:

25-26th July: Fibre-East, Ampthill, Bedfordshire. Rachel will be flying solo at the Porpoise Fur booth that weekend, so come by and say hello!

22nd August: The 10th Anniversary edition of the TTC Knitalong, the inspiration for the GLYC, in Toronto..

3rd September: Kate Atherley will be teaching her "Math for Knitters" class at A Yarn Story in Bath.

5th September: The 3rd edition of the Great London Yarn Crawl, and the Yarn in the City Pop-Up Marketplace, which will include the Indie Designer Spotlight.

6th September: Workshops on Knit Design and Pattern Writing with Kate Atherley

What we're working on:

Allison got to Canada and got to try her Skulls Sweater on her brother, and he loves it! In celebration, she allowed herself to cast on She's A Waterfall by Dani Sunshine, with Lioness Arts Silky DK in "Aquae Sulis". Sadly, she left Rachel's spindle on the coffee table at home, so there has not been much spinning.

Rachel has finished her handspun Bagatelle Cowl, and has picked up her long-neglected Marie Curie Mittens by Emily Bujold. She has been doing a lot of spinning, finishing off some Hello Yarn Fiber Club superwash Targhee, some Lac Blanc Ile de France from Porpoise Fur, and a bump of Southern Cross Fibres Falkland.

An interview with Brenda Dayne:

We talk about the history of Gwlana, the upcoming Gwlana retreat the 23rd-26th October that we're planning on attending with Caerthan Wrack of Triskelion Yarns, and what's in store for future events. There are still a few spaces available - why not join us for a weekend of inspiration, camaraderie, and knitting?

Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade)Loneliness & Alcohol - Jars of ClayEverything You've Done Wrong - SloanFierce Flawless - Ani DifrancoSomething on Your Mind - The Atomic Hound Dog

Episode 17: Summertime and the knitting is easy Jul 08, 2015

Show notes

Episode 16: The One With All the Announcements Jun 28, 2015

Show notes

We talk a bit about our lovely day out at the seaside for the Brighton Knit and Make Social, which was a rousing success! There was a bit of stash enhancement, but it wasn't too bad... We also made it through the Nike Women's 10km run with unscathed and with pretty decent times!

What's going on:

26-27th June - Woolfest, Cockermouth, Cumbria

1st July - Tickets go on sale for the 2015 Great London Yarn Crawl and the Pop Up Marketplace.

4-5th July: Fabrications 15th Birthday Celebration

19th July: Introduction to Lace Knitting with Jemima Bicknell at Loop.

25-26th July: Fibre-East, Ampthill, Bedfordshire. Rachel will be flying solo at the Porpoise Fur booth that weekend, so come by and say hello!

What we're working on:

Allison has finished her Mind the Gap socks, featuring the amazing Mind the Gap self striping sock yarn from Trailing Clouds. She's working on the Pebble Beach Shawlette by Helen Stewart of Curious Handmade, and is swatching for her version of Karie Westermann's Byatt Shawl in Viola baby alpaca/cashmere/silk. She's finished up her Rocky Mountain Dyeworks BFL/silk fibre in True Turquoise, and is getting a bit panicked about all the projects she needs to finish before she shoots off on holiday this summer.

Rachel has finished spinning up some truly amazing wool/flax blend in "Lobster" from Spunky Eclectic. She's making great progress on her Byatt for the GLYC 2015 KAL, and slower progress on her lined mittens for the Not-A-KAL KAL (now finished).

All the announcements (squee!):

1. GLYC ROUTES

We've got the 2015 GLYC Routes up and ready to go! This year we've put together 12 routes, with 10 slots on each route, so we look forward to having 120 Yarn Crawlers join us this year! Tickets will go on sale at 10:00 am on 1 July, and will be £18 each - this includes admission to the Yarn in the City Pop-Up Marketplace for the special GLYC Kick Off Party, and after your route is finished.

2. VOLUNTEERS

We put a call out for Volunteers for both GLYC Yarn Guides and for the Pop-Up Marketplace - please get in touch if you are interested in volunteering for either event!

3. NEW WORKSHOPS ANNOUNCED

We are thrilled to also be able to announce that we will be extending the yarny fun throughout the entire GLYC weekend, with the addition of two workshops on Sunday, 6th September, taught by the fabulous Kate Atherley. More details on the workshops can be found here.

Tickets for the 2015 Great London Yarn Crawl, the Yarn in the City Pop-Up Marketplace and the Kate Atherley workshops will all go on sale at 10:00 on Wednesday, 1 July 2015 (Happy Canada Day!).

Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade)Loneliness & Alcohol - Jars of ClayEverything You've Done Wrong - SloanFierce Flawless - Ani DifrancoCrazy Life - Toad the Wet Sprocket

Episode 15: Merrily We Knitalong Jun 11, 2015

Show notes

A somewhat meandering and caffeinated podcast for you this time around.

What's going on:

13th June - the tenth anniversary of World Wide Knit in Public Day! Check their website for events near you.

20th June - Brighton Knit and Make Social! Tickets are still available, so come join us!

26-27th June - Woolfest, Cockermouth, Cumbria

1st July - Tickets go on sale for the 2015 Great London Yarn Crawl and the Pop Up Marketplace.

25-26th July - Fibre-East, Ampthill, Bedfordshire Marketplace.

What we're working on:

Allison has finished her test knit of Rachel's new cowl in Kettle Yarn Co Islington DK (color: Parapadschada, otherwise known as eye-searingly bright pink). She found the project bag containing her long-lost Mind the Gap socks, for which she's using Kate Atherley's Classic Toe-up Pattern. She also has grand intentions of getting back to the Skulls sweater (otherwise known as Robin) by Lina Olofsson, and has baby sweaters in mind for casting on soon. She's also finished the singles of her Rocky Mountain Dyeworks fibre in True Turquoise.

Rachel finished her handspun sweater that she was so frantic to finish last episode, and managed to get it blocked and photographed (by Allison) in time to submit to Knittyspin for the next issue. She's also pick up her Belted Herdwick Mittens (so named because they look a bit like Belted Galloways), which she cast on for the YITC Not-a-KAL KAL (which closed on Monday). So no prizes for here! She's also been working on spinning a wool/flax blend from Spunky Eclectic, and is really enjoying how different it is to spin from a straight wool fibre.

Merrily we knitalong:

We announce the winners of our Not-a-KAL KAL, and talk about why we like knitalongs. Congratulations to the winners!

We also reveal our new KAL - the GLYC 2015 KAL - inspired by the concept of the Rhinebeck Sweater. For this KAL, we will be working on projects to wear and show off at the Great London Yarn Crawl/Pop-up Marketplace on 5th September. Here are the details:

Cast on: Monday, 15th June

Cast off: Tuesday, 1st September

Restrictions: Your KAL projects have to be newly cast on - no WIPs please! You do not have to restrict yourselves to yarn acquired at previous editions of the GLYC. It should probably be something you'd like to wear on the day, but we make no predictions about what that might mean to y'all.

There will be prizes (TBD) - 1 prize for an FO, and 1 prize for general participation in the KAL thread. And for those of you who are cold sheeping, and are working on a one in/one out type of framework, here's the complete Pop-up Marketplace Vendor list in case you need a bit of a carrot to get yourselves inspired.

We also get pysched up (Ok, maybe that's just Rachel) for the start of Tour de Fleece. We encourage all you spinners out there listening and reading to sort through your stash, decide on some goals, and get those wheels and spindles ready! The peloton starts off on 4th July from Utrecht, and finished in Paris on 26th July. If you're looking for a team, please come join us on the Porpoise Fur team - everyone is welcome!

As always you can find us on Ravelry, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. Please don't hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback with us, and please come say hi at any of the events we're attending if you get a chance! Everyone is welcome to come join our Wednesday night knit group from 7-9 pm (or longer) at The Goat on the Rise, Clapham SW11 1EQ.

Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade)Loneliness & Alcohol - Jars of ClayEverything You've Done Wrong - SloanFierce Flawless - Ani DifrancoCounting Down the Days - Northcote

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