Yarn in the City

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**Yarn in the City**

In the Yarn in the City podcast, Allison and Rachel talk about knitting, spinning, and various fibre-related events and things happening in London and the rest of the UK. Sections include: News and Events, On and Off the Needles and Wheel, Knitting Randoms, and Special Features.

Latest Episodes:

Episode 14: Knitting is not a competition May 29, 2015

Show notes

What's going on (in brief):

30-31st May: Proper Woolley, Holsworthy, Devon.

20 June: the Brighton Knit and Make Social - come down to the beach with us for a day of hanging out and relaxing!

26-27 June: Woolfest, Cockermouth, Cumbria

What we're working on:

Rachel is frantically trying to finish a handspun sweater out of a combo spin from the Hello Yarn Fiber Club. She also got a bunch of spinning done on her spindle sweaterlot at the I Knit Fandango.

Allison is working on two test knits for Rachel - one is a cowl in the new Kettle Yarn Co Islington DK, and the other is Latticewing in handspun. She's also been spinning some Rocky Mountain Dyeworks roving in True Turquoise.

Knitting is not a competition

We were lucky enough to get a chance to chat with Karina Westermann about her recent blog posts (Part 1 and Part 2) on the question of: where is knitting going and are we in danger of having the crafting world become all about perfection that should be aspired to rather then projects that we enjoy. We hope you enjoy the interview, and please reach out with any thoughts comments or further discussion - we'd love to hear what you think!

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 welcom 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 ClayFierce Flawless - Ani DifrancoEverything You've Done Wrong - SloanBrick by Brick - Ritse

Episode 13: Lucky Number Thirteen! May 14, 2015

Show notes

Shout outs:

Thanks to Deb, who applauded our musical choices, and asked how we pick the songs, so we go on at length about that.

Many congratulations to Catherine, our guest on Episode 8, who welcomed her new granddaughter last week!

And a shout out from us to the people in our lives (in the knitting world and outside) who are having a bit of a hard time right now - we're thinking of you all.

What's going on:

15-16th May: I Knit Fandango, Royal Horticultural Halls, London. We will be there at the Porpoise Fur booth - come say hi!

15-17th May: Gwlana, a knitting retreat in Pembrokeshire, Wales with Brenda Dayne of Cast On and Felicity Ford of Knitsonik.

16-17th May: John Arbon Open Weekend, South Molton, Devon.

23rd May: Highland Wool Festival, Dingwall Mart.

25th May: The Shipston on Stour Wool Fair, Shipston on Stour, South Warwickshire

30-31st May: Proper Woolley, Holsworthy, Devon.

20 June: the Brighton Knit and Make Social - come down to the beach with us for a day of hanging out and relaxing!

What we're working on:

Allison is working on a Big Brother Sweater for a newly-minted big brother, and she's going to be test knitting a cowl for Rachel in Kettle Yarn Co's new Islington DK as soon as Rachel gets a move on and writes up the pattern. She's started a new scarf with some YFP Shetland handspun (leftovers from Rachel's Nymphalidea) and a gorgeous grey DK out of stash. Cleaning up the office netted her some un-catalogued stash hiding away, so she's updated that. She's also been spinning and getting excited about Susan Anderson's book The Spinner's Book of Yarn Designs.

Rachel has been dyeing. And dyeing. And dyeing some more. She's also knit up the KYC Cowl prototype (will be released at the end of June), and has done a bit of spindling on her Massive Spindle Sweaterlot. Because spindle spinning a sweater's worth of yarn is a good idea. Really. But mostly she's been dyeing.

Upcoming excitement:

Our special feature this week is all about upcoming events, specifically I Knit Fandango and our next Yarn in the City event - a mini-crawl in Brighton on 20 June. We highlight vendors we're looking forward to seeing at the Fandango, and talk a bit about what will be on the Porpoise Fur stand.

We also chat about the Brighton trip, and the shops involved. This is going to be a very mellow and low-key event, and we really hope you can join us! Tickets are available now.

Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade)Loneliness & Alcohol - Jars of ClayFierce Flawless - Ani DifrancoEverything You've Done Wrong - SloanWriting on the Wall - Bear's Den

Episode 12: Knitting for Charity Apr 30, 2015

Show notes

What's going on, aka The Madness that is the Month of May:

3 May: Love your Yarn Shop Day! Local events include Erika Knight at Nest (Friday night, give them a heads up if you're joining them), Debbie Bliss at Wild & Woolly and 10% off purchases at Knit with Attitude.

9-10th May: Stephen West is teaching two classes at Loop in Islington - Knit a top-down shawl and Colour play the Westknits way!

14th May: Knit a Tulip for ME Kick Off at Double Tree by Hilton London in Chelsea.

The Nymphalidea shawl WIP - knit in Porpoise Fur fibre in the YFP and Clotted Cream colourways.

15-16th May: I Knit Fandango, Royal Horticultural Halls, London. We will be there at the Porpoise Fur booth - come say hi!

15-18th May: Gwlana, a knitting retreat in Pembrokeshire, Wales with Brenda Dayne of Cast On and Felicity Ford of Knitsonik. The Mini-Marketplace on Sunday afternoon is open to the public, and will feature Triskelion Yarns, Purlescence, Beads by Laura and Hand Dyed by Kate.

16-17th May: John Arbon Open Weekend, South Molton, Devon.

23rd May: A Yarn Story Grand Reopening! In their new digs at 128 Walcot Street, Bath BA1 5BG from 18th May.

23rd May: Highland Wool Festival, Dingwall Mart.

25th May: The Shipston on Stour Wool Fair, Shipston on Stour, South Warwickshire

30-31st May: Proper Woolley, Holsworthy, Devon. Vendors include A Yarn Story (with some Porpoise Fur fibre), Midwinter Yarns, John Arbon and Wildcraft.

What we're working on:

Rachel's gorgeous Windmill Bay Stole is finally off the needles!

Rachel has completed not one, but two things - hooray! First up is her Windmill Bay Stole, 8 stinking feet of fingering weight alpaca lovelieness. There is much relief that it is finished. She's also finished a handspun shawl for the Porpoise Fur booth at I Knit Fandango - Nymphalidea from Knitty.com designed by Melinda VerMeer, in Clotted Cream and YFP (aka fluorescent yellow) Shetland. She is still working on Painted, and has started another handspun shawl - Penrose Tile by Carol Feller.

Allison finished her Green Memories colourwork hat for the Yarn in the City Not-a-KAL-KAL, and has done some spinning, as she is about to start adding to her fibre stash in a monthly fashion with the Hello Yarn Fiber Club.

Charity Knitting

We start off with the amazing charity knitting done by 2014 Great London Yarn Crawlers, who donated over 150 items to our charity partner Refuge. We will be collecting again for Refuge this year, so please bring any and all charity items to the kick off party at the Yarn in the City Pop Up Marketplace on 5th September.

We also recently learned about AYME (the Association of Young People with ME), an organization that supports the estimated 25,000 children and young people in the UK who suffer from myalgic enchephalomyelitis, also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. AYME is launching an awareness campaign called "Knit a Tulip for ME", with a goal of collecting one knitted tulip for every ME-affected young person in the UK in 2015. So far, they've collected 5,000 woolen tulips, and they are holding an official launch on 14th May at the Double Tree by Hilton London - Chelsea with a display of some of the tulips already contributed. The campaign also has a Justgiving page, if you'd like to make a donation. You can also email Jackie (scroll down for the email address) for the pattern and a sponsorship form.

There are a number of other charity knitting opportunities out there, including Knit for Peace, which supports people in India, Pakistan and Rwanda. There's also a wealth of charity knitting groups on Ravelry, including Knit Aid UK, Charity Crafting UK, and the innocent and Age UK's Big Knit (love the smoothie hats!).

Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade)Loneliness & Alcohol - Jars of ClayFierce Flawless - Ani DifrancoEverything You've Done Wrong - SloanStraight for Your Heart - Sarah Peacock

Episode 11: Taking Care Apr 20, 2015

Show notes

Shout outs:

Many thanks to Felix for a wonderful Quotidian Colourwork workshop on 26th March! And many thanks also to our participants, who were fabulous and enthusiastic and brought wonderful inspirations and made lovely swatches. A wonderful time was had by all except for Allison, who was very sick and had to miss out. Sad faces all around...

Allison's knitting bag that was to be her source of inspiration for the Knitsonik workshop - another time!

Felix now has a thread in her Ravelry group for people to share their swatches, so check it out for some amazing colourwork experimentation! And if you need to get any yarn for your stranded colourwork explorations, our sponsor Tangled Yarn is offering 15% off Jamieson & Smith yarns through 26th April. Just use the code "KNITSONIK" at checkout.

What's going on:

25-26th April: Wonderwool Wales, Builth Wells.

9th May: Wharfe Wool Fair, Otley, near Leeds.

9-10th May: Stephen West is teaching two classes at Loop in Islington - Knit a top-down shawl and Colour play the Westknits way!

15-16th May: I Knit Fandango, Royal Horticultural Halls, London. We will be there at the Porpoise Fur booth - come say hi!

15-17th May: Gwlana, a knitting retreat in Pembrokeshire, Wales with Brenda Dayne of Cast On and Felicity Ford of Knitsonik.

16-17th May: John Arbon Open Weekend, South Molton, Devon.

23rd May: Highland Wool Festival, Dingwall Mart.

25th May: The Shipston on Stour Wool Fair, Shipston on Stour, South Warwickshire

30-31st May: Proper Woolley, Holsworthy, Devon.

What we're working on:

Allison's finished Beeswax Hat

Allison finished her Beeswax Hat in Mrs. Moon's Plump DK and it is glorious! She's also finished the first mitt for the book, and has started the second. Hooray!

Rachel finished the first of her Boat Race hats, and has gotten 40+ rounds into Hat 2 before ripping it out to the ribbing and starting over again (setbacks are part of designing, right?). She's put a few more rows on the Windmill Bay Stole and, as there weren't enough things already in the works, she cast on for Inspiration Knit's Painted with her unicorn yarn - Wollmeise Pure in Edelstein.

Taking care, slowing down, and a special interview with Kate Atherley:

We talk about taking "Me" time, scheduling, bullet journaling and general ways to slow down and reassess at the end of the year's first quarter.

We also talk to Kate Atherley about her new book, "Pattern Writing for Knit Designers", which is an invaluable resource for anyone even remotely considering writing a knitting pattern for other people to follow. You can find Kate on her website, and purchase the electronic version of the book here, or a physical copy here.

We're starting a SW London Knit Night! Come join us at The Goat on the Rise on Wednesday, 22 April from 7 pm onwards. Please pop over to our Ravelry group and let us know if you'd like to join us - that way we can be sure to book enough space for everyone. We hope to see you there!

As always you can find us on Ravelry, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. If you enjoy the podcast, please go leave us a review on iTunes - the more reviews and ratings we get, the more likely other like-minded people are to find us.

Please don't hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback with us, and come say hi at any of the events we're attending if you get a chance!

Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade)Loneliness & Alcohol - Jars of ClayEverything You've Done Wrong - SloanSlow Down - Austin Kolb Band

Episode 10: Recaps and Reveals! Apr 02, 2015

Show notes

Shout outs:

Many thanks to our sponsor, Tangled Yarn, who stock a wide range of gorgeous yarns, patterns and tools including Jamieson & Smith Jumper Weight and Supreme Jumper Weight. Both yarns are spun from 100% Real Shetland Wool and are perfect for Fair Isle and colourwork. Tangled Yarn also stock Felicity Ford's KNITSONIK book.

Tangled Yarn is offering Yarn in the City fans an exclusive 15% off Jamieson & Smith yarns until April 26th. Just use the discount code KNITSONIK at the checkout.

What's going on:

Ongoing: YitC Not-A-KAL KAL, in our Ravelry group. First round runs through 1 June.

27-28th March: British Alpaca Futurity and P-Lush show in Coventry. Mmmm...alpaca!

25-26th April: Wonderwool Wales, Builth Wells.

9th May: Wharfe Wool Fair, Otley, near Leeds.

15-16th May: I Knit Fandango, Royal Horticultural Halls, London. We will be there at the Porpoise Fur booth - come say hi!

16-17th May: John Arbon Open Weekend, South Molton, Devon.

23rd May: Highland Wool Festival, Dingwall Mart.

25th May: The Shipston on Stour Wool Fair, Shipston on Stour, South Warwickshire

30-31st May: Proper Woolley, Holsworthy, Devon.

21 June: Muse Connection Vol. 2 (sadly sold out already!), and the YitC Team runs the Nike Women's 10K in Victoria Park - details on how to join us are here.

In the works:

Allison has started and finished a gorgeous Saguaro Hat (designed by fab GLYC Volunteer Renée Callahan, aka East London Knit), and is still plugging away on her Beeswax Hat by Amy van de Laar. She has gotten back to work on a fingerless glove project for the YitC Book too.

Just look at those cacti! The Saguaro hat - pattern by Renée Callahan of East London Knit

Rachel has not finished anything, but has lots of things newly started/in progress, including a Wool Eater Blanket by Sarah London that is completely addictive. She's also working on a new design project inspired by The Boat Race, and is blogging her design process - Installment 1 and Installment 2 of her Design Diaries are up for your perusal.

Recaps and Reveals!

Allison had a fabulous time at the Edinburgh Yarn Festival, and managed to grab audio with some lovely people:

Hamming it up with the lovely Karie Westermann - a really good sport about Alli's selfie-stick!

John Arbon, from John Arbon Textiles in Devon
Karie Westermann, knitwear designer extraordinaire
Jo, one of the co-organizers of EYF, who confirms that it's back on again for 2016. Hooray!!!!!

On the Reveal side, we are thrilled to give you a preview of some of the vendors we will be welcoming to the Yarn in the City Pop Up Marketplace on 5th September 2015. They include:

We are thrilled to have them on board, and we look forward to being able to add even more awesome names to the list in the coming weeks!

Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade)Loneliness & Alcohol - Jars of ClayEverything You've Done Wrong - SloanFierce Flawless - Ani DiFrancoLeave a Message - Rude King

Episode 9: Crazy for Colour! Mar 12, 2015

Show notes

Our sponsor:

Tangled Yarn is offering Yarn in the City fans an exclusive 15% off Jamieson & Smith yarns until April 26th. Just use the discount code KNITSONIK at the checkout.

Shout-outs:

Big thanks to Jordan, Allison's partner for his technical assistance in recording this episode's interview, and a shout out to our Bath Half marathon buddy Helen, who was sadly not able to run with us because of injury. But we'll get a chance to run with her again, as we've got a Yarn in the City team for the Nike Women's 10K run on 21 June. Details are on our Ravelry group, and everyone is welcome to join us!

What's going on:

Festival season is in full swing - hooray!

14-15th March: Edinburgh Yarn Festival - Alli will be in the Podcast Lounge and at the Ca-baa-ret. Please go harass her!

13-15th March: Dornoch Fibre Festival, in Dornoch, Sutherland.

27-28th March: British Alpaca Futurity and P-Lush show in Coventry. Mmmm...alpaca!

25-26th April: Wonderwool Wales, Builth Wells.

9th May: Wharfe Wool Fair, Otley, near Leeds.

15-16th May: I Knit Fandango, Royal Horticultural Halls, London. We will be there at the Porpoise Fur booth - come say hi!

16-17th May: John Arbon Open Weekend, South Molton, Devon.

23rd May: Highland Wool Festival, Dingwall Mart.

25th May: The Shipston on Stour Wool Fair, Shipston on Stour, South Warwickshire

30-31st May: Proper Woolley, Holsworthy, Devon.

In the works:

Allison's Garter Squish is off the needles - a quick and satisfying knit!

Allison is working on the Beeswax Hat by Amy van de Laar, in some gorgeous new Plump DK from Mrs. Moon, and the Helix Cable Vest by Shiri Mor. She finished her Garter Squish Blanket (to the tune of +2000 yds out of stash!), and her sheep have mostly stayed cold, although she did get some gorgeous fabric at the Knitting & Stitching Show at Olympia.

Rachel is almost done with Latticewing Version 3 (to be released soon!), worked in some lovely (green) Canopy Fingering from The Fibre Company. Her Windmill Bay Stole is almost through the middle lace section, and she's finished a woven handspun scarf (with Hello Yarn Fiber Club yarn, of course). She's been distracted from finishing things by her new Christmas toy, courtesy of her wonderful mother: a Classic Carder. Card all the things!!!!

Cold Sheep Update:

We've been pretty good at our cold sheep efforts, although Rachel was struck by a bolt of inspiration which resulted in a Baa Ram Ewe order (she needed the proper colour of a particular yarn!). However, we have agreed that "work" stash (for designing or samples) is quite separate from "personal" stash, so she has been given a pass for the moment.

We also did a bit of swapping at The Muse Connection Volume 1, put on by A Playful Day and Curious Handmade. Alli's offering wasn't snatched up, so she gifted it to a friend to make up for the skein she selected at the swap. Rachel left two skeins and brought home two skeins, but ended up with more yardage then she swapped out. Hmmmm....

Also a bit about our Yarn in the City 10K team (details here). Come run with us!

Crazy about Colour!

As we get closer and closer to the KNITSONIK Quotidian Colourwork class at the end of the month, excitement is building to play with ALL THE COLOURS OF WOOL! We talked to Felix, our intrepid colourwork guide, about her upcoming retreat with Brenda Dayne at Gwlana, her first knitting projects, the importance of colour and sounds in her life, her inspiration and a bit more about what participants can expect from the class. There are still a few slots available, so please come join us! A link to tickets and more information can be found here.

Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade)Loneliness & Alcohol - Jars of ClayEverything You've Done Wrong - SloanChasing Color - The Canvas Waiting

Episode 8: Catherine and her six items challenge Feb 25, 2015

Show notes

We have a guest on this episode! Say hello to chopkinsknits.

Welcome Tangled Yarn!

Awesome sponsor:We are thrilled to have Tangled Yarn joining us as our first YitC Podcast sponsor! Tangled Yarn specialises in hand-dyed yarn and natural fibres from smaller independent suppliers both here in the UK and further afield. They offer free UK shipping on orders of £25 or more, or free international shipping on orders of £75 or more.

Tangled Yarn also carries a tempting and colourful selection of Jamieson & Smith yarns, which we'll be using in the Quotidian Colourwork workshop that we're hosting with Felicity Ford of Knitsonik.

Some of the gorgeous yarns on offer at Unravel. These beauties were on The Fibre Co. stand.

What's going on:We recap Unravel briefly and chat about the following upcoming events:

5-8th March: the Spring Knitting and Stitching Show at Olympia Central, London
8th March: the Muse Connection, hosted by A Playful Day and Curious Handmade. Sadly, this installment is sold out, but stay tuned for future events.
15-16th March: EYF
26th March: Felicity Ford is coming to London to teach her Quotidian Colourwork Class with us at Homemade London. Get your tickets on the Events page!
25-26th April: the 10th anniversary of Wonderwool Wales in Builth Wells
15-16th May: I Knit Fandango at the Royal Horticultural Halls in Westminster, where we will be at the Porpoise Fur booth!

In the works:Catherine is working on a the Vivid Blanket by Tin Can Knits, for her impending grandchild. She's also working on a pair of socks in SweetGeorgia Tough Love Sock, doing them two at a time on two circs, and doing her best to incorporate them as an accessory at every opportunity.

Rachel finished her Sooper Sekrit YitC Crafty Guide sample knit in gorgeous Eden Cottage Yarns Bedale (which we may have mis-identified as camel/silk -- it's actually yak and silk. Weep for us). Other then that, she's had a knitting fail as half-term was spent trying to prevent her kids from killing themselves on skis, eating too much cheese (is there really such a thing?), and falling asleep on the couch at 8:00 pm. On the spinning front, she's decided to jump on the Garter Squish bandwagon, and is spinning up some of her teensy wee fiber stash to get started.

Allison's Munchkin Blanket by Amy Swenson

Allison finished her Munchkin Baby Blanket by Amy Swenson, and it is gorgeous!!!! She's on stripe 8 of 13 in her Garter Squish blanket (by Stephen West) and has wound the yarn for her GLYC Not-A-KAL KAL project.

Photo courtesy of Catherine Hopkins

Six Items Challenge:Catherine is participating in a clothing fast called the Six Items Challenge to benefit Labour Behind the Label, a charity supporting garment workers around the world. For six weeks, participants wear only six items of clothing from their wardrobes (knickers, shoes and accessories are thankfully exempt). Money raised in the Challenge will be used both to directly support garment workers and to campaign for further awareness.

You can follow Catherine's progress on her Six Items Challenge on her blog, and find her fundraising page here (as of this writing she's the leading fundraiser for the challenge - go C!!!). You can find Scrapianna's blog here.

Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade)Loneliness & Alcohol - Jars of ClayFierce Flawless - Ani DifrancoEverything You've Done Wrong - SloanDesperate Dreams - Jess Pillmore

Episode 7: Love-fest Feb 13, 2015

Show notes

In which we are A) punchy, and B) 12 years old (and not necessarily in a good way)...

What's going on:

15-17th February: Craft Hobby + Stitch International in Birmingham
20-22nd February: come join us at Unravel, in Farnham Maltings!
28th February: Alli is doing a Soak demo at A Yarn Story in Bath.
1 March: Bath Half Marathon!!!!! (send us good mojo and strong leg vibes please)
5-8th March: the Spring Knitting and Stitching Show at Olympia Central, London
15-16th March: EYF, and the sure-to-be-amazing Ca-baa-ret!
21st March: Rachel is teaching two classes at A Yarn Story: Drop Spindling and Beginnings and Endings.
26th March: Felicity Ford is coming to London to teach her Quotidian Colourwork Class with us at Homemade London. Get your tickets on the Events page!

In the works:Rachel has had a major fail in her Insight Pullover, which she discusses at great length, but thankfully without tears (she also blogged about it). To console herself, she cast on the Windmill Bay Stole by Sashka Macievich with some lovely green Drops Alpaca, and also cast on Teresa's Lined Mittens by Mavis Adam with some Herdwick from Prick Your Finger that she bought on the 2013 GLYC.

Allison is almost done with her Munchkin Baby Blanket by Amy Swenson (just in time to ship it back to North America via Mom-post). Her Garter Squish Blanket is eating up stash, despite a small oversight in the knitting, and she's cast on for another Starsky and Hutch tea cozy by Jeni Hewlett (so adorbs!).

We highlight the ongoing Not-a-KAL KAL on our Ravelry board. This is open to anyone who has been on either edition of the Great London Yarn Crawl and wants to knit up any yarn purchased at either event - WIPs or new projects welcome! The first round of the KAL runs from 1 Feb - 1 June, and there will be prizes! And Alli has plans for the next instalment...

Serious talk: loving/valuing yourselfWe discuss value: valuing our skills as makers, as professionals, and why doing something for "exposure" ain't always what it's cracked up to be. With reference to the Fiber Factor (and kudos to Skacel for their response) and Things to Never Say to a Knitter. Value yourselves, your time, your skills and your passions folks!

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

Episode 6: Annihilating Your Comfort Zone Jan 29, 2015

Show notes

Shout outs:Thanks to MindfulKnits, Whitehart, Scienceknitster, and Jen at the Purple Purl in Toronto for their support and feedback. Also huge thanks to Rockabella Crafts for leaving a review for us on iTunes!

What's going on:1 February - the deadline to submit your entry to A Playful Day's Design-along contest! See all the details on her website, and the entry thread is on her Ravelry group.

7 February - the Grand Opening of YAK (aka Yarn and Knitting) in Brighton.

20-22 February - Unravel, at Farnham Maltings. We will be there on Sunday, with our mothers in tow. Come say hi!

14-15 March - Edinburgh Yarn Festival in (strangely enough) Edinburgh. Allison will be around, and will be at the Podcast Lounge so go harass her and bring her pink yarn!

26 March - Felicity Ford, fibre and sound artist, of the Knitsonik podcast and the Knitsonik Stranded Colourwork Sourcebook (which we reviewed in Episode 1, and you should get it immediately if you don't have it already) will be doing a workshop in Central London, hosted by yours truly. Stay tuned for more details and tickets coming soon.

25-26 April - Wonderwool Wales, in Builth Wells, which we may be attending as another epic Girls' Weekend Away.

In the works:Allison is still working on her Munchkin Blanket by Amy Swenson, as well as getting geared up for a quilt for the same baby. She started the Garter Squish blanket by Stephen West, but had to rip it out due to an attack of gauge goggles. She's also just started a sample knit for the YitC Crafty Guide - yippee!

Alli is also participating in the Dryathlon, a fundraiser for Cancer Research UK. If you'd like to make a pledge you can find her team page here.

Rachel is working on a super secret circular sample knit for the YitC Crafty Guide with some gorgeous yarn from Eden Cottage Yarns. She finished the knitting of the Heinous Ecuadoran Yarn of Doom, but now needs to dig out some yarn from her stash for the ribbing and button bands before it's all done and dusted. Her Insight Pullover is up to the armholes, and she's faffing around with stranded colourwork knit flat (booo!!!!!). Allison suggested trying out Norwegian Purling. Beth Brown Reinsel has a great video of the Norwegian Purl on You Tube.

In spinning news, Rachel (ever the scientist) has been doing some experimenting with her equipment to determine which wheel is faster. The non-statistically significant sample size of one suggests that the Hansen miniSpinner, although it feels slower, is actually faster for singles then a single treadle Lendrum. Last, but not least, she has finally finished spinning up Alli's Christmas present from 2013: a sweater-lot of handspun sport weight yarn in three different shades of orange for the Gradient Pullover by Amy Miller. Watch this space for future swatching evidence!

Annihilating your Comfort Zone:We talk about goals for the year, and the idea of setting CLEAR goals, rather then SMART goals. We talk about colour comfort zones, mystery knitalongs, and ways to push ourselves creatively, professionally, personally. There is a somewhat tricky analogy made by Rachel in regards to risk taking and skiing, and we admit that we've got some CLEAR goals coming up for Yarn in the City this year.

Conclusions:Where you can find us: Ravelry, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. Come join us for some stash-down knitting of GLYC-acquired yarns.

Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade):Loneliness & Alcohol - Jars of ClayEverything You've Done Wrong - SloanLet Go - Toby Lightman

Episode 5: New Year, New Goals Extravaganza Jan 16, 2015

Show notes

Happy New Year and welcome to 2015!

News

Sadly, the lovely Mrs. Moon in St. Margarets has closed their brick and mortar doors, but are still around online, and with many exciting plans for the future. While we are disappointed that they will not be able to be a stop on next September's Great London Yarn Crawl, you'll still have a chance to see them. How is that possible you ask? Well, because the next GLYC will happen alongside the

YARN IN THE CITY POP UP MARKETPLACE

Mark your calendars now for 5 September 2015, and come join us at Chelsea Old Town Hall for a carefully curated selection of independent makers from around the UK. We can not begin to express how excited we are for this new addition to the Yarn Crawl, and we hope you will be able to join us. More details can be found at...

Events

18 January - Waltham Abbey Wool Show, in Waltham Abbey (ETA: Our apologies for getting this episode up late which means you're finding out about this show at very short notice).

20-22 February - Unravel, at Farnham Maltings in Farnham

22 Feb-8 March - Sock Master Class at Loop, Islington

14-15 March - Edinburgh Yarn Festival

15 March - Julie Arkell workshop at Loop, Islington (ETA: March workshop is now full, but there's another one on 28 June 2015).

28 March - Sew a Feather Quilt workshop at The Village Haberdashery, West Hampsted

25-26 April - Wonderwool Wales, in Builth Wells

Projects

Allison finished off the Careen Capelet by Louise Zass-Bangham of Inspiration Knits, but sadly not in time for Christmas Dinner! She is still working on the Skulls sweater for her brother, and has started the Munchkin Blanket by Amy Swenson for a friend's impending sproglet. Best of all, said blanket is being knit in stash yarn!

Rachel has finished a new shawl design in cozy garter stitch handspun, and is working up a second version in Spirit Trail Fiberworks Sunna (75% merino/15% cashmere/10% silk, 150% scrumptious!). If anyone is interested in test knitting, there's a thread in her Ravelry group here. She has also started a vest for her MIL from Ecuadoran wool of unknown provenance, and has almost finished spinning the Orange Merino-Silk that will not end (otherwise known as Allison's 2013 Christmas present).

Goals and plans for the new year

The BIG Goal: KNITTING FROM STASH!!!!

We both have what might be considered an ample amount of yarn on hand, so we're going to do our best to knit from stash.

Allison is going to knit from stash as much as possible. To help in this venture, she's participating in the Pre-Process Knitters Stashdown 2015, and the LSG Cold Sheep 2015.

Rachel is also Pre-Process Stashing Down/Cold Sheeping, but she has a number of goals (not resolutions!) for 2015, most of which seem to involve sweaters in one form or another:

Organize the stash.
Knit from said stash.
Use up some of the three already-spun handspun sweaterlots in said stash.
Spindle spin another sweaterlot (because she is certifiable).
Publish some of the sweater designs that have been marinating in her skull for too long.

Music Credits (all available on NoiseTrade)

Loneliness & Alcohol - Jars of ClayEverything You've Done Wrong - SloanI Will Rise - Bearhart

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