The Shinybees Knitting and Yarn Podcast Jo Milmine

Knitting is out and cross stitch is in this week, as the temperature in the UK makes it a bit less fun to be playing with yarn. Nobody likes to knit with sausage fingers, after all. After discovering 8BitNorth Cross Stitch thanks to an uncharacteristically helpful suggested post on Facebook, I've tripled somersaulted into a cross stitch obsession. Having never had across stitch 'stash' before, I'm now edging ever perilously closer to having one. Guess it took some indie/Brtipop and pop culture themed cross stitch patterns to make a stitcher out of me! Full Shownotes and links at www.shinybees.com/178 Music this episode is with kind permission of Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink', available from iTunes.

Hybrid Yarn festivals continue in this episode where Jo is joined by Aimee of KnitSpinCake podcast to review her experience of attending Unravel's hybrid yarn show. Aimee took part in the social aspects, saw some of the vendor showcases and, after attending one workshop with Bristol Ivy, promptly booked onto another with her the next day. Aimee covered the organisation of the show and we discussed some of the technical aspects of how it was run, from a visitor's point of view. She shared her views on the workshop offerings as well as the vendor spotlights. You can find Aimee @knitspincake on Instagram and the podcast at http://knitspincake.blogspot.com Full shownotes are at www.shinybees.com/177 Music for this episode is with kind permission of Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need A Drink' available from iTunes.

This week we're exploring the evolution of yarn festivals through the past year or so. Many of the festivals were forced to cancel their in person offer and have looked to alternative methods of putting on their event. After discussing the idea of online events this week, Unravel Festival's hybrid approach piqued my interest. Having not been a fan of the endless parade of vendors on Instagram live as an alternative to the traditional yarn show, I was interested to see how they are looking to combine an in person element with an online offer. This will be both on the vendor offer, as well as workshops being offered online and in person and a series of talks on offer. Whilst I don't think Instagram live yarn shows offer a great user experience, a show hosted on a specific platform focused on offering a show-like feel could add a lot of value to the industry. You can find all the details for Unravel at https://farnhammaltings.com/events/unravel-2021 Full shownotes - www.shinybees.com/176 Music for this episode is 'I Need a Drink' used with kind permission of Adam and the Walter Boys, and is available from iTunes.

Knitting, gin, books and a lucky scarf. This week's show is dedicated to Liz Marley aka @greensideknits, dear friend and listener of the podcast. An epic knitter and all round awesome, kind and witty person who will be very sadly missed. There's a general update to get us started, with the tale of Liz's Lucky scarf and how it continues to bring me good luck years later. The podcast will be on the move again in summer to Surrey. Knitting-wise, I've been working on my #DeliciousLIttleJoysKAL project which still isn't finished. After a false start where I re-learned the lesson that one is never too old for a lifeline, I'm focusing on getting at least one row a day in on that project. I'm also working on a modular blanket project using West Yorkshire Spinners ColourLab DK to make a Nintendo themed blanket. Gin-wise, there's a recipe for a refreshing sloe gin fizz. On the book reviews, sticking to the Fantasy/Steampunk angle we have a review of the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carrier, Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw and The Stranger Times by CK McDonnell. Full shownotes and links at www.shinybees.com/175 Music is Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need A Drink' used with kind permission.

If you have a knitter in your life, you'll appreciate this roundup of knitting gift ideas, that isn't more yarn. In this episode, we'll cover some suggestions for six alternative ideas for gifts for knitters. 1) Adidas Samba Fox trainers 2) A wool blanket 3) Project bags 4) Sheepy themed toiletries 5) Stuff to protect the yarn 6) Sheepskin producers, slippers or moccasins. Shownotes and all links at www.shinybees.com/174 Music as always with kind permission of Adam and the Walter Boys - 'I Need a Drink', available from iTunes.

Following Ep 171 about great patterns for baby knits and Ep 172 about good yarns for kids and baby knits, this week is a roundup of all the community feedback on both these subjects. I’m also asking for some suggestion on behalf of Kat, a lovely listener, who is undertaking a fairly arduous physical challenge. She’d appreciate some suggestions on how she can record this with an accompanying knitting project. All of the chat for this feedback occurred within the Shinybees Podcast Community. You can join for free at shinybees.com/community Kat’s Project Hey Jo, do you remember the interview question 'What yarn would you take on a desert island'? I have a similar dilemma: I'm planning to embark on a long distance hiking journey from Belgium tot Santiago the Compostela (2400km). Not in one go, spread over different holidays. Not sure if I'll ever make it but I like the clear focus. I'll be starting hopefully in March with the first stretch from home to the south trough Belgium. That should fit in the current Corona regulations. Being a Knitter, I find myself contemplating the travel knitting almost as much as the actual walking :D I can't take a lot of yarn to keep weight down. I plan to take two projects: * A recreational lace shawl * A project that captures the memories of the journey day by day. Could be as simple as one garter ridge per km. Or I'm thinking some sort of modular knit with every small module representing a day. I don't really know what I want to track yet: weather (sun, rain, cold,...), feelings, distance, landscape. I don't think I can take colours to represent the different items because it's hard to predict how much yarn I would need per colour. Maybe texture is better. Anyone got ideas? Yarn, patterns, textures? Which items I could track? Yarns for Baby Knits Continued From the community, here are some further suggestions on great yarns for baby and kids knits. Helen Swann suggested Sheepjes Colour Crafter as a good alternative to Stylecraft DK. It’s 100% acrylic, like Stylecraft DK, but squooshier, with a fair amount of drape. At £1.99 per 100g and in 94 shades, there’s bound to be shades you will like. Wendy Dinnage has been knitting for a couple at work who are expecting a baby. They’re vegan and very environmentally aware. Wendy decided to use Nurturing Fibres Eco Bamboo as it has great eco credentials. Patterns for Baby Knits A perennial favourite, Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Baby Surprise Jacket from The Knitter’s Almanac was suggested by Helen Talbot and Linda Hartley. Knitted With Love by Jane Ellison is a favourite of Nichola Nolan. It’s currently out of print, but most of the patterns are available as single patterns from Purl and Jane. Nevis top-down cardigan from Marianna’s Lazy Daisy Days was suggested by Laura Stephens. This designer also does some lovely preemie sizes too. Alison Naylor’s favourite is the Overalls with Cable Detail and Dorothy Helen baby blanket by Oge Knitwear. Leafy Abby Blanket from Silk and Wool by Leyla Alieva was suggested by Maureen Bulger. She’s knitted it a number of times and it’s gone down really well. A couple of bonnet suggestions – from Anna Friberg, the Sunshine Bonnet by Katarina Lindhagen, and the Beloved Bonnet by Tin Can Knits was suggested by Laura Stephens. Jade Hawson, who is a new listener, did a fantastic Mosaic Blanket (Purl Soho) using a colour changing gradient yarn, which looks fab! Anna Jordan suggests the Gramps Cardigan by Tin Can Knits. Anna Grim likes to make Allsorts the Owls for new parents. Linda Hartley favours the Troublemaker Cardigan by Kathryn Folkerth. Shownotes for this episode are at www.shinybees.com/173 Credits Music for this episode is by kind permission of Adam and the Walter Boys with ‘I Need a Drink’.