Curious Handmade with Helen Stewart

In today’s episode I wind down our month of gentle creativity by chatting about the things I’ve been making (and hope to make). I also explore the two wings of any creative endeavor: inspiration and motivation. What’s in the WIP Magic Cake Shawl: Finished! It needs to be blocked, but I have to work out […]

I absolutely love diving deep into the specific, nerdy details of yarn and yarn production, and judging by the response to Ch 103 where we interviewed Sue from Blacker Yarn, you feel the same! So I’m delighted to welcome Sonja Bargielowska, also from Blacker Yarn this week for another intensive discussion about British breed-specific wool and […]

In today’s episode I enthuse about the gorgeous array of sock yarn waiting to be whipped up into wonderful socks, and talk about Take Heart, a beautiful book of patterns that I’ve recently fallen in love with. Show Sponsor   Meadow Yarn is an inviting online retailer selling yarn, needles and notions. It’s a small, family […]

Welcome to February! After a fab but fast start to the year in January, I decided to choose a relaxing topic for this month. We’re exploring creativity again, in a laid back, gentle way. What do we mean when we talk about creativity and how can foster more of it in our daily lives? To […]

This week I answer a question about how and when you should wind yarn and the best ways to store you stash safely. I also talk about the WIPs I’m whipping through and a special way that knitters are getting together to change the world for the better. Show Sponsor   Meadow Yarn is an inviting […]

This week I chat about creating more space in my life, finding a sense of ease in all my tasks and in my knitting, and planning how to use some of my stash for specific projects during this week of Stash Appreciation Month! Show Sponsor   Meadow Yarn is an inviting online retailer selling yarn, needles […]

Show Sponsor   Meadow Yarn is an inviting online retailer selling yarn, needles and notions. It's a small, family business based in rural Suffolk in the UK. Meadow Yarn was born out of a passion for beautiful yarn and knitting accessories and aims to bring you a range of great products. Yarns stocked include madelinetosh, Eden Cottage Yarn, the Fibre Co and many more. Show Links Yarn alert: my huge yarn crush on Anzula Squishy started last year when I used it for the new samples of my Afternoon Tea Shawl but it's been pretty hard to get your hands on in the UK. I've gotten the news from Meadow Yarn that they now have it in stock, so go have a look for yourself! I love the colours so much I'm tempted to buy it all up, Stash Appreciation Month notwithstanding. Stash Appreciation Month thread on Ravelry Lina Knits Video Podcast on YouTube Lina's Blog The Finish It KAL will take place on her Ravelry Group Mina from The Knitting Expat Podcast and Marsha from Fairy Little Twitch and Stitch are in the middle of an engrossing Sock Knitting Competition   What's in The WIP I finished my Cave Point Shawl! I love it.The pattern is by Paula Emons-Fuessle from Knitting Pipeline and it was an absolute joy to knit. It's also available as part of the gorgeous Shawls 2015 collection from Quince and Co. I knit it in Quince and Co.Chickadee in the Audouin heathered colourway. Still working on my Times Square by Norah Gaughan I'm waiting until I have time to be monogamous with my Reyka Pullover by Cirilia Rose so I'll probably wait until I've finished Times Square. Monkey Socks Oleum Socks by Rachel Coopey Some vanilla socks, developing a personal "recipe" the way Mina has, using the Fish Lips Kiss heel. Mina's Two at a Time Socks - free pattern on Ravelry Magic Cake Shawl by Paula from the Georgia Retreat The Curious Handmade Wardrobe Challenge is back on, and I'm already adding goals to my list for this quarter. Libby from Truly Myrtle is hosting a Wash Dress Sew-Along from the 12 to the 24th of Feb. I want to join in! You can sign up to her Mini Mag in the sidebar of her blog if you'd like to get updates about that. Washi Dress Pattern from Made By Rae I also want to make the Squam Westwater Tunic before I head off to Squam! Events The Unravel Festival at Maltings is on Feb, 19th to 21st. I can't go, but I know it will be a wonderful time. The Curious Handmade Country House Retreat is happening on March 14 to 17th 2016 in Cumbria, UK. It's sold out, but if you'd like to be put on the waiting list, please get in touch! The Edinburgh Yarn Festival is March 18 to 19 The Knitting Pipeline Georgia Retreat is happening  April 3 to 6 in the USA, and I'll be going! Registration is opening up today! That's all I've got for this week! Happy knitting!

    We're in the second week of Stash Appreciation Month, and I've made great progress on reviewing, organising, and documenting my stash, which has been a really lovely process. On today's episode I talk about how that's going, what it's like to be plunging into the new year, and my Word of The Year for 2016. You can join in chatting about Stash Appreciation in the Ravelry thread here. Show Sponsor   Meadow Yarn is an inviting online retailer selling yarn, needles and notions. It's a small, family business based in rural Suffolk in the UK. Meadow Yarn was born out of a passion for beautiful yarn and knitting accessories and aims to bring you a range of great products. Yarns stocked include madelinetosh, Eden Cottage Yarn, the Fibre Co and many more. Show Links We spent our holidays together here: Lake Taupo in New Zealand I spent some more time thinking about my word for the year and finally arrived at Ease. These podcasts helped me as I weighed the possibilities: Elise Gets Crafty Podcast Wellpreneur Other podcasts that I've found helpful as I think about my goals for 2016: The Slow Home Podcast Knitting Expat Episode 42 What's in the WIP So close to finishing the first piece of my Times Square by Norah Gaughan I picked up my Cave Point Shawl by Paula Emons-Fuessle after not touching it for a while. And some exciting top secret new design projects! The Curious Handmade Wardrobe Challenge is back, and I'm participating again. Join us in the new thread for this quarter. Knitvent 2015 Winners! I'm delighted to announce our three winners! I drew three posts randomly, and all of the projects that one are actually gorgeous: Meadow Yarn Voucher: #9 The Ice River Snood by KayJay1809 Blacker Yarn Voucher: #96 Winter Wonder Shawl by LaurieBo Fringe Supply Co. Voucher: #31 Kindling Hat by Izziebeff   That's everything for this week! Happy knitting!

Show Sponsors Today's show is sponsored by The Fibre Co, and their very special Acadia yarn. Acadia is named after the oldest American national park east of the Mississippi river, a place of natural beauty where the sea and mountains meet, slopes are densely forested and wild blueberries abound. Acadia National Park is in the state of Maine, The Fibre Co.’s birthplace.  The yarn inspired by this beautiful region has a rustic look and a soft hand. A subtle tweed effect is created by the silk noil that is combined with a heathered base made from fine merino wool and brown baby alpaca. The yarn is a classic DK weight and makes a beautiful textured fabric that is perfect for next to the skin accessories as well as garments. You can find Acadia at our other sponsor's shop, Meadow Yarn:   Meadow Yarn is an inviting online retailer selling yarn, needles and notions. It's a small, family business based in rural Suffolk in the UK. Meadow Yarn was born out of a passion for beautiful yarn and knitting accessories and aims to bring you a range of great products. Yarns stocked include madelinetosh, Eden Cottage Yarn, the Fibre Co and many more. Show Links I give some tips to help you choose a word for the year. Susannah Conway - finding your word for the year email mini course What is your word for the year? January Podcast Theme is Stash Appreciation Month The rough structure for the month is: Week 1: Review Stash and organise - this may include editing and destashing Week 2: Document the stash - "manage what you measure" Week 3: Make some goals and maybe "rules" Week 4: Plan specific projects with stash yarn Are you keen to join in?

Show Sponsors Today's show is sponsored by The Fibre Co, and their very special Acadia yarn. Acadia is named after the oldest American national park east of the Mississippi river, a place of natural beauty where the sea and mountains meet, slopes are densely forested and wild blueberries abound. Acadia National Park is in the state of Maine, The Fibre Co.’s birthplace.  The yarn inspired by this beautiful region has a rustic look and a soft hand. A subtle tweed effect is created by the silk noil that is combined with a heathered base made from fine merino wool and brown baby alpaca. The yarn is a classic DK weight and makes a beautiful textured fabric that is perfect for next to the skin accessories as well as garments. You can find Acadia at our other sponsor's shop, Meadow Yarn:   Meadow Yarn is an inviting online retailer selling yarn, needles and notions. It's a small, family business based in rural Suffolk in the UK. Meadow Yarn was born out of a passion for beautiful yarn and knitting accessories and aims to bring you a range of great products. Yarns stocked include madelinetosh, Eden Cottage Yarn, the Fibre Co and many more. Show Links Knitvent Update: Window #5 opened this week, and behind it was the Kindling Hat! This is a unisex design that's really quick to knit and looks fabulous in rugged yarns for the chaps and luxurious yarn for the ladies. Sample 1: Westcountry Tweed in Natural Sample 2: Bluefaced Leicester DK in Natural  with an Alpaca Fur Pom Pom I’m adding a finished object thread to the Ravelry board, and I have some great prizes to announce for the Knitvent 2015 KAL, so don’t forget to share your FOs! What’s in the WIP: Times Square by Norah Gaughan I really really want to finish this one, because I’m in love with the yarn (Fibre company’s Knightsbridge) and really want to wear it. Reyka Pullover by Cirila Rose I’m up to the colourwork and I’d also love to wear it this winter. Cave Point Shawl by Paula from the Knitting Pipeline. So nearly done on this one and it will go with everything, so it’s another one I’m desperate to finish. Collection Review The Authentic Collection by Joji Locatelli I interviewed this brilliant Argentine designer a while back, and I’m such a big fan. The patterns are all available individually, but the full collection is amazing value. There’s a lovely preview video on her website. It’s great to see the patterns being worn and moving! This is a huge collection, and would love to knit just about any of these designs. Puntilla is probably first on my list She’s given us a copy of the ebook to give away this week, so if you’d like to be in with a chance to win, just leave a comment telling us which design is your favourite! I’ll draw a winner at random next week. Other Show Links: Being Boss Podcast Episode with Jay Prior Paula's charming first video podcast The Pom Pom Quarterly Christmas Party is on Dec 11th. I'll be attending (for my third year in a row! Time flies!) and I'm really looking forward to it. More holiday catch-ups with friends. I hope to see you there, if you're local! Advance tickets are sold out but there will be some available on the door. That's everything for this week! Happy knitting!  

Show Sponsors Today's show is sponsored by The Fibre Co, and their beloved Acadia yarn. Acadia is named after the oldest American national park east of the Mississippi river, a place of natural beauty where the sea and mountains meet, slopes are densely forested and wild blueberries abound. Acadia National Park is in the state of Maine, The Fibre Co.’s birthplace.  The yarn inspired by this beautiful region has a rustic look and a soft hand. A subtle tweed effect is created by the silk noil that is combined with a heathered base made from fine merino wool and brown baby alpaca. The yarn is a classic DK weight and makes a beautiful textured fabric that is perfect for next to the skin accessories as well as garments. You can find Acadia at our other sponsor's shop, Meadow Yarn:   Meadow Yarn is an inviting online retailer selling yarn, needles and notions. It's a small, family business based in rural Suffolk in the UK. Meadow Yarn was born out of a passion for beautiful yarn and knitting accessories and aims to bring you a range of great products. Yarns stocked include madelinetosh, Eden Cottage Yarn, the Fibre Co and many more. Show Links I recommend two wonderful video podcasts that I’m really enjoying (and binging on!) Melody of Mandarine’s and Molly of A Homespun House I went to see a wonderful exhibit: The Fabric of India at The Victoria and Albert Museum. There are two windows open in the Knitvent 2015 Calendar so far! The first pattern was the Winter Wander Shawl, and there are already a few completed Shawls! I’m so impressed. Several people have mentioned that this is their first beaded project, and I think it’s a great one to start with. The beading pattern is simple, and overall this shawl is a relatively “Quick Win”.   That brings me to a fun KAL you might want to join, if you haven’t cast on yet! Jo at Shiny Bees is about to begin a Bead-Along, and Winter Wander is one of the included patterns! You know I love a chance to double-dip on KALs! The other patterns are: Kunye by Clare Devine. Be With You by Boo Knits. and one crochet pattern, Lisa’s Shawl by Shireen Nadir. Cast on will take place on 16th November 2015 at 8:30pm live on Periscope with @Shinybees. The KAL/CAL will end on 10th Jan 2016. The Ice River Snood was behind Knitvent Window #2, released yesterday, and several of the super-speedy knitters in the Curious Handmade Ravelry Group have it cast on and halfway finished in just a few hours! Inspiring.   If you haven’t joined us for Knitvent 2015 yet, there’s still heaps of time. Four more windows to go, and whenever you purchase the collection you will automatically get the patterns that have already been released! You can buy the whole collection here. Hint: several of my wonderful fellow knitters, podcasters and bloggers have been spreading the word for me and have discount codes to share with you if you’d like to get a deal before the end of the month! I’d like to thank them very much for letting everyone know about the joy of Knitvent! Shiny Bees Knitting Pipeline Stash and Burn Yarn in The City Yarniacs A World of Imagination I just got my newest issue of Pom Pom Quarterly, which is always a great day in my book! Some patterns that caught my eye immediately: Cicely by Jemima Bicknell Deco City by Amy van de Laar Carlu by Kiyomi Burgen Hulanicki by Rachel Coopey Wilding by Cirila Rose Callas by Bristol Ivy Oops, that's almost all of them. I told you I love this magazine! I've been reading several books recently, including: The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work by Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert Upcoming events Curious Handmade Krimbo Party Sunday November 22nd from 2:30pm until 6:00pm...I'm hosting a Curious Handmade Christmas Party in London! It's going to be a very festive afternoon of knitting and holiday surprises,

With several big projects ending last week, Knitvent 2015 just starting, and the holidays looming I feel a little bit upended, not sure whether I'm coming or going. I do know I've been burning the candle at both ends a bit lately, so I could probably do with a bit of a slow down. But there are so many exciting things going on and coming up that it's not always easy to put on the brakes! In this week's episode I talk a bit about what's going on for me and my knitting right now, and also review some exciting, magical new yarn from the same family that created the Hole and Sons Yarn which was such a smash hit last year. Show Sponsors Today's show is sponsored by The Fibre Co, and their beloved Acadia yarn. Acadia is named after the oldest American national park east of the Mississippi river, a place of natural beauty where the sea and mountains meet, slopes are densely forested and wild blueberries abound. Acadia National Park is in the state of Maine, The Fibre Co.’s birthplace.  The yarn inspired by this beautiful region has a rustic look and a soft hand. A subtle tweed effect is created by the silk noil that is combined with a heathered base made from fine merino wool and brown baby alpaca. The yarn is a classic DK weight and makes a beautiful textured fabric that is perfect for next to the skin accessories as well as garments. You can find Acadia at our other sponsor's shop, Meadow Yarn:   Meadow Yarn is an inviting online retailer selling yarn, needles and notions. It's a small, family business based in rural Suffolk in the UK. Meadow Yarn was born out of a passion for beautiful yarn and knitting accessories and aims to bring you a range of great products. Yarns stocked include madelinetosh, Eden Cottage Yarn, the Fibre Co and many more. Show Links: I talk a bit about what I accomplished personally around the Curious Handmade Wardrobe Challenge I completed 2 out of 3 of my pieces: the Merchant and Mills Dress Shirt, and my own Summertide Shawl: Still working on the third: the Times Square Vest by Norah Gaughan and I'm really enjoying every single stitch of it, so I'm not sorry I didn't finish it on time. I am still in love with the yarn I'm using, which is the same as the sample: Knightsbridge by The Fibre Company in the Beaverton colourway Knitvent 2015 has just kicked off, and the first pattern is out: the Winter Wander Shawl. The design was inspired by two gorgeous Shibui Knits yarns that I fell in love with on my way to Squam. Silk Cloud and Staccato. I also mention Wovember again: it's really worth a look by anyone who loves wool fibre. There are all sorts of great articles and events going on for the month. I talk about the Knit British Podcast and the Breed Swatch Along Anyone interested in natural breed-specific wool will find this book useful: A Field Guide To Fleece: 100 Sheep Breeds and How To Use Their Fibres I'm a big fan of Hole and Sons Farm and their yarn, as you know.  I interviewed Benjamin Hole on the podcast a few months ago, and Hole and Sons Yarn inspired my Whispering Island Shawl. Well, there's some exciting news: the family has come out with some new yarn: Isle Yarn. Sue Hole, Ben's aunt, has created another small-batch yarn from her son Sam's Poll Dorset flock, and it's brilliant. She sent me some yarn to swatch and review, and I'm going to use this for my Breed Swatch Along entry. I've included a review here on the podcast, but Sue sent me some lovely photos and answered a few questions, so I think I'm going to give it its own post later this week. Upcoming events Curious Handmade Krimbo Party Sunday November 22nd from 2:30pm until 6:00pm...I'm hosting a Curious Handmade Christmas Party in London! It's going to be a very festive afternoon of knitting and holiday surprises, with a few holiday glasses of wine and snacks. I'll have tickets for sale very soon! That's everything for this week! Happy knitting until next time!  

Show Sponsors Today's show is sponsored by The Fibre Co, and their wonderfully soft and gorgeous Acadia yarn. If you want to see how wonderfully this knits up, take a look at the two tone sample of my pattern Whispering Island! Acadia is named after the oldest American national park east of the Mississippi river, a place of natural beauty where the sea and mountains meet, slopes are densely forested and wild blueberries abound. Acadia National Park is in the state of Maine, The Fibre Co.’s birthplace.  The yarn inspired by this beautiful region has a rustic look and a soft hand. A subtle tweed effect is created by the silk noil that is combined with a heathered base made from fine merino wool and brown baby alpaca. The yarn is a classic DK weight and makes a beautiful textured fabric that is perfect for next to the skin accessories as well as garments. You can get your hands on some Acadia of your own at our other sponsor's shop, Meadow Yarn:   Meadow Yarn is an inviting online retailer selling yarn, needles and notions. It's a small, family business based in rural Suffolk in the UK. Meadow Yarn was born out of a passion for beautiful yarn and knitting accessories and aims to bring you a range of great products. Yarns stocked include madelinetosh, Eden Cottage Yarn, the Fibre Co and many more. Introduction I talk about an article in the Independent - 5 practical ways you can help refugees trying to find safety in Europe Also the Childhood Bags fundraising effort. What's in the WIP? Hold on to summer with 8 weeks of knitting, camaraderie and mystery! Summertide MKAL Curious Handmade Wardrobe Challenge  Announcements September 5th is the Great London Yarn Crawl! There will be a special pop up marketplace, and there's going to be an Indie Designer Spotlight stand. Several up and coming designers will be rotating through, and I'm lucky enough to be among them. I'll be there from 4pm to 5pm at the Chelsea Old Town Hall. Stop by! It's going to be a really fun event. Thanks again for listening! Happy knitting ....until next week.  * * * * *  I am a Craftsy affiliate so if you would like to support Curious Handmade when you are buying supplies or a class, click through the Craftsy banner below: it means I'll get a small commission. Thank you so much.

We’ve got a second helping of Libby from Truly Myrtle this week. After her excellent guest post for the blog, she also sat down to chat with me in more detail about her own handmade wardrobe and the journey she’s been on for several years. She’s an absolute font of information. At one point in the interview Libby says that she feels as though she was “born to make things” and if you’ve visited her website, it’s very obvious that she was. I took so much away from this conversation, but the main inspiration for me has been moving towards thinking in terms of whole outfits. Libby really captures the glee of creativity and making, and I hope you have a lot of fun listening too. Show Sponsors Today's show is sponsored by The Fibre Co, and their wonderfully soft and gorgeous Acadia yarn. If you want to see how wonderfully this knits up, take a look at the two tone sample of my pattern Whispering Island! Acadia is named after the oldest American national park east of the Mississippi river, a place of natural beauty where the sea and mountains meet, slopes are densely forested and wild blueberries abound. Acadia National Park is in the state of Maine, The Fibre Co.’s birthplace.  The yarn inspired by this beautiful region has a rustic look and a soft hand. A subtle tweed effect is created by the silk noil that is combined with a heathered base made from fine merino wool and brown baby alpaca. The yarn is a classic DK weight and makes a beautiful textured fabric that is perfect for next to the skin accessories as well as garments. You can get your hands on some Acadia of your own at our other sponsor's shop, Meadow Yarn:   Meadow Yarn is an inviting online retailer selling yarn, needles and notions. It's a small, family business based in rural Suffolk in the UK. Meadow Yarn was born out of a passion for beautiful yarn and knitting accessories and aims to bring you a range of great products. Yarns stocked include madelinetosh, Eden Cottage Yarn, the Fibre Co and many more. What's in the WIP I'm still working on the really fun and relaxing Cavepoint Shawl by Paula from the Knitting Pipeline. The Cavepoint KAL is going until the end of the month so I might just make it under the wire. I'm also working on a new shawl design for a Mystery Knit Along which will be coming out soon...there will be more details over the next couple of weeks. The whole Curious Handmade Wardrobe challenge is a giant WIP for me. There's so much great conversation happening in the group thread, and everyone's getting super inspired, especially me! August is the planning month, and I'm still deep in the planning phase myself, though I have some thoughts coming together. Also, we have a hashtag now: #CHWChallenge so be sure that you use it on all your social media posts to that we can all follow along! Show Links We mentioned a few patterns: Merchant and Mills Dress Shirt Washi Dress Simplicity Pattern 1080 Libby’s recommendation for keeping inspiration organized: Pocket Threadle The pattern tutorial that Libby mentioned: Box bag tutorial Announcements There's just over a week left to vote for Curious Handmade in the finals of the UK Podcasting Awards! It only takes a few seconds to vote, and every vote counts! and I'd be really grateful if you'd take a moment to vote for us here: all you need to do is scroll down to my photo and click! September 5th is the Great London Yarn Crawl! There will be a special pop up marketplace, and there's going to be an Indie Designer Spotlight stand. Several up and coming designers will be rotating through, and I'm lucky enough to be among them. Stop by! It's a really fun event. Thursday 29th of October through Sunday the 1st of November there's an amazing retreat on: the Geeky Puffin Knitpalooza in Edinburgh. It's being run by the girls from the Geeky Girls Knit video podcast and knitrundig. There will be lots of interesting sessions being run by a wide variety of teachers,

So this week has been the big official launch of the Curious Handmade Wardrobe Challenge! If you haven’t gotten involved yet, don’t worry, there’s still lots of time. We’re all still in the dreaming stage! You can get all the details on the official post here on the blog, and make sure that you pop into the Curious Handmade Ravelry Group to get in on all the community conversations and support. Onto today’s podcast: it's the first one that ties into the Challenge, and although it was recorded months ago, it's so perfect to usher us into this project. I’m talking with maker, designer and teacher Cal Patch of Hodge Podge Farm. We were cabin mates at Squam this year, and I was so thrilled to sit down and record this interview with her right there in that magical environment. I’ve been squirreling the recording away until now and I'm bursting to share it with all of you: it’s a really special one. Show Sponsors Today's show is sponsored by The Fibre Co, and their magnificent Acadia yarn. Acadia is named after the oldest American national park east of the Mississippi river, a place of natural beauty where the sea and mountains meet, slopes are densely forested and wild blueberries abound. Acadia National Park is in the state of Maine, The Fibre Co.’s birthplace.  The yarn inspired by this beautiful region has a rustic look and a soft hand. A subtle tweed effect is created by the silk noil that is combined with a heathered base made from fine merino wool and brown baby alpaca. The yarn is a classic DK weight and makes a beautiful textured fabric that is perfect for next to the skin accessories as well as garments. You can get your hands on some Acadia of your own at our other sponsor's shop, Meadow Yarn:   Meadow Yarn is an inviting online retailer selling yarn, needles and notions. It's a small, family business based in rural Suffolk in the UK. Meadow Yarn was born out of a passion for beautiful yarn and knitting accessories and aims to bring you a range of great products. Yarns stocked include madelinetosh, Eden Cottage Yarn, the Fibre Co and many more. Show Links Cal mentions her Borealis Shawl design in Jill Draper Makes Stuff yarn We mention Cal’s amazing online class on CreativeBug. You can find them all right here if you'd like to browse. Some that are especially good for learning foundational sewing and pattern drafting skills are Market Tote Bag (this is Cal's recommended very first sewing project!) Patternmaking Simplified: A-Line Skirt Learn Pattern Drafting Cal’s always busy teaching and sharing her knowledge with other crafters. She generally has a bunch of workshops coming up all around the world. All the details and dates can be found on her teaching page. The next few in line are: in August: Make Your Own Dress Immersion Weekend at Drop Forge & Tool in Hudson, NY Print & Sew Folk Dress (with Maya Donenfeld) at Craftstitute in Ithaca, NY in September: Sew Your Own Leggings at Fiber College of Maine in November: Sewing and Crochet Classes at Lucky Star Art Camp in Texas   As if all that online and offline teaching wasn't enough work, Cal has somehow found time to bring out an absolutely wonderful book which really demystifies pattern making, a subject which intimidates a lot of sewists. It shouldn't! Especially if you have Cal's book by your side. Design it Yourself Clothes: Pattern Making Simplified You can find out more about everything she’s up to by visiting her at: hodge podge farm Cal’s Etsy shop Ravelry Announcements Just a reminder! I'm still pinching myself that Curious Handmade has made it to the finals of the UK Podcasting Awards!  Every vote counts and I'd be so grateful if you'd take a moment to vote for us here! Thank you so much! Please come along on September 5th for the Great London Yarn Crawl! I'm sharing a stand on a rotating basis with a bunch of wonderful designers as part of their pop up marketplace Indie Designer Spotlight.