Curious Handmade with Helen Stewart

  I recently attended the Knitting Pipeline retreat hosted by Paula Emons-Fuessle, held at the Charlie Elliot Wildlife Centre – about 1½ hours drive from Atlanta in Georgia. In this episode you can hear a collection of interviews with some of the retreat attendees as well as a chat I had with Paula a few days after the retreat when we had returned home and had time to reflect on the event. You will also hear music by Dianne and Missy playing the ukelele. Show Sponsor Craftsy is a great resource for classes and articles on a range of crafts. I have personally benefited from watching several classes that I’ve mentioned on the show including Amy Herzog's Knit to Flatter, The Essential Guide to Finishing Handknits by Anne Hanson and most recently mentioned Know your Yarn by Clara Parkes. Paula and I are both Craftsy affiliates so if you purchase a class after first clicking on the Craftsy links or buttons on our sites, we receive a small commission for spreading the word. Paula also hosts a Craftsy-Along  on her Ravelry Knitting Pipeline board if you would like to chat about the classes you’re doing. Now, let me take you back to a beautiful state park in Georgia where a bunch of knitters went to hang out for a few days. Show Links You can find more information about Paula's Knitting Pipeline retreats on her website and Ravelry group. Vendors at the Retreat Market were: Maria Elena Bliss Jan B Smiley  Prairie Bag Works Copper Corgi Yarn Photography: Sue Wilkins, Sue Witkin, Pauline Wall, Helen Stewart  

This week I'm continuing the discussion of yarn, glorious yarn, talking about what I'm working on in What's in the WIP and announcing a new knit along. Show Sponsors   Meadow Yarn is an inviting online retailer selling yarn, needles and notions. It'...

This week I'm talking about the Knitting Pipeline Georgia retreat, latest projects including the Magic Cake Ruffle Shawl and some interesting yarn. Show Sponsors   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, Hazel Knits and many more.   This episode is sponsored by The Fibre Company and their newest yarn, Cumbria. Inspired by England's stunning northwest region with its deep blue lakes and sheep-grazed fells and valleys, Cumbria is a lustrous blend of brown wool from the rare breed masham sheep, fine South American wool and mohair from South Africa. The resulting light brown-grey shade is then over-dyed creating lovely deep saturated colours. Cumbria is a staple yarn, perfect for garments and accessories alike. Knitting Pipeline Georgia Retreat I'm just back from Paula's Knitting Pipeline Georgia retreat and I had a wonderful time. What's in the WIP? I finished the knitting of my Pebble Beach Shawl that I cast on at Unwind Brighton last year in Skein Australia yarn in Cashmere Fingering in the Sea Salt colour. I also created a magic cake of yarn using Paula's instructions and cast on for a Magic Cake Ruffle Shawl I have it in my gorgeous brand new Maria Elena Bliss project bag Yarn Glorious Yarn The Field Guide to Fleece Istex Léttlopi available at Meadow Yarn Hole & Sons Poll Dorset Ana's tips from Portugal (Malhadeira on Ravelry)  1. Rosários4 and the "Economia Verde" (Green Economy) show that Ana worked on is here in Portugese (just 3 mins - interesting even if you can't understand the Portugese :-)) 2. "Portuguese Yarn Club" Includes yarn by Paula from Dyed By Alfinete 3. O Oficio and Saber Fazer Manta yarn and Ana's swatch for the Meet my Yarn KAL Don't forget to post a swatch in the Meet My Yarn KAL! Its a very doable KAL and you could win an exclusive skein of The Fibre Company Cumbria yarn that hasn't even hit the shops yet!  

  Today I giving an introduction to the theme of the podcast this month which is yarn (glorious yarn glorious yarn)! Show Sponsors   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, Hazel Knits and many more.   This episode is sponsored by The Fibre Company and their newest yarn, Cumbria. Inspired by England's stunning northwest region with its deep blue lakes and sheep-grazed fells and valleys, Cumbria is a lustrous blend of brown wool from the rare breed masham sheep, fine South American wool and mohair from South Africa. The resulting light brown-grey shade is then over-dyed creating lovely deep saturated colours. Cumbria is a staple yarn, perfect for garments and accessories alike. What's in the WIP? Currently working on updating my Pebble Beach Shawl pattern to include two more sizes - medium and large. I'm creating samples in The Uncommon Thread Merino Lace and Heavenly Lace. I'm still working onn Reyka by Cirilia Rose from Magpies, Homebodies, and Nomads: A Modern Knitter’s Guide to Discovering and Exploring Style with my Lopi from Meadow Yarn. Yarn Glorious Yarn Fibre is where it all starts  Some good resources People – Clara Parkes of Knitters Review and Deborah Robson Craftsy - Clara Parkes has 2 craftsy classes: Know Your Yarn: Choose the Perfect Yarn Every Time, with Clara Parkes Stashbusting: Make the Most of the Yarns You Have (with Clara Parkes) Books - The Knitter's Book of Wool: The Ultimate Guide to Understanding, Using, and Loving this Most Fabulous Fiber The Knitter's Book of Yarn: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Using, and Enjoying Yarn The Field Guide to Fleece: 100 Sheep Breeds & How to Use Their Fibers Clara’s Craftsy Class – Know Your Yarn: Choose the Perfect Yarn Every Time, with Clara Parkes  The class includes 7 lessons – each about 20mins – about 2.5 hours in total. It's very interesting and easy to listen to, I found it funny and encouraging. Topics include: Fibre terms - Different qualities – microns, crimp, staple length; Different types of fibres – protein plant bugs Twist – creating yarn - How it is prepared and spun – worsted vs woolen, plys Swatching It’s a really comprehensive introduction and overview to fibre and I would really recommend it Podcasts Knit FM – Hanna Fetig and Pam Allen – Ep 14 Breed Specific Wool Pomcast Lydia and Sophie – Ep 11 – Clara Parkes Interview at EYF Fibre Trek TV – Sarah (Swenstea on Ravelry) – Episode 29 “soulful stash”, lots of discussion and information about finding interesting fibre and farm yarn on her Ravelry group. Woolful – Ashley - farmers and yarn producers Spinning Knitgirrrls Fluffy Fibres Knitmore Girls  How to find out more about interesting fibre: Read and listent to some of the resources above Google specific breeds Go to fibre events – and talk to people Keep up a general awareness – instagram/social media Swatching Meet My Yarn KAL Challenge you to introduce your favourite yarn to the group by creating a swatch in April It could be for a specific project or it could be for the joy of taking some yarn for a walk! Tell us about the yarn, the qualities – if it is a specific breed, any special story about the yarn and what you discover about it from your swatching. My hope is that it will encourage reluctant swatchers to give it a try and for enthusiastic swatchers to show off their work! I’m really excited to share that the KAL will be sponsored by The Fibre Company and their new Cumbria yarn. You might have heard my interview with Daphne Marinopolous – the founder of the Fibre Company on podcast episode 66.

Today I have some announcements and am sharing my thoughts on an inspiring workshop I attended this week by Fiona Humberstone called Colour for Creatives. It fits in so perfectly with our focus on colour on the podcast this month.  Show Sponsor Tod...

This week I talk about my visit to Edinburgh Yarn Festival 2015, What's in the WIP?, a review of The Bletchley Collection and announce details of the Muse Connection Volume 2. Show Sponsor Today’s show is sponsored by Meadow Yarn. There is a beautiful rainbow of colour to browse through in the yarn section at Meadow Yarn and I was talking to Anj about choosing colours for projects and she said: “Whether it’s opening boxes full of yarn in myriad jewel tones or quietly contemplating the perfect shade of grey, we never tire of thinking about colour and we spend lots of time having our heart strings tugged by the latest ‘perfect red’ or ‘to-die-for green’…. Matching the perfect shade of yarn with the perfect pattern is our ultimate goal and whether it’s a cool aqua whispering ‘cardigan’ to us, or a pop of vivid ruby red begging to be transformed into a warm winter cowl we’re happiest when we’re indulging our love of colour…” You can find a carefully curated selection of yarn  meadowyarn.co.uk the Muse Connection Volume 2: Musing on Beginnings The Muse Connection is a series of gatherings where we celebrate creativity, share our inspiration and come together as crafters. A Playful Day and Curious Handmade have collaborated in order to create sessions of creative fun, pulling together our two loves- maintaining a playfulness in the everyday and exploring our curiosity about new and creative things to make. For a few indulgent hours, enjoy inspirational company, at specially chosen venues for some knitting, a little chatter and share some musings on your favourite creative topics. The next gathering will be on Sunday 21 June at The Parcel Yard, Kings Cross London. Tickets will go on sale tomorrow! Look out for more details on the blog here. Also did you see that Kate is giving away a goodie bag from the Muse Connection Volume 1 over at A Playful Day? Edinburgh Yarn Festival 2015 Highlights from my brief visit to the festival include (in no particular order) As usual I didn’t get to see as many people as I would have liked but did have chat’s with some wonderful fibre people Laura at Laura’s Loom Julie at Tilly Flop Black Bat (rare British breed wool) Joanne Scrace and Kat Goldin at the Crochet Project Daphne at The Fibre Company Victoria at Eden Cottage Yarn Lydia and Amy at Pom Pom Quarterly Ysolda and Stephen West I also had a wonderful chat with Yarn Whisperer Clara Parkes who travelled all the way from Maine to join in the fun! The Bletchley Collection by Joanne Scrace  Electronic copies available on Ravelry Printed copies available at Eden Cottage Yarn Knit and crochet designs by Joanne Scrace (Not So Granny) I meant to mention on the podcast that this book has been beautifully laid out by Clare Devine and the presentation is really clear and clean.

Today I have a special guest, Daphne Marinopoulos, founder of the Fibre Company on the show. The Fibre Company is an artisan yarn company and has many beautiful lines of hand dyed yarn. The Fibre Company was the sponsor of the the Muse Connection Volume 1 and we all received a gorgeous skien of the Terra yarn that you’ll hear Daphne talk about in this episode. The episode was recorded last week just before we held the first Muse event so you’ll hear us referring to it as if it is happening in the future. In this episode Daphne talks about starting the Fibre Company and her recent move back to Britian and the Lake District. I was fascinated by her description of formulating a new line of yarn and choosing and naming the colours for it. We also have a bit of a deep chat about what crafting and making things with our hands means for both of us! Events Muse Connection Volume 1 Edinburgh Yarn Festival Show Sponsor Today’s show is sponsored by Meadow Yarn. There is a beautiful rainbow of colour to browse through in the yarn section at Meadow Yarn and I was talking to Anj about choosing colours for projects and she said: “Whether it’s opening boxes full of yarn in myriad jewel tones or quietly contemplating the perfect shade of grey, we never tire of thinking about colour and we spend lots of time having our heart strings tugged by the latest ‘perfect red’ or ‘to-die-for green’…. Matching the perfect shade of yarn with the perfect pattern is our ultimate goal and whether it’s a cool aqua whispering ‘cardigan’ to us, or a pop of vivid ruby red begging to be transformed into a warm winter cowl we’re happiest when we’re indulging our love of colour…” You can find a carefully curated selection of yarn  meadowyarn.co.uk

This week I'm talking about finishing my Custom Fit sweater by Amy Herzog and an introduction to my love of colour for the March podcast theme. Show Sponsor Today’s show is sponsored by Meadow Yarn. There is a beautiful rainbow of colour to browse through in the yarn section at Meadow Yarn and I was talking to Anj about choosing colours for projects and she said: “Whether it’s opening boxes full of yarn in myriad jewel tones or quietly contemplating the perfect shade of grey, we never tire of thinking about colour and we spend lots of time having our heart strings tugged by the latest ‘perfect red’ or ‘to-die-for green’…. Matching the perfect shade of yarn with the perfect pattern is our ultimate goal and whether it’s a cool aqua whispering ‘cardigan’ to us, or a pop of vivid ruby red begging to be transformed into a warm winter cowl we’re happiest when we’re indulging our love of colour…” You can find a carefully curated selection of yarn  meadowyarn.co.uk What's in the WIP? I finished my Custom Fit V Neck pullover! Yay! To help with the finishing I watched parts of two Craftsy Classes: The Essential Guide to Finishing Handknits with Anne Hanson Seaming Handknits with Chris Bylsma Both classes were great and as the titles suggest - the Anne Hanson class included more general finishing tips while Chris Bylsma was more detailed on seaming. Next up I'm planning to knit Reyka by Cirilia Rose from Magpies, Homebodies, and Nomads: A Modern Knitter’s Guide to Discovering and Exploring Style I have my Lopi from Meadow Yarn all lined up ready to go. Colour in March I mention some books for colour inspiration: Color: A Natural History of the Palette Bright Bazaar: Embracing Color for Make-You-Smile Style Colour Deconstructed Farrow & Ball Living With Colour Magpies, Homebodies, and Nomads: A Modern Knitter’s Guide to Discovering and Exploring Style

  Today I have a special guest on the show – she is someone I have mentioned many times recently and is the perfect guest for this month’s theme. She openly admits to having a sweater problem – of course its Amy Herzog Show Sponsor   In the spirit of the theme of sweater month I ask Anj, the owner of Meadow yarn about her sweater knitting. Anj replied saying: "Just about our favourite thing to knit is a sweater… The options are infinite and the result always hugely satisfying, whether it’s a fine fair isle or a chunky quick-knit it’s always a pleasure to see a finished sweater roll off the needles. At the moment with temperatures sub-zero we’re thinking about Icelandic Lopi yarn… used to create traditional Icelandic ‘Yoked’ sweaters, known as Lopapeysas, they remain hugely popular with knitters around the world and contemplating the endless shade combinations - from the traditional ‘naturals' to the vivid, jewel- bright colours - is just about the best fun we have on a chilly day at Meadow Yarn!" You can purchase Icelandic Lopi yarn and other gorgeous products at meadowyarn.co.uk I ordered some gorgeous Lopi from Meadow Yarn this week to make the Reyka Pullover from Magpies, Homebodies and Nomads. Amy Herzog and Sweater Knitting I'm excited to share my conversation with Amy Herzog who is the creator of Custom Fit, the author of two books – Knit to Flatter and a new one about to be released, as well as teaching workshops to help knitters make sweaters they will love to wear including at Squam – which is where I did Amy’s sweater fit class last year. Amy teaching at Squam last year and demonstrating fit of different sweater samples. It was great to get to try on lots of samples in the class and see what suited us. Amy really does love to swatch! A pile of swatches she brought to the Squam class to demonstrate knitted fabric and fibres. You can find Amy Herzog and the things we talked about in the episode here: Amy Herzog Blog Custom Fit - Custom Sweater Generator Knit to Flatter: The Only Instructions You'll Ever Need to Knit Sweaters that make You Look Good and Feel Great! Craftsy Class - Knit to Flatter (my affiliate link) Amy's Squam Body and Soul Class

Today I’m talking about what I’ve been knitting and event updates. Show Sponsor   In the spirit of the theme of sweater month I ask Anj, the owner of Meadow yarn about her sweater knitting. Anj replied saying: "Just about our favourite thing to knit is a sweater… The options are infinite and the result always hugely satisfying, whether it’s a fine fair isle or a chunky quick-knit it’s always a pleasure to see a finished sweater roll off the needles. At the moment with temperatures sub-zero we’re thinking about Icelandic Lopi yarn… used to create traditional Icelandic ‘Yoked’ sweaters, known as Lopapeysas, they remain hugely popular with knitters around the world and contemplating the endless shade combinations - from the traditional ‘naturals' to the vivid, jewel- bright colours - is just about the best fun we have on a chilly day at Meadow Yarn!" You can purchase Icelandic Lopi yarn and other gorgeous products at meadowyarn.co.uk What's in the WIP? Making good progress on my Custom Fit V Neck Pullover by Amy Herzog. I'm finding that the knitting is going quite fast after the initial time spent preparing and planning. I created this mega blog post of 57 Useful Sweater Knitting Resources for you. I discovered a new website  - Creativebug - providing online classes via this interview of the founder Jeanne Lewis on the Squam blog (This is my affiliate link) Here are links to the new eGuides from Craftsy - free for a very limited time (Affiliate links) This guide for knitting sweaters has a good overview of things to think about in the planning stages as well as a good section about different sweater constructions. I'm really intrigued by this wood turning eGuide too. I remember loving to do this with my Dad when I was young.   Events Unravel – this weekend 20-22 February at Farnam Maltings I'm not able to attend but there will be many wonderful vendors there including our sponsor for Volume 1 of the Muse Connection – the Fibre Company – go say hi. the Muse Connection –  8 March Kate, of A Playful Day and I are busy preparing for this event. All tickets sold but we are already planning Volume 2 for June so keep an eye out for that I'm working on my talk about colour for the event. Colour will be the theme of the podcast next month Edinburgh Yarn Festival - 14-15 March I’ll be attending for the Saturday only and am really looking forward to it. Knitting Pipeline Retreat - April 12-15 in Atlanta Georgia   Are you on Instagram yet? Join in the fun and the amazing yarny knitting community there! Play the instagram game and tag me with a pic of where you’re watching the podcast.  

Its February and that means that we’re talking about knitting sweaters and garments on the show this month. Show Sponsor   In the spirit of the theme of sweater month I ask Anj, the owner of Meadow yarn about her sweater knitting. Anj replied saying: "Just about our favourite thing to knit is a sweater… The options are infinite and the result always hugely satisfying, whether it’s a fine fair isle or a chunky quick-knit it’s always a pleasure to see a finished sweater roll off the needles. At the moment with temperatures sub-zero we’re thinking about Icelandic Lopi yarn… used to create traditional Icelandic ‘Yoked’ sweaters, known as Lopapeysas, they remain hugely popular with knitters around the world and contemplating the endless shade combinations - from the traditional ‘naturals' to the vivid, jewel- bright colours - is just about the best fun we have on a chilly day at Meadow Yarn!" You can purchase Icelandic Lopi yarn and other gorgeous products at meadowyarn.co.uk What's in the WIP? I'm designing again and enjoying using this stitch dictionary: Up, Down, All-Around Stitch Dictionary: More than 150 stitch patterns to knit top down, bottom up, back and forth, and in the round I'm also working on my Custom Fit V Neck Pullover by Amy Herzog. Show Sponsor

Today I’m chatting to a special guest on the show, Joji Locatelli about sweater design and her latest collaboration with Veera Välimäki – a collection called Interpretations 2. I will also be sharing an announcement about a new event in London, the Muse Connection. Its February and that means that we’re talking about knitting sweaters and garments on the show this month. This episode is sponsored by Meadow Yarn. In the spirit of the theme of sweater month I ask Anj, the owner of Meadow yarn about her sweater knitting. Anj replied saying: "Just about our favourite thing to knit is a sweater… The options are infinite and the result always hugely satisfying, whether it’s a fine fair isle or a chunky quick-knit it’s always a pleasure to see a finished sweater roll off the needles. At the moment with temperatures sub-zero we’re thinking about Icelandic Lopi yarn… used to create traditional Icelandic ‘Yoked’ sweaters, known as Lopapeysas, they remain hugely popular with knitters around the world and contemplating the endless shade combinations - from the traditional ‘naturals' to the vivid, jewel- bright colours - is just about the best fun we have on a chilly day at Meadow Yarn!" You can purchase Icelandic Lopi yarn and other gorgeous products at meadowyarn.co.uk  Interview: with Joji Locatelli And now to kick off the Sweater and Garment theme for the podcast this month I have a very special guest on the show. Joji Locatelli is a knitwear designer and more recently a knitting teacher. She has been delighting us with her garment and accessory patterns for several years now and has build up an incredibly varied library of designs for us to knit. Joji is based in Buenos Aries Argentina and regularly travels to yarn events. I met her very briefly at Unwind Brighton last year and was absolutely thrilled to have a longer chat with her about her designs and Interpretations 2 - her recent collaboration with Veera Välimäki. She is charming, warm, very smart and dare I say talented. She is also a super humble, generous person. We also have a giveaway for you. Please leave a comment on this post by next Wednesday 11 February and tell us what YOUR favourite item from Interpretations 2 is and we will be giving away an electronic copy to a comment selected at random.  

Today I have a special guest on the show, Felicia Semple, founder of The Craft Sessions. I met Felicia a couple of years ago at Squam and since then have been following her blog with great interest and wishing that I could make an excuse to be back in Australia in September to attend her wonderful Craft Sessions which is a weekend of craft workshops. Felicia is a very thoughtful and eloquent writer and her recent blog posts on her project Stash Less have given me lots of ideas for simplify and declutter month so I was thrilled she could join us to have a chat about all of that. Felicia mentions an Ira Glass quote in the interview about practising in the gap. Here is a beautiful video of the whole quote made by photographer and visual storyteller Daniel Sax. The Vivienne Westwood quote I mentioned is from her autobiography Vivienne Westwood. "My main point, though, is quality rather than quantity. What I’m always trying to say is: buy less, choose well, make it last." That interview wraps up simplify and declutter month on the podcast. Thank you so much to everyone for the thoughtful, inspiring comments and comraderie here on the blog and on the Curious Handmade Ravelry group. Next Week on the Podcast - Joji Locatelli  Next month the theme will be Sweaters and Garments. Unusually for the podcast, there will be another guest on the show next week. I was very excited to catch Joji Locatelli at her home in Buenos Aries, Argentina for a wonderful chat about knitting, designing and her new collaboration and collection with Veera Välimäki called Interpretations 2. Interpretations 2 is a collection of 12 pieces – 6 by each designer and it is one of the most beautifully designed and produced books and collections I have seen. So have a look at the collection and look out for that episode next week. Craftsy Winter Wonder Sale (Affiliate Link):

  Today I’m talking about what’s in the WIP, and sharing with you a conversation I had this week with Paula Emons-Fuessle of Knitting Pipeline, and and update on some events. What's in the WIP? A little bit of knitting, and a lot of tidying and stalking! Working on a big project this weekend to paint and reorganise my kids bedrooms. Patterns I'm stalking to make use of my newly refreshed stash: Ashburn by Melanie Berg Leftie by Martina Behm Dahlia Cardigan by Heather Zoppetti 54 Rue du Chateau by Mary-Heather Browne, Amy Christoffers, Olga Buraya-Kefelian, Leila Raabe, Michele Wang, Bristol Ivy The Simple Things I talk with Paula of Knitting Pipeline about decluttering and the book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo. We also talk about the Knitting Pipeline retreat in Georgia USA on 12-15 April. Thank you to BreadandButter for posting a link to this interesting New York Times article about Marie Kondo's book. Events A Playful Day Design Along Competition Edinburgh Yarn Festival  

Today I’m talking about what I’ve been knitting and an update on the decluttering project for January. This week I’m talking about tackling the stash and craft stuff. I've been very much enjoying watching and listening to some podcasts while I've been decluttering. I mention: Yarnderwoman Little Bobbins Truly Myrtle Announcement If you are interested in designing - check out A Playful Day Design Along What's in the WIP? Making good progress on my Amy Herzog Custom Fit pullover. Twisted cast on. Fixed. Amy Herzog's Knit to Flatter Craftsy course (on sale at the moment!). Custom Fit - "CustomFit makes custom patterns for hand-knit sweaters. It takes your choices, your body, and your hand-knit fabric and produces a pattern perfectly suited to you." The Simple Things My word for the year is "Simplify" and simplify and declutter is the theme for the podcast in January. Today I talk about the KonMari method from Marie Kondo's book below. I apply this method to the stash with surprising results. Some more decluttering resources: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing