Episode 16 - Common Thread

Hello my lovelies,

Welcome to The Crochet Circle Podcast and the show notes from Episode Sixteen - Common Thread.

 

In this episode, I cover: Old dog, new tricks; Tunisian CAL; Review of The Shawl Project Book Three; FOs; WIPs; Feeding the Habit; Big Up and What's Good?

 

This podcast is sponsored by my online crafting company, Provenance Craft Co. 

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1 - Old dog, new tricks

This month I was given a great tip by Claudia from the Crochet Luna Podcast.  She asked whether I had ever come across a standing dc (US terminology) and I hadn't.  So, I did what I always do and took to Google to see what it was all about and came across these YouTube videos by Tamara Kelly from Moggly.com:

Standing dc (tr in UK terminology)

Standing hdc (htr in UK terminology)

Standing sc (dc in UK terminology)

 

I haven't had lots of time to test this technique out fully but I love the results that I got on the coaster that I crocheted.  I did one using the standard chain method for starting the new round in the new colour and one using a standing tr (Uk terminology).  I think that the use of a standing stitch makes the join look much neater and helps to avoid the gap that often appears.  The stitch looks more like a tr and is also bulkier, which means that my eye isn't automatically drawn to an area that looks 'different'.  

 

 

Tamara's videos are very good and I suspect that once you have tried this technique, you won't go back to using a chain to start a new round off in a new colour.

 

What I want to investigate next is whether this technique can also be used when you are starting a new round in the same colour.  More on that next month... 

 

 

2 - Tunisian CAL update

This CAL started on the 3rd March and ran until the 16th of April.  Check out the CAL FOs thread on Ravelry (under The Crochet Circle Podcast Group) or on Instagram to see posts under #tccTunisianCAL.

The projects have been great and lots of people can now do Tunisian crochet. Well done everyone!  I have pulled together the video for YouTube to announce the winners and show off all of the FOs. 

 

Thanks to everyone that took part, it was great fun.

 

Our next A Long is going to be a CrAL called the Festival of Finishing. The idea is that through the months of June, July and August you work with some of your crafting WIPs.  I have three (crochet, cross stitch and knitting) that I want to work on and then I won't have any projects that are in hibernation anymore - oh the release!  I am trying to get to a place where I can scoot through projects and don't have my crafting resources tied up elsewhere being unloved.  

 

The graphic for the CrAL looks like this, and you will see it on Ravelry and Instagram.  

 

 

 

So why not look your WIPs out now and assess what you want to do with them?  In the next episode, I will cover some of the things that you can do with your WIPs, how to frog your projects, give you some stash buster patterns for those frogged WIPs and pass some advice on donating projects to charity shops.

 

3 - Review of The Shawl Project Book Three

 

Jo (jojotwinkletoes on Ravelry and Instagram) kindly agreed to review The Shawl Project Book Three for us. She has already made two of the five shawls and plans to make the other three too!  Rather than post all of the information here, I have created a new thread on Ravelry within The Crochet Circle Podcast group.

The Shawl Project Book Three can be bought directly from The Crochet Project website, or through Ravelry.  

 

This is Jo and her Fog Break shawl:

 

 

Here are the photos (thanks to Kat and Joanne for providing them) of each of the shawls from the book:

 

 

 

4 - Finished Objects (FOs)

Once again, I didn't think I had too much to show but I am clearly busier than I think with crafting!

 

 

 

My FOs are a new bag that I have been designing and thanks to everyone that helped me to choose the colour combination on Instagram.  I'm not sure when this bag pattern will be released because I think it will now be a series of bags rather than a single pattern.  

 

There is my version of the Ocaso shawl by Sol Rencoret.  I really loved doing this Tunisian crochet shawl and working with some different colour combinations that have pushed my boundaries.

 

I have made a knitted version of my Colum Cowl using Debbie Bliss Rialto DK and Hedgehog Fibres DK in colourway 'Dragonfly'.  The combination of these two yarns has created a very snuggly cowl.

 

I also managed to finish off another pair of socks using some of the yarn that I received from Racheal, my FibreShare partner.  I love the colours and how they have striped and pooled in the knitted sock.  I started a new pair last night to use the rest of the yarn and they will be donated to Winwick Mum's sock line at Yarndale later in the year.

 

I nearly forgot to add one of my favourite FOs from this month - my gorgeous new project bag based on the #herbembroiderysal that Chrissie from Chrissie Crafts has been running:

 

 

Even if you haven't tried embroidery before, I would recommend giving it a go.  Chrissie has brilliant tutorials on her YouTube channel and the design is lovely.

 

5 - Works in Progress (WIPs)

I only have one WIP and that will be finished very shortly, so I am adding a very near future WIP to the pile. My actual WIP is a second bag design that I am working on as part of the 'KIHICI Bag' series.  This is a very simple pattern that comes with a few variations so that you can truly make it to your own taste.  It looks like a bit of a canoe in this picture but it is a really lovely bag (I actually finished it late last night!) and is most likely going to be called 'Versa'.

 

The second photo shows my yarn choices for the Hotel of Bees shawl, albeit I am not actually going to do the shawl because I am not really a fan of large open lace sections and I do love a cowl...

 

So, having bought the pattern, I am going to use the blocks of stitches that I do like and I am going to recreate the Hotel of Bees as a large squishy cowl instead.  Not quite sure how it will turn out but I will be turning my attention to it this weekend.

 

6 - Feeding the Habit

Whilst in Amsterdam I visited the yarn shop which is run by Stephen West and Malia Mather, called Stephen & Penelope.  It is a really lovely shop as you can see from the photo below.  I took some nice video footage of it and will add that to my Amsterdam trip vlog which will be up on YouTube shortly. I bought some bespoke colourways from there and a few other things for designs.  If you are lucky enough to win a prize for the #tccTunisianCAL then you will be getting some buttons that I bought from there.

 

 

I also received a lovely parcel from Yael at Handmade by Yael which was full of gorgeous nuggets of Ullcentrum wool which is one of my absolute favourites (see my Linus on the Lines shawl project on Ravelry if you want to see how it knits up).  I have been wearing my lovely handmade necklace a lot and received LOTS of very nice comments on it.  I was a very happy recipient - thanks Yael! 

 

I received an unexpected parcel from Tania at TJ Frog with some beautiful Dorset Button stitch markers and a notions bag in her lovely fabric.  Tania is a woman after my own heart and likes to know the different steps of manufacturing in the items that she sells.  This parcel arrived right in the middle of my preparation for Wonderwool Wales when I could barely keep my eyes open.  Needless to say, it made me very happy indeed.

 

Ahem, there seems to be rather a lot of stuff below!  It is all for designs, I promise.  Now that Wonderwool Wales is over, I have had designs flying through my mind and the below are all accounted for.  You will see that I had to sneak in all that was left of the 'Nightshade' Devonia because that design is now finished (the Versa bag) and I only got the wool the week before!

 

 

1 - John Arbon Textiles Knit by Numbers DK is going to be a large gradient pashmina.  KBN now comes in a whopping 97 shades.

2 - Onion is a new to me yarn brand and I picked out their nettle range to work with (70% wool and 30% nettle fibre).  It is supposedly good for making socks with which I can believe because nettle fibre is extremely strong.  I really wish I had bought more to test this out with socks but it will have to be next year instead!  They have a range of interesting yarns at Onion and although there are no UK stockists, they are widely stocked elsewhere.

3 - Laura from Bellica Yarns was my vending neighbour at Wonderwool Wales.  She was an absolute joy to meet and her yarns are beautiful and VERY reasonably priced at only £12 per 100g.  Here is the link to Laura's Etsy shop - Bellica Yarns.  The one that I bought will become a cowl design for Jenny as a thank you for helping me out during that weekend.

4 - Undercover Otter is in the process of moving their selling platform, but the www will be the same.  You can buy the bespoke Stephen & Penelope colourways online, ignore what I said in the podcast and Undercover Otter will be opening their shop up soon.  These two beauties will be a shawl and although I wouldn't usually do a pastel shade, it really works with the dark teal (always one of my go-to colours).

5 - A tiny little nugget of Devonia 'Nightshade from John Arbon Textiles.  This is very special wool given that it is 100% grown and spun in Devon, England. The composition is 50% Exmoor Blueface / 30% Devon Bluefaced Leicester / 20% Devon Wensleydale and it is lovely to work with.  Sturdy and soft with a beautiful sheen from the Wensleydale.  They have just released a DK range too.

6 - My lovely Dorset Button pouch and stitch markers from Tania at TJ Frog.  Tania also has an audio podcast which is delightful!  

 

7 - Big Up

I have a couple of podcasts for you and some new yarn:

Crochet Luna Podcast with Claudia is a YouTube podcast all about crochet!  Claudia is lovely and her enthusiasm for crochet oozes through the screen!  Claudia is Crochet Luna on Instagram.

Fiber Friends Podcast with Adrienne, Louise and Caroline is a YouTube podcast about knitting, bags, yarn, ding, patterns - everything basically. They have a great friendship and make me laugh a lot.

Adrienne - dyes yarn as Old Oak Yarns and has an Etsy shop here.

Louise - is also on Instagram and is a knitting designer and teacher.

Caroline - is also on Instagram and makes bags for her shop on Etsy which is called Evertote.

Poly Jane Yarns has a new range out called the Inca Collection which she sells alongside her own hand-dyed and other well-known brands.  If you were a fan of Atresano yarns, then you will be pleased to hear about the Inca Collection:

 

 

8 - What's Good

The John Arbon Mill Open weekend is on on the 10th & 11th of June and I am hoping to get there!  It's free to attend, you just need to book in which slot you want to go to on the Saturday or Sunday.  The mill is at South Molton in Devon and is well worth a visit.

I am heading to Woolfest and I'm not sure which day yet.  If anyone fancies meeting up for a coffee, let me know and that will help to set my mind on which day I head there.  Woolfest is on the 23rd & 24th June up in Cockermouth in Cumbria.

 

Until June my lovelies.  Remember to get your WIPs out and see what you want to work on in June, July and August.

 

Fay x

 

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