Today I’m finally getting a chance to talk to the wonderful Sue Blacker from Blacker Yarns, who also runs The Natural Fibre Company, an artisan wool mill which specialises in spinning beautiful yarn from small batches of fleece. It’s a godsend to the local and rare-breeds wool community here in the British Isles, and to knitters everywhere. Sue knows just about everything there is to know about wool, and she took the time to share some of her knowledge with us on the podcast. She’s also the author of Pure Wool: A Knitter's Guide to Using Single-breed Yarns which is an indispensable reference with some lovely patterns. I was completely fascinated listening to Sue, and I think you will be too. This episode is one for the true wool nerds (which is possibly all of us, I think.) Show sponsors Today's show is sponsored by The Fibre Co, and their wonderful 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 Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to making the Curious Handmade Krimbo Party such a lovely event. Special thanks to the people and companies who contributed lovely door prizes: Meadow Yarn Blacker Yarns Julie from Suffolk Socks Mina, host of the excellent Knitting Expat Video Podcast (check out her Etsy shop, Mina Makes) This week’s Knitvent 2015 pattern is the Ice River Hat, a companion to the Ice River Snood that I released a few weeks ago. It’s super cuddly and super-fast: some of my American knitters even managed to knit one up around the Thanksgiving festivities yesterday! Super impressive. It was knit in The Fibre Company’s Tundra bulky yarn, which is a super-luxurious bulky yarn made from a blend of alpaca, merino, and silk. During the interview, Sue mentions The Campaign For Wool She also says that very soon, in partnership with Wovember and WoolSack a directory of small farm wool producers will be released, so keep your eyes peeled for that! You can read about the rare breeds like the Soay and Boreray Sheep on the Blacker Yarns Meet The Animals page Take a virtual tour of The Natural Fibre Company Mill Check out her great articles for Wovember and on Blacker Yarn’s website for more woolly wisdom from Sue. Single Breed Swatch Along That's everything for this episode! I hope you enjoyed hearing about all the thought, effort and skill that goes into producing the beautiful yarns made at The Natural Fibre Company. If you have any questions (or ideas for new colours for the West Country Tweed yarn!) don't hesitate to contact myself or Sue. Have a great week, and happy knitting!

Today's chat is mostly about upcoming events, my hope and plans for the last little bit of this year, and some pondering I've been doing about the future of the Curious Handmade Podcast. This is one I'd really love to have your opinion on, so be sure to visit the Ravelry group for a chat after you listen! 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 was watching the really great Bakery Bears Podcast, and they gave me a lot to think about! Bakery Bears Patreon Page Smart Passive Income Podcast Patreon Episode   I’m officially going to Squam in the spring! So excited. I really want to make my West Water Tunic before I get there. The Knitvent pattern this week was the Cabin Path Shawl! I love this big cuddly shawl, and I’m proud of the pretty knitted border: this is a new design feature for me and it’s so fun to knit. For the sample, I used the delicious Canopy Fingering from the Fibre Company in the colourways River Dolphin and Dragonfruit. Upcoming events Shiny Bees Bead-Along  Winter Wander from Knitvent is one of the included patterns, so you can double dip with this KAL! 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. Curious Handmade Krimbo Party Sunday November 22nd from 2:30pm until 6:00pm…I’m hosting a Curious Handmade Christmas Party in London! I’m really looking forward to sharing afternoon of knitting and festive surprises with everyone who can come along. We’ll enjoy a holiday glasses of wine and snacks together, too! There are going to be some great door prizes, too, including two skeins of magnificent Life in the Long Grass from Meadow Yarn. Blacker Yarn is sending Blue Leicester DK, and we’ll have other prizes as well, including a treat from Suffolk Socks and a little something from me as well! There still some tickets left (they cost £9.50), which you can buy here! Indie Designer Gift-Along The Indie Designer Gift Along has just started, and there’s a big discount on certain patterns by participating designers. Including me! You can participate with any of my paid designs, and there are about 20 of my patterns that are 25% off as a part of the GAL. There’s a coupon code GIFTALONG2015 in the big GAL sale! Discount: 25% Coupon Code: giftalong2015 Promotion starts Thursday November 19, 2015 at 8 pm (20:00) US-EST Coupon Code good through November 27, 2015 at 11:59 pm (23:59) US-EST That should just about do it for this week! I hope you enjoyed the episode and that you have some thoughts to share with me. Until next 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!