Its the week for socks - this week I published my first ever sock design the Vintage Fairy Lights socks and soon followed up with a second design for Knitvent 2016, the Juniper Socks. Happy Thanksgiving to my US listeners! 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 Northbound Knitting, Eden Cottage Yarn, the Fibre Co and many more. Show Links: My most recent video podcast where you can get a glimpse of some of my recent projects Vintage Fairy Lights Socks Knitvent 2016 Juniper Socks Knitvent Update: This week’s pattern is the Juniper Socks. Here's the description: The Juniper Socks were designed for wearing while traipsing over a carpet of pine needles in the snowy forest or just toasting your toes in front of a crackling open fire. Made for yourself or for a lucky loved one, the cosy, unisex Juniper Socks knit up quickly, with a lovely textured rib stitch inspired by the beautifully rugged needles of a juniper bough, and a fun contrast colour toe and heel for a little traditional charm. If you’d like to add a little more colour, the ribbed cuff looks wonderful in a contrast, too! Knit from cushy DK yarn, these socks are a perfect way to stay warm when the cold winds blow. Imagine them tucked into your boots or just slipped on to cushion your feet from the chilly floor when you first wake up on a frosty morning. This pattern is written in the Curious Handmade Percentage Checklist style™. A chart for the textured pattern is included in this pattern. The sample was knit with Blacker Yarns Tamar DK Events: We'll be gathering for another Curious Handmade Krimbo Party here in London on Sunday the 11th of December at the Paternoster pub on the corner of Paternoster Square near St. Paul’s Cathedral. RSVP to helen@curioushandmade.com especially if you’re interested in being part of a possible Secret Santa swap! That's our show for this week! Thanks so much for listening, and until the next episode, happy knitting!

The festive season is beginning to feel real now, and on this episode I'm continuing my series of conversations about holiday traditions. This week I'm chatting to Anna Friberg, aka AlpakkaAnna about her favourite traditions for this time of year in her native Sweden. I also have some news to share about the holiday projects I have going on and our second Krimbo party! 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 Northbound Knitting, Eden Cottage Yarn, the Fibre Co and many more. Show Links: My most recent video podcast where you can get a glimpse of some of my recent projects Sew Sweet Violet video podcast Andre Sue Knits video podcast Round Rabbit video podcast Inside Number 23 video podcast Stitched in Sweden video podcast Ella Gordon Winter Knitting video Crofthoose Hat pattern A Shetlander’s Fair Isle Graph Book in Colour Knitting from the North The luxury sock kits for Dani's Christmas Caston will be going on sale on the 21st of November at 7pm UK time on the Little Bobbins shop Little Bobbins Instagram Hedgerow Yarns Anna's window candles Talking to Anna was so much fun! Here are some links to her social media and some of the wonderful traditions she mentioned. Sol Angelica’s Socks AlpakkaAnna’s Knitting Patterns AlpakkaAnna Instagram AlpakkaAnna Periscope Recipe for Lussekatter or Lussbule Safffron Buns Swedish mulled wine: glögg recipe Julmust holiday soda Sweden’s Donald Duck Tradition! A fun article about Swedish Christmas Traditions Julekuler Christmas Ball Pattern Knitvent Update: This week’s pattern is the beautiful Boreal Forest Cowl by Renée Callahan. Here's the description: The Boreal Forest Cowl was created by our first Knitvent guest designer, Renée Callahan of EastLondonKnit. Evoking the expanse of a boreal woodland filled with beautiful conifers, this snuggly cowl features gorgeous rows of geometric pine trees. Knit with three complementary colours, the design blends retro ski-slope charm with a modern twist. This is a wonderfully quick knit: the colour work is easy to follow and memorise, and the worsted yarn works up fast. It’s a great, unisex option for holiday gifting, or a smart accessory to bring a fresh touch of the forest to your own winter wardrobe. The sample was knit with Malabrigo Rios worsted Events: We'll be gathering for another Curious Handmade Krimbo Party here in London on Sunday the 11th of December at the Pater Noster pub on the corner of Pater Noster Square near St. Paul’s Cathedral. RSVP to helen@curioushandmade.com especially if you’re interested in being part of a possible Secret Santa swap! That's our show for this week! Thanks so much for listening, and until the next episode, happy knitting!

Today's podcast episode is a bit of a catchup: recapping the all fun and wool-buying mischief I got up to at Yarnporium, along with a short, lighthearted chat with the adorable Dani from the Little Bobbins podcast about her holiday traditions, especially the Christmas Eve Cast On. 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 Northbound Knitting, Eden Cottage Yarn, the Fibre Co and many more. Show Links: Sight is Life ebook. For updates and more information check Sight is Life group on Ravelry. Yarn in the City The Wool Kitchen Woollen Flower Daughter of a Shepherd La Bien Aimee Hedgehog Fibres Triskelion Yarn: Arthur DK Kettle Yarn Koel Magazine Making Magazine Little Bobbins Podcast Hedgerow Yarns Climb Every Mountain Pullover by Heidi Kirrmaier Midwinter Yarns Shawl Society Update: Here are the winners for the Aurorae Shawl Mini KAL Post # 71 by Cosmosis Knits won the Seven Sisters Arts Gradient Set Post # 28 Bono won the two skeins of Jones Street Sport from Copper Corgi The finished Sonder Shawls are starting to roll in too! Really beautiful, squishy, and cosy. Knitvent Update: The first window opened yesterday to reveal the Alpine Sunset Shawl! We're off and running now! Here's the description: Alpine Sunset is a picture postcard of a shawl, inspired by winter views in the mountains. This shawl is a cosy crescent shape, perfect for wrapping yourself up against the evening’s chill as you watch the sun sink out of sight behind the ridge. It features simple lace and chevrons that call to mind pine trees and peaks outlined across the glow of a winter sky. Alpine Sunset can be knit in two sizes: the medium sized two-skein shawl features graphic colour blocking, while the small one-colour shawl is ideal for using up a single skein of lovely 4 ply yarn. Optional beading on either size adds a dusting of sparkle to an already special shawl. For people who would like to use the Eden Cottage Yarn Rose Bed colour I used in the sample Victoria is taking pre-orders at the moment - HERE. And if you love the two colour Norah George version be sure to visit her Etsy shop HERE. The Ravelry Knitvent Chat thread is very active and full of excitement. I really think the community aspect of Knitvent is one of the best parts of the whole experience, so please join us there! That's everything for this episode! Have a great week and I'll talk to you again soon. Until then, happy knitting!  

Today's episode is such a full one! Events conspired to bring many lovely parcels of yarn through my door, so I'm sharing some of that and letting you know about a heap of fun and exciting events and releases coming up very soon! 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 Northbound Knitting, Eden Cottage Yarn, the Fibre Co and many more. Show Links: Little Skein in The Big Wool Wooly Wonka Fibers Knitvent 2016 is available for preorder now at a special earlybird price until November 10th! Knitvent Window 1. will open on Thursday November 10th 2016 The collection includes six beautiful accessory patterns, including two designs from guest designer Renee Callahan of East London Knit! Once you’ve purchased the collection, you’ll receive one pattern each week for six weeks, starting Thursday November 10th. The patterns will be delivered automatically to your Ravelry inbox, so opening your message is like peeking behind the window of an advent calendar to see what’s inside! Go ahead and create your first project page ready for when the pattern comes out! Level of difficulty - adventurous beginner to intermediate. Knitters are already chatting in the Knitvent 2016 thread here! Join us for Knitvent and spoil yourself with six weeks of magical holiday knitting surprises! Knitvent 2016 is all about the lush beauty of an Alpine forest. As I designed this year’s collection, I drew on all of the wonderful associations of a holiday hidden away in a peaceful mountain reach. The hush of snow settling on pine boughs, the blaze of a glowing sunset disappearing behind the peaks, and the luxurious warmth of basking by a crackling fire in your cosy ski lodge, all wrapped up and relaxed after an exhilarating day on the slopes. You can make a project page for Knitvent Window #1 now so that you’re all ready to go when the first pattern is revealed on the 10th of November! You can use this fun badge on your project page so that everyone knows you’re in for all the fun! Yellow Roses Shawl Hue Loco Yarn The Hue Loco Podcast Grocery Girls Podcast Hue Loco Grocery Girls Collaboration Colourway (it’s sold out, but if you’re curious about how lovely it is!) Skein Yarn The Wool Barn Hooligan Yarns Hooligan Yarns Instagram Iara Stole/Shawl by Renée Callahan of East London Knits Crafts From The Third Floor Podcast Norah George Yarn Yarnporium Yarnporium Event is happening November 5th and 6th on The Strand in Kings College London. I’ll be joining A Yarn Story at their stand from 1pm to 3pm on Saturday, so drop by and see me and take a look at some of my recent samples I’ve made from The Fibre Company yarn! Bracile Hat and Cowl Set The Ice River Hat and Snood I designed for Knitvent 2015 The Sonder Shawl from The Shawl Society Collection La Bien Aimée yarn Kettle Yarn Co The Wool Kitchen The Talisman Shawl from The Shawl Society Collection Pom Pom Quarterly The Pomcast interview with Rachel Matthews Herdwick Sheep Vintage Fairy Lights Kits and Design Little Bobbins Podcast Hedgerow Yarns Wow! Lots of links this week! I hope you enjoyed this episode. I'll see you next week, and until then, happy knitting!