Show Sponsors Alongside an eclectic yarn range, which includes Hazel Knits, Icelandic Lopi & CoopKnits, we stock a carefully chosen selection of needles and notions. We’ve also recently launched ‘hand dyed by meadowyarn’, our very own in-house, hand-dyed yarn range. Working in our tiny dye studio, nestled in the Suffolk countryside, we are able to indulge our love of colour, producing complex tonal, kettle-dyed shades across a range of weights and bases. With regular updates our collections evolve and grow, inspired by the landscape and people around us. Find all your favourite luxury yarns and discover plenty more at A Yarn Story, Bath’s premier yarn store based in Walcot Street, Bath, UK. From gorgeous skeins by The Fibre Co and Walcot Yarns to a fine selection from Shibui Knits, La Bien Aimée, House of a la Mode, and Julie Asselin, there is plenty for the discerning knitter to enjoy. With friendly and knowledgeable staff to help you browse, there is plenty for the discerning knitter to enjoy. Visit the store at Walcot Street, Bath or shop online at www.ayarnstory.co.uk. Today I have a brand new sock pattern to introduce and some personal sock-knitting and studio set-up updates! The Handmade Sock Society Season 3 is off to an amazing start, with a crowd of brilliant knitters who have already cast on the new Luminary Socks in a gorgeous array of yarn. Show Links Terracotta Socks by Woolfield Studio Birch Hollow Fibers Bembe Socks by Dawn Henderson Luminary Socks from The Handmade Sock Society Season 3 IndieLynx on Instagram Tinkhickman on Instagram The Comfy Red Couch on Instagram SHOW TRANSCRIPT: Helen:Welcome to the Curious Handmade podcast. You're listening to Episode 285. This podcast is all about crafting a life of happiness and creativity. I'm your host, Helen, and you can find me on Ravelry as HellsBells, and on social media as curioushandmade. You can also find full show notes on my website at curioushandmade.com. Hello and welcome. I hope things are good with you this week. We are having a good week here at Curious HQ and we have an addition of five members to the family. My daughter, Lexi was very, very keen to have pet mice. And finally the pet shop had some in but they were available on Monday. So we went down first thing and chose two little mice. And I had them sitting next to me all day by my desk, keeping an eye on them, seeing how they were settling in. And by the end of the day I did fall in love with them and decided they were cute, that we should go back to the pet shop and I wanted one for myself. So I ended up with three more. And so now we have five little mice pets in our house. And yeah, I'm still slightly shocked at that situation, but they're so cute and I'm really enjoying them. I haven't had to clean out the cage yet, so still having to have that ahead of me to figure out how to do and mainly how to teach, like see how to do. But no doubt I'll have to be involved. And yeah, so that was quite funny and a little bit silly, but also really fun. And it's making Sophie and I very clucky for a puppy now. But I'm definitely going to hold off on that for a while and hopefully won't have like a reason to report next week that I've caved and we now have a puppy as well. But I don't think so. I think that's going to be put off for a while longer to see how we cope with the mice. Anyway, it's very nice to have a pet. We haven't had one for a long time. We used to have cats when the girls were babies, but we haven't had pets for about... I guess about eight years now. So it is nice I to have a little creature in the house or five. Anyway, so I've been quite distracted by that and it's distracted me from work and knitting. But I did manage to finish my Terracotta socks by Woolfield Studio and I knit them in virtual hollow fibers, yarn, gorgeous yarn.

Show Sponsors Alongside an eclectic yarn range, which includes Hazel Knits, Icelandic Lopi & CoopKnits, we stock a carefully chosen selection of needles and notions. We’ve also recently launched ‘hand dyed by meadowyarn’, our very own in-house, hand-dyed yarn range. Working in our tiny dye studio, nestled in the Suffolk countryside, we are able to indulge our love of colour, producing complex tonal, kettle-dyed shades across a range of weights and bases. With regular updates our collections evolve and grow, inspired by the landscape and people around us. Find all your favourite luxury yarns and discover plenty more at A Yarn Story, Bath’s premier yarn store based in Walcot Street, Bath, UK. From gorgeous skeins by The Fibre Co and Walcot Yarns to a fine selection from Shibui Knits, La Bien Aimée, House of a la Mode, and Julie Asselin, there is plenty for the discerning knitter to enjoy. With friendly and knowledgeable staff to help you browse, there is plenty for the discerning knitter to enjoy. Visit the store at Walcot Street, Bath or shop online at www.ayarnstory.co.uk. Today we have a little break from sock-mania (mostly!) and a little more exploration of our community challenge #knit20for2020 so far. People are being very creative and it's so much fun to see how different knitters are filling their categories. I also have a bit of a chat about deep stash: how it's defined, what it means to me, and why even (or especially) the deepest stash deserves to come out and play. Show Links Terracotta Socks by Woolfield Studio Birch Hollow Fibers 20 for 2020 Challenge printableDownload Follow #knit20for2020 on Instagram Follow #quilted on Instagram Follow #20for2020 The Happier Podcast The #knit20for2020 Chat Thread on Ravelry IndieLynx on Instagram Rose Cardigan by Andrea Mowry La Bien Aimée Dahlia Cardigan Blue Sky Fibers Moeke Yarns Moeke Yarns on Instagram Circus Tonic Yarns Circus Tonic Yarns Instagram SHOW TRANSCRIPT: Hello, and welcome to the Curious Handmade Podcast. You're listening to Episode 284. This podcast is all about crafting a life of happiness in creativity. I'm your host, Helen, and you can find me on Ravelry as HellsBells, and on social media as curioushandmade. You can also find the full show notes on my website at curioushandmade.com. I'd like to say a big thank you to my sponsor, Meadow Yarn. Alongside an interesting and eclectic yarn range, which includes Hazel Knits, Icelandic Lopi, and Coop Knits, we stock a carefully chosen selection of needles and notions. We've also recently launched Hand-dyed by Meadow Yarn, our very own in-house hand-dyed yarn range. Working in our tiny dye studio nestled in the Suffolk countryside, we are able to indulge our love of color, producing complex tonal kettle dyed shades across a range of whites and bases. With regular updates, our collections evolve and grow, inspired by the landscape and people around us. You can find them at meadowyarn.co.uk, or you can click on the ad on my blog. Hello and welcome. Has it been a good knitting week for you? I've been doing lots of knitting on a secret design project, so I can't talk much about that. But I've also been knitting happily away on my terracotta socks by Wolf Fields Studio in Birch Hollow Fibers yarn. These were my Christmas Eve cast-on socks. I'm embarrassed to say that I have yet to have any photographic evidence of them, but I'll just post them as, ta-da, a finished object very soon. They're almost finished, the foot, and so I basically just have the toe go, which won't take me too long, of the second sock. That's pretty exciting, to have a nearly finished object. That will be able to tick off a box in my 20 for 2020 knitting challenge. The hashtag for that is #knit20for2020. If you haven't seen that yet, I've created a list of prompts. It's meant to be a fun challenge for the year,

Show Sponsors Alongside an eclectic yarn range, which includes Hazel Knits, Icelandic Lopi & CoopKnits, we stock a carefully chosen selection of needles and notions. We’ve also recently launched ‘hand dyed by meadowyarn’, our very own in-house, hand-dyed yarn range. Working in our tiny dye studio, nestled in the Suffolk countryside, we are able to indulge our love of colour, producing complex tonal, kettle-dyed shades across a range of weights and bases. With regular updates our collections evolve and grow, inspired by the landscape and people around us. Find all your favourite luxury yarns and discover plenty more at A Yarn Story, Bath’s premier yarn store based in Walcot Street, Bath, UK. From gorgeous skeins by The Fibre Co and Walcot Yarns to a fine selection from Shibui Knits, La Bien Aimée, House of a la Mode, and Julie Asselin, there is plenty for the discerning knitter to enjoy. With friendly and knowledgeable staff to help you browse, there is plenty for the discerning knitter to enjoy. Visit the store at Walcot Street, Bath or shop online at www.ayarnstory.co.uk. Photo Credit: Laine Magazine Today's podcast is pretty much exclusively about socks! It's an exciting time to be a sock knitter just now. The Handmade Sock Society Season 3 is now open, with pre-sales over at Ravelry and a very big Early Bird discount on the collection. We also have the release of an incredible new book of patterns produced by Laine Magazine. On today's podcast I talk a little about the pattern I created for the book, the Snippet Socks, as well as an overall review of the book itself and some of the other incredible designs you'll find there. I know which one I'm casting on first, but it was not easy to choose! Show Links Join The Handmade Sock Society 3 here!   The Handmade Sock Society Season 3 is a pattern subscription club inspired by the many meanings of atmosphere and the creative quest. The six secret sock knitting patterns in the collection are ideal for any knitter who is obsessed with (or wants to fall in love with) hand-knitted socks, appreciates a bit of suspense, and enjoys creating along with other enthusiastic makers. The first pattern of the series will be released in February 2020, and then there will be another pattern release every month until July. There’s never any pressure to “keep up” with the crowd, and our relaxed knit-along schedule is designed to give knitters of all skill levels and knitting speeds a relaxed experience. Whether you’re a newish sock knitter or a seasoned pro, these patterns will have something to offer. The difficulty hovers between “intrepid beginner” and intermediate. There will be interesting stitch patterns, a touch of lace, and maybe a little cable or two, but nothing confounding. And of course, if you’re ever at a loss, our warm and welcoming knitalong community is always available to help, encourage, and cheer you along the way. So take a deep breath and a good look around. Stare up at the stars. Soak up the atmosphere. There’s so much to discover. Sock Pattern Release Schedule: Tuesday, February 25th Tuesday, March 24th Tuesday, April 21st Tuesday, May 19th Tuesday, June 16th Tuesday, July 21st Here’s what you need to know: Membership in The Handmade Sock Society 3 grants you access to six stunning knitted sock patterns which will be released one every month until July. The patterns will remain completely exclusive to Society members until the session ends. The Handmade Sock Society 3 collection is available at a special early bird price for just a short time.  The early bird price for the collection is £9.95 (+ applicable VAT for EU countries - Ravelry automatically adds this in). This includes all SIX sock designs and works out to less than half price of the patterns individually. The early bird ends when the first pattern is released and the regular price will be £15 (+VAT for EU countrie...

Show Sponsors Alongside an eclectic yarn range, which includes Hazel Knits, Icelandic Lopi & CoopKnits, we stock a carefully chosen selection of needles and notions. We’ve also recently launched ‘hand dyed by meadowyarn’, our very own in-house, hand-dyed yarn range. Working in our tiny dye studio, nestled in the Suffolk countryside, we are able to indulge our love of colour, producing complex tonal, kettle-dyed shades across a range of weights and bases. With regular updates our collections evolve and grow, inspired by the landscape and people around us. Find all your favourite luxury yarns and discover plenty more at A Yarn Story, Bath’s premier yarn store based in Walcot Street, Bath, UK. From gorgeous skeins by The Fibre Co and Walcot Yarns to a fine selection from Shibui Knits, La Bien Aimée, House of a la Mode, and Julie Asselin, there is plenty for the discerning knitter to enjoy. With friendly and knowledgeable staff to help you browse, there is plenty for the discerning knitter to enjoy. Visit the store at Walcot Street, Bath or shop online at www.ayarnstory.co.uk. Today I have news about the results of our Australian Bushfire Instagram Auction, our winners from all of last year's KALs, and an introduction to the theme of the next season of The Handmade Sock Society....I can't wait to hear what you think about the plans and patterns for this year! Show Links We raised almost $3000 AUD for Bushfire Relief. I'll be splitting the funds between three amazing charities: Go Fund Me for First Nations Communities of Australia Affected by Bushfires The Australian Red Cross The Nature Foundation in South Australia Thank you so much for all your love and support! Ravelry names of our KAL winners: Knitvent2019 KAL winner: tweedy2shoes The Shawl Society 4 Grand KAL winner: wikinger The Handmade Sock Society Grand KAL winner: madamepurl Winners for the individual shawls: Sea Gleam Shawl: muddancerFloating Shawl: nanavoloRockpooling Shawl: nextdoorknitter In The Dunes Wrap: NadeknitsSunset Skies: bdelargyGathering Driftwood: KrabbaKravle Winners for the individual socks: Shell Cottage Socks: malu89Samphire Socks: Unfading SpringCliff Walk Socks: YarnsieBarnsie Cornish Cream Tea Socks: CertainstyleSailing School Socks: skistrickenDorsal Socks: Joline Show Transcript:  Welcome to the Curious Handmade Podcast. You're listening to Episode 282. This podcast is all about crafting a life of happiness and creativity. I'm your host Helen and you can find me on Ravelry as Hell's Bells and on social media as Curious Handmade. You can also find the full show notes on my website at curioushandmade.com. Hello and welcome to the show. I hope you've had a good week. It's been another busy week here of course, and I'm slowly getting back into the rhythm of work again. Kids are finally back at school. They had two months off and I always forget that the first week or two of the school year is very much spending a lot of time getting routines sorted out and figuring out what uniform to wear on which day and so on. So I always think I can leap back into it on that first day they're back, but then it takes about another week or two before I can actually get back into it. But I think we're nearly there now and so I'm pretty happy about that, I have to say. And we had an amazing week with the Destash I did for Bushfire Relief on Instagram. I think I had about 17 lots in the end. I think I put 13 up initially and then added another four for the last 24 hours just because I hadn't had time to do the full lots at the beginning. But that worked out just fine and people were super, super generous. I'm so grateful to you guys. And I added up the figures and it came to almost 3000 Australian dollars by the time I did the conversion. So I decided I would top it up to 3000 myself, because I'm donating to three charities, so that seemed quite a nice round number.