A podcast for people who love knitting, Dorset Buttons, creativity & Scotland, especially the Highlands & Islands.

Welcome to the 14th episode of my podcast – Spring has Sprung

Thank you for listening again or welcome if you are a first time listener.

The Weather 

I chat about the amazing weather we’ve been having.  There have been a few dank days although mostly blue skies & sunshine, a chill in the air & a little bit of light dust of snow on the mainland mountains.  We’ve been fortunate on our corner of Skye with some beautiful calm still tranquil days.  And we’ve made the most of getting out walking.

 

I touch on the weather reporting again – I’m getting more cynical & sarcastic.  As the UK – well to be more precise – London & Kent basked in the hottest temperatures recorded for many years, Skye was having 70+mph winds – no reference to this on the news!

After the amazing colour from the daffodils the gorse is slowly coming out albeit in stages not as one mass.

Making

I’ve blocked my Machair Wildflower Shawl from The Birlinn Yarn Company.

I talk about my dislike of knitting bobbles although I love the texture effect they create.

I talk about my WIPs which include my Blanche top, Eigg Slippers & Bousta Beanie Hat.

I’ve made 2 cowls this year from Koigu hand dyed merino.  The cast off was a bit of trial & error.  On the left is a knit cast off & on the right a rib cast off.  I much prefer the rib & think this suits the knitting better.  Unless the pattern states I usually default to a thumb cast on – the way I first learnt & I normally use a knit cast off.  I’m interested to know what do you default to or do you always follow the pattern or work out what you feel is best for the piece of knitting?

I’m off to Tiree next week for the 10K & I chat a little bit about this island & the event.  Follow my Instagram feed for stories about this while I’m away.

I’ve decided this trip away means I can cast on a new project!  I’ve chosen Tegna by Caitlin Hunter & I’m going to use this Lithuanian Linen from Midwinter Yarns.

Dorset Buttons

I chat about events I’ve been to so far since Edinburgh Yarn Festival which include a craft fair at Plockton & Dornie & Di Gilpin’s Open Day at her new studio in Fife.

Looking ahead I go through the forthcoming wool festivals I’ll be at & the Dorset Button workshops I”ll be doing.  These include:

I did not apply for Perth Festival of Yarn or Yarndale this year with other commitments over the summer limiting what time I would have to prepare for these shows had I been accepted for them.

I am also running some private workshops for tour groups so please get in touch if you are visiting & would like to talk about setting up something.

On 25 August 2018 I will be back at Fancy Tiger Crafts with 2 workshops.  In the morning we will cover the cross wheel & the basic techniques & in the afternoon there will be a Beaded Dorset Button Brooch workshop for people who already know the basic techniques.

Local Lowdown

I talk about a new eatery here on Sleat on the South of Skye, Gasta at Armadale Castle.

Skye Showcase

This interview is with Jenny who is a weaver based on the Minghinish peninsular on Skye.

Throughout the summer season Jenny can be found on a Wednesday at the “Made in Minghinish” artisan market selling her work.

Jenny is also organising a forthcoming exhibition & event called Lamb to Loom which we hear about during the interview & more details can be found on this information leaflet.  LambtoLoomFlyer2018

 

If you are in the area do call in to see the exhibition or the weekly market.

That’s it for now have a great month of May!

Music – the music is:

One Frog For a Prince, by Ron Patton & licensed from Melody Loops.

Bye for now.

TJ Signature

8 Responses

  1. What a lovely way to spend an hour off work. Knitting in hand and listening to your podcast. Always a delight to get updates on Skye. Hear familiar voices and start to look forward to being on the island briefly next month. Your recent guests Sally Yasmin and Jenny are all people we know well or have met on our travels. Thanks , x

    1. Good to hear you enjoyed it & have lovely memories of Skye. Let’s hope this good weather stays for your next visit x

  2. Lovely episode. Turns out I may be in Denver in August and if so, hope to take the workshop!

    1. Thanks Nora. It would be lovely to see you again in Denver if you can make it. x

  3. This is probably a bit late, but I’ve only just listened to your podcast, which was really interesting. You asked about default cast-ons when we knit, and mine is the same as yours – thumb cast on. I am a child of the 1950’s and that seemed to be the only cast on that people used then. I live in Western Australia, and everything was very English back then, I had two Scottish grandmothers who used the thumb cast on. Nowadays there are so many different cast ons and cast offs, it’s quite bewildering, so I ignore the lot and stick to the trusty thumb method. When you’re old you can do what you like. I’ve started listening to podcasts while I knit, and it’s amazing how fast the repetitive bits get done with something interesting to listen to.

    Regards
    Lyn

    1. Hi Lyn it’s so interesting to hear about your experience with cast ons & how the thumb method is also your trusty method! Good to hear you have got into podcasts, they are a great accompaniment to knitting. Tania

  4. Another lovely episode, thank you ? I’ve only recently discovered your podcast and have been binge listening, I’ve nearly run out ?? A tip for bobbles, and other knitting techniques where you need to keep turning after a few sts, like entrelac, is to knit (or purl) backwards. Makes life so much easier ? I look forward to hearing more and getting up to date with your exploits…

    1. Hi Ellena, great to hear you are enjoying the podcasts. Thank you for the bobble tip too, I will give that a try next time I do them!

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