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A podcast for people who love knitting, Dorset Buttons, creativity & Scotland, especially the Highlands & Islands.
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Welcome to the 39th episode of my podcast – Learning & Developing.
Thank you for joining me once again and welcome if you are a first time listener.
Once again, I refer to time – it’s April already! Is 2023 running away from you too?
I explain that going forward, interviews will appear as their own episode and these will be released as and when, in and around the main episode.
The Weather
I chat about our continued mixed weather which has included wind, rain, sun and snow
March brought the most amount of snow we’ve ever seen in our little corner of Skye.
And at the end of February we were treated to the most amazing Northern Lights which were seen as far down as the South Coast of England.
If you are on Facebook the Glendale Aurora Alerts page is great for getting the latest alerts and their website is Aurora Alerts.
And yes there is another spider report!
Creativity
I start with a round up of my trip to Vogue Knitting Live New York. I love the total immersion in all things yarn at this show which really feeds my love of learning and developing.
I chat about all the learning I did at workshops with:
Cecelia Campochiaro – Riffs on Sequence Knitting, working through lots of different texture stitches.
Veera Valimaki – Make the most out of short rows, exploring all the different type of short rows as well as touching on how to use them to adjust shoulders, neck and busts in garments.
Mina Philipp – Two Coloured Fishermans Rib where we made a sample in the flat and round and came away with a pattern for a cowl and shawl.
There were of course some purchases!
Crave Yarn from Yarn Culture, New York for my Fisherman’s Knit shawl
Plied yarn from the Woolyn stand. Thank you to Nora who led me to this yarn which will be made into a Pressed Flowers cardigan by Amy Christoffers, a pattern which seemed to be the popular one being worn by visitors at the show.
My final purchase was from Farah of Knudsen Knits who focus on promoting heritage breeds of the United States. I purchased 3 different breed skeins as well as a tea towel with illustrations of some of the American breeds.
Non yarn purchases included silver earrings from Indigo Lane Jewelery and a needle wrap from Crippen Works who use vintage buttons and fabric remnants, seen below, alongside a skein of Malibrigo lace yarn I won at the yarn drop!
I update you on how many of the Debbie Abrahams Mystery Blanket 2017 squares I managed to finish before the 2023 patterns arrived in my inbox! I find the Mystery Blanket and the Mystery Cushion great ways to learn new skills.
I recently went on an Inspired Minds workshop run by Debbie Abrahams & Jane Crowfoot where I took up the challenge of doing the crochet project to develop my skills.
Lastly I chat about my Love Note sweater and issues knitting with mohair combined with a metallic thread as well as my latest teaching, making with other types of buttons.
Dorset Buttons & wider news from the TJFrog Pad
Lots of tech stuff happening at the moment behind the scenes. For me it’s a continual steep learning curve running a website and all the associated software and packages.
Teaching is my passion and I’ll be running some virtual workshops this year. First up is the Dorset Button Tree Brooch virtual workshop on Sat 29th April and repeated on Wed 10th May – there are still some places available.
I finish off with a round up of exhibiting at Yorkshire Yarn Fest and a look forward to exhibiting at Wonderwool Wales.
Skye Focus
If you are visiting Skye then ACE Target Sports, run by Matt Harrison, may be of interest to you where you can learn skills such as archery, axe throwing and clay target shooting.
That’s it for this episode.
Thank you for joining me again.
Until next time . . .
Music:
One Frog For a Prince, by Ron Patton & licensed from Melody Loops.
