I Heart Yarndale: Episode 39 is live

Hello again – September is looming large on the calendar and Yarndale is approaching. I love this yarn show and fair but my excitement this year is quadrupled because I have a stand there and have been in the middle of lots of preparation. But this weekend is a holiday in the UK and we have Monday off so I’m planning a lovely long weekend with my daughter and am dreaming of some relaxing time in my garden (please weather…) to crochet up a Yarndale heart for this year’s charity project. Read more about it here on the The Yarndale blog and on Lucy’s blog at Attic24.

Notes for the Crafternoon Treats Podcast Episode 39

I’ve done some timestamps this time so you can find your way around if you want to watch things at your own pace. Is this any use? Do let me know in the comments 🙂

0.19 Intro and a quick round up of what I’m talking about in this podcast

I had a trip over to Sheffield for my son’s 21st birthday, went to Harrogate Bead Fair and I’ve been working away at a few crochet and knitting projects. Progress has been slow though because that Yarndale preparation is taking over my life and will do for a while longer yet.

4.16 (Very small) project progress

I finally finished sewing in the ends of the lovely knitted shawl made by my friend Janice. I gave her two skeins of my hand dyed yarn and bought a shawl pattern by Joji Locatelli – its called The Girl from the Grocery Store shawl and it was inspired by The Grocery Girls podcast.

The Scottish Thistle yarn is one of my favourite colourways that I’ve ever dyed and I’m planning on taking the last few skeins of the lovely lambswool and fawn Shetland base that its dyed on to Yarndale.

Last time I showed you the toe up sock I’m working on by following the Craftsy class by Susan B Anderson. That link goes back to her blog and if you check out the side bar, you can click through to get 50% off the class. My placeholder for the afterthought heel is in place but, sorry to say, there was stamping on the sock and a lot of swearing…

I’ve made progress on The Flame Shawl by Annelies Baes, which was in issue 89 of Inside Crochet magazine but not enough to show it this time.

12.49 The joys of social crafitness

Early in 2016 I started a Crochet and Chat group in Selby, a small town near where I live. Its turns out to be one of the best things I ever did and we have had such fun every week and we have all enjoyed meeting each other. And eating the scones, cakes, teacakes and coffee and tea, of course…

This is the section where I talk about my toe-up sock trauma!

21.58 I’m revisiting natural dyeing

Last year, around this exact time, I did my first experiments in dyeing yarn with plants from my garden (and other peoples’!). This year I’m doing some more of the same and exploring the colour possibilities of goldenrod, elderberry, birch, tea, avocado and beetroot!

28.28 Blocking shawls

I’m just introducing this as a topic for a future podcast and blog. I did a lot about blocking in Episode 5 of the podcast so go back and watch that if you are interested. I hope to soon do more about blocking shawls specifically so watch this space.

34.40 The Yarndale 2017 heart charity project

This year, the Yarndale charity project is to make beautiful (and quick) crochet hearts to form a display to raise money for MIND, the UK charity devoted to helping people with mental health issues. Mental illness can affect anyone at any time but it is sadly very underfunded and its effects are under estimated. What better way to get involved than to make a beautiful crochet heart and send it in for the price of a stamp so that we can raise money for this very worthwhile cause.

Important links:

Lucy of Attic24 has written a post on her own blog which details several free patterns for crochet hearts. She also has ideas for decorating your hearts so that you can be as creative as you want!
The Yarndale blog, also written by Lucy, has all the practical details about how to block the heart (stiffening it with glue!) and where to post it and by when.
The heart below is one of Lucy’s lovely Creative Hearts and is reproduced with kind permission x Lucy x

43.01 Etsy shop update

The I’m a basket case crochet basket kits and now in my Etsy shop! I think there are about 5 left and I won’t be adding more until after Yarndale. I’m planning to take about 20 to sell there, hopefully, but it will depend on space and time.

I’ve also launched some sock yarn! I have a few colourways ready now and will be dyeing more for Yarndale.

I’ve also dyed more of the two colourways in the Fabulous Four Base that sold out quickly when I first launched that base. Preen and Forbidden fruit are now back in stock with plenty of skeins available.

I have also put in two new sets of stitch markers, looking ahead to autumn and beyond…

I hope you have a great Bank Holiday weekend, even if you don’t have a holiday! See you soon and definitely before Yarndale 🙂 And hopefully then at Yarndale in person 🙂 xxx Kathryn

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