Episode 14 - Unchained Melody?

Hello folks, come on into The Crochet Circle Podcast. Here are the show notes from Episode Fourteen - Unchained Melody?

 

In this episode, I cover: Yay Crochet or Nay Crochet; FOs; WIPs; Feeding the Habit; Tunisian CAL; Festivals; Big Up and What's Good?

 

This podcast is sponsored by my online crafting company, Provenance Craft Co. 

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1 - Yay crochet, yay crochet, yay crochet and a wee bit more yay crochet!

I love to learn, and so when I come across a new technique I like to dive in and understand its pros and cons rather than just accept that is naturally better.

 

I was coming across comments on Instagram about how many people preferred to start their projects with a chainless foundation, rather than the traditional chained foundation because it was quicker and they preferred the finished effect.  Hmm, time to get my hook out and investigate.

 

The below photo shows you the times, sizes, pros and cons that I found between chained and chainless foundations.  

 

 

 Bella Coco has a great YouTube tutorial on how to do a chainless foundation.

 

2 - Finished Objects

I always get through more projects that I think.  Through the guise of #StashBingo I have been using some really lovely yarns that otherwise would have remained at the back of the Stash Palace.  I have really loved working with the Jamieson & Smiths Shetland wool and it comes in a fantastic range of colours.

 

 

1 - J&S 2 ply Jumper Weight (100% Shetland wool):

Blue is shade FC41, dark green is shade 65, light green is FC62 and the fawn is actually J&S 3 ply jumper weight in undyed shade 2008/Katmollet.  I was testing out whether the 3ply was better for the beginning of the cowl because the colourwork strands mean that the patterned areas are heavier and contain more yarn.  My conclusion is that it is best to double up on the 2ply where needed rather than use the 3 ply.

2 - J&S 2 ply Jumper Weight (100% Shetland wool) 

Cream is shade 1A, orange is shade 125 and the dark red is shade FC62.  I have been working on these projects as part of #StashBingo but also to design projects that can use up yarn straggles and look good.

 

I also did a bit of investigating on the best place to buy Jamieson & Smith wool from and the cheapest source was Purlesence.  They offer free UK and EU postage for orders over £25 and I believe that their non-EU shipping is also very reasonable.  25g of J&S 2 ply is only £2.90.  

 

3 - This was a Corriedale pencil roving that I bought from Queen of Purls in Glasgow, but it doesn't seem to be listed on their website anymore.  I used it to crochet a hat for my niece Darcie, which you can see below. If you like the look of this yarn then you may want to try Erika Knight for John Lewis XXL which is a slightly chunkier version or Drops Eskimo.  The pattern is Super Chunky Bobble Hat by Jo Janes on Ravelry. 

 

 

 

4 - Wolle Rodel Sport and Strumpfwolle in shade 16915  75% wool and 25% polyamide.

5 - Regia 4 ply 75% wool and 25% polyamide in Ocean (06629).  I think this is what the yarn is...   The pink yarn is West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4 ply, 75% wool (35% is Bluefaced Leicester) and 25% nylon in shade 545 Sarsaparilla.

 

To share the love with listeners and watchers of the podcast, I want to test giving out a 50% discount code for my patterns.  I am starting this off with my latest pattern Doppio Colosseum and so between 3rd and the 17th March (midnight GMT) you can get 50% off the pattern in Ravelry by using code DOPPIO50%.

This is what Doppio Colosseum looks like and it requires 200g/800m of a 4ply fingering weight yarn.  

 

 

 

 

3 - Work in Progress

I have two main WIPs on the go at the moment, one crochet and one knitted.  From now on in the podcast, I am only going to talk about my knitting projects when they have become finished objects.  I want to make sure that the podcast remains predominantly about crochet but I still need to be able to reflect on the other things that I craft because they also give me inspiration for my crochet makes.

 

Here is my second #StashBingo project (project bag number 4).  This is some really course British wool that I picked up at Wonderwool Wales almost two years ago with the thought of making housewares with it.  I then dyed up some of the wool when I ran the dyeing workshop last September.  There was no real thought to how I dyed it, I was just helping to exhaust some of the wool in Gill's dye pot. The result is lovely with a shift in the depth of colour as you get to the outer parts of the skein because the dye couldn't penetrate the inner part of the yarn cake as readily.

 

I am holding two strands of wool together to make this rug, starting with two strands of undyed.  When the first cake of undyed had been crocheted, I added the lightest of my dyed wool in and continued to crochet with two strands - one undyed and one dyed.  This is adding a really nice sense of balance to the rug because the undyed yarn is visible throughout the whole piece.  I have then moved onto the next darkest skein of dyed yarn, and so on and so on.  I love it! This will be an FO on the next podcast.

 

 

Here is my knitting WIP.  It is Stream by Isabel Kramer and I am using one of my sock club skeins from Life in the Long Grass and Socks Yeah! in Sphene (104) the mustard colour and Sugilite (112) the plum colour. 

 

 

4 - Feeding the habit

I am still being good.  I have bought Top-Down Crochet Sweaters by Dora Ohrenstein and my subscription of Pom Pom Quarterly has turned up and here is a link to the Hanbira cardigan. I continue to focus on the MANY gorgeous yarns in my stash.

 

 

5 - Tunisian CAL is GO GO GO!

This new CAL started on the 3rd March and runs until the 16th April.  We are being expertly guided by Sol through this CAL as she already teaches Tunisian crochet, has tutorials on her blog and is providing patterns for the CAL.

Tamara (long-term listener and group member) has also pulled together her top Ten Tunisian Crochet Tips as a blog post, so give that a read too.

There are three categories:

1 - Sol's Cobbled Streets Cowl which is free of charge pattern and needs one skein (400m) of 4 ply yarn, a 4mm (G6) hook and a 30cm cable, though you may be able to use a long-shafted hook instead.

2 - Sol's Ocaso shawl which is a paid-for pattern and needs three (1 x Yarn A and 2 x Yarn B) skeins of 4 ply yarn with about 380m per skein.  You will need a 4mm hook (G6) and an 80cm cable.  Use code TCCPODCAST to get 50% off this pattern in Ravelry.

3 -  Anything goes.  The pattern of your choice, it just has to be Tunisian crochet.

A Ravelry thread has already been opened and you can use #tccTunisianCAL on Instagram.

 

If you are looking at joining in under category three, then you may be interested in a couple of new patterns:

1 - Zoe Halstead has a Tunisian shawl in Inside Crochet issue 87.

2 - The Crochet Project has a new Shawl book coming out and there is a Tunisian Crochet shawl in that.

 

 

Here are the yarns that I am thinking about using:

 

 

The one on the left is Denim 4ply (50% Merino/50% silk) 100g/400m by The Wool Kitchen and this is definitely going to become a Cobbled Streets cowl.

 

The second two yarns are another sock club skein from Life in the Long Grass 100g/400m and some Araucania Yarns Ranco 100g/344m (PT 2109) but the jury is out on these colours as I may change my mind.  Again.

 

6 - Festivals

I didn't make it to Unravel but Helen did and has added a review to the thread in our group in Ravelry and also to get a new blog - thank Helen!

 

I am heading up to Edinburgh Yarn Festival on the 11th March and will be pulling together a vlog on my antics.

 

I will also be vending at Wonderwool Wales on the 22nd and 23rd of April and you can find me at stall H2.  Come and say hello!  

 

 

  

7 - Big Up

Here are some blogs and podcasts that you may want to check out:

 

Helen's making blog Making at Number 14

Chrissie Crafts on YouTube talking about her crochet and embroidery projects.

Crochetcakes on YouTube talking about her life in Puerto Rico, crochet and knitting.

 

 

8 - What's good?

 

I am back in the room and that is what's good! 

 

 

Until next month.

 

Fay x

 

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