Episode 31 - Moth + Hoover = TROUBLE

Hello there and welcome to The Crochet Circle Podcast and the show notes for Episode 31 – Moth + Hoover = TROUBLE

 

In this episode I cover: Old dog, new tricks; Final Destination; En Route; Designs in Progress; Feeding the habit; Quick News Beats and J’adore?

 

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1 – Old dog, new tricks

If you have lots of ends to weave in and some of your yarn tails are beside each other, why not use a large tapestry needle, thread the two ends into the needle and weave them in at the same time?  This will save a lot of time, so long as it doesn’t create too much bulk in those parts of your project. 

  

My second Old dog, new tricks is all about the dratted moth.

If you think you have clothes or carpet moths (they both eat fibres) in your house, deal with swiftly and effectively.  Nobody wants to go into their stash to find that moths have decimated it. 

 

Here are some helpful articles/blogs on dealing with moths, including one from yours truly:

Vogue article on moths in your wardrobe

Country Living Article

KNIT IT – HOOK IT – CRAFT IT blog post on moths and your stash 

I would also add that if you buy yarn from a shop, online wholesaler or yarn show, you should check through it to make sure there are no moth eggs.  If you want to be very cautionary, pop any new yarn into a freezer bag before you bring it into the house.  Leave it in the freezer for 48 hours to kill off any moths or larvae. 

 

I would rather take this action than have moths rampaging through my sizable (and named on our home insurance policy), lovingly curated stash.    

 

2 - CALs

#SummerTopsCAL – goes on until the 22^nd July. WIPs and double-dips are welcome and it doesn’t have to be a summer top, it can be a woolly jumper if you prefer. I don’t care how you craft it. Weave, knit, crochet embroider – I just want people to craft and be happy. 

 

Here are the prizes that you can win: 

1 - Leather hook case by Nu Shearman, stitch markers by Lisa and a Liberty notebook.

2 – 6 x 50g of Erika Knight Gossypium cotton (enough to make a summer top), stitch markers by Lisa and a Liberty notebook.

One of our Crochet Clan, Sharon has also released a pattern.  It’s called the No Sew Mimosa Kimono and she is offering all of you a 15% discount via Ravlery.  Just type in SUMMERTOPCAL at the checkout.  It’s valid until the end of July 2018. 

 

One of the patterns is also up for grabs this month.  All you need to do is add a comment in the YouTube comments below or in the comment box at the bottom of the show notes in Podbean.  I will then pick a winner at random at the end of July.

 

If you have been admiring and waiting for Rowan to rerelease the Liala top that I did over a year ago, the link is now back on Ravelry!  The power of positive persuasion definitely worked.

 

#Loftalong – I promised you a Loftalong a couple of podcasts back.  Sonja from John Arbon Textiles and I have been plotting behind the scenes and it is all starting on the 13^th July.  It’s one that I am going to run through my Instagram feed @FayDHDesigns rather than through the podcast. 

 

Use #Loftalong for your WIPs and #LoftalongFO for your FOs. 

If you have already made a Loft (knitted or crocheted) then you can pop it straight under that # on Instagram and be in with a chance of winning prizes.  So, it doesn’t matter if you haven’t started yet or you have already finished, you can all get in on the Loftalong action.

 

If you are planning on making one with John Arbon Textiles Knit by Numbers then they are kindly offering a 10% discount on three skeins of their KBN 4 ply.  Simply use the discount code LOFTALONG2018 at the checkout.  The code is valid until the end of August so even if you aren’t going to start until later, you can still get the discount.

 

There will be prizes too.  There’s the woolly kind that can be won by entering with a Loft made from John Arbon Textiles wool and there’s the bespoke tweed bag kind for any Lofts that haven’t been made with John Arbon wool.  There will also be some runner up pattern prizes.

 

Both the crocheted and the knitted patterns are both on Ravelry now.

 

3 – Final Destination

I feel like I have managed to do some proper crafting this month.  Yay!

On the way up to Ben Nevis to start the Three Peaks Challenge, I managed to finish off a pair of socks for my nephew, Lewis.  The delight on his face when he actually felt how good handmade knitted socks were.  He’s a convert.  

 

Yarn: Regia 4 ply (75% wool, 25% polyamide) 50g/210m Shade 04930

 

Given that I have had HOURS sitting in our car during the course of June, I managed to crack through my Stoborough shawl by Sarah Hazell.  I used 3 skeins of a skinny Merino (single ply with not too much twist) that I had dyed.  The lightest skein was with an alum mordant and birch bark; the next one was alum mordant with birch bark and an iron modifier (intensifies the colour) and the final one was an alum mordant with an oak gall and an iron modifier.

If you haven’t tried a skinny single Merino before, give it a go.  It crochets up beautifully and you can get a really nice stitch definition with it.  Lots of indie dyers use it as a yarn base. 

 

 

I also sprinted through my first #SummerTopCAL entry – Summer Road Trip Top by Kraftling.  I really like the simplicity of this top.  It is just two straight panels with no shaping. 

 

 

Yarn: Rowan Creative Linen (DK) 100g/200m in shade Teal

Stoborough and the top have both been loaded onto Ravelry as projects, just look me up under MaDashper.

I have been working on other things too, and you can see them in Episode 32 – Summer Shenanigans (Part 1). 

 

4 – En Route

Although I want to hook on ALL THE THINGS, I have remembered recently that I do better when I have fewer projects on the go.  My mind is less cluttered and I don’t feel like things are being neglected.  So, although there are MANY CALs that I want to enter, I am going to behave and finish off this project before I start anything else. 

I am working on my second top for the #SummerTopCAL.  It’s the Verity Top by the lovely Dawn at The Almond Snug.  I saw a version of it in my friend Anna’s feed and immediately it popped to the front of my crocheted garment queue.

 

I am doing mine in a wool/nylon blend so it will look different from the one shown here.  When I went stash diving for the pattern, I just happened to have only three skeins of yarn that were the right weight (sport weight) for the pattern and they were in the right combination (2 of the same and one contrast).  It was meant to be.

 

 

Yarn: Aruancania Ranco (75% Merino, 25% polyamide) 100g/344m  This yarn is now discontinued. 

 

5 – Designs in progress

It has been a bumper month on this front.  Today I get to announce that the Stiallach Collection has gone live and that as eluded to last month, you can all download it for free as this year’s birthday pattern.

It’s a collection of four purses and two bags all based on the same central striped theme.  As ever, there is a YouTube tutorial to help you get to grips with the techniques. 

 

So, this is free to download between the 6^th and 13^th July 2018.  Go to Ravelry, click on ‘Stiallach Collection’ pattern and at the checkout, simply enter the code ‘BIRTHDAY’ into the discount box and it will be added to your library.  There will be a UK and a US terminology pattern available.

 

 

I feel the need to leave intarsia crochet alone for a while now.  Not too long though. Obviously.

 

My next rabbit holes I am likely to drop down are slip stitch crochet designs and perfecting patterns in tapestry crochet.

 

I am trying to use this summer to get ahead of my designs and products.  All of you lovely people that signed up to be testers and product reviewers and signed the NDA, you will hear from me in the coming weeks. 

 

6 – Feeding the habit

So, I went to Woolfest at the end of June and obviously, I bought yarn and caught up with friends (go to Episode 32 – Summer Shenanigans to see more on that).  Then a day later, I found myself in a lovely wee yarn shop in Pittenweem, Fife, Scotland and may have bought some more.

 

1 – Blacker Yarns Lyonesse in shades Citrine and Onyx

2 – Socks Yeah 4 ply in shades Almandine and Topaz

3 – Some Solognot breed wool which is created by a small cooperative in France and I picked up in The Woolly Brew, PIttenweem

4 – Fiskmillan Fibres Romney was also from The Woolly Brew and it is delightful!

5 – Blacker Yarns Llanwenog 4 ply so that I can add it to my British breeds blanket

 

I have also been given some lovely things by some lovely people.  The yellow bucket bag and stitch markers were from Ali at Little Drops of Wonderful Podcast as part of the dodgy bags MAL.  When Lisa sent through stitch markers as a prize, she also sent me some – she is a gem.  Tania (she of TJ Frog fame) brought me back a lovely notebook (100% recycled paper) from her recent trip to the states.  Marie (Crochet Artisan fame) sent me an amazing knitting and crochet pattern book from Japanese designer Michyo.  I am a lucky lady!

 

7 - Quick News Beats

Global Hook Ups – The next Global Hook Up is due to be on Saturday 7th July 2018 (BST)

Time: Saturday 7th July 2018 8:30 PM London BST

Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/4750475819  The meeting ID number is 475-047-5819 and you will need to join via Zoom which you can do here:  https://www.zoom.us/join

There is then a second one on Sunday 8th July at 9am (BST)

Time: Sunday 8th July 2018 9:00 AM London BST

Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/4750475819  The meeting ID number is 475-047-5819 and you will need to join via Zoom which you can do here:  https://www.zoom.us/join

 

8 – Big Up

• Long-term friend of the podcast Tamara has moved back to the UK. Welcome home Tamara!  I am really looking forward to having a proper catch up with her soon.
• My friend and Tech Editor extraordinaire, Deb, is opening a yarn shop on 6^th She has dreamt about this for a long time and an opportunity arose for her to utilise some space this summer.  The shop is in Betws-y-Coed, in Wales.  I am hot-footing it over there on Sunday to throw enthusiasm and support at her.  If you are anywhere near That part of North Wales.  The shop is at Unit 2, Royal Oak Stables, Betws-y-Coed, LL24 0AH.
• I put a call out to see what magazines people thought were particularly inclusive with their models in terms of race, age, size etc.. The ones that were most talked about were Pom Pom Quarterly, Knitting and Interweave Crochet. 

  

9 – J’adore

We are a little bit hooked on a programme called Grace & Frankie starring Jane Fonda, Martin Sheen, Lily Tomlin and Sam Waterson.  It’s great fun and nice to see an older generation being represented on TV in a sitcom.  My only issue is that Martin Sheen will always be Jed Bartlett from The West Wing.

I am really loving working with some non-wool yarns.  I can definitely feel the difference in heat when I move to crocheting with wool from cotton and vice versa.  I wasn’t a massive fan of the Rowan linen that I tried using and quickly swapped out to a linen/cotton blend that was more enjoyable but sitting outside under my parasol crocheting away in cool yarns has been lovely. 

 

Fay x

 

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