Hello there and welcome to The Crochet Circle Podcast and the show notes for Episode 44 – Go Garment Go.

My name is Fay and this is my audio and video podcast for those that love fibre crafts, particularly crochet. It’s a community for people that like to support their fellow humans regardless of race, gender, sexuality, ability, size or age. I hope you feel the welcome embrace and love of the Crochet Clan. Come on in and stay awhile.

In this episode, I cover Old Dog new tricks; Perth Project Runway update; Final Destination; En Route; Feeding the habit; Quick News Beats and J’adore.

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

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1 – Old Dog New Tricks

Have you ever looked to buy a skein of variegated yarn and struggled to see how it might look crocheted up? I know that work has been done on how stocking stitch knits up and it’s because of SpaceCadet’s brilliant blogpost that I am doing this work for crochet.

Many yarn dyers have samples of their yarns knitted up but fewer do that same for crochet. I am pleased to report though that this is changing and more crochet is being sighted as swatches and samples at the yarn shows I am attending. We are having a positive impact!

Reading a skein of variegated could really help you to work out whether it is going to work for you or not. I have done some of the work for you, but if you really want an accurate gauge, you need to do some swatching too! I have written and illustrated this for you in a blog post: 'How to read a skein of variegated yarn for crochet'.

As a rough guide, here is how many centimetres each stitch takes in 4 ply and DK, my favourite two weights of yarn:

4 ply/light fingering weight dc (US sc) uses about 3 - 3.5cm per stitch using a 3mm hook

4 ply/light fingering weight htr (US hdc) uses about 4.5 - 5cm per stitch using a 3mm hook

4 ply/light fingering weight tr (US dc) uses about 6 – 6.5cm per stitch using a 3mm hook

DK dc (US sc) uses about 5cm per stitch using a 4.5mm hook.

DK htr (US hdc) uses about 7cm per stitch using a 4.5mm hook.

DK tr (US dc) uses about 9cm per stitch using a 4.5mm hook.

So, next time you are thinking about buying a variegated yarn in person, you can measure the length of each colour change (you will need to take a little measuring tape with you) to see whether the colour changes are right for you.

As a general rule, I prefer variegated yarns with quick colour changes for crochet. I think that it leads to a nicer looking, more cohesive finished project. You may prefer otherwise, and either way, it’s good to understand where your preference lies so that you buy yarn that you are more likely to want to use.

Please don’t just walk into a yarn shop or to a yarn vendor at a show and start opening out their skeins of yarn. If you ask them nicely, they will most likely be happy for you un-skein the yarn and take a look at it. Often there are hidden colours inside anyway that you may not see when it is all twisted up.

2 – Perth Project Runway update

The votes are now closed on the five garments that I short-listed (I have kept the list below in case you want to take another look at them). The top that won by one vote (between Instagram and Ravelry votes counted at midnight on Thursday 13th June) was Blurred Lines by Deanne at Addydae Designs. This was a pattern that was suggested time and time again by many of you and so I am unsurprised that it came out as the favourite. The Citizen Pullover by Kabila Sri Punnusamy (Tunisian crochet) was the next favourite.

ALT TEXT: Blurred Line jumper is being worn outside. It is a light grey with a

faded core down the trunk and arms of a light grey/teal variegated yarn.

ALT TEXT: Citizen Pullover is being worn outside beside a city building. It is a light grey with coral pink stripes running on diagonals. Quite a long pullover with short sleeves.

1 – Citizen Pullover by Kabila Sri Ponnusamy

2 – Liza Pullover by Yuliya Tkacheva

3 – Blurred Lines by Addydae Designs

4 – Bark Sweater by Sidsel Sangild

5 – Bruni Top by Elven Handmade

On the Friday of Woollinn Festival of Yarn I scooted over the marquee to see Bernie at Bear in Sheep's Clothing to choose a variegated yarn to go with the teal blue that she had custom dyed for me. This was the day that Bernie was launching this new base which is called Corrie Halo (50% Corriedale and 50% Mohair).

ALT TEXT: Semi tonal blue yarn with a real halo to it and it’s called ‘Sprucey Bonus’ because it is the colour of the underside of a Spruce Tree. It is paired with a yarn called ‘Sulk’ and is on an ecru pink base with small patches of teal blue, acid yellow, sea green and plummy purples.

I know that when Stasia made her version of Blurred Lines, it took three weeks and she was working on it almost constantly. Although I have until the 6th September to get this jumper crocheted, it’s still going to be a tall order with all of the other things I have going on at the moment.

The lovely Catherine asked whether I was going to host a make along for this project. I wasn’t but I am now! It’s all very informal and you have from now until 7th September to make or finish off a garment. WIPs are allowed, it can be in any craft and any garment pattern, you just need to use the #crochetcirclemal and I have also opened a Ravelry thread for you to add to.

3 – Final Destination

I only have one FO to show you, my latest version of the Arria shawl. I finally finished this just before I headed up to Cumbria to vend at Woolfest last weekend.

This version is in John Arbon Textiles Harvest Hues (4ply/light fingering 400m/100g) in shades Russet and Blue Spruce and I am loving the shawl in solid colours.

ALT TEXT: White background with a vintage mannequin covered in the Arria shawl. It has a deep V front with dark petrol blue triangle segments running in a spine up the centre of the shawl. The rest of the shawl is in a russet brown/orange colour.

4 – En Route

Monogamous me means that I am just working on the Blurred Lines jumper at the moment as a personal project. There is a design project on the go at the moment but I will show you that in a future episode.

So, for the next couple of episodes, it may just be all about Blurred Lines because it needs up to 600g of 4 ply yarn - that’s 2,400m of yarn to crochet!

So, here’s my progress so far. I have completed the neck ribbing and the second round of increases. I keep on trying the project on to make sure it fits nicely. If you are interested in making one of these, I am making notes for each stage that I pass through in my Ravelry project. If you want to take a look, simply search for ‘Perth Project Runway Blurred Lines’ under projects. I will also be adding updates to Ravelry.

ALT TEXT: The collar and beginnings of a yolk in a mid teal blue sit on a grey background. To the right is

a small ball of the same coloured yarn and above is a cake of the variegated pinky/ecru yarn which is the contrast colour.

I am hoping to get to the contrast colour in the next couple of days and am intrigued to see how the variegated skein will work up.

Deanne, the designer of Blurred Lines is an absolute star and has offered up some free patterns. To be in with a chance of winning one of her brilliantly written patterns, simply leave a comment in YouTube, Ravelry (there is a specific thread called Garment Make Along in time for Perth Festival of Yarn) or on the Instagram post for Episode 44 over @crochet_circle_podcast

5 – Feeding the Habit

Oooh, it has been a bit of a month and all of my purchases probably seem ridiculous, but I have plans, oh yes, I have plans!! Mwahahahahahahaaaa!

My biggest plan of all is that I have signed up to a solstice to solstice yarn ban with a friend. So, design yarn aside, I won’t be buying any yarn until the winter solstice on the 21st December. In 2017 I only bought design yarn, so know that I can manage 6 months. It is time to work through some of my stash!

ALT TEXT: Two handmade bags on a grey background. The one on the left has a deep brown base and the top is bold autumnal coloured flowers and seed heads with a drawstring. Little balls of different coloured fibres are spilling out of the top and some ocean-inspired stitch markers are nearby. The bag to the right has a material handle and is cream with shop fronts of cafes and coffee shops.

These two bags were lovely gifts from friends. Marceline and I agreed way back at Edinburgh Yarn Festival to do a bag swap as we both aim to improve our machine sewing skills. The date was set for when she was over vlogging Woollinn Festival of Yarn. You can catch up with Marce’s trip to Dublin and the festival from her YouTube Channel. While I was vending at this festival – one of the friendliest I have ever been to – I was also given a bag by Sophie from A Spring Snowflake Podcast. I am so spoiled!

Then there is some yarn! I have been at the John Arbon Open Mill Weekend, Woollinn Festival of Yarn and Woolfest in the last month. Here is what has come in. The John Arbon wool is a mill special; before the open weekend they spin various colours together, so they are one-offs and sometimes move into a bit of a fade. I bought a jumper’s worth of this in a 4 ply and it will fade from a blue and cream into teal and cream. I also have a jumper’s quantity of the undyed Romney that I initially bought for my knitted Canisp jumper. I finished Canisp and the shape didn’t look right on me but looked fab on Juliet and she insisted on replacing the finished jumper with the means for me to make myself another. The Romney Sportweight is now destined to become a Bark Sweater which will be my next crocheted garment after I have finished Blurred Lines.

ALT TEXT: Four skeins of marled yarn on a grey background. The skeins are all marled with a grey/cream but fade from teal to blue.

ALT TEXT: THree skeins of a mushroom brown wool lie on a grey background. The labels have sheep on them and sat Romney. The twist of the yarn is obvious and squishy.

At Woollinn I picked up a couple of skeins for a one-skein shawl design that I am working on. The first is a beautiful blend of Alpaca and silk from Tara at Irish Artisan Yarns. I love that Tara is inspired by the colours of her home turf of the Antrim Coast in Northern Ireland. The second is a skein of Alpa-Si-Li (50% Alpaca, 25% silk, 25% linen) in colourway Passion, by Dye Dye Done. I was vending along from both of these lovely vendors at Woollinn which was an absolute delight. Dye Dye Done is a husband and wife team. Hanna is an extremely talented knitwear designer and Daniel is the yarn dyer – what a duo! They also have vegan yarns.

ALT TEXT: Grey background with a skein of pale, delicate and luxurious yarn at the front from Irish Artisan Yarns. It is pink, purple and grey.

Behind it sits a ball of yarn with the tail pulled forward. It's plummy purple/scarlet with silver slivers running through it.

On our way up to Woolfest in Cumbria, we stopped off at Blackwell Arts and Crafts House. It is a stunning example of arts and crafts architecture and interior design and well worth a visit. It’s right beside Lake Windermere. While I was there, I picked up a Japanese book on embroidery called ‘Simply Stitched’ by Yumiko Higuchi which is stuffed full of beautiful projects that you can use odds and ends of wool and cotton for.

ALT TEXT: Grey background with the 'Simply Stitched' book lying flat. The front cover shows

examples of embroidery motifs (trees, flowers, a chicken), all sewn with wool thread.

6 – Quick News Beats

1 - Global Hook Up – I have set the dates for the next six months and will stick to the 8 pm GMT/BST on a Saturday night and 9 am GMT/BST on a Sunday morning.

The details for the next sessions are already up in the Ravelry thread, can also be found below and will be put out on Instagram in advance.

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

If you are joining on your phone or tablet you will likely need to download the software in advance. If you are joining from a PC or Mac, you can join via the link above. Everyone needs to use the same ID number to get into the session.

July – Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st

August - Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th

September - Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd

October - Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th

November - Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th

December - Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th

2 – The good folk behind The Craft Bank on Ravelry, Lisa and Sophie are hosting a gift-along. You just need to go to The Craft Bank Group on Ravelry and fill in the very quick online survey that is linked and then you will be paired up with a partner. I have already signed up, so some lucky, lucky soul will be getting a dodgy project bag from me…

3 – I have a handful of yarn shows left that I am vending at in 2019 and the next one to let you know about is Yarnfolk in Northern Ireland on Saturday 3rd of August. It’s a one-day show in Whitehead (accessible via train from Belfast) and is such a friendly show. This will be my third year vending there, which says a lot really.

7 – J’adore

While I was up in the Lake District with my friend Annabel, our lovely hosts Sarian and Andrew took us for a picnic to Derwent Water. It was a cracking evening by the lakeshore and I went swimming! In the lake!

ALT TEXT: A lake with mountains in the background. Some stones are in the foreground with various people out swimming and a man and his dog on a paddle board. I am one of the swimmers!

I am now a little obsessed with the idea of wild swimming. It wasn’t as cold as you might think! My very lovely Papa Bear has asked me to go to Iceland with him in November, so I see a lot of trips to geothermal plunge pools and outdoor pools in my future.

I will be back on Friday the 2nd of August.

Fay x

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