CH 150: Holiday Traditions: Talking about Diwali with Charoo

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Today I’m rounding up the events going on the Curious Handmade world right now, feeling envious of all the amazing Advent calendars I’ve been spying on Instagram, and continuing our holiday traditions series by chatting with my friend Charoo from India. She shares the stories and traditions around the biggest festival in her culture: Diwali, a festival of lights. I learned so much and really enjoyed hearing about the joy and love that goes into their celebrations, and how her family balances traditions from India and the UK.

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Knitvent Update:

It’s the fourth week of Knitvent already, and behind window #4 was the wonderful Boreal Forest Hat by Renée Callahan! This matches the Boreal Forest Cowl she created for week two, so together they are a lovely set.

Here’s the description:

The Boreal Forest Hat is the second pattern from Knitvent guest designer, Renée Callahan of EastLondonKnit. Designed as a companion to the Boreal Forest Cowl: together they make an indulgent set of gifts for a loved one (including yourself!). Inspired by rows of pine trees spread through a boreal woodland, this snug winter hat will keep your head warm even on a chilly evening stroll through the countryside. The simple-to-follow colourwork features smart geometric pine trees. The worsted weight yarn means that this piece works up quickly for experienced knitters, but even adventurous newer knitters should enjoy this project. Depending on your yarn choices, the Boreal Forest Hat can suit men or women, so it’s a wonderful project to fill a few spots on your gift list!

The sample was knit with Malabrigo Rios worsted.

Events:

Knitaid

This is a great time of year to help out Knitaid who are accepting knitted donations until the 20th of December to send to the refugee camps. They focus on hats, cowls, and other warm things, knit with love and quality yarn for people who have lost everything, and they’ve just asked for covered hot water bottles this time, so I’m donating free versions of my Warm Wishes Hottie Pattern to anyone who wants to knit one for Knitaid. Use the code KNITAID when you check out on Ravelry!

Christmas Party

We’ll be gathering for another Curious Handmade Krimbo Party here in London very soon! Here are the details:

1-4pm

Sunday 11 Dec

The Paternoster

Pater Noster Square near St. Paul’s Cathedral.

RSVP to helen@curioushandmade.com

We’ll be doing an informal Secret Santa: if you want to participate bring a skein of yarn: £12 to £20 in value, wrapped as a gift. We’ll do somehting fun to swap them on the day. Maya from The Wool Barn has sent me the most beautiful sock kit for a door prize, so some lucky person will go home with that as well!

Small Business Saturday

I’m running a special thank you promotion to celebrate Small Business Saturday here in the UK tomorrow. With the one time use code SBSthanks you can buy two of my patterns or collections and get the least expensive one for free until Sunday the 4th of December!

That’s everything this week! Thank you so much for listening and until next time, happy knitting!

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