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Welcome to the second in my Summer Series. I talk about the magical trip I had to New York and on to Squam back at the beginning of June, indulging my global nomad tendencies. I spent my time there doing a bit of “knitting crosstraining”, stretching my creative horizons, and, as always, falling in love with lots of gorgeous yarn, only some of which came home with me.
Show Sponsors
Today’s show is sponsored by The Fibre Co, and their magnificently soft and beautiful Acadia yarn.
Acadia is named after the oldest American national park east of the Mississippi river, a place of natural beauty where the sea and mountains meet, slopes are densely forested and wild blueberries abound. Acadia National Park is in the state of Maine, The Fibre Co.’s birthplace. The yarn inspired by this beautiful region has a rustic look and a soft hand. A subtle tweed effect is created by the silk noil that is combined with a heathered base made from fine merino wool and brown baby alpaca. The yarn is a classic DK weight and makes a beautiful textured fabric that is perfect for next to the skin accessories as well as garments.
My two-colour Whispering Island Shawl sample was knit in Acadia, and it’s gotten so many compliments. You can buy Acadia at our other sponsor’s shop, Meadow Yarn:
Meadow Yarn is an inviting online retailer selling yarn, needles and notions. It’s a small, family business based in rural Suffolk in the UK. Meadow Yarn was born out of a passion for beautiful yarn and knitting accessories and aims to bring you a range of great products. Yarns stocked include madelinetosh, Eden Cottage Yarn, the Fibre Co and many more.
What’s in the WIP
I mentioned Paula Emons-Fussle’s new Cave Point Shawl on last week’s show, coming from the Shawls 2015 collection from Quince and Co. I’ve cast it on using that lovely Chickadee Yarn in Audouin and it’s a ridiculously addictive knit.
I’m also working on the Coopey Oleum Socks and I’m up to the lace now!
Show Links
I talk about my road trip to Squam Art Workshops with my friend Stewart. We visited:
Brooklyn General, where I splurged on a sale of Madeline Tosh yarn.
Mood Fabrics in Manhattan, of Project Runway fame, where I managed to control my urges and didn’t buy anything!
and in New Hampshire, we stopped in Harrisville, where they are famous for spinning wool. Notably Brooklyn Tweed (I bought some) but also their own Harrisville Yarn (I bought some of that, too.)
Once I got to Squam I took two classes:
An embroidery class:”Thread and Memory” with Joetta Maue
A writing class: “Writing Your Own Myth” with Elizabeth Duvivier, the founder and director of Squam
We also got to hear a talk from Clara Parkes who talked about her journey and her projects, especially her lovely Clara Yarn.
The art fair at Squam had so many wonderful vendors, including:
My friend Stewart’s Leather Wool Linen, selling beautiful bags
Yarn on The House with their brilliantly coloured hand-dyed yarn
Hannah Fettig was selling her pattern book Home and Away, which I will review in a future episode.
If you didn’t make it to Squam and you’d like to make your own little retreat at home, online classes are a great way to introduce yourself to something new, stirring your creativity. I looked up some Creativebug embroidery classes to recommend. Rebecca Ringquist is a hugely gifted thread artist and teacher who has some really great classes available.
Creating an Embroidery Sampler
And a heads up about an amazing event coming up.
Great London Yarn Crawl on Saturday the 5th of September, which is huge fun, and I’ll have a stand at the pop-up marketplace at the end!
That about does it for the show notes this week! I hope you enjoyed this laid-back summer episode. Join me in the Instagram game while I’m away. Just tag me or comment away to get in touch. Happy knitting!
