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After all the teasing and guessing, the first design of Knitvent 2021 has been revealed! The Skyline Wrap is a holiday rom-com inspired pattern designed to use up scraps or a yarn advent calendar. Today on the podcast I’m talking a bit about the pattern as well as my plans for the last bit of the year, heading into the holidays: where I’ve gotten to with my Happiness Project and how I’d like to finish out 2021. I also have many giveaway winners to announce! So settle in and get cosy, and let’s have a crafty chat.
Show Sponsors
Meadow Yarn; Anj is the heart, mind, and hand behind Meadow Yarn. She spends her days dying yarn and telling stories in the Suffolk countryside. The regular hand dyed shades you’ll find in their online shop are influenced by the surrounding landscape, the north sea coast, and the big skies overhead. For an extra dose of imagination with your knitting, Anj also releases her limited edition yarn fictions from time to time. These capsule yarn collections are inspired by her original short stories. You can download them and read along as you knit. As well as their own label, Hand Dyed Yarn, Meadow Yarn also stocks some of Anj’s personal favorite wools and supplies, Icelandic Lopi, Hazel Knits, KnitPro needles and notions, Eucalan wool wash, and arrange of inspirational journals and magazines. You can find them at meadowyarn.co.uk.
Find all your favourite luxury yarns and discover plenty more at A Yarn Story, Bath’s premier yarn store based in Walcot Street, Bath, UK. From gorgeous skeins by The Fibre Co and Walcot Yarns to a fine selection from Shibui Knits, La Bien Aimée, House of a la Mode, and Julie Asselin, there is plenty for the discerning knitter to enjoy. With friendly and knowledgeable staff to help you browse, there is plenty for the discerning knitter to enjoy. Visit the store at Walcot Street, Bath or shop online at www.ayarnstory.co.uk.
Show Links:
Knitvent 2021 has started; the first pattern has been released with 5 more secret patterns to follow between now and the 2nd of December!
Knitvent 2021 on Ravelry
Knitvent 2021 on Gumroad
The first Knitvent 2021 pattern The Skyline Wrap was knit in Natural Fibre Art Lux Sock . This pattern is designed for an yarn advent calendar and the particular calendar I used is no longer available, but it would suit any set with at least 17 grams of 24 colours of fingering weight yarn ( or make your own advent set, you can see my tips here )
Huge thanks to my talented test knitters Deb, Tracy, Stewart, and Kelly. Thanks also to my daughter Sophie for modelling the sample so perfectly
If you’re joining me for Knitvent this year, welcome! I’ll be doing a giveaway for the whole of Knitvent in Jan. 2022 so keep an eye on the Curious Handmade Ravely group and on instagram be sure to use the #knitvent2021
The Habitation Throw from Knitvent 2019 on Gumroad and on Ravelry
My own design Simply Curious Socks: click this link for a free Beginner Sock Knitting Pattern & Workshop
Cyril Socks by Danielle Jorge of Little Bobbins
#thehappinessproject on Instagram
I’ve posted a new video chatting about some knitting gift ideas and other holiday fun, and also some updates on my own works in progress; you can find the video here on my YouTube channel and the accompanying blog post here on my website.
October Winners
Knit20for2021
Ravelry Winner: Post 52 by Jojo2020 who ticked off deep-stash-stash with a cosy cowl and nominated Northwoods fibers
Instagram Winner: @janinel1512 who knit a lovely slouchy hat, pattern by @ginnisr
Veranda Shade Shawl FO Thread: Post 16 by StitchnessOh
Knitvent 2021 Giveaway
Ravelry Winner: Post 60 by Cheryl0472
Ravelry runner up – winners of Blossom Time Shawl Pattern (or pattern of choice if already purchased this pattern)
2. Post 101 by tuckerdoory
Instagram Winner: @caffeinatedknit
Instagram runner up – winners of Blossom Time Shawl Pattern (or pattern of choice if already purchased this pattern )
3. @kel_knits
4. @josiekitten
5. @ppangknits
Winners can contact me via email (support@curioushandmade.com) or on Ravelry
The Shawl Society 5
All 6 shawls in The Shawl Society 5 are out now; The Curling Mist Shawl , The Silver River Shawl, The Wild Bees Wrap , The Lavender Fields Shawl,The Veranda Shade Shawl and now The Hinterlands Shawl. Thank you to everyone who participated in The Shawl Society this year, it’s been such a joy to share my designs and then to see your creations on Ravely and Instagram.
The Shawl Society 5 on Gumroad
The Shawl Society 5 on Ravelry
#tss5 and theshawlsociety5 on Instagram
The Hinterlands Shawl FO Thread on Ravelry will run until December 1st, 2021
TSS 5: Six/Five Completed Shawls FO Thread on Ravelry will run until January 7th, 2022
The Knit 20 for 2021 KAL
Join in with the Knit 20 for 2021 KAL by sharing your finished object photos here in the November FO Thread on Ravelry
You can also enter on Instagram with the hashtag #knit20for2021 on Instagram and don’t forget to nominate a local yarn shop or indie dyer in case you win!
For more information on how the monthly knitalong works and how to enter, visit this page on the Curious Handmade website for all the details.
Free Curious Handmade Workshops
Simply Curious Socks: Free Beginner Sock Knitting Pattern & Workshop
The Spindrift Shawl: Free Beginner Shawl Knitting Pattern & Workshop
Join the Curious Handmade Group on Ravelry for new pattern announcements, KALs, support and questions for patterns and any other fun things that come up, and join our Curious Crew Newsletter at the link below
Show transcript:
Welcome to the Curious Handmade Podcast. You’re listening to episode 353. This podcast is all about crafting a life of happiness and creativity. I’m your host, Helen, and you can find me on Ravelry as HellsBells and on social media as Curious Handmade. You can also find full show notes and transcript on my website at curioushandmade.com.
I’d like to say a big thank you to my sponsor, A Yarn Story.
Hello, knitters. Welcome to the show today and welcome to November. Now that Halloween has passed, I’m aiming for an elegant glide into the end of the year. My initial reaction to writing down that goal is to laugh at myself a little bit, not totally hysterically, but there’s definitely a bit of a giggle there. But I think it’s good to have an aspirational vision, right? Anyway, so that’s my vision. Cool, calm and collected.
I have one completed gift knit tucked away now which is helping to make me feel quite calm and collected and am making good progress on another one. I finished a pair of Simply Curious Socks in Amble by The Fibre Co. for my mum. Surprise, Mum. And am working on another work-in-progress, which is the Cyril Socks by Dani Jorge of Little Bobbins for my dad. And I did show those on my most recent vlog on YouTube. So if you want to see what they look like, you can check that out over on YouTube.
I have another important project to complete this month though, which isn’t a holiday gift knit. I’m going to make a quilt for Sophie for her birthday, and I’m really enjoying working on my quilt designs. I haven’t talked about it heaps here, but a little bit. I mentioned it a few times. And I have two designs in the pipeline that I have made up the samples for. And I was wondering whether to make Sophie’s one of those two designs I’ve already done or whether to come up with a third. I think I’m going to have a go at a third design, especially for Soph. I’m not sure if she’d like it to be like the others, but I’m thinking I’ll make one especially for her.
I also have my Houses Quilt back from the long arm quilter, and I need to hand sew the binding down on that one so it can be ticked off my Happiness Project list by the end of the year. But I’m thinking about saving that project for December when I’m hoping to have finished my official work work and then can concentrate on more fun, personal projects. That’s my plan anyway. So lots of projects and creativity happening here.
And as we are now into the new month, I have lots of October knit-along winners to announce. So I’ll just quickly run through those because there are quite a few. We have Knit 20 for 2021 October winners. The Ravelry winner is post 52 by Jojo2020. And she ticked off the deep stash with a cowl. And she nominated Northwoods Fibres as her prize voucher. On Instagram, we had @janinel1512 who knit a lovely slouchy hat. And the pattern is by @ginnisr, G-I-N-N-I-S-R. So congratulations to the two Knit 20 for 2021 October winners, and thank you for participating.
We also have the winner of the Veranda Shade finished object from The Shawl Society. The winner is post number 16 by StitchnessOh. She has also knit a beautiful Hinterlands Shawl which caught my eye recently in a gorgeous colorway of pinks and blues. So congratulations, and we will be in touch about your prize.
And we also had a big giveaway for Knitvent 2021 for the launch of the pre-sales. And the winner is post number 60 on Ravelry by Cheryl0472. And on Instagram, the grand prize winner was @caffeinatedknit. And then we have prizes for a pattern of your choice or the Blossom Time Shawl pattern. The prizes on Ravelry were D-A-M-I-G-E, (dmaige) I don’t know how to pronounce that, post number 77. Post number 101 by tuckerdoory, post 132 by 4laurel, post 12 by adnil1701 and 29, barbg12. And then on Instagram, we have the winners of a Blossom Time Shawl pattern or a pattern of your choice, if you already have that one.; @skye.watson.16, @gellybean_stitches with a G stitches, gellybean_stitches , and Gellybean is with a G, @kel_knits, @josiekitten, @ppangknits. Thank you everyone for participating in that giveaway. I really, really loved reading about your holiday movies and holiday traditions. It really put me in the holiday spirit, the Christmas spirit, and I’m really looking forward to my wind down time in December.
And speaking of Knitvent, we had the very exciting event of the first pattern being released this week, just yesterday. The pattern is the Skyline Wrap and it is the Advent Set pattern. This pattern calls for approximately 17 grams of 24 colours of fingering weight yarn. The yarn I used for the sample is Natural Fibre Arts Luxe Sock. And I worked with an Advent Set from last year. So the Advent Calendar 2020 Winter from Natural Fibre Arts. So I’ve been working on this design planning and thinking about the yarn for about a year, since about this time last year. It’s been a long time in the making, and I am super, super excited to share it with you now.
I’ll read you the description, which starts the Holiday Movie Theme for this collection, “Bright lights, soaring, skyscrapers, and a healthy helping of ambition. Our holiday movie heroine moves to the big city to follow her dreams. By the time we meet her though, something’s not quite working out. Maybe she has a terrible boss. Maybe her improbably luxurious city apartment seems suddenly cold and empty. Maybe she yearns with a friendlier faces and slower pace she knew back home, or maybe she’s just got an unexpected phone call that will change everything.” The Big City [Skyline] Wrap is an exciting and generous knit, perfect for any main character in your life. And yes, that includes you, designed to use up scrap yarn or 24 mini skeins. This oversized wrap calls to mind the Art Deco architecture of famous big city skylines, sections of stripes, chevrons, and slipped stitches keep the project moving with lots of garter stitch for a cosy, squishy wrap you’ll never want to take off.
I’d like to say a very special thank you to my test knitters, Deb, Tracy, Stewart, and Kelly. As always, I couldn’t produce my patterns without my amazing testers. I’d like to say a huge thank you to Cheryl from Natural Fibre Arts for her yarn support with the Advent Set, the 2020 Advent Set, and to Sophie for being such a wonderful model in the photos. I hope you love this pattern. I think it’s pretty cool. I like the way it’s turned out. I think it will also be really flexible if you particularly liked one of the sections, you could do the whole shawl in just that section, if that makes sense, with the different colours. So you could use particular stripes. I particularly like the very middle section that has the chevrons and a combination of garter and stockinette rows.
So it’s a really fabulous texture. I think it really shows off the stripes, and I am actually considering kniting one of my Advent Sets this year, just all doing that particular section of stripes. I don’t know. I haven’t decided yet, but I’m thinking about that. And, of course, you can make it narrower or wider, yeah, pretty flexible pattern. I also am thinking about the possibility of making it into a throw width. So yes, I will post more details about that if I decide to do any of those things, and I would love to hear from you, if any of you are thinking about making any mods in that regard. I think the Habitation Throw is such a success because it was so flexible, and people could use different amounts of yarn and make it different sizes and even different shapes. Some people made it into a rectangular shape.
So I think the same could be done with this one. Maybe the possibilities aren’t quite as obvious when you originally see it, but I think there’s a lot of possibilities there. So I’m really excited to see what people come up with. I’m also excited to see if people start knitting it straight away with maybe Advent Sets from previous years that you might already have in your stash, or whether people are waiting for the 1st of December to cast on with their current year Advent Set.
So yes, very excited to see what people do with this pattern as always. I always really look forward to the launch of a new pattern to see what people do with it. So to everybody joining in, thanks so much. Please go ahead and post any works in progress and patterns on Instagram with the hashtag #knitvent2021, and there’s also a Ravelry thread. We’ll be having a giveaway for the whole of Knitvent in January. So people posting finished objects either on Instagram or Ravelry, we’ll just do one grand prize draw in January for the whole collection.
So that’s all I have for this week, just before I sign off, I would like to thank my sponsor, Meadow Yarn.
I hope you have an absolutely wonderful week, and I’ll talk to you again next week. Happy knitting.
