knitterly

Episode 35: Allison Volek Shelton – Glass blowing, Nashville, Woven fabric, and Shutters and Shuttles

September 22, 2015

Sponsor: I wanted to thank one of our sponsors for this week’s episode, Fiber in the Boro, Middle Tennessee’s largest Fall fiber festival. This one day festival is taking place on Saturday October 24th, with free admission and parking at the Rutherford County Agri-Park right off I-24. This is a wonderful opportunity to discover a wide array of special yarns, fibers, and spinning, knitting and weaving tools from fiber folks both local and all over the Eastern United States. Between the food trucks, yarn bus, classes on saori weaving, spinning, needle felting, natural dyeing, and twining, it’s an event that should not be missed. You can find more info at fiberintheboro.com or follow the festival on Facebook, Ravelry and Instagram @fiberintheboro.

Fiber folk: You can’t help but be mesmerized by the work of Allison Volek Shelton, founder of Shutters and Shuttles in Nashville, TN. The intricacies of the designs, the curated colors of the fiber she both dyes and weaves with…it’s a bit unbelievable. What’s even more intriguiging is hearing her journey of how she went from pursuing a life as a glass blower to herpetology to cupcakes and finally landing in the most serendipitous of callings…a textile weaver. You can find Allison at www.shuttersandshuttles.com and on Instagram @shuttersandshuttles.

Sponsor: I wanted to thank our other sponsor for this week’s episode Yarn, a sweet shop for yarn addicts, created by Sunni Scrivner in Eureka, California. Sunni’s love of color is reflected in her warm and shelfful shop. Her in-shop pattern line called, Sweet Shop Patterns is available in the store and on their website at yarn-fun.com, where you can also find information about classes and other special events, including their “Becoming a Better Knitter” series, with topics from Finishing, Reading Patterns, Seaming and Fixing Mistakes. Make sure to visit Yarn when in Humboldt county and follow along on Instagram @yarnfun418.

Man on the Street: For this week’s “Man on the Street” I asked the question, “What are you most looking forward to knitting, crocheting, weaving, spinning this fall?”. We had some great answers from Amy @urban_farm_wife, Hope @hopehawley, Colleen @seniorknitizen, Sonja @atreebytheriver, Christy @Kristi_sweetkm, and Nikki @woolenviolet.

Giveaway: The winners of last week’s giveaway, are Sherie Dodson, Jennifer Edwards and kimbuktu7. You’ve each won a Brookfield Shawl pattern kit from Sincere Sheep and designer Annie Rowden. Congratulations!

We have two giveaways this week sponsored by Fiber in the Boro and Shutters and Shuttles. We’re giving away 8oz of mixed BFL fiber in the Squash Blossom color way, from Fiber in the Boro. We’re also giving away two skeins of raw silk noil yarn in the color of your choice from Shutters and Shuttles. To enter this giveaway and be one of the three winners, leave a comment on this post.

Woolful KAL: Beginning October 1st we’ll be starting the Fall Woolful Knitalong which will be co-hosted by Knitterly. This time we’ll be knitting a pattern from Cecelia’s book, Sequence Knitting and the best part is that you get to pick the pattern! So make sure to pick up a copy of her book, which you can find in person or online at knitterly.net. As for what yarn to use? We’ll be putting together a list of suggested yarns, but this could also be a great opportunity to use some of the yarn from your stash or explore using a new yarn like this week’s guest Allison from Shutters and Shuttles raw silk noil yarn. So take a look and start dreaming of the perfect Fall project. We’ll share more details on the blog and podcast this next week. And for all those who have been so patient during this past month as we completed our move, I’ll be announcing the winner’s of last quarter’s Home and Away KAL this week.

Music by Jónsi.

96 Comments

Making Podcast Woolful Podcast

Episode 32: Cecelia Campochiaro -Rational tech thinking, sequence knitting, self-publishing and the importance of books

August 25, 2015

Sponsor: I wanted to thank this week’s sponsor, Knitterly…a special yarn shop created by Shelli Westcott, based in Petaluma California. I am always amazed at the well curated selection of yarns, fibers and classes Shelli works so hard to provide all us fiber enthusiasts. Knitterly recently released a gorgeous collection of weaving kits featuring a selection of colors and textures chosen by Shelli and her daughter Ashleigh. Make sure to visit knitterly.net for a great list of upcoming classes at the Petaluma shop and a vast selection of yarns and their own Radius collection.

Fiber folk: A few weeks ago, I spent a morning sitting in our living room and chatting with Cecelia Campochiaro, the author and creator behind Sequence Knitting. It was fun to discover commonalities other than the obvious love of fiber…from our careers in tech and our time in Taiwan, to having the same tech editor and analytical approach. Sitting across from Cecelia, you can see the passion and dedication to which she applies to her craft, but more than that, you can hear it in her voice. She’s spent an immense amount of time and thought, bringing to the world her first book, Sequence Knitting, a labor of love and necessary addition to any knitters library. You can find Cecelia at sequenceknitting.com and on Instagram @ceceliacampochiaro.

Man on the street: For this week’s “Man on the Street” I asked the question, “What sort of fiber related books fill your library?”. We had some great answers from Leanne @leannecoppola, Lauren @woolpickle, and Maria @fernfiber.

Sponsor: I wanted to make sure and thank our episode sponsor again, Knitterly. During the next few months Knitterly will be having a series of classes and workshops perfect for any fiber lover…from beginning knitting, to weaving, European Finishing Techniques, holiday inspired crafts, and Feltidermy. But the event I want to draw special attention to takes place in a few weeks on September 12th, when Cecelia, today’s guest, will be at Knitterly giving an intro on what sequence knitting is and teaching a workshop based on the techniques found in her book. I so wish I was going to be in the area so I could attend this myself, but if you live in the area or will be passing through, you really must go meet Cecelia and be a part of this special event. Find this and a list of all the other classes and workshops at knitterly.net

Giveaway: The winner of last week’s giveaway, is Beth of Evergreen Violet! You’ve won 2 skeins of Fancy Tiger Crafts Heirloom Romney along with their beautiful Imposter’s Shawl pattern. Congratulations!

This week’s giveaway is sponsored by Knitterly and Rowan Morrison Books. We’re giving away one of Cecelia’s books, Sequence Knitting from Knitterly and a 3-pack of the Knitters Graph Paper Journal from Rowan Morrison Books. To enter this giveaway, leave a comment in the comment section at the bottom of the post page.

Knitalong: Beginning October 1st we’ll be starting the Fall Woolful Knitalong which will be co-hosted by Knitterly. This time we’ll be knitting a pattern from Cecelia’s book, Sequence Knitting and the best part is that you get to pick the pattern! So make sure to pick up a copy of her book, which you can find in person or online at knitterly.net. As for what yarn to use? We’ll be putting together a list of suggested yarns, but this could also be a great opportunity to use some of the yarn from your stash. So take a look and start dreaming of the perfect Fall project. We’ll share more details on the blog and podcast as it get’s closer.

Music by Jónsi.

104 Comments

Making Podcast Woolful Podcast

Episode 17: Kristine Vejar and Molly de Vries – Indian textiles, natural dyeing, perfection and living a non-disposable life

March 31, 2015

I’m very excited to share the 17th episode of the Woolful podcast. Today we get to meet two wonderful fiber folk from here in the bay area, both women I’ve really loved getting to know and have had a special part in contributing to this community on both a local and global scale…Molly de Vries of Ambatalia and Kristine Vejar of A Verb For Keeping Warm.

Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Knitterly, a very special yarn shop created by Shelli Westcott, based in Petaluma California and online at shop.knitterly.net. I am always so amazed at the well curated selection of yarns, fibers and classes Shelli works so hard to provide all us fiber enthusiasts. Make sure to visit when in Petaluma and online at shop.knitterly.net

Fiber folk 1: Kristine has had a beautiful fiber journey, from India to Oakland and many places in-between. She’s has built a yarn, fiber and fabric shop, A Verb For Keeping Warm, where her days are often spent growing and honing her natural dye business. She’ll be releasing a book soon on natural dyeing, which I can’t wait to dive into. You can find her at averbforkeepingwarm.com and on Instagram @avfkw.

Man on the Street: For this week’s “Man on the Street” I asked a question, shared by Karli in our Raverly group. “If you were on a budget for your fiber goods, how would you go about continuing to buy and use natural/local yarns?” One of our Man on the Street team members Abby @abbygoodknits, had a great answer.

Fiber folk 2: Our next guest, Molly is so passionate and honest, which I’ve come to love as I’ve gotten to know her. She has a beautiful journey in self discovery and part of that has translated into her impactful business, Ambatalia. She’s on a mission to spread the love and simple pleasures of a non-disposable life. You can find her at ambatalia.com and on Instagram @ambatalia.

Giveaway: The winner of last week’s giveaway, is Taralynn Dixon! You’ve won a 2 year subscription to Taproot Magazine. Congratulations!

This week’s giveaway is sponsored by Ambatalia, and we’re giving away a collection of 5 assorted bento bags, which work perfect as project bags, as reusable bulk food bags or to carry any variety of special goods. To enter this giveaway, leave a comment below.

Thank you so much to everyone who has participated in the March knit along of the Moto vest. Tomorrow we’ll be kicking off the April knit along, a fun quick knit for kids and bunny lovers alike. We’ll be knitting Beau the Bunny, my newest Little Woolens pattern, a small toy bunny who’s ready for Spring. You can find more details on our Woolful Ravelry group and I’ll be posting a blog post launching the knit along as well.