Episode 8: Catherine and her six items challenge

We have a guest on this episode! Say hello to chopkinsknits.

Welcome Tangled Yarn!

Awesome sponsor:We are thrilled to have Tangled Yarn joining us as our first YitC Podcast sponsor! Tangled Yarn specialises in hand-dyed yarn and natural fibres from smaller independent suppliers both here in the UK and further afield. They offer free UK shipping on orders of £25 or more, or free international shipping on orders of £75 or more. Tangled Yarn also carries a tempting and colourful selection of Jamieson & Smith yarns, which we'll be using in the Quotidian Colourwork workshop that we're hosting with Felicity Ford of Knitsonik.

Some of the gorgeous yarns on offer at Unravel. These beauties were on The Fibre Co. stand.

What's going on:

We recap Unravel briefly and chat about the following upcoming events:5-8th March: the Spring Knitting and Stitching Show at Olympia Central, London8th March: the Muse Connection, hosted by A Playful Day and Curious Handmade. Sadly, this installment is sold out, but stay tuned for future events.15-16th March: EYF26th March: Felicity Ford is coming to London to teach her Quotidian Colourwork Class with us at Homemade London. Get your tickets on the Events page!25-26th April: the 10th anniversary of Wonderwool Wales in Builth Wells15-16th May: I Knit Fandango at the Royal Horticultural Halls in Westminster, where we will be at the Porpoise Fur booth!In the works:

Catherine is working on a the Vivid Blanket by Tin Can Knits, for her impending grandchild. She's also working on a pair of socks in SweetGeorgia Tough Love Sock, doing them two at a time on two circs, and doing her best to incorporate them as an accessory at every opportunity. Rachel finished her Sooper Sekrit YitC Crafty Guide sample knit in gorgeous Eden Cottage Yarns Bedale (which we may have mis-identified as camel/silk -- it's actually yak and silk. Weep for us). Other then that, she's had a knitting fail as half-term was spent trying to prevent her kids from killing themselves on skis, eating too much cheese (is there really such a thing?), and falling asleep on the couch at 8:00 pm. On the spinning front, she's decided to jump on the Garter Squish bandwagon, and is spinning up some of her teensy wee fiber stash to get started.

Allison's Munchkin Blanket by Amy Swenson

Allison finished her Munchkin Baby Blanket by Amy Swenson, and it is gorgeous!!!! She's on stripe 8 of 13 in her Garter Squish blanket (by Stephen West) and has wound the yarn for her GLYC Not-A-KAL KAL project.

Photo courtesy of Catherine Hopkins

Six Items Challenge:Catherine is participating in a clothing fast called the Six Items Challenge to benefit Labour Behind the Label, a charity supporting garment workers around the world. For six weeks, participants wear only six items of clothing from their wardrobes (knickers, shoes and accessories are thankfully exempt). Money raised in the Challenge will be used both to directly support garment workers and to campaign for further awareness. You can follow Catherine's progress on her Six Items Challenge on her blog, and find her fundraising page here (as of this writing she's the leading fundraiser for the challenge - go C!!!). You can find Scrapianna's blog here.As always you can find us on Ravelry, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. Please don't hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback with us, and please come say hi at any of the events we're attending if you get a chance!Music credits (all available on NoiseTrade)

Loneliness & Alcohol - Jars of Clay

Fierce Flawless - Ani Difranco

Everything You've Done Wrong - Sloan

Desperate Dreams - Jess Pillmore