A departure from the usual podcast format this week as I do a round up of my visit to Highland Wool Festival in Dingwall on 23rd May 2015. Several different makers and producers are highlighted, making this essenially an entire episode of enabling, if you will. Mentioned are Ripplescrafts, Whiteinch Craft Studio, Marcassie Farm Organic yarn, Whistlebare Yarns, Natural Born Dyers, Yarn Garden, Tartan at Heart, South Lissens Pottery and Sky Blue Pink, amongst others.

A chilled-out recap this week will be followed next week by a return to the usual format.

Shownotes are as always at www.shinybees.com

News-wise, it's all about events this week, with Highland Wool Festival taking place on 23rd May at Dingwall Mart. Indie Burgh Yarn Crawl 2015 will be happening on 13/14th June 2015 in Edinburgh, organised by Jess James of Ginger Twist Studio, in collaboration  with Kathy's Knits and Be Inspired Fibres. Clare Devine will also be teaching workshops over the weekend; you can find details at www.yarnandpointysticks.com.

In Enablers' Corner, there's a round up of Linne Foirthe Club. Check out Scottish-based dyers Ripplescrafts, Ginger's Hand Dyed and Rainbow Heirloom.

Make It Fit 2015 will be kicking off with a measure-up. More details to follow.

In the Sock Surgery, Clare and I review The Knitter's Curiosity Cabinet Vol II by Hunter Hammersen. You can win a copy of this over at Clare's blog.

Full shownotes available at www.shinybees.com.

Welcome in to another episode. This week we have some yarn based news for you. There will be a trunk show at Fluph in Dundee on 27th May 2015 with Nic from Yarns From The Plain, from 2pm-8pm. Also, there's a new group on Ravelry for those hopelessly overcommitted types; The Hotel For The Hopelessly Overcommitted. Come and join the fun there if you ever feel slightly stretched on the knitting front.

In Enablers' Corner I announce the collaborative project between myself and Louise Scollay of KnitBritish podcast: Make It Fit 2015. It's going to be an investigative piece looking at lots of different aspects of knitting to fit, with the aim of empowering you to tailor garments to your requirements. It will take place mostly on the blogs and you can contact us at [email protected].

There are a couple more yarn recommendations for summer knitting courtesy of lovely listeners.

Finally, Wippin' Piccadilly is back with not a great deal of progress! How do you keep your knitting on track?

Shownotes with all links are available on the blog.

Music is provided courtesy of Music Alley with Adam and the Walter Boys and 'I Need A Drink'.

This week we have a little yarny news, Enablers' Corner and the Sock Surgery with Clare Devine.

The Shinybees Podcast is sponsored by Blacker Yarns. Check out their new summer yarn, Lyonesse: a 50% linen, 50% wool blend, perfect for summer knitting and creating cool, breathable garments. Lyonesse is available in DK and 4ply now, in five colours and a neutral at www.blackeryarns.co.uk. Enjoy making shawls, cardigans and more this summer with Blacker Yarns Lyonesse.

News wise, the winner of the Wollmeise giveaway is announced along with the start of a new giveaway. If you've even wanted a knitted Shaun the Sheep, this is the competition for you.

Highland Wool Festival takes place at Dingwall Auction Mart on 23rd May 2015. Ripplescrafts needs to be top of your list if you are going (and if you aren't!)

Enablers' Corner has a few pattern suggestions for summer garments in cotton, bamboo and linen yarns like those suggested in the last episode.

The Sock Surgery returns and Clare is talkign about variations on the short row heel.

As always, shownotes are at www.shinybees.com

Music is provided courtesy of Music Alley and is Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink'.

Summer is on its way. Honest! This week, we're looking at summer knitting and which yarns to go for when creating projects for the hotter weather.

News wise, I encourage you all to check out Yarn Shop Day by Let's Knit Magazine. This initiative supports 160 local yarn stores nationwide and there are a variety of events in yarn shops on the day within those shops. Yarn Shop Day takes plave on Saturday 2 May 2015.

Brityarn is a new online yarn store, launching on 2 June 2015. With an emphasis on provenance, BritYarn is guided by its Woolly Principles in choosing what to stock and sell.  BritYarn is committed to supporting British businesses in all respects. You can find BritYarn on Ravelry and at www.brityarn.co.uk

Enablers' Corner sees an exploration into plant based fibre yarns, specifically cotton, bamboo and linen. The pros and cons of each are discussed, as well as a selection of commercially available and hand dyed yarns with each type of fibre. 

The yarn review is of Blacker Lyonnesse, a 50% linen, 50% wool (Falklands Corriedale and Merino), due to launch on 1 May 2015. It comes in five shades and a neutral in both 4ply and DK weights. It costs £5.75 per 50g ball. I review the DK in the colour way 'Aquamarine'. It wil be available from www.blackeryarns.co.uk

Shownotes are available from www.shinybees.com.

Music for this episode is via Music Alley and is courtesy of Adam and the Walter Boys, with 'I Need a Drink'.

Short rows are for life, not just for Christmas. We embrace the short row this episode in the Sock Surgery, where Clare Devine joins us again and we start our new sock for April.

In Enablers' Corner, we chat about the #hapalong being run by Louise Scollay of KnitBritish. Ever been interested in traditional Shetland knitting? Now's your chance to learn a little more!

There's a giveaway of a skein of Wollmeise to members of the Shinybees Ravelry group. To enter, hop over to the thread on Ravelry and tell me what your favourite bit of the podcast is.

The Sock Surgery introduces the short row heel and different methods for doing short rows. Clare also reviews Big Foot Knits by Andi Smith and there is a giveaway on her blog at www.yarnandpointysticks.com.

To ensure you never miss an episode, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or your podcatcher of choice, or on the blog to receive notifications straight to your inbox.

As always, shownotes are at www.shinybees.com and music is provided by Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need a Drink' via Music Alley.

Polish deisgner Justyna Lorkowska is in the hotseat this week, chatting about her journey from private primary school teacher, through motherhood and into knitting designer. Designing under Lete's Knits, Justyna has a wide portfolio of patterns, from accessories to garments and for all age ranges, as well as a few for the men in your life (or yourself!). Majoring in chunky texture and cabled details, she's designed some of the  favourites of Ravelry, such as Alecia Beth, Alice in Wonderland and most recently, Florrick. She collaborated on a special edition kit for Edinburgh Yarn Festival, designing a shawl pattern, Aisling, for Eden Cottage Yarns.

Shownotes as always are at www.shinybees.com

Justyna can be found at www.letesknits.com

Music for this episode is provided courtesy of Music Alley and is 'I Need a Drink' by Adam and the Walter Boys.

We're back with some enabling, a bit ore enabling and some socks this week. Oh, and baby bums. That is sort of enabling too.

In Enablers' Corner, there is a precis of the new collection from Tin Can Knits, entitled 'Max and Bodhi's Wardrobe'. Modelled by two of the cutest kids known to mankind, both of whom have chubby baby bum on show and one of which is sporting a mohawk, it is sure to have you scouring your friends for babies to clothe, or indeed, considering expanding your own brood.

Wippin' Piccadilly covers finished objects and works in progress. There are very large pompoms on babies. It's a bit baby centric in general at the moment. That isn't a hidden message by the way.

The Sock Surgery is an exercise in self-striping yarn enablement, with Clare's picks of the best places to get your hands on hand dyed and commercial self stripes.

Finally, we round up with a fab giveaway from Tanja at The Knitting Swede.

Shownotes, as always, are on the blog. Music is provided courtesy of Adam and the Walter Boys via Music Alley, with 'I Need a Drink'.

This week, I'm delighted to bring an interview with Stephen West of Westknits. I caught up with Stephen at Edinburgh Yarn Festival where he proclaimed brioche stitch to be the stitch of the year and indeed the new garter stitch, recounted fangirling Ysolda in the early days of his design career and declared Tosh Merino Light in Edison Bulb his Desert Island Skein.

No swants were harmed in the making of this podcast.

Shownotes for the episode are at www.shinybees.com.

Music is provided via Music Alley by Adam and the Walter Boys with 'I Need A Drink'.

When your favourite author shuffles off his mortal coil, there's little else you can do but pay homage in a knitty fashion. Following the death of Sir Terry Pratchett, this episode could certainly be described as a knitty tribute.

Enablers' Corner takes a non Pratchett-driven form with a rundown of the first quarter yarns from The Golden Skein. These were UK dyer Joy of The Knitting Goddess with the colour way 'Golden Wings Flutter By', dyed onto the Britsock base. This is a 40% BFL, 20% Wensleydale, 20% Alpaca and 20% Nylon, British sourced and spun. Secondly, there is Swiss-based dyeing duo Fides and Gaby of Siidegarte, with the colourway 'Butterfly'. This is dyed onto the Siide-Quirlig base, a heady blend of 70% Silk and 30% Seacell. Finally, there's the fabulour Michelle of Berry Colourful Yarnings, with the colourway 'Peacock's Revenge', dyed onto the Saturated Sock base. This is a 75% Superwash Merino, 25% Nylon base and is a self-striping yarn.

The pattern pick is back, with less emphasis on the comedy and more on a collation of Discworld themed patterns. A brief history of Discworld time is offered for the uninitiated.

In the Sock Surgery, it's all about afterthought heels. Get that self-stripe out my friends!

Clare also introduces a new book review section to the Sock Surgery. This episode is a review of Sock Architecture by Lara Neel. Clare's verdict: not for beginners, but and excellent companion book for those interested in more technical knitting aspects. There is a giveaway running for this book at www.yarnandpointysticks.com

As always, full shownotes are available at www.shinybees.com