The KNITSONIK podcast is like an unreliable bus service. You wait and wait for days and then several come at once. You can find Part 1 here.
As ever, you can hear the podcast by subscribing through iTunes, listening through the player below, or downloading it directly from its page on Internet Archive.
Part 2 of the EDIROL trilogy/epic begins with some recordings made at Gwlana in May, including the industrious silence during the wonderful knitting time and a ridiculous new song on which I’m working that eulogises the Jamieson & Smith 2-ply Jumper Weight yarn palette. (If you have a good rhyme for “Strawberry” KNITSONIK wants to hear it.)
My new KNITSONIK commission “The Fabric of Oxford” is announced and don’t forget – if you are in Oxford this Saturday you can share your textile stories for inclusion in the project!
Old and funny field recordings made at WOOLFEST in 2009 are played with commentary and reflections on how that trip inspired me to knit with more breed-specific and local yarns. And if you want to experience the amazing soundscape on the Buttermere campsite of which I speak, you can do so here.
I will be at WOOLFEST on 27th and 28th June exhibiting the KNITSONIK Stranded Colourwork Sourcebook and sharing sounds from the KNITSONIK Audible Textures Resource (the album in progress) and I may even bring my accordion for entertaining visiting comrades. I have had some special fabric printed for my stand so you can’t miss KNITSONIK at WOOLFEST!
There is lots of talk of Shwook and Baa-ble hats in this podcast, including sheep baas recorded in Shetland. Shwook and Baa-ble are the hat patterns designed by Hazel Tindall and Donna Smith respectively for Shetland Wool Week in 2014 and 2015. I love the concept of hat patterns designed especially for Shetland Wool Week with which knitters at the event can identify one another. And I love patterns on which knitters can put an individual stamp, whether exploring personal colour ideas for Fairisle, or thinking about how best to represent one’s local sheep and landscape. Read Hazel and Donna’s posts about these wondrous, inclusive designs and download your Baa-ble hat pattern here.
HURRAH FOR THE HATS!
I am knitting a new version of Baa-ble using this handspun yarn created from fibre dyed by Natural Born Dyers, and I’m also handspinning some of the Shetland fleece which we were sorting in Deborah Gray‘s workshop during Shetland Wool Week 2014 when I saw my book for the very first time.
KNITSONIK talks babyknits!
Tried-and-tested patterns that I really recommend include Wee Envelope by Ysolda Teague; POP! by Rachel Atkinson; Chunky Monkey by Elizabeth Smith; Easy Peasy Newborn Sock Hat by Keri McKiernan; and Quynn by Woolly Wormhead. Nephews Toby and Barnaby accompany this section, jamming on their musical toys with Mbira and listening to the sounds of nature.
As I insist on giving all my relatives pure wool babyknits, I also give them SOAK to take the pain out of laundering them.
Part 2 finishes with a rousing rendition of the KNITSONIK anthem accompanied by baas, and a promise to return soon with Part 3.
YOURS IN TURBO,
FX
Yay for accordion songs! Yay for all the colours, especially in baby clothing!
Thank you Felix!