….including a 25% discount on my Ravelry store for patrons of Fruity Knitting (see below).
I’ve had a very exciting Autumn / Winter with a number of firsts for me. I applied for my first ever yarn event (Fibre Block Party), which was an online event taking place over the first weekend of December. As a result of this I presented my first ever Instagram live. I really enjoyed it! I think I was more worried about getting the technology right and selecting all the right settings and options on IG, than delivering the actual material, especially as IG seem to keep changing the way live events are done (IGTV or not IGTV?) but it all went smoothly and the video is up there on my IG feed.
However, the MOST exciting thing was being invited to appear in the ‘Knitters of the World‘ segment of my favourite knitting podcast, Fruity Knitting! During the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 I became a patron and binge-watched my way through the back episodes. Like so many others, I was devastated about the news of Andrew’s illness and death and totally admired the way Andrea and Madeleine kept the podcast going through all the turmoil. Then, when I went to Yarndale in September 2021, I stumbled across Andrea and Madeleine, who had just finished videoing an interview at one of the stands, so I took the opportunity to give them my condolences. As an afterthought I gave them my business card as they had commented on the hat I was wearing, which was one of my designs. To my surprise, Andrea got in touch shortly afterwards as they had noticed my designs at the Border Mill stand and made the connection with the card I had given them. I was so utterly honoured and excited to be invited to appear as a ‘Knitter of the World’! I then had the enjoyable challenge of planning and videoing the footage of me talking about my background, designs and inspiration – another first for me as I know very little about video formats, frame rates etc etc!
Andrea did a fabulous editing job on the footage and photos I provided and the resulting episode is available on the Fruity Knitting YouTube channel here. For more information about Episode 117, see the Fruity Knitting website here, and if you enjoy watching the Fruity Knitting podcast then do consider becoming a patron in order to access additional material and discounts (including a 25% discount on my Ravelry store and 15% on Border Mill yarns, both of which run until late January 2021). Here are a couple of stills from the video.
The main feature in Episode 117 is part 2 of an interview with Kaffe Fassett. I have admired his work ever since the late 1970’s when my mum & I used to enjoy making needlepoint tapestries. The first design I recall was ‘Caucasian Flowers’ which still exists somewhere as a cushion in my parents’ house (below is an image I took of this same design in a Kaffe Fassett exhibition I visited a few years ago at the Fashion & Textile Museum in London). I also have several of his inspirational knitting and design books.
Following release of this podcast I’ve been overwhelmed by the response and am feeling very inspired to start work on more new designs!
Skein Reaction 