Episode 64: Socktober Happenings

Image Credit: 'Socks for JC' by fletcherjcm, via Flickr.

Image Credit: ‘Socks for JC’ by fletcherjcm, via Flickr.

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Intro

Hello and welcome to another episode of the podcast, where this week, we’ll be talking about things that are happening in Socktober – the month of sock knitting! I also have excellent news to share (with a huge thank you) and some take away thoughts from New media Europe. We also have a review of Blacker Yarn’s tenth birthday yarn, Cornish Tin.

Most Engaged Audience!

I am delighted to tell all you lovely listeners that you are the official Most Engaged Audience in the UK! You are an Award Winning Audience! Of course, I knew this all along, however I am so pleased that the rest of the world has seen that knitting is firmly on the map, with Helen Stewart of the Curious Handmade podcast scooping Best Games & Hobbies. Knit’s about to get real!

I finished the Shawl of Awesome and it’ll be on Ravelry soon. Highly recommend the pattern and yarn, it was a wonderful knitting experience. To jog your memory, it was ‘Out of Darkness’ by Boo Knits and knitted in DyeForYarn Fine Lace 100% Silk. Here’s a picture of the event.

Jo Milmine accepting UK Podcasters Award for Most Engaged Audience

As you can see that shawl was finished, thanks to some last minute careful hair drying in the hotel room by Mielie.

Thank you all again for being the official Best Audience Ever and for helping me put knitting and knitting podcasts firmly out there.

New Media Europe

The awards were part of a larger conference all about new media. It was a great event and I took away many lessons about blogging, podcasting and online business that I am looking forward to implementing. Three main take away points for you are:

1) Be yourself. If you try to reach everyone, you’ll reach no-one.

2) Community. Hugely important. Nerds/geeks are the best at community. Totally applies to knitting. Consider this quote from Will Wheaton from Beki Winchel’s talk:

Being a nerd…[is] not about what you love, It’s about how you love it.

The way you love that, and the way that you find other people who love it the way you do is what makes you a nerd.

…We all love those things so much that we travel for thousands of miles…we come from all over the world, so that we can be around people who love the things the way we love them.

3) Failure is a good thing. If you aren’t failing, you aren’t learning.

There is a digital pass available for the conference which will give you all of the audio from each session. Well worth it if you work in online business or you are a blogger or podcaster wanting to take things to the next level.

Finally…

The Beast is the new child face of Eden Cottage Yarns. Check out the lookbook for the new collection, Drift, below. Yarn and book available from Eden Cottage Yarns.

Socktober – What’s happening?

For all you sock knitters out there, Socktober is upon us, so grab your yarn and needles and dive in to the knitting.

There’s a KAL ongoing in the UK Sock Knitters group on Ravelry. This month the theme is Waterloo Sunset by The Kinks.

Also, there’s the GBSocksAwayKAL. Check out BritYarn’s Ravelry group for more details and to join in.

If you have any more sock events planned during Socktober, let me know and I will mention them on the podcast.

Cornish Tin

Review – Blacker Cornish Tin

I was very pleased to be sent a mini-skein of Blacker Yarns’s Cornish Tin for review. This is their tenth birthday special edition yarn and I think it’s a great concept. I love the idea and branding as well as the story behind it. Who doesn’t love a yarn with a good tale?

It’s a blend of fibres from ten of their regular suppliers including: Alpaca, Gotland, Jacob, Shetland, Black Welsh Mountain, Mohair, and English Merino.

My thoughts? It like the concept of it and the yarn is robust feeling without being itchy. In the wash and block, it softens up nicely. Particularly like the inclusion of mohair as I feel it is an under-appreciated fibre. I would have liked to have seen an expanded palette (the colours are quite similar to Lyonesse) as it’s a celebratory yarn; that said, the colours it comes in are still very nice, particularly the royal blue I tried out.

It’s very limited edition, so don’t wait to get some of this yarn if you are keen to try it. They won’t be spinning it again.

Wrap-Up

That’s all from me this week. As always, thank you for listening. Feedback is always appreciated, and you can email me or message me via Ravelry or social media. If you enjoyed listening today, please consider leaving an iTunes review, to help others find the podcast too. Happy crafting!

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