The Shinybees Knitting and Yarn Podcast

Got yarn show plans for 2019? Are you a show veteran? or have you never been to a show? Somewhere in between?

Daria Rakowski is our guest today to discuss widely varying subjects from eyelash yarn merkins(!) to an overview of the Canadian yarn industry.

What will be the five big trends for knitting in 2019? In this episode I share what I think will be the five top trends for the hand knitting world in 2019.

It's always a popular time to plan your projects for the coming new year, but do you really need to? I won't be doing Make9in2019 next year (spoiler) bout I will be using other people's ideas for that project as inspiration for what I could consider.

Christmas Jumper Day is 14th December and in today's episode, I'm running through your different options when it comes to embracing this staple of the festive season.

Everyone needs more knitted hats in their life and today I share seven pattern ideas for hats. I've been out of knitting sorts lately and attempting a new hat is just the ticket to get back into it.

Sue Horn of Hawkshaw Sheep in the Scottish Borders is our guest on the show today,. She shares the ups and downs of being a shepherdess, creating your own yarns and fabrics and farm life.

Yarnporium 2018 is reviewed on this episode of the podcast, where I give you a rundown of what went on at Westminster Central Hall in November. Hosted by the fabulous ladies of Yarn in the City, Allison Thistlewood and Rachel Brown, this was a fabulous event which brought together some of the best UK and EU vendors into a glorious venue in Central London for two days of yarny fun.

This week we review the new Tin Can Knits collection - Strange Brew. It's a knitwear collection that embraces everything colour work for the whole family. There's some knitty news and an update on School Council gate.

Sometimes, when something really gets to you because of its inherent unfairness and solid foundations in utter bollocks, you need to speak out. This episode is one of those times.

How do you decide what knitting to take with you when you travel? Do you spend more time choosing what yarn to take than which clothes to pack?

It's a chatty and fun episode today with the enigmatic Leona Jayne Page of Rusty Ferret/Fluph. Voted back onto the show as a guest for the second time, Leona tells us about how she moved from yarn shop owner into hand dyer.

Shanghai is the destination for this week’s podcast, when I take a trip to not one, but two yarn shops in the area to check out the local knitting scene and the yarns on offer.


Joy McMillan joins us today to talk about using British Wool, clear labelling for yarn and sourcing yarns. She talks about creating her own custom blends and the processes involved as well as supporting local business.

We travel to China this week and catch up with Jo's adventures in the Far East, as well as some interesting stories and observations. Audience participation abound in the knitting chatter, where we discuss additions to the list of types of yarn snob.