117• Knitting retreat debrief, crochet progress, LOTS of yarn (and cat interruptions)

A rather garbled chat about crochet, knitting and lots and LOTS of yarn! Plus a little debrief on the Lay Family Yarn knitting retreat :)

NB: Sorry about the weird cut at around 7 and half minutes in - rubbish editing! 🫣

♡ What to get in touch? Click the arrow in my channel description 👆🏻

:: Patterns Mentioned ::

- Yarn Stylecraft Special DK

⭐︎ Virus shawl by Julia Marquardt (frogging!)

:: Makers Mentioned ::
⭐︎ Yarn advents from:

:: YouTubers mentioned ::
@yarnmugspodcast9123
@talesfromcuckooland
@BacktoBlighty
@EldenwoodCraft
@knitsiphappy
@DelliesDesigns (designer of the Penguin pin)

:: Strictly Sock-a-long ::
Runs until the end of 2024! #strictlysockalong24
Or check out my story highlights on instagram (starryeyesali)

Prizes drawn from:
- Lay Family Yarn (link above)

Raising money for Crohn's and Colitis UK during the Strictly Sockalong:
- 20% from all my shop sales from September-December will go to @crohnsandcolitisuk

:: Everything else ::
⭐︎ Vlogmas is coming! Link to my vlogging channel above.

⭐︎. ⭐︎. ⭐︎. ⭐︎. ⭐︎. ⭐︎. ⭐︎. ⭐︎. ⭐︎. ⭐︎. ⭐︎. ⭐︎. ⭐︎.
I hope you enjoyed my podcast as much as I enjoy making it! If I have missed any information above just drop me a question in the comments.

Thank you so much for watching!

Ali xx

* Links with an asterisk are affiliated which means I earn a small amount if you end up purchasing via the link.

#podcast #knitting #crochet #uk

© Little Drops of Wonderful

[LittleDropsofWonderful-Ali]

*Hello you lovely lot and welcome to this rather unplanned and garbled chat about crochet (lots), knitting (not so much) and yarn (SO much yarn...)! This will be the last sit down chat of the year but there's more content still to come and I will do short videos about Strictly prizes along the way too :)*

*PS: Sorry about the weird cut at around 7 and half minutes in - rubbish editing!* 🫣

*Ali xx*
🪩

*The link you need for the Serious Lights offer is:*

*(£100 off Serious Readers High Definition lights, free UK deliver. Offer code ALI24*

[journeysthroughknitting]

How lovely that everyone at the retreat got a mini of each of the yarns people dyed! I love your idea of putting them all together into a project - it will be a lovely memory.

I know these vlogs are a lot of work but I could totally enjoy if you posted one every day of the year! It is always so lovely catching up with you and your family and seeing what you are up to, both craft-wise and in the rest of life. ❤

[EvieO]

Thank you for another fun episode of crafty chat!! The retreat sounds so amazing, so wonderful to gather with friends who share your love of yarn and creating!! Looking forward to Vlogmas so much! It just wouldn't be the holiday season anyore without you and your family popping in to brighten my days!!! Love you and hope your season is joyful and blessed!!!

[elena---c]

watched this while doing some spinning, so lovely to hear you've tried out your wheel Ali, I definitely agree that 10-15 mins a day when you get started will make a huge difference. If you find yourself getting frustrated, leave it for the day and come back tomorrow.

[estadean]

thanks for all your lovely podcasts and videos this year! Have enjoyed them so much. Looking forward to seeing the crochet advent ideas - I've seen several videos with lots of knitting ones, so it'll be great to have some crochet inspiration too, Thanks again for the time you spend and joy you bring through your videos x

[Rebecca_TRZ]

I’m so excited for vlogmas because I just love how you lift my spirits! So glad you had such a lovely time at the retreat.

[marissas]

Hey Ali! Just wanted to say I love your sit down episodes so much, but I also really enjoy your vlogs. They are so much fun, so I really do hope you get around to filming more of those next year! I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and thank you for another year of joyful time spent together! ❤

[elizabethworthington]

What a lovely surprise, a fabulous chatty new vlog. Goodness it felt like a Thislizzysews special! Thank you for all the project bag love and I'm so pleased that you still love the cushion cover I gave you too 😘 x

[shetlandlace]

I just got home from 3 weeks in northern Thailand. We walked through quite a few of street markets, and there was many, many tables of crocheted items. I had to admire them, because of the time it takes, and the fact that they were all crocheted in smaller gauge yarns. The pieces were beautiful Thought of my crochet friends.

[jopicklelily]

No, thank YOU, for your lovely vlogs and videos xx

[YarnStorieswithOlivia]

I’ve been a watcher for a long time and always enjoy your content and however you decide to appear on my feed, I will be there to watch and give you a thumbs up. As a cat mom, I love how you all adore Mia and this last episode had me chuckling on her insistence to be your cohost 😊

[kat_livescolor]

Hey Ali, you look GREAT today! You look so full of life and joy, and I love that about you! 🌞 Congrats to all winners!! 👏🏻🥳 I'm a slow crafter too; I used to feel bad about it, but I realize that my life is diff from others, so they can speed-make all they want, I am a happy turtle 🐢 😊

I do count you blessed for being able to have a close-knit (no pun intended) group of friends 💗💗 my only best friend lives miles away and we rarely ever get to spend time together, which is hard, but we text all the time. However, having a group of close friends is so helpful and comforting and adds spice to life! It is so good to have friends like that 💕💕

Wow, sounds like you had LOADS of fun at the retreat! I agree with going deviceless on trips/retreats bc you're not constantly trying to capture everything, but you're allowing your mind to enjoy things too. Remember, your eyes are your lenses, and the brain is your camera.📸 Maybe I'll go on one in the future 🙏🏻😊

SUPER cute pillow and bag!!! Love the mushrooms and chickens! 🍄🐔 🍄 🐓🍄 Very nice yarn dye! I would love to make a Christmas and/or springtime shawl out of that 🥰 omg all those minis look beautiful! If my future partner doesn't propose to me with a bouquet of mini-skeins, it's a no..🤣
Love the muted one and the Wonderland Walk one! With the orange it's like a row of mini pumpkins in a pumpkin patch!!! 🎃 i'm all about those woodsy tones 😍 so happy u had success with that!

Well the cat was definitely making her purr-escence known 🤭 sorry about that!!

That lobster yarn would look nice if u did 1-2 rows with a light color in between!

I think going at ur own pace is the best, so I'm all for podcasts on your schedule 🙌🏻💖 you're a rockstar Ali, love you!!

[dreamingtani]

Hi Ali, I am one of those who generally don‘t interact because I use the time watching your podcasts to get a bit of stitching down but this time I had to because I felt so seen when you emntioned being a slow stitcher. I always have a project that I am working on but it usually takes me forever to get it done. I am not mad at it though because I do enjoy the process of making and being slow just allows me to enjoy for longer :) Anyways thanks for your positivity and lovely projects. Also the retreat sounds like an amazing time and your yarns came out beautifully!

[heathertucker]

Always love to see a video from you Ali. Glad you had such a good time at the retreat! It sounded so much fun. I’m sorry your socks mojo has gone away at the moment ( especially as you host the Strictly Sockalong 🤣 ) but if you ignore it will creep back soon- I’ve always found! Looking forward to Vlogmas now and it’s all racing up on us really fast! I’m glad you’ve had a go on your Nano now! I didn’t get on with mine too well so I’ve got a “ proper “ wheel now and I’m up and running ( and I love it!) XX

[pennyspearing]

This was a lovely surprise and looking forward to vlogmass 😊

[alisonevans-vgws]

Love watching all your blogs, just ordered myself your yarn 'Wonderland Walk', its a beautiful colour green, my favourite colour & my treat to myself for Christmas!!! So looking forward to receiving that & making myself something lovely with that.xx Wishing you & your lovely family a wonderful Christmas & a Happy New Year.xx

[christinamarmaras]

Love the colour you dyed at the retreat! I have watched a few other’s vlogs that were at the same retreat as you ! So nice to see everyone’s yarn and goodies they came back with ❤

[mymakingadventure]

Your videos are always a treat! Being from the US, we do not say that cats “make biscuits”, but I know what you mean and will be working to add the phrase to my vocabulary because it is perfect and joyful 😊

[yarnmugspodcast]

Hi Ali. Lovely podcast. How weird hearing my recorded voice. Didn’t realise I was included in your video😆. Can’t wait to make a start on the retreat yarns 😊

[marionhandsley]

Hi Ali what a lovely podcast, I loved every minute of it. We have had cats all our married life and find that as they get older they can get very needy and sometimes don't really know what they want. I to have Wool is the answer Christmas eve box along with there advent box, I can't wait to open them. Have to say I've gone a bit advent mad this year as I have a James Makes Yarn advent box, Botanical Yarn Christmas eve box, The Fibre Fox. I can't wait to open all of them 😀😍 xxx