Keep Calm and Carry Yarn, the podcast I host with my mom, was featured in the latest issue of Inside Crochet! I’m still doing somersaults inside my head because I can hardly believe, what started as a fun project between me and my mom has lead us here.

To celebrate our inclusion in Inside Crochet, I thought I’d share 4 other crochet podcasts I love!

To celebrate the launch of my Puffin Pillow pattern, I’m sharing the instruction for how to do Intarsia Crochet for free! I’ve taken a very technical approach to Intarsia crochet which you can apply to any chart, including your own designs.

It’s finally happened! BIPOC in Fiber has launched and it’s a real website that you can really visit! Why am I extra excited about this? Because yours truly is the web developer!

I’ll rewind for a moment and give some brief background information. BIPOC in Fiber is a directory (and soon-to-be resource portal) designed to highlight and celebrate Black, Indigenous and People of Color working in the fiber industry. Our mission is to improve representation in the industry so that it reflects the diversity that’s already present in the community.

As a symbol, the window rainbows have taken on a lot of different meanings. It’s a message of hope from our little ones. The rainbows encourage us to stay strong in our collective efforts. Continue staying home. Thank our key workers. Clap for the NHS. There will be an after. And even during, we can be okay.

Today I’m hanging my message of hope in the window. My own crocheted squiggly rainbow.

I took to the woods on Thursday. Drove the car out of the city and headed for Loch Lomond. Social distancing at its best.

Sallochy is part of the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park which was created the same year of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation. The woods are beautiful! Within the first five minutes I just had to pause to soak it all in.

First thing first: I’m not a sewer/sewist.

That said, I am a perfectionist, so I want my lining and zipper to look as neat as possible in my crochet pouches. And this is the method I’ve found works for me to line a flat pouch and finish with a zipper.

The great thing about Edinburgh being such a walkable city? Even if you’re only visiting for a long weekend, you can probably visit more than one yarn shop!

If you’re going to the palace, why not stop by Ginger Twist Studio? If you’re heading to Stockbridge, you might as well go via McAree Brothers. And lastly, if you find yourself at the National Museum of Scotland, you could take a stroll to Be Inspired Fibres.

Much of the tourist attractions will take you to Old Town—Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile, Holyrood Palace, the National Museum of Scotland, etc, etc—but the New Town shouldn’t be missed either. What the New Town might lack in tourist sites, it makes up for with beautiful Georgian apartments, excellent shopping and restaurants and bars, not to mention the next local yarn shop in this series!

The yarn shop I visit the most often is probably McAree Brothers because it’s a bit more friendly on my wallet than some of the others in Edinburgh (never mind the fact that I have no idea how to pronounce “McAree”).

Home of the Edinburgh Yarn Festival, Edinburgh is also home to a variety of great local yarn stores, including wee Ginger Twist Studio. This tiny, but boldly painted, LYS is absolutely bursting with beautiful yarn. Plus there’s loads to see, do, eat, and drink nearby!