madebyjalene, Bloemfontein (2026)

18/06/2026

📺 LINEN CHAI STUDIO · THURSDAY 18 JUNE

This episode didn't start where I expected it to.

🟡 Public release Thursday at 9 AM SAST.

Linen Chai Studio is Lynn and Jane Eppel — a mother and her daughter — who repurpose vintage tapestries into handbags and pochettes. I went to their stall at Cape Town Yarn Festival 2026 expecting to hear about the bags.

But Jane was wearing a sweater. And when I asked them about Linen Chai, the first thing she wanted to tell me was where the sweater came from.

Every yarnie watching needs to hear that story. So we started there.

And somewhere in the middle of the conversation, they told me something else — that they'd heard the Japanese red thread legend I opened this whole series with, and that it had touched them. They described Cape Town Yarn Festival 2026 in three words: restorative, nourishing, inspiring. "A festival that celebrates handmade crafts."

I'm still thinking about it.

❤️ Thank you, Lynn and Jane — for the sweater, for the bags, for the time, and for hearing the red thread the way you did.

🎙 The Lekker Podcast is the official podcast of Cape Town Yarn Festival 2026.

▶️ Watch on YouTube: [https://youtu.be/L_td3Mb1yac]

Cape Town Yarn Festival

17/06/2026

📺 CLIP CLOP CHARMS · WEDNESDAY 17 JUNE · 09:00 SAST ✨🧶

A whole table of sparkle. And an invitation to make something nobody else has.

🟢 Out now for my YouTube channel members. Become a member to watch early at the link below.

🟡 Public release Wednesday at 9 AM SAST.

At Cape Town Yarn Festival 2026, I stood at Elmarie's stall on the festival floor — while she was open for business — and asked her about Clip Clop Charms. It's not exactly a stall. It's a charm bar. You walk up, you choose from a wide range of charms, and you build the thing yourself. Stitch markers. Keyrings. Bookmarks. Bag charms. Whatever you want — uniquely yours, made on the spot.

Because, as Elmarie puts it: everyone deserves a little sparkle.

❤️ Thank you, Elmarie — for the time, for the charm bar, and for the sparkle.

🎙 The Lekker Podcast is the official podcast of Cape Town Yarn Festival 2026.

▶️ Watch on YouTube: [https://youtu.be/8Z4K3D_F0SI]

Cape Town Yarn Festival

16/06/2026

📺 THE QUILTING CO

Where creativity meets calm.

At Cape Town Yarn Festival 2026, I stood at Tracy's stall on the festival floor — between customers, on a busy Sunday afternoon — and asked her about The Quilting Co. About her ready-to-sew kits, the Sassy Succulents English Paper Piecing workshop she ran, and what "creativity meets calm" actually means to her.

At one point an attendee bumped my camera and the view shifted off Tracy entirely. I left it in. It's a quilter at her stall on a Sunday afternoon in Fishhoek — a feature, not a flaw.

If you've been quilt-curious for a while — Tracy's kits are exactly where to start. One hexagon at a time.

❤️ Thank you, Tracy — for the time, for the kits, and for what you're doing to make quilting feel less intimidating for everyone.

🎙 The Lekker Podcast is the official podcast of Cape Town Yarn Festival 2026.

▶️ Watch on YouTube: [https://youtu.be/yWR_F-zhp0U]

Cape Town Yarn Festival The Quilting Co

15/06/2026

📺 INSIDE THE WORKSHOPS · MONDAY 15 JUNE

13 workshops. 11 teachers. 2 days. One Cape Town embroidery artist whose work has been commissioned by Gucci, Nike, the United Nations, and Kanye West — sitting in a classroom at Fishhoek High School teaching a small group of South African crafters.

This episode takes you through every workshop at Cape Town Yarn Festival 2026 — room by room. Spinning. Knitting. Crochet. Wet felting. Weaving. Brioche. Tunisian crochet. Quilting. Sashiko. Punch needle. Kawandi.

And the centrepiece: a feature on Danielle Clough — Cape Town–born, internationally recognised, and teaching at CTYF 2026 like she belongs there.

❤️ Thank you to every single teacher who ran a workshop: Anel, Danielle, Eva, Irene, Jane, Lisa, Michelle, Simmy, Stella, and Tracy. You're keeping these crafts alive, one beginner at a time.

🎙 The Lekker Podcast is the official podcast of Cape Town Yarn Festival 2026.

▶️ Watch on YouTube: [https://youtu.be/TX1uFRfbVpg]

Cape Town Yarn Festival Danielle Clough Embroidery

15/06/2026

Got gifted the most beautiful thing and I couldn’t wait to show you

My friend surprised me with the new project bag from Oak Leather — and honestly, it might be the most perfect project bag I’ve ever owned. I got it in Camel and I am obsessed, but it also comes in Tan, Pink, Black, Coral, Capri, Violet, Lime, Moss, Red, Navy and Ochre — so there really is something for everyone.

Here’s why I love it so much:

✔️ The perfect size for yarn, accessories and more than one project
✔️ Sturdy and well-made
✔️ Back pocket that zips closed (notions, safe at last 🙌)
✔️ Magnet clips that close the bag without harming your yarn

And what better way to debut a gorgeous new project bag than International Knitting in Public Day? 🎉 We had the most wonderful morning at Greenside Nursery — good yarn, good people, good vibes. This community truly is the best.

To my friend who gifted me this amazing bag: thank you so much for this blessing! I am truly LOVING this bag! 🤗

11/06/2026

📺 ANNELIE UNRAVELED · THURSDAY 11 JUNE · 09:00 SAST 🧶
Slow-made. Hand-dyed. A step earlier than yarn.

🟢 Out now for my YouTube channel members. Become a member to watch early at the link below.
🟡 Public release Thursday at 9 AM SAST.

At Cape Town Yarn Festival 2026, I stood at Annelie's stall on the festival floor and talked with her about her work — small-batch hand-dyed fibre, expressive handmade roving tops, and a curated range of spinning tools. Rich colour stories, softly textured spins, and a quiet embrace of the beauty of the imperfect.
If you've never spun your own yarn, this is the kind of stall that pulls you in anyway.

❤️ Thank you, Annelie — for the time, and for the amazing artistic care you bring to your work and your passion for spinning!

🎙 The Lekker Podcast is the official podcast of Cape Town Yarn Festival 2026.
Set a reminder — Thursday, 09:00 SAST. 🧶

▶️ Watch on YouTube: [https://youtu.be/5ZBl4_PISqY]

Cape Town Yarn Festival Annelie Unraveled

10/06/2026

📺 JANETTE SCHELPE DESIGNS · WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE · 09:00 SAST 🧶
Tapestries. Reborn as shoes.

🟢 Out now for my YouTube channel members. Become a member to watch early — link in bio.
🟡 Public release Wednesday at 9 AM SAST.

At Cape Town Yarn Festival 2026, I stood at Janette's stall on the festival floor, surrounded by pairs of shoes cut from tapestries that almost ended up in landfill and listened to her tell me how it all started.

Janette Schelpe Designs is a small, women-owned and women-run studio that's been empowering women for five years. Two styles of bespoke shoes. Every pair cut from a single tapestry. Every pair, one of a kind.

They also customise your own tapestries. Your grandmother's. A charity-shop find. One you started and never finished. Send it to them they'll turn it into a pair of shoes you can wear.

❤️ Thank you, Janette for the time, for the work, and for what you're doing with textiles that almost got thrown away.

🎙 The Lekker Podcast is the official podcast of Cape Town Yarn Festival 2026.
Cape Town Yarn Festival Janette Schelpe Designs
Set a reminder — Wednesday, 09:00 SAST. 🧶

▶️ Watch on YouTube: [https://youtu.be/LRpFbDOYZFY]

09/06/2026

📺 DREAMSPELL DYEWORKS · TUESDAY 9 JUNE · 09:00 SAST 🧶

Slow-crafted. Small-batch. Hand-dyed.

🟢 Out now for my YouTube channel members. Become a member to watch early at the link below.
🟡 Public release Tuesday at 9 AM SAST.

At Cape Town Yarn Festival 2026, I interviewed Lara the woman behind Dreamspell Dyeworks at her stall — a one-woman business in Langebaan, on the West Coast, hand-dyeing yarn in small batches.
A conversation about colour, slow making, and the kind of patience it takes to do everything yourself.

❤️ Thank you to Lara from Dreamspell for the time, the work, and the care that goes into every skein.
If you want to put her yarn on your needles — and I really think you should — head to dreamspelldyeworks.co.za.

🎙 The Lekker Podcast is the official podcast of Cape Town Yarn Festival 2026.
Set a reminder — Tuesday, 09:00 SAST. 🧶

▶️ Watch on YouTube: [https://youtu.be/d2XiULcbLzA]
—
Cape Town Yarn Festival Dreamspell Dyeworks

08/06/2026

📺 THE GUILDS · MONDAY 8 JUNE · 09:00 SAST 🧶

Three crafts older than any of us in the room.

🟢 Out now for my YouTube channel members. Become a member to watch early at the link below.
🟡 Public release Monday at 9 AM SAST.

At Cape Town Yarn Festival 2026, three of South Africa's craft guilds were there alongside the yarn vendors — quietly keeping crafts alive that have been passed hand to hand for generations.

The Cape Lace Guild. Established 1982. Their pitch is simple — and a little disarming: "Two bobbins. That's all it takes."

The Cape Embroiderers' Guild. Formed in June 1984. This is their 42nd year of monthly meetings, newsletters, workshops, and a library that's been growing the whole time.

The Good Hope Quilters' Guild. Established in 1937. That's 89 years of quilters in the Western Cape. Older than the country we now live in, if you're counting from 1994.

I went to all three tables. Here are their stories.

❤️ Thank you to the Cape Lace Guild, the Cape Embroiderers' Guild, and the Good Hope Quilters' Guild for letting me sit with you for a moment.
If you're in the Western Cape and you've ever been curious about lace, embroidery, or quilting — every one of these guilds will welcome you. Meeting times, venues, and contact details are in the YouTube video description.

🎙 The Lekker Podcast is the official podcast of Cape Town Yarn Festival 2026.

Set a reminder — Monday, 09:00 SAST. 🧶
▶️ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Fj17PG2RlYQ
—
Cape Town Yarn Festival Cape Embroiderers' Guild Good Hope Quilters Guild

30/01/2026

🎉 IT’S HERE! 🎉

The Scrappy Kindle Cozy knitting pattern is now LIVE on Ravelry 📚🧶
I’m so excited to finally share this cozy, stash-busting project with you!

The pattern includes two yarn weight options and optional duplicate stitching patterns for both versions — perfect for adding your own scrappy personality.

🧶 Yarn options:
• Fi*****ng weight: approx. 30g
• DK weight: approx. 40g

Whether you’re using mini skeins, leftovers, or that special scrap you’ve been saving, this is a quick and satisfying knit that makes a practical everyday accessory (and a great gift too!).

Available now on Ravelry
I can’t wait to see your colour combinations — don’t forget to tag me so I can admire your makes!

madebyjalene

18/06/2026

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16/06/2026

15/06/2026

15/06/2026

11/06/2026

10/06/2026

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30/01/2026

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