Speckled yarn is the marmite of the knitting world right now. Outrageously popular, thanks to patronage by the likes of Stephen West and Andrea Mowry, speckles are so hot right now. Or are they? A straw poll of hardcore Shinybees listeners suggested a 66/33 split between Hot and Not. A lot of people expressed speckles as being something you need to be in the mood for. But what are speckled yarns? These are yarns that are dyed onto yarn that is a majority of one main colour, with random spots, splodges and flecks of other (often multiple) colours on top. This can be achieved using a variety of different methods, and differs from variegated yarn in that the colours are more randomly spaced and generally shorter lengths. Who are your favourite speckled yarn dyers and designers who create great patterns for these tricky to use yarns?  Also in this episode I give you a quick catch up of where I have been hiding for a year and also what you can expect from the podcast going forward. Spoiler: I am in camp Not :)