Episode 53: We've been fleeced and faded!

Hello knitters and welcome to episode 53. In this podcast, Marcy and Kim share their current Wips, a research paper about  fleece and some uber craftiness! Grab your knitting, a soothing beverage and join us!

Episode 53 Audio

Marcy holding her Confetti sweater and Kim is holding wool.

Awww! Sheepy!

What's in our Lesson Plan?

1. On the PA System
2. Research Paper: My 1st Fleece
3. Show & Tell
4. We are uber crafty
5. What's on our Black Board?

On the PA System

Congratulations to the 2 winners of our sock KAL: Harpergigs and Brookali! PM Kim (Destined2knit on Ravelry,) your physical address and full name and she will send you each a skein of hand dyed sock yarn. Thank you for knitting along with us!

***Thank you to our LYS, Got Your Goat yarn studio in Roseville, California for letting us record there again!

Research Paper: My 1st Fleece

Kim split a 100% Corriedale fleece with a friend and she also purchased 1/2 of a 1/2 Corriedale and 1/2 Rambouillet fleece. This was all very unexpected, but also fun and exciting! You can read and learn all about the different sheep breeds in the wonderful book The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook by Deborah Robson and Carol Ekarius. 

Kim talked about washing her fleece with regular Blue Dawn and she will continue to update us about the fleece washing and prepping process as she proceeds. 

***Kim watched a Bluprint (formerly Craftsty) class called "Fiber Preparation for Spinners," by Esther Rodgers. 

***Two more excellent books for spinners are The Spinner's Book of Yarn Designs by Sarah Anderson  and Yarn-i-tec-ture - A Knitter's Guide to Spinning by Jillian Moreno. 

Here is "Trouble" the 100% Corriedale fleece.

This charcoal beauty is "Tesla" the 1/2 Corriedale
and 1/2 Rambouillet fleece.

Some of the washed fleece drying in the shade.

Show & Tell

Marcy has made wonderful progress on her faded Confetti by Veera Valimaki. She has one more sleeve to knit and then she'll be done. She is very happy with this beautiful pullover sweater and loves the 3 yarns that she chose to fade. She has had a few mini howlers with yarn quantity, but it's all working out nicely. She has also cast on a seamless shrug for little Pippa. The Entrechat by Lisa Chemery and she is using Trendsetter Yarns Autumn Wind Confetti, which is a worsted weight, 90% cotton, 10% cashmere yarn. 

Marcy updated us on her finished Gilead pullover. She has worn it and finds the sleeves uncomfortable while working at her desk so she may end up ripping them back and knitting short sleeves after all. The beauty of knitting is that we can customize our clothing!

Kim is also working on her Gilead by Leila Raabe that she cast on in August of 2017. She is using the discontinued Shibui Linen yarn and it is a little rough to work with. The pullover top is knit in pieces and she has finished the back and is working on the front. 

Kim also has the Leaves & Shell top by Kay Hopkins on her needles. She is using another Shibui yarn, Fern, which is 100% cotton and is soft and delightful to work with. 

We are Uber Crafty

Congratulations to Marcy and her team, they won  the Best of Show award for their dress design at the Merge event put on by the Northern California IIDA chapter. Awesome work by all of the creative teams!

All the models in there garments after the show.

My design team with our model.

The start of the runway

The front of the garment.

The back of the garment.

The Beautiful jewelry that Heston made out of counter top material.

Marcy also did some sewing. She made two Amelia Baby Tops by Violette Field Threads. This is a downloadable sewing pattern and you can listen to ep. 47 where Marcy talks more about sewing them. 

Pippa looks so cute in her new top Marcy made for her.

Marcy designed some fabric based on her colored motifs from the Peace Shawl KAL that she participated in last December. She uploaded the design to Spoonflower. She is not sure what she will make with the fabric yet, but probably some cute project bags. 

Kim is not officially participating in Tour De Fleece (I don't really have anything to link here, if you're interested in the event you can follow the hashtag #tdf or #tourdefleece on Instagram or search for it on Ravelry. There is no single page to link,) however, she has been motivated by all of the posts on Instagram and she has been spinning almost daily. She finished one of her two sweaterspins that she started last August. This one has 4 skeins and is about 600 yards of a chain plied 3 ply. She is thinking about knitting a shawl instead and has been swatching.

2 of  Kim's 4 finished skeins of handdyed,
handspun yarn. 

What's on our Black Board?

We may be going on a field trip or we may be in the classroom...hmmm, we shall see! But I can assure you that there will be knitting, spinning and uber craftiness!

Thank you for joining us. We hope you have a fantastic couple of weeks until we "see" you again and Happy Knitting!

Episode 52: Summer tops & lots of missing project pages!

Hello Knitters! Welcome to our 52nd podcast. Marcy and Kim share all of their FO's, WIP's and new CO's. We also have spinning, weaving and other crafty pursuits. Grab your knitting, a fizzy beverage, get comfy and join us!

Episode 52 Audio

Marcy & Kim after recording in
there local LYS Got your Goat.

What's in our Lesson Plan?

1. On the PA System
2. After the Finish Line
3. Show & Tell
4. We are Uber Crafty
5. What's on our Black Board?

On the PA System

***Our Sock KAL will wind up on July 9, 2018. We'll close and lock the thread on our Ravelry group on the morning of 7/10 (Pacific time, U.S) Thank you to Kim who is Harpergigs on Ravelry for posting an adorable pair of socks that she made with a hand loom. 

Marcy in her Mix No.19

After the Finish Line

Kim wore her heavily modded crochet cardigan. She doesn't have a project page for it...yet! Hopefully soon. When it's made I'll come back in and link it. 

Marcy wore her Sand Shore Cardigan by Alicia Plummer (ep.48.) Her new FO, Jessie's Girl by Elizabeth Smith,  is already a favorite summer tee. Mix No. 19 by Linda Tsymbal was finished back in August of 2015 and it's also one of Marcy's favorite summer tops. 

Show & Tell

Kim finished her 'Zinone' top by Andi Satterlund and she's really happy with the FO. She used KnitPicks Lindy Chain and enjoyed knitting with this linen/cotton blend yarn and it blocked beautifully. Kim is continuing to work on her 'Afterthought Everything' socks and hopes to have them finished next time. She has just CO the 'Leaves Shell' top by Kay Hopkins. Shibui's new 100% cotton yarn, Fern, is working up beautifully and is a delight to knit.

The Afterthought Everything Socks. Kim has
picked up stitches and is cutting the tubes apart
in order to knit their toes.

After separation

Marcy has finished her 'Jessie's Girl' top and it's gorgeous, simple and elegant. She used Forbidden Woolery Proverbs yarn in the Rainy Day Bouquet color. It's already her favorite tee. Her 'Gilead' by Leila Raabe is almost done, it just needs 1 more sleeve. Marcy used Lindy Chain from KnitPicks. 

To sleeve or not sleeve that is the question!

Marcy is working on her 2nd ballet flat using the pattern 'Keep them on Their Toes.' These would make quick, easy and lovely gifts! She has a brand new CO- Confetti by Veera Valimaki. She has decided to fade this pullover sweater and she spent a lot of time looking for the right yarns/colors and swatching. She is very happy with her final choices and is looking forward to knitting this beauty. 

My first attempt at trying to pare yarn with the Purple Yarn Ink ball.
None of them were speaking to me so I went another direction.

Now this is a better mix of yarn colors together, this yarn
needs to be in a fade so it can be seen in all its beauty.

We are Uber Crafty

Kim has been spinning and has finished the 2nd skein for one of her sweater spins. This is some fiber that she dyed last Summer and she is making a 3 ply yarn by chain plying it. There is no project page ... yet! Hopefully soon!

Kim has been having so much fun weaving and using up yarn from the 90's and 00's. Wool, silk and novelty yarn and it feels great to use it and create pretty scarves. So far,  she has finished 4 using her 10" Cricket Rigid Heddle loom and she has borrowed a 16" Cricket and is weaving  a shawl on that loom. No project pages for these...yet...(there seems to be a theme here!)

These are 3/4 of the scarves that Kim wove on her 10' Cricket.
The 4th scarf has been gifted.

Here is the fiber that Kim dyed before and after spinning on
her Lendrum wheel. 

The 2nd finished 3 ply skein.

Marcy is participating again in a really creative, fun and worthwhile fund raising event for interior design students.  The event is called Merge and its put on by the Northern California IIDA chapter. There are 12 teams of 6 people and their theme this year is "Into The Wild" and their muse is swamp! it will be so fun to see what they come up; the finished designs are always amazing! If you live in northern California or if you'll be visiting  on 7/14 check out the website and buy tickets, it'll be a great event.

Swamp dress Marcy is creating with her team.

What's on our Black Board?

We are hoping to visit a beautiful local Lys. 

Thank you for joining us! We hope that you are all feeling inspired by your knitting and having a fantastic Summer.  Stay cool and

Happy knitting!