Episode 21: 2016 Wrap up!

Welcome to episode 21 everybody! In this "in the classroom" episode where Kim and Marcy have show and tell, some uber craftiness and a 2016 wrap up! Grab your knitting, a soothing beverage and join us.

Episode 21 Audio

What's in our Lesson Plan?

• Administrati
• Show and Tell
• We are uber crafty
• 2016 wrap up
• What's on our Black Board?

• 
  

  Being silly after recording! 

  

  Marcy is holding her City Cape
  and Kim has her GSB

  
  
  

  

  Marcy and her cute baby bump!

Administrati

1. Our FOFI (finish or frog it,) KAL is running through the end of 2016. You can read all about it here, and here on our Ravelry group.
2. While your are there on our Ravelry group page, we'd love it if you'd join the group and sign in. We really enjoy hearing from listeners and learning more about you and your knitting story or where/how you found out about the podcast, or what you're excited about in your knitting life. 
3. We'd appreciate it if you can subscribe to our podcast on ITunes, that helps other knitters find the podcast.
4. Welcome to some new listeners who have signed in on our Ravelry group page: lorak and snappiejax! 

Show and Tell

Marcy is working on her "Snow White" City Cape by Purl Soho. This is a free pattern and she is using Misti Alpaca Maki in the natural color. The yarn is super soft and the stitch pattern is really lovely. 

Marcy has finished her Om Shawl by the hot designer, Andrea Mowry. This project does have several huge howlers though. 1) While flying down south for Thanksgiving, Marcy left her knitting bag on the plane and was very lucky to be reunited with it! Tune in to the ep to hear the whole harrowing story! 2) Marcy played a big game of yarn chicken with this gorgeous shawl, and sadly, the yarn won. She only needed yarn for one more row...ouch! The good news is that the shawl is done and it's lovely and it'll be a wonderful layering option for Marcy as she enters the last 1/2 of her pregnancy.

Yarn chicken, one row short!
This was all the yarn I had left to make one more row, the yarn won.

Kim has finished a few things: g1) A pair of Christmas socks for her Mom that were an early Christmas present. These "Down the Chimney" (this is Kim's hand dyed yarn Christmas color : ) socks were knit 2 at a time (2aat) magic loop, and with contrasting heels, toes and cuffs. 2) Kim also finished her 3rd Brioche for Beginners cowl by Emma Galati. This is a present for her son's girlfriend, Juliet. She used some hand dyed yarn and some unknown deep stash for this project. While knitting this and watching a movie, the yarns were twisted or exchanged which changed the color patterning, but Kim really liked it and kept it and will use it on purpose from now on. 3) To accompany the cowl, she knit a pair of Fetching mitts using the rest of the hand dyed yarn that she'd used for the cowl. This free pattern is from knitty.com and if you haven't knit a pair, you need to! They are fast, fun, easy and beautiful!

Kim's finished Granny Stripe Blanket 

Kim started AND finished  4)  an afghan since our last episode! There are many podcasters that are crocheting a Granny Stripe Blanket and she thought that she was immune. However, after much thought she decided to cast one on and instead of using fingering weight yarn, she used about 6-7 skeins of her earliest hand spun yarn which is worsted-bulky weight. This was a super fast project and was very enjoyable! The early handspun is perfect because it's warm and soft and sometimes a little under spun and thus lofty and fluffy. The two podcasters that really pushed her over the edge and made her want to CO were Sue (knit24) and Andi (andresueknits). They each have their own video podcast on You Tube but they've collaborated on 2 podcasts recently because they are both crocheting a GSB and using the #crochetrabbithole hashtag on Instagram.

**Legacyknitz video podcast
**Andresueknits video podcast

Next, 5) she finished another pair of Christmas socks using Invictus yarns on the Master of my Feet base in the Linear XL Cmas Splash color way. She also finished 6) a pair of neon socks in a black base which she loves. The yarn is from Fishknits and is on their Strong Heart base in the Black Light color. Both of these socks were knit just like the Christmas socks for her mom, above. 

Kim has several WIP's on the needles. 1) Her Fall Whispers hasn't gotten much love, but is up to the sleeves and will be done as soon as all of her Christmas knitting is done. The yarn is Dragonfly fibers on the Pixie base and in the Apollo color. 2) The Waiting For Rain shawl by Sylvia McFadden is very beautiful and Kim has continually mucked it up in the short row lace portion because she can't count to two!!! Ugh! HOWLER! The MC is her hand dyed yarn and the CC's are a set of minis from Fishknits yarn. Finally, 3) she has another Christmas present on the needles, a hat for her future daughter in law, Salina. This is a free pattern on Rav and it's the Easy Ombre hat by Llama Una. She's using a skein of Cloudborn Fibers on the sock twist base in the Majestic Purple color along with a skein of Knit Picks Stroll hand painted yarn.

We are Uber Crafty

Marcy has made several necklaces to gift for Christmas. They're beautiful and she said that they are also fast and fun! She also made a cute wall decoration with her son, Wilson. They painted and stenciled the wooden letters for the word "JOY" and hung them in Wilson's play area.

Kim was very excited when she watched the collaboration episode of Andi and Sue (see above,) and they talked about dyeing and spinning fiber and then knitting a sweater with it. Kim bought a sweater's worth of Rambouillet in October to do that and so now she'll be able to dye, spin and knit-along with these ladies and all of the other amazing makers on Ravelry and Instagram that are joining in! The hashtag is #legacysweaterspin and they both have forums on their group pages on Ravelry (they are linked above.) She has finished dyeing all of the fiber and has separated the braids and made nests that are ready to be spun. So far, she has finished 1 bobbin and is unsure about the color of the yarn that she'll end up with. However, she's not worried because in the spinning and knitting process colors change a lot and if she doesn't like the finished product, she can always re dye the yarn! You can follow along on her progress on her Ravelry project page.

**We mention the Knitmore Girls and their SPAKAL 

2016 Roundup!

We think it's fun to look back over the past year and remind ourselves of all of our wonderful making. Kim made: 12 pairs of socks, 3 blankets, 3 brioche cowls, 1 pair of mitts, 4 shawls, 3 hats and 4 sweaters. There was also lots of (mostly!) undocumented spinning and dyeing. (This really needs to be addressed next year.)

Marcy made: 6 sweaters, 1 kindle case, 2 shawls, 1 stuffed animal, 1 stocking, 1 hat and 1 dress bodice. 

In addition...we made a podcast last year! It was a very fun and productive year of making. How did your 2016 go? Did you meet your goals?

What's on our Black Board?

In episode 22, Marcy will share her field trip notes  and interview from her visit to the LYS Yarn Del Sol in SoCal. We will also talk about our plans and goals for 2017 and share what we've been making over the Christmas and New Year's holidays.

We wish you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year! Enjoy your knitting and making.

Episode 20: Kim's exciting news and avoiding Knitter's Monotony!

Welcome to episode 20 everybody! In this episode we've got a little bit of everything: show and tell, in the library, vacation LYS encounters and we are uber crafty. Grab your knitting, a soothing beverage and join us!

Episode 20 Audio

Marcy & Kim after recording.

What's in our Lesson Plan?

• Administrati
• Show and Tell
• Vacation LYS encounters
• In the Library
• We are uber crafty
• What's on our Black Board?

Administrati

Please join us in our FOFI KAL (finish or frog it.) You can read all about it here and here on Ravelry. While you're there join our Rav group, we'd love to get to know you! Also, start thinking about your end of year knitting wrap up. Did you meet any knitting goals that you set? Are you happy with your making? Would you like to set some knitting goals for 2017? Let's talk about all of that in the group.

Kim shares the exciting news that her oldest son got engaged last week and they are very excited about this new stage of life!

Show and Tell

Marcy is continuing to work on her Om Shawl by Andrea Mowry. She's about 70% done and is loving the shawl and she's looking forward to wearing it during pregnancy and postpartum.  Marcy has a new cast on, the City Cape by Purl Soho. This will be the 2nd time that she's knit this cape, she knit it the 1st time as a gift. 

Marcy and her mom are working together on a joint knit/sew project for a friend's little girl, Kate. Yemma's Dress by Devon Clement is a pattern for a little girl with a knit bodice and sewn skirt. Marcy and her mom are also making a matching, small version for Kate's American Girl doll. Marcy got the idea for the dress from the Just One More Row podcast.

Kate in the first top I knit her.

The joint project dress for Kate
and her American Girl doll.

Kim is almost done with the Down the Chimney socks that she's knitting for her mom for Christmas.  She's using her hand dyed yarn for these and is hoping that they fit well. She finished a 2nd Brioche for Beginners 2 color cowl using some of her hand spun yarn while on vacation and is continuing to love that pattern. Kim is still working on her 2nd Whispers pullover by Veera Valimaki.

Kim's poolside knitting in Hawaii,
the Brioche for Beginners cowl.

Vacation LYS Encounters

Kim and her DH have been on several trips recently and she was able to spend some time in two yarn shops. The 1st one, Miriam's Well, in Santa Fe, NM, is owned by an amazing woman, Miriam, who has an incredible fiber arts knowledge and history. Miriam has taught weaving for many years and she also designs garments and accessories and she sells  the patterns alone and in kits in her shop and online through her website.  Miriam's Well is a comfortable and friendly Lys and you'll find a great variety of yarn and patterns there. If you're ever in the area go in and see this beautiful shop and meet Miriam, you'll enjoy it! For more information about the shop, check out our LYS  evaluation form.

Miriam's Well yarn shop

While on the island of Kauai, HI, Kim stumbled across a LYS. She didn't think that there would be a yarn shop on this small island, but there was and the owner, Warren, couldn't have been friendlier. The shop is The Twisted Turtle and it's located in the town of  Lihue. Sadly, Kim was unable to spend much time in the shop because her DH was waiting on the husband bench out front, but they'll be back and next time she'll get an interview and full overview. In the meantime, if you're visiting Kauai please check out the shop; they've got knitting, crochet, spinning and hand work experience and supplies. 

In the Library

This is a new segment that we'll include occasionally, wherein we'll talk about our leisure reading and knitting library acquisitions. Kim had a wonderful summer of reading and has read 18 books since July. She highlighted a few that she thought listeners might be interested in: 

1. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
2. Spider Woman's Daughter by Anne Hillerman
3. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Kim has also added to her  fiber arts library with these books:

1. Hand Dyeing yarn and fleece by Gail Callahan
2. Yarn . i . tec . ture by Jillian Moreno
3. The Spinner's Book of Yarn Designs by Sarah Anderson

Marcy has subscribed to the beautiful magazine, Pompom Quarterly. She was also gifted a great 3 month subscription to Jimmy Bean's Wool's Beanie Bags and is really enjoying them. 

We are Uber Crafty

Marcy has been uber crafty recently and is designing and sewing a formal gown for her husband's office Christmas party. Since she's at the beginning of her 2nd trimester, she wanted to look pregnant and not plump and so that influenced her design choices. Her dress is beautiful and she achieved her goal! 

What's on our Black Board?

In our next episode we will be in the classroom and we will share all of our making with you. There will be knitting, spinning, hand dyeing, sewing and maybe crochet! We hope you'll join us.

Thank you for spending time with us. If you live in the US, we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and hope that that'll give you extra knitting time. For all of you, have a wonderful couple of weeks and may your making be howler free!

Episode 19: Marcy's Special Announcement!

Welcome to ep. 19 everybody! We have an "in the classroom" podcast today and so we are talking about our WIP's, FO's, new CO's, Uber Craftiness and...Marcy has a special announcement to make! Grab your knitting, a soothing (or bracing!) beverage, an emergency snack and your knitting and join us.

Episode 19 Audio

Marcy (with her Om Shawl) and Kim (with her
Whispers sweater and Cmas socks) after
roecording.

What's in our Lesson Plan?

• Administrati
• Show and Tell
• Howlers!!!
• We are Uber Crafty
• What's on our Black Board?

Administrati

1. We are starting a new KAL...the FOFI KAL (finish or frog it KAL, worst name ever for a KAL!) Our intention with this KAL is to start 2017 off with clean needles. We can all cast on with wild abandon on 1/1/17! head on over to our group on Ravelry for all of the details.
2. While you are there go ahead and join our group and introduce yourself.

Show and Tell

Kim has a number of active WIP's on the needles. 

1. A 2nd Whispers pullover by Veera Valimaki. (Kim's 1st Whispers sweater appeared in ep. 12.)
2. A Waiting for Rain shawl by Soft Sweater using her hand dyed yarn and a gradient mini set.
3. Her new CO is a pair of socks for her mom for Christmas using a skein of her hand dyed yarn and contrasting colors for cuffs, heels and toes.
4. Tim's Brioche Scarf.

Kim also shared a few FO"s:

1. The Wedding afghan is DONE!!!
2. Her Spooky Socks  are done. They were knit with a skein of her hand dyed yarn.
3. Her Down the Chimney Socks are done. They were also knit with a skein of her hand dyed yarn (are you noticing a theme here?!) and contrasting cuffs, heels and toes.

   

   Kim's "Spooky Socks"

***Kim mentions the Sockmatician's brioche YouTube video.

Marcy finished Wilson's Sock Monkey Earflap hat by Nicole Montgmery. Marcy's 2 year old son, Wilson, wore this for Halloween and it was a big success! She is currently working on the Om Shawl by the popular designer, Andrea Mowry.

Wilson's wondering if he can eat the banana?

Don't we look cute!

Howlers

Yes, it's sad that this segment is SO big this week that it needs to stand alone...but, Kim has been busy and she wants to make sure that all of you knitters out there know that we ALL make mistakes.

1. Kim's Waiting For Rain shawl pattern suggested using stitch markers when doing the short rows in the lace section, but she was sure that she didn't need them because she can count to two. Well, no...she can't. HOWLER
2. After casting on her Fall Whispers sweater, she had set the sweater down on their sectional couch while watching a movie with her hubby and he stretched out to get comfortable and ended up breaking a needle tip. All was well though and she was able to carry on the next morning.  ***KnitPicks interchangeable needle set is mentioned. 
3. She had several shopping HOWLERS!!! (is that even a thing?!) Kim ordered bare yarn for dyeing and interchangeable needle tips and mistakenly ordered 9 sets of tips. She also saw that (finally!) all of the KnitPicks bare yarn was 15% off and because she hesitated and thought about it, she missed the sale : ( . HOWLER
4. After many, many years of knitting socks 2 at a time on magic loop, Kim used the wrong working yarn for her sock. Damn, she was sure that this would never happen! HOWLER

We are Uber Crafty

Marcy sewed Wilson's monkey costume for Halloween. The pattern is from Kwik Sew and it's K0133 Ellie Mae Designs Zippity Zoo-Da tops, shorts and pants for toddlers. 

Marcy's Special Announcement: Marcy is contemplating what Christmas dress to sew for her husband's Christmas party and part of decision is that she's 3 months PREGNANT!!!! yay! Congratulations to Marcy and family. She will let us know in the next episode what design she has decided upon for her formal dress and we will look forward to pictures. 

A recent skein of Kim's hand dyed yarn,
"Iris."

One of the skeins of Soft Linen after dyeing.

Kim has been busy spinning and dyeing yarn and really enjoying it. Her oldest son gave her some fiber for her birthday in August from Knitspinfarm and she spun it as a 2 ply and loves it. She's made some singles. In addition to the KnitPicks bare yarn, she also bought some discounted Soft Linen yarn from her LYS and dyed it.

The beautiful Knitspinfarm fiber before and during spinning.

What's on our Black Board?

In episode 20 Kim will share her field trip notes with us from her visit to a LYS in Santa Fe, NM. We will talk about our WIP's, FO's and introduce a new segment: In the Library.

Thank you for joining us! We hope that your knitting is treating you well and that you're enjoying your making. Have a great couple of weeks and we'll see you next time.

Episode 18: Monarch Knitting, lots of Ann(e)s and elephants too!

Welcome to episode 18 everybody! In this field trip episode, Marcy shares the fun experiences that she had while visiting Monterey, CA and the beautiful LYS, Monarch Knitting.  We have an interview with owner Ann Patterson and also designer Anne Ginger. We sneak a few of our WIP's and FO's in  and there're many elephants in the room! Go grab your knitting, a soothing beverage, a snack and, if possible, a cute kitty to sit in your lap. Enjoy the show!

Episode 18 Audio

Marcy and Kim after recording. Marcy is holding her Om Shawl
and Kim is holding her Spooky socks.

What's in our Lesson Plan?

• A short show and tell
• Field Trip notes and an interview with designer Anne Ginger
• Field Trip notes and an interview with the owner of Monarch Knitting, Ann Patterson
• What's on our Black Board?

Show and Tell

Kim was working on her "Spooky" socks while recording. She is using a skein of her hand dyed yarn which is KnitPick's bare stroll glimmer yarn. In addition, last week she decided to finally delve into her 2016 knitting goal, which was to try brioche knitting. Kim cast on the "Brioche for Beginners" cowl by Emma Galati and it's a free pattern on Ravelry. She used another skein of her hand dyed yarn (named "Spruce and Friends",) and some tag less deep stash. She learned that brioche is terrifically fun and highly addicting! The cowl was quickly finished and there will be more brioche in Kim's future.

Kim's hand dyed yarn on the left
and some unknown deep stash
at the beginning of the brioche
cast on.

The finished brioche cowl.

Marcy finished Kobe's Xmas stocking! Yay Marcy! I think she deserves a parade. The pattern is the New Ancestral Christmas Stocking by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne from the Mason Dixon Knitting  Outside the Lines book. She used Cascade 220. 

Interview with Anne Ginger

Anne & Marcy

Marcy was able to get together with one of our knitting friends while vacationing in Monterey, Ca. Anne Ginger (agsewnsew on Ravelry,) is a part time knitting designer and has three beautiful sweater patterns published in Twist Collective. They are all also available on Ravelry. She is currently working on some new designs that she is going to self publish. We can't wait to see them Anne!

The shop motto!

Monarch Knitting LYS and interview with Ann Patterson

While in Monterey, Marcy was also able to interview the owner of the gorgeous yarn shop, Monarch Knitting. Ann Patterson has owned and operated her shop for 3.5 years and she has created a knitter's dream yarn shop! There's a cozy place to sit and knit, amazing yarns and a friendly and knowledgeable staff. Monarch hosts many trunk shows,  KAL's and fun events for its' customers. They have an incredible selection of beautiful yarns, including: Shibui, Quince and Co., Brooklyn kTweed, Madeline Tosh, Sweet Georgia, Indigodragonfly, Sincere Sheep, Wool Folk, Zen Yarn Garden, and Wool and the Gang, just to name a few.

They have a small online shop and a monthly newsletter. Kim bought the yarn for her Itineris shawl from Monarch Knitting in 2014 and she loves the yarn and the  shawl and  she had a great experience with the friendly and kind staff.

Marcy & Ann

Please check out our Yarn Shop Evaluation form for more information about Monarch.

What's on our Black Board?

In our next episode, Kim and Marcy will share all of their new cast ons, WIP's, FO's, HO's, spinning, dyeing and any other craftiness that they have been pursuing. I'm sure there will be brioche knitting and Marcy has hinted that she has a surprise to share with all of us! Happy knitting everybody!

Episode 17: Down the Rabbit Hole!

Welcome to episode 17 everybody! In this "in the classroom" episode, we will talk about our knitting, our fun trip to a fiber festival  and all of the uber craftiness that we've been up to. Also? We may have fallen down a few rabbit holes! Grab your knitting, a tasty snack, a soothing beverage and join us!

Episode 17 Audio

What's in our Lesson Plan?

• Administrati
• Show and Tell
• Our Lambtown experience
• We are uber crafty
• What's on our Black Board?

  

  Marcy, Kim and Smitten after recording.
  Marcy is holding her Om Shawl and Kim
  is wearing her new Insouciant Tee.

Administrati

• Thanks to all of you who have signed in on our Ravelry group! We are really enjoying hearing from you and getting to know you. We encourage all listeners to sign in and say hi. You can let us know where you're from and what you're knitting. 
• Congratulations to the winners of our Christmas in  August/September KAL/CAL! Holly (hollyathome,) and Jackie (stringofpurls2,) you both win a pattern on Ravelry of your choice up to $7 in value. Contact me (Kim, destined2knit on Ravelry) and let us know what pattern you'd like and we'll drop it into your Rav library. Thank you for participating!
• Congratulations to Tracie and Barb from the 2 Knit Lit Chicks audio podcast on their 5 year podiversary and 120th episode! This is such a great accomplishment and milestone. Cheers chicks!
• Thank you and good by (sniff, sniff!) to the Never Not Knitting audio podcast. After 100 episodes, Alana Dakos has decided to discontinue podcasting and she bid us adieu. We thank you Alana for the many hours of entertainment and fun and we know that we'll be seeing you at  festivals, in your LYS and other events with your beautiful designs, books and your LYS products.

Show and Tell

Marcy has been diligently working on her Christmas stocking for the past few days. This is the New Ancestral Christmas Stocking by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne. She is using Cascade 220. She's been sick for several weeks and so hasn't gotten very much knitting done. She also had a howler with this project; while away for the weekend, she discovered that she'd left one of her colors at home and wasn't able to work on the stocking at all. She's getting close to finishing though!

Luckily, she had packed back up knitting (we recommend that you always have back up knitting!) and so she made some good progress on her Om Shawl by Andrea Mowry. She is using Balance by O-Wool in the natural, travertine, celestine and cinnabar colors. The colors are beautiful and she's enjoying the knit, although it's definitely not a mindless knit. 

Marcy also has a Sock Monkey Ear Flap hat on the needles for her son Wilson. This is by Nicole Montgomery and her pattern has sizes for the whole family. She is using Classic Elite Yarns Mountain Top  Crestone in the plymouth rock hen and frost colors. She will finish it off with a Cascade 220 red. This will be part of Wilson's Halloween costume. She is also going to sew him some PJ's in a tonal brown and add a tail. Cute!

Yesterday at our LYS, Marcy saw the cutest little monkey bag; the Sock Monkey Project Bag by CiD Hanscom. Her goal is to buy the kit and finish it so that Wilson can use it for trick or treating. Down the rabbit hole she goes!

Kim has several FO's since she's been in a finishing mode. First, her Insouciant tee by Julie Hoover is done and she's really happy with the final product and loves how it fits. She used Juniper Moon Farm Zooey DK in the ketch and toasted coconut color ways. She used the white to add stripes to the tee. This is a tunic length tee that is knit in pieces and seamed together. 

Kim talked about how she "beats up" her linen and linen blend garments by taking them in the shower and placing them in a small bucket, adding a bit of mild shampoo and hot water and then vigorously washing them. This helps to soften up the linen. After doing this with her Insouciant Tee, Kim was much happier with the length and fit of the garment. She also washes all of her hand knit socks in this manner and it's quick and easy!

Kim also finished her Symmetry in Motion tee by Vera Sanon. She used Forbidden Woolery Proverbs yarn in the blue cymbidium color on size US 3's. This tee has beautiful finishing details around the neck. However, she is not very happy with the final fit, even though she ended up ripping back a foot of the body and re knitting it without increasing along the side gussets. It still has baggy areas and doesn't get the highest smile rating on Ravelry. 

The Wedding Afhgan is still on the needles...but it's getting close to being done! By the next episode it HAS to be done! 

Also on the needles are the Achilles HeAL socks by Lucia Light. This is a free pattern on Knitty.com with unusual construction that allows you to quickly and easily rip out and repair a heel or sole that has been worn through. The beautiful yarn is FishKnits on the panache base in the sunday brunch color. Kim cast these on last April because she wanted some non vanilla socks on the needles, but ironically, they got put down because they aren't vanilla and aren't portable.

Field Trip Notes

Wilson enjoying the bunnies.

Wilson enjoying the ducks.

Both Marcy and Kim went to the fiber festival Lamb Town in Dixon, California last weekend. This is a fun, small town, festival that is also a family event with lots of fun and interesting things to do and see for the entire family. Marcy and Wilson rode the train and spent some fun time in the petting zoo. Marcy wasn't able to browse and shop much because Wilson never feel asleep. Kim had lots of fun browsing and shopping time with a friend and took home some beautiful fiber and a little bit of yarn that she'll share as she knits and spins with it.

Wilson and the train ride.

Kim did share a gorgeous skein of Fishknits sock yarn on the Strong Heart base in the black light color way will make an amazing pair of socks. Kim decided that since she's been having so much fun dyeing yarn that she would purchase bare fiber and then either dye, spin and knit it, or spin, dye and knit it. She shared her sweater's quantity of fiber from BessyBee Fibers. A 1.5 pound ball of Rambouillet that will make the most gorgeous sweater (eventually!) Down the rabbit hole!

We also had a fun meet up with knitting friends and listeners! It was such a fun day. 

We are Uber Crafty

Marcy is altering a bridesmaid dress for a friend who is 7 months pregnant. The dress is requiring lots of reconstruction but will be done in time for the wedding at the end of the month.

The WTF skein in the mason
jar during the solar dye process.

Kim's hand dyed skeins drying

Kim has been having a ball dyeing more yarn. She is using KnitPicks bare yarn on a variety of bases and has solar dyed and used the oven to heat set yarn as well. Down the rabbit hole!

The 2 "Down the Chimney" skeins

The Sweet Pea skein

What's on our Black Board?

Marcy had a really fun weekend in Monterey and was able to visit the amazing LYS, Monarch Knitting and interview the owner, Ann. She was also able to meet up with Anne, who is agsewnsew on Ravelry, and interview her about her knitwear designs and the process of designing. Marcy will share these interviews along with her experiences in episode 18. 

Thank you for joining us today! Happy knitting and watch out for those rabbit holes!

Episode 16: Ben Franklin fieldtrip

Welcome to episode 16! We have a field trip to Ben Franklin to share with you and we also talk about several FO's and WIP's. Grab your knitting, a snack and a refreshing beverage and join us!

Episode 16 Audio

Marcy and Kim after recording

Being silly!

What's in our Lesson Plan?

• Administrati
• Show and Tell
• Field trip notes from Ben Franklin Crafts and Frames in Grass Valley, Ca
• Play ground chatter

Administrati

• Join us for our 1st KAL/CAL! We are hosting a Christmas in August/September KAL/CAL and you can read all about it here.
• Join our Ravelry group and introduce yourself; we'd love to hear about your knitting, where you're from and if you're having issues with a Christmas stocking! 

Show and Tell

Kim is employing a new method of "WIP management" because she's in a huge finishing mood and she's also trying to find a way of dealing with the never ending afghan/blanket! Paula, of the Knitting Pipeline audio podcast, talked about dealing with WIP's in several of her recent episodes. Go and have a listen. 

Kim's main project (the motorcycle,) for the past few weeks has been her Wedding Afghan, which is a wedding gift for her niece and new husband. Her 1st "sidecar" project was the Drachenfels Shawl which she finished and really enjoyed knitting. She's very pleased with the finished object, especially because she was able to use up an entire skein of her handspun yarn (Three Waters Farm BFL.)

Kim's Drachenfels shawl

Her 2nd FO and sidecar project is the Jingle Bell socks. The main body of the socks is also her handspun BFL yarn and they are super warm and squishy. The current sidecar project is the Summer Insouciant tee and it's almost done.

Jingle Bell socks

Kim decided to make some knitting goals (it has been awhile!) that she will achieve before we record episode 17:

1. Finish the Wedding Afghan
2. Finish the Summer Insouciant Tee
3. Finish spinning and plying the special fiber that is on her wheel right now

Marcy shared a gorgeous FO with us, her Reflected Yoth Lines sweater. The pattern is Relected Lines and her yarn is beautiful and very autumnal. Hopefully, we'll have some cooler weather soon and she'll be able to wear and enjoy this garment. 

Kobe's Xmas sock!

Marcy's current WIP is Kobe's Xmas Stocking which she is really hoping to finish by the end of September.  The finishing work took a long time on her last stocking (it's duplicate stitch.) We are talking about forming a Christmas stocking support group ; ).


She also has a new cast on! The Om Shawl by Andrea Mowry. Marcy is using O-Woool in the natural, travertine, celestine and cinnabar colors. She went down to a size 9 needle for this project after knitting a gauge swatch and she's very happy with the resulting fabric. The pattern calls for a unique cast on; the Twisted German Cast On. This gives you an extra stretchy edge and she said it was easy to do.

A new shop sample ready for display at the Ben
Franklin store in Grass Valley.

Field Trip Notes

Kim was able to visit the  Ben Franklin Crafts and Frames store in Grass Valley, California. Ben Franklin used to be a chain of craft stores, but now they are all independently owned and operated. This location has been privately owned since October, 1973! Kim spoke with Heather (gvheather on Ravelry,) who is the head of the yarn department at BF and it's obvious that she's very proud of the amazing yarn selection and events that the store has to offer.

Some of the yarn brands that you can find at BF are: Malabrigo, Madeline Tosh, Sweet Georgia, Anzula, Fibre Co, Juniper Moon, Knitted Wit, Baah, Cascade, and a local alpaca yarn, Juniper Creek. They also have a great selection of cotton and nylon/acrylic yarns. In addition, each month a different yarn is highlighted and discounted. Currently, Malabrigo Rios is 25% off. 

Kim was very impressed when she learned that there is always an employee available to help customers in the yarn department. All of the staff that work in that department are yarn savvy and between them they cover all of the fiber arts: knitting, crochet, brioche, spinning, lace knitting, cable knitting, weaving and felting. There's lots of knowledge there!

There are currently 3 regular and on going knitting groups at BF: 1) A KAL group that meets on Tuesdays and 2) a Friday night WIP and 3) Saturday morning WIP groups. The store also hosts several events each year. On 10/15/16 they're celebrating "I Love Yarn" day with day long giveaways, demos and special coupons. They also mark KIP (knit in public day/week) each year.

This is such a delightful and unexpected gem in our area! If you happen to live in Northern California, or you are traveling in the region, pop in for a visit. Check out our yarn shop evaluation form, here, for more information about the store. 

Play Ground Chatter

Marcy visited the beautiful Yosemite National Park with her family. 

Marcy and her Husband Mike and son Wilson in Yosemite 
at a look out showcasing El Capitan and in the far distance  
Half Dome, you see all the orange trees in the background,  
it's not fall color they are dead. Very sad to see.

What's on our Black Board?

In our next episode we'll be in the classroom and share all of our FO's, WIP's and any new cast ons. Hopefully, at least one of us will have finished a Christmas Stocking!

Thank you for joining us! We've been howler free these past few weeks and we hope that your knitting is howler free as well. 

Episode 15: We are melting!

Welcome to episode 15! In this "in the classroom" episode we will share our FO's, WIP's and new CO's. Grab a cool beverage and your knitting and enjoy the show.

Episode 15 Audio

Marcy and Kim after recording
(they are melting from the heat!)

What's in our Lesson Plan?

• Administrati
• Show and Tell
• Playground chatter
• What's on our Black Bloard?

Administrati

• Join us for our 1st KAL/CAL! It's a Christmas in August/September KAL/CAL and you can read all about it here.
• Head on over to our Ravelry group and introduce yourself, we'd love to get to know you and hear about what you're knitting and where you're from.
• Marcy shared a great website with us (we've also linked to it on the sidebar of our blog,) called "Knitting Podcast." This blog lists all audio and video podcasts, both active and inactive for your viewing and listening pleasure!

Show and Tell

Dawning in the Sunshine, Marcy's
standing in her front yard near her
meadow grass that she talked about.

Marcy shared a beautiful finished object with us, her "Dawning in the Sunshine" pullover (the pattern is Dawning,) by the Berroco design team. She knit it out of Berroco Karma yarn in the Allamanda color on size 11 US needles. She entered her sweater into the Yarniac's  Colors of Fall KAL. The color of her yarn matches perfectly with Pantone's Spicy Mustard color. She 1st saw this sweater knit up as a sample in our LYS, Got Your Goat. Marcy made a few modifications: she added length to the sweater and she reinforced the neck opening with a crochet edging. 

Marcy shared her gorgeous "Reflected Yoth Lines" cardigan by Suvi Simola. She's using Yoth Yarns Big sister in the Kale, Honeydew Melon and Mandarin colors. So far, her only mod is knitting a straight hemline instead of the asymmetrical one called for in the pattern, Reflected Lines. She's loving working with the yarn and can't wait to wear this beautiful cardi.

Kim shared her finished "Stardust Socks," that she knit on magic loop, 2 at a time, top down and with a true after thought heel. She knit the body of the socks with Lolo Did It yarn in the Pretty Young Thing color on the everyday sock base and used Greenwood Fiber Works yarn in the natural color way on their stardust base for the cuffs, heels and toes. 

The time sucking blanket ; )

Kim is continuing to work on her "Wedding Afghan," which is a wedding gift for her niece. The pattern is the Moderne Log Cabin Blanket by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne from their book Mason Dixon Knitting. She is using Cascade Cherub Aran yarn in white, gray, black and teal. She is now thinking that the word "blanket" in the pattern name may be a clue that this will be bigger than she anticipated or really wanted. Her intention was to knit an afghan...so, there might be some modifications coming soon!

The "Summer Insouciant," is still on Kim's needles. Julie Hoover designed the Insouciant pullover/tunic and it's a great summer garment. She's using Juniper Moon Farm Zooey DK yarn in the Ketch and White colors.

Kim is continuing to work on her "Jingle Bell Socks,"  She bought some heathered Christmas colored  fiber at Stitches West this year from Greenwood Fiberworks and spun it up and is knitting these socks with contrasting cuffs, heels and toes.

Post swim knitting with Smitten

After approximately 17,000 hours of perusing Ravelry and her stash, Kim finally decided to cast on the Drachenfels shawl by Melanie Berg. She's had her eye on this beauty for several years and thought it would be a great way to showcase some of her hand spun yarn. She is also using Becoming Art yarn on the Cielo fingering base (color way unknown,) and Handwerks yarn on their Silky Sock base in the Embers color.  Kim's hand spun is from Three Water's Farm fiber in the Emerald Sea color way.

Playground Chatter

Start of project, remove 6" of soil.

Marcy and her husband have been working very hard on landscaping their backyard and they are currently prepping to put in new turf. Because we live in drought stricken California, they are installing a water saving irrigation system called Eco-Mat from Hunter irrigation. 

2nd to last part of project, cover the
Eco-Mat with 6" of dirt. Last but not
least lay Sod/Turf, but we won't
do this until Oct.

Middle of project, lay down the Eco-Mat.

Marcy's little boy, Wilson, turned 2! 

Happy Birthday Wilson.

 

Big Boy Wilson!

What's on our Black Board?

It's a surprise! 

Lambtown is coming up on  Oct. 1-2, 2016, in Dixon, California.  We are planning on attending on Saturday, 10/1. If you would like to meet up with us at the event PM us on Ravelry or drop us an email,  we would love to meet you and say Hi!

Thank you for joining us, we hope you have a fantastic few weeks knitting, spinning, crocheting, Etc...! We'll see you next time.