Podcasts about cooperative press

Guest: Chief founder of the Muizenberg Electricity Crisis Committee David Robert Lewis joins John to chat about the provisional formation of the Muizenberg Electricity Cooperative through the battery build day being hosted by them tomorrow. The aim is to address the ongoing electricity crisis in the community.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Episode 158, Greg and Pam discuss audio engineering, bar hopping, and binge watching. Many thanks to Robin from The Fibre Studio at Yarns to Dye For. for the episode introduction! We would love to have YOU record and introduction to the show! You can find details in the Ravelry Group Pages or on our website here. Check out our group on Facebook! We would love to have you join us there. We would also love us to submit questions for us to answer on a future episode. You can ask us with this form. SPONSORS We are Knitcrate Ambassadors! Are you the kind of knitter who would enjoy receiving a surprise package of yarn in the mail every month? Then you need to sign up for a Knitcrate subscription. Every month, you will receive a selection of curated yarn, a pattern specifically paired to use with the yarn, and a special surprise. Use code KD20 at checkout for a bonus when you sign up for a subscription. NOTES Note on Ravelry Links Note that many of the links in our show notes refer to pages on Ravelry.com. If visiting Ravelry causes you harm, please be cautious clicking links. If you are interested in a link that is inaccessible to you, you can email info at unravelingpodcast dot com and Greg and/or Pam will happily send you the information Patreon You can now financially support Unraveling…a knitting podcast on Patreon! Monthly membership levels are available at Swatch ($1), Shawl ($3), and Sweater ($6) and come with rewards like early access to book club episodes, access to a quarterly Zoom call, discounts on all Knitting Daddy patterns, and holiday cards. Nothing about the existing podcast is changing—we will continue to deliver regular and book club episodes like we have been doing for years—everything available via Patreon is extra. Financial support through Patreon helps us cover expenses like web hosting, prize shipping, and equipment upgrades. ***Shawl & Sweater Patrons: our next Zoom call will be on Saturday, December 10 at 11am Eastern!*** Greg's Projects Greg finished his socks! He used yarn from Two Guys Yarn Company. They incorporate the Non-Euclidian heel by Sarah Jordan and The Discretion Cuff by Gene Beenken-Draper. Greg finished a design project. More to come. Greg finished a generic washcloth. Greg cast on a second Bag of Sorting (pattern by Danielle Thuen) using yarn from The Fibre Studio at Yarns to Dye For. Pam's Projects Pam finished the Tunisian crochet Loveland Lite by Toni Lipsey. She used Studio Sox from The Fibre Studio at Yarns to Dye For. Pam finished the Sahara Wrap Sweater by Camille Mikolas using Biggo (in the process of being discontinued) from Knitpicks. Pam worked on a pair of socks for Scott using Paton's Kroy. She is loosely following the Vanilla Latte pattern by Virginia Rose-Jeanes with a Fish Lips Kiss Heel by Patty-Joy White. Pam used a Turkish cast on. She is planning to use the Discretion Cuff by Gene Beenken-Draper. Pam worked on Citadel, a shawl by Janina Kallio. She is using yarn from Yarn over Floyd. Pam started the Knit Sleepy Fox Amigurumi by Amanda Maciel. She is using KnitPicks Wool of the Andes. Pam mentioned the Gno Fun Like Gnome Fun pattern by Sarah Schira. Book Club Drumroll please! We have selected our next book and it is Adventures in Yarn Farming by Barbara Parry. We will not begin discussing this until January 2023 so you have plenty of time to get your own copy. Miscellaneous Greg talked about the Candle Tea that his church puts on. This is the first time doing it in person since the pandemic started. We announced our next Community Zoom that will be on January 7 at 11am Eastern. We will post the link in our Ravelry and Facebook groups or email us and we will send it! Greg is a regular guest on the Crits & Knits podcast. Tune in for the live Twitch stream on every other Wednesday at 8pm (Eastern). Or, catch the episode on the YouTube podcast a few weeks later. Greg and Pam hosted an Ask Us Anything episode and left the form open so you can submit your questions for future episodes. Submit your question with this form. Be sure to enter your Fairs and Festivals entry in the Fairs and Festivals KAL! Thanks to NordicStarYarns for donating prizes for the Festivals and Fairs KAL! Greg is collecting preemie hats for Family Support Network of Central Carolina. See his post in the Itty Bitty Knits Ravelry group for details. Pam mentioned the BuyNothingProject in her area but you may have one also. Greg mentioned he has been watching Wednesday on Netflix. Affiliate Link Disclousure This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you click on a link to Cooperative Press, Amazon, or Knitcrate and subsequently make a purchase, we'll receive a small commission from the sale. You pay the same, and the commissions will help cover our podcasting expenses. Our opinions are always our own. Find us all over the Internet Patreon: Unraveling…a knitting podcast Subscribe in iTunes: The Unraveling Podcast Podcast RSS Feed: Unraveling Podcast Twitter: @UnravelingPod Facebook: Unraveling Podcast Instagram: @UnravelingPodcast Ravelry Group: Unraveling Podcast Greg is KnittingDaddy on Ravelry, @KnittingDaddy on Instagram, and also writes the KnittingDaddy blog. Pam is pammaher on Ravelry  and @pammaher on Instagram

In Episode 157, Greg and Pam answer questions submitted through the “Ask Us Anything” form. We're still taking questions and will do this again on a future episode! We would love to have YOU record and introduction to the show! You can find details in the Ravelry Group Pages or on our website here. Check out our group on Facebook! We would love to have you join us there. SPONSORS We are Knitcrate Ambassadors! Are you the kind of knitter who would enjoy receiving a surprise package of yarn in the mail every month? Then you need to sign up for a Knitcrate subscription. Every month, you will receive a selection of curated yarn, a pattern specifically paired to use with the yarn, and a special surprise. Use code KD20 at checkout for a bonus when you sign up for a subscription. NOTES Note on Ravelry Links Note that many of the links in our show notes refer to pages on Ravelry.com. If visiting Ravelry causes you harm, please be cautious clicking links. If you are interested in a link that is inaccessible to you, you can email info at unravelingpodcast dot com and Greg and/or Pam will happily send you the information Patreon You can now financially support Unraveling…a knitting podcast on Patreon! Monthly membership levels are available at Swatch ($1), Shawl ($3), and Sweater ($6) and come with rewards like early access to book club episodes, access to a quarterly Zoom call, discounts on all Knitting Daddy patterns, and holiday cards. Nothing about the existing podcast is changing—we will continue to deliver regular and book club episodes like we have been doing for years—everything available via Patreon is extra. Financial support through Patreon helps us cover expenses like web hosting, prize shipping, and equipment upgrades. ***Shawl & Sweater Patrons: our next Zoom call will be on Saturday, December 10 at 11am Eastern!*** Miscellaneous Pam's Favorites that she mentioned were: her Christmas stockings, Mystik Spiral Socks, Swirly Pop Blanket, Langfield Hat, and Pendulum Shawl. Greg's favorite that he mentioned was the first thing he ever knitted: Blueberry's Preemie Hat. We mentioned the Knitting Pipeline podcast. the host, Paula, is no longer with us but she was lovely and her podcast is still available. Books Cast On, Bind Off: 211 Ways to Begin and End Your Knitting (Cap Sease) The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook: More Than 200 Fibers, from Animal to Spun Yarn (Carol Ekarius and Deborah Robson) Knitting Modular Shawls, Wraps, and Stoles (Melissa Leapman) The Beginner's Guide to Writing Knitting Patterns: Learn to Write Patterns Others Can Knit (Kate Atherley) A Treasury of Knitting Patterns (Barbara G Walker) Vogue Knitting The Ultimate Knitting Book (Vogue Knitting magazine) Greg talked about designing. He uses StitchMastery when designing charts for his patterns. He employs a tech editor. He has loved working with every tech editor he's used and is currently working with Bronwyn the Brave for his patterns (and often romance copy!). Greg talked about a few baseball movies: The Rookie The Fan The Natural Here is Greg at the Ol' North State Knitting Guild. Here is Episode 36 interviewing Pam about FiberCrafty. Affiliate Link Disclousure This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you click on a link to Cooperative Press, Amazon, or Knitcrate and subsequently make a purchase, we'll receive a small commission from the sale. You pay the same, and the commissions will help cover our podcasting expenses. Our opinions are always our own. Find us all over the Internet Patreon: Unraveling…a knitting podcast Subscribe in iTunes: The Unraveling Podcast Podcast RSS Feed: Unraveling Podcast Twitter: @UnravelingPod Facebook: Unraveling Podcast Instagram: @UnravelingPodcast Ravelry Group: Unraveling Podcast Greg is KnittingDaddy on Ravelry, @KnittingDaddy on Instagram, and also writes the KnittingDaddy blog. Pam is pammaher on Ravelry  and @pammaher on Instagram

In Episode 156, Greg and Pam discuss fish, spiders, and sheep. Many thanks to Kristina kcyams and Amy duloveyarn for the episode introduction! We would love to have YOU record and introduction to the show! You can find details in the Ravelry Group Pages or on our website here. Check out our group on Facebook! We would love to have you join us there. SPONSORS We are Knitcrate Ambassadors! Are you the kind of knitter who would enjoy receiving a surprise package of yarn in the mail every month? Then you need to sign up for a Knitcrate subscription. Every month, you will receive a selection of curated yarn, a pattern specifically paired to use with the yarn, and a special surprise. Use code KD20 at checkout for a bonus when you sign up for a subscription. NOTES Note on Ravelry Links Note that many of the links in our show notes refer to pages on Ravelry.com. If visiting Ravelry causes you harm, please be cautious clicking links. If you are interested in a link that is inaccessible to you, you can email info at unravelingpodcast dot com and Greg and/or Pam will happily send you the information Patreon You can now financially support Unraveling…a knitting podcast on Patreon! Monthly membership levels are available at Swatch ($1), Shawl ($3), and Sweater ($6) and come with rewards like early access to book club episodes, access to a quarterly Zoom call, discounts on all Knitting Daddy patterns, and holiday cards. Nothing about the existing podcast is changing—we will continue to deliver regular and book club episodes like we have been doing for years—everything available via Patreon is extra. Financial support through Patreon helps us cover expenses like web hosting, prize shipping, and equipment upgrades. ***Shawl & Sweater Patrons: our next Zoom call will be on Saturday, December 10 at 11am Eastern!*** Greg's Projects Greg continues working on socks for himself. He is using yarn from Two Guys Yarn Company. They incorporate the Non-Euclidian heel by Sarah Jordan and The Discretion Cuff by Gene Beenken-Draper. Pam's Projects Pam worked on a pair of socks for Scott using Paton's Kroy. She is loosely following the Vanilla Latte pattern by Virginia Rose-Jeanes with a Fish Lips Kiss Heel by Patty-Joy White. Pam used a Turkish cast on. She is planning to use the Discretion Cuff by Gene Beenken-Draper. Pam worked on the Tunisian crochet Loveland Lite by Toni Lipsey. She is using Studio Sox from The Fibre Studio at Yarns to Dye For. She mentioned a tutorial to change color in Tunisian Crochet. Pam worked on Citadel, a shawl by Janina Kallio. She is using yarn from Yarn over Floyd. Pam worked on the Sahara Wrap Sweater by Camille Mikolas using Biggo (in the process of being discontinued) from Knitpicks. Pam mentioned she is thinking about making her Polarlys Shawl bigger. Pam mentioned two Martina Behm hats that are gauge adjustable: Langfield and Tensfield. Book Club Drumroll please! We have selected our next book and it is Adventures in Yarn Farming by Barbara Parry. We will not begin discussing this until January 2023 so you have plenty of time to get your own copy. Miscellaneous Greg had a great time at SAFF. Greg talked about getting stains out of fabric, specifically out of a sports jersey. We shared the news article titled: Eight years and 2m arachnids later, spider silk fabrics go on show in London. Here are some more images of the fabric. Greg is a regular guest on the Crits & Knits podcast. Tune in for the live Twitch stream on every other Wednesday at 8pm (Eastern). Or, catch the episode on the YouTube podcast a few weeks later. Greg and Pam are going to host an Ask Me Anything episode in the near future! You can submit your questions with this form. Be sure to enter your Fairs and Festivals entry in the Fairs and Festivals KAL! Special thanks to Kbamr Kerri for offering a pattern from her pattern store as one of the prizes for the KAL. Greg is collecting preemie hats for Family Support Network of Central Carolina. See his post in the Itty Bitty Knits Ravelry group for details. Pam mentioned her Bavarian Apple Torte. Here it is! Bavarian Apple Torte Crust: 1/2 c. butter ( 1 stick) 1/3 c. sugar 1/4. t. vanilla 1 c. flour Filling: 8 ounces cream cheese, softened 1/4 c. sugar 1 egg 1/2 t. vanilla Topping: 1/2 t. cinnamon 1/3 c. sugar 4 c. peeled, cored and sliced apples 1/2 c. chopped walnuts Preheat over to 450. To make the crust, cream the butter and sugar, add in vanilla and flour. Press into a 9″ round greased, spring form pan, covering the bottom and 2″ up the sides.  To make the filling, mix the cream cheese and sugar until smooth, add in the egg and vanilla, Spread over the bottom of the crust. For the topping, sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar over the apples and mix well. Spoon over the filling. (you can make it pretty by layering but I don't and it tastes just as good!). Sprinkle with the walnuts. Bake for 10 minutes at 450 and then reduce heat to 400. Continue baking for 25 minutes. Allow it to cool completely before removing the sides of the pan.  Note: You can also add 1/2 t. almond extract to the filling and use sliced almond instead of walnuts! If you want to be fancy and give it a shiny glaze, warm some apricot jam and brush it over the top when it is done baking. Affiliate Link Disclousure This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you click on a link to Cooperative Press, Amazon, or Knitcrate and subsequently make a purchase, we'll receive a small commission from the sale. You pay the same, and the commissions will help cover our podcasting expenses. Our opinions are always our own. Find us all over the Internet Patreon: Unraveling…a knitting podcast Subscribe in iTunes: The Unraveling Podcast Podcast RSS Feed: Unraveling Podcast Twitter: @UnravelingPod Facebook: Unraveling Podcast Instagram: @UnravelingPodcast Ravelry Group: Unraveling Podcast Greg is KnittingDaddy on Ravelry, @KnittingDaddy on Instagram, and also writes the KnittingDaddy blog. Pam is pammaher on Ravelry  and @pammaher on Instagram

In Episode 155, Greg and Pam discuss traditions, peanut butter recipes, and real swatches. Many thanks to Rick from WhimzeeStitches for the episode introduction! We would love to have YOU record and introduction to the show! You can find details in the Ravelry Group Pages or on our website here. Check out our group on Facebook! We would love to have you join us there. SPONSORS We are Knitcrate Ambassadors! Are you the kind of knitter who would enjoy receiving a surprise package of yarn in the mail every month? Then you need to sign up for a Knitcrate subscription. Every month, you will receive a selection of curated yarn, a pattern specifically paired to use with the yarn, and a special surprise. Use code KD20 at checkout for a bonus when you sign up for a subscription. NOTES Note on Ravelry Links Note that many of the links in our show notes refer to pages on Ravelry.com. If visiting Ravelry causes you harm, please be cautious clicking links. If you are interested in a link that is inaccessible to you, you can email info at unravelingpodcast dot com and Greg and/or Pam will happily send you the information Patreon You can now financially support Unraveling…a knitting podcast on Patreon! Monthly membership levels are available at Swatch ($1), Shawl ($3), and Sweater ($6) and come with rewards like early access to book club episodes, access to a quarterly Zoom call, discounts on all Knitting Daddy patterns, and holiday cards. Nothing about the existing podcast is changing—we will continue to deliver regular and book club episodes like we have been doing for years—everything available via Patreon is extra. Financial support through Patreon helps us cover expenses like web hosting, prize shipping, and equipment upgrades. Greg's Projects Greg continues working on socks for himself. He is using yarn from Two Guys Yarn Company. They incorporate the Non-Euclidian heel by Sarah Jordan and The Discretion Cuff by Gene Beenken-Draper. Greg is also knitting dishcloths. He uses the “Gramma's Dishcloth (Grandmother's 2nd Favorite)” pattern. Pam's Projects Pam worked on a pair of socks for Scott using Paton's Kroy. She is loosely following the Vanilla Latte pattern by Virginia Rose-Jeanes with a Fish Lips Kiss Heel by Patty-Joy White. Pam used a Turkish cast on. Pam worked on the Tunisian crochet Loveland Lite by Toni Lipsey. She is using Studio Sox from The Fibre Studio at Yarns to Dye For. Pam finished her Frog! by Claire Garland. She got the eyes from CharmersCorner on Etsy. Pam worked on Citadel, a shawl by Janina Kallio. She is using yarn from Yarn over Floyd. Pam started the Sahara Wrap Sweater by Camille Mikolas using Biggo (in the process of being discontinued) from Knitpicks. Book Club We are in between books now but stay tuned for the next book club selection! Miscellaneous We shared the news article titled: I knitted my own wedding dress for $290 and documented the 200-hour process on YouTube to debunk the stereotypes about my craft. You can find her Youtube video here. Greg talked about knitting about a dozen stitches into @DanielleLanois Danie's wedding dress a few years ago. Check out the pictures below to see me knitting on the dress, and check out Danie's podcast episode from five years ago where she talked about it. Greg is going to be the next episode of the Crits & Knits podcast. Tune in for the live Twitch streamon Wednesday, October 26 at 8pm (Eastern). Or, catch the episode on the YouTube podcast a few weeks later. Greg and Pam are going to host an Ask Me Anything episode in the near future! You can submit your questions with this form. Be sure to enter your Fairs and Festivals entry in the Fairs and Festivals KAL! Greg really loves the food at Rocky's Hot Chicken Shack when he goes to SAFF. Pam mentioned her Thai Peanut Chicken recipe that is so yummy… 1/4 cup peanut butter 3 teaspoons curry powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon pepper 3 minced garlic cloves 2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce 2 tablespoons ground ginger 2 tablespoons brown sugar 6 tablespoons lemon juice 5 tablespoons soy sauce 2 tablespoons peanut oil (Pam – I leave this out) 1 can Coconut milk (shake well) 1 1/2 pounds chicken, boneless, skinless (add after sauce is made) Mix all ingredients together (except chicken). Cut up chicken in bite size pieces and place in saucepan. Add sauce to pan and heat simmer until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Serve with rice and veggies–we usually just put it in bowls and mix everything together. YUM!! Affiliate Link Disclousure This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you click on a link to Cooperative Press, Amazon, or Knitcrate and subsequently make a purchase, we'll receive a small commission from the sale. You pay the same, and the commissions will help cover our podcasting expenses. Our opinions are always our own.

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we're talking about building a yarn business with my guest Amy Small. Amy is a business owner, hand spinner, yarn lover, obsessive knitter, and podcaster. Along with making things, she's passionate about creative small businesses and yoga! At the heart of her business, Knit Collage is the idea that making things makes us better. This might look like more creativity and confidence or patience and peace in your daily life. In a nutshell, it's not just about the yarn - it's about finding something that helps you and makes you feel like your most authentic, best self! +++++ This episode is sponsored by Cooperative Press. Cooperative Press has been publishing exciting knitting books by talented independent authors for over a decade. Founder Shannon Okey got tired of trying to figure out why she earned next to nothing on every book she wrote for other publishers, so she changed the rules of the game. Cooperative Press authors earn a significantly higher royalty AND get greater creative freedom to produce the kinds of books knitters want to read… not just another garter stitch scarf book. Find them at cooperativepress.com! Use the code ABBY for 20% off. +++++ To get the full show notes for this episode visit Craft Industry Alliance where you can learn more about becoming a member of our supportive trade association. Strengthen your creative business, stay up to date on industry news, and build connections with forward-thinking craft professionals. Join today.

In Episode 154, Greg and Pam discuss birthdays, fall festivals, and sock knitting. Many thanks to lblowrance Pam's Cousin Lisa for the episode introduction! We would love to have YOU record and introduction to the show! You can find details in the Ravelry Group Pages or on our website here. Check out our group on Facebook! We would love to have you join us there. SPONSORS We are Knitcrate Ambassadors! Are you the kind of knitter who would enjoy receiving a surprise package of yarn in the mail every month? Then you need to sign up for a Knitcrate subscription. Every month, you will receive a selection of curated yarn, a pattern specifically paired to use with the yarn, and a special surprise. Use code KD20 at checkout for a bonus when you sign up for a subscription. NOTES Note on Ravelry Links Note that many of the links in our show notes refer to pages on Ravelry.com. If visiting Ravelry causes you harm, please be cautious clicking links. If you are interested in a link that is inaccessible to you, you can email info at unravelingpodcast dot com and Greg and/or Pam will happily send you the information Patreon You can now financially support Unraveling…a knitting podcast on Patreon! Monthly membership levels are available at Swatch ($1), Shawl ($3), and Sweater ($6) and come with rewards like early access to book club episodes, access to a quarterly Zoom call, discounts on all Knitting Daddy patterns, and holiday cards. Nothing about the existing podcast is changing—we will continue to deliver regular and book club episodes like we have been doing for years—everything available via Patreon is extra. Financial support through Patreon helps us cover expenses like web hosting, prize shipping, and equipment upgrades. Greg's Projects Greg continues working on socks for himself. He is using yarn from Two Guys Yarn Company. It will incorporate the Non-Euclidian heel by Sarah Jordan and The Discretion Cuff by Gene Beenken-Draper. Greg has finished a new hat design and is working on writing the pattern. Look for it in January. Pam's Projects Pam thanked KnitPicks. She mentioned the Star Shower shawl by Romi Hill and is going to use KnitPicks Hawthorn Kettle Dye in Blackbird for the main color. She is also using a Nerd Girl yarn from her stash. Pam worked on a pair of socks for Scott using Paton's Kroy. She is loosely following the Vanilla Latte pattern by Virginia Rose-Jeanes with a Fish Lips Kiss Heel by Patty-Joy White. Pam used a Turkish cast on. Pam worked on the Tunisian crochet Loveland Lite by Toni Lipsey. She is using Studio Sox from The Fibre Studio at Yarns to Dye For. Pam finished the legs on her next Frog! by Claire Garland. Assembly is next! Pam started Citadel, a shawl by Janina Kallio. She is using yarn from Yarn over Floyd. Pam swatched for the Sahara Wrap Sweater by Camille Mikolas using Biggo (in the process of being discontinued) from Knitpicks. She heard about this from newwaveknitting on Instagram. Book Club We are in between books now but stay tuned for the next book club selection! Miscellaneous We mentioned a follow-up of The Woobles team… an article from the Triangle Business Journal and their appearance on Shark Tank! We reviewed the Woobles book, Crochet Amigurumi for Every Occasion, in Episode 151. Greg is going to Fairy Stone Park in VA. Greg is loving Grillo's Pickle de Gallo. Greg mentioned the book Speaking American by Josh Katz. Pam mentioned Skinnytaste No Bake Peanut Butter Pie. Greg is going to be the next episode of the Crits & Knits podcast. Tune in for the live Twitch streamon Wednesday, October 12 at 8pm (Eastern). Or, catch the episode on the YouTube podcast a few weeks later. Greg and Pam are going to host an Ask Me Anything episode in the near future! You can submit your questions with this form. Be sure to enter your Fairs and Festivals entry in the Fairs and Festivals KAL! Affiliate Link Disclousure This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you click on a link to Cooperative Press, Amazon, or Knitcrate and subsequently make a purchase, we'll receive a small commission from the sale. You pay the same, and the commissions will help cover our podcasting expenses. Our opinions are always our own. Find us all over the Internet Patreon: Unraveling…a knitting podcast Subscribe in iTunes: The Unraveling Podcast Podcast RSS Feed: Unraveling Podcast Twitter: @UnravelingPod Facebook: Unraveling Podcast Instagram: @UnravelingPodcast Ravelry Group: Unraveling Podcast Greg is KnittingDaddy on Ravelry, @KnittingDaddy on Instagram, and also writes the KnittingDaddy blog. Pam is pammaher on Ravelry  and @pammaher on Instagram

In Episode 153, Greg and Pam discuss music, mayhem, and making new fiber enthusiasts. Many thanks to RosberryCrafts Ros for the episode introduction! We would love to have YOU record and introduction to the show! You can find details in the Ravelry Group Pages or on our website here. Check out our group on Facebook! We would love to have you join us there. SPONSORS We are Knitcrate Ambassadors! Are you the kind of knitter who would enjoy receiving a surprise package of yarn in the mail every month? Then you need to sign up for a Knitcrate subscription. Every month, you will receive a selection of curated yarn, a pattern specifically paired to use with the yarn, and a special surprise. Use code KD20 at checkout for a bonus when you sign up for a subscription. NOTES Note on Ravelry Links Note that many of the links in our show notes refer to pages on Ravelry.com. If visiting Ravelry causes you harm, please be cautious clicking links. If you are interested in a link that is inaccessible to you, you can email info at unravelingpodcast dot com and Greg and/or Pam will happily send you the information Patreon You can now financially support Unraveling…a knitting podcast on Patreon! Monthly membership levels are available at Swatch ($1), Shawl ($3), and Sweater ($6) and come with rewards like early access to book club episodes, access to a quarterly Zoom call, discounts on all Knitting Daddy patterns, and holiday cards. Nothing about the existing podcast is changing—we will continue to deliver regular and book club episodes like we have been doing for years—everything available via Patreon is extra. Financial support through Patreon helps us cover expenses like web hosting, prize shipping, and equipment upgrades. Greg's Projects Greg continues working on socks for himself. He is using yarn from Two Guys Yarn Company. It will incorporate the Non-Euclidian heel by Sarah Jordan and The Discretion Cuff by Gene Beenken-Draper. Greg is working on a new hat design. Pam's Projects Pam worked on a pair of socks for Scott using Paton's Kroy. She is loosely following the Vanilla Latte pattern by Virginia Rose-Jeanes with a Fish Lips Kiss Heel by Patty-Joy White. Pam used a Turkish cast on. Pam finished the Polarlys by Martina Behm. She is using Merino Lace (discontinued) by Palouse Yarn Co. Pam worked on the Tunisian crochet Loveland Lite by Toni Lipsey. She is using Studio Sox from The Fibre Studio at Yarns to Dye For. Book Club We are in between books now but stay tuned for the next book club selection! Miscellaneous Greg mentioned Spud & Chloe at the Farm by Susan B. Anderson. Greg talked about the NC Folk Festival. He saw Sam Bush, George Clinton, and Futurebirds. Greg and Pam discussed some yarn in the news: Knit or Crochet at a Sporting Event: Why You Should. Greg and Pam are going to host an Ask Me Anything episode in the near future! You can submit your questions with this form. Be sure to enter your Fairs and Festivals entry in the Fairs and Festivals KAL! Affiliate Link Disclousure This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you click on a link to Cooperative Press, Amazon, or Knitcrate and subsequently make a purchase, we'll receive a small commission from the sale. You pay the same, and the commissions will help cover our podcasting expenses. Our opinions are always our own. Find us all over the Internet Patreon: Unraveling…a knitting podcast Subscribe in iTunes: The Unraveling Podcast Podcast RSS Feed: Unraveling Podcast Twitter: @UnravelingPod Facebook: Unraveling Podcast Instagram: @UnravelingPodcast Ravelry Group: Unraveling Podcast Greg is KnittingDaddy on Ravelry, @KnittingDaddy on Instagram, and also writes the KnittingDaddy blog. Pam is pammaher on Ravelry  and @pammaher on Instagram

In Episode 150, Greg and Pam discuss just-in-time parenting, mystery knit-alongs, and designing specific-purpose items. Many thanks to Str8upknitter Christy and Chiefy Pam for the episode introduction! We would love to have YOU record and introduction to the show! You can find details in the Ravelry Group Pages or on our website here. Check out our group on Facebook! We would love to have you join us there. SPONSORS We are Knitcrate Ambassadors! Are you the kind of knitter who would enjoy receiving a surprise package of yarn in the mail every month? Then you need to sign up for a Knitcrate subscription. Every month, you will receive a selection of curated yarn, a pattern specifically paired to use with the yarn, and a treat. Use code KD20 at checkout for a bonus when you sign up for a subscription. NOTES Note on Ravelry Links Note that many of the links in our show notes refer to pages on Ravelry.com. If visiting Ravelry causes you harm, please be cautious clicking links. If you are interested in a link that is inaccessible to you, you can email info at unravelingpodcast dot com and Greg and/or Pam will happily send you the information Patreon You can now financially support Unraveling…a knitting podcast on Patreon! Monthly membership levels are available at Swatch ($1), Shawl ($3), and Sweater ($6) and come with rewards like early access to book club episodes, access to a quarterly Zoom call, discounts on all Knitting Daddy patterns, and holiday cards. Nothing about the existing podcast is changing—we will continue to deliver regular and book club episodes like we have been doing for years—everything available via Patreon is extra. Financial support through Patreon helps us cover expenses like web hosting, prize shipping, and equipment upgrades. ***Patrons – go see our poll in the Patreon site for our next Zoom call!*** Greg's Projects Greg continues working on socks for himself. He is using yarn from Two Guys Yarn Company. It will incorporate the Non-Euclidian heel by Sarah Jordan and The Discretion Cuff by Gene Beenken-Draper. Greg has finished the Choose Greg's Adventure 2022 Mystery Shawl. He is using Beach Bunny YarnsWorld Traveler yarn. Pam's Projects Pam worked on a pair of socks for Scott using Paton's Kroy. She is loosely following the Vanilla Latte pattern by Virginia Rose-Jeanes with a Fish Lips Kiss Heel by Patty-Joy White. Pam used a Turkish cast on. Pam worked on Polarlys by Martina Behm. She is using Merino Lace (discontinued) by Palouse Yarn Co. Pam worked on the Loveland Lite Shawl by Toni Lipsey. She is using Studio Sox from The Fibre Studio at Yarns to Dye For. Pam made a sleeve for her Apple Pencil. She made up the pattern. She used a sample from Miss Babs in the color Petrified Forest. Pam made a Little Woolen House bird house by Katie Boyette. This is another Carolina FiberFestCraft Along pattern that will be available soon! Book Club We are in between books now but stay tuned for the next book club selection! Miscellaneous Greg is exciting to go see Weird Al Yankovic in concert. Greg and Pam discussed an article from ScienceNews: How one physicist is unraveling the mathematics of knitting. Greg and Pam mentioned a Ravelry group dedicated to mystery knit-alongs. The group is Upcoming MKAL/MCAL Calendar. Greg mentioned that NBC is rebooting “Quantum Leap.” Greg and Pam are going to host an Ask Me Anything episode in the near future! You can submit your questions with this form. Affiliate Link Disclousure This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you click on a link to Cooperative Press, Amazon, or Knitcrate and subsequently make a purchase, we'll receive a small commission from the sale. You pay the same, and the commissions will help cover our podcasting expenses. Our opinions are always our own. Find us all over the Internet Patreon: Unraveling…a knitting podcast Subscribe in iTunes: The Unraveling Podcast Podcast RSS Feed: Unraveling Podcast Twitter: @UnravelingPod Facebook: Unraveling Podcast Instagram: @UnravelingPodcast Ravelry Group: Unraveling Podcast Greg is KnittingDaddy on Ravelry, @KnittingDaddy on Instagram, and also writes the KnittingDaddy blog. Pam is pammaher on Ravelry  and @pammaher on Instagram

In Episode 149, Greg and Pam discuss finding yarn shops while traveling, dungeons and dragons adventures, and national parks. Many thanks to CarolinaSpinner Ashley for the episode introduction! Ashley is closing her shop but still has some of her great project bags available! We would love to have YOU record and introduction to the show! You can find details in the Ravelry Group Pages or on our website here. Check out our group on Facebook! We would love to have you join us there. SPONSORS We are Knitcrate Ambassadors! Are you the kind of knitter who would enjoy receiving a surprise package of yarn in the mail every month? Then you need to sign up for a Knitcrate subscription. Every month, you will receive a selection of curated yarn, a pattern specifically paired to use with the yarn, and a treat. Use code KD20 at checkout for a bonus when you sign up for a subscription. NOTES Note on Ravelry Links Note that many of the links in our show notes refer to pages on Ravelry.com. If visiting Ravelry causes you harm, please be cautious clicking links. If you are interested in a link that is inaccessible to you, you can email info at unravelingpodcast dot com and Greg and/or Pam will happily send you the information Patreon You can now financially support Unraveling…a knitting podcast on Patreon! Monthly membership levels are available at Swatch ($1), Shawl ($3), and Sweater ($6) and come with rewards like early access to book club episodes, access to a quarterly Zoom call, discounts on all Knitting Daddy patterns, and holiday cards. Nothing about the existing podcast is changing—we will continue to deliver regular and book club episodes like we have been doing for years—everything available via Patreon is extra. Financial support through Patreon helps us cover expenses like web hosting, prize shipping, and equipment upgrades. Greg's Projects Greg continues working on socks for himself. He is using yarn from Two Guys Yarn Company. It will incorporate the Non-Euclidian heel by Sarah Jordan and The Discretion Cuff by Gene Beenken-Draper. Greg is working on the Choose Greg's Adventure 2022 Mystery Shawl. We are almost done! Just the final edge border to go; a pattern update should be available in a week or so. Greg is using Beach Bunny Yarns World Traveler yarn for the shawl. Pam's Projects Pam worked on a pair of socks for Scott using Paton's Kroy. She is loosely following the Vanilla Latte pattern by Virginia Rose-Jeanes with a Fish Lips Kiss Heel by Patty-Joy White. Pam used a Turkish cast on. Pam finished her Reyna Shawl by Noora Backlund. She is using yarn from PassionKNITS Yarn. She used this tutorial to finish with a picot bind-off. Pam finished the cowl test knit for Carolina FiberFest. It is based on the Euphoric Shawl by HandmadebyZan. She is using La Jolla by Baah Yarn. The pattern will be available late summer/early fall! Pam worked on Loveland Lite by Toni Lipsey. She is using Studio Sox from The Fibre Studio at Yarns to Dye For. Pam worked on Polarlys by Martina Behm. She is using Merino Lace (discontinued) by Palouse Yarn Co. Pam made a small pouch for her yarn scale. She made up the pattern and wrote it on her project page. She used a sample from Miss Babs in the color Bewitching. Pam mentioned the Wisp Pattern from Knitty. Book Review: Knitting the National Parks Pam and Greg reviewed Knitting the National Parks by Nancy Bates. It was provided by the publisher Weldon Owen. The book is scheduled for release on August 30, 2022, but you can pre-order it now so that it will show up as soon as it's available. Book Club We are in between books now but stay tuned for the next book club selection! Miscellaneous Greg mentioned Huey's On The River restaurant in Savannah, GA. Greg mentioned the Crits & Knits stream/podcast. He is currently their featured designer and sometime in the next few months will probably join the party for an adventure. Greg taught himself the Ladderback Jacquard technique using Ysolda's tutorial. We talked about the National Parks Passport program. Greg got an enamel pin that is a Danis Biscuits tin that opens up to reveal the contents of a sewing kit. It's available from NAUTIKALMILES. Pam mentioned a 3 ingredient, no churn ice cream recipe. Pam also mentioned Momofuku Soy & Scallion Ramen. Greg buys Samyang Buldak rame in bulk from Amazon. We discussed the Yarn Shop finder and Road Trip Planner on Ravelry. Affiliate Link Disclousure This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you click on a link to Cooperative Press, Amazon, or Knitcrate and subsequently make a purchase, we'll receive a small commission from the sale. You pay the same, and the commissions will help cover our podcasting expenses. Our opinions are always our own. Find us all over the Internet Patreon: Unraveling…a knitting podcast Subscribe in iTunes: The Unraveling Podcast Podcast RSS Feed: Unraveling Podcast Twitter: @UnravelingPod Facebook: Unraveling Podcast Instagram: @UnravelingPodcast Ravelry Group: Unraveling Podcast Greg is KnittingDaddy on Ravelry, @KnittingDaddy on Instagram, and also writes the KnittingDaddy blog. Pam is pammaher on Ravelry  and @pammaher on Instagram

In Episode 148, Greg and Pam discuss unexpected vacation complications, astronomy, and fancy yarn. Many thanks to Tina McClancy for the episode introduction! We would love to have YOU record and introduction to the show! You can find details in the Ravelry Group Pages or on our website here. Check out our group on Facebook! We would love to have you join us there. SPONSORS We are Knitcrate Ambassadors! Are you the kind of knitter who would enjoy receiving a surprise package of yarn in the mail every month? Then you need to sign up for a Knitcrate subscription. Every month, you will receive a selection of curated yarn, a pattern specifically paired to use with the yarn, and a treat. Use code KD20 at checkout for 20% off your first package when you sign up for a subscription. NOTES Note on Ravelry Links Note that many of the links in our show notes refer to pages on Ravelry.com. If visiting Ravelry causes you harm, please be cautious clicking links. If you are interested in a link that is inaccessible to you, you can email info at unravelingpodcast dot com and Greg and/or Pam will happily send you the information Patreon You can now financially support Unraveling…a knitting podcast on Patreon! Monthly membership levels are available at Swatch ($1), Shawl ($3), and Sweater ($6) and come with rewards like early access to book club episodes, access to a quarterly Zoom call, discounts on all Knitting Daddy patterns, and holiday cards. Nothing about the existing podcast is changing—we will continue to deliver regular and book club episodes like we have been doing for years—everything available via Patreon is extra. Financial support through Patreon helps us cover expenses like web hosting, prize shipping, and equipment upgrades. Greg's Projects Greg finished socks for his mom. He is using yarn from Twist Fiber Studio. It incorporated the Fish Lips Kiss Heel by Patty-Joy White and The Discretion Cuff by Gene Beenken-Draper. Greg started new socks for himself. He is using yarn from Two Guys Yarn Company. It will incorporate the Non-Euclidian heel by Sarah Jordan and The Discretion Cuff by Gene Beenken-Draper. Greg is working on the Choose Greg's Adventure 2022 Mystery Shawl. Be sure to visit the KnittingDaddy.com blog and vote on the next design decision! Listen to the episode to find out how to get a discount on two hanks Beach Bunny Yarns World Traveler yarn for the shawl. Pam's Projects Pam worked on a pair of socks for Scott using Paton's Kroy. She is loosely following the Vanilla Latte pattern by Virginia Rose-Jeanes with a Fish Lips Kiss Heel by Patty-Joy White. Pam used a Turkish cast on. Pam finished her Reyna Shawl by Noora Backlund. She is using yarn from PassionKNITS Yarn. She totally forgot to talk about this so stay tuned for next time. Pam finished the Classic Cuffed Hat by Purl Soho using KnitPicks Mighty Stitch. Pam started a cowl test knit for Carolina FiberFest. It is based on the Euphoric Shawl by HandmadebyZan. She is using La Jolla by Baah Yarn. Pam started Loveland Lite by Toni Lipsey. She is using Studio Sox from The Fibre Studio at Yarns to Dye For. Pam started Polarlys by Martina Behm. She is using Merino Lace (discontinued) by Palouse Yarn Co. Pam purchase some Quiviut Yarn and mentioned the Brigida Stole at the store as well as the Brigida Shawl pattern. Book Club We are in between books now but stay tuned for the next book club selection! Miscellaneous Greg enjoyed baseball with the Atlanta Braves, the Carolina Disco Turkeys, and the Greensboro Grasshoppers. Greg enjoyed Shrek: The Musical with Blueberry. Pam mentioned the Arecibo Message, the Arecibo Observatory and SETI. Pam mentioned that she's knitted the CPCTC socks by Sarah Jordan before. Pam is celebrating 4 years as a co-host of the podcast. Greg mentioned Boil-The-Bag-Peanuts. They are delicious. Pam mentioned A Column of Fire by Ken Follet. Affiliate Link Disclousure This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you click on a link to Cooperative Press, Amazon, or Knitcrate and subsequently make a purchase, we'll receive a small commission from the sale. You pay the same, and the commissions will help cover our podcasting expenses. Our opinions are always our own. Find us all over the Internet Patreon: Unraveling…a knitting podcast Subscribe in iTunes: The Unraveling Podcast Podcast RSS Feed: Unraveling Podcast Twitter: @UnravelingPod Facebook: Unraveling Podcast Instagram: @UnravelingPodcast Ravelry Group: Unraveling Podcast Greg is KnittingDaddy on Ravelry, @KnittingDaddy on Instagram, and also writes the KnittingDaddy blog. Pam is pammaher on Ravelry  and @pammaher on Instagram

In Episode 144, Greg and Pam discuss turtles, frogs, and cats. Many thanks to Turtle32 Michelle for the episode introduction! We would love to have YOU record and introduction to the show! You can find details in the Ravelry Group Pages or on our website here. Check out our group on Facebook! We would love to have you join us there. ***Please help us manage the group by answering the questions when you request to join!*** SPONSORS We are Knitcrate Ambassadors! Are you the kind of knitter who would enjoy receiving a surprise package of yarn in the mail every month? Then you need to sign up for a Knitcrate subscription. Every month, you will receive a selection of curated yarn, a pattern specifically paired to use with the yarn, and a treat. Use code KD20 at checkout for 20% off your first package when you sign up for a subscription. NOTES Note on Ravelry Links Note that many of the links in our show notes refer to pages on Ravelry.com. If visiting Ravelry causes you harm, please be cautious clicking links. If you are interested in a link that is inaccessible to you, you can email info at unravelingpodcast dot com and Greg and/or Pam will happily send you the information Patreon You can now financially support Unraveling…a knitting podcast on Patreon! Monthly membership levels are available at Swatch ($1), Shawl ($3), and Sweater ($6) and come with rewards like early access to book club episodes, access to a quarterly Zoom call, discounts on all Knitting Daddy patterns, and holiday cards. Nothing about the existing podcast is changing—we will continue to deliver regular and book club episodes like we have been doing for years—everything available via Patreon is extra. Financial support through Patreon helps us cover expenses like web hosting, prize shipping, and equipment upgrades. ***Our next quarterly Zoom call for Shawl and Sweater Patrons will be on Saturday, June 18 at 2pm Eastern. Stay tuned for an opportunity to share your time preference!*** Greg's Projects Greg is working on socks for his mom. He is using yarn from Twist Fiber Studio. It will incorporate the Fish Lips Kiss Heel by Patty-Joy White and The Discretion Cuff by Gene Beenken-Draper. Greg is working on the Choose Greg's Adventure 2022 Mystery Shawl. Be sure to visit the KnittingDaddy.com blog and vote on the next design decision! Listen to the episode to find out how to get a discount on two hanks Beach Bunny Yarns World Traveler yarn for the shawl. Pam's Projects Pam made a Knitted Knocker for an acquaintance. She used the magic loop version of the patternand Berroco Modern Cotton DK. Pam worked on a pair of socks for Scott using Paton's Kroy. She is loosely following the Vanilla Latte pattern by Virginia Rose-Jeanes with a Fish Lips Kiss Heel by Patty-Joy White. Pam used a Turkish cast on. Pam worked on her Cosy Stripe Blanket by Attic24. She is using Stylecraft Special DK. Pam worked on the Reyna Shawl by Noora Backlund. She is using yarn from PassionKNITS Yarn. Pam is trying to make a cowl. She has finally found a pattern that is perfect but it is a test knit and she can't share any more details. Pam also gave some follow-up feedback on her Scrubbies and Bowl Cozy. Book Club In episode 145 we will continue Section 3 of The Knitter's Book of Yarn: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Using, and Enjoying Yarn by Clara Parkes. We will discuss Boucle and Brushed yarns. We try to host book club so you don't need the book to enjoy the discussions but this book is such a wealth of knowledge we highly recommend it! We are nearing the end of the our current book club and are looking for suggestions for the next book! We try to choose a reference type of book that will have broad appeal to many knitters, can be broken into segments and is readily available. If you have any suggestions, please email us! info@unravelingpodcast.com. Miscellaneous Greg enjoyed the Van Gogh Raleigh, NC Exhibit: The Immersive Experience. May 6, 2022 was National No Pants Day. Pam mentioned how much she loves her new Tom Bihn Bag, The Swift. Pam also mentioned her love of silicone bags. She likes Stasher brand and Zip Top. Affiliate Link Disclousure This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you click on a link to Cooperative Press, Amazon, or Knitcrate and subsequently make a purchase, we'll receive a small commission from the sale. You pay the same, and the commissions will help cover our podcasting expenses. Our opinions are always our own. Find us all over the Internet Patreon: Unraveling…a knitting podcast Subscribe in iTunes: The Unraveling Podcast Podcast RSS Feed: Unraveling Podcast Twitter: @UnravelingPod Facebook: Unraveling Podcast Instagram: @UnravelingPodcast Ravelry Group: Unraveling Podcast Greg is KnittingDaddy on Ravelry, @KnittingDaddy on Instagram, and also writes the KnittingDaddy blog. Pam is pammaher on Ravelry  and @pammaher on Instagram

In Episode 143, Greg and Pam continue the book club by discussing the sections on Cabled Yarn and Textured Yarn. Follow along as we discuss The Knitter's Book Of Yarn by Clara Parkes. Check out our group on Facebook! We would love to have you join us there. SPONSORS We are Knitcrate Ambassadors! Are you the kind of knitter who would enjoy receiving a surprise package of yarn in the mail every month? Then you need to sign up for a Knitcrate subscription. Every month, you will receive a selection of curated yarn, a pattern specifically paired to use with the yarn, and a treat. Use code KD20 at checkout for 20% off your first package when you sign up for a subscription. The Knitter's Book of Yarn: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Using, and Enjoying Yarn Be sure to get your copy of The Knitter's Book Of Yarn by Clara Parkes and follow along with our discussion. Miscellaneous Pam mentioned KnitPicks Lindy Chain yarn. Greg found a page on ScienceDirect about Cabled Yarn. This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you click on a link to Cooperative Press, Amazon, or Knitcrate and subsequently make a purchase, we'll receive a small commission from the sale. You pay the same, and the commissions will help cover our podcasting expenses. Our opinions are always our own, and we're never compensated to endorse any particular product or service. Find us all over the Internet Patreon: Unraveling…a knitting podcast Subscribe in iTunes: The Unraveling Podcast Podcast RSS Feed: Unraveling Podcast Twitter: @UnravelingPod Facebook: Unraveling Podcast Instagram: @UnravelingPodcast Ravelry Group: Unraveling Podcast Greg is KnittingDaddy on Ravelry, @KnittingDaddy on Instagram, and also writes the KnittingDaddy blog. Pam is pammaher on Ravelry  and @pammaher on Instagram

In Episode 141, Greg and Pam continue the book club by discussing the sections on 3-ply and 4-ply and more yarn. Follow along as we discuss The Knitter's Book Of Yarn by Clara Parkes. Check out our group on Facebook! We would love to have you join us there. SPONSORS We are Knitcrate Ambassadors! Are you the kind of knitter who would enjoy receiving a surprise package of yarn in the mail every month? Then you need to sign up for a Knitcrate subscription. Every month, you will receive a selection of curated yarn, a pattern specifically paired to use with the yarn, and a treat. Use code KD20 at checkout for 20% off your first package when you sign up for a subscription. The Knitter's Book of Yarn: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Using, and Enjoying Yarn Be sure to get your copy of The Knitter's Book Of Yarn by Clara Parkes and follow along with our discussion. Miscellaneous We mentioned the article about describing fiber properties with math:  Using math to describe the spinning transition between the assemblage of fibers in yarn. We dropped a pop culture reference to the movie Dazed and Confused. This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you click on a link to Cooperative Press, Amazon, or Knitcrate and subsequently make a purchase, we'll receive a small commission from the sale. You pay the same, and the commissions will help cover our podcasting expenses. Our opinions are always our own, and we're never compensated to endorse any particular product or service. Find us all over the Internet Patreon: Unraveling…a knitting podcast Subscribe in iTunes: The Unraveling Podcast Podcast RSS Feed: Unraveling Podcast Twitter: @UnravelingPod Facebook: Unraveling Podcast Instagram: @UnravelingPodcast Ravelry Group: Unraveling Podcast Greg is KnittingDaddy on Ravelry, @KnittingDaddy on Instagram, and also writes the KnittingDaddy blog. Pam is pammaher on Ravelry  and @pammaher on Instagram

In Episode 140, Greg and Pam discuss beads, holidays, and pollen. Many thanks to PAKnitWit Sarah for the episode introduction! Sarah is the designer behind the Non-Euclidan Heel and the CPCTC Heel patterns. We would love to have YOU record and introduction to the show! You can find details in the Ravelry Group Pages or on our website here. Check out our group on Facebook! We would love to have you join us there. ***Please help us manage the group by answering the questions when you request to join!*** SPONSORS We are Knitcrate Ambassadors! Are you the kind of knitter who would enjoy receiving a surprise package of yarn in the mail every month? Then you need to sign up for a Knitcrate subscription. Every month, you will receive a selection of curated yarn, a pattern specifically paired to use with the yarn, and a treat. Use code KD20 at checkout for 20% off your first package when you sign up for a subscription. NOTES Note on Ravelry Links Note that many of the links in our show notes refer to pages on Ravelry.com. If visiting Ravelry causes you harm, please be cautious clicking links. If you are interested in a link that is inaccessible to you, you can email info at unravelingpodcast dot com and Greg and/or Pam will happily send you the information Patreon You can now financially support Unraveling…a knitting podcast on Patreon! Monthly membership levels are available at Swatch ($1), Shawl ($3), and Sweater ($6) and come with rewards like early access to book club episodes, access to a quarterly Zoom call, discounts on all Knitting Daddy patterns, and holiday cards. Nothing about the existing podcast is changing—we will continue to deliver regular and book club episodes like we have been doing for years—everything available via Patreon is extra. Financial support through Patreon helps us cover expenses like web hosting, prize shipping, and equipment upgrades. Unraveling Podcowl Greg released a new pattern! It is the Unraveling Podcowl. Normally $6, it is available with a $2 discount automatically applied at checkout. This discount is good until April 20. This pattern is the mystery audio that has been appearing in the podcast since Episode 127, which came out in January. Yarn in the News Phys.org published a summary of a new technical paper about Using math to describe the spinning transition between the assemblage of fibers in yarn. Greg's Projects Greg is working on socks for his mom. He is using yarn from Twist Fiber Studio. It will incorporate the Fish Lips Kiss Heel by and The Discretion Cuff by Gene Beenken-Draper. Pam's Projects Pam finished her Positive Plants embroidery kit from M Creative J. Pam worked on a pair of socks for Scott using Paton's Kroy. She is loosely following the Vanilla Latte pattern by Virginia Rose-Jeanes with a Fish Lips Kiss Heel by Patty-Joy White. Pam used a Turkish cast on. Pam worked on her Cosy Stripe Blanket by Attic24. She is using Stylecraft Special DK. Pam worked on the Reyna Shawl by Noora Backlund. She is using yarn from PassionKNITS Yarn. Pam is trying to make a cowl. She tried a two color variation of the Honey Cowl by Antonia Shankland and isn't happy with it. She will be searching for a new pattern. The notes for the two color variation can be found here. Book Club In episode 141 we will continue Section 3 of The Knitter's Book of Yarn: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Using, and Enjoying Yarn by Clara Parkes. We will discuss three-ply and 4 or more ply yarns. We try to host book club so you don't need the book to enjoy the discussions but this book is such a wealth of knowledge we highly recommend it! We are nearing the end of the our current book club and are looking for suggestions for the next book! We try to choose a reference type of book that will have broad appeal to many knitters, can be broken into segments and is readily available. If you have any suggestions, please email us! info@unravelingpodcast.com. Miscellaneous We mentioned two new threads in the Ravelry Group: a Self Promotion thread and a Wordlethread. We mentioned the Nordic Star Yarns website which features a directory of fiber festivals in the US. We also mentioned Rosberry Crafts Youtube channel where she includes a lot of nature shots in BC, Canada. Pam mentioned the book Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. Greg mentioned the book Code Name: Lise by Larry Loftis. Greg has been enjoying his mugs from Creative With Clay. While in Atlanta Pam visited Stone Mountain and the Georgia Institute of Technology. They played the game Pandemic while there. Pam shared an update on the Coral Reef Project at the NC Museum of Art. Affiliate Link Disclousure This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you click on a link to Cooperative Press, Amazon, or Knitcrate and subsequently make a purchase, we'll receive a small commission from the sale. You pay the same, and the commissions will help cover our podcasting expenses. Our opinions are always our own. Find us all over the Internet Patreon: Unraveling…a knitting podcast Subscribe in iTunes: The Unraveling Podcast Podcast RSS Feed: Unraveling Podcast Twitter: @UnravelingPod Facebook: Unraveling Podcast Instagram: @UnravelingPodcast Ravelry Group: Unraveling Podcast Greg is KnittingDaddy on Ravelry, @KnittingDaddy on Instagram, and also writes the KnittingDaddy blog. Pam is pammaher on Ravelry  and @pammaher on Instagram

In Episode 139, Greg and Pam continue the book club by discussing the section on single-ply and 2-ply yarn. Follow along as we discuss The Knitter's Book Of Yarn by Clara Parkes. Check out our group on Facebook! We would love to have you join us there. SPONSORS We are Knitcrate Ambassadors! Are you the kind of knitter who would enjoy receiving a surprise package of yarn in the mail every month? Then you need to sign up for a Knitcrate subscription. Every month, you will receive a selection of curated yarn, a pattern specifically paired to use with the yarn, and a treat. Use code KD20 at checkout for 20% off your first package when you sign up for a subscription. The Knitter's Book of Yarn: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Using, and Enjoying Yarn Be sure to get your copy of The Knitter's Book Of Yarn by Clara Parkes and follow along with our discussion. Miscellaneous We mentioned the Stripe Domination Hat. This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you click on a link to Cooperative Press, Amazon, or Knitcrate and subsequently make a purchase, we'll receive a small commission from the sale. You pay the same, and the commissions will help cover our podcasting expenses. Our opinions are always our own, and we're never compensated to endorse any particular product or service. Find us all over the Internet Patreon: Unraveling…a knitting podcast Subscribe in iTunes: The Unraveling Podcast Podcast RSS Feed: Unraveling Podcast Twitter: @UnravelingPod Facebook: Unraveling Podcast Instagram: @UnravelingPodcast Ravelry Group: Unraveling Podcast Greg is KnittingDaddy on Ravelry, @KnittingDaddy on Instagram, and also writes the KnittingDaddy blog. Pam is pammaher on Ravelry  and @pammaher on Instagram

In Episode 135, Greg and Pam discuss casting on, binding off, and stitch marker emergencies. Many thanks to Inkblobs Tanja for the episode introduction! You can check out the YouTube channel she mentioned here: Irizanjo. We would love to have YOU record and introduction to the show! You can find details in the Ravelry Group Pages or on our website here. Check out our group on Facebook! We would love to have you join us there. ***Please help us manage the group by answering the questions when you request to join!*** SPONSORS We are Knitcrate Ambassadors! Are you the kind of knitter who would enjoy receiving a surprise package of yarn in the mail every month? Then you need to sign up for a Knitcrate subscription. Every month, you will receive a selection of curated yarn, a pattern specifically paired to use with the yarn, and a treat. Use code KD20 at checkout for 20% off your first package when you sign up for a subscription. NOTES Note on Ravelry Links Note that many of the links in our show notes refer to pages on Ravelry.com. If visiting Ravelry causes you harm, please be cautious clicking links. If you are interested in a link that is inaccessible to you, you can email info at unravelingpodcast dot com and Greg and/or Pam will happily send you the information Patreon You can now financially support Unraveling...a knitting podcast on Patreon! Monthly membership levels are available at Swatch ($1), Shawl ($3), and Sweater ($6) and come with rewards like early access to book club episodes, access to a quarterly Zoom call, discounts on all Knitting Daddy patterns, and holiday cards. Nothing about the existing podcast is changing—we will continue to deliver regular and book club episodes like we have been doing for years—everything available via Patreon is extra. Financial support through Patreon helps us cover expenses like web hosting, prize shipping, and equipment upgrades. Patrons at the Shawl & Sweater Levels - join us on Sunday, March 20 at 3om Eastern for a zoom call! Details are on Patreon. Yarn in the News & Corrections Clara Parkes has an excellent podcast called Voices in Wool with Clara Parkes. Pam clarified that the Alpaca Owner's Association recognizes 16 colors for both Huacaya and Suri alpaca. Greg's Projects Greg is working on his Christmas Eve Cast-on socks. He is using yarn from Oink Pigments. Greg loves darning socks with the Darning & Mending Loom from Katrinkles. Check out Katy's Instagram video for how to mend hearts onto your clothes. Big thank-you to Katy for sending Greg the rest of the heddles that go with the small loom he purchased in January! Greg knitted a cowl in a new design. More to come. Greg is working on the Plants + Shapes DIY Applique Embroidery Kit from M Creative J. Pam's Projects Pam is getting ready to work on the Positive Plants embroidery kit from M Creative J. Pam started a charity hat using the Classic Cuffed Hat pattern from Purl Soho. She is using KnitPicks Mighty Stitch. Pam worked on a pair of socks for Scott using Paton's Kroy. She is loosely following the Vanilla Latte pattern by Virginia Rose-Jeanes. Pam used a Turkish cast on. Pam worked on a Mash It Up Hat by Babs Ausherman. She is using fingering weight leftovers. Pam worked on her Cosy Stripe Blanket by Attic24. She is using Stylecraft Special DK. Pam finished Gniber, the Carolina FiberFest Craft Along gnome. Pam finished 3 panels for a yarn bombing project at the high school her daughter went to. Book Club Book Club Break - Pam & Greg both have a lot of unusual demands on their time right now. We will be back with the book club in episode 137. Next episode we will continue Section 2 of The Knitter's Book of Yarn: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Using, and Enjoying Yarn by Clara Parkes. We will begin a discussion of color. We try to host book club so you don't need the book to enjoy the discussions but this book is such a wealth of knowledge we highly recommend it! Current/Upcoming Unraveling Events Pam talked about the workshops available at the Carolina FiberFest. Greg mentioned that he will be giving a free short talk on the Saturday of the festival. Miscellaneous Pam mentioned Tom Bihn's Swift bag. Greg mentioned The Traveling Wilburys. Pam and Greg expressed their support for the people of Ukraine. Affiliate Link Disclousure This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you click on a link to Cooperative Press, Amazon, or Knitcrate and subsequently make a purchase, we'll receive a small commission from the sale. You pay the same, and the commissions will help cover our podcasting expenses. Our opinions are always our own. Find us all over the Internet Patreon: Unraveling...a knitting podcast Subscribe in iTunes: The Unraveling Podcast Podcast RSS Feed: Unraveling Podcast Twitter: @UnravelingPod Facebook: Unraveling Podcast Instagram: @UnravelingPodcast Ravelry Group: Unraveling Podcast Greg is KnittingDaddy on Ravelry, @KnittingDaddy on Instagram, and also writes the KnittingDaddy blog. Pam is pammaher on Ravelry  and @pammaher on Instagram

This week's episode is sponsored by:   Baffled by brioche? Done in by double knitting? Boost Your Knitting from Arnall-Culliford Knitwear, is now available to order! Our unique programme includes twelve patterns from twelve stellar designers, accompanied by photo and video tutorials, to teach you new techniques and bring you the joy and excitement of learning something new! You’ll receive monthly digital patterns and tutorials in your inbox, along with a print book (shipping September 2019). You can also join in friendly and supportive monthly knitalongs in our Ravelry group – because learning new skills is even better when you do it with friends! Boost Your Knitting costs £30 (approximately $39) and includes free worldwide shipping. Visit shop.acknitwear.co.uk to start your techniques adventure.                 No matter what you need, the barmaids have you covered from head to toe. Face pudding to keep you smiling, Lolo lips keep them kissable, probiotic deodorant for keeping you fresh as a rose, oh for feet’s sake to keep your feet soft and sandal ready, and the Lolo body bar for everything in between. You can find all this - and more! at bar-maids.com Every hobby needs organization, every project needs a place.  Erin.Lane bags helps you turn your fiber pasttime into neat and organized endeavor.  Our project bags, totes, and needle and notions organizers are everything you need to keep your fiber arts from fraying.   Dreaming of Fall sweater weather? Infinite Twist has you covered with Dyer's Choice Sweater Quantities. Each yarn pack includes 1800 yards of hand-dyed 6-ply Merino in a one-of-a-kind color for $98, and shipping is free! Colors are not repeatable, and when they're gone, they're gone. Check out the colors currently available at infinitetwist.com.     Want to learn Brioche Knitting from Faina Goberstein? How about Tablet Weaving with John Mullarkey or Knitwear Design with Kate Atherley? Dive into these techniques, and dozens more with Workshops at Interweave Yarn Fest! Join the fun in Loveland, Colorado March 27 th through 31 st . Plus, enjoy shopping the Marketplace full of yarn, fiber, and handmade goods. Find all the details and register online at InterweaveYarnFest.com   Have you ever had to frog because you forgot a step several rows back? Or lost your spot because you dropped your magnet board or lost track with your highlighter tape? Instead of wrestling with paper, use the knitCompanion app. It keeps you on track so you can knit more and frog less. knitCompanion works withALL your patterns and is available for apple, android and kindle fire devices.   On the Needles:(0:33) Gigi is knitting the Poza cowl by Ysolda, out of Floating from A Verb For Keeping Warm.   Jasmin has finished the front of  her Aumangea pullover by ArohaKnits (check the link for a discount code from Frenchie!), and has it prepped to mattress stitch the sides.   Gigi is knitting Hogwarts house colors from MustStashYarn for Genevieve.   Jasmin has made some progress on her Sarcastic Unicorn Sockhead Cowl during Big River.   Gigi This year she  has Non-Euclidian heel socks on the needles, working on three different pairs, Cherry Pop Stripes, "Rainbow Stripes" and "Purple Haze". You can get all of the colors of Paton's Kroy from Craftsy (currently sold out, check back)   Jasmin is still working on her Viajante (#behmalong).   Gigi is knitting another Rocky Coast cardigan. She put Stitch markers after every 6 stitch pattern repeat.  Modification: increases at the front, so it will close. Events: (8:36) - #ChooseYourOwnAdventureKAL is ongoing. - Stitches West, February 21-24 2019 - Tips for attending Stitches West - StashFit Workbook   In Stitches:(14:44) - Jasmin: wool socks, looped loop cowl, Goin Gold Hat, Mondo Cable Cardigan , Tied Knots hat - Gigi : Quynn hat with ear flaps, Knitmore cowl, wool socks, sockhead cowl , Mondo cable pulli - Genevieve: Gryffindor scarf and hat, - Andrew: Cashmere Andrew’s Watch Caps, Sam scarf sharks daybreak   Mother Knows Best:(19:24) Some updated tips on optimizing your knitting event experience.   When Knitting Attacks:(33:46) Gigi gets attacked by the collar on her Ribbi Cardi   Review:(36:40) Fresh Designs for Men, from Cooperative Press   And Sew On:(44:13) Gigi is trying to sew or do something sewing related every day. Gigi finished sewing in the ribbon for Genevieve’s Victorian Girl’s coat . School: draping muslin front and back skirt.  Did the sleeve according to directions. We draped skirt front and back in school, had to copy it onto paper using a tracing wheel.  Gigi stole Jasmin’s cardboard cutting mat.  Works!   Gigi cut preemie sack gowns last week.  Serged edges for envelope necklines, need to turn edges and cover stitch

Recorded on January 15, 2016 Book Talk Starts at 44:37 Our Sweater KAL ends today!  Listen to the end of this podcast to find out who the 4 winners are... Announcing our next Knit Along!  Yes, it's a VEST KAL/CAL.  Here are the particulars: 1.  The Vest KAL will run 2/15 - 5/15/16. 2.  The Vest KAL includes short-sleeve sweaters. 3.  Any adult-sized vest or short-sleeve sweater may be entered for the KAL 4.  You must be a member of our  Ravelry Group to enter. 5.  Barb will start a Chatter Thread and put up a Bundle of vest patterns to start the planning. Our first 2 Knit Lit Chicks Swap is on!  The deadline has passed for you to join, but if you are participating, chatter away here.  Thank you to SandraMaz, the proprietress of the SweetSerendipity37 shop on Easy and friend to our podcast for organizing the swap! You have until February 1, 2016 to enter the giveaway for Modern Lopi: One (New Approaches to An Icelandic Classic).  To win a copy of the ebook, leave a comment here. Tracie and Barb will be at Stitches West  - February 18-21, 2016 in Santa Clara, California.  Come join us in the bar on Saturday afternoon for our meet-up with the Yarniacs and lots of other fun people! Tracie and Barb will also be at 2 NoCKRs - the 2016 Northern California Knitting Retreat - registration is full. KNITTING Tracie has finished: * Doing major sweater surgery on her Saddleback Cardigan to make it more wearable.  You can see the difference between the sweater as it is in the pattern and what Tracie's looks like now! * Fletcher hat by Elizabeth Doherty in Universal Yarn Uptown DK Anti Pilling Acrylic in the Granite colorway. Barb has finished: * The Etched Rio Wrap by Sarah Smuland, using Cascade 220 Sport in a dark gray colorway  (pictured at left) * Grandpa Cardigan by Joji Locatelli, using Cascade Cash Vero DK (a cashmere, merino, microfiber, and blend) in a royal blue colorway. *Geometry Scarf by Knitculture.com, using Universal Yarns Classic Shades in a fall-colors colorway. * a Barley Hat by TinCanKnits, using Universal Yarns Classic Shades in a fall colors colorway. * Mother Bear #68 Tracie is currently working on: * Shalom Cardigan by Meghan McFarlane in Araucania Tepa (bulky, wool/mohair/silk). * Vanilla socks with a Fish-Lips-Kiss Heel, using Knit Picks Felici in the Baker Street colorway. * The Starshower cowl by Hilary Smith Callis, using La Bien Aimee MCN Light in the Jon Snow colorway. * The Meditate cowl by Elizabeth Doherty, using Redfish Dyeworks Silk Sock. * The Longstreet shawl by Nancy Totten using Abstract Fibers Temptation in The Gorge colorway. Barb is currently working on: * Vanilla Socks using Fishknits Warm Heart 2-ply in the Cadillac colorway * Winter Wander Shawl by Helen Stewart, using Invictus Yarns Victorious in the Exotic colorway and Knit Picks Aloft in the Carbon Colorway. *  Never Not Knitting Mystery Shawl KAL, using Berroco Vintage in colorway 5194. Tracie and Barb had a short discussion regarding "Sweater Surgery".  Tracie has started a thread on the Ravelry Group for all of us to talk about this topic and encourage each other to take steps to make our sweaters more wearable! Barb and Tracie reviewed a new book from Cooperative Press, SpillyJane Knits Mittens.  An enthusiastic "Thumbs Up! for this book.  Want to win an ebook copy for yourself? Go on over to our Ravelry Group and go to the SpillyJane Knits Mittens thread and follow the prompts.  This giveaway will end on February 15th. BOOKS Tracie has finished: * Miss Tonks Turns to Crime by M.C. Beaton writing as Marian Chesney.  Tracie recommends this book. *  The Harder They Come by T.C. Boyle.  She recommends it, with reservations. * The Brutal Telling by Louise Penney.  Tracie felt it was way too long and wasn't her favorite of the Louise Penney books she has read. Barb has finished: *  Norman Bray in the Performance of His Life by Trevor Cole.  She heartily reommends this book. *  Ferris Beach by Jill McCorkle.  She loved this book. *  The Life We Bury by Allen Eskers.  She recommends this book. Tracie is currently reading: * Bellweather Rhapsody by Kate Racculia *  The Bone House by Brian Freeman Barb is currently reading: * Salem's Lot by Stephen King * The Wild Inside by Christine Carbo 

Episode 19 Show Notes:Welcome to the Episode 19 of the Knit Actually Podcast!· Actually Finished· I talk about the two projects I finished recently· Sockhead hat (knit with hand dyed yarn)  · Chevron hat (based on a design I improvised, and with my UV sensitive yarn) · Actually Working· Italk about projects I am currently working on including· Windschief Hat for my husband · Christmas Socks for my husband · My son’s Scoreboard Scarf (Go Broncos!!!) · Baley Sweater for my son · Actually StashedI talk about a couple of great Black Friday yarn sales, including the annual Knit Picks Big Sale and the Black Friday sale at Eat Sleep Knit· Actually Attending· Interweave Yarn Fest, March 31 – April 3o List of Workshops is here. Registration is now open!I’m registered for Building your Design Career with Dora Ohrenstein and the Design Master Class with Shirley Paden o Current list of vendors is here · Knit Knosh· Registration is open for Knit Knosh!!! Knit Knosh will be a food, wine and yarn tasting, on January 23, 2016 at 12:30 pm at Samples World Bistro in Longmont, CO. I’m EXTREMELY excited to announce the participating yarn companies:§ Bijou Basin Ranch§ MJ Yarns § Knerd§ Skeindalous· Giveaway· Don’t forget to leave your comments in the Ravelry thread for a chance to win Boys Knits by Katya Frankel. Just let me know which pattern you would knit, and who you would knit it for. Cooperative Press has generously offered an ebook copy of this great book. Enter by November 30, and I’ll draw a winner on December 1. Thank you for listening!!!!

Episode 18 Show Notes: Welcome to the Episode 18 of the Knit Actually Podcast! • Actually Working • I talk about projects I am currently working on including o Windschief Hat for my husband o Sockhead Hat for me! o o Baley Sweater for my son o • Actually Hand Dyed o I dyed a BUNCH of things this week!!! First, I skeined up the yarn I dyed in the class I took at Fancy Tiger Crafts o o I kettle dyed some Aran weight MCN in Peacock Blue for a hat for my husband for Christmas • o I hand dyed some MCN Fingering, which I’m using for my Sockhead Hat o o I made two attempts at speckled yarn, on a DK stellina base. The first one is lovely, but definitely not speckled o And the second turned out pretty much exactly how I wanted it to o THEN, I tried stencilling a sock blank, and I was pretty happy with the results on my first try o Last I dyed some self striping yarn, and I feel like I’ve finally got the hang of it! • Actually Attending o Handweavers Guild of Boulder Annual Sale , November 4-8 o Interweave Yarn Fest, March 31 – April 3  List of Workshops is here. Registration is now open! I’m registered for Building your Design Career with Dora Ohrenstein and the Design Master Class with Shirley Paden  Current list of vendors is here • Knit Knosh o Registration is open for Knit Knosh!!! Knit Knosh will be a food, wine and yarn tasting, on January 23, 2016 at 12:30 pm at Samples World Bistro in Longmont, CO. I’m EXTREMELY excited to announce the participating yarn companies: o Bijou Basin Ranch o MJ Yarns o Knerd o Skeindalous • Giveaway o I’m giving away an ebook copy of the Cooperative Press book Big Foot Knits by Andi Smith. To enter, just post in the Ravelry thread and tell me which pattern you would knit, and for whom! I’ll draw a winner on December 1, 2015. Thank you for listening!!!!

Episode 17 Show Notes: Welcome to the Episode 17 of the Knit Actually Podcast! • Actually Working • I talk about projects I am currently working on including o My son’s Denver Broncos Scoreboard Scarf o Vanilla Socks o Baley Sweater for my son • Actually Stashed o I visited Purl Soho, but didn’t make it to Knitty City or Downtown Knits o I talk about the Cooper Hewitt Museum • Actually Attending o Handweavers Guild of Boulder Annual Sale , November 4-8 o Interweave Yarn Fest, March 31 – April 3  List of Workshops is here. Registration is now open! I’m registered for Building your Design Career with Dora Ohrenstein and the Design Master Class with Shirley Paden  Current list of vendors is here o I’m participating in and sponsoring the Pigskin Party KAL at the Down Cellar Studio Podcast o Socktember / Socktober KAL I’m hosting my first KAL! The Kate Atherley book has me inspired to knit EVEN MORE Socks. I wanted everyone to have plenty of time, so instead of just Socktober, I’m starting early in Socktember! I’ve started a chat thread on the Ravelry group, along with a thread to post your FOs. One entry per FO! Or post your FO photos on Instagram, using the hashtags #knitactuallypodcast and #kapsocktober. I have 3 sock patterns published on Ravelry, so if you want to knit any of those socks use coupon code SOCKTOBER for $2.00 off! o I have some AMAZING sponsors lined up who are donating some lovely prizes!  Sarah from Ewe Sew and Sew is donating one of her medium project bags  Kaitie from mintrain have donated a beautiful skein of yarn in her Christmas Bobbles colorway. She has also created a coupon code for free shipping, SOCKTOBER  Ann and Jolane from Two Sisters Yarn Company have donated a skein of their yarn in the Wine Country colorway  Melanie from KnitStitch Yarn has offered a coupon code for 10% off and free domestic shipping. The code is KNITACT10  Jackie from Luna Grey Fiber Arts has offered a skein of her Celeste Sock Yarn in the Techno colorway  Katy from ModularModular is donating one of her great project bags  Cooperative Press is donating two electronic copies of their great sock books, Big Foot Knits by Andi Smith and Sock Architecture by Lara Neel  Ashley from Fiber Fan Girl is donating a skein of sock yarn  Shari from Peepaloo Fibers is donating two $8 credits to her shop o Thank you SO MUCH to all our generous sponsors! • Knit Knosh o Knit Knosh will be a food, wine and yarn tasting, on January 23, 2016 at 1 pm. I’m excited to announce that the event will take place at Samples World Bistro I’m EXTREMELY excited to announce the participating yarn companies: o Bijou Basin Ranch o MJ Yarns o Knerd o Skeindalous • Actually Reviewed o I review the Cooperative Press book Boys Knits by Katya Frankel  I’m excited to have the opportunity to give away a copy of this great book. Post to the Ravelry Group which pattern you would knit, and for who, before November 30 for your chance to win the book! o Thank you for listening!!!!

Welcome to the Episode 15 of the Knit Actually Podcast! • Actually Finished o Chevron Baby Blanket • Actually Working • I talk about projects I am currently working on including o Socks for my Husband for Christmas, based on measurements from Custom Socks from Kate Atherley and with a heel from Sock Architecture by Lara Neel o Vanilla Socks o Another Rose City Roller with a Partridge Heel flap and a square heel o My son’s Denver Broncos Scoreboard Scarf o A Flax sweater for my nephew o Another gradient cowl o A chevron cowl, using the stitch pattern from the baby blanket • Actually Hand Dyed o I talk about Gale’s Art stenciled sock blanks • Actually Stashed o I visited Tea for Ewe in Denver, and I bought some Square Kollage Needles o I talk about the Abracadabra Yarn by Skacel that changes color with UV light o I talk about my new set of Knitter’s Pride Karbonz interchangeable needles • Actually Attending o I’m planning to visit My Sister Knits and The Loopy Ewe o Dyeing Yarn Class at Fancy Tiger Crafts, October 21 o Handweavers Guild of Boulder Annual Sale , November 4-8 o Interweave Yarn Fest, March 31 – April 3  List of Workshops is here. Registration is now open! I’m registered for Building your Design Career with Dora Ohrenstein and the Design Master Class with Shirley Paden  Current list of vendors is here o I’m participating in and sponsoring the Pigskin Party KAL at the Down Cellar Studio Podcast o Socktember / Socktober KAL I’m hosting my first KAL! The Kate Atherley book has me inspired to knit EVEN MORE Socks. I wanted everyone to have plenty of time, so instead of just Socktober, I’m starting early in Socktember! I’ve started a chat thread on the Ravelry group, along with a thread to post your FOs. One entry per FO! Or post your FO photos on Instagram, using the hashtags #knitactuallypodcast and #kapsocktober. I have 3 sock patterns published on Ravelry, so if you want to knit any of those socks use coupon code SOCKTOBER for $2.00 off! o I have some AMAZING sponsors lined up who are donating some lovely prizes!  Sarah from Ewe Sew and Sew is donating one of her medium project bags  Kaitie from mintrain have donated a beautiful skein of yarn in her Christmas Bobbles colorway. She has also created a coupon code for free shipping, SOCKTOBER  Ann and Jolane from Two Sisters Yarn Company have donated a skein of their yarn in the Wine Country colorway  Melanie from KnitStitch Yarn has offered a coupon code for 10% off and free domestic shipping. The code is KNITACT10  Jackie from Luna Grey Fiber Arts has offered a skein of her Celeste Sock Yarn in the Techno colorway  Katy from ModularModular is donating one of her great project bags  Cooperative Press is donating two electronic copies of their great sock books, Big Foot Knits by Andi Smith and Sock Architecture by Lara Neel  Ashley from Fiber Fan Girl is donating a skein of sock yarn  Shari from Peepaloo Fibers is donating two $8 credits to her shop o Thank you SO MUCH to all our generous sponsors! • Knit Knosh o I’m FINALLY ready to start to share some details for the local event I’ve been planning. Knit Knosh will be a food, wine and yarn tasting, on January 22, 2016 at 1 pm. I’m working to finalize the location, and the website will be up this week. I’m EXTREMELY excited to announce the participating yarn companies: o Bijou Basin Ranch o MJ Yarns o Knerd o Skeindalous • Actually Reviewed o I review the Cooperative Press book Big Foot Knits by Andi Smith Thank you for listening!!!!

Hi, Knitters,I'm back with a new podcast episode and giveaway today. There is so much to share with you but be sure to look at the end of the post for photos of today's giveaway opportunities, you won't want to miss it. Instructions to enter your name in the hat to win are at the end of the post as well. Click here to see the video on my YouTube Channel!Click here to see the video on iTunes!Let's dive right in. Here are some links for what I talk about knitting-wise:Ambrosia CardiganQuince & Co. PuffinWooly Moss Roots togglesSolja lace and colorwork pullover sweaterSSK Retreat in NashvilleSpin Off MagazineItty-Bitty Knits group on RavelryThe IBK Retreat after class at the University ClubI forgot to mention that at the retreat 34 hats were collected for donation to Halos of Hope! Thanks to Pat, plynn on Ravelry, for collecting and delivering the hats for the group. There is a thread in the Itty-Bitty Knits group for a monthly charity hosted by a member. There are always lots of charity knitting opportunities going on in the group if you are interested.Thank you to everyone for coming to Madison for our retreat!Here are the links for the lovely sponsors and donations for the gift bags and door prizes! You are all the best and I appreciate your generosity to no end. Everyone was thrilled and you all helped to make the retreat so special and memorable.Please click away and visit these talented designers, dyers, artists, shop owners! Please pass on my regards if you purchase anything.Little SkeinQuaere FibersRed Hot ArtSunshine Yarns Yarn on the House YOTH YarnsSignature Needles Aaron Makes Stuff Laura Nelkin Knit Spin Farm Leading Men Fiber Arts Knittingfever.com Gnome Acres Maddermade Cooperative PressBrooklyn Tweed Kreinik O-Wool Lollipop Yarns Lemonade Shop TufftWoolensWEBS Friends in Fiber Turtle Purl Yarns Caterpillargreen Yarns Knit Picks Girl Cave Bags Infinite Twist Simply Sock YarnAlana Dakos - Never Not Knitting Coco Knits Knit Circus Tangerine DesignSheppard Handmade Akerworks Duck Duck Wool Jimmy Beans Wool Into the Whirled Must Stash YarnsHighland Handmades Kookaburra Love Sock Wool Galesart Bling Your StringDyeabolical Leslie WindGleener PeepalooFieldsMiss Babs Sun Valley Fibers Rebecca Ringquist– Dropcloth SamplersThe University Club where we had class and lunch together.Door prize mania!Cute name tag buttons for everyone made by Kriste.My trunk show of toys.The workshop was for the Mary, Millie & Morgan dolls. Many of the students ordered doll kits from Quince & Co. for class.  Everyone settling in for class.Kriste describing and handing out door prizes!Madison Memories exclusive yarn from Quaere Fibre.The group at the Farmers Market on the square.Here is the Quaere Fibre Madison Memories 9 stripe sock I started with the coordinating heel.Click here for the IBK Retreat Pre-order for the custom project bag on Little Skein! It looks like Anne is on vacation for a few days but I know she is taking pre-orders on the project bags so send her a message if you are interested.Giveaway Prize #1 ~ My door prize package includes:Sample from Tuft Woolens wool soapKookaburra Wool Wash1 skein of Lollipop Yarn Rainbow Striping Sock Yarn1 Spool of Kreinik tinsel threadGiveaway Prize #2 includes:Mini skeins of all sortsDiscount codesTuft Woolens SoapDyeabolical Row Counter RingDropcloth Sampler from Rebecca RingquistNeedle Gauge Kookaburra Wool WashExclusive Project Bag from Little SkeinQuaere Fibre exclusive Madison Memories 9 stripe sock yarn skein!!!TO ENTER:Please leave one comment on this blog post to enter to win one of the giveaway prizes. 2 winners will be selected, one for each package. You must leave your contact information Ravelry name or email address in your comment. Please only click on Publish one time! There is a delay before you will see your comment appear on the blog. I will be back in a few days to select 2 random winners! This is going to be a big one so good luck to everyone. Thanks for joining me and love to you all!xo ~ susan

It's Earth Day! Laura is a Giant Squid; Jen is a Mantis Shrimp. What kind of animal are you? Also, as promised, here is the Radio Lab episode where they talk about colors. We play a promo for the Actually Knitting podcast. Catching Up: (1:51) Laura loves her new job. She had a couple weeks off between jobs and she got to see her stepdaughter and her family for a visit. They went to Disneyland. She a had a pizza party with her step-granddaughter and mother-in-law. She and her step-granddaughter went to see Home and she really liked it. She's doing a fundraiser for the Walk for Wellness House with her boss. She also went to Vogue Knitting Live and had a great time taking Amy Herzog's class. She's inspired to knit all the sweaters. The marketplace was small, but the vendors were pretty good. There were a lot of designers, which is interesting to look at. Jen has had a lot of gigs and is really enjoying that. She went to visit some family for her sister's wedding shower and played with her nephew, who is obsessed with Beymax. She's been working some on her Firefly cross-stitch from Watty’s Wall Stuff. She went to see some films at a David Lynch film festival at a local art theatre. She started her new job as well, it's a little overwhelming in a way, because she's still having to do stuff for her old departments. And being exempt means she's losing some knitting time because she doesn't have to clock out for lunch anymore, so she forgets to take it. She's really enjoying it though. In the Knitting Bag: (15:49) Laura is working on her Swirl Hat (Crochet) from Patons out of Knit Picks Gloss Fingering in black. That was her work training crochet. She's also working on a hat for Halos of Hope out of Knitpicks Brava. Jen started some Rainbow socks out of White Birch Fiber Arts self-striping sock yarn in Fade to Gray (rainbow and grey self-striping). She's swatching for Ysolda's Wee Envelope out of Oink Pigments in purple. And she's still working on her Baby Yours Blanket based on Baby Yours Sweater by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee out of Cascade 220 SW Sport. She has been working on some mitts for Sunnydale Yarn Club. Finished Objects: (22:37) Laura finished her taxes! And her studio organization. And Patrol 3 of Sunnydale. But no knitting. Jen just needs to push through and finish some of her stuff that is very close to finished. Devil's Tower: (23:33) Laura's Yggdrasil Afghan by Lisa Jacobs is in Devil's Tower because she doesn't have the freedom to work on Mean Girls stuff at work. Her Carson Shawl by Romi Hill out of Forbidden Woolery Pride Fingering for her KAL with her friend is in Devil's Tower before she even started. And she's glad she put Ink by Hanna Maciejewska into Devil's Tower until after she took Amy's class. She would have made the wrong size for sure. Jen has her Customfit tunic top in there until she has time to block and seam it. She needs to dig some stuff out of her bin and swatch. She needs to organize the pattern charts for her Four Season Summer Symphony Wedding Ring Shawl, so she can actually knit it. Frog Pond: (29:48) Laura and Jen have no frog pond, luckily. But when you don't knit much, you don't frog much. On Deck: (30:26) Laura was really inspired by Amy Herzog. She wants to make Birch Bark, Aislinn, Cushing Isle, Striper Cardigan, and the Drumlin Cardigan. Otherwise, it's the same. Jen wants to make Hitofude and redesign her Joshua Tree Cardigan. She wants to make something for her friend’s baby out of White Birch Fiber Arts Rainbow Warrior colorway. She also has the Watermelon by Alana Dakos planned. Knit Culture: (35:03) We review Defarge Does Shakespeare, edited by Heather Ordover (of Craflit), published by Cooperative Press. It retails for $16.95 for pdf only and 29.95 for print and pdf copy. We LOVE this book. We love the patterns and the essays and that in the electronic copy there is a button to click that takes you to the Ravelry page for the pattern. Basically, we say buy this book and all the other Defarge books. Geek Culture: (55:57) We talk about the new trailer for Star Wars and the return of Orphan Black. Upcoming Events: (59:07) Laura has a trunk show at Ewe and You on May 31st, for their first anniversary. Camp CogKNITive is August 21-23, Camarillo, CA. It’s a great and relaxing weekend. Knit Dizzney will Sunday, September 13th, 2015. There will be T-shirts, project bags, and exclusive yarn available for pre-order. The meetup will be at 2pm at the Hearthstone Lounge in the Grand Californian. Yarnosphere is October 17-18 EXPO Art Center in Bixby Knolls, Long Beach. Laura is vending.

Catching Up: (0:21) Laura saw Gravity and really enjoyed it. She's adjusting to the new bosses at work. She managed to bruise a rib, which is painful. She's still prepping for Stitches. She released the latest installment for the Mean Girls Yarn Club, based on Moriarty from Elementary. She's been watching Agent Carter, Downton Abbey, and Season 7.2 of Doctor Who. We both gush a bit about Agent Carter. And she's going to see Wicked with her mom soon. Jen has been spinning some BFL she got from Threewatersfarm in the colorway Cherries and Chilis. She saw The Theory of Everything, Birdman, and The Imitation Game and loved both of them. She's working on a Firefly cross stitch sampler from Watty's Wall Stuff. And she has a new baby niece, which is really exciting! We mention this video by Chris Hadfield about How you Cry in Space. Also Odyssey Magazine. In the Knitting Bag: (18:47) Laura is working on her Yggdrasil Afghan by Lisa Jacobs. She’s making it out of Berroco Vintage Chunky in Mocha.  And she is working on Quinty by Bernadette Ambergen out of DizzyBlonde Studios Sock. Jen is working on her Customfit tunic top out of Cascade Heritage in Deep Plum; she is on the front.   She's working on her Porcupine Blanket from 60 Quick Baby Knits out of Cascade 220 Superwash in Charcoal, Silver Grey, Turtle, Winter White, and Shire. The knitting is done, but she has a bit of finishing work to do.  And she is working on the blanket inspired by the Baby Yours Sweater by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, out of Cascade 220 Superwash Sport in an off-white (the sweater is done). She finished the first sock out of the FabFunkyFibres 15 Coloured Rainbow self-striping yarn and she is working on the second sock. She did the thumb joint tophat heel from Lara Neel (you can find an explanation in the Fork in the Road Socks. She's working on premie hats. And she's knitting on her Stitches West homework. Finished Objects: (28:49) Laura started and finished a hat for Halos of Hope of her own design out of some Berroco Vintage and Knitpicks Brava. She used a lot of mixed textures. She also finished her Berry Slipped Stitch Hat for Halos of Hope. Jen hasn't finished anything. Devil's Tower (31:31) Laura has put away her Night Blooming Shawlette for the Sunnydale Yarn Club KAL out of Sunnydale Yarn Club color “My Boyfriend is a Demon Robot” until she has time to block it. Jen is pulling out several projects to do that last bit of finishing before Stitches West, including her Leah’s Lovely Cardigan, her Leftie shawls, and her Hitchhiker. And she worked a little bit on the sleeves for her Rocky Coast Cardigan by Hannah Fettig out of Fibre Company Organik in Highlands. Frog Pond: (34:15) Laura has no frog pond because she's actually reading her patterns. Jen forgot to do an decrease in the front of her tunic, because the book she was reading while knitting was interesting. On Deck: (36:02) Laura's next project is Ink by Hanna Maciejewska. She also wants to make the Quilted Lace Ascot by Pam Powers, Death Star by Patricia Castillo, Swirl Hat, Loie, the Crochet Fan Shawl by Valerie Martin, and Art Déco and Dreambird by Nadita Swings, and the the Effortless Cardigan by Hannah Fettig, and the Sea Glass and Stone Cowl. Jen wants to make the Hitofude Cardigan, she wants to change her Joshua Tree Cardigan, and something for her friend's new baby. Knit Culture: (40:54) We review Kung Fu Knits by Elizabeth Green Musselman, illustrated by Ben Bender, published by Cooperative Press. It retails for 9.95 pdf only and 15.95 for print and pdf. We both love this book and think it's really creative and cute. We love the illustrations and the patterns are really creative and it's a great story in the book. Geek Culture: (48:27) Inspired by this article on Comicbook.com, we discuss recurring Whedon tropes in Agents of Shield, Buffy, and Firefly. Events: (1:04:44) Stitches West is February 19-22 and both Jen and Laura will be there. Laura is vending in booth 924 and Jen will be taking a ton of classes, but come say hi! The LA County Yarn Crawl will be March 26th through 29th. Vogue Knitting LIVE! is at the Pasadena Convention Center on April 17-19. Laura may take some classes and Jen may go to the marketplace.

Catching Up: (0:26) Jen had three Thanksgivings and met her niece. She took a trip to the Huntington and it was pouring rain. But the Yarnover Truck was there! She also bought recipe dice. She also bought a new guitar at a Black Friday sale. And she's been working a ton of overtime. She also has been listening to a lot of the Thrilling Adventure Hour Podcast. Laura had a game day for Thanksgiving. She saw Mockingjay and she liked it. She also mainlined Outlander and can't wait for more. We also talk a little bit about the historical accuracy of the costuming. Mei Mei had a little adventure, but she is fine. And she's been dyeing yarn for various clubs and stores. She got caught up on accounting and filing. And she's heading out for some Disney time soon. In the Knitting Bag: (17:30) Jen is working on her sweater for her guild’s knitalong. It’s a cardigan inspired by the VESSST by Bebe Thomas (which was designed specifically for the KAL) and is using a Customfit pattern. She’s making it out of Malabrigo Arroyo in a purple with pink and natural accents. She's also working on her Customfit Tunic Top out of Cascade Heritage in Deep Plum. And she's been working on her Porcupine Blanket from 60 Quick Baby Knits out of Cascade 220 Superwash. Laura is also working on Knitted Scale Mail Gloves in an Iron Man theme by CraftyMutt for her granddaughter’s father out of Brown Sheep Worsted in the Red Fox colorway. She's crocheting a pair of Owl Mittens for her friend’s daughter in pink Knitpicks Brava sport weight for her friend's daughter.  She's working on her Night Blooming Shawlette for the Sunnydale Yarn Club KAL.  She's also working on her Yggdrasil Afghan by Lisa Jacobs out of reclaimed Berroco Vintage Chunky in Mocha. She’s on the applied edging (still). Finished Objects: (25:25) Jen and Laura haven't finished anything. Devil's Tower: (28:05) Jen is saying her Rainbow socks are officially with the aliens. Laura is working on some hats for Christmas presents so she's not working much on her Yggdrasil and it may find it's way into the Devil's Tower. Frog Pond: (30:02) Jen frogged her VESSST sweater because she didn't like the stripe placement when she was first starting. Laura had some gauge issues on the owl mitts and she wasn't sure the correct size as well, so she's ripped out several times. We ask about the "rules of crochet". She also had some issues with scale placement on her scale mail mitts. On Deck: (34:55) Jen will make a layette based on the Baby Yours Sweater. She will make a Playful Stripes Cardigan by Alana Dakos, the Hitofude Cardigan, and a Rockefeller for Ron. She also wants to change her Joshua Tree Cardigan. Laura has a long list: Quinty by Bernadette Ambergen, the Death Star by Patricia Castillo,  Ink by Hanna Maciejewska, the Crochet Fan Shawl by Valerie Martin, and Art Déco and Dreambird by Nadita Swings, and the the Effortless Cardigan by Hannah Fettig, and the Sea Glass and Stone Cowl. We also mention Leadlight. We mention Never Not Knitting and Hollywood Knitter. Knit Culture: (43:15) We talk about the November theme and announce the winner. Congratulations Knitgirlwalking! You win a copy of History on Two Needles by Annie Modesitt (who donated the copy)! We also review Mystic Shawls by Anna Dalvi, which was given to us for review by Cooperative Press. We LOVE this book. Go buy it! We mention Laminaria. Geek Culture: (55:16) We talk about cool geek gifts. Doctor Who Converse Star Trek onesie Harley Quinn Hoodie Avatar the Last Airbender/Legend of Korra Periodic Table Double Helix Necklace A Beautiful Science Book Space Lollipops Star Wars AT-AT Lawn Ornament Weeping Angel Tree Topper Star Trek dog collar Big Bang Theory Clue Lab Cocktail Set Events: (1:02:30) Stitches West is February 19-22 and both Jen and Laura will be there. Laura is vending and Jen will be taking a ton of classes, but come say hi! The LA County Yarn Crawl will be March 26th through 29th. Vogue Knitting LIVE! is at the Pasadena Convention Center on April 17-19. Laura may take some classes and Jen may go to the marketplace.

Thank you to Knitwhisperer for their kind donation. Catching Up: (0:47) Jen saw Saint Vincent, The Book of Life, and Interstellar. She enjoyed them all. The acting is great in Saint Vincent; Book of Life is beautiful, and she definitely thinks Interstellar is definitely worth seeing, but she wasn't wild about the ending. She's been reading Game of Thrones and really liking it. They celebrated a big birthday for Ron with a really nice party and her parents came to visit. She's been spinning up her Knitpicks Wool of the Andes roving. She's trying to make a 2-ply fingering. And she went to WeFF. She had a lot of fun and won a ton a stuff in the door prize drawings and bought some really nice roving from Morro Fleece Works and RedFish DyeWorks and buttons. Laura was a vendor at WEFF and had a good day. She split her booth with Kamalei's Naturals. She bought some yarn from RedFish. She went to Disneyland with her brother and his kids. She's been watching Buffy Season 3 to prepare for the Sunnydale Yarn Club. She also finished the first half of Season 7 of Doctor Who. She's been dying a lot and trying to keep her mind off of some health concerns that are most likely nothing, but that are causing some stress. We mention Forbidden Woolery. In the Knitting Bag: (20:05) Jen has been still working on her Heirloom Layette Set by Kerin Dimeler-Laurence out of Cascade Heritage in Snow. She has not yet heard back from Knitpicks, so she will create her own edging. And she is working on the sweater instead. She's working on her plain socks out of FabFunkyFibres 15 Coloured Rainbow self-striping yarn. She started The Age of Brass and Steam by Orange Flower Yarn out of Feederbrook Farms Entropy in the colorways Nebula and Paradox--she is going to do a gradual transition between the two. She also started a plain Customfit pullover using Cascade Heritage in Deep Plum. She is doing a close-fit, 3/4 length sleeve in tunic length, with a scoop neck and seed stitch border. And finally she started the Porcupine Blanket from 60 Quick Baby Knits out of Cascade 220 Superwash. She thinks the porcupines look more like hedgehogs. Laura is working on the Motoring Madness mittens by Audrey Nicklin for her husband out of custom-dyed Dizzy Blonde DK. She is also working on Knitted Scale Mail Gloves in an Iron Man theme by CraftyMutt for her granddaughter's father. She is doing them out of Brown Sheep Worsted in the Red Fox colorway. She decided to crochet the repulsors and applique them on, instead of doing intarsia. And she continues to work on her Yggdrasil Afghan by Lisa Jacobs out of reclaimed Berroco Vintage Chunky in Mocha. She's on the applied edging and it's a lot of knitting. We mention Sock Architecture by Lara Neel. Finished Objects: (28:15) Jen finished her Chickadee Cardigan by Ysolda Teague from Little Red in the City out of Quince and Co. Chickadee in Rosa Rugosa, Slate, Egret, and Lichen. She just needs to put buttons on it, but she loves it so much she's been wearing it without buttons. The sleeves are little short for her taste, but just because she likes really long sleeves. Laura finished a hat for Halos of Hope out of Knitpicks Brava Worsted in orange, lavender, and some neutral greys and browns. PM or email Laura if you're local and have hats for Halos; she is willing to send them. Devil's Tower (31:43) Jen has been working on finishing (weaving in ends etc) on her Playful Stripes Cardigan and on her Mustachioed blanket. Laura may put her Yggdrasil in Devil's Tower to work on some gift knitting. (So she is decidedly not participating in the Knitmore Girls Grinchmas Contest). We mention Watty's Wall Stuff Frog Pond: (36:40) Luckily, we have both avoided the Frog Pond. On Deck: (36:51) Jen will make a layette based on the Baby Yours Sweater. She will make a second Playful Stripes Cardigan, the Hitofude Cardigan, and a Rockefeller for Ron. Laura will make the Night Blooming Shawlette for the Sunnydale Yarn Club KAL. She also has on the list Quinty by Bernadette Ambergen, the Death Star by Patricia Castillo,  Ink by Hanna Maciejewska, the Crochet Fan Shawl by Valerie Martin, and Art Déco and Dreambird by Nadita Swings, and the the Effortless Cardigan by Hannah Fettig. Knit Culture: (42:55) We talk a little bit of Stashdown. We loved October's entries. Congratulations to ShadowAP, you win a copy of Sock Architecture, courtesy of Cooperative Press. November's theme is food, so put your FOs in the thread. December's theme is "A Gift for Myself". Knit something that you really love. Treat yourself. Use that skein that is so pretty or work on that project that you love. We review Knitting 20th Century Art by Deborah Tomasello. We totally love this book. The patterns are really clever and inspired and there are nice overviews of modern art movements. We both appreciate the whimsy and the beauty of her patterns and we like the styling. Geek Culture: (54:39) We talk about the discovery of part of Amelia Earhart's plane. We also talk about the Rolling Stone Reader's poll about the Ten Best Stephen King books. We weigh in our favorites and would love to hear about your favorite horror books. And there is a Firefly Clue Board game. For serious. Events: (1:03:16) Stitches West is February 19-22 and both Jen and Laura will be there. Laura is vending and Jen will be taking a ton of classes, but come say hi! Vogue Knitting LIVE! is at the Pasadena Convention Center on April 17-19. Laura may take some classes and Jen may go to the marketplace.

Catching Up: (0:22) Laura finished season 6 of Doctor Who and she loved Baby Stormaggedon. Her DVR crashed and she lost all of her fall shows, which is really sad. Her brother and his assorted kids are coming for a visit and to go to Disneyland. And she's been dying a ton to catch up after selling at a bunch of fiber festivals and for some of the Mean Girls Yarn Club. She is starting a Sunnydale Club KAL/CAL on Halloween (but it's not too late to join--details are here). And she is starting to per for Stitches West, because it's coming up faster than you would think. Jen saw Dracula Untold with Melissa and it was entertainingly bad (this recap from the Toast is better than the movie). She is planning a party for Ron's big milestone birthday and is therefore cooking all the things and shopping for all the things. She finished her cross-stitch project from Watty's Wall Stuff. She's been spinning a lot, she plied up her Knitpicks Wool of the Andes roving in Amethyst and is now spinning her Wool of the Andes Sapphire roving. The cowl pattern she did for the first Sunnydale club patrol, I Flunked the Written, is available for general sale. Flu season has her very busy with work. She is also still taking her Shakespeare class and working on one of Emilia's monologues from Othello. In the Knitting Bag: (13:20) Laura is still working on her Yggdrasil Afghan by Lisa Jacobs out of Berroco Vintage Chunky in Mocha. She's working on the first border section and it's beautiful but it's slow going. She's also working on a hat for Halos of Hope out of orange, lavender, and sienna Knitpicks Brava. And she cast on the Motoring Madness mittens by Audrey Nicklin out of some custom-dyed Dizzy Blonde DK. Jen is working on her Chickadee Cardigan by Ysolda Teague from Little Red in the City out of Quince and Co. Chickadee in Rosa Rugosa, Slate, Egret, and Lichen. She just has to knit the body to length and then do the button bands/neckband. She wants to do cross stitch buttons like Ysolda did in the book. She's hoping to have enough yarn to do a Wee Chickadee for her niece. She's also working on her Heirloom Layette Set by Kerin Dimeler-Laurence out of Cascade Heritage in Snow. She's disappointed that she hasn't had any response from Knit Picks about the error, so she's about ready to make up her own edging and call it done. But for now she is working on the sweater. She's working on her plain socks out of FabFunkyFibres 15 Coloured Rainbow self-striping yarn. She's probably going to do the afterthought heel before she's done with the foot to make the sure the foot is the right length, especially because the shallowness of the heel doesn't always fit her well. And she worked just a little bit on her Watership Down KAL Shawl out of Unique Sheep Selene in the colorway Nature Walk. Finished Objects: (21:56) Laura finished her hat for Halos of Hope out of grey and brown Knitpicks Brava. Jen finished her Dump Truck Cardigan from 60 More Quick Baby Knits out of Knit Picks Stroll Sport in a bunch of colors. And she finished her Night Blooming Shawlette for Sunnydale Yarn Club Patrol 2. The shawl is inspired by Drusilla and is currently exclusive, but will be available for purchase in 6 months. Devil's Tower (24:25) Laura has a ton of stuff (booth samples) that need a reblocking or a first blocking. Jen also has some stuff that could use a good bit of reblocking/washing. She also wove in the ends of her Playful Stripes Cardigan so she can do the buttonbands and block. We talk about reblocking and storage of pieces. Frog Pond: (27:51) Laura had to tink back a bit on the edging of her Yggdrasil due to not paying enough attention. Jen had a red wine incident with her Heirloom Baby Layette sweater. Luckily it was only one drop and it did wash out, but she really, really, really should have known better. On Deck: (31:00) Laura wants to make her same huge list and also Owl Mittens for her friend's daughter. The rest of her list includes Dreambird by Nadita Swings, Ink by Hanna Maciejewska, and a pair of Iron Man style Knitted Scale Mail Gloves by CraftyMutt for her step-granddaughter's father for Christmas. Jen wants to make he Bobble Bearded Beanie by Topsy Turvy, the Porcupine Blanket from 60 Quick Baby Knits out of Cascade 220 Superwash, another Playful Stripes Cardigan, the Baby Yours Sweater), the Hitofude Cardigan, and a CustomFit top. We mention Melissa's feature in a recent Ravelry Community Eye Candy Post and also the Yarnover Truck. Knit Culture: (37:55) October's theme was Fall/Samhain/Halloween. Prize drawing next episode. November's theme for the Stashdown is Food! Post your FOs in the thread. And we review the fantastic Sock Architecture by Lara Neel (of Math4knitters), published by Cooperative Press. We both LOVE this book and think it is a necessity for anyone who wants to knit socks. It's brilliant. And the patterns have beautiful details. We mention Cookie A and Hunter Hammerson. We also mention a new knitting podcast, Schmevelyn Wees. Geek Culture: (49:11) We mention the podcast Pop Culture Case Study, which is hosted by Dave, a friend of Miss Kalendar (who hosts the Brass Needles Podcast). He discusses movies in the context of psychology and it's really interesting and geeky and fun. We also love the fangirl fixation segment. And we fangirl about Age of Ultron trailer, Agents of SHIELD, and the upcoming Agent Peggy Carter. Events: (59:15) We were both at WeFF on November 2nd, in Torrance. Dizzy Blonde Studios was a vendor. Stitches West is February 19-22 and both Jen and Laura will be there. Laura is vending and Jen will be taking a ton of classes, but come say hi! Our next milestone prize will be at 1000 members, so join the Ravelry Group. And don’t forget to post your finished October projects in the thread! Keep stashing down!

We are joined by Desi at the CogKNITive Fiber Retreat. Catching Up: (0:31) Jen saw The Boxtrolls which she really enjoyed. She's also really enjoying American Horror Story: Freakshow so far, but she isn't hopeful that it will continue to be so good, based on the show's track record. She does love the Brothers Quay-style opening credits. Here is one of their films so you can see what she means. She's taking a Shakespeare class, and the reading is making her feel like she's back in school. She's working on some music for a fundraiser for Interval House. She's been spinning some more (she was really inspired by The Knitmore Girls' interview with Beth Smith, owner of The Spinning Loft, so she's been working on her Knitpicks roving in Amethyst Heather and needs to ply it. She's been working on a robot cross stitch kit from Watty's Wall Stuff. She went to Yarnosphere. She had fun, though she has some constructive criticism, but is confident it will continue to get better. Laura also went to Yarnosphere as a vendor and did really well (as did most of the vendors). Her mom came on Sunday and fell in love with punchcard weaving. She joined the El Segundo Slipt Stitchers. She attended a family wedding. She has a lot of birthdays coming up in her family this autumn, which will be fun (and it was also very recently Desi's birthday). She and Desi played the Firefly board game and really wants a game night. She has two new patterns out for Dizzy Blonde Studios Lambie Toes Yarn. One is her own design, the Sectumsemptra Socks. There is also the Berry Pie Shawlette, a crochet pattern by Ann Wicker of Freeform Fibers. Desi works in a game store and went to the WizKids Open. She visited some friends in Fresno right before coming down to CogKNITive. In the Knitting Bag: (14:37) Jen has finished the sleeves on her Chickadee Cardigan by Ysolda Teague from Little Red in the City out of Quince and Co. Chickadee in Rosa Rugosa, Slate, Egret, and Lichen. She is now working on the body. She is working on her Heirloom Layette Set by Kerin Dimeler-Laurence out of Cascade Heritage in Snow. She hit a snag with the blanket and has started the sweater. She is working on the sleeves (because it is a bottom up yoke sweater). She started a pair of plain socks out of FabFunkyFibres 15 Coloured Rainbow. She plans to do an afterthought heel and the toe in black. And she started the Dump Truck Cardigan out of Knit Picks Stroll Sport. She's done with the back. Laura has finished the center panel of her Yggdrasil Afghan by Lisa Jacobs.  She is working on the first applied edging (not short rows). She's making it out of Berroco Vintage Chunky in Mocha. It's really pretty and soft and she loves it. She's also working on a new stripey hat for Halos of Hope out of orange, lavender, and some neutral greys and browns. Desi has been working on the Selva Cowl out of teal microfibre. She's also working on Jane's Ubiquitous Shawl out of alpaca. She is struggling with Chart B. We mention CustomFit. Finished Objects: (23:30) Jen hasn't finished anything. Laura finished a scrappy hat in camel heather, cobblestone, and sienna. Desi has two finished objects! She finished a cowl from a magic ball which took forever to finish because she had to figure out how to weave in all of the ends. And she had a pair of fingerless gloves made of bulky yarn that went so quickly she was amazed. Devil's Tower: (25:35) Jen has a ton of stuff that is almost done but just needs ends woven in or blocking and she just needs to finish them. She also pulled out her Watership Down KAL Shawl out of Unique Sheep Selene in the colorway Nature Walk, because she missed knitting lace. Laura has to block her Down the Garden Path Shawl by Michele DuNaeir. She ordered more blocking mats so that she'll have the room, but she needs the time. Desi has no Devil's Tower (it's all Frog Pond). Frog Pond: (28:02) Laura had to restart a hat because she can't count and talk at the same time. (Also Desi was helping with numbers). Jen is having major problems with errata in her Heirloom baby layette. She has contacted Knit picks, but they have not responded, except to say that it looks like there is an error, but has not gotten any more response. She's a bit disappointed in the pattern. Desi was working on the Scilla Lace Socks and made the foot too short. She ripped back and fixed it, but it still was too short and so it's now in timeout (or drowned in the frog pond). On Deck: (35:50) Jen wants to make lots baby stuff (the Bobble Bearded Beanie by Topsy Turvy, the Porcupine Blanket from 60 Quick Baby Knits out of Cascade 220 Superwash, another Playful Stripes Cardigan, the Baby Yours Sweater) and the Hitofude Cardigan (because she saw Allison from The Hollywood Knitter podcast wearing hers). Laura was inspired by seeing schmevelyn's completed Follow Your Arrow, so she really wants to do it. She is also going to work on her Motoring Madness mittens by Audrey Nicklin for her husband.  And she really wants to make the Quinty by Bernadette Ambergen. Knit Culture: (39:18) We draw the prize for the September Stashdown challenge. Congratulations knitsNhikes! You win a copy of The Sock Knitter's Handbook by Charlene Schurch and Beth Parrott, donated to the podcast by Miss Dorothy. October's theme is fall festivals (Samhain/Halloween/whatever), you have a few more days to post in the the thread. November's theme will be food. We also talk about the highlights of CogKNITive Fiber Retreat. The classes are great; the vendors are great (they include Slipped Stitch Studios, Forbidden Woolery, Fickle Knitter, Red Fish Dyeworks, RKsMom, Jamie's Metal Works (he sells through Arachne's Threads), Cooperative Press, The Yarnover Truck, Bee Mice Elf, and, of course, Dizzy Blonde Studios); and Jen won some Aspenglow Yarn in the Mother Bear raffle and the doorprize raffle (that was actually Melissa's prize, but she doesn't spin, so Jen inherited it). Also Ray who does massages next to the Purlescence booth at Stitches West was there giving massages. Desi won a copy of Sock Architecture in the door prize and a bag from RK's mom in the Mother Bear raffle. We mention the SNL sketch "The Californians", Anzula Yarns, and Bahh Yarns. Geek Culture: (54:35) We talk about this io9 article about the Top 100 Star Trek episodes of all time. We'd love to hear what you think about it. Jen wants a 10 worst list. And Desi thinks the hottest kiss is Chakotay kissing the member of Species 8472. We also share this other io9 article about which examines whether Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and ET are all in the same universe. And we give a shoutout to New York Comic Con (and thank them for their very explicit anti-harassment policy) and to Stitches East. Events: (59:02) WeFF will be November 2nd, 2014 in Torrance. Dizzy Blonde Studios will be vending.  It’s a lot of fun, with great demonstrations, raffles, and lots of cool vendors. Stitches West is February 19-22 and both Jen and Laura will be there. Laura is vending and Jen will be taking a ton of classes, but come say hi! Our next milestone prize will be at 1000 members, so join the Ravelry Group. And don’t forget to post your finished October projects in the thread! Keep stashing down!

October 15, 2013This is a book review for "Hitch" published by Cooperative Press.Read more »

Today’s episode is sponsored by the Mean Girls’ Yarn Club, Episode 6: And So It Begins! There are a few spots still available. The More The Scarier! Visit the website for all the gory details. http://meangirlsyarnclub.blogspot.com Catching Up: (0:38) Laura has been catching up with summer television. She's really enjoying Continuum, Suits, The Last Ship, and is going to start watching Turn. She's finished dying yarn for Yarnosphere and CogKNITive and is excited to have 3 new colorways for Lambie Toes and 1 new colorway for Dizzy Blonde sock. She's happy she just paid off her car as well. She had a bit of an accident with bacon grease, which is unfortunate. She also has a bit of hand pain right now. Jen opened her show and is thrilled with how it's going, especially since it's inspired by true stories from people who live in the community. She shares this video about a sewing circle and the power of crafting to create a community, which is one of the stories that inspired her show. She's taking a Shakespeare class, which is really exciting. She's been watching Gotham and she sees potential, even if the show isn't great yet. She's been doing some cross-stitch with a kit from Watty's Wall Stuff. And she's learning some new music for a Bob Dylan/Dylan Thomas tribute, which is also a fundraiser for Interval House. In the Knitting Bag: (15:23) Laura has been working on her Yggdrasil Afghan by Lisa Jacobs out of reclaimed Berroco Vintage Chunky in Mocha. She's done with the center panel. She's doing another hat for Halos of Hope. She wants to do some lace but she's not sure what. Jen started her Chickadee Cardigan by Ysolda Teague again. She's much happier with the colorwork this time around. She's making it out of Quince and Co. Chickadee. She's done with the yoke and working on the first sleeve.  She's been working on her Heirloom Layette Set by Kerin Dimeler-Laurence out of Cascade Heritage in Snow. She's done with the lace section, so now she just has the garter stitch and then the knitted on border. And she's been working on her Ohana mitts (her own design). Finished Objects: (20:22) Laura finished her Knitted Scale Mail Gloves by CraftyMutt for her step-granddaughter. They were knit out of Knitpicks Brava Worsted in dark pink with rainbow scales from The Ringlord.com. And she finished a hat for Halos of Hope out of Knitpicks Brava in Camel Heather and Vanna's Choice Lavender. Jen hasn't really finished anything. She needs to block things. Lots of things! We mention Craftsy, specifically their Intarsia Class by Sally Melville. Devil's Tower: (24:24) Laura has been UFO free, because she cleaned out all of her UFOs and frogged them. Jen pulled out her Leah’s Lovely Cardigan from More Last Minute Knitted Gifts (made of of Malabrigo sock in Eggplant) and finished the knitting. She still has to weave in ends, block it, and do all the finishing work so she's not counting it as done. Frog Pond: (27:15) Laura hasn't been knitting much so she has nothing to report and she's more used to the Yggdrasil pattern, so she's able to fix her mistakes quickly. When Jen picked up her Leah's Lovely, she had put the stitches on waste yarn because she needed the needles for something else. Since the pattern has you hold the yoke stitches on waste yarn and pick them up for the neckband. So she picked it up, assuming she was done with the yoke and started the button bands. The she realized that she hadn't actually completed the yoke (it was maybe an inch short) and done the last decrease row. She didn't want to rip out the button bands so she did the last decrease row and tried it on and it fits, so she left it. But she probably should have marked where she was in the pattern. Jen also had a bit of trouble with her Chickadee, mostly because she can't count when she's sick. On Deck: (29:50) Laura wants to make to make Dreambird by Nadita Swings out of Knitpicks Chroma in Jam Jar and Gloss in black, Ink by Hanna Maciejewska out of Dizzy Blonde Studios Superwash Sock in Applegate, Motoring Madness mittens by Audrey Nicklin for her husband, and the Effortless Cardigan by Hannah Fettig out of Dizzy Blonde DK.  She also wants to makeDeath Star by Patricia Castillo, the Crochet Fan Shawl by Valerie Martin, and Art Déco by Nadita Swings. Jen has the same baby stuff on her list (Dump Truck Cardigan, the Porcupine Blanket from 60 Quick Baby Knits out of Cascade 220 Superwash, another Playful Stripes Cardigan, the Baby Yours Sweater, and more sweaters for herself. We mention the Knitmore Girls and their Fit, Flatter, and Feel Wonderful KAL, Susan B. Anderson's Project Sweater Chest, and Marly Bird's Curvy Knits Craftsy Class. Knit Culture: (35:58) We interview designer Brenda Castiel. We talk about her history as a knitter and a designer. We talk about her newest shawl, the Winona Shawl. She also has a great blog, Knits and Travel, where she documents her knitting and travel life. We give a recap of Knit Dizzney, which was awesome and we had a blast. Thank you to everyone who came; we loved seeing you all. And thank you to our awesome sponsors. Pam Haschke of Halos of Hope and Erika Hernandez of Cooperative Press provided the prizes. Mad Color Fiber Arts, Skeindalous Yarns, and Dizzy Blonde Studios provided the mini-skeins and coupon codes. One Geek To Craft Them All provided the stitch markers. Cheryl Joy Kong of Thirty One Gifts provided the pen and mini-catalog. And Alamitos Bay Yarn Company provided the skeins of sparkly yarn. So thank you to all of them! We mention our September Stashdown Challenge which is Pirates vs. Ninjas. And our October challenge, which is Fall Festivals (Halloween, Samhain, Harvest, whatever you celebrate). Geek Culture: (59:26) We mention the Stash2Go app, another app that works with Ravelry (like Yarma and Wooly). We also point out the Firefly fan film "The Verse." Events: (1:01:57) We will be at Yarnosphere on October 4th and 5th at the Expo Arts Center in Bixby Knolls in Long Beach. Dizzy Blonde will be a vendor and Jen will just be there for fun. And Jen and Laura will both be at the CogKNITive Fiber Retreat on October 11 in the La Quinta Inn in Tehachapi. Dizzy Blonde Studios will be vending. That same weekend (October 11) is the Vista Fiber Arts Fiesta in Downtown San Diego. We aren’t going, but it sounds great. WeFF will be November 2nd, 2014 in Torrance. Dizzy Blonde Studios will be vending.  It’s a lot of fun, with great demonstrations, raffles, and lots of cool vendors. Our next milestone prize will be at 1000 members, so join the Ravelry Group. And don’t forget to post your finished September projects in the thread! Keep stashing down!

This Week’s Episode In today’s episode, we talk all about time management. As creative business owners, we all struggle with time. Many of us “juggle a lot of balls” by balancing multiple revenue streams and roles in our business. My guest on this episode is Lindsey Stephens, the owner of Poetry in Yarn. Lindsey juggles her roles as a crochet designer, tech editor, crochet and knitting teacher, and web designer for Poetry in Yarn with her part-time job as a math teacher at a Yeshiva elementary and middle school in Connecticut, and her responsibilities as a mother and a wife. Lindsey can be found online at the Poetry in Yarn website and on Facebook, Ravelry (as Leebah and on her designer page), Twitter, and YouTube. I previously interviewed her on the Underground Crafter blog here.  Lindsey’s Tips for Time Management Know how much time you have Know what you need to accomplish Know how much time each task takes Work with your habits, not against them Delegate (or partner) to get some of the work done by others About Poetry in Yarn Lindsey Stephens started her yarn-related business in 2009, when she began submitting designs to magazines. Her (mostly) crochet patterns have been published by Crochet 1-2-3, Crochet World, Knit 1-2-3, KnitCircus, and in Curvy Girl Crochet and Debbie Macomber: Blossom Street Collection Book 3. Shortly thereafter, she took the Designing for Print Publication course by Mary Beth Temple. She launched the Poetry in Yarn site in 2010, and began self-publishing her own patterns. She began accepting clients for crochet tech editing (including symbol chart creation) as well as web design services in 2011 or 2012. Her background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and additional courses on garment grading. Her business has expanded primarily through word-of-mouth and by collaborating with a graphic designer for mutual referrals. She now provides tech editing services for publishers, and Fresh Designs Crochet: Toys, a booklet she tech edited, was recently released by Cooperative Press. As the other elements of her business have expanded, Lindsey has decreased her design submissions to external publishers. In this interview, she shares her tips for time management, particularly when you are managing diversified tasks and multiple income streams. 1. Know how much time you have Lindsey’s first suggestion is to be conservative in estimating the amount of time you have available. While you may seem to have a three hour time slot to devote to working on a particular project, in fact you may use part of that time period to eat, shower, commute, do household chores, etc. If you start by being clear about how much time is actually available for working, you will be more likely to properly schedule your duties. Similarly, pad your internally imposed deadlines to account for possible emergencies or shifts in your schedule. 2. Know what you need to accomplish Lindsey recommends tracking your tasks/duties externally, using a system that works well for you. She suggests that you should clear your brain space by relieving yourself of the responsibility of remembering all your tasks – by listing them, you can sharpen your focus on completing the tasks, rather than on remembering what the tasks are. Lindsey forecasts her tasks and sets a preliminary schedule on Sunday. Lindsey uses a spiral notebook, but others may prefer electronic task management tools. She uses a large spiral notebook, so her list of tasks looks smaller, and recommends starting a new list periodically on a clean sheet of paper. This makes her list look more manageable and less intimidating, so it relieves stress while allowing her to see patterns in her schedule and decide what can be delegated. Lindsey also recommends being aware of your own rhythms. For example, communicating and sharing on social media comes naturally to her, so she doesn’t add it to her task list or schedule. However, if you are not as comfortable with social media, you may want to include it on your task list. 3. Know how much time each task takes Lindsey recommends being realistic about what can be accomplished in a given timeframe. She uses a combination of tools to increase her understanding of how long specific tasks take to complete. Lindsey uses Toggl, a free time tracking software, when she’s working on computer-based tasks, like tech editing or blogging. When she’s designing or creating samples, she observes start and end times on a clock or by counting a number of television episodes she watched. Lindsey notes that the more often you do something, the more realistic you can be about the amount of time required. (So if you are just launching your business, don’t worry! This will be easier to understand over time.) 4. Work with your habits, not against them Once you have clarity on how much time you have, what you need to accomplish, and how much time each task takes, Lindsey recommends working with your own habits and preferences, and not against them. She was first introduced to this idea in Organizing from the Inside Out, Second Edition: The Foolproof System For Organizing Your Home, Your Office and Your Life by Julie Morgenstern. Specifically, Lindsey suggests that you don’t adopt any “system” of time management, but rather use different time management tools that fit into your own lifestyle for maximum success.  5. Delegate (or partner) to get some of the work done by others Consider what you can delegate or partner with others to do in order to maximize your time. Lindsey uses a contract crocheter, a part-time bookkeeper, and a virtual assistant that she met through word-of-mouth and social media. This allows you to expand the amount of work you can do within the limits of your available time. If you enjoyed this episode The Creative Yarn Entrepreneur Show is no longer broadcasting. Episodes are available as a service to the yarn community. This episode originally aired in August, 2014. Be aware that content may be outdated. If you'd like to chat with other yarn-related business owners, join the Creative Yarn Entrepreneurs Facebook group. Support Marie's work by buying one of her books, Make Money Teaching Crochet: Launch Your Business, Increase Your Side Income, Reach More Students (Amazon | Gumroad) or Design It, Promote It, Sell It: Online Marketing for Your Crochet and Knit Patterns (Amazon | Gumroad).  

  This week I chat about the right side to place buttons, test out a luxury yarn, and review Sock Architecture.  Enjoy!   Drive Exploding Vanilla TARDIS socks in Little Mount Yarn Co Wanderer Sock   Zigzagular Socks by Susie White of the Prairie Girls Knit and Spin in a One Twisted Tree bag by Susie's co-host Danie.  I used Megan Williams' OMG heel   Picked up stitches for Ginny's Cardigan button bands.     Test knit - more to come when the pattern is released   Test driving Zealana AIR Marle yarn in a pair of Fingerless Mitts.  Thank you to Zealana and Yarn Sisters for providing a ball of this luxury yarn for my review.  You can find a detailed review, with photos on the blog.     Finish-Along until the end of 2014 - #ckfal2014   Road Maps In light of ALL the socks I have on the needles that I discussed last week, I thought it appropriate to review Sock Architecture by Lara Neel of Math4Knitters blog.  You definitely will hear more about this book in the weeks to come as I give a few of the heels and toes a try.  Thank you to Cooperative Press for providing a copy of the eBook for review -- and a copy for you, too.  Enter to win a copy in the Commuter Knitter Podcast Ravelry group.   Party Bus   Check out the Ravelry group for a chance to win a skein of the yarn and a set of gnome stitch markers.   There is also a coupon code for 15% off your entire purchase from the Little Mount Yarn Co. Etsy shop for Commuter Knitter listeners, but you'll have to tune into the episode for that ;-)  The coupon code runs through November 1st.   Road Trips Western CT Yarn Crawl - September 26-28th STITCHES East - Hartford, CT - October 9th-12th NYS Sheep and Wool - Rhinebeck, NY - October 18th-19th   Some Rhinebeck recap episodes to get you geared up for the festival: Down Cellar Studio - Episode 18 - Rhinebeck Relived and Episode 37 - Rhinebeck Round 2 High Fiber Diet - Episode 91 - Road Trip to Rhinebeck and Episode 92 - Recap Knitmore Girls - Episode 74 - Rhinebeck in a Nut Shell SavvyGirls - Episode 60 - The Third Rhinebeck TVKnitting Podcast - The Rhinebeck Episode and Episode 33 (this is the one with the restaurant recommendations!) Twin Set Designs - Episode 4 - Rhinebeck Review     Come Find me on the Interwebs Ravelry - ndjen04 Ravelry Group - Commuter Knitter Podcast Twitter - @CommuterKnitter Facebook - Commuter Knitter Email - commuterknitter@gmail.com Show notes - http://commuterknitter.blogspot.com Google + - Commuter Knitter Podcast  Instagram - ndjen04  

Catching Up: (0:22) Jen went to the Huntington to see the exhibit of World War I posters and had tea with Melissa. She also has been rehearsing a lot because her show, El Largo Camino De Hoy, opens very soon. She saw The Tempest, which was amazing. It was co-directed by Teller (of Penn & Teller) and featured Tom Waits music. She loved it. And, in complete contrast, she saw The Expendables 3 and Into the Storm, which were terrible but enjoyable (and Melissa wants to make a Jason Stathem grandpa cardigan (not a Sylvester Stallone cardigan like Jen thought)). She's also reading Rocket Girl: The Story of Mary Sherman Morgan, America's First Female Rocket Scientist. Laura celebrated her dad's 88th birthday. She's also cleaning out her studio so it's more workable. She's prepping for the fall fiber festivals, Knit Dizzney, and a new yarn store. She's working on the Mean Girl's Yarn Club Season 6 theme (sign ups are now open). Her dogs have bruised both of her elbows. But MeiMei gets a pass because she has a slipped disk, so she needs to be loved. And she's learning to play the Firefly board game for CogKNITive. And Laura is really, really excited for Knit Dizzney. In the Knitting Bag: (16:57) Jen is working on the Playful Stripes Cardigan by Alana Dakos out of Cascade 220 Superwash Sport in Slate, Cotton Candy, Raspberry, Lake Chelan Heather, and Summer Sky. She's done with the body, she needs to weave in the ends and do the button bands. She loves this pattern. She's working on some mitts out of the Stitch Dizzney yarn. And she's also working on her Nightblooming Shawl for the Sunnydale yarn club. And she worked a little bit on her Heirloom Layette Set by Kerin Dimeler-Laurence out of Cascade Heritage in Snow. She's really loving the Orenberg lace in the blanket and can't wait to make the whole set. Laura is working on her Yggdrasil Afghan by Lisa Jacobs out of reclaimed Berroco Vintage Chunky in Mocha. She plans to steam block the acrylic. She loves it but she's trying to wrap her brain around some of the cabling and picking up of stitches. She loves the pattern so much she might make a sportweight version for her step-granddaughter. She’s also working on the Knitted Scale Mail Gloves by CraftyMutt for her step-granddaughter out of Knitpicks Brava Worsted in dark pink. This one will have rainbow scales. The scales are from The Ringlord.com. And she is working on a hat for Halos of Hope. It's a slipped stitch pattern of her own design and made of lavender and camel heather Knitpicks Brava. Finished Objects: (27:52) Jen finished her Beulah Cardigan. This was for Camp Loopy Month 3 and it was made out of Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in Dried Rose. She finished just in time (the knitting was done very quickly, but it took forever to block). Melissa provided the adorable buttons. She really loves it and is trying to decide if she should do the embroidery on the sweater or leave it without. She has several Unicorn Tails in potential embroidery colors, but she can't decide if it's better without it. But it fits well and it's super cute. Laura finished the Knitted Scale Mail gloves for her step-daughter (the gray ones with a black to white gradient of scales). She sent them off as a belated birthday present. Her step-daughter will use them to play a pirate at the Renaissance Fair. Devil's Tower: (31:39) Jen pulled out her Leah’s Lovely Cardigan from More Last Minute Knitted Gifts. She's making it out of Malabrigo sock in Eggplant. She had put it away to work on Camp Loopy stuff, but it's so close to done that she really just wants to finish it because she wants to wear it to Stitches (which is super far away). Laura is still intending to cull her UFOs. She's cleared away the stuff from the front of cabinet so she can get started. Frog Pond: (33:54) Jen has been doing a lot of frogging. Some of it is because she's working on designing and she doesn't like how it looks (like her shawl). But she was knitting on her mitts in the movie and ended up short a stitch. She had to frog to find the dropped stitch because she just could. not. find it. And when she started the second mitt, she didn't reverse the rib pattern so that the ribbing would flow into the patterning properly. Laura has managed to stay out of the frog pond now that the Yggdrasil is more intuitive and she's on the second pair of mitts so she's used to them. On Deck: (38:10) Jen wants to make a Dump Truck Cardigan from 60 Quick Baby Knits for her nephew out of Knitpicks Stroll Sport. She's going to make another Playful Stripes Cardigan for the new baby of indeterminate gender out of Cascade 220 SW Sport, in a more gender-neutral fashion. She’s making the Porcupine Blanket from 60 Quick Baby Knits out of Cascade 220 Superwash. She also wants to make the Baby Yours Sweater and she’ll use the motif to also make a blanket and hat so there will be full a layette out of Cascade 220 SW Sport in Aran (cream-colored). She also wants to make a Bobble Bearded Beanie by Topsy Turvy, and a Chickadee cardigan for herself. Laura wants to make some lace.  She has several knit and crochet patterns in mind.  She also wants to make to make Dreambird by Nadita Swings, Ink by Hanna Maciejewska out of Dizzy Blonde Studios Superwash Sock, Motoring Madness mittens by Audrey Nicklin for her husband, and the Effortless Cardigan by Hannah Fettig out of Dizzy Blonde DK in either Anna or Paris. She's hesitating on the sweaters because she feels she hasn't done much sweater knitting and wants to give it her full attention. Knit Culture: (42:13) We answer a question from our Knotty Talk thread. Tinyfeets asks Do you have any advice on how to get better at reading pattern charts? I know most people love them but I find them a bit confusing and overwhelming, and I don’t want to miss out on some great patterns because it uses a chart. We recommend starting with relatively easy lace that has both written and charted instructions. Shetland lace is particularly intuitive and has short lace repeats (for example Feather and Fan pattern). Laura is fond of the Weekend Shawl by Anne Kuo Lukito for this. Jen recommends using highlighters on your chart like in this Knitting Daily article. And we both recommend using pattern keepers with magnets to keep track of your charts. And highlight the key of your chart in the same color as the boxes on the chart. Also, even though there aren't any actual standards for symbols in charts, just check your key if you have questions. A lot of it comes down to practice. But use lifelines and stitch markers to help you keep track. But this only works for patterns where the lace pattern doesn't shift, so be careful. We award the stashdown prize for August. Congratulations fun4Tracey, you win a digital copy of Head to Toe: Kids Knit Accessories by Katya Frankel, courtesy of Cooperative Press. September's theme is Pirates vs. Ninjas, so post in the thread. October's theme will be Samhain/Halloween/Fall Festivals. Geek Culture: (52:24) We talk about Buzzfeed's ranking of Firefly episodes. We both agree with Out of Gas as the best episode. Jen's a sucker for an origin story and it's well-written. We disagree with their worst episode. We also mention Gallery 1988 and their Joss Whedon art exhibit. And, if you're interested, the Firefly online game is looking for beta testers, if you're interested. Events: (56:36) KnitDizzney! Yay! The San Diego Yarn Crawl is September 18th-21st. We are not attending, but you should if you can. We will be at Yarnosphere on October 4th and 5th at the Expo Arts Center in Bixby Knolls in Long Beach. Dizzy Blonde will be a vendor and Jen will just be there for fun. And Jen and Laura will both be at the CogKNITive Fiber Retreat on October 11 in the La Quinta Inn in Tehachapi. Dizzy Blonde Studios will be vending. That same weekend (October 11-12) is the Vista Fiber Arts Fiesta in Downtown San Diego. We aren't going, but it sounds great. WeFF will be November 2nd, 2014 in Torrance. Dizzy Blonde Studios will be vending.  It's a lot of fun, with great demonstrations, raffles, and lots of cool vendors. Our next milestone prize will be at 1000 members, so join the Ravelry Group. And don’t forget to post your finished September projects in the thread! Keep stashing down!

Today’s episode is sponsored by the Mean Girls’ Yarn Club, Episode 6: And So It Begins! Year-long yarn club. Memberships for the next episode will open up September 3, 3014! Please visit http://meangirlsyarnclub.blogspot.com for all the gory details. It’s more than yarn, it’s an adventure! Catching Up: (0:53) Laura has been dyeing a lot for her yarn clubs. She also finally finished Game of Thrones season 3. She's been working on Knit Dizzney stuff--the yarn and T-shirts are ready. And she's been working on Mean Girls Yarn Club Episode 6--Sign ups open September 3. The theme is action and adventure villains. She's also dyeing a lot of yarn for the Southern California fiber festival season. And she's going to World of Color later this week with Miss Dorothy. Jen has been healing and wants to thank everyone for the well-wishes about her teeth and surgery. She's been doing a lot of rehearsing and some of the little kids have been alternately fascinated and bored by her knitting. She's been watching lots of baseball, including the Little League World Series (she loves Mo'ne Davis) and she also went to Stitch and Pitch at Dodger Stadium put on by the Yarnover Truck. She wore her new Ginny cardigan, because it's Dodger Blue. She finished Season 2 of Orange is the New Black and really liked all the crochet mentions. And she's been spinning more. In the Knitting Bag: (11:54) Laura was working on her Yggdrasil Afghan by Lisa Jacobs out of reclaimed Berroco Vintage Chunky in Mocha. She's also working on the Knitted Scale Mail Gloves by CraftyMutt for her stepdaughter out of Knitpicks Brava in greys. She finished one mitt and is working on the second one. The scales are from The Ringlord.com. And she started a slipped stitch hat for Halos of Hope.  It's going to be social knitting.  We talk about bringing small projects for amusement park lines.  Jen likes easy socks or hats. Jen is working on her Beulah Cardigan for Camp Loopy Month 3 out of Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in Dried Rose.  She just needs to seam it and do the buttonbands and neckbands.  She's been working on mitts for Stitch Dizzney and a shawl for the Sunnydale Yarn Club.  She's working on the Playful Stripes Cardigan by Alana Dakos out of Cascade 220 Superwash Sport in Slate, Cotton Candy, Raspberry, Lake Chelan Heather, and Summer Sky. She's on the yoke and she completely loves it. And she worked a bit on her Heirloom Layette Set by Kerin Dimeler-Laurence out of Cascade Heritage in Snow. We talk about mini-skeins and how trendy they are right now: Madelinetosh Unicorn Tails, Knitted Wit Gumballs, and Lion Brand Bonbons. Finished Objects: (19:04) Neither of the Knotty Girls have finished anything. Half a pair of gloves where one isn't even seamed does not count. Devil's Tower: (19:30) Laura still hasn't gotten around to culling her Devil's Tower. Jen also has very quiet UFOs. Frog Pond: (19:57) Laura had some trouble with her Yggdrasil again. She dropped a cable stitch when she was tinking back, so she ripped the entire thing out again and restarted again. But she's getting more intuitive with the pattern now so it's going faster. Jen had to rip out several inches of one of her sleeves on her Beulah Cardigan because she forgot to do an increase on her sleeve and didn't have the correct number of stitches. On Deck: (22:30) Laura will be making more Knitted Scale Mail Gloves out of pink Knitpicks Brava for her step-granddaughter.  She also wants to make Dreambird by Nadita Swings, Ink by Hanna Maciejewska out of Dizzy Blonde Studios Superwash Sock, Motoring Madness mittens by Audrey Nicklin for her husband, Effortless Cardigan by Hannah Fettig out of Dizzy Blonde DK in either Anna or Paris, and another crocheted shawl--maybe the Belle Époque Shawl by Kira Dulaney, and the Easy as Pie, a shawl by Marisa Hernandez. Jen wants to make Dump Truck Cardigan from 60 Quick Baby Knits for her nephew out of Knitpicks Stroll Sport, another Playful Stripes Cardigan for the new baby of indeterminate gender out of Cascade 220 SW Sport.  She also wants to make the Baby Yours Sweater and she’ll use the motif to also make a blanket and hat so there will be full a layette out of Cascade 220 SW Sport in Aran (cream-colored). She’s making the Porcupine Blanket from 60 Quick Baby Knits out of Cascade 220 Superwash.  She also wants to make a Bobble Bearded Beanie by Topsy Turvy, and a Chickadee cardigan for herself. Knit Culture: (26:43) We review Head to Toe: Kids Knit Accessories by Katya Frankel. Cooperative Press sent this book for us to review. It retails for $16.95 for pdf only, $26.95 for print and pdf. We both really think the patterns are adorable and kid-appropriate while still being classic. We think several of these patterns would be great to give to a kid who is interested in knitting so they can makes stuff for themselves. The book is well-photographed and uses a lot of different techniques and they're very interesting. Jen highly recommends it if you have kids you want to knit for or with. We talk about the Stashdown. August's Theme is Dog Days of Summer so post in the thread. And September's theme is Pirates vs. Ninjas so post September's finished objects in the thread. Geek Culture: (32:50) We talk a bit about the newest season of Doctor Who. We also talk about the new fall television lineup. We're excited for season 2 of Agents of SHIELD. Laura is excited for the new season of Castle. Jen is looking forward to Gotham and Gracepoint (mostly because of David Tennant).  We want to know what you're looking forward to in the fall lineup. Events: (48:17) KnitDizzney will be Sunday, September 7, 2014. You can come play in the park all day. If you want to play in the park, meet at the compass at 9, if you can. We will also have a meetup at the picnic spiral (which is outside the gate so you don’t have to go into Disneyland/pay for a ticket) at 1pm. We will have goodie bags for the first 40 people and some prizes. To find Laura in the park, follow our Twitter for updates. We will be at Yarnosphere on October 4th and 5th at the Expo Arts Center in Bixby Knolls in Long Beach. Dizzy Blonde will be a vendor and Jen will just be there for fun. And Jen and Laura will both be at the CogKNITive Fiber Retreat on October 11 in the La Quinta Inn in Tehachapi. Dizzy Blonde Studios will be vending. Sign ups are open. WeFF will be November 2nd, 2014 in Torrance. Dizzy Blonde Studios will be vending. Our next milestone prize will be at 1000 members, so join the Ravelry Group. And don’t forget to post your finished August projects in the thread!  Keep stashing down!

Today’s episode is sponsored by the New and Improved Dizzy Blonde Studios. New and Improved because we now have our own website. Visit our new home at DizzyBlondeStudios.com Catching Up: (0:55) Jen went up to visit family and go to the Retzlaff Winery Fleeces, Food, and Fun event. She met Brother 2's fiancée and found out the baby they are expecting is a girl. She also saw her nephew and the rest of the family. Her parents and Ron went to winery and they did a tasting and loved the port. She saw Jasmin and Gigi of the Knitmore Girls Podcast, Dr. Gemma of CogKnitive Podcast, Tracy from 2 Knit Lit Chicks, and lots of people she'd previously met at Stitches that it was nice to see again. Jen and her mom both won stuff in the raffle (Jen won a kit to make Romi's Fiori Di Sole shawl and her mom won a nice bag). If you're driving up or down 99, Jen recommends Bravo Cheese Factory as a rest stop. She's also started running again, using the Zombies Run App, playing a little more guitar, and loving Fargo and the Cosmos reboot (but not quite as much as the Carl Sagan version. Laura is trying to get over bronchitis again. She's also dyeing for Mean Girls Yarn Club and her custom colors for Alamitos Bay Yarn Company and Colors 91711 and the Sunnydale Yarn Club. She is starting to plan for Knit Dizzney. She's been watching a lot of Elementary, Orphan Black, Buffy (planning for the yarn club), and she's all caught up on Downton Abbey. She's also planning some low key Father's Day stuff. If you'd like to be a Knit Dizzney sponsor contact us. In the Knitting Bag: (15:12) Jen is working on her Lauriel Cardigan (by Ysolda Teague from Little Red in the City) out of Wollmeise DK in Pesto for Camp Loopy. She is working on the sleeves (before the body is done, taking a page from Jasmin). She loves the construction with the top down set-in sleeve. She is slowly working on her  Sunshine Sock by Cookie A in Dream in Color Smooshy in Butterpeeps.  She has done the first yoke decrease for her Leah’s Lovely Cardigan from More Last Minute Knitted Gifts out of Malabrigo sock in Eggplant.  And she started a new project, the Water for the Elephants socks by Rose Hiver in some Knitpicks Stroll in a bare (natural) and Summer Blooms (pink). Laura is working (crocheting) on her Down the Garden Path Shawl by Michele DuNaeir in Lambie Toes in Special Hell.  She is working on her Yggdrasil Afghan by Lisa Jacobs out of reclaimed Berroco Vintage Chunky in Chocolate. The small diameter circular cast on is difficult and did it a whole bunch on times.  And she started mitts for her husband out of brown alpaca. She's adding the design element from the Motoring Madness mittens by Audrey Nicklin from Lit Knits to her own mittens pattern. We mention the Belly Button Cast on. Finished Objects: (23:20) Jen hasn't finished anything. Laura finished her Leftie by Martina Behm out of a Miss Babs Yummy kit in slate and reds. We mentioned Slipped Stitch Studios and . Devil's Tower: (24:42) We are both short on UFO activity. Frog Pond: (24:51) Jen didn't have any frogging this week, but she hindered her own progress on her Sunshine Socks by first losing her book with the pattern in it. Ron found it for her, but then she forgot to bring the first sock when she was traveling, so she couldn't work on it anyway, because she compares to the first sock. On Deck: (27:49) Jen has a whole list: the Ginny’s Cardigan by Mari Chiba from the Unofficial Harry Potter Knits out of Wollmeise Pure in Chim Chim Chimney (for Camp Loopy), the Citron Grande out of Desert Vista Dyeworks Voir in Cherry Icee, she wants to restart her Chickadee, the Dump Truck Cardigan for her nephew, the Playful Stripes Cardigan by Alana Dakos for the new baby out of Cascade 220 Superwash Sport out of teals and pinks and greys, and a layette for the new baby niece out of Cascade Heritage. She also wants to make booties and more sweaters. She is happy to have a girl to knit for so she can make all manner of baby patterns. Laura is going to make the Knitted Scale Mail Gloves by CraftyMutt, the Dreambird by Nadita Swings out of either Dizzy Blonde yarn, and the Effortless Cardigan by Hannah Fettig out of Dizzy Blonde DK. Knit Culture: (36:01) We review Dishcloth Diva Knits On! by Deb Buckingham (courtesy of Cooperative Press). It retails for $9.95 PDF, $15.95 for Print and PDF. It's a lovely book, we love the tutorial, but we think it's a little more for a beginner and great for teaching, but an advanced knitter may not get as much out of it. We think it's an excellent gift for a beginner or for using as group projects. We remind you that the stashdown is still going on. Post your finished projects in the June thread and you can win two patterns--the beautiful InfiniTAM donated by the amazing Deborah Tomasello and the Tan House Brook Shawl donated by BostonJen of the Down Cellar Studio Podcast (which you should all listen to, because it's awesome. We also talk about our favorite knitting resources. For crochet, Laura recommends Stitch Diva Studios (text and pictures), The Crochet Crowd (video), and HappyBerry Crochet (video). For knitting, she likes Knit Purl Hunter (video), Knit Witch (video), and KnittingHelp.com. Jen doesn't learn well with videos, she prefers picture and text. She likes the Techknitting Blog, Ysolda's Technique Thursday blog posts, Techniques with Theresa from Knitty.com, and the Tin Can Knits blog. She also recommends some books: Finishing School: A Master Class for Knitters by Deborah Newton (finishing techniques), Little Red in the City by Ysolda Teague and Knit to Flatter by Amy Herzog (both deal with sweater fit), and Knitting for Dummies (beginners). Jen also mentions The Principles of Knitting, if you want to be super pedagogical. Geek Culture: (46:50) We talk Downton Abbey! Jen highly recommends you look at Tom and Lorenzo's posts about their visit to a Downton Abbey costume exhibit (with closeups of actual costumes from the show). Post 1, Part 2, and Part 3 are here. We talk costuming in general. We also do some spoilery talk. If you want to avoid them skip ahead to the Events timecode (1:06:35) Events: (1:06:35) We are doing an event for World Wide Knit In Public Day.  We are partnering with Colors 91711 (address 248 Harvard Avenue, Claremont CA 91711). On Sunday June 22, we will be at the park across Harvard Ave having a knitting picnic from 11am to 2pm. Bring a chair, some shade, some snacks to share, water, sunscreen, your knitting. Colors opens at 12 noon for your shopping pleasure. We are both going to the CogKNITive retreat run by Dr. Gemma of the CogKNITive Podcast on July 25. KnitDizzney will be Sunday, September 7, 2014.  Save the date.  There will be exclusive colorways and T-shirts for purchase and we will have a meetup at the picnic spiral. Our next milestone prize will be at 1000 members, so join the Ravelry Group. And don’t forget to post your finished May projects in the thread!  Keep stashing down!

Today’s episode is sponsored by the New and Improved Dizzy Blonde Studios. New and Improved because we now have our own website. Visit our new home at DizzyBlondeStudios.com If you want to find your raveler number enter the Konami Code on your profile page. If you need help, see this thread. Catching Up: (1:15) Laura had family visiting, Her sister-in-law was visiting. And her brother and his family are doing the amusement park tour of California, including Disneyland (and she will be able to play in the park with them). It's Tony's birthday soon, so that's happy. And she's been doing a lot of dying, especially the custom colors for both of the shops that carry custom colors of Dizzy Blonde Studios yarn. And she's been catching up on Doctor Who. She loved "Blink." (Don't we all?) Jen made strawberry basil lemonade. She has a blog post up with her strawberry basil lemonade recipe. She also saw both The Grand Budapest Hotel and Godzilla and thinks they are both worth seeing. She and Ron are working out some new songs, "Amie" by Pure Prairie League and a mashup of two songs "Little Talks" by Of Monsters and Men and "Home" by Ed Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. And she's been paying some old video games by Tim Schafer, including Day of the Tentacle. We mention yarn shops Colors and Alamitos Bay Yarn Company, the Cradle Will Rock Shawlette, and Canon Hand Dyes. In the Knitting Bag: (12:44) Laura is on the last color of her Leftie by Martina Behm out of a Miss Babs Yummy kit in slate and reds. She has finally actually started her Down the Garden Path Shawl by Michele DuNaeir in Lambie Toes in Special Hell. And she started her Yggdrasil Afghan by Lisa Jacobs out of reclaimed Berroco Vintage Chunky in Chocolate. Jen is working on her Leah’s Lovely Cardigan from More Last Minute Knitted Gifts out of Malabrigo sock in Eggplant.  She is almost done with the sleeves.  She is also working on her  second Sunshine Sock by Cookie A in Dream in Color Smooshy in Butterpeeps and her Lauriel Cardigan (by Ysolda Teague from Little Red in the City) out of Wollmeise DK in Pesto for Camp Loopy. She has trouble casting on, as usual. We mention the Citron Grande and Endless Rainbow. Finished Objects: (20:21) Laura finished her Men's Vintage Socks in Dizzy Blonde Studios Lambie Toes in No Touching Guns (grey). She may want to take different pictures than the ones she initially took. She is still deciding on a name, but she probably going to name it for Sectumsempra, a spell that Snape used in Harry Potter. Jen finished her Hitchhiker by Martina Behm out of a Zauberball in the colorway 2079 Durche die Blume (pink and green and white).  She only got 40 teeth and she had about 6 inches of yarn left after binding off. Devil's Tower: (23:00) The UFOs are quiet. Frog Pond: (23:10) Laura had some trouble with the Down the Garden Path Shawl. She didn't read the pattern, because she thinks she can read the designer's mind. Jen has frogged her entire Chickadee (which is by Ysolda Teague and she was working it in Quince and Co. Chickadee). It's a top down yoke sweater with stranded colorwork worked flat, and she's not happy with how it looks. So she's going to start over, because she wants to be happy with it. On Deck: (26:11) Laura wants to make a Dreambird by Nadita Swings out of either Dizzy Blonde Sock or Lambie Toes (or maybe both) for a booth sample.  She wants to make Knitted Scale Mail Gloves by CraftyMutt, the Effortless Cardigan by Hannah Fettig out of Dizzy Blonde DK in an undecided color, and the Motoring Madness Mittens by Audrey Nicklin from Lit Knits out of brown alpaca. Jen will be re-starting her Chickadee. She'll be making a Ginny's Cardigan by Mari Chiba from the Unofficial Harry Potter Knits out of Wollmeise Pure in Chim Chim Chimney. And she wants to make Water for the Elephants socks by Rose Hiver in some Knitpicks Stroll in a bare (natural) and Summer Blooms (pink) and the Citron Grand out of Desert Vista Dyeworks Voir in Cherry Icee. Knit Culture: (30:28) We play the promo for the Once Upon a Time Podcast. We do the drawing for the May Stashdown Challenge. Congratulations to knitallthestuff! You win a digital copy of Subversive Socks edited by Tabetha Hendrick, courtesy of Cooperative Press. June’s theme will be Matriculation, so post your finished objects in the June thread. July's theme will be music; projects that remind you of your favorite song or musician or album cover or what-have-you. Steve Malcolm of It Takes Balls to Knit has launched an indiegogo campaign. And we interview Benjamin Levisay of XRX Books, the Stitches Shows, and the Fiber Hooligan Podcast. We talk about his background, his podcast (including the origin of its name), his work with Halos of Hope, his new software venture, Hopscotch, and some general geek stuff. Geek Culture: (1:14:23) We talk some more about some upcoming blockbusters including How to Train Your Dragon 2, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Jupiter Ascending, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Expendables 3, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, and Sex Tape. We mention Interstellar (which is the Matthew Mcconaughey astronaut film that Jen couldn't think of the title of. Events: (1:19:44) Jen will be at the Retzlaff Winery Fleeces, Food, and Fun event on June 7th. We are doing an event for World Wide Knit In Public Day.  We are partnering with Colors 91711 (address 248 Harvard Avenue, Claremont CA 91711). On Sunday June 22, we will be at the park across Harvard Ave having a knitting picnic from 11am to 2pm. Bring a chair, some shade, some snacks to share, water, sunscreen, your knitting. Colors opens at 12 noon for your shopping pleasure. We are both going to the CogKNITive retreat run by Dr. Gemma of the CogKNITive Podcast on July 25. KnitDizzney will be Sunday, September 7, 2014.  Save the date.  There will be exclusive colorways and T-shirts for purchase and we will have a meetup at the picnic spiral.

Catching Up: (0:53) Jen has been very busy at her day job. But she has new pattern outThe Cradle Will Rock Shawlette out for the Mean Girls Yarn Club. And she is finishing up her acting class and her show closed, so she feels like she may get her life back. Laura spent mother's day at her brother's cabin and it was lovely. She also has a new doggie (Mei Mei). Her husband was promoted and his schedule has changed, so they are adjusting to that. And she is ramping up for Patrol 2 of Sunnydale Yarn Club plus dying for some wholesale orders. And there is a new pattern out that uses Dizzy Blonde yarn: the O'Hara Scarf by Heatherly Walker. In the Knitting Bag: (8:23) Jen has been working on her Leah’s Lovely Cardigan out of Malabrigo sock in Eggplant.  She is on the sleeves! She started a Hitchhiker by Martina Behm out of a Zauberball in the colorway 2079 Durche die Blume (it's pink and green and white). And she is working on her second Sunshine Sock by Cookie A in Dream in Color Smooshy in Butterpeeps. Laura has been working on her Leftie by Martina Behm out of a Miss Babs Yummy kit in slate and reds. She is on her fourth color. She is working on the afterthought heels on her men's vintage socks in Lambie Toes in No Touching Guns and she is working on the Down the Garden Path Shawl by Michele DuNaeir in Lambie Toes in Special Hell. We mention Knitmore Girls podcast and their #operationsockdrawer and #matchymatchykal. Finished Objects: (17:32) Jen hasn't finished anything because she's had no knitting time. Neither has Laura, because she is knitting big projects, because she's taking a break from Nerd Wars. We mention the Community Eye Candy post on the Ravelry blog featuring Nerd Wars projects. Frog Pond: (20:57) Jen has had easy knitting so there has been no need to frog. And Laura has been equally lucky, but we are anticipating good stories once she starts her Down the Garden Path. On Deck: (23:25) Jen has the same old stuff in her queue (Lauriel Cardigan (by Ysolda Teague from Little Red in the City) out of Wollmeise DK in Pesto and a pair of Water for the Elephants socks by Rose Hiver in some Knitpicks Stroll in a bare (natural) and Summer Blooms (pink)), plus she will be starting a Citron Grande out of Desert Vista Dyeworks Voir in Cherry Icee, for Camp Loopy. She will be doing the challenges even though she is not buying yarn. Laura wants to make the Yggdrasil Afghan by Lisa Jacobs out of reclaimed Berroco Vintage Chunky in Chocolate. And she wants to make the Dreambird by Nadita Swings out of either Dizzy Blonde Sock or Lambie Toes for a booth sample. We mention the Sylvi coat Knit Culture: (28:20) We talk a little bit about the stashdown and how the peer pressure is helping Jen not buy yarn for emotional reasons. We mention the Juliet Cardigan and the new Heirloom Layette Set. May’s theme is May Flowers/Mayflower and June’s theme will be Matriculation! Post your FOs in the the thread. You can win a copy Subversive Socks edited by Tabetha Hendrick, courtesy of Cooperative Press. June's theme will be Matriculation. It's all about learning--new skills, new patterns, new yarns, perfecting techniques. We review Lit Knits by Audry Nicklin. It retails for $18.95 for a ebook/Ravelry download and $24.95 for a paper copy. We both love this book and highly recommend that you buy it. The photography and styling is beautiful; the patterns are very creative; and we both want to knit most of the patterns. We mention Celestarium and Audrey's knitting story in Episode 77 of Never Not Knitting Podcast. Geek Culture: (41:13) We talk about some upcoming summer blockbusters and we want to know what you're looking forward to seeing. We talk about Godzilla, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Postman Pat, Maleficent, Edge of Tomorrow, Grace of Monaco, Jersey Boys. Also we mention Bryan Craston sneezes, Bambi Meets Godzilla, and Stuff You Missed in History Class. Events: (59:17) Jen will be at the Retzlaff Winery Fleeces, Food, and Fun event on June 7th. We are doing an event for World Wide Knit In Public Day.  We are partnering with Colors 91711 (address 248 Harvard Avenue, Claremont CA 91711). On Sunday June 22, we will be at the park across Harvard Ave having a knitting picnic from 11am to 2pm. Bring a chair, some shade, some snacks to share, water, sunscreen, your knitting. Colors opens at 12 noon for your shopping pleasure. We are both going to the CogKNITive retreat run by Dr. Gemma of the CogKNITive Podcast on July 25. KnitDizzney will be Sunday, September 7, 2014.  Save the date.  There will be exclusive colorways and T-shirts for purchase and we will have a meetup at the picnic spiral. Thank you for joining us for our 1st podivsersay! The stashdown’s going very well; keep up the good work! May’s theme is May Flowers/Mayflower and June’s theme will be Matriculation! Post your FOs in the the thread for a chance to win a copy of Subversive Socks edited by Tabetha Hendrick, courtesy of Cooperative Press.

Today’s episode is sponsored by the New and Improved Dizzy Blonde Studios. New and Improved because we now have our own website. Visit our new home at www.dizzyblondestudios.com. Catching Up: (0:52) Laura just got back from a week in Puerto Rico. It's a wonderful place, but she couldn't find a good yarn store. She needs to learn to speak Spanish. She also just finished her last Nerd Wars tournament for a while. She also decided to start designing again. Jen opened her show and it's going well. She and Melissa took a trip to the Huntington and saw a great exhibit about Archimedes and restoring some of his writing from a palimpsest. She learned that Melissa can't divide. And she's been spinning. We mention the McIntosh Cardigan. In the Knitting Bag: (15:01) Laura has been working on her Leftie by Martina Behm out of a Miss Babs kit in slate and reds. She also worked on her men's sock design out of Lambie Toes in No Touching Guns. And she worked on her Down the Garden Path shawl by Michele DuNaier out of Lambie Toes in Special Hell. Jen has been working on her Leah’s Lovely Cardigan out of Malabrigo sock in Eggplant and her Sunshine Socks by Cookie A in Dream in Color Smooshy in Butterpeeps. Finished Objects: (20:45) Laura finished her Lucky 4-Leaf Afghan Square by Margaret McInnis by Becka in Berroco Comfort DK in Celery, the Broncos hat for her brother out of Knitpicks Brava in blue, orange, and cream, the Kraken Applique by Katie Christie in random lavender acrylic, and the Wave Pool Cloth by Carol Bristol out of Dizzy Blonde Dirty Blonde Superwash DK in Jessica. Jen hasn't finished anything. She has to weave in ends on her Leftie. We mention joining joining blanket squares with crochet. Frog Pond: (24:50) Or Coquí pond. Laura had issues with her sock and had to frog a lot of the foot because she decided to put ribbing all around the foot, even on the bottom. Jen is knitting with alternating skeins on her Leah's Lovely Cardigan which is always a little painful. She is also somewhat demotivated with her knitting. We mention Slipped Stitch Studios. On Deck: (29:21) Laura wants to make an Effortless Cardigan by Hannah Fettig out of Dizzy Blonde Sock in Timey Wimey (TARDIS Blue), some mitts for her husband out some alpaca sock yarn, and a Dreambird by Nadita Swings. She's trying to decide if she wants to make it in her Dizzy Blonde Sock or her Lambie Toes. Jen still wants to make a Lauriel Cardigan (also by Ysolda and from Little Red in the City) out of Wollmeise DK in Pesto.and a pair of Water for the Elephants socks by Rose Hiver in some Knitpicks Stroll in a bare (natural) and Summer Blooms (pink).  She also has an idea for some mitts with jacaranda blossoms embroidered on them. Knit Culture: (32:38) We answer a question from our Knotty Talk Thread. sfchick asks "how to avoid knitting burnout - im feeling it now!" So we discuss ways to keep yourself motivated and how we deal with when we find ourselves demotivated. We recommend taking a break, bribing yourself, playing math games, changing up projects, looking at Ravelry for inspiration, and not doing deadline projects if you hate them. Laura mentions an idea from the podcast Just One More Row where you make your own kits with the pattern and yarn you want to work with in paper bags and grab one at random when you want a new project. It's a surprise kit! And Jen talks about a systemic way to eliminate WIPs, if you're burnt out because you're overwhelmed by too many WIPs. And we want to know what you think in the thread for the episode on Ravelry. We also talk about the Stashdown.  The winner for April is fracksmom! You win a skein of The Woolen Rabbit Airy in the colorway Daddy Steelbucks (love that name) with coordinating seed beads, donated by amazingly generous listener JillSerenity. May’s theme will be May Flowers so post your FOs in the thread.  You can win a copy of Subversive Socks edited by Tabetha Hendrick, courtesy of Cooperative Press. The theme for June is "matriculation." Post FOs from projects that have taught you something. What did you learn? The end of June will the be the Stashdown halfway point to evaluate our goals and how we've been doing. We mention the fact that we have a Facebook page. Geek Culture: (49:49) We talk about Star Wars Episode 7 casting. We have a discussion about women and how they're represented (or not) in Sci Fi and Fantasy and geek culture in general, inspired by this article. We would love to know what you feel about women in your favorite geek stuff. Jen mentions the film Starcrash. Events: (1:11:56) We are doing an event for World Wide Knit In Public Day.  We are partnering with Colors 91711 (address 248 Harvard Avenue, Claremont CA 91711). On Sunday June 22, we will be at the park across Harvard Ave having a knitting picnic from 11am to 2pm. Bring a chair, some shade, some snacks to share, water, sunscreen, your knitting. Colors opens at 12 noon for your shopping pleasure. We are both going to the CogKNITive retreat run by Dr. Gemma of the CogKNITive Podcast on July 25. And Jen will be at the Retzlaff Winery Fleeces, Food, and Fun event on June 7th. Thanks for listening to our 26th episode. Our next milestone prize will be at 1000 members, so join the Ravelry Group. And don’t forget to post your finished May projects in the thread!  Keep stashing down!

Don't forget the March stashdown theme is "Madness." Post your finished objects in the thread for a chance to win a copy of Sock Yarn Shawls by Jen Lucas (Thank you to Dorothy for donating it to the podcast!) Also thank you Brenda T. for your donation to the podcast. The April Stashdown theme will be April Showers. Catching Up: (2:33) Jen is doing a show at the Found Theatre. It's parody show that spoofs telethons and medical marijuana. She also saw The Umbrellas of Cherbourg which she loved for the story, the fashion, and the knitwear. She's also taking an acting class at South Coast Repertory. She and Ron have finished watching Star Trek: Voyager and now they have started classic Star Trek. She also watched Pacific Rim and she really enjoyed it. It's not high art, but it's really good silly fun. Laura has been working on her new website and it almost ready! She is working with Furry Logic. She finally saw Catching Fire and The Dark World. She finished Broadchurch. Her granddaughter had her first birthday and Laura made cupcakes. She and Tony are considering adopting another dog. And now that she is no longer doing Nerd Wars, she is hoping to work more on designs. In the Knitting Bag: (23:41) Jen has been doing a lot of knitting. She has been working on her Rocky Coast Cardigan by Hannah Fettig out of Fibre Company Organik in Highlands. It's from the book Coastal Knits. She just started a Leah’s Lovely Cardigan out of Malabrigo Sock in Eggplant. She is working on a 2x2 rib scarf for Interval House out of Patons Wool Classic in the colorway Kimono. She's swatching for Chickadee by Ysolda's book Little Red in the City in Quince and Company Chickadee in Slate, Egret, Lichen, and Rosa Rugosa. She is also working on her Watership Down KAL in Unique Sheep Selene in the colorway Nature Walk. Laura has been making a lot of blanket squares for a Firefly afghan out of various scrap yarns. She's also working on a Nigh Side Hat by Preita Salyer for her brother in Broncos colors of Knitpicks Brava (blue, orange, and white). And she is working on a Leftie by Martina Behm, out of a Miss Babs kit in slate and reds. Finished Objects: (30:50) Laura has finished three blanket squares: the Teddy Bear Wash Cloth by Elaine Fitzpatrick in Berroco Comfort DK in brown, the Steggie Wash Baby Bib by Elaine Fitzpatrick (modified to be a square) out of Berroco Comfort DK in brown, and a feather and fan square out of Dizzy Blonde Dirty Blonde miniskeins in Meg and Pussyfootin'. Devil's Tower: (32:48) Jen is kind of annoyed with vanilla socks right now, so she's not working on them. And she's not weaving in the ends of her Mustachioed blanket. Laura may have Jen test knit some non-vanilla socks. Laura's Leftie may go in...it's hovering around. We mention the Knitmore Girls. Frog Pond: (35:06) We both are lucky and have no sad knitting stories. On Deck: (35:28) Jen wants to make a Leftie of her own and will pull stash out to make it. She also wants to make a Hitchhiker and Brickless. She might use some of the Sunnydale Yarn Club yarn for one and some Abstract Fiber for the other. She also wants to make a pair of Water for the Elephants socks by Rose Hiver in some Knitpicks Stroll in a bare (natural) and Summer Blooms (pink). She also wants to make a Lauriel Cardigan by Ysolda out of Wollmeise DK in Pesto. Laura wants to make a Leaf on the Wind "Wash" Cloth by Becka in Berroco Comfort DK in Celery. She also wants to do a Hand to Hold Dishcloth by Rachel van Schie in Dizzy Blond Studios Dirty Blonde DK in Jessica. And she wants to make a pair of mitts of her own design (it will be released as a free pattern eventually) out of a mystery alpaca yarn, for her husband. Jen talks about Edie Eckman’s Where Do They Get Those Numbers? class. Knit Culture: (44:43) We review Hank and Gracie Save the Day from Cooperative Press by Stacy Klaus, illustrated by Molly Wade. It retails for $9.95 for PDF only and $15.95 for print and PDF. We think it's great for kids, so if you have little ones in your life, we recommend it. We do the prizes for Team Knitmore for the Podcaster Throwdown. Winners for the Most Actual Hats: 1st Place: Karen E (she wins a custom dyed skein of Dizzy Blonde yarn) 2nd Place: Cozycouch (she wins a gift certificate to Cards by Erika donated by EricaR) 3rd Place: Seajaneknit (she wins a bag sewn by Jonilvsneddy) Winners for Virtual Hat Donations: Deborah C. and Stacy M. tied for the most virtual hats. They each win a kit with a skein of Imperial Yarn and pattern for Fingerless mitts. Thank you to Imperial Yarn for the generous donation. Random Drawings: punkconformity, steamlolita, Cozycouch, preylek, fraksmom, Kwerkykwilter, Kathleen M, Lifewithmonkey each win a needle case donated by Knit Totes. pbaxter wins a tote bag donated by Knit Totes. Thank you to Knit Totes. Seajaneknit wins a sampler set of needles donated by Knitters Pride. Mimisneedlebasket wins a Knitters Pride Karbonz Size 1 40" Circular Needle. KimHammons wins a Knitters Pride Karbonz Size 3 24" Circular Needle. eatwildsalmon wins a set of Knitters Pride Karbonz DPNS in Size 2. Thank you to Knitter's Pride. Preylek wins a bag sewn by JoniLvsNeddy. Thank you Joni! dpeach, Lifewithmonkey, and allison1031 each win one of Brenda Castiel's patterns of their choice. Thank you Brenda for the donation. Karen E. wins Dizzy Blonde Gift Certificate, donated by Erica R. Carolyn wins three skeins of Green Mountain Spinnery yarn. Thank you Green Mountain Spinnery for the donation! Diane P. wins a kit donated by Bijou Basin Ranch with yarn and one of Marly Bird's hat patterns. Thank you to Bijou Basin Ranch. And Kathy R. wins three skeins of Manos Serena donated by Fairmount Fibers. Thank you to Fairmount Fibers! And thank you to EVERYONE who donated hats (both real and virtual). Geek Culture: (59:28) We talk about geeky etsy stores! Jen loves the microbe cross stitch from Watty's Wall Stuff. Laura loves Self Expression shop, which sells geeky keychains. We also love Black Market Buttons and Catlore Designs for fandom buttons. And we love TheSistersBrimm shop for cosplay/vintage/steampunk hats. We also mention Giant Microbes and Nova Albion. We also talk about GeekGirls.com for some really good computer tutorials. Events: (1:06:00) The Los Angeles Yarn Crawl is April 3rd-6th. Laura is having a meet and greet on Friday, April 4th (this is a correction from last show) from 6:30 to 0:30 at Alamitos Bay Yarn Company. She is having a second meet and greet (also at Alamitos Bay Yarn Company) on Saturday, April 5th from 12pm to 3pm. The Yarnover Truck will be at Alamitos Bay at the same time on Saturday. Laura will have a custom colorway at Alamitos Bay Yarn Company. Jen is not crawling (she is out of town at Craftcation). We will be doing something for WWKIP, so watch this space for details. The date of our event will most likely be on one of the weekends (not on a weekday). Jen will most likely be at the Retzlaff Winery Fleeces, Food, and Fun event on June 7th. Our next milestone prize will be at 1000 members, so join the Ravelry Group.

Catching Up: (1:07) Laura has been basking in the afterglow and trying to recover from Stitches West. She's also been dying custom colorways for two stores for the Los Angeles Yarn Crawl. She's been watching Broadchurch. And she's been working with her nephew to design a new Dizzy Blonde website. And she's really wanting a Disneyland trip. Jen wants to go to Disneyland too, but her back needs to recover from Stitches. She's been doing some music with Ron (who's been nicely recovering from his surgery). She's been reading Sandman Overture. And she's been watching a lot of West Wing and Star Trek. In the Knitting Bag: (8:04) Laura has been working on her Leftie by Martina Behm, out of a Miss Babs kit in slate and red. She's also been working on a Teddy Bear Wash Cloth by Elaine Fitzpatrick in Berroco Comfort DK in some shade of brown. Jen has been working on her Rocky Coast Cardigan by Hannah Fettig out of Fibre Company Organik in Highlands.  She's also working on a vanilla sock out of Opal Sock Yarn (Petticoat series in greens and purples and yellows).   She's worked a bit on her Watership Down KAL shawl.  And she finished the Mustachioed blanket by Christina Behnke out of Cascade 128 Superwash in Aporto and Black. She might want to line it, because she hates the backside of intarsia. We mention the Playful Stripes Cardigan by Alana Dakos, 60 Quick Baby Knits, 60 More Quick Baby Knits, and 60 Quick Baby Blankets. Finished Objects: (16:46) Laura finished the Scallop Hat by JT creations out of Knitpicks Brava Sport in Sienna Brown. Jen finished her shawl for the Ravellenics out of Mean Girls Yarn Club. Frog Pond: (18:16) Jen had some trouble designing her shawl because she kept realizing she was going to run out of yarn and having to change the way she was going to knit it. She realized that designing a pattern for Ravellenics is probably not the smartest thing. Devil's Tower: (20:07) Laura has put Assquack into Devil's Tower.  It needs to be assembled, but she is sick of hats. On Deck: (20:37) Laura will be making a Nigh Side Hat by Preita Salyer for her brother in Broncos colors of Knitpicks Brava. She will also do some blanket squares for some of her Browncoat Nerd Wars friends who are expecting. Some will be in the Dizzy Blonde DK. Jen wants to make the Water for the Elephants socks by Rose Hiver in some Knitpicks Stroll in a pink and a natural. She also wants to make Chickadee by Ysolda out of Quince and Company Chickadee. She wants to make more baby things for the new niece or nephew, but she will have to buy more yarn because she does not have a lot of baby-appropriate (aka SUPERWASH) yarn. Knit Culture: (23:45) We do a little more of a Stitches West recap.  Jen loved all of her classes, even though recommends Edie Eckman’s Where Do They Get Those Numbers? class for mathphobic knitters. She makes it really easy. Laura loved her Brooke Nico class about German and Japanese lace. We mention Brooke Nico's new book, Lovely Knitted Lace: A Geometric Approach to Gorgeous Wearables. We mention the Yarnover Truck. We are proud to be knitting aunties to the youngest of the Knitmore Girls. We loved meeting Miss Kalendar's baby, Steve from It Takes Balls to Knit, Pam from Halos of Hope, Tammy and Ben from Fiber Hooligans, Rick Mondragon, and all the listeners we got to meet. And one final special huge thank you to the girls from Namaste for their support of the Podcaster Throwdown. And Laura wants to thank Erika, Donna, and Liz for the help in the booth. Jen wants to thank Melissa for being a great travel companion. We talk about the Podcaster Throwdown. We WON! Despite having a lot fewer listeners than some podcasts (which just makes our listeners even more awesome!). But everyone put up a great fight. Thank yous to all of you who sent hats, donated money or prizes, to Pam, Ben, Purlescence Yarns, all the podcasters, Steve Haschke (who coordinated all the hats), and the El Segundo Slipt Stitchers. Finally Tally: Team Knit Knit Cafe: 126 + 26 = 152 Team CraftLit: 280 + 20 = 300 Team Knitmore Girls: 802 + 125 = 927 Team Knotty Girls: 876 + 89 = 965 Team Sock-A-Holic: 442 + 165 = 607 Team Ready, Set, Knit: 300 + 8 = 308 Total Podcast Throwdown contribution: 2,826 + 433 = 3,259 General hats, on Stitches West show floor: 289. Previous 10 virtual hats were identified as belonging to Team Sock-A-Holic and now appear in their totals. GRAND TOTAL for Stitches West, 2014: 3,115 actual hats + 433 virtual hats = 3,548 For the Ravellenic Games, Laura didn't even cast on. She was too busy with Stitches West prep. Jen finished, but just barely, because she frogged the shawl too much. We talk about the Stashdown. March's theme is March Madness. Post a finished object on the theme in the thread to win a prize! We announce winners for February.  Jill Serenity wins the love challenge with her two cowls. She wins a copy of Cascadia by Amanda Milne and Fiona McLean, courtesy of Cooperative Press. Buzzedangel won the Red flash challenge with her red Hexipuff. She wins a set of conversation hearts stitch markers from k8erpillar. Geek Culture: (42:29) We point out some amazing math-geek knitting articles by Evelyn Lamb. Go read "The Stunning Symbiosis Between Math and Knitting" and "Roots of Unity: Knotted Needles Make Knitted Knots. We're also a big fan of the infographics that Casey put together in celebration of Ravelry reaching 4 million members. Events: (43:55) The Los Angeles Yarn Crawl is April 3rd-6th. Jen is not crawling (she is out of town at Craftcation). Laura is having a meet and greet on Thursday April 3rd from 6:30 to 8:30 at Alamitos Bay Yarn Company. She is having a second meet and greet (also at Alamitos Bay Yarn Company) on Saturday April 5th from 12pm to 3pm. We will be doing something for WWKIP, so watch this space for details. Our next milestone prize will be at 1000 members, so join the Ravelry Group.

Today’s episode is sponsored by Dizzy Blonde Studios. For beautifully hand-dyed yarns and inspired knit design, please visit DizzyBlondeStudios.etsy.com. Look for us at Stitches West in Booths 906 and 908! Podcaster Throwdown (1:17) Check out Episode 8.5 for Throwdown information. Hat Tallies are updated in the Running Tally thread in the Podcaster Throwdown Group. There is virtual way to participate. You can now donate for your favorite team. Click here and choose your team. $5 is equal to one hat for your team! Each $5 lets Halos of Hope to ship 16 hats to cancer centers and hospitals around the country. The board is all volunteer, so all the money goes to shipping. Check out the Podcaster Throwdown group in Ravelry. There will be prizes for participating in the Throwdown group on Ravelry, courtesy of XRX. Check out the Halos of Hope website and Ben’s interview with Pam Haschke on Fiber Hooligans. Designer Brenda Castiel has all of her hat patterns and hat/mitt set patterns at a discount until February 28th, just use coupon code HALOS. Also, thank you to Brenda for her generous donation to the podcast. The February incentive pattern is Tenderfoot. Post in the February Thread in the KnottyGirls Group. There are some some awesome prizes for participating for Team KnottyGirls.  Check out Episodes 10, 11, 12, and 13, as well as the Prize Page for prize listings. XRX has some overall prizes, see Episode 19 for those. There are some other prizes from Marly Bird, Webs, Heather Ordover, Annie Modesitt, and Dizzy Blonde Studios. Send your hats to Purlescence Yarns, tagged for Team Knotty. Shipping information is here. Purlescence Address: Purlescence Yarns your name & the name of your team 564 South Murphy Ave Sunnyvale, CA 94086 Shoutout to El Segundo Slipt Stitchers. We also mention Fiber Hooligan Podcast. Catching Up: (9:58) Laura has been working on her yarn clubs (Mean Girls Yarn Club and Sunnydale Yarn Club as well as prepping for Stitches West. She's been watching Almost Human and making stitch markers. Jen has been working at work. Ron is getting surgery soon, which she hopes will help with some of his health issues. She's been prepping for Stitches West. She's also been working on some music. In the Knitting Bag: (15:35) Laura has been working on an Assquack in Berroco Comfort in Licorice and Knitpicks Brava in Pumpkin.  She is also working on converting Steggie Bib by Elaine Fitzpatrick into a blanket square for WendyLadyWares' bereavement blanket.  And she is working on Down the Garden Path by Michele DuNaier out of Lambie Toes in Special Hell. Jen is working on her Sweetheart of the Rodeo sweater (her own design) out of Wollmeise DK in So Long Kitty (pink), Shalimar Breathless DK in Snopea (green), and Dream in Color Smooshy in Butterpeeps (yellow).  She is also working on a shawl out of Mean Girls Yarn Club for the Ravellenics, a plain hat in Knitpicks Brava in Wine, and a preemie hat out of Baah La Jolla in My Sweet Valentine. We mention the Roosimine Socks by Caoua Coffee. Finished Objects: (26:33) Laura finished a Scallop Hat by JT Creations out of Knitpicks Brava Sport in Sienna Brown. She resized the pattern for using sport weight yarn. Jen finished a Barley hat by tincanknits out of Peter Pan Wendy Yarn in Milk Chocolate.  And she finished her secret cowl, which will be revealed soon, but it's out of Sunnydale Yarn Club yarn. On Deck: (29:40) Laura will be making some pompoms for her Jayne Hats for the passport game at Stitches West. She will figure out and start a hat to knit at Stitches, and she wants to make a Broncos hat for her brother for his birthday. Jen will be making more hats, her Watership Down KAL shawl, and her Stitches homework. We mention the Gerri Hat by Marly Bird. Knit Culture: (33:51) We interview Lauren Riker, winner of the Fiber Factor. For those of you brave enough, she does have a pattern for a Santa Costume. And she is running a a knit-a-long for her Owl in One pattern. We check in on our stashdown goals. We're both doing okay, although Jen has slipped in her no buying yarn goals on some Wollmeise sock yarn and Fab Funky Fibres. And she got some Wollmeise lace (which was allowed). Laura fell down on some yarn for the passport game, but we wonder if it's stash or work. We talk about how hard it is to resist sales. Laura hasn't knit a lot, but she has been destashing. Jen has knit up a lot of her stash. Post your February’s Theme is Love. Post your finished “Love-themed” object in the thread and you might win a copy of Cascadia by Amanda Milne and Fiona McLean, courtesy of Cooperative Press. We announce a flash prize. From when the episode goes live until February 28, post your knitting with something red (or red knitting or red stitch markers--it's open) in the thread and you can win a set of conversation hearts stitch markers from k8erpillar. We mention the Mr. Show sketch with the pre-taped call-in show. (This may not be safe for your kids--watch it first and decide). Geek Culture: (1:02:57) We talk about the new Captain America: Winter Soldier trailer, the casting of Paul Bettany as Vision in Avengers 2, and the upcoming season of Orphan Black. Events: (1:14:05) We will be at Stitches West, which is February 20-23 in Santa Clara, CA at the Convention Center. You can use the coupon code W20 to get $2 off a marketplace ticket. Dizzy Blonde Studios and Skeindalous Yarns are sharing a booth (booth 906 and 908). The Dizzy Blonde booth is a collection point for Halos of Hope hats for Team KnottyGirls (the final collection point!). With prizes! Shout out to the Purlescence Girls (who have the booth across from us) and we are right next to Halos of Hope (Booth 904) and across from Purlescence. We are both doing the stitch marker swap. We will be doing a meet and greet Saturday 12:00-1:00 at the Dizzy Blonde Booth. At the Dizzy Blonde Booth there will be products from: *Dizzy Blonde Studio *Skeindalous Yarns *Hiya Hiya *5elementknitr *RKs Mom *Jamie’s Metalworks *Jelby *Cards By Erika Follow KnottyLa on Twitter and/or Dizzy Blonde Studios on Facebook for Flash sales. Jen will be at the Student Fashion Show and Banquet on Saturday night as well. The Los Angeles Yarn Crawl is April 3rd-6th. Jen is not crawling (she is out of town). Laura is having a meet and greet on Friday April 3rd from 6:30 to 8:30 at Alamitos Bay Yarn Company.

Podcaster Throwdown (0:38) Hat Tallies are updated in the Running Tally thread in the Podcaster Throwdown Group. There is virtual way to participate. You can now donate for your favorite team. Click here and choose your team. $5 is equal to one hat for your team! Each $5 lets Halos of Hope to ship 16 hats to cancer centers and hospitals around the country. The board is all volunteer, so all the money goes to shipping. Check out Episode 8.5 for Throwdown information. Check out the Podcaster Throwdown group in Ravelry. There will be prizes for participating in the Throwdown group on Ravelry, courtesy of XRX. Check out the Halos of Hope website and Ben’s interview with Pam Haschke on Fiber Hooligans. Designer Brenda Castiel has all of her hat patterns and hat/mitt set patterns at a discount until February 28th, just use coupon code HALOS. Also, thank you to Brenda for her generous donation to the podcast. The February incentive pattern is Tenderfoot. Post in the February Thread in the KnottyGirls Group. There are some some awesome prizes for participating for Team KnottyGirls.  Check out Episodes 10, 11, 12, and 13, as well as the Prize Page for prize listings. XRX has some overall prizes: An Almost the Works Package for any Stitches events in 2014 or 2015 for the person who makes the most hats (no matter what their team is). An Almost the Works Package for the person who makes the most hats on the winning team. A Second Patrol membership to the Dizzy Color Sunnydale Yarn Color. This is for the person who sends in the most hats (team captains are exempt). Team Captains for the winning team will receive fashion show tickets to any Stitches fashion show in 2014 to 2015. Each team captain will receive a two year subscription to Knitters Magazine to distribute to the person that they decide is their team's MVP. Send your hats to Purlescence Yarns, tagged for Team Knotty. Shipping information is here. Purlescence Address: Purlescence Yarns your name & the name of your team 564 South Murphy Ave Sunnyvale, CA 94086 Shoutout to El Segundo Slipt Stitchers. We also mention Fiber Hooligan Podcast. Catching Up: (9:26) Jen has been working. Her parents came to visit and they had a nice time. She saw a rough cut of a documentary about The Found Theatre and its founder Cynthia Galles, who died from breast cancer. She saw Inside Llewyn Davis, which had some fantastic sweaters in it. Laura finished Season 3 of Downton Abbey and she is upset about it. (Spoilery discussion ensues). She is working on Nerd Wars stuff for her final tournament (for a while). One of her projects will be part of a bereavement blanket for someone who passed away suddenly. And she has been trying to learn to crochet right-handed. In the Knitting Bag: (20:00) Jen is working on her Sweetheart of the Rodeo sweater (her own design) out of Wollmeise DK in So Long Kitty (pink), Shalimar Breathless DK in Snopea (green), and Dream in Color Smooshy in Butterpeeps (yellow). She is also working on a Twistygoo hat by Lisa M. Beamer in yellow Plymouth Encore Yarn and Knitpicks Brava in Blush.  She is working on Barley hat by tincanknits out of Peter Pan Wendy Yarn in Milk Chocolate. And a secret cowl. Laura is working on a Scallop Hat by JT Creations. She is also working on an Assquack in Berroco Comfort in Licorice. We also mention the Olivia's Butterfly Hat. Finished Objects: (26:04) Jen finished a Twistygoo in Knitpicks Brava in Wine. And she finished a preemie hat out of Baah La Jolla in My Sweet Valentine. Laura finished a striped hat out of remnants of worsted acrylic. She also finished a preemie hat all in seed stitch out of Berroco Vintage. We mention the Knitmore Girls Podcast and their preemie hat collection for their local hospital. Devil's Tower: (30:44) Laura is taking a break from her Follow Your Arrow MKAL. She didn't choose the right yarn, doesn't have the bandwidth for it, and she will revisit it. Frog Pond: (32:19) Laura had to frog her entire 22 Leaves Shawlette by Lankakomero.  Her yarn was acid burned and kept breaking. On Deck: (35:56) Jen will be knitting lots of hats and a shawl of her own design for the Ravellenics. Laura will be doing Down the Garden Path by Michele DuNaier out of Lambie Toes for the Ravellenics. And more hats. And a secret project. Knit Culture: (39:49) We talk about the final challenge of the Fibre Factor. Lauren is leading a knitalong of her Owl in One pattern. We review Cascadia by Amanda Milne and Fiona McLean sent to us by Cooperative Press. We highly recommend this book. It is lovely. We talk about the Stashdown. February's Theme is Love. Post your finished "Love-themed" object in the thread and you might win a copy of Cascadia courtesy of Cooperative Press. Laura amends her stashdown goal. We announce the winners for January. lasolou13 wins the Stripe it Up Challenge. She will win a collection of our favorite stripey patterns. tygherknits wins a copy of Doomsday Knits for her entry in the Flash Challenge. We talk about the Ravellenic Games and Team Sasquatch. It's not too late to join. Geek Culture: (1:06:22) We talk about the Twelfth Doctor's new look. We both approve. Flags Made with Traditional Foods. There is a new Firefly comic out. Laura is really excited about the new trailer for Maleficent movie. Jen is somewhat underwhelmed, but open-minded. We mention Snow, Glass, Apples by Neil Gaiman. Events: (1:15:11) We will be at Stitches West, which is February 20-23 in Santa Clara, CA at the Convention Center. You can use the coupon code W20 to get $2 off a marketplace ticket. Dizzy Blonde Studios and Skeindalous Yarns are sharing a booth (booth 906 and 908). The Dizzy Blonde booth is a collection point for Halos of Hope hats for Team KnottyGirls (the final collection point!). With prizes! Shout out to the Purlescence Girls (who have the booth across from us) and we are right next to Halos of Hope (Booth 904) and across from Purlescence. We will be doing a meet and greet Saturday 12:00-1:00 at the Dizzy Blonde Booth. At the Dizzy Blonde Booth there will be products from: *Dizzy Blonde Studio *Skeindalous Yarns *Hiya Hiya *5elementknitr *RKs Mom *Jamie's Metalworks *Jelby *Cards By Erika Follow KnottyLa on Twitter and/or Dizzy Blonde Studios on Facebook for Flash sales. There is a podcaster meetup on Saturday from 4:30 to 6:00 in the Hyatt bar or a nearby meeting room. Come join us! Games to play at Stitches West: *Stitches West Passport Game *Stitch Marker Swap (Laura and Jen are both participating) *Yarny Poker Run Our next milestone prize will be at 1000 members, so join the Ravelry group! And don’t forget to knit hats and donate.

Today’s episode is sponsored by Dizzy Blonde Studios. For beautifully hand-dyed yarns and inspired knit design, please visit DizzyBlondeStudios.etsy.com. Look for us at Stitches West in Booths 906 and 908! Podcaster Throwdown (1:18) We have at least 1038 hats contributed for the Throwdown total! We are in third place with 180 hats. It’s crunch time! There is virtual way to participate. You can now donate for your favorite team. Click here and choose your team. $5 is equal to one hat for your team! Each $5 lets Halos of Hope to ship 16 hats to cancer centers and hospitals around the country. The board is all volunteer, so all the money goes to shipping. Halos of Hope plans to send the hats collected at Stitches West to cancer centers and hospitals in the Bay Area. Check out Episode 8.5 for Throwdown information. Check out the Podcaster Throwdown group in Ravelry. There will be prizes for participating in the Throwdown group on Ravelry, courtesy of XRX. Check out the Halos of Hope website and Ben’s interview with Pam Haschke on Fiber Hooligans. The January incentive pattern is Assquack. Post your finished hats in this thread to get your incentive. There are prizes for donating to Team Knottygirls. Check out Episodes 10, 11, 12, and 13, as well as the Prize Page for prize listings.  New prizes include a custom-dyed skein of Dizzy Blonde yarns. Send your hats to Purlescence Yarns, tagged for Team Knotty. Shipping information is here. Purlescence Address: Purlescence Yarns your name & the name of your team 564 South Murphy Ave Sunnyvale, CA 94086 Catching Up: (5:58) Laura and her husband took the weekend off to recuperate after having family visit. She's working to catalog her stash. She is also preparing for her last round of Nerd Wars for a while. And she's getting ready for Stitches West. Jen has been working seriously long hours because of Flu season (stay healthy). The only good thing is that the extra lab time has given her more podcast listening time. She saw several movies, including The Hobbit, American Hustle, and Nebraska. She's been seeing her friend's band play. She and Ron also had a Disney Day to see the Winter World of Color and the last performance of Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. In the Knitting Bag: (17:08) Laura made a stripey hat out of acrylic remnants for Stripe it Up January. She's also making a premie hat for the Knitmore Girls Head to Toe collection. She's also working up the Olivia’s Butterfly Hat, reworking the pattern to be done in sport weight yarn for the Stitches West Passport Game. And she worked on her 22 Leaves Shawlette by Lankakomero, out of Mean Girls Yarn Club in Heart in a Box. She is still struggling with bead placement. Jen is working on her Sweetheart of the Rodeo sweater (her own design) out of Wollmeise DK in So Long Kitty (pink), Shalimar Breathless DK in Snopea (green), and Dream in Color Smooshy in Butterpeeps (yellow). She is also working on Twistygoo by Lisa M. Beamer in Knitpicks Brava in Wine. And she is working on a secret cowl. Finished Objects: (23:37) Laura finished two stripey hats. One was out of mystery acrylic and one was out of Dizzy Blonde DK mini skeins. Jen finished a Twistygoo out of Delicious Yarns Frosting Worsted in Blueberry and Pistachio, leftover from the gramps sweater she made for her nephew. She striped them for Stripe it Up January. She finished the California Poppy Shawl by Lydia Tsymbal out of Baah La Jolla in My Sweet Valentine for Melissa and a Gerri Hat in Peter Pan Wendy Yarn in the colorway speckled blue. And she finished her vanilla socks in very old Opal Sock Yarn (the Rainforest series, colorway Flamingo, which is pink). Frog Pond: (26:50) Jen had lots of gauge issues this week. She frogged her Kently Socks by Heather Ordover from Hitch: Patterns Inspired by the Films of Alfred Hitchcock because they were too big. She also had to completely frog her entire sweater, because her Wollmeise DK and her Shalimar Breathless DK do not give the same gauge on the same needles. She would have known that if she had swatched with both yarns. On Deck: (31:38) Laura is planning to do many stripey knit hats and crocheted hats and something for the Ravellenics. Jen will be making another stripey Twistygoo out of yellow Plymouth Encore Yarn and something else. She will also make other hats, she will make two pairs of Kently socks for the Knitmore Girls #matchymatchyKAL (a pair for her and a pair for Ron). She will also have her Ravellenics project. Knit Culture: (35:19) One of Jen's favorite Yarns We answer questions from our Knotty Talk Thread about stash and yarn. We talk about stash and how we store it. We also talk about our favorite yarns (Laura: Brooks Farm Primero (her oldest stash), Jen: Vice Yarn Paradigm in Drunken Cherries, also 1000 yards of white cashmere laceweight), needles (Laura: Hiya Hiya, Jen: partial to Knitpicks needles (affordable and sharp tips), Karbonz, and Chiaogoo, and Addi Lace), and knitting bags (Laura: Namaste Zuma Bag and Jordana Paige Bella Bag, Jen: Namaste Harlowe also Slipped Stitch Studios bags, but she also uses grocery totes and clear bags from Loopy Ewe). Don't forget to Flash Your Stash to win a digital copy of of Doomsday Knits courtesy of Cooperative Press. And post your stripey FOs for a chance at another TBD prize. We talk about the Ravellenic Games and Team Sasquatch.  Knit for Ravellnics, Team Sasquatch, or both. Laura will be working on Down the Garden Path by Michele DuNaier and Jen will be doing a one-skein shawl of her own design. Geek Culture: (1:01:10) Neat Doctor Who baked goods picture gallery from a BBC America party. We want to know if you have thoughts on casting Michael Douglas in Ant-Man (which also has Paul Rudd). And we both love the Muppets Most Wanted trailer and are super excited! Events: (1:07:06) We will be at Stitches West, which is February 20-23 in Santa Clara, CA at the Convention Center. Dizzy Blonde Studios & Skeindalous Yarns are sharing a booth (booth 906 and 908). The Dizzy Blonde booth is a collection point for Halos of Hope hats for Team KnottyGirls (the final collection point!). With prizes! Shout out to the Purlescence Girls (who have the booth across from us) and we are right next to Halos of Hope (Booth 904). We will be doing a meet and greet Saturday 12:00-1:00 at the Dizzy Blonde Booth. We will be at the Friday Fashion Show and Banquet. Jen has a sweater in it (made with Laura's lovely yarn). We will be doing a World Wide Knit in Public event sometime between June 7 – June 15, 2014, location to be determined. Our next milestone prize will be at 1000 members, so join the Ravelry group! And don’t forget to knit hats and donate.

Podcaster Throwdown: (0:34) Tub o' hats! It's crunch time! There is virtual way to participate. You can now donate for your favorite team. Click here and choose your team. $5 is equal to one hat for your team! Each $5 lets Halos of Hope to ship 16 hats to cancer centers and hospitals around the country. The board is all volunteer, so all the money goes to shipping. Check out Episode 8.5 for Throwdown information. Check out the Podcaster Throwdown group in Ravelry. There will be prizes for participating in the Throwdown group on Ravelry, courtesy of XRX. Check out the Halos of Hope website and Ben’s interview with Pam Haschke on Fiber Hooligans. The January incentive pattern is Assquack. Post your finished hats in this thread to get your incentive. There are prizes for donating to Team Knottygirls. Check out Episodes 10, 11, 12, and 13, as well as the Prize Page for prize listings.  New prizes include a custom-dyed skein of Dizzy Blonde yarns. Send your hats to Purlescence Yarns, tagged for Team Knotty. Shipping information is here. Purlescence Address: Purlescence Yarns your name & the name of your team 564 South Murphy Ave Sunnyvale, CA 94086 Designer Brenda Castiel has all of her hat patterns and hat/mitt set patterns at a discount, just use coupon code HALOS. Also, thank you to Brenda for her generous donation to the podcast. Catching Up: (5:49) Jen stayed up way too late on New Years Eve, but she had a lot of fun. She's also been busy with work, especially since it's flu season (stay healthy everyone!). She's been playing Fallout 3 again, because she misses video games. And she's been drop spindling her pink corriedale, and cataloging her stash (except for the remnants and a few new things). Laura has been relaxing now that her family is gone. She has an adorable granddaughter (Jen can vouch for this). She's also been cataloging her stash.  And she's been watching Downton Abbey. And she will play one more tournament of Nerd Wars to groom a new captain. In the Knitting Bag: (15:14) Jen has been working on vanilla socks in very old Opal Sock Yarn (the Rainforest series, colorway Flamingo, which is pink). She is over halfway done with the California Poppy Shawl by Lydia Tsymbal out of Baah La Jolla in My Sweet Valentine for Melissa. And she's been swatching out of Wollmeise DK, for her Sweetheart of the Rodeo Sweater. Laura has been working on her man sock out of Lambie Toes in No Touching Guns, an Olivia’s Butterfly Hat in Knitpicks Brava in grey. She is also working on a Doctor Who-inspired hat in Dizzy Blonde Studios Superwash DK in Smurfinator and Down the Garden Path by Michele DuNaier out of Lambie Toes in the Indefinable Allure Colorway, for a booth sample for Stitches West. Finished Objects: (19:17) Jen finished the Man Hat by Haven Leavitt out of blue Plymouth Encore Yarn and a Gerri Hat in Peter Pan Wendy Yarn in pink, both for Halos of Hope.  And she can finally reveal her Christmas project: a St. Brigid sweater by Alice Starmore from Aran Knitting out of black Cascade 220. Dragon Tail Hat Laura finished another Big Damn Hero Hat by Dryope out of Knitpicks Brava in Canary, Orange, and Paprika. She also finished her Dragon Tail Hat by Jen Spears for Nerd Wars in Knitpicks Brava in Asphalt Heather and Dove Heather, an Odessa Hat by Grumperina out of Dizzy Blonde Studios Superwash DK in Jessica for her sister-in-law, with beads. And she finished the Spring Lacy Hat by My Hobby is Crochet out of Berroco Comfort in Copen Blue and Yellow. Devil's Tower: (25:34) Jen has Vanilla socks.  And Laura is pulling out her 22 Leaves Shawlette by Lankakomero. She’s making it out ofMean Girls Yarn Club in Heart in a Box. Frog Pond: (26:39) Jen did run out of yarn on her St. Brigid, as she suspected. She used a ball with a non-matching dyelot for the collar treatment. She was lucky she was using Cascade and black so the dyelots weren't too far apart and it's almost impossible to tell. Laura frogged her Sous Chef hat by Marly Bird because she didn't like how the colors looked together. We mention Sassy Gay Friend. On Deck: (32:41) Jen will be making her sweater that she's been swatching for, hats (including a stripey one out of the Delicious Yarns Frosting Worsted in Blueberry and Pistachio leftover from her gramps cardigan) and yellow hat using some leftover Encore Worsted. She will also look for more remnants to make some stripey. Laura will be actually starting her Who-inspired hat, a stripey hat for January, and she wants to do Ysolda Teague's Follow Your Arrow Mystery KAL out of Knitpicks Chroma Fingering and Gloss. Knit Culture: (37:54) Stashdown 2014! We challenge ourselves and our listeners to reduce stash as a year-long project. Knit from your stash all year long. Catalog your stash and find out what you have (however you want to). Then set goals for yourself. Each month will have a theme and a thread to post FOs along the theme and there will be prizes. Set some goals for yourself (these are personal, so whatever you want). Jen’s goals are to buy no yarn except for at Stitches West or if Wollmeise Lace becomes available and to knit/crochet/spin at least 20000 yards of yarn (this may be reassessed). Laura will only buy yarn at Stitches (as much as she wants) and only one skein of yarn at smaller festivals. She wants to knit at least 1/3 of her stash (or maybe this needs to be evaluated). She will check her stash before she buys yarn for projects. We recommend Knitmeter.com to help track your yardage. January's Theme is Stripe it Up! We take a page from Halos of Hope--use up your leftover Christmas project yarn (or other remnants) to make projects. Post your FOs on January's theme here. January's flash prize is to Flash Your Stash! Do it here for a chance to win January's flash prize (a digital copy of Doomsday Knits courtesy of Cooperative Press.) Fall down in your goals? No problem! Just go to the Confessional Thread for no judgement support to get back on that horse. Ravellenic Games! For the 2014 Ravellenic Games (this links to the Ravelry group) we've thrown our hat in with Team Sasquatch (a giant pan-podcast team). So join us! Geek Culture: (47:54) We review Doomsday Knits by Alexandra Tinsley and published by Cooperative Press. (This is where knit and geek culture collide). Digital retails for 16.95 USD and 29.95 USD for a print+pdf version (the print version will be available later). We love this book! The patterns are clever and lovely and it has a sense of humor. We love the styling for the most part. Some of the sweaters would be very unflattering for larger people, but that's okay. The accessories are fantastic. Four Thumbs up (and a toe!) Events: (58:53) We will be at Stitches West, which is February 20-23 in Santa Clara, CA at the Convention Center. Dizzy Blonde Studios & Skeindalous Yarns are sharing a booth (booth 906 and 908). The Dizzy Blonde booth is a collection point for Halos of Hope hats for Team KnottyGirls (the final collection point!). With prizes! Shout out to the Purlescence Girls (who have the booth across from us) and we are right next to Halos of Hope (Booth 904). We will be doing a meet and greet, time to be announced. We are taking classes. Jen is taking Design Inspiration with Lily Chin, Design in a Day with Christine Bylsma, and Where do They Get Those Numbers with Edie Eikman. Laura is taking Around the World: Japanese & German Lace with Brooke Nico. We have to cancel Knit 2 Together with Yarn on Tap due to scheduling conflicts. Our next milestone prize will be at 1000 members, so join the Ravelry group! And don’t forget to knit hats and donate.

Podcaster Throwdown: (00:29) Good job to everyone! We’ve submitted over 400 hats! Check out Episode 8.5 for Throwdown information. Check out the Podcaster Throwdown group in Ravelry. There will be prizes for participating in the Throwdown group on Ravelry, courtesy of XRX. Check out the Halos of Hope website and Ben’s interview with Pam Haschke on Fiber Hooligans. The December incentive pattern is Zoe. Post your finished hats in this thread to get your incentive. There are prizes for donating to Team Knottygirls. Check out Episodes 10, 11, 12, and 13, as well as the Prize Page for prize listings.  New prizes include a custom-dyed skein of Dizzy Blonde yarns. Send your hats to Purlescence Yarns, tagged for Team Knotty. Shipping information is here. Purlescence Address: Purlescence Yarns your name & the name of your team 564 South Murphy Ave Sunnyvale, CA 94086 There is another way to participate. You can now donate for your favorite team. Click here and choose your team. $5 is equal to one hat for your team! Each $5 lets Halos of Hope to ship 16 hats to cancer centers and hospitals around the country. We are starting to gather grand prizes for the winning team. Catching Up: (5:03) Hatnado was amazingly fun. There was cake and wine and mockery of the fantastic opus Sharknado. Thank you so much to Alamitos Bay Yarn Company for letting us use their space and to everyone who came out and donated hats. Laura has been having a lot of family time, including visits from her sister-in-law (who is MIllieHanS on Ravelry. She is tired from getting the house ready. She is doing a lot of Stitches West prep. She may take Tournament 10 off from Nerd Wars. She is possibly seeking a new captain or co-captain for Team Browncoat. We mention Ysolda's Mystery knitalong. Jen has been baking fancy pies for various holiday events. She's been trying to get into the Christmas spirit, because she's been working a lot. Jen got her tree up though. Santa will bringing Laura's Christmas tree (which is what her step-granddaughter are used to). Jen has the whole week off and is looking forward to it, because knitting time! And the Doctor Who Christmas special. Jen has also entered the 30 Day Sweater Design Competition, so thank you to everyone who voted for her. In the Knitting Bag: (14:09) Spring Lacy Hat Grumperina Hat Laura is working on a third Big Damn Hero Hat by Dryope out of Knitpicks Brava in Rust, Yellow, and Orange.  She's also working on an r Odessa Hat (without beads) by Grumperina out of Dizzy Blonde Studios Superwash DK in the color Jessica (turquoise) for her sister-in-law. She's also working on a Spring Lacy Hat by My Hobby is Crochet out of Berroco Comfort in Copen Blue and Lemon for a woman at work who is getting chemo. Jennifer is knitting the California Poppy Shawl by Lydia Tsymbal out of Baah La Jolla in My Sweet Valentine for Melissa. She's also knitting a Man Hat by Haven Leavitt out of blue Plymouth Encore Yarn for Halos of Hope. And she is working on her Kently Socks by Heather Ordover out of Koigu. Finished Objects: (20:02) Flick Wig (So Gidget) Laura finished a Flick Wig by Wild Daffodil in Berroco Vintage Chunky Yarn in chocolate for a friend's mom.  (We point you to Episode 1 for the story of this yarn, which was Laura's first Frog Pond story for the show and involves a Sylvi Coat and the Yggdrasil Afghan.) She made an Olivia’s Butterfly Hat out of Berroco Comfort in Copen Blue. Gramps Cardigan Easy Baby Sweater Jen finished her Easy Baby Sweater by Susan Mills out of Classic Elite Liberty Wool in Caribbean Tide for her nephew. She also finished gramps by tincanknits out of Delcious Yarns Frosting Worsted in Blueberry and Pistachio, again for her nephew.  She finished a vanilla hat in Blue and White Encore for the Throwdown. And she finished her secret Christmas project. Devil's Tower: (25:32) Laura has put her Sous Chef hat by Marly Bird out of Knitpicks Brava in Rouge and Coral. It's just too labor intensive right now. Her sock design in Lambie Toes is also on hold. We talk about Wollmeise and self-striping sock yarn. Jen is sad because her devils tower is too big. All of her Halos hats need ends woven in, she has shawls and cardigans and everything. Frog Pond: (29:33) Laura had to tink back three rows on the Grumperina hat, because she was talking too much while knitting. Jen had to frog her entire California Poppy Shawl because she made a big mistake and she was only 24 rows in. She decided it wasn't worth it to drop down and fix it, because that would have taken just as long as frogging and re-knitting. She also accidentally stabbed herself in the chin with a darning needle. Be careful with those things. On Deck: (34:11) Laura wants to make a Dragon Tail Hat by Jen Spears for Nerd Wars, Doctor Who-inspired hat out of Dizzy Blonde Superwash DK in Smurfinator, and Down the Garden Path by Michele DuNaier out of Lambie Toes for her Stitches West booth. Jen will be working on more hats (maybe even a crochet hat), her cardigan design (she's excited to use her Wollmeise), and she really wants to do some colorwork so she might make Water for the Elephants by Rose Hiver or mitts inspired by Jacaranda blossoms (her own designs). Knit Culture (39:41) We review Dishcloth Diva by Deb Buckingham, which the awesome people at Cooperative Press sent us. We recommend it. Knitted dishcloths rock for cleaning dishes and faces and the small patterns are great for beginning knitters (little girls can make wool doll blankets) or knitters that need stuff on the go. It's very informative. Jen wants to make them into quilt squares and pillows. The motifs are really lovely and versitile. Four thumbs up (and a toe!) We announce the 2014 Stashdown. We like themes for the year more than resolutions (we are cribbing shameless from the Knitmore Girls). We both have obscene stashes, so for 2014 we have set some goals to reduce stash. Jen's 2014 theme is to simplify her life and create things to make her life overwhelming, which involves letting go of a lot of stuff. She wants to get rid of her stash by knitting. We challenge ourselves and our listeners to reduce stash as a year-long project. Knit from your stash all year long. Catalog your stash and find out what you have (however you want to). Then set goals for yourself. Each month will have a theme and a thread to post FOs along the theme and there will be prizes. Set some goals for yourself (these are personal, so whatever you want). Jen's goals are to buy no yarn except for at Stitches West or if Wollmeise Lace becomes available and to knit at least 20000 yards of yarn (this may be reassessed). Laura will only buy yarn at Stitches (as much as she wants) and only one skein of yarn at smaller festivals. She wants to knit at least 1/3 of her stash. She will check her stash before she buys yarn for projects. There will be a confessional thread for when you fall down. No judgement, just acknowledgment to help you get back onto your goal. Go to the general Stashdown Thread on Ravelry to post your goals and chit chat about your stashdown ideals. We'll open the January and confessional thread soon. We also recommend using a meter from Knitmeter.com to track how much you've knit, crochet, or spin over the year. Geek Culture: (57:39) We talk about Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which is at its midseason hiatus. We both want to love the series, but right now we only like it. We are hopeful for the future, knowing how Joss's first seasons go. We point out the Star Trek Renegades trailer. We also point out io9's article about 10 TV Shows that Desperately Need Their Own Drinking Game. Events: (1:08:55) We will be at Stitches West, which is February 20-23 in Santa Clara, CA at the Convention Center. Dizzy Blonde Studios & Skeindalous Yarns are sharing a booth (booth 906); we will update you with the booth number when we get it. Halos of Hope will have a booth (booth 908) and we may have a Meet and Greet. We will will be at the Friday Night Pajama Party, hosted by Marly Bird. It's a lot of fun, we hope to see you there. The Dizzy Blonde booth is a collection point for Halos of Hope hats for Team KnottyGirls (the final collection point!). With prizes! Shout out to the Purlescence Girls! We will get together with the Yarn on Tap Girls for an event we call Knit2Together. This will be sometime in January at a point halfway between us and we will knit hats for Halos of Hope. Our next milestone prize will be at 1000 members, so join the Ravelry group! And don’t forget to knit hats and donate. P.S. What Does the Fox Say?

Today’s episode is sponsored by Dizzy Blonde Studios. For beautifully hand-dyed yarns and inspired knit design, please visit DizzyBlondeStudios.etsy.com Throwdown Update: (1:13) Check out Episode 8.5 for Throwdown information. Check out the Podcaster Throwdown group in ravelry. Check out the Halos of Hope website and Ben’s interview with Pam Haschke on Fiber Hooligans. The November incentive hat is A Chill in Wonderland by Izzy Schutz. Post completed hats in the the thread to get your hat. There are prizes for donating to Team Knottygirls. Check out Episodes 10, 11, and 12 for prize listings. Don’t forget to ship your hats to Purlescence Yarns, tagged for Team Knotty. Shipping information is here. Purlescence Address: Purlescence Yarns your name & the name of your team 564 South Murphy Ave Sunnyvale, CA 94086 We are starting to gather grand prizes for the winning team. Catching Up: (5:25) Jen took a whirlwind trip up to her parents' house for her nephew's first birthday. She's also been planning the Thanksgiving menu for her house and working on the Halos Hats because the El Segundo Slipt Stitchers are awesome and so is the Long Beach Stitch and Beach. Laura and Jen talk about WeFF. They both enjoyed it. They talk about yellow-unfriendly lighting. We also mention Forbidden Woolery, Blarney Yarns, and Krupnikas. Laura has carpet in her house! And had to get some car repairs after hitting a planter. Tony fell and hurt his wrist, so she has had some bad luck this weekend. She's prepping for the holidays, which is difficult as she is from a blended family so scheduling gets tough. In the Knitting Bag: (13:13) Jen has been working on her secret Christmas project, a Christmas sweater for her nephew (her own design) out of Stitch Cafe Delicious Yarns, the Knit Dizzney shawl pattern (also her own design) out of the Dizzy Blonde Sock Yarn, and a Gerri Hat for the Throwdown out of the Peter Pan Wendy Yarn in pink. Laura has been Stashing Down for Nerd Wars. She's been working on an Odessa Hat (without beads) by Grumperina out of Mean Girls Yarn Club mini skeins in Curses (which is acid green and purple). She's also working on an "Outlaw Hat" by Dryope out of Knitpicks Brava. Finished Objects: (17:05) Back of the sweater Jen finished her Minion Hat for Halloween at work out of Plymouth Encore Yarn. She also finished her 30 Day Sweater sweater out of Dizzy Blonde Superwash DK in Anna. She also finished Ron's socks out of Koigu, but not in time for Socktober. Ron's socks Laura finished one "Outlaw Hat" out of scraps of Lamb's Pride in very bright colors. She finished her Tree of Life Fingerless Mitts by Jenny Williams out of Knitpicks Wool of the Andes in the Thistle colorway. Devil's Tower: (23:25) Jen is picking up both her Sunshine Socks by Cookie A in Dream in Color Smooshy in Butter Peeps and her Watership Down shawl in Unique Sheep Selene in the colorway Nature Walk. Laura still has her Sassy-tis (Clapotis) in Devil's Tower for Nerd Wars, but it coming out soon.  Also her Broncos Gridiron Scarf (Lattice Wingspan) out of Mean Girls Yarn Club Hoar’s Yer Buddy is waiting for her to fix the bind off edge because she doesn't like it. Frog Pond: (27:22) Jen had a happy accident with the shawl collar on her 30 day sweater. It was too small and didn't fold over like she wanted, but she decided she likes how it looks, so it's a happy accident. Laura had to rip out her entire Socktober sock (which was her own design being worked up for Lambie Toes) because she didn't like the ribbing. On Deck: (31:19) Jen will be working on more Throwdown hats and her own sweater design out of Wollmeise DK and Shalimar Breathless DK. Also a California Poppy Shawl out of Baah La Jolla in My Sweet Valentine for Melissa. Laura will be working Throwdown hats, hats for her family, continuing the sock design, and the third incarnation of her Companion beaded choker in Hempathy. We mention the Mountain Ash Shawl. Knit Culture: (34:25) We review Hitch: Patterns Inspired by the Films of Alfred Hitchcock, edited by Stephannie Tallent, sent to us from Cooperative Press. We both love it and highly recommend it. All of the patterns are gorgeous, the styling is gorgeous, and we want to knit everything. And we love the schematics. We also point out this YouTube video of the Magic Knot as a way of joining ends. The Socktober KAL is over. Two prizes will be random drawings, and there are two peoples choice awards. Go "love" your favorite projects in the Socktober FO thread. Voting closes Black Friday! Prize winners will be announced in Episode 15! Geek Culture: (50:59) We both answer a question from our Knotty Talk Thread. tygherknits asks Impatiently waiting for the next episode! I just want to hear more! And I think Laura should talk about noms some more. So we geek out about cooking! Jen mentions some of her favorite baking recipes (lemon blueberry cookies and mini cheesecakes in a jar), a pie recipe she really wants to try, and asks for pie crust tips. She talks about peach-blueberry thyme cupcakes too, because she loves savory mixed with sweet flavors. Laura talks about her booze-infused cupcakes, her "noms" (the lollypops she makes), and making geeky chocolate candies. Jen also talks about wanting to be a better cake/cookie decorator, we talk about Portal cookie cutters, and we mention Craftsy (which has cake decorating classes as well as fiber-related classes). We have started a cooking thread, so come share your own cooking joys or woes and awesome recipes. Events: (1:04:03) We are still working on a Throwdown knitting event, watch this space. There will be cake, Sharknado, and food. Hatnado! There will be a Dizzy Blonde trunk show at Colors 91711 in Claremont on November 23 from 2-6pm. There will be Lambie Toes for sale as well as kits. The Los Angeles Yarn Crawl will be from April 3-6, 2014. Our next milestone prize will be at 500 members, so join the Ravelry group!

Thank you so much to everyone who reached out over the last month between episodes.  I know I probably sound like a broken record with "life getting in the way of the podcast", but that has been my reality over the last several months.  And given that this episode was recorded Monday, November 11th and only being released on Saturday November 16th, it still hasn't let up.  Going forward in an attempt to keep a regular schedule, I am officially switching to an every-other-week recording schedule.  The weekly schedule just is not feasible right now.  There will be a planned hiatus from mid-December until after the first of the new year when I'll resume recording every other week.  Again, thank you for bearing with me and understanding. You've Arrived At Your Destination Baby Sophisticate by Linden Down Yellow Beanie for my Mom My 30 Day Sweater project - Preppy in Pink Drive NaKniSweMo Ravelry Group Berkshire Dolman Sweater Halloween Socks for Carlos - Denali Socks with the links for the formula I'm using June's Favorite Cardigan by Hannah Fettig Big Bang Theory Scarf Road Maps Review of Cascadia by Amanda Milne and Fiona McLean.  Thank you to the folks at Cooperative Press for providing a copy for me to review and a copy for you! Enter in the group for a chance to win. You must be a member of the group to be eligible. Carpool Podcaster Throwdown for Halos of Hope - STITCHES West 2014 I will not host a team, so which team should we endorse/support?  Take the poll in the group and let me know!  Will make my endorsement on the next episode in about 2 weeks Road Trips Western CT Yarn Crawl - October 4-7, 2013 NY State Sheep & Wool Festival - October 19-20, 2013 - Rhinebeck, NY STITCHES East - November 7-10, 2013 - Hartford, CT Come Find me on the Interwebs Ravelry - ndjen04 Ravelry Group - Commuter Knitter Podcast Twitter - @CommuterKnitter Facebook - Commuter Knitter Email - commuterknitter@yahoo.com Show notes - http://commuterknitter.blogspot.com Google + - Commuter Knitter Podcast  Instagram - ndjen04

Designer Alley is back with the very lovely Anna Dalvi of www.knitandknag.com KnitandKnag on Ravelry and Twitter and Facebook. I was fortunate to review her Ancient Egypt in Lace and Colour book from Cooperative Press. You can buy this through them or Ravelry. If you like lace and Ancient Egypt then this is the book for you. I explain why I'm thankful this episode and remind you to enter the Competition by sending a wee message to me anyway you want although if you are sending a message in a bottle it might not get here by 30 November 2012. The Scottish Segment describes and explains the geography of Caithness and I whisk you around the county. The Handmade Christmas Decoration and hand written letter swap needs to be sent out by 5 December 2012. I have a Me Me Me and a Mum Mum Mum section but no Drams this episode. I have just realised I meant to mention The Calender of Hope 2013 to raise money and awareness for Breast Cancer. Please go to www.fitterknitter.com for your calender. The Fish and Chips babies jumper pattern and information of where to post it to is from http://www.knit-a-square.com/postal.html and the pattern is also on Ravelry Sponsored by my own business www.energyhunt.com Contact me on caithnesscraftcollective@gmail.com LouiseHunt on Ravelry, Stitchin Fingers and CaithnessCraft on Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram

Intro bits and Chapter 1 of Gullvier's Travels. Join the conversation by tweeting a response to this question by using a hashtag (): Twittering Question: What is your favorite moment from the beginning of Gulliver's Travels? (We'll have more interesting questions soon--this was a big BIG podcast to get out. My brain will be back shortly) I will randomly select a name from this episode's responders and whoever I choose will get their very own WWMDfK? bracelet. And, NEW! We have a  so you can tell me what you REALLY want! And we have a new mailing list which will allow me to get announcements out to you (like when I—SURPRISE—find out I'll be at MDSW and stuff like that).Type your email below and hit "enter." I will never, ever give or sell your email information to anyone. * * * SFF Audio—I've hit the big time! Listen to and SFF with me here. And then go take a look at Tara Swiger's book . Love! Her! * * * Cheddar, the CraftLit Critter (pattern)! Or Purchase a completed, knitted Cheddar from  for $36 via  (coming soon!) And April/May 2012 incentive? Your veddy own Defarge PAC (Don't Lose Your Head!) t-shirt. Donate or subscribe to be put into the running for a shirt! * * * Order via or purchase from Amazon. * * * Defarge 2——this time in color!—is in pre-orders! 25+ patterns of yarny goodness (sweaters, mittens, a devilishly cute layette, and more all await you!). The good people at Cooperative Press have found a local printer who can bring you our new book still printed in the USA! Mwah! Have I told you how much I love indie publishers? And speaking of Cooperative Press! Two new goodies for you! First, the . Second, the ! Both of which yours truly will be working on! Yay! What is CP saying about the Magazine? Let me share what CP says: Our intentions are as follows: as with all things CP, we compensate our contributors fairly, work with indie designers and dyers, and generally keep great content coming at you; we will be publishing 3x per year (though we’re doing a special “issue zero” in time for TNNA, the big pro fiber arts tradeshow in June) via our own app. This app will eventually also offer other Cooperative Press content, too. Ebooks, special issues, etc.; by popular demand and in response to some early feedback, we’ll do a PDF version of the magazine, which will be available via our website and Ravelry. It won’t have the video/audio/interactive functionality of the main version, but for readers who aren’t interested in reading via app, it’ll offer access to most of the content; each year, we’ll collect the magazine content into a book book -- think the way or Martha Stewart republishes their "best-of" each year. Hopefully having multiple access points for the content will make everyone happy. And by having several digital options, it makes it possible to buy it from anywhere (even Australia and the UK!), because as we’ve learned selling books, not everyone feels like paying the (frankly absurd) postage rates these days. It makes me ill to have to charge half again the cost of a print book just to ship it to Europe, and from a purely capitalistic perspective, I’d rather you put that $12 towards another one of our ebooks! :) And, more happiness—the husband gets more , too! Yay books! Yay literate people! * * * And my new pattern (that I'm so proud of!): Hunger Games-inspired Life and Death socks—designed for those of us who tend to give their socks a beating (more details on). * * * , I think you'll agree, rocks the Gulliver text. grab the code And, of course, I'm racking up moments of the usual start-of-book zeitgeist. (Have you seen the advertisement yet? Thank you, Jill!) Book talk starts at 28:30 and you can listen to it .

BONUS EPISODE! "A Diamond as Big as the Ritz" by F. Scott Fitzgerald—part 2. Join the conversation by tweeting a response to this question by using a hashtag (): Question: What is your favorite bit from the second half of "A Diamond as Big as the Ritz"? I will randomly select a name from this episode's responders and whoever I choose will get their very own WWMDfK? bracelet. * * * Defarge 2——this time in color!—is in pre-orders! 25+ patterns of yarny goodness (sweaters, mittens, a devilishly cute layette, and more all await you!). The good people at Cooperative Press have found a local printer who can bring you our new book still printed in the USA! Mwah! Have I told you how much I love indie publishers? And speaking of Cooperative Press! Two new goodies for you! First, the . Second, the ! Both of which yours truly will be working on! Yay! What is CP saying about the Magazine? Let me share what CP said: Our intentions are as follows: as with all things CP, we compensate our contributors fairly, work with indie designers and dyers, and generally keep great content coming at you; we will be publishing 3x per year (though we’re doing a special “issue zero” in time for TNNA, the big pro fiber arts tradeshow in June) via our own app. This app will eventually also offer other Cooperative Press content, too. Ebooks, special issues, etc.; by popular demand and in response to some early feedback, we’ll do a PDF version of the magazine, which will be available via our website and Ravelry. It won’t have the video/audio/interactive functionality of the main version, but for readers who aren’t interested in reading via app, it’ll offer access to most of the content; each year, we’ll collect the magazine content into a book book -- think the way or Martha Stewart republishes their "best-of" each year. Hopefully having multiple access points for the content will make everyone happy. And by having several digital options, it makes it possible to buy it from anywhere (even Australia and the UK!), because as we’ve learned selling books, not everyone feels like paying the (frankly absurd) postage rates these days. It makes me ill to have to charge half again the cost of a print book just to ship it to Europe, and from a purely capitalistic perspective, I’d rather you put that $12 towards another one of our ebooks! :) And, more happiness—the husband gets more , too! Yay books! Yay literate people! * * * And my new pattern (that I'm so proud of!): Hunger Games-inspired Life and Death socks—designed for those of us who tend to give their socks a beating. (more details on) Let me know what you thought of the movie by tweeting a response using this hashtag (): Question: What did you think of the Hunger Games movie"? (Thank you , for the idea—and ditto on selecting a name for a bracelet!) * * * , Zora Neale Hurston's lovely Their Eyes Were Watching God. Soon and I'll have Gulliver ready for you. I'm racking up moments of the usual start-of-book zeitgeist. (Have you seen the advertisement yet? Thank you, Jill!) Woven Fabric Social Media Icon Set by Book talk starts at 11:55 and you can listen to it .