Podcast appearances and mentions of pam haschke

Pamela Haschke is the Executive Director and Founder of Halos of Hope.  Now, an 11 year cancer survivor, she is guiding the charity through to its next phase:  The Angel Ambassador program to continue to give back to cancer communities across the nation. Listen Live for chance to win great prizes! Stay up to date with the Yarn Thing podcast with the App available on iTunes and for Droid.Find our more about Marly at www.MarlyBird.com or follow her on Facebook Sponsored by:  Red Heart YarnsKnitter's MagazineCraftsyLo-Lo by Bar-MaidsErin.Lane BagsCreativebugKristin Omdahl, Bamboo So FineBuffalo Wool Co.Green Mountain Spinnery

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!

We get a little bit of innuendo and silly in this one.  No bad language, but a little less clean than you are used to, so you may want to listen first if you have small ones. We sort of fly by the seat of our pants in this episode! We are joined by Special Guests Melissa and Erica. We are at Stitches West and are exhausted and overwhelmed and a little sleepy and maybe a little tipsy (but we're legal so it's okay). In the Knitting Bag (1:43) Laura has no knitting! Melissa is knitting on Leah's Lovely Cardigan out of Malabrigo Sock in a blue and the McIntosh Cardigan by Gudrun Johnson from Knit With Me out of Madelinetosh in Tosh Merino Light in Tern and Edison and Button Jar Blue. Erica is working on the Brier Island Sweater out of Miss Babs Heartland Worsted. She cast on for cowl in Skeindalous Buddy Sock, but had no time to knit. Jen finished her Sweetheart of the Rodeo Cardigan and her Barley hat and gave it to the Knitmore Girls for the Throwdown. She is also working on her Ravellenics project, a shawl out of Mean Girls Yarn Club. Melissa finished some shawls that had been long-term WIPs for the Ravellenics. Frog Pond (10:05) Laura frogged some of her homework to make hat tags--but there aren't sad knitting stories when you're not knitting. Melissa learned from Brooke Nico how to fix mistakes in lace in her Stitches class. Erica calls her mistakes "design decisions" and so does Melissa because "perfection is only for God." Devil's Tower (11:44) Laura is sick of hats, so she's not going to finish the hats she's working on for the Throwdown for later and donate them to Halos of Hope later. We're all a bit hatted out. Stitches Talk (13:48) Laura has been working at her booth and it's been amazing. We had our meetup, which was great. But she is so busy. She wants a little time to shop. Erica is glad she only bought one sweater quantity worth of purple yarn. But she's bought a lot of blue sweater yarn. She got some yarn from Verdant Gryphon, Sweet Fiber, and giant skeins of fingering weight from Miss Babs (yarn Babies). Melissa and Jen also bought yarn babies from Miss Babs. Melissa bought a lot of vintage buttons. And she continues to buy pink yarn, green yarn, and neon yarn. She might have bought and entire rainbown. Melissa took some classes. She took the Fixing Mistakes in Lace Knitting with Brooke Nico and Intentional Patterning with Hand-dyed Yarns with Laura Bryant. She loved them both and recommends them. We talk about the Pajama Party with Marly Bird. Jen got some laceweight from Terilyn Needle Art for a sweater (and so did Melissa) and some laceweight cashmere from Stitch Sisterz. She also got a Miss Babs yarn baby and some Miss Babs sock yarn, some Quince and Company Chickadee to make the Chickadee by Ysolda. Melissa and Erica both got measurements take by Amy Herzog and we talk about Amy's Custom Fit Software and the myth of Standard Size. Jen got a consultation with Amy as well and thought it was great. We talk about the Fit to Flatter group on Ravelry. Jen took Christine Bylsma's Design in a Day class, which was awesome. She also took Edie Eckman's Where Do They Get Those Numbers?, which she recommends for math phobic knitters. And she took Design Inspiration with Lily Chin, which was great. Laura took a class about German and Japanese lace with Brooke Nico and she loved it! Jen and Melissa both saw Myra Wood's keynote where she talked about her Knit in New Directions book. Jen's sweater (made with Laura's yarn) was in the Friday fashion show. We met Steve from It Takes Balls to Knit. Laura, Jen, and Melissa went to the pajama party, had fun, and Jen and Laura won yarn from Malabrigo and Fiesta Yarns. We also mention Skacel and Ben from the Fiber Hooligans and XRX. Jen and Melissa went to the student fashion show. We also had our meetup and got to meet a lot of our listeners. And then Jen and Laura went to the podcaster meet up. Shout outs to the Yarniacs, Just Another Bay Area Knitter, Knitmore Girls, Two Knit Lit Chicks, Hollywood Knitter, Dr. Gemma and anyone else we might have forgotten. We talk about Namaste and how amazing they are. To support the Podcaster Throwdown, they gave the leader of each podcast team a free Harlow bag and t-shirts. We can't say enough good things about these ladies and their products. They are wonderful. Melissa and Jen recommend audio books for their long road trips. We talk about fangirling Myra Wood, Amy Herzog, Brooke Nico, Pam Haschke, Ben Levinsay, Steve from It Takes Balls to Knit, the Yarn on Tap girls. (And Jen loves their sock kits). Melissa talks about a neon yarn baby she bought from Newton's Yarn Country. Melissa is very proud that Stitches is the first time she's bought yarn all year, since last year she bought so much yarn she became a Loopy Legend. We also mention Shalimar Yarns and Plucky Knitter. In closing, Miss Kalendar has the cutest baby ever!

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?

Halo's of Hope president, Pam Haschke, joins Marly to talk about what an incredible year it has been for this non-profit organization.  Listen Live for chance to win great prizes! Stay up to date with the Yarn Thing podcast with the App available on iTunes and for Droid.Find our more about Marly at www.MarlyBird.com or follow her on facebook Sponsored by: Knitter's MagazineCraftsyIndian Lake ArtisansFiesta YarnsDecade by Drew EmborskyLove of KnittingLove of CrochetBijou Basin Ranch

Today’s episode is sponsored by Dizzy Blonde Studios. For holiday gifts for the knitter in your life, please visit DizzyBlondeStudios.etsy.com. Shop updates will occur throughout the month of December. Podcaster Throwdown: (1:04) Good job to everyone! We've submitted over 300 hats! 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 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: (4:19) Jen has been sick but she's getting better. She's also been getting ready for the holidays. She was unable to bake for parties (because that's not great when your sick). She's also been working on pattern writing. She recommends Craftsy. Laura is recovering from the three (yes, three) Thanksgiving dinners. She's working to plan Christmas holidays, juggling the schedules of all the families. She's working on her Nerd Wars; there is a Smaug theme this round to celebrate The Hobbit. She's decorating for Christmas. She's also working on getting her house and studio together after the remodel. In the Knitting Bag: (14:32) Jen has started a second Gerri Hat for the Throwdown out of the Peter Pan Wendy Yarn in pink. She has been working on her secret Christmas project. It's blocking. Finally! She also is working on another vanilla hat in white Plymouth Encore Yarn. She ran out of yarn, so she'll probably make the top blue. And she is working on gramps by tincanknits out of Delcious Yarns Frosting Worsted in Blueberry and Pistachio. We talk about Miss Babs Yarn and Cookie A Sock Club Laura is working on her original sock pattern out of Lambie Toes in "No Touching Guns". She's also working on a third Big Damn Hero Hat by Dryope out of Knitpicks Brava. She's also doing a Sous Chef out of Knitpicks Brava. Finished Objects: (20:42) Jen finished two vanilla hats out of white Plymouth Encore and a Gerri hat out of the pink Peter Pan yarn for the throwdown. Laura finished her Sassy-tis (Clapotis by Kate Gilbert) out of custom-dyed Dizzy Blonde Studios yarn.  She also finished her Gavin’s DinoRAWR Spiked Beanie Hat by Niki Wyre out of Knitpicks Brava and her Companion beaded choker in Hempathy. Devils Tower: (23:49) Jen finally finished the sleeve on her Easy Baby Sweater out of Classic Elite Liberty Wool in Caribbean Tide. Laura is ready to pick up her 22 Leaves Shawlette by Lankakomero. She's making it out ofMean Girls Yarn Club in Heart in a Box. Frog Pond: (26:04) Laura finished her Companion and got credit for it in Nerd Wars and then promptly frogged it. She was unhappy with the center section and it was too small. She does not enjoy knitting with Hemp Yarn. On Deck: (29:45) Jen is going to knit the California Poppy Shawl out of Baah La Jolla in My Sweet Valentine for Melissa.  And she is working on her Sweetheart of the Rodeo design and figuring out how she wants to chart her designs. Laura will be making a Crocodile Stitch Slouchy Beret by Bonita Designs. She may be making a River Tam hat (pattern by Jessamyn Leib) in Dizzy Blonde Jessica (which is turquoise), but she is struggling with the tubular cast on. Jen recommends Eunny Jang's tutorial. She's going to make a Doctor Who inspired hat out of Smurfinator. And she will be making Down the Garden Path by Michele DuNaier out of Lambie Toes. She will use it as a crochet sample in her Stitches booth. Knit Culture: (38:20) We have an interview with the amazing Pam Haschke of Halos of Hope. She shares her story about how she started Halos of Hope. Here is the The Happy Hat story (and here is Drew's blog about it as well). We also talk a bit about Southern California and about her crafting. Pam mentions Fiesta Yarns Starburst La Boheme. Laura tells a story about Trixie and yarn. A Halloween bag for Socktober! We announce the winners of the Socktober KAL/CAL. The People's Choice winner is Photoknitgal's Hitchhiker. Congratulations! You win a Halloween-themed project bag sewn and donated by our amazing JoniLvsNeddy. Runner up is apple380's Doctor Who socks. Congratulations! You win a HiyaHiya scutti bag. Random draw winner number 1 is moclell's Line Break. Congratulations! You win some Hiya Hiya sock needles. And our second random draw winner is apple380's Hitchhiker. Congratulations! You win some Kollage square sock needles. Jen points out two cool knitterly things: KnitsforLife made a knit apple pie crust and Bohemia Fibers is doing American Horror Story Coven Limited edition yarns. Geek Culture: (1:11:41) We talk about some perfect gifts for the geek in your life. Our recommendations: Twilight Zone Definitive Collection Firefly: The Game Big Damn Heroes Promo Edition A plethora of Doctor Who goodies Kaylee's Parasol Star Trek Transporter Bath Mat and Shower Curtain. Lego Serenity Kit Hobbit Feet Slippers We also recommend giving your partner the gift of uninterrupted geek time. Events: (1:19:04) Hatnado!!! Come watch (and mock) the masterpiece of a film known as Sharknado! and knit hats for Halos of Hope with us. It will be in the Annex of the Alamitos Bay Yarn Company on Saturday, December 14th from 1:30 to 4:30pm. Bring munchies and wine to share if you want to. We will bring cake! Seating is limited to 18, RSVP here. 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; we will update you with the booth number when we get it. Halos of Hope will have a booth and we may have a Meet and Greet. We will will be at the Thursday Night Market Preview. The Dizzy Blonde booth is a collection point for Halos of Hope hats for Team KnottyGirls (the final collection point!). With prizes! 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.

Podcaster Throwdown: (0:58) Hats not yet counted. And this is just one tub of three! Hat Tallies are updated: 1. Team Knitmore - 110 2. Team Sock-a-holic - 48 3. Team Knotty – 42 4. Ready-Set-Knit - 12 5. Craftlit – 6 6. Team Knit Knit Cafe - Not yet 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. Sharon from Knitaholics Anonymous offered a hat pattern (Bow Cloche in Memory of Linda).  Go to here for details. 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. 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: (8:43) Laura had a trunk show at Colors 91711.  She is almost done with the remodel and assembly of her studio. She’s been working on lots of Nerd Wars stuff and dying up yarn for the next installment of the Mean Girls Yarn Club. Jen has been cooking a lot. She’s using a seasonal cookbook that she loves. She is also reading Carole King’s autobiography. She's been spinning. And she saw a workshop of a play her friend wrote. It was part of the Blank Theatre's Living Room Series. Jen also gushes a bit about the “Day of the Doctor” and Hunger Games: Catching Fire. In the Knitting Bag: (18:14) Laura is working on Gavin's DinoRAWR Spiked Beanie Hat by Niki Wyre out of Knitpicks Brava.  She is also working on the third incarnation of her Companion beaded choker in Hempathy for the Nerd Wars “Wave Your Geek Flag” challenge.  And she continues to work on a Big Damn Hero Hat by Dryope out of Knitpicks Brava. Jen is working on her Christmas project, on her Sunshine Socks by Cookie A in Dream in Color Smooshy in Butter Peeps, a Gerri Hat for the Throwdown out of the Peter Pan Wendy Yarn in pink, some very old vanilla socks out of some very old Opal Sock Yarn, and a plain vanilla hat out of Plymouth Encore Yarn in white.  She also started Kently Socks by Heather Ordover from Hitch: Patterns Inspired by the Films of Alfred Hitchcock out of Koigu for Ron. Finished Objects: (25:15) Odessa Hat Broncos Scarf Laura finished her Odessa Hat (without beads) by Grumperina out of Mean Girls Yarn Club mini skeins in Curses (acid green and purple).  She also finished her Broncos Gridiron Scarf (Lattice Wingspan) out of Mean Girls Yarn Club Hoar’s Yer Buddy.  We mention Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off. A close up of Jen's shawl in the morning light Jen finished a shawl of her own design out of the KnitDizzney yarn and now she has to write up the pattern. We mention Nancy Bush's Knitted Lace of Estonia Devil’s Tower: (31:40) Laura still has her Sassy-tis (Clapotis by Kate Gilbert) in Devil’s Tower for Nerd Wars, waiting for Round 3.  And she is just having trouble feeling motivated to work on her sock design out of Lambie Toes. Laura also talks about a way to motivate herself to finish her WIPS. We mention Slipped Stitch Studios and the Doctor Who Sock Kit from Lorna's Laces. On Deck: (36:05) Laura will be crocheting Hildegard by Bernadette Ambergen in Lambie Toes for her booth at Stitches. We mention Belle Époque, Skeindalous Yarns, Into The Whirled, and Indigodragonfly. Jen will be making hats and a baby sweater. Knit Culture: (40:30) We review Fiber Factor Challenge 6. We remind you to vote for your favorite designs by clicking “Love” in the Socktober FO thread. Voting closes November 29th. Prize winners will be announced in Episode 15! We draw the winner for our 500 member Milestone Prize and it's Astridpurls! Congratulations! Ravelry Message Laura for your prize (a pair of Toluca Knit Jewelry Needle Gauge Earrings. Geek Culture: (57:15) We review the young adult novel Grounded: The Seven by Heather Ordover. We highly recommend the book for yourself and your teenagers you love and are waiting impatiently for the sequel! She also has a book of socks inspired by the characters of Grounded called Novel Socks. Jen has it and she loves the patterns. We point out some templates for making Star Wars themed snowflakes for your geeky holidays. We also point out two lists of ranking all the episodes of two of our favorite shows: Doctor Who and Buffy The Vampire Slayer. We mention the unaired pilot for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the unaired pilot for the Big Bang Theory. Events: (1:13:10) 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. Hatnado!!! Come watch (and mock) the masterpiece of a film known as Sharknado! and knit hats for Halos of Hope with us. It will be in the Annex of the Alamitos Bay Yarn Company on Saturday, December 14th from 1:30 to 4:30pm. Bring munchies and wine to share if you want to. We will bring cake! Seating is limited to 18, so watch this space for signups. And finally 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; we will update you with the booth number when we get it. Halos of Hope will have a booth and we may have a Meet and Greet. We will also be attending Friday’s Fashion Show and Dinner. The Dizzy Blonde booth is a collection point for Halos of Hope hats for Team KnottyGirls (the final collection point!). With prizes! Our next milestone prize will be at 1000 members, so join the Ravelry group, don't forget to vote for your favorite Socktober Project, and remember to keep knitting hats.

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!

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: (1:10) Check out Episode 8.5 for Throwdown information. Thank you to El Segundo Slipt Stitchers for the hats donated! 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. New prizes added are: 1. Brenda Castiel is donating some patterns 2. Linelle Kennedy of KnitTotes has donated some circular needle cases and a tote bag 3. Heather of Mad Color has donated a skein of yarn. Catching Up: (9:05) Laura loved the CogKnitive Fibre Retreat and is taking care of the admin for the post-marketplace and dying a lot to prepare for WeFF. Her voice is back. The remodel is making her crazy, but it's almost done and to channel that, she is planning a trip. Jen has been spinning! She's working on Knitpicks fiber. She really enjoys it. She saw the film Gravity, which had a lot of space geekery and the film Enough Said, which had knitting in it! In The Knitting Bag: (18:30) Laura has been working on a new sock pattern to be knit in Lambie Toes in the color No Touching Guns. She's test knitting the A Chill in Wonderland hat in Knitpicks Brava Worsted. And she is working on the third version of her Companion beaded choker in Hempathy. Jen is still working on her 30 Day Sweater in the Dizzy Blonde Superwash DK in the colorway Anna. She's also working on Ron's sock, which are the Bed Sock in Lemon Pattern with Fancy Knit Stripe from Knitting Vintage Socks out of Koigu. She's working on another Gerri Hat for the Throwdown out of the Peter Pan Wendy Yarn in pink. She is also making a Minion Hat for Halloween out of Plymouth Encore. We confirm that 30 is no longer even close to middle aged and that middle aged is a silly concept. Finished Objects: (26:07) Laura has finished her Udones out of Knitpicks Palette in clover. She also finshed her Broncos Gridiron Scarf (Lattice Wingspan) out of Mean Girls Yarn Club Hoar's Yer Buddy. She needs to block it, but she has no room. Jen never finishes anything. She has tons of projects on hold for the 30 day sweater, including her Rocky Coast Cardigan, her Sunshine Socks, her secret Christmas project, and her shawl design for Knit Dizzney. Devil's Tower: (32:19) Laura is putting her Sassy-tis (Clapotis) in the Devil's Tower until November, so it can be a flexible schedule for Nerd Wars. Same with her Tree of Life Fingerless Mitts. Jen has everything in Devil's Tower. Frog Pond: (34:58) Jen thought she lost her knitting, but she really just misplaced it. On Deck: (35:59) Laura will do some more hats, both for the throwdown and her family, possibly the Sous Chef hat. Jen will be working on throwdown hats, a shawl for Melissa, a sweater for her nephew, the Knit Dizzney shawl, and her own sweater design. Knit Culture: (38:10) We review Fiber Factor Challenge 5. Geek Culture: (55:51) We talk about awesome geeky knitting and crochet including: 1. Baby's First DNA Model by Kimberley Chapman 2. An article about Mathematical Knitting from American Scientist. 3. This very detailed knit skeleton by Ben Cuevas 4. Emily Stoneking's dissection models 5. Golden Spiral by Woolly Thoughts which uses the Fibonacci Sequence 6. Hyperbolic Hexagon Socks by H. Lurie 7. Illusion Tessellation by Deborah Tomasello (and she has socks as wells). We also mention the What Would Madame Defarge Knit? books and the Jane Austen Knits. Events: (1:03:25) We are having a Knitalong in October! The Socktober Knitalong! Knit something (anything (hats)) out of sock yarn (fingering weight or any yarn that would make good socks) or knit socks out of any weight yarn between October 1st and October 31st. Post finished projects there for a chance to win a prize. Please do a separate entry for each project. Hiya Hiya has provided some prizes and Joni has given a project bag as a prize. We will be at the Southern California Handweaver’s Guild Annual Weaving and Fiber Festival (WEFF) at the Torrance Convention Center on Sunday November, 3rd. Parking is free, entry is seven dollars. Laura will be vending. You can drop off Halos Hats at her booth. We may be doing some knitalong action with Yarn on Tap there for the Throwdown; we will keep you posted. Come say hi. We are working on some knitalong events for the Throwdown. We will keep you updated. It will involve Sharknado and cake. 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. New milestone drawing at 500 members, so join our Ravelry group!

This is a very interesting episode in which Halos of Hope president Pam Haschke gives us some truly indepth info on how best to create chemo caps for those who need them.