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Thank you for tuning in to Episode 266 of the Down Cellar Studio Podcast. Full show notes with photos can be found on my website. This week's segments included: Off the Needles, Hook or Bobbins On the Needles, Hook or Bobbins Brainstorming From the Armchair In my Travels KAL News Events Contest, News & Notes On a Happy Note Quote of the Week Thank you to this episode's sponsors: Rising Tide Fiber Co, Enchanted Etchings, Chit Chat Knits Off the Needles, Hook or Bobbins 3 Crochet Charity Hats Wool Ease Thick & Quick Bedrock Hat. Ravelry Project Page. 9 mm crochet hook Standard circle increases up to (inc, sc5) Lion Brand Baby's First Hat. Ravelry Project Page. 8 mm crochet hook. I added a large flower using this tutorial from Instagram by tanoshiimajo. Purple Crochet Hat. Ravelry Project Page. 8 mm crochet hook. Mystery yarn. Perry's Christmas Hat Pattern: Turn a Square by Jared Flood Yarn: Goosey Fibers, Squishy DK. OOAK colorway Needles: US 5 (3.75 mm) for ribbing. US 7 (4.5 mm) for body. Ravelry Project Page Notes- This is the 14th time I've knit this pattern. Yarn was a sample from collab with Cait for my Stay Out of the Forest Hat which you can find on Ravelry & LoveCrafts. I blocked & sewed the buttons on Mom's 2023 Rhinebeck Sweater Pattern: Carbeth Cardigan by Kate Davies (~$8 knitting pattern available on Ravelry & this website) Needles: US 7 (4.5 mm) for the ribbing and US 9 (5.5 mm) for the body Yarn: Sweitzer Fiber Mill mystery yarn purchased at Maryland Sheep & Wool 2023 My Ravelry Project Page I added belt loops to Mom's Wave of Change Cardigan- Ravelry Project Page. On the Needles, Hook or Bobbins Liz's Socks Yarn: Area 51 Fibres Sturdy Alien Base ( n the (80% Superwash Merino, 20% Nylon) in the National Periodic Table Day Colorway (self striping with rainbow and gray) Needles: US 1.5 (2.5 mm) Pattern: OMG Heel Socks by Megan Williams ($5 knitting pattern available on Ravelry ) Ravelry Project Page Jen/Riley's Matching Hexi Blankets Pattern: Using this photo tutorial & this video tutorial. Hook: D (3.25 mm) We are making 4 round hexagons. As Riley finishes one, she texts me and I work up my corresponding mini. We've done 4 so far. Let the Mystery Unravel 2023 Blanket of Calm Pattern: Blanket of Calm by Casapinka (free crochet pattern) Yarn: Woolen Women Fibers- Let the Mystery Unravel subscription + Cascade Heritage Hook: 3.25 mm (D) Ravelry Project Page Check out the October Unboxing video Progress: I finished the 3-round border in the dark gray. Welcome to Litchfield Spinning Project 4 oz of Texel from Into the Whirled- Welcome to Litchfield Ravelry Project Page Christmas Stockings Pattern: Christmas Stockings to Knit and Crochet from Family Circle Magazine. Available in this web archive link. I've also saved it to my podcast Gmail Google Drive in case it disappears! web.archive.org-Christmas Stockings to Knit and Crochet from Our Archives.pdf Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver in Cherry Red, Hunter Green and White Hook: G (4.0 mm) Patrick's Stocking- Ravelry Project Page Melissa's Stocking- Ravelry Project Page Brainstorming I received my Woolens & Nosh Advent socks. I wound up the contrast color and I'm going to plan to finish both cuffs before December 1st. From the Armchair The Armor of Light by Ken Follett (read by John Lee). Bookshop Affiliate Link. Amazon Affiliate Link. Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. Bookshop Affiliate Link. Amazon Affiliate Link. Christmas Orphans Club by Becca Freeman. Bookshop Affiliate Link. Amazon Affiliate Link. Note: Some links are listed as Amazon Affiliate Links. If you click those, please know that I am an Amazon Associate and I earn money from qualifying purchases. In My Travels Fiber Festival of New England Ran into Jean (Mazzy Girl), Amy (CapeNeddickknitter), Michelle- chellescrips, Jen, Carlos, Aurora & Zelda. Jess & Roger and team from Stitched by Jessalu. Donated a percentage of their sales to our FearLESS Living Fund. Donation for $350 came through this week and we are so grateful. If any other sponsors would like to do a fundraiser like this in the future, let us know! We'd love to help promote it. Check out our video to see the Eastern States Exposition Center, see what we bought and all of the fun eye candy! KAL News Pigskin Party '23 #DCSPigskinParty23 Official Rules Find everything you need on my website or in the Start Here Thread in the Ravelry Group Register using this Google Form (you must be Registered to be eligible for prizes) Enter your projects using the Point Tally Form Find the full list of Sponsors in this Google Doc. Coupon Codes are listed in this Google Doc & in this Ravelry Thread Exclusive Items from our Pro Shop Sponsors are listed in this Ravelry Thread Questions- ask them in this Ravelry Thread or email Jen at downcellarstudio @ gmail.com Updates this Episode Tune in to hear if you won an October Participation Prize. I also announced the winners of our Announce Q1 Challenge winners- hosted by Paper Daisy Creations. Quarter 2 Challenge: Embrace Nature brought to you by our Official Sponsor of the Quarter Bella Fio. Runs 11/1-11/30/23. Full details can be found in this Google Doc and in this Ravelry Thread. I gave a sneak peek of our Quarter 3 Challenge. Check out the Waymaker Cowl by Amanda Massingill (Mandi's Makings). Free knitting pattern available on Ravelry. WIPs Challenge: Finish WIPs you started before the Pigskin Party kicked off on 9/7/23! If you finish them between 11/10/23 and 1/10/24, you'll earn 150 points. Full details can be found in this Google Doc and in this Ravelry Thread. I announced October Participation Prize Winners, Quarter 1 Challenge Winners & gave a sneak peek of our Quarter 3 Challenge hosted by Mandi's Makings. Check out The Waymaker Cowl on Ravelry. Update from Commissioners: There is lots of excitement about the Q2 challenge. Most of the people who have finished have completed hats. If you poke around the scoreboard and the chat threads you'll see so many stunning examples. For example, quite a few folks have finished patterns from the knitting the National parks book. Juliepoolie71 made the Crater Lakes hat. Ravelry Project Page. Esalaza made the Hawai'i Volcanoes Beanie. Ravelry Project Page. Knitternicole made the Theodore Roosevelt Beanie. Ravelry Project Page. But you don't have to knit a hat for this challenge. Hollyelyse finished a whole colorwork sweater for the challenge (in 10 days!) Check out the Ravelry Project Page. You don't even have to knit for this challenge. You can crochet or spin too. For example: Sarahsyarn86 is crocheting adorable granny squares that have daisies in the center. Check out the Ravelry Project Page. Katanorand is working on a spinning project using fiber in the colorway strawberry fields. Check out this Ravelry Post. Events My cousin Linda's friend is looking for warm handknit/crocheted items for adult and youth homeless in Massachusetts. They set up tables on Thanksgiving and put all of the handmade items on the fence outside their church in Woburn center. Calling for all makers who want to donate. PM me on Ravelry or email me at downcellarstudio at gmail.com and I'll give you the address to send them to. Any fiber type welcome. Hats, scarves, mitts, shawls, blankets. Anything warm is welcome! I'll be participating in Vlogmas again this year. Is there anything you especially want to see? Let me know and I'll see what I can do. Check out previous years playlists: Vlogmas 2022 Playlist & Vlogmas 2021 Playlist Vogue Knitting Live- New York City: January 25- 28, 2024 Contest, News & Notes Scrappy Helical Clasp Weft Tutorial available on my YouTube Channel. In this video I show you how to use Cate's Clasp Weft Join along with Helical Knitting to create really fun and vibrant scrappy socks without having to weave in a million ends! Check out my trip with Mom to New England Fiber Festival. November Yarnable Unboxing Video is available. Coming soon- life/health updates recorded with Mom. On a Happy Note For Halloween, Mom & I reprised our Sanderson sister roles. I trick or treated with Hattie for a little while then hung out by the fire with family and friends. Megg & I bought a 5 pack of tickets for shows at the Boston Opera House this season. Our first show was November 1st, Frozen. We were able to add on two tickets and bring Millie and Hattie with us. We had an absolutely magical night! On the Saturday while Mom & I were at New England Fiber Festival, Riley was texting me. She did her first hexi all on her own! Then a couple more! When she ran out of minis, she moved onto her Riley Rose Cowl and sent a photo of her knitting and watching Gilmore Girls. Be still my heart! Watching Gabriella & Zachary for the afternoon. Finally making a dent in my Christmas shopping. My goal the last couple years has been to be completely finished before December 1 so I can really enjoy December. Sometimes I'm better at that than other years, but I'm going to really try hard to get that done by my deadline this year. One of my cousin Lauren's friends from Amsterdam gifted me a pack of Stroopwafels which I enjoyed with coffee in my new chicken mug from NE Fiber Fest! We went to Flight Club in Seaport District of Boston for Conor's 35th Birthday- just after I found out he and Carly are expecting their first baby in June (right around my. birthday)! Quote of the Week Bad luck in small doses can cast a glittering light on the rest of life. –Ann Patchett ------ Thank you for tuning in! Contact Information: Check out the Down Cellar Studio Patreon! Ravelry: BostonJen & Down Cellar Studio Podcast Ravelry Group Instagram: BostonJen1 YouTube: Down Cellar Studio Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/downcellarstudio Sign up for my email newsletter to get the latest on everything happening in the Down Cellar Studio Check out my Down Cellar Studio YouTube Channel Knit Picks Affiliate Link Bookshop Affiliate Link Yarnable Subscription Box Affiliate Link Music -"Soft Orange Glow" by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/ Note: Some links are listed as Amazon Affiliate Links. If you click those, please know that I am an Amazon Associate and I earn money from qualifying purchases.
Episode 72 1/22/20 Be a helper, wips, knitting fail, wearables, pattern stalking, out and about Be a Helper Craftalong 4th Be A Helper Craft-a-long has begun! We keep the rules simple. Anything you make for any charity counts, doesn’t have to be knit/crochet/woven or spun. ANYthing you make for ANY charity. One FO per photo in the FO thread Donating blood counts too - post a photo of your bandaid or of you drinking OJ afterwards, something like that. FO Thread closes when I wake up April 1st. Wips are welcome One more new prize to announce, a pattern from Jennifer Lassonde of Down Cellar Studio! Thanks so much, Jen! Wips – lots these last 2 weeks! Preemie hat – about half way through my first for the year. Aggregate Shawl – I’ve reached the end of the shawl as written, but I have more yarn left. I’m continuing in the pattern as established until I run out of yarn. Matchy Socks – nearly to the cuff Dress – The handmade dress I’ve been working on is coming along nicely. I’ve split for armholes and I’m nearly done with the front left strap. South Woods – started a new sweater for myself, South Woods by River Road Knits . I’m using some old stash yarn for the lace underlayer and my handspun for the main body of the sweater, which leads me to… Kitting Fail Be careful not to twist! Wearables My birthday weekend was incredibly warm, topping out at 74F (23C) whereas our highs should hover right around freezing. So I wore lots of warm-weather handknits, like one of my Mommy’s Tunic samples and the Lace Sweater 01 from Vogue Knitting Magazine designed by Brooke Nico. Knit this in a cone of 5/2 bamboo from Webs years ago. The pattern is a lace coat, nearly knee-length, and I wore it as a jacket out for my birthday dinner. Since then, it’s been COLD. I’ve also worn Frosted sweater by Paper Daisy Creations and lots of shawls, including Changing Staircases, Pont du Marais and Use Your Stash Shawls, both designed by me. Also my boys and I have all worn some handknit socks, all made using the Fish Lips Kiss Heel. I;m wearing my Twist and Shout had by Michele duNaier nearly every day. My youngest has worn the Monomoy Sweater several times and wears his Bermuda Hat every day. And I’ve worn the Dancing Dragons Coat – it makes a great indoor layer on super cold days. Pattern Stalking Thing 2 want’s a new sweater, another hat, Halloween socks and Christmas socks and I keep thinking about knitting another Hitofude. Out and About Wayland Winter Farmers Market Fiber Days – Jan 26 & Mar 1 Boston Farm & fiber Fest – Feb 9 Stitches United - March 26-29, 2020
Episode 69 Winter Yuck I’m sitting in my new office in the middle of a 36-hour crazy storm. Currently alternating between snow and sleet and I’m wrapped in several handknits so it’s a good time to record. I should preface this – both kids are home and the cats are awake so we’ll see how well this recording goes… Indy GAL 2019 It’s GAL time! By the time this goes live the GAL sale will be done, but the knit-a-long/crochet-a-long will be in full sweing and it runs through December 31st! There are over 200 very talented indy designers participating. Each designer has to have at least 20 self-published paid-for patterns. There are a lot of incredibly talented designers participating and looking through the threads at the patterns available has been a wonderful rabbit hole to go down. All eligble patterns click on Advanced Search then Patterns By These Designers to see the 22,000+ patterns that are eligible for the knitalong part. 4th Be A Helper Craft A Long Dec 15th – Feb 28th. Anything you make for any charity or donating blood. One FO/blood donation photo per post in the FO thread please (a photo of your bandaid or a selfie sipping OJ is fine). This year there will additional chat participation prizes! More details on the craftalong next week, but I wanted to get this info out there for you. Upcoming Test Knits 2 upcoming test knits, both for shawls. 1 is a garter st shawl with a simple cable, the second is another shawl designed to use up scraps. http://www.windsweptknits.com/testknitters/ Wips 2ndAggregate shawl in Artisinal Yarn’s 100% Tencel from Rhinebeck 2 years ago Starting the bodice of a dress. Knit part of the Evenstar circular shawl as a skirt several years ago. As part of the GAL I bought 2 bottom-up tank top patterns and I’m using one as the bodice of the dress. Christmas socks for mom in Regia Tutti Frutti 2, cotton/elastic yarn in the Watermelon colorway Making progress on my Star Wars costume – about 15 inches in out of 120. Wearables Currently wearing Changing Staircases by DragonHoard Yarns in Fiber Lady’s Mousou, 100% bamboo yarn. Wore Frosted by Paper Daisy Creations to Frozen 2 – gradient snowflakes Second Grace by Bristol Ivy, colorwork yoke all in Berocco Modern Cotton
Mastering the Knits S4E2: Paper Daisy Creations brings LotsofSocksKAL! Welcome to the Mastering the Knits podcast! Natalie starts off this episode with some announcements and extras! Last episode of series 4. Giveaway (1:39) January’s giveaway is a skein of the Fiber Seed. In my hands (3:00) Natalie mentions the Harry Potter Knit/Crochet House Cup and talks about knitting on the following: Winterfell Cardigan by Katrin Schneider using Juniper Moon Farm Patagonia Organic Merino in Indigo colorway bought at Bliss Yarns. She launched the Aran version of the pattern. It’s in my Rainstorm studios Etsy bag. Flax by Tin Can Knits using Malabrigo Rios in Anniversario colorway for #teamnatalie for #stashteamkal with Stash a place for yarn. End of KAL is during the Bay Area Knitting Guild Yarn Crawl. Swatches for Stash a place for yarn in Malabrigo Rios and Malabrigo Washted. Masterpieces (10:10) Cat Hats in a pattern I’m making up using HiKoo® by skacel Kenzie. Interview (12:45) Interview with Lisa Ross from Paper Daisy Creations. She talks about how she got her business started and shared about the LotsofSocksKAL and so much more. Thank you for joining us for series 4 episode 2 of Mastering the Knits. You can find show notes at masteringtheknitspodcast.com or on our Ravelry group Mastering the Knits Podcast. You can email us at masteringtheknits@gmail.com. Follow me on twitter at @MtKnitsPodcast and Instagram as @masteringtheknits
Mastering the Knits S3E9: Harry Potter Begins Welcome to the Mastering the Knits podcast! Natalie starts off this episode with some announcements and extras! Giveaway (1:51) November giveaway was a pattern of your choice from Paper Daisy Creations and winner was announced. December’s giveaway is a pattern of your choice up to $5 on Ravelry. and listen to the episode to learn how to enter. Master Status (3:51) Natalie talks about where she is at on her TKGA Master Knitter Level 1. For more information check out, TKGA group on Ravelry. In my hands (7:06) Natalie mentions and talks about knitting on the following: Wonder Woman Wrap (knit) by Carissa Browning using Holly & Ivy Dyeworks Ivy Twist. Winterfell Cardigan by Katrin Schneider using Juniper Moon Farm Patagonia Organic Merino in Indigo colorway bought at Bliss Yarns. She launched the Aran version of the pattern. It’s in my Rainstorm studios Etsy. recipe of the month :: align mitts by Courtney Spainhower using Rock and String Creations in her fairies garden colorway. Released in a pattern. Raise Your Hand (12:05) Natalie answers: How are you preparing for the new year? Natalie mentions the following: #last90days Facebook Live, Rach and Dave Hollis’s Start Today morning show 5 to thrive Start Today Journal by Rachel Hollis, author of Girl, Wash Your Face and Girl, Stop Apologizing Rise Podcast episode link Year Compass Passion Planner Bullet Journal Comfort zone (21:29) Natalie talks about her daughter turning 8 and starting to read Harry Potter. The illustrated version. Thank you for joining us for series 3 episode 9 of Mastering the Knits. You can find show notes at masteringtheknitspodcast.com or on our Ravelry group Mastering the Knits Podcast. You can email us at masteringtheknits@gmail.com. Follow me on twitter at @MtKnitsPodcast and Instagram as @masteringtheknits
Mastering the Knits S3E8: Craft Goals Welcome to the Mastering the Knits podcast! Natalie starts off this episode with some announcements and extras! Giveaway (1:22) November giveaway is a pattern of your choice from Paper Daisy Creations and listen to the episode to learn how to enter. Natalie shares the Flickering Lights shawl. Kits can be found at Space Cadet Yarns. Master Status (3:55) Natalie talks about where she is at on her TKGA Master Knitter Level 1. TKGA group on Ravelry. Arenda Holladay’s blog. She ordered these tags. In my hands (10:48) Natalie mentions #weekendcraftgoals and talks about knitting and spinning on the following: Wonder Woman Wrap (knit) by Carissa Browning using Holly & Ivy Dyeworks Ivy Twist. Winterfell Cardigan by Katrin Schneider using Juniper Moon Farm Patagonia Organic Merino in Indigo colorway bought at Bliss Yarns. She launched the Aran version of the pattern. It’s in my Rainstorm studios Etsy. recipe of the month :: align mitts by Courtney Spainhower using Rock and String Creations in her fairies garden colorway. Masterpieces (18:24) Natalie talks about finishing a project and more! Spun and navajo plied Treadle Hanspun Yarns tiddlybits using Pilar, Majacraft Pioneer spinning wheel. Raise Your Hand (20:40) Natalie answers: Do you knit for others for holiday gifts? She mentions the Knitmore girls Podcast grinchalong. Comfort zone (25:00) Natalie talks about enjoying the holidays. Thank you for joining us for series 3 episode 8 of Mastering the Knits. You can find show notes at masteringtheknitspodcast.com or on our Ravelry group Mastering the Knits Podcast. You can email us at masteringtheknits@gmail.com. Follow me on twitter at @MtKnitsPodcast and Instagram as @masteringtheknits
Mastering the Knits S3E7: Share Knitting Welcome to the Mastering the Knits podcast! Natalie starts off this episode with some announcements and extras! Giveaway (1:16) November giveaway is a pattern of your choice from Paper Daisy Creations and listen to the episode to learn how to enter. Natalie shares the Socks of Wonka collection. Master Status (3:34) Natalie talks about where she is at on her TKGA Master Knitter Level 1. In my hands (4:13) Natalie talks about knitting and spinning on the following: Grandma's Argyle Sock Christmas Stocking by Dorene Delaney Giordano using Knitpicks Wool of the Andes Sport in Red and White. Chiaogoo fixed circulars. Mentions using the Clover Leather Thimble Wonder Woman Wrap (knit) by Carissa Browning using Holly & Ivy Dyeworks Ivy Twist. Winterfell Cardigan by Katrin Schneider using Juniper Moon Farm Patagonia Organic Merino in Indigo colorway bought at Bliss Yarns. She mentioned reading For All the Boys I’ve loved Before by Jenny Han and reading on her niece’s Kindle paperwhite. Masterpieces (11:54) Natalie talks about finishing a project and more! Punk Kid Mittens by Aoifa Anctil for my girl’s in leftover Knitpicks I had in my stash. Share the Love (12:50) Natalie talks about https://www.10000newknitters.com/ and how she taught three people at Stash a Place for Yarn. Comfort zone (15:49) Natalie talks about dating your spouse. Natalie mentions #weekendcraftgoals. Come join us and post what your goals are. Thank you for joining us for series 3 episode 7 of Mastering the Knits. You can find show notes at masteringtheknitspodcast.com or on our Ravelry group Mastering the Knits Podcast. You can email us at masteringtheknits@gmail.com. Follow me on twitter at @MtKnitsPodcast and Instagram as @masteringtheknits
Mastering the Knits S3E6: Knit all the things Welcome to the Mastering the Knits podcast! Natalie starts off this episode with some announcements and extras! She mentions Shaklee Hydrate. Giveaway (1:59) Winner announced for Zip-Top Bag from RainStorm Studios! November giveaway is a pattern of your choice from Paper Daisy Creations and listen to the episode to learn how to enter. Natalie shares the Frosted Cardigan design. Master Status (6:03) Natalie talks about where she is at and how she is stalled on her TKGA Master Knitter Level 1. She mentions Arenda Holladay Youtube videos. In my hands (7:51) Natalie talks about knitting and spinning on the following: Coziest Memory blanket by Kemper Wray. Rainstorm Studio Spring Up basket. Spinning Treadle Hanspun Yarns tiddlybits using Pilar, Majacraft Pioneer spinning wheel. Grandma's Argyle Sock Christmas Stocking by Dorene Delaney Giordano using Knitpicks Wool of the Andes Sport in Red and White. Chiaogoo fixed circulars. Wonder Woman Wrap (knit) by Carissa Browning using Holly & Ivy Dyeworks Ivy Twist. Winterfell Cardigan by Katrin Schneider using Juniper Moon Farm Patagonia Organic Merino in Indigo colorway bought at Bliss Yarns. Masterpieces (18:11) Natalie talks about finishing a project and more! Holiday Sweater Ornament by Amy Munson using Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Sport. Share the Love (20:12) Natalie talks about https://www.10000newknitters.com/ and how she is going to teach for this at Stash a Place for Yarn. Raise my hand (21:35) Natalie answers the question: How many projects do you work on at the same time? Comfort zone (25:36) Natalie talks about her Christmas tree and babbles on about her love of Christmas. Also mentions a Three kings day tradition. Thank you for joining us for series 3 episode 6 of Mastering the Knits. You can find show notes at masteringtheknitspodcast.com or on our Ravelry group Mastering the Knits Podcast. You can email us at masteringtheknits@gmail.com. Follow me on twitter at @MtKnitsPodcast and Instagram as @masteringtheknits
Welcome to the Mastering the Knits podcast! Natalie starts off this episode with some announcements and extras! Giveaway (1:06) Zip-Top Bag from RainStorm Studios listen to the episode to learn how to enter. Master Status (2:33) Natalie talks about where she is at and how she is stalled on Level 1 but is inspired by being back to podcasting. In our hands(3:55) Autumnal Cardigan by Hannah Fettig using mods from sarie26 using MissBabs Katahdin in Amethyst. recipe of the month :: align mitts by Courtney Spainhower using Rock and String Creations in her fairies garden colorway. Made matching leg warmers. Coziest Memory blanket by Kemper Wray and explained how she’s picking yarns. Spinning Treadle Hanspun Yarns tiddlybits using Pilar, Majacraft Pioneer spinning wheel. Masterpieces (10:35) Barnraising Quilt by Shelley Mackie & Larissa Brown using lots of sock scraps and border using Cascade Heritage Silk in black. On the Road (12:26) Natalie talks about her trip to Into the Wool Fiber Retreat Sept 20-23, 2018 in Crossville, TN hosted by Dana of Unwind Yarn company and Tiffany from TheProjectBag and talks about Beth aka LikesPudding. She talks about finding inspiration from many attendees such as Mary Kinoknits podcast/designer, Lisa of Paper Daisy Creations and Stephanie from Tellybean Knits. Raise my hand (15:54) Natalie talks about where have I been and why am I back. She mentions Shaklee. Talks about Rachel Hollis, her book Girl, Wash Your Face and #last90days. Comfort zone (25:56) Natalie talks about her morning routine. Thank you for joining us for series 3 episode 1 of Mastering the Knits. You can find show notes at masteringtheknitspodcast.com or on our Ravelry group Mastering the Knits Podcast. You can email us at masteringtheknits@gmail.com. Follow me on twitter at @MtKnitsPodcast and Instagram as @masteringtheknits
This episode features an interview with Lisa Ross of Paper Daisy Creations as we chat about our new collaboration, the Point/Counterpoint, Volume 4, collection, now available through Ravelry! Visit kinoknits.com/054/ to see full show notes and photographs. Recorded Tuesday, August 28, 2018.
Episode 32 WindsweptMonique on Ravelry and Instagram, windsweptmonique@gmail.com. Show Notes at knittingontherun.podbean.com Stash, Wips, Knitting Fail, Out and About Before we start – planning on getting back to having knitting and running topics, now that the holidays are over and we’re starting to get healthy again (knock on wood). What do you want to hear about? I have a few topics lined up but I’d love to hear from you. Come to the Ravelry group and let me know or send me an email at windsweptmonique@gmail.com Stash Got 4 new skeins of CoBaSi by HiKoo – sock weight yarn without wool - 55% Cotton/ 16% Bamboo/ 8% Silk/ 21% Elastic – planning on using the Blarney colorway to knit JavaPurl’s Peppermint Mocha socks, and the blue-gray multi colored Wave Caps colorway to knit the Vanilla Is The New Black socks by Anneh Fletcher Also got my first shipment from HipString’s Cotton club. Got 2 coordinated 2-oz braids of sunset colors, with oranges and blues – one with lighter tones and one with darker tones. Normally I’m not a fan of orange but I have to say these two colorways are beautiful. Wips Vanilla sock in Berroco Comfort Sock in Bali colorway. Still chugging along at this 2+ year old WIP, it’s my car knitting – planning on putting the heel scrap yarn for an after thought heel in today Star Wars sweater for Thing 1 – finished the main body, on the bottom colorwork. Using Nordic Yoke Pullover, a free pattern from Patons, as the base and altering the charts to have Star Wars characters/spaceships/icons. Frosted by Paper Daisy Creations - finished the first sleeve, started second sleeve. Hoping to finish the second sleeve this week and this will be my Ravellenics entry. Knitting up in some old stash, Longmeadow (discontinued) from Valley Yarns in white, and the blues are 2 old skeins of Debbie Bliss Amalfi (discontinuted), 1 color of Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy and 1 color of Nettle Grove from Plymouth Yarns. Emerald Deep shawl – took this to Karate Movie Night at my son’s Dojo and finished Chart 3 and started Chart 4. I’ll definitely have this done for the auction in March. this shawl is a charity knit for AGC Scholarships, a group that raises money for families dealing with infertility or who are trying to adopt. Worked in Ito Yarn’s Kinu, 100% silk. Kinu has a colorway, Aqua, which is almost the exact color of AGC’s logo so it was too perfect not to use. The shawl will be auctioned off at AGC’s annual gala to raise money. If you or someone you love would like to learn more about AGC, visit agcscholarships.org Knitting Fail As mentioned a few months ago, I was planning on fading a Lush by Tin Can Knits using color-coordinated yarns I picked up at Rhinebeck in gold, gold with pink specks and pink with gold undertones. I washed the pink and gold/pink yarns to wash out extra dye – and unfortunately, it looks like the pink speckled yarn wasn’t set properly. It wasn’t just the extra dye that came out, a lot of the pink washed out of the yarn – so much so that almost looks like the gold. :( Definitely not going to fade it with the pink now, it would be a huge change in colors and not a fade at all, more like stripes. Maye I’ll “fade” the gold into the gold/pink and treat them as hand-dyed yarns and just alternate skeins. I’ll let you know what I decide to do. Very sad. 2nd knitting fail – started knitting handspun for the Ravellenics, but I have the wrong needles. Whereas the 2.5 and 2s I swatched with were too big, the 0s are too small and using magic loop is just not working. So I’m putting this homespun earband on hold until I get 16 inch US size 1s 3rd knitting fail – I’m on a roll, eh? Got to the heel of my ancient Vanilla Socks and realized I hadn’t increased for the wide par of the foot before reaching the heel. Boo! Lots of frogging there. They won’t be ready for Knit Aid’s deadline. http://www.knitaid.org/ Out and About I did not make it to Boston Fiber event – had some previous commitments that ran over. Heard from some friends that they had a great time and saw pictures if beautiful, squishy yarn. Will be away next week visiting both my parents and my in-laws, so no episode next week. But expect some Instagram posts involving pools or palm trees as we’re headed to Florida! On The Run I’m back :) I've been cross-training and strength training and even hopped in the local YMCA pool for a few laps and discovered just how out of shape I am!
Episode 31 KAL, Wips, Out and About, Knitting Fail, Spinning On the Run KAL – Thank you very much to those of you who participated! Our group may be small, but as Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” Knitting Travels – a copy of the Reflections of the Sun hat designed and donated by Leah Bothe Java Jennie - Any 1 single pattern of your choice from the JavaPurl Designs Ravelry storedonated by CC Almon DMBrown – Gradient kit of your choice from Birdie’s Knits LeahBothe – Any 1 single pattern of your choice from the Knit/Wit Designs Ravelry Store donated by Sarah Jordan Should we do this again? What time of year? Wips Frosted by Paper Daisy Creations, finished the colorwork yoke on the way to/from Vogue (you get a lot done with 4 hours each way on a train), body nearly done – on the bottom ribbing. Star Wars sweater for Thing 1 - Using Nordic Yoke Pullover, a free pattern from Patons, as the base and altering the charts to have Star Wars characters/spaceships/icons. I separated for the sleeves and am working on the stockinette body Vanilla sock in Berroco Comfort Sock in Bali colorway. Still chugging along at this 2+ year old WIP, it’s my car knitting. Dahlia pattern by Brenda York from Berroco – working on this in Juniper Moon Farm’s Neve in a variety of colorways. Turquoise main body, with a mint green for the flower vines and yellow and burgundy Emerald Deep shawl – this shawl is a charity knit for AGC Scholarships, a group that raises money for families dealing with infertility or who are trying to adopt. Worked in Ito Yarn’s Kinu, 100% silk. Kinu has a colorway, Aqua, which is almost the exact color of AGC’s logo so it was too perfect not to use. The shawl will be auctioned off at AGC’s annual gala to raise money. If you or someone you love would like to learn more about AGC, visit agcscholarships.org Use Your Stash Shawl Oh my gooness you guys! Can’t thank you enough for your reaction to the Use Your Stash Shawl! Hot RIght Now on Ravelry??!!? Wow, thank you so much. Out and About – Vogue Knitting Live! NYC! I had a blast at Vogue. It’s very different than other knitting events I’ve been to, and it was soooooo much fun. I basically went for the day. I took the late train down Thursday after my husband got out of work and got to NYC around 11pm and checked into my hotel. I should have stayed onsite, I forgot just how bad the hotel I stayed at was. Remember in NYC, you get what you paid for. My room was literally 85 degrees. But it was clean, the shower worked, and the door locked. I woke up early to the sounds of NYC, had breakfast at the hotel, checked out and dropped my rollerboard at the back drop at my hotel and walked up to the Marriot Marquis. Since I signed up early, registration took about 2 minutes and I was off to class. I took the designer intensive with Josh Bennett. He’s designed sweaters for Tommy Hilfiger, Bergdorf and is currently designing hand-knit sweaters for Marvel – they were gorgeous, by the way. I’ll admit the class wasn’t what I expected but ironically it was exactly what I needed. We spent the day designing a line of patterns and presenting them. Having hours to just brainstorm, then talking with Josh one-on-one for a few minutes about my patterns was completely worth it. Then off to the market for 90 minutes before running to catch the late train home. Now that I’ve been there once, I know how I would change my plans in the future - next time I will be staying on site and spending 2 nights (or more) so I can get at least a moderate amount of sleep. Knitting Fail Not a fail in the traditional sense, but definitely a minor fail for the Emerald Deep shawl for AGC Scholarships. I thought the gala was in May and I was planning on designing a shawl and giving profits to AGC – until on Martin Luther King Jr Day I learned that the gala was in March. DOh! So, I chose the Emerald Deep by Romi Hill since I’ve worked it before and I know it would work well in the chosen yarn. Spinning I finished the second single I mentioned last episode and plied them together – I needed to find a better way to ply. Since I only had one spindle, I used a ball winder to wind each cop off the spindle into a center-pull ball and and plied them using the center pulls. I ended up with 135 yards of a two ply of the brown and white spun together. And since the white cotton was much better spun as a single, I got nearly 37 yards of a two-ply yarn out of the leftovers! And since then, I got a 2nd spindle, spun naturally greem cotton and some dyed gray cotton and plied them together using a drop spindle. Drop spindling is a completely different beast! The green is fun because if you add Washing Soda when you scour it, it changes color! We made a fund chemistry experiment with it for Thing 1. Before: After: Before: After: On the Run – Not much new running, I’m on the 3rd week of my slow-and-steady training plan. Legs are holding up well, though I’m getting knots in my calves for some reason. My knee is also holding up, and Thing 2 and I have come to a truce – I carry him down the outside stairs and he walks up them. He’s learning numbers and I’ve made it into a counting game which he loves.
Episode 30 - 1/11/18 Windswept Designs on Facebook, WindsweptMonique on Instagram and Ravelry, come join Ravelry group KAL, Pattern Release, Wips, Pattern Acquisition, Spinning, Out and About, On the Run KAL – get your FOs posted ASAP! I’m going to lock the thread tonight on my way to Vogue Knitting Live Pattern Release – First off, a HUGE thank you to all of you for making 2017 an amazing year, knitwise. I started this pordcast, attended multiple festivals and conventions, including FINALLY getting in to SSK, and I even learned to spin! I’ve met such wonderful people both in person and online. The fiber community is AMAZING. So I’ve put this pattern for sale and if you use the coupon code THANKYOU you’ll get it free through January 16th. This is my thank you to you, the Use Your Stash Shawl Wips Frosted by Paper Daisy Creations, on snowflake 5 of 5 on the stranded colorwork yoke. Was planning on using 3 colors but after doing flakes 1 & 2 in color 1, then flake 2 in color 2 I decided that really they should all have been different colors. But I was not going to rip it out again, so I dug a skein out of stash, Plymouth Yarn’s Nettle Grove in colorway 42, a denim-ish color that matches the rest of the blues I’m using fairly well. Star Wars sweater for Thing 1 - Using Nordic Yoke Pullover, a free pattern from Patons, as the base and altering the charts to have Star Wars characters/spaceships/icons. I’m about 25% through the yoke collar, currently working on R2D2’s head. Body of sweater will be red as that’s his favorite color Vanilla sock in Berroco Comfort Sock in Bali colorway. Still chugging along at this 2+ year old WIP, it’s my car knitting. Pattern Acquisition Derwentwater by Tess Young, won it during the Indie Gift-a-long KAL, forgot to mention it last week! Spinning New segment - I finally figured out this spinning thing! Working on my 2nd single in undyed cotton Out and About Off to Vogue Knitting in NYC tonight! If you’re there stop me and say hello. Just to warn you I’ve had a lot of sleepless nights recently with the kids and my husband being sick, so if I seem a little dazed or perhaps a little overly caffeinated, that’s why. But please come say hello anyways. I am really looking forward to the 2 classes I am attending on Friday. On the Run I’m on my 2nd week of my half marathon training plan, and unfortunately I am dealing with some unexpected knee pain.
Episode 29 – Happy New Year! Wips, Knitting Fail, Pattern Acquisition, On The Run FO Mahalo Socks by Dana Gervais – on the 2nd sock in CoBaSi by Hikoo and progressing nicely Hibernatum hat by Talitha Kuomi – full disclosure, I know Talitha, we’re part of the same knitting group at our recently closed LYS and she is an amazing human being and also a very talented designer. I’ve never knit one of her patterns before, so when I stumbled upon her Hibernatum hat designed for Alpaca yarn while trying to find a hat to knit with my Criativ DK, an alpaca blend, it was too perfect not to choose! Oh, and it’s a free pattern put out by Classic Elite so go knit this yourself. It would totally work with other fibers too. I cast this hat on Christmas Eve and it’s rather potato chippy because it’s a knit row followed by a simple pattern row and I kept wanting to knit just one more row. Wips Frosted Sweater by Paper Daisy Creations, my Christmas cast on – a snowflake-patterned colorwork yoke sweater. She used a gradient mini kit so the snowflakes go from light to dark using 5 colors of a warm blue with a green tint to it on a white background. I found 2 skeins of Debbie Bliss Amalfi in Pale Blue and Denim and also a skein of Hempathy by Elsebeth Lavold in a color just between those two shades so I’m only using 3 colors and I’m hoping I might have enough to make the matching hat. Plain Vanilla sock in Berroco Comfort Sock in the Bali colorway. I started this pair of socks 2 years ago and got Second Sock Syndrome. It’s now my purse knitting so I’m hoping to finish them this winter. I’m on the second foot, going toe-up with an afterthought heel. Lush by Tin Cast Knits, my New Years Day cast on Knitting Fail Frosted Sweater – take 2. I did run into one issue with this sweater. The Medium would probably fit well if I got gauge, but I have 24 sts per 4 inches instead of 25 which gives me an extra 1.8 inches around the bust in size Medium… that’s just too much. Plus, after trying it on the collar is too wide for a New England winter. So I did the math and I’m going to knit the small but add one pattern repeat of the snowflakes which will give me an extra 12 sts around the bust which, if my gauge holds true, should give me a perfect fit, not too tight, not too loose. Had to tink back 4 rows on my second Mahalo sock – note to self, don’t start gusset increases while making dinner when boys are cranky. While the gusset increases themselves came out fine, I totally screwed up the lace pattern, by 2 rows, then dropped a stitch and had to tink back to more to fix the now-wobbly looking increases. Pattern acquisition Berroco had a pattern sale this past week – one free pattern per person and I picked up the Dahlia shawl by Brenda York, a worsted weight colorwork shawl, experienced level, by a new-to-me designer (never bought a Berroco pattern before, though I love some of their yarns). It’s gorgeous and there are no projects on Ravelry! Looking forward to making mine the first. Vanilla is the New Black by Anneh Fletcher – I’m finding purl bumps uncomfortable and I heard this pattern is reversible, so I want to give it a try! On The Run Still No running for a while – it hurts my back, but walking does not, soooo…. I’m going to train to walk a half marathon in September! I’ve set up a very gradual training plan to slowly work up to 13.1 miles over 9 months and I’m going to take you on that journey with me. I’ve found a half marathon in Salem, MA with both runner and walker divisions, so it’ll be perfect whether or not I get to start running between now and then.