Podcasts about purlescence yarns

Thanks for joining us for Episode28 of Twisted Stitches, a knitting and spinning podcast for the twisted knitter! WIP ITModerne Baby Blanket by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne in Madelinetosh Tosh DK (Golden Hickory, Citrus, Lettuce Leaf, Candlewick)Windswept by A Homespun House in Drops Baby Alpaca Silk (Medium Grey)Vanilla Socks in Desert Vista Dyeworks Viso (Franken Zombody)German twisted cast onClairemore Cowlette by Corrina Ferguson in MJ Yarns Silken DK Weight in Glowing Eel (US 6) Field Rib Hat by Scott Sholz in Cascade 220 Superwash (859)FO ShowPrisoner of Azkaban Scarf by Lauren Kent in Cascade 220 (8884 Burgundy) and Patons Classic Wool Worsted (Old Gold)Thuy’s Prisoner of Azkaban ScarfVanilla Socks in Regia Design Line by Arne & Carlos (3653 Star Night)Thuy’s Star Night Socks Itty Bitty Bear Cubs by Carolyn Ingram in Sweetgeorgia Speed Demon (Fondant)Thuy’s Itty Bitty Bear Cubsdeer with little antlers hat by tiny owl knitsTiny Sheep! by Anna Hrachovec in Knit Picks PaletteThuy’s Tiny SheepQueuedhopsalots by tiny owl knits Simple Garter Stitch Slippers by handepandeShore Cardigan by Carrie Bostick-HogeTangerine Tights by Mel ClarkTiny Snowmen by Anna HrachovecRetail TherapyAwesome swap package from kristasknits! Knitted Wit Victory DK in Unicorn Farts Black Trillium Fibers Lilt Sock in Anenome Fiber Fetish Designs in 1 Night Stand An Afternoon To Remember Fine Tea and Gifts stitcher markers from Seattle Sky Dyeworks stitch markers from Churchmouse Yarns Rhichard Devrieze from Raging WoolCustom Socks by Kate AtherleyEventsIndie Design Gift-AlongThe Indie Design Gift-A-Long is a 6 week long KAL/CAL of holiday gifts made from patterns designed by a rather extensive list of independent designers. From Thursday, November 19th at 8:00 pm US EST - Friday, November 27, 2015 at 11:59 pm US EST tons of indie designers will be discounting between 5 - 20 of their patterns 25% for this event. Use coupon code: giftalong2015. Pajama Jammy Jam at Purlescence Yarns in Sunnyvale, CA1 Year Podoversary!Future event (Jan 2016) - Rainbow and Unicorns KAL! - stay tuned for more info #rainbowsandunicornskalGiveawayWe are giving away one sock wedge bag from Sew For Ewe in the Walk in the Woods fabric. Please go to our Ravelry group, find the thread for the giveaway, and follow the prompt in the thread. Must be a member of the group and only one entry per person. ReadingThe Wrath and the Dawn by Renee AhdiehDumplin' by Julie MurphyThe Friend Zone by Kristen CallihanWinter by Marissa MeyerWatchingRosemary’s BabyThe Search for General TsoSpectreGreat British Baking Show   Happy Thanksgiving!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Today’s episode is sponsored by Dizzy Blonde Studios. For 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 (1:28) Check out Episode 8.5 for Throwdown information. Knit Knit Cafe has joined the fray! If you donate a hat for Team Knotty in October, you’ll receive the Full Tilt Hat pattern. Post in the thread to get your pattern. Also, join the Podcaster Throwdown Ravelry Group. CozyCouch is awesome and has knitted 11 hats! In addition to the lovely prizes from last week, JoniLvsNeddy has donated some really cute project bags for prizes. 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 Catching Up (4:52) Jen sang at two charity gigs and she enjoyed it. She's started a new book about the Rocky Flats nuclear plant called Full Body Burden. She and Ron have been watching cheesy horror films, because it's October, including Carnival of Souls. She took a drop spindling class at CogKnitive, and she loved it. Laura has returned from New Mexico, visiting her stepdaughter. She saw her stepdaughter in The Mystery of Edwin Drood. She also started watching Doctor Who and Downton Abbey. The registration for the Sunnydale Yarn club are closed and the names have been drawn. Her dad is doing much better; thanks to all of you for your concern. And her remodel is almost done! Melissa had to explain to her coworkers what a fiber retreat was. Also, they think yarn crawls involve a lot more booze than they do. Jen references this experiment. In the Knitting Bag (12:22) Jen has been working on her Bed Socks in Lemon Pattern with Fancy Knit Stripe from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush for Ron and the Socktober KAL/CAL out of Koigu in a very multi-colored colorway. Jen mentions Foxy Knits. She's also working on her 30 Day Sweater out of Dizzy Blonde Superwash DK in the color Anna. She spent a lot of time working on cable charting. She also worked on her Rocky Coast Cardigan out of Fibre Company Organik in Highlands. Laura has been working on her second pair of Tree of Life Fingerless Gloves by Jenny Williams out of Knitpicks Wool of the Andes in the Thistle Colorway. She’s also still working on her Udones (Roman socks0 in Knitpicks Palette in the color Clover. We talk a bit about Naalbinding and the History Channel show Vikings. Laura has also been working on her Sassitis (Clapotis) and her Gridiron Scarf (Lattice Wingspan), which are both very close to done. Melissa knit a huge Mountain Ash Shawl and it killed her will to knit shawls, so she is working on Leah's Lovely Cardigan (her first sweater) from More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts out of Malabrigo Sock in Archangel. She is also working on a lot of hats for Hatoween (with some help from Jen). Finished Objects Big Damn Heroes Two Butterfly Hats Laura finished one pair of Tree of Life Mittens in the Forest Heather color of Knitpicks Wool of the Andes, two Olivia's Butterfly Hats for Halos of Hope out of Knitpicks Brava, and she finished her Mother Bears (faces and all). But really, Barbara from 2 Knit Lit Chicks did the faces. Melissa has finished several Hatoween hats. On Deck: Laura is going to be test knitting a hat pattern for Steamlolita. She will be reworking a sock pattern to be rewritten for Lambie Toes Yarn for Socktober. We mention Four Weddings. Jen will be jumping into crochet, making a Basic Stitches Crochet Hat for the Throwdown. Also other throwdown hats. She will be making a little sweater for her nephew's first birthday out of Delicious Yarn from Stitch Cafe. Melissa will be making Throwdown hats with her leftover Hatoween yarn. She will also be making a very colorful striped cardigan. Knit Culture (30:10) We answer a question from MillieHanS. Any tricks, tips for knitting with two yarns - not necessarily together. Say one is a wool that can be blocked as for a lace edge but the ‘body’ of a rectangular shawl isn’t as stretchy. I can’t figure out a good way to determine repeats so they are the same width even tho I swatch. Swatch. A lot. Wash and block the swatches. Swatch them together. Or find two yarns that are more similar if you can, because that might be more easy. Also consider if you're picking up stitches, changing yarns, knitting on a border--they will all change how it behaves. A lifeline might be your best friend. Also don't be afraid to re-do things. Jen and Melissa bought some great yarn at CogKnitive retreat including Forbidden Woolery, Knitted Wit yarn, bags from RKs Mom and Slipped Stitch Studios. Melissa bought a lot of Dizzy Blonde Yarn. And a lot of her yarn was pink. Jen and Melissa both bought some Indigo Dragonfly yarn and they love her color names. There were some great metal shawl pins. Jen got some great Bee Mice Elf fiber for spinning and wants to get some Red Fish Dye Works fiber when she's a better spinner. Jamie of the Awesome Metalwork Pins in the Cogknitive Marketplace. We also mention Dye for Yarns and Ladybug Fiber. Geek Culture (46:26) We geek out over Doctor Who and Torchwood. Upcoming Events: (52:49) 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. New milestone drawing at 500 members, so join our Ravelry group!

Today's episode is sponsored by Dizzy Color. Dizzy Blonde Studios and Mad Color Fiber Arts have come together to bring you Dizzy Color's Sunnydale, a wickedly clever yarn club inspired by Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer. For more information, visit http://www.dizzycolor.wordpress.com. Podcaster Throwdown Update: (0:55) Check out Episode 8.5 if you're confused about what the Throwdown is. Two new podcasts have joined: Ready, Set, Knit and Yarn on Tap. Thank you to Hollywood Knitter and the El Segundo Slipt Stitchers for backing Team Knotty. If you donate a hat for Team Knotty in October, you'll receive the Full Tilt Hat pattern. Post in the thread to get your pattern. Also, join the Podcaster Throwdown Ravelry Group. We have prizes. Thank you to Bijou Basin Ranch, Imperial Yarn, Knitter's Pride, Fairmount Fibers, and Green Mountain Spinnery for providing amazing prizes of yarn, patterns, and/or needles (and also to Stefanie of Wool Wide Web for coordinating that effort). Also thank you to Dizzy Blonde Studios and Cards By Erica for providing gift certificates as prizes. Please contact us if you want to donate more prizes, because everything helps. 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 Catching Up: (5:47) Laura has been getting ready for a trip to New Mexico (packing knitting is hard!). She's also been dying a lot for the Mean Girls Yarn Club first installment and some vending events. She's also preparing for her new yarn club. We're both working on getting some Throwdown events together. Jen has been playing lots of guitar for her gig. She's also become obsessed with Downton Abbey. She's also preparing to teach in a few weeks. She owes a lot to the Knitmore Girls tutorial on grosgrain ribbon, but she has other tips to add to the technique. We also mention Avatar: The Last Airbender and Sherlock In the Knitting Bag: (10:34) Laura has started a lot of things. She's knitting a hat for her sister out of Nashua Wooly Stripes in WS04 pastels. She's continuing to work on her Tree of Life Fingerless Gloves by Jenny Williams out of Knitpicks Wool of the Andes. She's also still working on her Udones in Knitpicks Palette. Afterthought heels are easy! Jen has been working on her Rocky Coast Cardigan out of Fibre Company Organik, but she ran out of knitting (so always carry an extra ball of yarn). She's working on a shawl of her own design for the Knit Dizzney yarn. She's working on another Gerri Hat in the Naturally Caron Spa and another hat for students of one of her knitsibs' sons out of Plymouth Encore Worsted. She's also been knitting on her super secret Christmas project. Finished Objects: (18:28) Claudia Cap. Booyah! Laura's only finished one thing, her Claudia Hat in Berroco Vintage. Jen has a bunch of hats that need ends buried. She doesn't think they're done, but they're done by Laura's standards. Devil's Tower: (20:51) Laura is putting her Clapotis and her Lattice Wingspan into Devil's Tower so they can be WIPs for Nerd Wars. Her Mother Bears are awaiting hair and faces. Cheating WIP? Jen is officially declaring her Sunshine Socks and her Watership Down shawl in Devil's Tower. We talk about various methods of beading, including using Tigertail (like the Stitched Together Podcast), using Superfloss, pre-stringing, and tiny crochet hooks. Frog Pond: (24:58) Laura had to reknit one Tree of Life mitt because it was too big. Jen may not have bought enough yarn for her secret Christmas project. How hard is it to match dye lots on black Cascade 220? We'll find out in the coming weeks. On Deck: (28:12) Laura is knitting a second pair of Tree of Life mitts, a Minion in Overalls hat, Assquack Hats, Olivia's Buttefly hats out of Knitpicks Brava, a vanilla hat for her brother. She will be working on converting a never-published sock design to be done in Lambie Toes yarn for Socktober. Jen will be making more hats, some socks for Ron out of Koigu for Socktober, maybe a crochet hat, and she will be doing the 30 Day Sweater challenge out of Dizzy Blonde Superwash DK in Anna. We mention Foxy Knits and the Fiber Hooligans Podcast. Knit Culture: (33:41) We issue a correction to our review of Wrapped in Color: Stranded Knitting in the 21st Century by Deborah Tomasello. We apologize for missing that the baby wrap is lined on the back. We interview Caroline and Amy of Yarnosphere. We review Needles and Artifice by The Ladies of Mischief. The book is gorgeous, we love the patterns, and we highly recommend it. Some patterns are more costumey, but there are a lot that would work for everyday fashion. Geek Culture: (1:00:42) There is a new Serenity graphic novel, which takes up where the movie left off! We also recommend listening to Bohemian Gravity. Upcoming Events: (1:01:46) Dizzy Blonde Yarns will also be for sale at the Yarnosphere Fiber Festival, in the Toluca Knit Jewelry and Fine Yarns Booth. This is a new festival, taking place October 12 and 13th. We will not be there, because we are at Cogknitive, but go support so we can keep a cool yarn festival here. We will both be at the CogKNITive Fiber Retreat in Tehachapi from the evening of October 11th to the morning of October 13. Dizzy Blonde will be a vendor and Jen will just be hanging out and taking classes. The retreat is full, but contact Dr. Gemma to be on the waiting list. We will be collecting hats for Halos of Hope! We will be at the Southern California Handweaver’s Guild Annual Weaving and Fiber Festival (WEFF) at the Torrance Convention Center. Parking is free, entry is seven dollars. Laura will be vending. You can drop off Halos Hats at her booth. We will be 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. Our next milestone drawing is at 500 members in the Ravelry Group, so join!

This week's episode has been sponsored by:The Knitmore color has arrived! We are delighted to introduce an exclusive yarn celebrating our friends Jasmin and Gigi, the Knitmore Girls. This great color also supports a great cause. For every skein ordered, Abstract Fiber will donate $2 to the American Heart Association. Knitmore yarn is available exclusively at AbstractFiber.com.Purlescence Yarns wishes the Knitmore Girls a very happy 100th episode! To celebrate, we're offering Knitmore Girls listeners 10% off mail order purchases of $50 or more through May 15. Certain exclusions apply. Call or email info@purlescenceyarns.com for details. Also, check out Hildy, Sandi's latest design. Knit in a fingering weight sock yarn at 5.5 stitches per inch, it has beautiful drape. A perfect addition to your wardrobe. Through the month of May, proceeds from the purchase of Hildy will go to the American Red Cross for aid to the victims of Tennessee's floods. Download your copy on Ravelry today!

This week's episode has been sponsored by:Have you ever spun Blue Faced Leicester blended with silk? Soft, sparkly, airy, very easy to spin. Abstract Fiber has a blend of 75% BFL and 25% tussah silk that spins like a dream. Our eye-catching colors just glow with some silk in the mix. Available in nearly all our brilliant Abstract Fiber colorways. Check it online or at our next show. Free shipping for orders over $100 at AbstractFiber.comLuscious Lo-Lo bars have landed at Purlescence Yarns. What is a Lo-Lo Bar, you ask? Bar-Maids brings us these wonderful lotion bars, super moisturizing & great for popping into your knitting bag to keep your hands soft and smooth, especially great when knitting or spinning silk. You can even use it to scrunch in your hair for frizz-free shine. They come in wonderful scents like Red Clover Tea (our favorite), Blackberry Sage, Cool Citrus Basil, to name but a few. Plain Jane is scent free. Grab your Lo-Lo To Go!STITCHES South offers something for everyone. This 4-day event brings thousands together in Atlanta, GA for workshops, demonstrations, author signings, and door prizes. It showcases beautiful yarn, books, gadgets, patterns, & buttons in a market full of retailers from across the country. If it has to do with knitting, you will find it here. STITCHES South is open to the general public April 23rd-25th. For more information please join us online at http://KnittingUniverse.com/Events/ or call 1-800-237-7099.On the needles: (00:32)Jasmin has finished the collar on her Mondo Cable Cardi. Gigi has finished a pair of Opal Vanilla Socks. Gigi has started the second sleeve of her Mondo Cable pulli. Jasmin has a (super) old UFO! Gigi is working on the Frost Flowers Stole by Charlene Schurch out of Colrain Lace. We attended CNCH, and discuss the vendors, the exhibitions, and Tien Chiu's incredible wedding outfit. Events: (20:51) - Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival: 5/1-2. Meet and greet will be happening on Saturday, 5/1 from 11-1pm. The meet and greet will be located at the Columbia Sip N Knit hospitality area (to the left of the main gate, outside the main gate). - Spinning at the Retzlaff Winery: 6/5 Contest: (23:54) The Project Runway inspired contest! Use your imagination, and post to the contest thread. We'll be closing the contest on 5/8, and announcing the winners in the 5/9 episode. Mother knows best: (26:05) We talk about keeping track of projects when your knittin' is intermittant. When knitting attacks: (33:26) Gigi is foiled by both knitting and spinning. Jasmin drops her carefully marked pattern (for the Brandywine Shawl) behind the sideboard and has to use her Hulk strength (and a broom) to retrieve it. Gigi is repeatedly attacked by her Frost Flowers stole. Straw into Gold: (38:56) Jasmin talked about plying the Polwarth from Crown Mountain Farms. She has started spinning some of the Abstract Fiber Superwash Merino in "Vineyard" for Andrew, and is surprised at how the colors present. Jasmin is nearly finished spinning the Cormo for her Tempest cardigan.

This week's episode has been sponsored by: CNCH is coming to Santa Clara April 9-11 and Abstract Fiber will be there. Not a weaver? CNCH has something for all fiber enthusiasts! We'll have yarns for knitting and weaving, plus lots of fiber. We'll have some new fibers too, including Polwarth!!! You can also shop online anytime by clicking above. Spring is just around the corner and we here at Purlescence Yarns have turned our thoughts to lighter weight yarns. We just got a new shipment of the Chic Knits Sandrine pattern by Bonne Marie Burns. Knit in spring-friendly DK weight yarns, it's a quick and easy knit, just perfect for your transitional wardrobe. Cascade Yarns Cash Vero DK is a beautiful choice with a broad palette of delectable colors, 20% through March 22. Don't forget to mention the Knitmore Girls for a free logo ChicoBag with your mail order or in store purchase of $50 or more! STITCHES South offers something for everyone. This 4-day event brings thousands together in Atlanta, GA for workshops, demonstrations, author signings, and door prizes. It showcases beautiful yarn, books, gadgets, patterns, & buttons in a market full of retailers from across the country. If it has to do with knitting, you will find it here. STITCHES South is open to the general public April 24th-26th. For more information please join us online at http://KnittingUniverse.com/Events/ or call 1-800-237-7099. On the needles: (00:34) Gigi is working on her Classic Slant Cardigan (by Deborah Newton), which is the color of red velvet cake. Jasmin is plugging along on her Mondo Cable Cardi. We also mention the Kindle, and the Kindle stand. We discuss the merits of a yarn marker vs a "clippy" stitch marker. Gigi is working on her Color Your Own sweater, and we discuss dart placement at length. We have an app in the iTunes store! Contest! (16;58) February Finish-a-long contest will end April 3rd, and the winners will be announced in Episode 95. Events: (17:38) We will be attending the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival! Mother Knows Best: (18:23) We discuss bartering skills. When Knitting Attacks: (21:23) Gigi has some missteps this week. Her Mondo Cable Pulli hits a snag. Gigi find the issue with her Ellina shawl. Straw into gold: (29:14) Jasmin discusses spinning Shetland, specifically the Shetland Top from Crown Mountain Farms"Fiber of the Month" club. Jasmin refers to "In Sheep's Clothing" and "The Knitter's Book of Wool".

This week's episode has been sponsored by: Stitches west was a big success thanks to all the Knitmore Girls fans who came to visit. We'd love it if you would share photos of your projects in our Ravelry group, Aaabsolutely Abstract Fiber. We will be back in California in April for CNCH. Meanwhile we have just received a big supply of Picasso, our baby alpaca DK weight yarn. Super soft and a little fuzzy, Picasso takes dye beautifully. Check it out online at AbstractFiber.com where skeins have no knots and shipping is free for orders over $100 in the US. From now until midnight March 5, 2010, use the code "MCcardi" or "MCpulli" in the Chic Knits shopping cart when purchasing your Mondo Cable Cardi or Pulli pattern to get a 20% discount on your purchase! Rock the needles with the Mondo Cable KAL! Thank you, Knitmore Girls listeners for rocking Stitches West with us in the Purlescence Yarns booth. To thank you, we're offering a special just for you. Call us with your mail order or come into the shop between Thursday, March 4 and Monday, March 15 and receive a Purlescence Yarns ChicoBag with your purchase of $50 or more, while supplies last. Be sure to mention the Knitmore Girls! Show notes will be posted 3/3.

This episode has been sponsored by: Abstract Fiber will be at Stitches West in booth 642! We've got Hedonism in a very limited supply of gorgeous jewel tones. Plus new colors in every fiber, our new lace yarn Hepburn, and chocolate candy for when you need a little pick-me-up. There's seating nearby, so come hang out with us and see what goodies we've brought you. See you at Booth 642! From now until midnight March 5, 2010, use the code "MCcardi" or "MCpulli" in the Chic Knits shopping cart when purchasing your Mondo Cable Cardi or Pulli pattern to get a 20% discount on your purchase! Rock the needles with the Mondo Cable KAL! Stitches West is less than a week away! We at Purlescence Yarns are making our final preparations for a wonderful Stitches weekend. Be sure to come by our booth for the Meet & Greet with the Knitmore Girls on Saturday and check out the Chic Knits patterns, new designs for the show, loads of beautiful Cascade Yarns - including the Venezia Worsted Gigi raves about - many perfect choices for the Mondo Cable KAL! On the needles: (0:32) Jasmin has been plowing her way through her Seneca sweater. We get approached (a la KIPing it Real) a ton at Saturday Knitting. Gigi is still working on her dishcloth baby blanket. Jasmin is resolving her issues over back twisting cables, probably because of her Leslie Wind Cable needle. Gigi's "Color Your Own" cardigan is moving slowly, but progressing nicely. Gigi is already planning her next Philosopher's sweatter (the Kilim). Jasmin has finished her Hey Jude socks. Gigi is assembling the Boo Sweater. Jasmin has cast on a sock out of her Crocodile Walk We will be interviewing Galina again! Please post your questions for Galina here. Our chat with Susan (from the Knitajourney podcast) has gone live! handspun.Events: (20:46) Stitches West! February 25-28th. FRIDAY: Abstract Fiber, 12-1, booth 642. SATURDAY: Purlescence Yarns, 12-1, booths 830/832/834/836. (It’s one big booth.) Contest: (23:09) We will be running our UFO Finish-a-long contest through the end of March. Mother Knows Best: (24:03) We dip into the "what do you want to hear about" thread, and talk about shoulder seams. Gigi mentions the Cocoknits bias bind-off technique. When Knitting Attacks: (32:05) Gigi rethinks lining the Boo Sweater. Jasmin, in her Olympic Fever, forgets to mention the Mondo Cable KAL. (Abstract Fiber and Purlescence Yarns are offering 10% off of KAL materials, ChicKnits has a 20% off discount code - "MCcardi" or "MCpulli", through March 5th.) We'll be casting on March 1st. Gigi has a blocking mishap with her Icarus shawl. Straw into Gold: (45:39) Jasmin talks about what she does with leftover fleece.

                                        This week's episode has been sponsored by: This week: It show time! The Abstract Fiber team is very pleased to be a vendor at the Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat in Tacoma. You’ll see new yarns, patterns, knitting bags, and spinning wheels. Then, we’re off to Stitches West. We’ll be in booth 642. It looks like we’ll have tables and chairs right next to our booth, so come rest your feet and knit and spin with us! If you can’t make it to those shows, come see us online where shipping is always free for orders over $100. It's happening again! The Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat will be held from February 11th - 14th in Tacoma, WA. Come and visit us there - it is open to the public even if you haven't registered for classes. The Crown Mountain Farms "Fiber Of The Month" club has a few spots still available for April and May, and the game is still on to register for the Mystery Fiber. The Sock Hop Yarn Club will be closing the March shipment in the next few days. Come and join the "Knit For Fun" club - great yarns and colorways are awaiting you as well as outstanding patterns by Lisa Ellis and shipping is free. This week: Are you ready for Stitches West? Here at Purlescence Yarns we're busily knitting new designs and planning our booth. Come in or call today for 10% off supplies for your Stitches classes. Proof of registration is required. We'll be announcing special Stitches events on the Knitmore Girls podcast in the coming weeks. On the Needles: (00:34) Gigi has fallen in love with her newest project. She is knitting the Classic Slant Cardigan by Deborah Newton out of Cascade Venezia. Jasmin is sticking to Jasmin 2010 by finishing the knitting on her Looped Loop cowl. Jasmin has finished the Knitmore Vanilla Sock pattern. We attended the Purlescence Stash Swap. Jasmin came home with some Moda Dea ribbon. Events: (16:36) We will be attending Stitches West. Come say hi! Meet'n'greet(s) TBD. Mother Knows Best: (18:20) This week, at your request, we discuss blocking. You can find the infomercial steamer here. You can find the Handworks Blocking wires here. When Knitting Attacks: (31:36) Jasmin is a knitter without a toolbag. Ravelympics Training: (33:46) This week: Read directions, highlight your size, and make sure you're on the Team Roster. Join us for a live chat during the cast on! (Details coming.) We also recommend prepping your knitting entertainment. Podcasts we recommend: The Manic Purl Electric Sheep KIPing it Real Stitch It! Sticks & String Let's Knit 2gether Round the Twist Fiber Beat CogKNITive Knit Naturally Knitting Rose SassyPants Knitter Savvy Girls Podcast Stuff You Missed in History Class Straw into Gold: (43:50) Safety first! Stretch, hydrate, and move around. Jasmin really likes the Palm Tree Pose. (Video here.)

This week's episode has been sponsored by: Want to be part of a great adventure in 2010? Become a member of Crown Mountain Farms fiber or yarn clubs. The clubs have free shipping worldwide. The "Fiber Of The Month" club and the "Knitting For Fun" club both offer different colorways you can play with and you may choose different yarns or fibers. Discounts of 5% or 10% are available on purchases during 2010 on our website depending on the duration of your subscription. If you love sock hop yarn and were used to buy it through our website this option will no longer be available. We created the "Sock Hop Yarn" club and only members of this club will be able to purchase the sock hop yarn in 2010. Go to our homepage, click on the CLUBS button and take the journey from there.   Happy Holidays from Purlescence Yarns! Have you been extra good this year? Whether its knitting, spinning, or weaving, make sure you mark them down on your wish list and let your loved ones know that we’re here to help. Sock yarn and notions make great stocking stuffers, and every spinner can always use extra bobbins! We have a great selection of books, ranging from patterns to techniques to new skills, so if you want it, there’s a good chance we’ve got it. If you can’t think if what you want, we also offer gift certificates- the perfect one-size-fits-all gift. Wishing you a warm and fiber-filled holiday season from Purlescence yarns. On the needles: (00:31) Gigi is continuing to work on the dishcloth baby blanket. Jasmin is working on the Tweedy Pie coat for Boo. Gigi is working on a stocking cap for Sam to match the alien scarf she knit a few years ago. Jasmin has finished her first Suzie Q sock. You can see the sock template here. Mother Knows Best: (12:13) Customizing knits, part 3: Converting sweaters and steeking. We talk about the folks from Philosopher's Wool, and the Color Your Own sweater. When Knitting Attacks! (21:54) Jasmin invents the wrong way of executing attached iCord. We discuss the merits of blanket stitch. Holidays with the Knitmores: (28:20) This week we encourage full family participation during holiday prep. This includes decoration, cooking, and gift wrapping. Straw into Gold: (36:20) Jasmin talks about the Emperor's New Silk, and the merits of filling bobbins the same way every time.

This week's episode has been sponsored by: Want to be part of a great adventure in 2010? Become a member of Crown Mountain Farms fiber or yarn clubs. The clubs have free shipping worldwide. The "Fiber Of The Month" club and the "Knitting For Fun" club both offer different colorways you can play with and you may choose different yarns or fibers. Discounts of 5% or 10% are available on purchases during 2010 on our website depending on the duration of your subscription. If you love sock hop yarn and were used to buy it through our website this option will no longer be available. We created the "Sock Hop Yarn" club and only members of this club will be able to purchase the sock hop yarn in 2010. Go to our homepage, click on the CLUBS button and take the journey from there. Happy Holidays from Purlescence Yarns! Have you been extra good this year? Whether its knitting, spinning, or weaving, make sure you mark them down on your wish list and let your loved ones know that we’re here to help. Sock yarn and notions make great stocking stuffers, and every spinner can always use extra bobbins! We have a great selection of books, ranging from patterns to techniques to new skills, so if you want it, there’s a good chance we’ve got it. If you can’t think if what you want, we also offer gift certificates- the perfect one-size-fits-all gift. Wishing you a warm and fiber-filled holiday season from Purlescence yarns. On the needles: Jasmin has finished her Aqualung socks. Gigi is still working on her Ellina shawl out of the Dream in Color Baby (color: Purple Rain). Jasmin is making good progress on her Suzie Q handspun socks. Gigi is still working on her dishcloth baby blanket out of Cascade 220 superwash handpaint. Jasmin is working on the Tweedy Pie Jacket for Boo, with some changes to the pattern. Contest: (18:37) Join our "Do Some Good" contest! We'll be announcing the prizes in episode 79. Mother Knows Best: (20:17) Customizing Knits, part 2. Using ratios and proportions to substitute different weights of yarns in simple knits. When Knitting Attacks: (23:29) Gigi's Ellina Shawl has developed some extra stitches. Jasmin has had an equipment malfunction, but is saved by her stash. Holidays with the Knitmores: (27:52) We recommend having a wish list at your LYS. Also, if you will be out shopping this season, make sure you have knitting for lines. Straw Into Gold: (31:11) We discuss selecting fiber/yarn clubs.

This week's episode has been sponsored by: Want to be part of a great adventure in 2010? Become a member of Crown Mountain Farms fiber or yarn clubs. Registration is now in it's second week. The clubs have free shipping worldwide. The "Fiber Of The Month" club and the "Knitting For Fun" club both offer different colorways you can play with and you may choose different yarns or fibers. Discounts of 5% or 10% are available on purchases during 2010 on our website depending on the duration of your membership. If you love sock hop yarn and were used to buy it through our website this option will no longer be available. We created the "Sock Hop Yarn" club and only members of this club will be able to purchase the sock hop yarn in 2010. One good reason to join the "Sock Hop Yarn" club! Click the logo above to go to our homepage, click on the CLUBS button, and begin your journey there. Happy holidays from Purlescence Yarns! We're in full-blown holiday mode, knitting and weaving gifts for our loved ones. Are you set with yours? Our new favorite yarn is Cascade's 128 Superwash, a chunky Merino that knits up into beautiful gifts in no time at all. We've got a gorgeous color selection in the shop with more set to arrive this week! On the Needles: (00:31) Jasmin has finished the Albatross socks for Andrew, and cast on socks out of her Aqualung handspun and her Suzie Q handspun (both out of the Crown Mountain Farms superwash merino). Gigi is working on a dishcloth baby blanket. They discuss the Pajama Jammie Jam, and enabling. We discuss the Ravelympics, Team Knitmore and Team Sasquatch. Contest! (17:01) We talk about our Do Some Good contest (running through 1/6/2010), and some of our favorites from last year. Mother Knows Best: ( 19:03) This week, we discuss the first part of modifying patterns to suit your personal style, specifically, adding elements. When Knitting Attacks! (26:30) Gigi suffers from not practicing what she preaches! She has neglected to label her lace projects. Straw into Gold: (28:11) We discuss troubleshooting wheels.

This week's episode has been sponsored by: This week: Did you know Abstract Fiber has a Ravelry group? Aaabsolutely Abstract is the place to go to meet our staff and see what other Ravelers are doing with their Abstract Fiber. We’d love to meet you online and see pictures of your projects. Aaabsolutely Abstract is also a great place to ask questions, find out where we’ll be next, and keep up with what’s new. If you’re looking for Abstract Fiber at a yarn shop near you, AbstractFiber.com also lists all the stores carrying our products. Online shoppers at AbstractFiber.com receive free shipping for orders over $100 in the US and Canada. This week: October is our birthday month at Purlescence Yarns, and to celebrate we're offering a birthday special on all our in stock Louet spinning wheels. This special is available in store or by phone order. Call or come in today for a substantial discount on the Louet Victoria or Louet Julia. Mention the Knitmore Girls and get a special bonus gift with your wheel purchase. This offer is valid through October 31, 2009 and applies only to stock on hand. Happy spinning! On the Needles: (00:26) Gigi and Jasmin attend the CogKNITive Fiber Retreat! (Big thanks to Straphanging for absolutely everything!) The vendors include Redfish Dyeworks, Jamie’s Metalworks from Lancaster, Freckle Face Fibers, True Love Fibers. Jasmin is working on her Henley Perfected. Gigi has finished her Par Five socks. Jasmin cast on a Whisper Cardigan out of navy blue Grignasco cashmere. Boo picks the "Tweedy Pie" sweater (in Damask Rose, Malabrigo). Gigi is still working on her Origami Wrap sweater. Gigi has cast on the Ellina shawl (out of the Dream in Color Baby, Purple Rain). SOCK KNIT(more)-A-LONG! Cast on 11/2/2009. Gigi will be knitting Mesmer out of Abstract Fiber Supersock (in Bonfire), Jasmin is knitting Uptown Girl out of Lisa Souza BFL Sock (in Fuschia). Events: (28:39) - Rhinebeck! (NY Sheep and Wool): 10/17-18. Meet and greet will be at the Carolina Homespun booth from 12-1 on Saturday. - Gigi does her 1 minute health update. Mother Knows Best: (30:26) We discuss rotating holiday knitting to avoid boredom and pressure. Straw Into Gold: (34:00) Jasmin is spinning Abstract Fiber Superwash Merino (in Chartreuse). Jasmin encourages you to eat your dessert first, and talks about fiber directionality.

This week's episode has been sponsored by: This week: Did you know Abstract Fiber has a Ravelry group? Aaabsolutely Abstract is the place to go to meet our staff and see what other Ravelers are doing with their Abstract Fiber. We’d love to meet you online and see pictures of your projects. Aaabsolutely Abstract is also a great place to ask questions, find out where we’ll be next, and keep up with what’s new. If you’re looking for Abstract Fiber at a yarn shop near you, AbstractFiber.com also lists all the stores carrying our products. Online shoppers at AbstractFiber.com receive free shipping for orders over $100 in the US and Canada. This week: Things are crazy here at Purlescence Yarns. Zauberball Crazy, that is. We're pleased to announce the arrival of Zitron's latest sock yarn. The wool/nylon blend comes in a 100g, 420 meter ball. Check out Zauberball and our other Zitron sock yarns, on our shelves now! On the needles: (00:31) Jasmin has finished her Ariann! Gigi has finished her blue-brown vanilla socks (with the channel island cast-on), and cast off her On the Vine scarf (knit out of Buffalo Gals yarn). Jasmin digs the Henley Perfected out of her "knitting hope chest" knit out of the Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool. Jasmin bought the yarn on her honeymoon at Acorn Street Yarns. She was inspired by jench1n's Henley Perfected. Gigi is working on her Par Five socks (out of the Franklin's Panopticon colorway from Lorna's Laces). Gigi is also working on her Origami Wrap cardigan out of Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light. Jasmin got her anniversary gift in the mail today, from Jennie the Potter. Events: (15:38) - Gigi's does a one-minute health update. - Rhinebeck (NY Sheep and Wool) 10/17-18. Meet and greet will be Saturday afternoon in the Carolina Homespun booth. (Time TBD.) Contest: (20:14) We announce the winners of our "help us pick a contest" contest. Mother Knows Best (26:18) Gigi explains how to stabilized buttonbands using grosgrain ribbon. When Knitting Attacks: (35:27) Gigi's sewing machine fights the power. Review: (36:11) This week we review Reversible Knitting: 50 Brand-New, Groundbreaking Stitch Patterns. Straw into Gold: (53:20) Jasmin is spinning Duchess (from Jean Near), and tells the story of a lost and found orifice hook from Celtic Swan Forge.

This week's episode has been sponsored by: This week: Did you know Abstract Fiber has a Ravelry group? Aaabsolutely Abstract is the place to go to meet our staff and see what other Ravelers are doing with their Abstract Fiber. We’d love to meet you online and see pictures of your projects. Aaabsolutely Abstract is also a great place to ask questions, find out where we’ll be next, and keep up with what’s new. If you’re looking for Abstract Fiber at a yarn shop near you, AbstractFiber.com also lists all the stores carrying our products. Online shoppers at AbstractFiber.com receive free shipping for orders over $100 in the US and Canada. This week: Things are crazy here at Purlescence Yarns. Zauberball Crazy, that is. We're pleased to announce the arrival of Zitron's latest sock yarn. The wool/nylon blend comes in a 100g, 420 meter ball. Check out Zauberball and our other Zitron sock yarns, on our shelves now! On the Needles: (00:44)Gigi has an Almost - UFO, her Swallowtail Shawl! Jasmin is making steady progress on her Ariann (knit out of the Dream in Color Classy, in their "Butter Peeps" colorway ). Gigi continues to work on the Frog Tree Origami Wrap Pullover. Jasmin has finished her first Albatross sock (made of her handspun from Crown Mountain Fibers).Gigi is working on the second Par Five sock, out of the Lorna's Laces "Franklin's Panopticon" colorway. Jasmin's Tangled Yoke Cardigan is waiting for the ribbon to be sewn on the buttonband. Jasmin finished her Tempting II top! Gigi is working on a vanilla sock out of Regia with a channel island cast-on.Jasmin, Gigi, and Miss Kalendar (host of Brass Needles) went to the Spindles & Flyers Stash sale. Jasmin picked up a little table loom for $20!Events: (13:30)- Rhinebeck! (NY Sheep & Wool) October 17-18. Meetup will be at the Carolina Homespun booth on Saturday afternoon. Time TBD.Mother Knows Best: (15:17)Topic- Labeling your knits. Use grograin ribbon and a fabric pen for personalized labels- or use scrapbooking ribbon! We also talk about holiday knits, and can't remember which podcast had the great idea of making a list, but thinks it was either KIPing it Real or Here's to Ewe. Jasmin offers up her sock label template. (Send us an email at knitmoregirls@yahoo.com , and we'll send it to you!)When Knitting Attacks: (21:44)Jasmin joins her sleeves together. Gigi aspires to knit the Curved Lace Shawl, but is foiled by a tiny chart. Jasmin's Tempting II is a little more revealing than she would have liked. Jasmin's Whisper is ill-fated from the start.Review: (31:22)This week, we review the Signature Needle Arts needles. We suggest them as a "gift for the knitter who has everything".Straw into Gold: (41:24)Jasmin spins the Three Bags Full (in Crimson Shadows) for Gigi mindfully. Jasmin has been on a spinning finishing kick. Jasmin is repurposing business cards.Show notes will go live 9/28.

This week's episode has been sponsored by: This week: Abstract FiberFact #1: Who wants their knitting happiness interrupted by a knot in their yarn? We at Abstract Fiber believe our skeins should not have knots! We maintain a zero knot policy when winding our yarns. If the yarn breaks, we set it aside and start another skein. Our Macho Socks and triple skeins give you larger skeins, and still, no knots. At Abstract Fiber we provide you with the highest quality product, and that means no knots! Remember, at AbstractFiber.com we offer free shipping in the US and Canada for all orders over $100. This week: Autumn is in the air. Here at Purlescence Yarns we're turning our thoughts toward holiday projects. We'll be knitting, spinning, and weaving most of our gifts this year. Now's the time to make that list of gifts for your friends and family. Let us help you with tons of ideas for great gifts. We'll be tweeting about them in the coming weeks. Follow us @Purlescence on Twitter! Events: (00:31) - New York Sheep and Wool Festival (Rhinebeck): Oct 17-18. Meetup TBD. On the Needles: (2:41) Jasmin's Tangled Yoke Cardigan is nearly finished. Gigi is working on her Origami Wrap Pullover. Jasmin talks about buttonbands, and picking up three stitches for every four rows when picking up stitches for a buttonband. Gigi is working on a few pairs of vanilla socks, out of Regia Galaxy. Jasmin is knitting a pair of socks for Andrew out of her Crown Mountain "Albatross" handspun. Gigi is working on a crocheted edging for pillowcases. Jasmin talks about the yarn swap at Purlescence, where she came away with a skein of sock yarn, and a sweater's worth of Brown Sheep NatureSpun (in Cranberry Fog). Contest: (25:44) Post your contest ideas in our Ravelry group! Mother Knows Best: (28:08) We discuss "breakout projects". Jasmin's favorite "learning" baby sweater is the cardigan from Debbie Bliss's "Quick Baby Knits". We also recommend the Print of the Wave Stole (errata for the edging here), the Twist Cardigan, and the Lady Eleanor Stole. When Knitting Attacks: (35:54) Gigi has been foiled by not being able to find the issue of Interweave Knits with the Frost Flowers Stole (by Charlene Schurch). Jasmin's enthusiasm causes trouble, again, with her Tangled Yoke Cardigan. Gigi's Swallowtail Shawl hits some snags. We talk about lifelines. Gigi's Scandanavian Socks continue to be troubled. Straw into Gold: (51:15) Jasmin spins a little more of Duchess (to become the Carnaby Street Pullover). She has also been spinning some of the Crown Mountain Superwash in "Hey Jude". Jasmin experiments with dyeing pindrafted roving in the coil.

This week's episode has been sponsored by: This week: Abstract Fiber is pleased to announce Macho Socks! Now available on our website AbstractFiber.com , customers can order any color sock yarn they like in a 150g skein. 50% more yarn means Macho Socks provide enough yarn for most men’s socks, and costs less than buying a whole extra skein. Sasquatch may still need two... We’ve also added an option to order triple skeins for those larger shawl or sweater projects. No knots mean fewer ends to work in and more continuous knitting pleasure. As always, free shipping on orders over $100 in the US and Canada at AbstractFiber.comThis week: This week we've been inspired by Fair Isle at Purlescence Yarns. Nathania cast on her Vancouver 2010 Olympic sweater, designed by Dale of Norway. The fall books from Dale feature beautifully simple, classic Scandinavian designs for the whole family. Sandi cast on the Kindle scarf from Fiona Ellis' Inspired Fair Isle book in Frog Tree Alpaca Sport. Fair Isle's everywhere this fall. How will it inspire you?This week: Verenaknitting.com has had a makeover--come see our chic new look, take our navigation out for a spin or page through our gorgeous Summer issue. We hope you'll introduce yourself in our forums and find out more about what's going on at Verena by reading our blog, Knittitude. We still have those hard to find European yarns in our yarn shop and new, every day we offer a pattern from our collection for free download! As a special offer to celebrate our new site all new subscribers get a bonus issue, that's 5 issues for the price of 4. Plus subscribers get 10 bonus patterns per issue and access to exclusive features. Come see for yourself at www.verenaknitting.com.Use subscription code: KNITMG Events: (00:34) - Gigi will NOT be attending PIQF. - We will be attending The NYS Sheep and Wool Festival (Rhinebeck) on Octover 17-18. We will be joined by Meghan, from the Stitch-It! Podcast. On the Needles: (6:39) Gigi is working on a sock out of the Ceallach Dyes Superboo. We discuss the 52-pair plunge and Nakniswemodo. Jasmin has been hit by inspiration freight train, and has been PLOWING through her tangled yoke cardigan. Jasmin has also cast on a "Rick" sock from  Sock Innovations out of the A Verb For Keeping Warm 70% Superwash Merino/30% silk in "Indigo Blue Sky". Jasmin has cast on 48 sts on size 2 needles. Jasmin finds inspiration on the Ravelry Radar. She is in love with reanbean's "Drops yoke sweater". Gigi is in love with the Dayflower sweater from Knotions. Jasmin and Gigi want to knit the Sunrise Circle cardigan- both out of Jasmin's handspun. (Jasmin's is Crosspatch Creations "Rhiannon's Fire", Gigi's is out of the Three Bags Full "Crimson Shadows". ) Our map got wiped! Would you be kind enough to re-add yourself? Mother Knows Best: (24:02) We talk about finding time to knit. Jasmin recommends always have knitting in your bag, in the event of needing Tech Support, a horrific traffic backup, or the random surprise spare time. Gigi wants a foot-driven mouse so she can surf Ravelry and knit simultaneously. Gigi spreads the gospel of having routines. Jasmin talks about her "do it now" principle. Contest! (37:14) We're doing a contest, to find contests! Join in our Ravelry group thread and make your suggestions! When Knitting Attacks: (38:37) Gigi does battle with her sewing machine and angles. Jasmin makes an increasing error on her Tangled Yoke Cardigan. Review: (43:26) This week we review the Ceallach Dyes Superboo (65% Superwash Merino/ 35% Bamboo). We talk about our bias against bamboo. Jasmin compares it to the Pagewood Farms Yukon. We like the colors, we like the quality, we like the yardage. What we don't like is the bamboo. (If you like knitting with bamboo, you'll like this yarn.)

This week's episode has been sponsored by: This week: New colors! Joseph’s Coat is named for a rose that has a whole bouquet of colors on one plant, Bonfire fiber glows so brightly, we sold right out of the first batch (don’t worry, we have more!). Pheasant’s warm brown sprinkled with colors is proving rather irresistible. If you’re looking for Abstract Fiber at a yarn shop near you, AbstractFiber.com also lists all the stores carrying our products. Online shoppers at AbstractFiber.com receive free shipping for orders over $100 in the US and Canada. This week: The holidays are right around the corner. Here at Purlescence Yarns we're thinking ahead and planning our gift giving now. This week we're pleased to host a trunk show of knitted Fair Isle Christmas stockings from Judy's Colors. Judy's designs range from traditional Nordic motifs to modern plays on color and geometrics. Each kit features Rauma Finull Strikkegarn from Norway and color charts. We have several kits in stock and we'll happily special order any of them. Betcha can't knit just one! This week: Verenaknitting.com has had a makeover--come see our chic new look, take our navigation out for a spin or page through our gorgeous Summer issue. We hope you'll introduce yourself in our forums and find out more about what's going on at Verena by reading our blog, Knittitude. We still have those hard to find European yarns in our yarn shop and new, every day we offer a pattern from our collection for free download! As a special offer to celebrate our new site all new subscribers get a bonus issue, that's 5 issues for the price of 4. Plus subscribers get 10 bonus patterns per issue and access to exclusive features. Come see for yourself at www.verenaknitting.com. Use subscription code: KNITMG On the needles: (00:31) Gigi finished a sock out of the Periwinkle Sheep's Watercolors II in "Steph's Crapshoot". Both Gigi and Jasmin worked on socks made out of the Sanguine Gryphon's "Skinny Bugga" in a deep teal (photo above). Jasmin has cast on a Tangled Yoke Cardigan, out of her Tallulah handspun. Gigi is working on her Origami Pullover (out of a Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light). Jasmin is working on a Cellach Dyes Superboo sock. Jasmin cast on a sock out of her Albatross handspun (for Andrew), which looks like the Zauberwolle. Jasmin mentions that the Black and Tan sock yarn is still available at Webs. Jasmin's friend Joey got married this week! During the 1000 miles of driving that she did this week, she listened to podcasts! Some new and notable podcasts: Here's to Ewe Electric Sheep KIPing it Real Brass Needles Mother Knows Best: (15:03) Project Runway is BACK! If Jasmin ran runway shows, foundation garments would be required. We also discuss sketching and measuring. (Jasmin wrote about Project Runway for work, and also had an essay in Cast On!) When Knitting Attacks! (23:05) Gigi's Houndstooth bag goes awry. Jasmin's ballwinder has betrayed her. Jasmin makes a miscalculation before plying Tallulah. Jasmin snaps, and buys the Interweave CDs. Gigi enjoys her Scandanavian sock (from the Little Box of Socks) entirely too much. Reviews: (31:12) This week, we review the Sanguine Gryphon's Skinny Bugga as well as "A Midsummer Night's Dream", as performed by Shakespeare Santa Cruz. Straw into Gold: (43:06) We talk about the Monterey wool auction. Jasmin talks about the importance of breeder credibility, and will describe the fleeces once they're back from Morro Fleece Works. Jasmin is spinning the most beautiful fleece (Duchess) from Jean Near.

This week's episode has been sponsored by:This week: New colors! Look for Bonfire, Portland, Cordelia, and more. Our yarn will also be featured at Knit Purl’s booth in a limited edition color, Rose City, available only for Sock Summit. You can pre-order Rose City now at Knit-Purl.com. Come visit us at the Summit, we’ll be in booth 909. We’re also available online every day at AbstractFiber.com.This week: The Purl Girls are in Booth 818 with lots of glorious yarns to show you. There's Purl Up & Dye, of course, our own handpainted sock yarn. In addition to the three Dye For Glory colorways, we have tons of one of a kind color for you to choose from. We're also neck deep in Flat Feet from Conjoined Creations. Check out our beautiful rainbows! We have wheels on hand, too: Louet Victoria's and Ashford Joys, perfect for spinning your own sock yarn while you're on the go. Stop on by for special Sock Summit swag and meet the Knitmore Girls Saturday at noon!Events: (00:30)- Sock Summit: Aug. 6-9. Portland, OR. Come to our meet and greet- Saturday August 8th. 12- 1 we'll be in the Purlescence Yarns booth, 1-2 we'll be in the Abstract Fiber booth. Follow us on our blog, and on the Knotions blog! (See our tape measure picture here.) Follow us on twitter during the show!-Monterey Wool Auction: [Click on "Sunday"] August 16th, 12:30 PM.-PIQF: October 15-18. Santa Clara convention center.The More You Know: (7:11)You can find the link to the listener map here. Come make your mark! Thank you for all of your reviews on iTunes. ALSO! If you leave your email address in the show notes (in the appropriate section), we'll be able to respond to your comments!On the Needles: (10:10)Gigi continues to work on the dishcloth baby blanket. Gigi is also working on the Sidestream socks (by Cat Bordhi). Jasmin has been inspired this week! She has cast on the Picovoli shell, and she is using the Purespun Silk (by Pigeonroof Studios) in "Fatale".Gigi is working on her Scandinavian socks (from the Little Box of Socks) during her lunch break. Jasmin finished the first Black and Tan Sock.Inspiration has struck Jasmin like a Mac Truck, and it's called the Carnaby Street Pullover. Jasmin is planning to spin the yarn for this sweater, from a sheep named "Duchess" from Jean Near.Gigi has cast on a pair of toe-up socks from Socks from the Toe Up in Mystery Yarn. Jasmin is nearly complete with the Adamas shawl. She learned a technique at Bobaknitting from Julia, and using a dental appliance threader, she's got a new way of adding beads to knitting. (Short tutorial will be posted.)The pictures of Jasmin and Gigi's knitalong sweaters have been posted in their respective threads.Mother Knows Best: (31:54)Gigi and Jasmin discuss "Jenny Check"-ing - over packing knitting and yarn for travel. We recommend packing one main project, and one backup project for short trips, and the same thing PLUS your interchangeable needle kit if you're going to a knitting event.In the event of enthusiastic shopping, Jasmin also recommends shipping your laundry home, and bring your haul back in your suitcases.When Knitting Attacks: (37:51)Gigi is nearly complete with her On the Vine scarf- which has dyed her hands blue. Gigi underestimated the necessary amount for the border on her dishcloth baby blanket. In her haste to finish a sock (to cast on it's mate), Jasmin makes herself carsick.Gigi decided to cast on the Sidestream Sock. The Bosnian toe foiled her.Jasmin talks about donating blood, and how it's impossible to knit while giving blood. Jasmin, Gigi, Erin have a chance encounter with Garnstudio/Drops' dad.Review: (51:18)Jasmin reviews Shipwrecked! (at Shakespeare Santa Cruz), and they talk about the need for arts/theater. Jasmin recommends calling your local box office for bargain tickets.

This week's episode has been sponsored by: This week: New colors! Look for Bonfire, Portland, Cordelia, and more. Our yarn will also be featured at Knit Purl’s booth in a limited edition color, Rose City, available only for Sock Summit. You can pre-order Rose City now at Knit-Purl.com. Come visit us at the Summit, we’ll be in booth 909. We’re also available online every day at AbstractFiber.com. This week: The Purlescence Purl Girls are Dyeing for Glory. Nathania and Kaye have dyed up three beautiful colorways for the Ravelry/Sock Summit Dye For Glory competition. Look for Melantha in the Predictable Stripes category, Oregon Berry Harvest in the Painted category, and Purplescence in the Shaded Solids category. Cast your vote on Ravelry by August 1. All three colorways will be available for sale at Sock Summit and afterwards in the shop. We're taking preorders now. Send us an email (info@purlescenceyarns.com) or call the shop to place your order for pick up at Sock Summit, in the shop, or mail order! One-of-a-kind skeins of Purl Up & Dye will also be available in Booth 818, where you can come meet the Knitmore Girls Saturday at noon! Events: (00:28) - Sock Summit: Aug. 6-9. Portland, OR. Come to our meet and greet- Saturday August 8th at noon, in the Purlescence Yarns and Abstract Fiber booths. -Monterey Wool Auction: [Click on "Sunday"] August 16th, 12:30 PM. -PIQF: October 15-18. Santa Clara convention center. On the Needles: (2:52) Gigi is nearly done with her dishcloth baby blanket. Jasmin is working on a toe-up, striped sock made out of the Conjoined Creations Flat Feet and black Regia for contrast. Gigi is knitting a vanilla sock with a channel island cast on. Jasmin is nearly finished with her Adamas shawl, and she went to buy The Perfect Beads after they finished recording. Gigi proposes a Block Fest. Jasmin refers to Anne Hansen's blog, and the Block Fest she had. Gigi continues to work on her On the Vine scarf by Brenda Patipa. Gigi is working on finishing her Houndstooth Bag by Nicky Epstein; Gigi learns to trust. Jasmin mentions that she likes Nicky Epstein's edge series. Jasmin talks about Sophie's cozies, machine knitting the centers, and handknitting/crocheting the edgings. Jasmin talks about the 3/50 project, and the local lingerie shop she likes (Besos, in Los Gatos). Mother Knows Best: (22:14) Gigi and Jasmin discuss courtesy. Here is the Yarn Harlot's blog post. Jasmin suggests (when you're frustrated) to use Dr. Gemma's radical acceptance strategy (part 1, part 2). Reviews: (31:24) The Conjoined Creations Flat Feet sock yarn. They talk about Ramen, and Ramen Yarn. Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy Johnson. Jasmin talks about the magic of proportions and percentages, has a toe-up sock success experience, and admits to having never read Elizabeth Zimmermann's work. Straw into Gold: (51:03) Tour de Fleece is over. Jasmin is ultra-proud of her yellow jersey! Jasmin talks about plying and getting maximum yardage out of slightly unevenly weighted bobbins.

Sandi Luck (from Purlescence Yarns) discusses selecting fleeces. When picking a fleece: 1- Smell it. Does it smell wrong? Sour? Ill. That's a "no" sign. 2- Has it been jacketed? They are less likely to grow mold or have sunbunt tips. 3- Is there a whole lot of vegetable matter? 4- Has the fleece been skirted? 5- How do the fibers look? Is there a noticeably damaged location? 6- Snap the lock by your ear. Does it sound like a guitar string? That's good. Crackling is bad. 7) Look out for short cuts. If you can't touch the fleece, listen closely to the judging. Judging is done by: 1) Staple length, by breed 2) Color quality 3) Strength of fiber 4) Damaged tips 5) quality of Shearing With micron count: Low numbers are soft, high numbers are coarse.

This week's episode has been sponsored by: This week: A wide selection of wheels from Louet, Schacht and Ashford for in-store pickup or shipment.. Worldwide shipping is available. Mention that you’re a listener and they’ll include Knitmore Girls swag with your order. All new subscribers receive a free gift from Eucalan as our way of saying thanks for supporting Verena Knitting! Use subscription code: KNITMG Events: (00:30)We will be at the Sock Summit! August 6-9th, Oregon Convention Center. Portland, Oregon.On the Needles: (2:16)Gigi thanks Dr. Gemma (and the Fiber Collective) for their hospitality during WWKIP day. Gigi replies to Episode 57 ("Now with more Sparkle").Gigi has unearthed a pair of unfinished vanilla socks. She has used a channel island cast-on. Gigi applies a sewing solution to knit picot edging. (She recommends going down one needle size, do the picot row, and then go up to the needle size that you're planning to knit the sock on.) She is knitting it out of the Fancy Image Yarns in the "Giants" colorway.Jasmin has only been working on her Katarina sweater. She knit the sweater on US size 6 (4mm) needles (in the Tess Yarns Silk and Merino), and is knitting the collar on US size 3 (3.25mm) needles, and is excited about photographing it finished with the Designs by Romi closures.Gigi laments having no "grab and go" knitting. She talks about some new sock yarn (Berroco Sox Metallic) in a denim colorway, with some sparkle. She plans on knitting a pair of sparkly Mesmers.Jasmin has finished a few pairs of socks, and has picked up some new sock yarn. She has picked up some Dream in Color Starry (in Grey Tabby) and Dream in Color Smooshy in Happy Forest. She also picked up some Claudia's Handpaint Silk for some lace knitting.Gigi is knitting some of the Abstract Fiber Supersock (in Lady Macbeth), which she is planning on finishing soon. Gigi is knitting on her second Coriolis (in mystery Trekking), and has ripped back a sweater and is repurposing the yarn into a baby blanket.Mother Knows Best: (24:26)We discuss reviving knitting mojo.Step 1: Stash dive.Step 2: Check your Ravelry queue.Step 3: In Ravelry, go into your "Friends" page, and select the "Friends Activity" tab.Step 4: Profit.Gigi recommends working in a different medium to kick-start knitting mojo. Jasmin also recommends finishing off UFOs. Or, bake cookies!When Knitting Attacks: (29:12)Gigi continues to try and work her way through the "Little Box of Socks". She chose a yarn that was too busy for the lace pattern, so the socks have been "auf'd". Gigi's pair of Scandanavian socks (from the LBoS) needed ripping out, because the colorwork was too tight.Straw into Gold: (32:02)This week Jasmin has been dyeing! She likes the Jacquard dyes and the Gaywool dyes. Jasmin mentions some safety things (ie, don't dye in your cooking pots, keep your dye pots separate from your cooking pots). Jasmin's order for dyeing: water, dye, a drop of Dawn to break the surface tension, stir, vinegar, add wool.Jasmin has finished washing ALL of the fleece for the Lace Gauntlet Throwdown. She has borrowed a pair of the Forsyth Wool combs and a pair of Louet Mini combs and has found the weight of the larger combs to be a slight hindrance. (Check out the sockpr0n blog for tutorials on combing.) Jasmin has ordered a pair of the Forsyth mini wool combs along with the clamp.Bring it On: (43:48) Sandi and Nathania, from Purlescence Yarns, talk about trends they saw at TNNA. Fair isle is the new black! There are loads of new books with modern approaches to classic techniques (like Twined Knitting, by Laura Farson). There have been technological advances to reflect this, like  the Denise interchangeable crochet set which lends itself to techniques like Tunisian Crochet (and a companion book Tunisian Crochet by Sharon Silverman). Some new books reflecting the fair isle revival include Knits from the North Sea and Norwegian Handknits. Not to be left out is Clara Parkes' Knitters book of Wool. The Knit Kit is now coming in black with white accents. Would you like to see it in a stainless steel? Let us know.

This week's episode has been sponsored by:This week: Purlescence Yarns carries many of the yarns used in Cookie A’s “Sock Innovation” including Louet Gems, Mountain Colors Barefoot, Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock, Colinette Jitterbug, and Dream in Color Smooshy. Worldwide shipping is available.All new subscribers receive a free gift from Eucalan as our way of saying thanks for supporting Verena Knitting!Use subscription code: KNITMGEvents: (00:28)6/6/2009 - Spinning at the Retzlaff winery. (Take at least $5 in cash, folding chairs, sunscreen, a dish to share, cash/checks/credit cards.)6/13/2009- World Wide Knit in Public Day. Jasmin will be at Santana Row (in San Jose), Gigi will be with the Fiber Collective in Los Angeles.8/6-9/2009 - The Sock Summit in Portland, Oregon.On the Needles: (4:38)Gigi is working on the Riverbed sock (from Cat Bordhi's New Pathways in Knitting) in Abstract Fiber's Supersock (colorway: Lady Macbeth).Jasmin is participating in the Brass Needles' Cabletini sock KAL. Jasmin is using Dream in Color Smooshy (in Midnight Derby) from her (someday) Tulip Baby Sweater kit.Jasmin finished her Wool Peddler's Shawl. She put some Swarovski crystals in the edge to add a little glitter and weight to the shawl.Jasmin is knitting a pair of Sunshine Socks (from Cookie A's Sock Innovation) out of Dream in Color Smooshy (in Into the Mystic). Jasmin has stated that the Sunshine socks will be the next Monkey. (Jasmin compares following a designer the way she follows authors. She talks about Vicki Lewis Thomspon's "Nerd" series.)Gretchdragon was kind enough to give Jasmin a Mandala Lace shawl.Mother Knows Best: (19:06)Using your knitting to network and job-hunt. Jasmin talks about the Silicon Valley "Side door".Gigi and Jasmin discuss some minor points of knitting/ networking / job hunting etiquette.When Knitting Attacks: (30:36)Gigi's sad, misshapen Coriolis socks got frogged. A knitting needle was collateral damage. Jasmin talks about her Cabletini socks. She compares the beginning of the sock to the witches' feet (in the film, The Witches). They have been ripped out and re-started.Jasmin talks about her Sunshine socks, and the changes she's made.Bring it On: (43:36)We discuss how to avoid knitting mistakes, and solve others.1- Read all of the directions before you start knitting. Twice. (Jasmin is often defeated by "At the same time", "at each end".)2- Swatch. Wash it. 3- Don't rip prematurely. - When knitting lace, use lifelines.- Make a photocopy of your pattern (for your personal use). Make notes in the margin. Keep it with your project. - Keep all of the yarn for your project together.- Jasmin mounts her charts on cardstock (Pound o' Paper)

This week's episode has been sponsored by: Inspired to knit lace? Purlescence Yarns offers a variety of gorgeous laceweight yarns including variegated silks from Blue Moon Fiber Arts and Claudia Handpainted Yarns to alpaca from Cascade and Alpaca with a Twist. You're sure to find the perfect thing to knit any lace your heart desires. We happily ship anywhere in the world. All new subscribers receive a free gift from Eucalan as our way of saying thanks for supporting Verena Knitting! Use subscription code: KNITMG This week, in lieu of our regular segments, we have an interview with Galina Khmeleva of Skaska Designs Limited. In this episode, Galina discusses knitting in communist Russia, and how she ended up as an accomplished author, instructor, and historian of the Orenburg lace tradition. Her books: Gossamer Webs: The History and Techniques of Orenburg Lace Shawls The Gossamer Webs Design Collection: Three Orenburg Shawls to Knit Her workshop schedule and calendar of events can be found here. Galina's preferred fibers for lace knitting: 1- Quiviut 2- Cashmere (longer staple) 3- Cashmere and silk. Silk helps the knitting retain it's memory. 4- Pygora

This week's episode has been sponsored by: This week, we are joined by Tika (host of Gives Good Knit) and Andrew. Events: (00:58) Stitches West meetup- Saturday, February 28th from 2-4 PM in the Purlescence Yarns booth. If you haven't bought your market passes yet, go to the Knitting Universe Website, and the online promo code (for $2 off admission) is: MPCW. Come meet us and get some sweet swag! On the Needles: (2:51) Gigi finished her second blue Regia Saturn sock. She has also found another two balls of duplicate Regia in her stash. She has finished her pair of vanilla Brown Eyed Girl handspun socks. She has finished a dark red stocking cap (out of Cascade 220 Superwash). Jasmin has started weaving in her own ends, inspired by Tika duplicate stitching in her ends. Jasmin, after a lack of knitting mojo on Monday, started her Twist in Apple Green Malabrigo worsted on Tuesday. By Sunday, the body was done and blocked. Jasmin is obsessed with this sweater. Also, the entire sweater will be knit in 4 skeins. Jasmin talks about her WIP storage/"organization"/green room system. Jasmin's changes to Twist: - The pattern is written to knit the body in 3 pieces, Jasmin knit it in one piece. - The pattern is written to knit the sleeves flat; Jasmin knit them in the round. - The pattern calls for US 6/7 needles; Jasmin is knitting them on US 5/6. Jasmin waxes poetic about Twist, and wanders around hollering "My kingdom for a bag of Cadmium!" (Malabrigo) Tika's Coraline gloves make Lime and Violet's Daily Chum AND Neil Gaiman's blog! Jasmin talks about Valentine's Day. Andrew bought her a pair of yarn ball earrings and a matching pendant from Rosemary Hill. He also found the perfect buttons for Jasmin's Twist cardigan. Gigi talks about the Mini Mochi sock, and noticed that knitting it center-pull untwists the yarn. Mother Knows Best: (26:45) Stitches West tips, part III, courtesy of Andrew. Andrew's theory of yarn quality: when buying a yarn for the first time, buy one skein (or one project's worth) in order to determine knots per skein, colorfastness, washability, etc.  He also talks about the importance of swatching right away. (If you hate swatching, knit an Elizabeth Zimmermann Swatch Cap!) Also, swatches can be saved for future blanket projects. Alternatively, you could use them as decor in a curio coffee table. When Knitting Attacks: (39:11) Tika and Bree are doing a virtual KAL. Tika forgot to mark where on the chart she was, rips out, and starts over. Jasmin attempts to be smarter than the Twist pattern. She discovers that she CAN follow directions! Tika suggests using a highlighter to highlight the "AT THE SAME TIME" in the patterns. Reviews: (48:08) SWTC Tofutsies sock yarn. Jasmin doesn't like it because she finds it splitty, Tika does like it, but isn't sure yet if she would purchase more.

On the Needles: Gigi finished her Icarus! Also, the Knitmore Girls need to do some serious blocking (including Gigi's "Flamingo Feathers" (really a Peacock Plumes shawl made in pink Malabrigo laceweight) and "Fischu". Jasmin is still working on her Day-Glo sock #2 and her Mushroom Caps sock #2, and has finished the spinning for her (future) toe-up rainbow socks. Jasmin is also spinning a batt from Crystal Creek Fibers (silk and ramboullet) for Gigi. She's also finishing a sweater for Sandi (at Purlescence Yarns). Gigi is working on her Neck Down Wrap Caridgan. She's still working on the Coriolis, Upstream socks, and the Zig Zag Slip Stitch socks. Tika started her NaNoSweMo sweater (Selina from Rowan) out of felted tweed. The girls decided that finishing UFOs feels good. (Jasmin's zippy UFO boxes can be found here.) Contest! Submit your knitting jokes/limericks by November 7th. Winners will be announced in Episode 26. The prizes are a signed copy of Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitting (Book One) and A Treasury of Magical Knitting. When Knitting Attacks: We talk about taking on too much holiday knitting, baking, and sewing. Mother Knows Best: Only knit for people who desperately beg for knitted gifts. If people don't beg, they won't appreciate it. (The cashmere socks were the Whitby socks from Knitting on the Road, and Jasmin used the charcoal grey Grignasco cashmere.) This year, Gigi is knitting a Sharks hat for Sam (the Knitmore Boy) out of the Claudia's Handpaint worsted in "Sharks". Instead of giving kids knitted gifts, give them the gift of time, or books! Announcement: NaNoSweMo - National Sweater Knitting Month. Now is a great time to knit a first sweater, and Jasmin recommends starting with a baby sweater. NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month If you're a US listener (who is eligible to vote) go and vote on Tuesday! We're taking on official sponsorship. Promote your patterns or your Etsy shop! Send us an e-mail for details. You can see us posing for Brenda Patipa's "On the Vine" in Ravelry!

Jasmin and Gigi have been down sick (or traveling), so here's another double episode!FO's!Jasmin's "Not Your Standard Issue Sweatshirt" made of the diVe "Autunno". Ravelry link here.(Her changes include darts, lenthening the sweater, knitting it in the round, and knitting the sleeves top-down-magic-loop-two-at-a-time.) The trick to knitting sleeves top-down is to reverse the directions. Bwa ha ha.Yarn Review:DiVe "Autunno". Lots of knots. 9 balls, each ball had a knot. Jasmin was not pleased. She won't buy it again. Uncool.Jasmin likes the Yarn Girls' books for handpainted yarns.Jasmin is knitting another "NYSIS" out of Malabrigo "Little Lovely". She also bought yarn while traveling in Maine.Speaking of traveling, please join my "kindness, pleasant, and decent" movement. This is redundant, I'm sure for our listeners, but pay it all forward.Jasmin's new spinning wheel arrived! It's 30" double treadle Schacht-Reeves Saxony wheel in Cherry. Friends conspired, and the wheel was waiting for her upon her arrival.Jasmin is breaking it in and remembering that it's a bit of work. Breaking in a wheel means getting all the parts lubricated and moving. Alas, she [the wheel] needs a name. Suggestions?On the Needles:Gigi is trying to get through her Icarus. She's doing the double basket socks, and has finished the Monarch Casbah socks. FO!Gigi has also been lusting after some Regia since January, and Purlescence put it on sale. "High on wool fumes" doesn't begin to describe it.It turns out that Jasmin isn't a stash-buster. Her stash has gotten her through some slim times. Like a savings account, minus the interest.We talk about the evolution of our knitting, from Jasmin's functional obsession with socks to lace, Gigi's knitting changes because she's going through a period of personal growth. Growing as a knitter makes them feel smart.Jasmin has put together a label to use on her gift socks. It looks like this:If you'd like the template (in Word), shoot us an e-mail and we'll send it to you.Mother Knows Best:When knitting lace in dark colors, have something white on your lap to help with the contrast.Ease gives Gigi a hard time. When Knitting Attacks: Figure out ease before you start knitting. Knitting Events: Tour de Fleece. Spin up your stuff during the Tour de France. Jasmin is using the Tour de Fleece to "train" for the Knitting Olympics. (The Knitting Olympics start 8/8/08.) Join Team Knitmore! (We'll have a logo soon.) Thanks to our show sponsor, Purlescence Yarns.