Podcasts about sock yarn shawls

This week, Felicia speaks with Jen Lucas, a knitwear designer who has been knitting since 2004 and designing since 2008. Her designs have been published in several knitting magazines, including Interweave Knits, Knitscene, and Love of Knitting. In fact, you can find all of Jen's nearly 200 knitwear designs on Ravelry. She is the author of two very popular books, called Sock Yarn Shawls and Sock Yarn Shawls II. And as well, she is releasing a NEW book, called Stunning Stitches, which will be available in May 2017. On transitioning into a full-time knitwear design career: "If you want it bad enough, you'll figure out a way to make it work, even over 5 years or 10 years... you can get there eventually, for sure." — Jen Lucas Felicia talks with Jen about her prolific knitwear design career and how she has been able to be so productive and successful with her work. Jen's attitude towards hard work, organization, and focus is so very inspiring and I hope you will join us for this conversation! In this episode, we talk about: 2:30 How the "Golden Girls" got Jen to start knitting 4:30 Jen (like Angela Tong) mentions how Stephanie Japel's class on learning to design shawls sparked her design career  5:45 How Jen made the leap from her "day job" to becoming a full-time knitwear designer 9:30 Talking about Jen's incredible rate of design productivity and her tips for productivity 11:45 Planning her design projects with her Hobonichi planner and Kanban board 16:15 Preventing creative burnout 20:00 Stunning Stitches Book 24:00 Jen's experience of authoring knitwear pattern books, after publishing five books successfully 25:45 Jen's view of the future of knitting   LET'S CONNECT https://sweetgeorgiayarns.com https://www.facebook.com/SweetGeorgiaYarns https://instagram.com/sweetgeorgia  

Is crafting in the Summer a bit different for you? Maybe you work with lighter yarns, make more portable projects, or try a craft you've never done before. On this podcast we explore weaving with Monica, a teacher at Ruthie's Weaving Studio in Portland, who gives us a different view on working with fiber. Cassie Castillo talks about her "Janelle Shawlette" pattern in "Sock Yarn Shawls", and Jenny K. here at Knitpicks introduces you to our newest yarn, Lindy Chain. We also hear from a podcast listener about how she spends her summer crafting months.

Today’s episode is sponsored by the New and Improved Dizzy Blonde Studios. New and Improved because we now have our own website. Visit our new home at . Catching Up:(0:42) Jen is preparing for her show opening, working on writing up some patterns, watching Buffy season 2 to prepare for Patrol 2 of the Sunnydale Yarn Club. She's also loving the new season of Mad Men, Fargo, Orphan Black. She also watched The 500 MPH Storm, which is TERRIBLE. Laura did Easter with her extended family and had a lot of fun. She's working on Mean Girls Yarn club installment 4, watching Buffy for Sunnydale Yarn Club inspiration. She made gumbo, is getting over bronchitis, and is getting ready for a nice vacation. We mention the Color Coded Easter Egg Hunt as a tip. In The Knitting Bag: (13:18) Jen is working on her Leah’s Lovely Cardigan out of Malabrigo sock in Eggplant. Melissa is going to make one too, so they may enter it in the matchy matchy KAL hosted by The Knitmore Girls.  She also wants to make matching socks for herself and Ron.  And she is working on her Chickadee from Ysolda’s book Little Red in the City in Quince and Company Chickadee in Slate, Egret, Lichen, and Rosa Rugosa. Laura is working on her brother's Broncos hat out of Knitpicks Brava. She is also working on a Kraken Applique by Katie Christie out of unknown acrylic. (She was going to make the Fruity Oaty Bar Chart, but it won't be the right size.) She is still working on her Leftie by Martina Behm out of a Miss Babs kit in slate and reds. This will likely be vacation knitting, along with her vintage men's socks in Dizzy Blonde Lambie Toes in the colorway No Touching Guns. Finished Objects: (19:20) Jen finished her Leftie! She is weaving in the ends. She made it out of Knitpicks Palette in Cream, Rouge, Spearmint, and Aster. She made it to 29 leaves, knitting on size 3 needles. She also finished a baby sweater of her own design out of Malabrigo sock in the colorway Solis. Laura finished the Wave Pool Cloth by Carol Bristol out of Dizzy Blonde Dirty Blonde Superwash DK in Jessica. She also finished the left hand version of the Hand to Hold Dishcloth by Rachel van Schie out of Berroco Vintage DK in blue. She also finished the 4th installment of MGYC. Devil's Tower: (25:11) Jen is pulling out the Sunshine Socks by Cookie A in Dream in Color Smooshy in Butter Peeps. She wants the socks. We mention Ben Nye makeup. Frog Pond: (27:53) Jen had gauge issues with her baby sweater. She did not swatch, because she is knitting it with the same yarn and the same size (and same brand even!) needles as her Leah's Lovely Cardigan, but she is getting a completely different gauge. She also made the yoke too long and decreased too much so the neck opening was too small and would have been a baby-strangling sweater. On Deck: (31:13) Jen wants to make another scarf for Interval House out of Cascade Cherub.   She also wants to make a Lauriel Cardigan (also by Ysolda and from Little Red in the City) out of Wollmeise DK in Pesto.and a pair of Water for the Elephants socks by Rose Hiver in some Knitpicks Stroll in a bare (natural) and Summer Blooms (pink).  She also has an idea for some mitts with jacaranda blossoms embroidered on them. Laura wants to make a Lucky 4-Leaf Afghan Square by Margaret McInnis by Becka in Berroco Comfort DK in Celery. She also wants to make the Down the Garden Path by Michele DuNaier out of Lambie Toes in Special Hell.  And she wants to do some mitts for her husband.  She also wants to make a Dreambird by Nadita Swings for a booth sample. We mention the Cigar Gloves. Knit Culture: (36:38) We do our drawing for the March Stashdown. Congratulations to JixxieM! You win a copy of Sock Yarn Shawls. May's theme will be May Flowers so post your FOs in the thread. We also review Subversive Socks edited by Tabetha Hendrick. We really love this book and really do recommend it, with the caveat that it probably isn't for everyone. But if this kind of thing is to your taste, the patterns are great and book is incredibly well written and beautifully put together. It tickled both of our fancies! We also love the section on knitting successful socks! Geek Culture: (45:35) We talk costuming. Historical, theatrical, and cosplay. We've decided to open a thread for you to post your costuming stuff. We mention Brass Needles. Events: (1:04:55) We are doing an event for World Wide Knit In Public Day.  We are partnering with Colors 91711 (address 248 Harvard Avenue, Claremont CA 91711). On Sunday June 22, we will be at the park across Harvard Ave having a knitting picnic from 11am to 2pm. Bring a chair, some shade, some snacks to share, water, sunscreen, your knitting. Colors opens at 12 noon for your shopping pleasure. We are both going to the CogKNITive retreat run by Dr. Gemma of the CogKNITive Podcast on July 25. And Jen will be at the Retzlaff Winery Fleeces, Food, and Fun event on June 7th.

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

In a quest to find new ways of using up that stash of sock yarns, Kelley chats with Jen Lucas, author of the book Sock Yarn Shawls. Being a self-taught knitter, Jen shares how an obsession with socks eventually led to her to the world of shawls and shawlettes. Kelley and Jen chat about the different chapters of the book in addition to the different styles of shawls included. Get a behind the scene's peak into Jen's first book of shawl designs in addition to a few handy tips and tricks for shawl knitting!

This week, Kelley dives into her stash in search of inspiration for her collection of fingering weight yarns. And with a mission to make more than another pair of socks, Kelley peruses Ravelry in search of unique and versatile patterns that are perfect for lighter fingering weight yarns. Continuing on this theme, Kelley reviews the books Sock-Yarn Shawls by Jen Lucas and The Knitter's Palette by Kate Haxell. Finally, Kelley shares her enthusiasm of searching out new projects to cast on after a productive week of finishing several works in progress.