The Knitmore Girls Podcast: March 2016

Thursday, March 24, 2016

An acceptable alternative - Episode 370 - The Knitmore Girls

Listen here:

This weeks episode is sponsored by:

You probably attend an event at least once a year. Sometimes events are all about shopping, but more often than not, events are a combination of shopping and education. When attending a show that combines classes and market place, shopping literally becomes dashes between classes. Time is short that your plan includes the necessary pit stop (crossing your fingers for short lines) and visits to my favorite or new vendor spot.
As a vendor, we do our best to bring the right amount of scents and products. We are thrilled when we have the product or scent you are looking for, but sometimes there is a sudden run on your favorite scent or product and the person in front of you just bought the last one. Being left wanting after waiting just stinks!
Wait and want no more because we've created the Easy Peasy Product Reservation. It's so simple and fast, you’ll LOVE the experience!
Go to our web site: www.Bar-Maids.com for directions, and we'll even text you a reminder during the event!

Bijou Basin Ranch is your source for high-quality yarns spun from Tibetan yak, Qiviut, cashmere and other luxury fibers. Our yarns are made in the USA as well as abroad, and many are hand-dyed by notable indie dyers such as Miss Babs, Lattes & Llamas, and Lost City Knits. Our no-rinse, no residue fiber wash called Allure was specially developed to care for high quality fibers. This month, enjoy 15% off your yarn purchase when you enter KNITMORE at checkout at bijoubasinranch.com.

Rich saturated color. Bold interesting combinations; dare we say shocking hues? Dragonfly Fibers is your source for beautiful quality yarns and fibers. Dragonfly Fibers creates hand-dyed, artisan yarns and fibers in vivid and sophisticated colorways. We can be found in select local yarn shops around the world and at fiber festivals such as Rhinebeck, Maryland Sheep and Wool, Vogue Knitting Live, STITCHES and SAFF. Come see us at STITCHES West, February 18-21st in Santa Clara, California. We'll be in booths 706, 708 and 710. You can shop on our site 24/7 at www.dragonflyfibers.com. Be sure to check out the link for our 2016 Club Dragonfly. Great designers, exclusive colorways and a bonus swag option! Discover why we say that Dragonfly Fibers is "The Colors of Happiness".

Did you get a spinning wheel or spindle for a holiday gift? We know that there are lots of you out there who have begun to spin and Lisa Souza Dyeworks at www.lisaknit.com has just what you are looking for. Beautiful hand dyed combed top is available in several different wool types as well as phenomenal silk blends. Lisa Souza is also producing fabulously soft blended batts with such combinations as merino, cashmere and Tencel. Dreamy!
In the Placerville area for a visit? Give Lisa a call and come by for a visit!

Purlescence Yarns is Silicon Valley's destination fiber arts shop. Our yarns are selected for both their beauty and sustainability. Choose the perfect yarn and our Custom Fit service to help you make the perfect sweater.
Create your own perfect yarns and fabrics with our extensive selection of spinning and weaving equipment, classes, and full service maintenance.

On The Needles:(0:34)

Jasmin has been very prolific this week, she finished, finished, finished the 3 Color Cashmere cowl, by Pepperberry/LuxAdorna.

Gigi finished heels on a pair of Fluoromania socks, and now needs to citric acid set the color.
Jasmin had done surgery on the Striped cowl, and has blocked it.

Gigi wove in ends on a 2015 preemie hat, and finished her second 2016 preemie hat. Jasmin suggested she participate in the Geeky Girls Knit 52 weeks of Charity Knitalong

Gigi fretted about getting caught up with having knit one preemie hat a week, so she would be ready for her "Cast on something every day in May" craziness that she thought she had heard about from the Prairie Girls. She misheard, they had suggested that in May, listeners cast on One new thing.

Something new everyday is crazy. And that is why it appealed to Gigi. We are also planning something, but Jasmin isn't telling yet.

Jasmin suggests Woolly Wormhead patterns in preemie sizes. She is working on the Sultana hat #25000touques/#newhomenewhat

Also, Kate from Infinite Twist, and Michelle from Berry Colorful Yarnings sent beautiful yarn for hats. And, a big thank you to the Bar Maids for covering the cost for shipping and being a collection point.

Jasmin made progress on the CSM hybrid socks (NZAK Quick Knitter), out of Voolenvine Footsie "Myth"
Gigi cast on a pair of Peppermint Mocha socks out o C.C. Almon's new book Coffee with C.C. and she learned a new skill for that, the Twisted German Cast-On.

Jasmin picked up the Spock sweater that had been languishing and she is enjoying it.

Gigi talks about Rocka Sockorna which is celebrated in Sweden for World Down Syndrome day. Jasmin mentions Kelle Hampton, who writes a lovely, uplifting blog.

Jasmin has picked up the Landon pullover and is enjoying working on it.

In Stitches:(23:37)

Gigi wore hand knit socks, and everything else was boring.

Jasmin wore one of the hats that Emily knitted for us, and the rainbowdots cowl that goes with everything. She slso talked about the Harvest. sweater that Emily knitted for Rex.

Genevieve wore the Elsa sweater and hat, little Oak Cardigan, Ophelia Addams hat and wristers, colorblock, Duck sweater
Rex wore his Lara Neel sweater (Keys to the Castle) and his hand-me-down Monster pants

One of Genevieve's Playful Stripes cardigans lost a center of a button. It will be glued back in.

Contest:(31:17)

Parameters for participating in the #operationsockdrawer contest:

Participants: post a picture to the ravelry forum, or to instagram with the #operationsockdrawer, have your ravelry name on your instagram profile. Feel free to double dip your projects.

Projects will be judged on originality and general delightfulness.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Also, we have prizes for the Elizalong from A Good Yarn, they sent the now unavailable Oh- Snap pouches from Namaste, and we got a half off coupon for a sweater's worth of yarn from Quince and Co. We are going to supplement the cost of the yarn to make a whole sweater.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We are going to have a social media contest on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. The prize is going to be Spilly Jane Knits Mittens's new mitten book.

In the comments, post a haiku you have written, a story or something entertaining, original and delightful about mittens.

Mother Knows Best:(36:27)

This week we respond to some of the discussion about "Do your best, and Why bother being mediocre" from the "What you want to hear about?" thread in the forum
Jasmin mentions her Mariah cardigan.
Gigi mentions Anna Zilboorg and Jean Frost

When Knitting Attacks:(42:07)

Gigi yet again found that she had not enough stitches for the toe. She keeps losing stitches in the foot of the sock.
She also managed to bead on the wrong row of the Viajante.

Review:(46:17)

This week we review Knit my Skirt, by Candace Eisner Strick

Gigi mentions the Lanesplitter skirt, and Thai Silks

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Instant Coffee - Episode 369 - The Knitmore Girls

Listen here:

This weeks episode is sponsored by:

Every hobby needs organization, every project needs a place. Erin.Lane bags helps you turn your fiber pasttime into neat and organized endeavor. Our project bags, totes, and needle and notions organizers are everything you need to keep your fiber arts from fraying.

Infinite Twist produces unique and luxurious hand-spun yarns that are crafted in a socially responsible way. Spun from hand-painted roving and hand-blended batts, our hand-spun yarns are a tactile delight for knitters. We also offer project kits that take the guess-work out of yarn and color selection, and hand-dyed mill-spun yarns in striking semi-solid colors. Find out more by visiting infinitetwist.com, or find us on Ravelry and Instagram as infinite twist. Sign up for our newsletter for a free knitting pattern every month, and don’t forget to use offer code “knitmore”!

On the Needles:(0:33)

Gigi has three finished objects. She finished the yellow and orange stripy socks, that matched her Stitches West project bag from Erin LaneBags.

She finished a pair of last years neon socks that needed an afterthought heel.
She also finished her third preemie hat of the year.

Jasmin finished knitting the 3 Color Cashmere Cowl out of Pepperberry/LuxAdorna

Gigi citric acid soaked three pairs of socks she had knitted last year, and is weaving in ends of an unfinished pair of socks every night.

Jasmin performed surgery on her striped cowl, and Gigi was wondering about Sock Madness 10, and was intrigued about the Twinset Designs WIP KAL

Jasmin worked on the CSM hybrid socks (NZAK Quick Knitter), out of Voolenvine Footsie "myth", and wrestled with the machine.

She also cast on a new #25000touques hat with yarn from Michelle Berry, the Sultana hat. She is using a Leslie Wind cable needle

Also thanks to our listeners for contributing hats, and thank you to Purlescence for being a collection point and thank you to the Bar Maids for paying for the shipping of the hats up to Montreal!

In Stitches:(18:30)

Gigi wore knitted socks.

Jasmin wore the yellow hat, and her rainbow dots cowl

Genevieve Elsa sweater and hat, the Little Oaks cardigan, Ophelia Addams hat and wristers, the Kapuzin hoodie, and the color block pullover.

Jasmin also used Beyond Clean to wash her Katarina and the acid green cardigan an let them dry on the OXO sweater drying rack
Rex snuggled under his Love blanket

Contest:(24:45)

#operationsockdrawer has a new winner ! Ernsk won a skein of Happy Fun Time by Black Trillium on the Lilt base
Parameters for participating in the #operationsockdrawer contest:

Participants: post a picture to the ravelry forum, or to instagram with the #operationsockdrawer, have your ravelry name on your instagram profile. Feel free to double dip your projects.

Projects will be judged on originality and general delightfulness.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We gush about Susan B. Anderson her podcast, blog and instagram

Mother Knows Best:(27:35)

This week we talk about setting color with citric acid, there were a number of questions on the forum
Christine Vejar from A Verb For Keeping Warm has written a book about dyeing, The Modern Natural Dyer, that we are planning to review soon. Commercial yarn generally does not need to be set, the neon yarn from Regia seems to be an exception; it bleeds and needs to be set.

When Knitting Attacks:(35:01)

Gigi lost stitches on a afterthought heel of a sock and had to tink back three rows before she had wrangled all the stitches back onto the needles.

She dropped a stitch in the mesh part of her Viajante. Trying to pick up the stitch was stressful and challenging, so she had to walk away from it for a little while.

She was sewing in ends and found that she had dropped a random stitch in the leg of the sock, and she had to go back and anchor the escapee.

Purloined:(38:54)

This week we are purloining "What a Crock!" from the Actually Knitting podcast
and Jasmin is thrilled with America's Test Kitchen and their Corned Beef Recipe

Review:(44:24)

This week we review Coffee with C.C., by C.C. Almon LINK

Thursday, March 10, 2016

The Sock that Knits Itself - Episode 368 - The Knitmore Girls

Listen here:

This week's episode is sponsored by:

We'd like you to meet two very special yarns, Lily and Lotus! Both yarns are a luscious blend of yak, merino, and silk. They are naturally a light grey color, quite lovely as they are, but we just can't stop ourselves from putting lots of bright color on top. Overdyeing the grey mutes our brights just a little, making them richer and oh, so wearable. Lily is a worsted weight 4-ply with a very round structure that makes cables and textures pop. Lily's little sister Lotus is fingering weight with a tight twist. Perfect for socks, scarves, sweaters, or anything. Get Lily and Lotus at AbstractFiber.com

On The Needles:(0:34)

Jasmin has almost finished the 3 color cashmere cowl. She is very excited about wearing it. Gigi seems to be on a sock knitting kick, she has started a new pair of Vanilla socks out of Opal, and finished two pairs and worn them. She also has cast on another pair.

Jasmin did some surgery on her Striped Cowl, and picked up stitches and is making it eight inches longer.

Gigi is working on more socks. Also, she has mostly bound off her 1000 Tulips shawl.
Jasmin is working on her circular sock machine hybrid socks, out of Voolenwine's Footsie base.
This is the NZAK Quick Knitter. She is winding yarn on cones for smooth knitting. And she is very pleased with the hand of this yarn.

Gigi is still working on the beaded mesh part of the Viajante. It is coming along slowly.

Congratulations to CommuterJen, on the birth of her twin daughters.

Gigi has been listening to the Knit Girllls and other podcasters about this being the year of learning a new skill. She is thinking about maybe learning to do colorwork. Double Knitting? Fair Isle?

Jasmin is evangelical about blocking knits, and thinks the difference of blocked vs unblocked is noticeable.

In Stitches:(17:40)

Gigi has worn some wool socks.

Jasmin wore her yellow hat, and the Rainbow Dots Cowl

Genevieve wore her Elsa sweater. and Elsa hat, the Little Oak Cardigan , duck sweater, and the Ophelia Addams (misattributed as Wednesday Addams) hat and wristers. (No pictures, sorry)

Rex uses his Love blanket

Contest:(19:29)

We have a new prize: Super Happy Fun Yarn in the Lilt base from Black Trillium Fibre Parameters for participating in the #operationsockdrawer contest:

Participants: post a picture to the ravelry forum, or to instagram with the #operationsockdrawer, have your ravelry name on your instagram profile. Feel free to double dip your projects.

Projects will be judged on originality and general delightfulness.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mother Knows Best:(21:22)

This week we answer a question from the "What do you want to hear about?" thread in the forum
about what to do with handmade things that have been outgrown.

When Knitting Attacks:(29:39)

Jasmin did not pay attention to the ribbing on the cowl and managed to mess up a k1p1 ribbing.
She also had a sock machine knitting attack.

Gigi knitted the waste yarn for the heel backwards into the sock, and left it in, and when she came back to pick up the stitches, found it incredibly easy to pick up stitches. So she declared that she unvented an easier way to pick up stitches.

Purloined:(33:50)

This week we purloin "Shenanigans", from "The Fat Squirrel Speaks" and share woes of the water heater.

Jasmin also mentions that Prairie Girls Knit and Spin always cheer her up.

Review:(38:42)

This week we review New Directions in Sock Knitting, by Ann Budd. We mention the lovely Anne Berk, of AnneTarsia.

And Sew On:(46:06)

Gigi did a spot of mending, fixing a loop on a neck tie.

Saturday, March 5, 2016

New Car Smell - Episode 367 - The Knitmore Girls

Listen here:

This week's episode is sponsored by:

Berry colorful yarnings bringing you unique self striping hand dyed yarns, tonal , overdyes, sock blanks, super fun kits and more... Berry Colorful Yarnings has your needs covered. From a Light fingering in a luxurious blend to a bulky 100% Superwash Merino and ALL the yarns in between, you will be able to find the perfect fit for your desired project.
Always open to custom requests, just email Michelle and together we make your color ideas come to life...
Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Etsy or Ravelry to get the latest news on what Michelle is up to.
Berry Colorful Yarnings, where color plays.

On The Needles:(0:36)

Jasmin wants to start working on a new project, and she needs to start by winding yarn. We use Nancy's Knit-Knacks Heavy Duty Ball Winder, and the Schacht Swift.

So she thought she should finish something before starting a new project. Also, we will start a knitalong soon. So she wound yarn for the poly chevron cowl by Black Trillium. She is thinking of storing the yarn in a Zippity-Two-Da Zippered Bag by Erin Lane.

Gigi has come to the bind off row on the 1000 Tulips shawl #Behmalong

Jasmin is working on the 3 color cashmere cowl, out of formerly Pepperberry (now Lux Adorna Knits)

Our Knitalong with her will start soon.

Gigi finished her pink Kroy sock yarn socks, and the Neon Opal sock yarn vanilla socks. She is wondering if she should participate /crash Voolenvine's #operationsockbox. And she is talking how much she likes her Stitches West project bag, by Erin Lane.

Jasmin is working on the Landon, Katya Frankel, Lisa Souza BFL Mahagony

Gigi is working on the beaded lace part of her Viajante. She has strung the beads on OralB Super Floss, We learned this method from Rosemary Hill's tutorial. (Scroll down, there are a number of tutorials that come before this one.)

In Stitches:(28:35)

Gigi gifted her mojo socks that she had knitted too long.

Jasmin wore her pre-ravelry yellow hat, out of silk and wool by Tess Yarns. She washed it with Beyond Clean Fibre Wash.

Genevieve wore the Olivia hat, and Bumble hat, which is a gift from C.C. from the Geeky Girls Vidcast. (Also, check out her new book!) Elsa gloves
Rex wore his Bumble hat.
Jasmin got compliments on her rainbow dots cowl.

Contest:(35:05)

We have a new prize :Super Happy Fun Yarn in the Lilt base from Black Trillium Fibre
Parameters for participating in the #operationsockdrawer contest:

Participants: post a picture to the ravelry forum, or to instagram with the #operationsockdrawer, have your ravelry name on your instagram profile. Feel free to double dip your projects.

Projects will be judged on originality and general delightfulness.
You could double dip with Voolenvine's Box O socks KAL.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mother Knows Best:(35:01)

This week we answer a question from the "What do you want to hear about?" thread in the forum
about blocking hats. Jasmin uses Eucalan (or whatever wool wash is handy) She mentions washing the white hat with Beyond Clean Fibre Wash for blocking.

When Knitting Attacks:(40:34)

Jasmin was working on the Three color Cashmere Cowl. She talks about the round Clover Knitting Register. She finds she has a hard time counting to four.

She was working on the Landon and messed up the count for the armholes.
Gigi lost the beads she needs for finishing the 1000 Tulips Shawl #Behmalong.

Review:(47:12)

This week we review Interpretations Volume III, by Joji Locatelli and Veera Veera Välimäki

We need an expression that says "Chomping at the bit" but conveys knitting.

And Sew On:(1:03:13)

Gigi trimmed the perimeter of the Advent Calendar stockings with pinking shears. That was a bad idea, since the seam allowances are too small to support a seam.

Pages