Listen here:
This week's episode is sponsored by:
Events: (00:33)
Stitches West meetup! We'll be in the Purlescence booths (640 & 740) on Saturday, February 28th from 2-4 PM. The goodie bags are awesome. We will be holding back 1 goodie bag (out of 100) and doing a contest for those who couldn't make it to the meetup.
We will be including a pin in the goodie bag. Going forward, a donation of $10 or more will get you some of our permission slips/business cards AND a Knitmore Girls logo pin.
On the Needles: (7:56)
Gigi has (sort of) finished an UFO. The Ribbon Twist sweater needs seaming and blocking, but the knitting is done. Jasmin finished her Twist! In a couple of episodes, we'll post a video in the show notes on how to attach buttons using Gigi's couture technique. Jasmin used the Malabrigo sock yarn (in "Lettuce") to set in the sleeves, since it is a stronger yarn.
Jasmin pulled an 8-year-old UFO out of her stash. She is working on finishing the ex-boyfriend sweater. She will be reworking the cowl from a "cheater" cowl to a true, short-rowed cowl collar. Jasmin will be blocking her Santa Fe Wrap, which she will be wearing to Stitches.
Gigi continues to work on her Bulky boot socks and her Scandanavian pattern socks (from the ubiquitous Little Box of Socks), and finds Fair Isle addictive.
Jasmin and Gigi talk about Ravelry, queues, and tagging. We also talk about using leftover sock yarn to knit the Fish hats from Knitty. Jasmin and Gigi talk about their favorite handpainters (Tess Yarns, Lisa Souza Dyeworks, Ellen's Half-Pint Farm), and style aesthetics versus knitting aesthetics.
Jasmin talks about purging old knit socks; Gigi talks about storage for knit socks. Jasmin has cast on a pair of Ellen's Half-Pint farm 50% Superwash Merino/50% Tencel socks in greens. Gigi continues to work on her On the Vine scarf.
Mother Knows Best: (34:37)
Stitches West tips, Part IV:
- Don't shop flustered. If you start to feel flustered or panicked, go to the bathroom, wash your hands, have a snack, then revisit. (Jasmin is packing energy gels/blocks.)
- Review your purchases. If you go for more than one day, spread out your purchases and take a good look. Make sure you've got the right quantities, everything from your wishlist, etc.
When Knitting Attacks! (44:11)
Jasmin can't count to 3. Gigi was assaulted by patterns at the fabric store.
Listen here:
This week's episode has been sponsored by:
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.
Listen here:
This week's episode has been sponsored by:
Events: (00:37)
Stitches West meet and greet! Come see us at the Purlescence booth, Saturday, February 28th from 2-4 PM. And, swag!
On the Needles: (3:10)
Gigi is making good progress on her On the Vine scarf. Jasmin is trying to do 2 rows every night on her Ene's Scarf.
Jasmin has finished her Bird of Paradise socks. She has also finished her black cashmere Jacoby mitts. She's thinking about knitting some argyle wristers.
Gigi is nearly done with the Bulky Boot Socks, and has been making steady progress on her Scandinavian socks. She is also nearly done with the Rowan Ribbon Twist sweater.
Jasmin is making steady progress on her Modern Quilt Wrap. Jasmin has been spinning! She has finished spinning the singles of the Black Magic Woman, and it is resting on the bobbins waiting to be plied.
Jasmin and Gigi wax poetic about knitting with the Wild Plum colorway of the Lamb's Pride Worsted. Jasmin wants to knit a Twist cardigan out of it.
Chloe went to Unwind in Burbank and picked up Jasmin's PERFECT color of green (Apple Green) in Malabrigo.
Mother Knows Best: (16:19)
Jasmin and Gigi offer suggestions on how to manage your budget at Stitches.
Holidays with the Knitmores: (22:58)
Gift ideas for your beloved knitter:
- A ball winder and an umbrella swift. (Jasmin LOVES her Bluster Bay swift.)
- Flaxseed/aromatherapy heat/cold packs.
- Shoes to wear handknit socks with.
Gift ideas for your beloved non-knitter:
- Think about what they like to do. Upgrade it. (Example, if they like to drive, get their car detailed.)
- If they're a fan of the remote control, get an all-in-one remote (we like that one).
- A backrest for reading/watching TV in bed. (Jasmin likes this one.)
When Knitting Attacks! (32:26)
Sock gnomes have made off with Gigi's sock yarn. Jasmin loses a filling to caramel, and is considering knitting some cashmere Jacoby mitts for her dentist, who came in on a Sunday to fix her tooth.
Reviews: (38:39)
Jasmin and Gigi review Crystal Palace Mini Mochi (we're using color 101), and Hiya Hiya bamboo circular needles. We compare Mini Mochi to Noro Kureyon Sock, and copare the Hiya Hiya bamboo circs to Crystal Palace bamboo circs, KA bamboo circs, and Clover bamboo circs.
(If you can't get this yarn or these needles at your local yarn store, please call Purlescence, let them know you're a listener, and order it there.)
Listen here:
This week's episode has been sponsored by:
On the Needles: (00:32)
Gigi has a bunch of vanilla socks on the needles. Gigi wasn't happy with her progress on her "On the Vine" scarf, so she has been sitting and doing a repeat every day after lunch, which is working well for her.
Jasmin has started Ene's Scarf (which she isn't sure of the pronunciation of) from Scarf Style out of Artyarns Cashmere 1. (This was part of her half-off cashmere haul.) She has knit the first eight rows so far. This project has taught her that the rubber Bryson Stitch markers and the Addi lace needles do not mix.
Gigi is still working with the Brown Eyed Girl handspun socks. They're not dyeing this color anymore, but if you call Klaus (at Crown Mountain Farms) and ask him for a color that is close, he'll help you out. (Tell him we sent you!)
Jasmin has finished spinning 1 oz of Merry Meadows cormo and silk (in spring green). She has spun it very fine, so she's working on Black Magic Woman from Crown Mountain Farms.
Gigi has started the Bulky Boot Socks from the Little Box of Socks. Gigi has also started the Scandanavian Sock pattern (also from the LBoS). They discuss the two-handed fair isle technique that Ann and Eugene Bourgeois (of Philosopher's Wool) teach.
Jasmin has finished knitting the Santa Fe Wrap. Gigi unearthed an UFO made of Rowan Ribbon Twist (in black/pink), which is now becoming a sweater for Jasmin.
While listening to Cast-On, Jasmin was inspired to knit a Modern Quilt Wrap in Noro Kureyon Sock. (Jasmin is knitting hers in color S188.) Jasmin is knitting hers on size 4 US/3.5mm needles. Jasmin is knitting it at a tighter gauge and will block it to size for aesthetic reasons. (Jasmin downloaded it from knittingdaily.com .)
Mother Knows Best: (26:55)
Stitches West tips!
1- Determine your budget.
2- Stick to your budget.
Strategies: (A note to Dr. Gemma from CogKNITive- our strategies are less helpful than yours for real life.)
- Make your wishlist. (Jasmin's includes one of Lisa Souza's batts, some wensleydale, and some polwarth. The polwarth is Meghan's, of Stitch-it fame, fault.)
- Gigi will be buying some sock yarn.
- Jasmin encourages you to take your list on a post-it.
- Go through your stash so you don't replicate colors that you have a lot of in your stash.
- Always buy more yarn, rather than less.
Tips for shopping the market:
- Gigi walks through the market the first time with the vendor catalog. If she sees something she likes, she makes a note. She does zero purchasing on the first round. (Jasmin is the same, but will purchase if she comes across something on her wishlist.)
- On Gigi's second walkthrough, she eliminates items that she's not in love with.
- On Gigi's third walkthrough, she starts making purchases. If it was meant to be, it will still be there.
- First time attendees: Go with someone who has gone before.
- Eat a good breakfast.
- Wear good shoes.
- Pack a healthy lunch and bring a bottle of water. (Jasmin recommends getting a BPA-free Nalgene bottle and clipping it to your bag with a carabiner.)
- Make sure to sit. And socialize!
- Shop from vendors who are out of your normal area.
- Don't buy yarns that you have access to at your LYS. Hold off on those purchases until the month AFTER Stitches.
Holidays with the Knitmores: (43:28)
Valentine's Day gift suggestions for knitters/spinners:
- A Netflix subscription and/or a Roku box
- A bouquet of handpainted sock yarns.
- Beautiful knitting/spinning tools
- Unusual/beautiful drop spindles. (Jasmin is especially fond of the Golding drop spindles.)
- Fiber!
- A class
- A gift certificate for time to knit, uninterrupted.
- Really good quality chocolate.
- A lovely mug, and possibly a mug warmer.
- A trip to an out-of-town fiber festival.
When Knitting Attacks! (49:01)
Gigi installs an enclosed zipper BEAUTIFULLY. And backwards.
The Crown Mountain Superwash Merino (in Black Magic Woman) is so lovely, even Hana (the Akita puppy) wanted some.
(Public Service Announcement: Do not leave fiber or yarn out where your pets can get to it. Ingested yarn or roving can cause obstructions which can be fatal to your pet.)
Events: (51:47)
Go give Tika's podcast, Gives Good Knit, a listen!
Come meet us at Stitches West on Saturday, February 28th from 2-4PM in the Purlescence booth!
