Episode 13 - Unlucky For Some

Full show notes are always available at www.stitchedtogether.co.uk, under the Podcast Button.

Plotting

The STSAL2014 finishes on 30th April 2014, so there is still time to get your spinning of 100g/3.5oz of fibre finished.  There have been some amazing entries posted in the FO Thread, so even if you haven't joined in I highly recommend taking a peek for inspiration.

I finished my Fondant Fibre punis in the Malachite colourway and I loved spinning them on my Enid Ashcroft Bocote Tibetan Spindle.  The final yarn is a true 3-ply and is a light fingering weight. There are 267 m/292 yds and I am really happy with how my long draw technique is still improving. The yarn is nice and lofty as a woollen spun yarn should be.

I took part in Sarah's KAL, #CFTCSPRINGKAL. Sarah's blog is Crafts from the Cwtch. The KAL started on 15th March and runs until 30th April 2014 and the pattern I knit was Miss Winkle by Martina Behm. I'm using some old stash yarn, Flinders Sock by The Thylacine in the Pepperberry Colourway.  The yarn is 70% merino and 30% seacell.  I bought this yarn in January 2011!

I also plan on knitting the Spate mitts from Journey by Shannon Cook and Jane Richmond.  I was lucky enough to win the book from Stockinette Zombies a while ago.  I have wound the yarn I plan to use, Dream in Color Classy in Plum.

I have got the yarn from Alafoss, in Iceland, to start the Maren cardigan, which is from a Craftsy class, Top Down Icelandic Sweater, with Ragga Eiriksdottir. I'm now a Craftsy Affiliate so if you buy the class after following the link, I will receive a small payment.  The class was excellent and covers stranded colourwork, and steeking the sweater as well as lots of other little tricks, such as adding ribbon to stabilise the button band and crocheting on button loops.

My main colour is rich navy colour with, soft very light grey for the contrast colour. The light aqua colour will be for the accents.

I'm playing around with some lace patterns as I would really like to design another big(ish) shawl. I think it will have some vague Faroese influences to it's shape. The shawl I knit in this style was by Anne Hanson and it is called Maplewing.

Done and Dusted

The fibre I was spinning in the last episode has resulted in some gorgeous yarn.  It is a 2-ply construction and it is roughly a light fingering/3-ply weight.  It is 350 m/283 yds in length.  The Fondant Fibre MCN is delicious and I want more! I blogged about it here.

As I have been ill, I have lots of basic knitting and spinning. After finishing the STSAL2014 project I wanted to do something mindless and without much thought. I spun up some BFL fibre from Gale's Art I bought before Christmas. I spun the yarn as a 2-ply, worsted style, keeping it lofty to ensure a smooth yarn which retained some of the bounce of the original fibre.  I got 221 m/243 yds of a DK weight yarn, that self stripes. I blogged about it here. Elizabeth Green Musselman of the Dark Matter Knits Podcast kindly gifted me the Cattywampus Hat to knit with yarn.

I finished some Twisted Limone Tangy Sock socks, in the Find The River colourway.

I shortened the length of the foot on these socks as an experiment to prevent baggy heels after wearing for a day.  It worked but the first day was rather snug.  I probably won't repeat the experiment.

I finished the Lerryn Mittens by Rachael Coopey that I originally started for the Winter Warmer KAL.  The pattern was from the book The Scrumptious Collection Volume 3 published by Fyberspates and reviewed by me on the blog, in January 2014.

The mittens are knit in The English Gentleman DK by Countess Ablaze in the Shiver colourway.  The 50% BFL/50% Masham of the yarn gives a really interesting texture. I talked about Rachel Coopey's new book Toasty Vol. 1. The book uses Titus yarn made by Baa Ram Ewe.

I finished the cowl that I originally designed for my Mum's birthday. I used Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in the Saffron colourway, that was a gift from the lovely Tara. Thank you Tara!

I went back to working on Ridgeland by Marc Smollin. I started it in October and it got put to a side when Christmas knitting became important.  I never picked it back up, but as I decided I wanted to to finish off some of the WIPs that I've got laying around, I got on with it. I blogged about it here.

I finished some vanilla socks knit in the Nicole C. Méndez striped yarn I talked about in the last episode.  I love these zingy colours.

With these socks I used a trick suggested by Emily of the Watcha Swatchin Podcast, in order to maintain the stripes I knit the heels using the other end of the yarn and after it's finished switch back to the end I knit the rest of the sock with. I means there is no disruption on the stripes.

I knit a Whippoorwill by Carina Spencer for my friend Rachael.  She fell in love with a rainbow one that she saw on the Great British Sewing Bee.  She asked if I knew what it was and it's Sarah's version knit in Kauni Effektgarn, in the EQ colourway.  She's getting it as a late birthday present as she only spotted it a week before her birthday, but she liked the wip on the needles that she got in a gift bag.

I manage to start and finish another pair of socks since the last podcast. These, once again, are knit to my vanilla pattern and the yarn is from Penguin Soup and was an oops. I don't care because I love this yarn, Tuxedo Glitz, and it meant I could afford to buy it and get it shipped from the US.

Finally, I have released my Ribbon and Rings Cowl pattern for purchase.  It's on Ravelry, priced at £1.75.

Nose to the Grindstone

I started the Simene Stole I liked from the Scrumptious Collection Vol. 3, the yarn I bought, Fyberspates Scrumptious Lace in the Teal colourway, is gorgeous. The lace pattern is easily read and I'm enjoying doing a bit of lace that isn't too challenging.

I decided to work on some socks, other than vanilla, so I found a pattern from The Knit Stitch Pattern Handbook: An Essential Collection of 300 Designer Stitches and Techniques to add to my normal sock pattern. The pattern is called Little Boxes and it has made the socks even more squishy than I hoped. The socks are knit from Hedgehog Fibres Twist Sock in the Tornado Over London colourway.  The yarn is BFL and nylon and has a very high twist. The yarn was bought from The Golden Skein as a spare skein after the club shipments had gone out. It is cheaper to buy the club shipment, but as I have a finite budget I  was happy to buy just my favourite skein.

I've just cast on Sleeves by Martina Behm.  I bought the pattern a while ago and I've finally collected enough sock yarn scraps from my stash that I think will work together for this pattern. Some of the scraps are more like half skeins.  They fit very nicely in my gorgeous new bag from Fondant Fibres.

My sock yarn blanket squares are progressing nicely. I have 24 now. 

Splashed Out

Another 2 skeins of Countess Ablaze The English Gentleman DK in the You Keep Me on the Edge of My Seat colourway. It's a DK weight, measuring 262 yds/240 m in length made of 50% BFL/50% Masham. It's a 2-ply woolen construction,

There was a free postage offer on Stockinette Zombies a couple of weeks ago for Juno Fibre Arts, so I bought Milly Singles in the Peacock colourway. It's a 4ply/fingering weight yarn, 400 yds/365 m in length and comprised of 100% merino.

I got an Oops from Penguin Soup in the Tuxedo Glitz base.  It's black, green and yellow striped.  I loved this base and the socks knit from it are one of my favourite pairs.  I was delighted to find the base discounted in a colourway I liked, even if there is an oops! It's 430 yds/393 m in length, comprised of 75% merino/20% nylon/5% stellina and is a 2-ply construction.

I also ordered some fibre from Spin City quite a while ago.  It took a little longer than expected to get here, however the vendor added an extra batt to compensate, along with a lovely apology.

The batts concerned are gradients in the Meteor colourway. They are made of bamboo,corriedale and merino.  I have 200g/7oz of fibre running from grey through to navy blue.

I also got a lovely blend, in the Paintbox colourway. It's comprised of alpaca, merino and BFL and weighs 100g/3.5oz. Funnily enough, one of the participants in the SAL, mariamc67, is spinning this exact blend.

I went a bit nuts last week and ordered some amazing organic merino fibre, in the Inked colourway from Fondant Fibre.  I got 100g and it feels really different from normal merino.

I also pre-ordered some laceweight in the same colourway. It's 100% Mulberry Silk and is 900 m/984 yds.

In my week of madness I also ordered some yarn from Countess Ablaze, both from this March's 12 Caesars Collection. The first is Viscount of Spark in the Riots and Revolts colourway.  This a 4ply/fingering weight yarn in 75% merino/20% nylon/5% stellina, 400m/437yds.

The other skein was Count Cashmerino Worsted in the If They Deserve This Honour colourway. It's 80% merino/10% cashmere/10% nylon, in a worsted weight, 210m/230yds.

I managed to score another Enid Ashcroft spindle.  This time it's a Compact Tibetan made with a Thuja Burl whorl and an Ebony shaft.  It weighs 25g and is beautifully balanced and spins incredibly fast.

Lastly I bought some yarn from John Arbon Textiles, two skeins of Alpaca Sock, one in Charcoal and the other in Sapphire. The yarn is a 4ply/fingering weight made of 60% alpaca/20% merino/20% nylon. There is 309m/338yds in each skein.

I bought this yarn with the intention of making a colourwork hat or cowl. I'd not used it before, but it really appealed to me.  I'm getting into "woolly" yarn lately.

Of course there is the bag from Fondant Fibre.

I went on a bit of a bag spree and bought two from Daisy Bun Boo, one was a regular size project bag with pretty bunting on it.

The second bag is Extra Large and has camper vans on it. I couldn't resist as we had camper vans when I was a child and I loved them.  This bag is HUGE and is perfect for storing my sock yarn blanket and yarn scraps.

Toolbox & Quest for Knowledge & 
Crafting Library

These are all in one this week as I talk about Craftsy.com.  I love the Craftsy format and have tried lots of different classes and they all have been incredibly useful, as I talked about earlier. As I rave about the site so much I decided to become a Craftsy Affliate, because I really believe in their product and would be recommending them anyway, and by becoming an Affliate there is the possibility of earning something towards the running costs of the podcast.  So, if you want to support the podcast you can join Craftsy, which is free, using this link and I will receive a small payment. If you use this link and you buy anything within 30 days, I will also receive payment. These payments will hopefully go some way to offsetting my running costs and postage bills!  I've also joined the Amazon Associate program and I've provided a page on the podcast and blog websites called "Support the Podcast and Blog". This goes into more detail about how I'm hoping to carry on funding the podcast.

Online Community

I'd just like to thank publicly the person (who wanted to remain anonymous) who made the first donation I've ever received.  It will go towards paying postage on the STSAL2014 prizes.  If anyone wants to contribute to the costs of running the podcast and sending out prizes, there is a drop down menu on the right of the podcast part of the website.  It's a drop down menu to select how much you want to donate as I'm not set up as charity and therefore I am unable to put a donate button on the site.

Lyndsey of Countess Ablaze has very kindly offered a great prize to you. TWO skeins of This Ain't A Scene on Tia Merino (single ply superwash merino fingering weight - 400 yards / 366m) and a black tote bag (380mm wide x 410mm deep) with long handles, to put it in. Lyndsey has kindly offered to post these items worldwide to the winner.

I love this colourway and used it to make one of my many Sockhead Hats. It's bright and fun, just in time for the warmer weather. As you have two skeins you could make a matching set of hat and long mitts, or maybe a large shawl. I think Concavus would work brilliantly as a showcase for this yarn.

I have opened a thread on the Ravelry Board, and the contest closes on Friday 16th May 2014 (to give International entrants a chance I'll close the thread when I get up on Saturday morning. To enter you have to be a member of the group and state what your favourite colourway and base would be from Countess Ablaze, if you could choose from any of her current work.

Lyndsey very rarely does giveaways, so I'm especially grateful to her for being so generous.  I hope I can tempt you all as much as I've been tempted by her yarns over the last couple of years, they are wonderful to work with and her colour sense is incredible.

Episode 12 - Half Asleep But Trying!

Full show notes are always available at www.stitchedtogether.co.uk, under the Podcast Button.

Plotting

Ravellenic Games are now over.  I have finished the knitting on the Foolproof cowl that used the Old Maiden Aunt yarn I bought in support of Stonewall UK.  I had some yarn in stash that was almost identical in colour to the dark purple that runs through this fingering weight yarn.  The yarn I used was Ripples Crafts Hand Dyed Yarns Reliable Sock in the Venetian Purple colourway. I enjoyed the pattern and will be knitting it again.  I blogged here.

I spun and set the lovely corriedale fibre dyed by BabyLongLegs.  I spun it quite loose and thick and then chain plied it, to preserve the colour changes.  It is the most even yarn I've spun to date.

I made up a cowl, only it wasn't working for me.  I frogged it and started again.  I lined it with leftover yarn from another project.  I blogged about it here.

My entry into my own Winter Warmer KAL seems to have been changed from the Mitts (which I intend to finish after the Ravellenics, to the Foolproof.

The Stitched Together SAL 2014 is started 1st March and is running to April 30th. The prizes will include: Issue 3 of PLY Magazine (the Woolen Issue), Project Bag from Fondant Fibres along with the Pink Gradient Shetland fibre (link to my project) and stitch markers, a set of red camel and silk punis from Elly's Knit (in)Sanity. You must spin at least 100g/3.5oz of fibre, post a photo and details of the project AND a suggestion of what pattern or project you could use your yarn for, in the FO Thread.  Please no chatter in the FO Thread, use the Chat Thread. If you want to blog, tweet or Instagram about it please use #STSAL2014.  Please not

Done and Dusted

As well as the two Ravellenics projects, I have done two other knitting projects. The first project was Viajante by Martina Behm, knit in Wollmeise Lace-Garn, in the Cornflower colourway.

This was started in September 2013 and I enjoyed every minute of knitting it!  I blogged about it here.

The second knitting project was another pair of striped socks, this time knit Nicole C. Méndez Ringel Sockenwolle.  I did it in the usual vanilla pattern with the Fish Kiss Lips Heel.

I also finished some spinning, Countess Ablaze Polwarth in an unknown colourway.  Somehow it never got put onto Ravelry and the card didn't give a colour name. I blogged about here.

The fibre was spun off the fold, long draw.  The fibre was combed top, so the resulting yarn is a semi-woollen (I think).  I have 165m of worsted(ish) weight, 2-ply yarn.  I spun it on my medium weight Wildcraft support spindle.

Nose to the Grindstone

I have knit several more blanket squares.  I now have a total of 12 in my pile

I have spun some samples from the nests from Fondant Fibre that I talked about in the last episode.  I have decided I will spin it worsted and make it into a 2-ply yarn.  This should result in a finer yarn than the last few I've spun.

As it is an MCN blend, it's a wonderful thing to spin.

I've cast on another pair of striped socks.  I have decided to make the foot length slightly shorter as the heel begins to bag after being worn for a few hours.  I am using Twisted Limone Tangy Sock in the "Find The River" colourway. I've knit the first sock.

Splashed Out

I got two skeins of Wollmeise Pure 100% Superwash Merino in the "Sanguinella" and "Turkis" colourways.

I want add these two skeins to another one I have in my stash which is almost black purple, and create some sort of lace/colour blocked wrap.

I bought another skein of Tangy Sock yarn from Twisted Limone in the "Find The River" colourway.

I bought another skein of the Nicole C. Méndez Ringel Sockenwolle in a three stripe, magenta, blue and yellow.  You get a mini packet of gummy bears too, with your order.  Sweets will always make a purchaser happy!

I have tried to resist Yarn Love on Meadow Yarn for some time, in particular the sport weight, Marianne Dashwood, but they have decided to stop stocking it and have it on discount.  I could no longer resist.  It is 300m/330yds of superwash merino and it's delicious.  I got the "Persian Bride" colourway.

I wish I could afford more of this yarn because it would make an awesome garment.  I'll have to make do with an accessory.

I was also incredibly lucky to find out that a friend in Leicester was sorting out her fibre stash.  She thought of me because I was so happy to find the Babylonglegs fibre for my Ravellenics project.  She had 5 braids of Babylonglegs fibre and another of KraftyKoala fibre.  She offered it for a bargain price and brought it around too!  Just before this happened I'd decided to splurge and buy some fibre from Sarah's Texture Crafts for the first time.  I had bought 3 braids.  So I've been a bit overwhelmed with fibre.  Instead of telling you all the details now, I'll save it until I use it to spread it out a bit.  You can see it all on my stash pages.

Toolbox

I got a stemmed support spindle bowl.  It is making spinning much easier.  The photo of it can be seen above with the Fondant Fibre spinning.  I got it from the maker, via eBay.

Episode 11 - It's Less Than An Hour

Full show notes are always available at www.stitchedtogether.co.uk, under the Podcast Button.

Plotting

Winter Warmer KAL has got going and several people have posted finished objects.  You still have plenty of time to start a Winter accessory, so go and have a look at the Chat thread for inspiration and assistance or add a photo to the FO Thread to enter.  A new prize has been added by the very kind LauraSue.  She has offered to send a prize of 7 skeins of Louisa Harding Grace in colourway 01, a very very light pink.  The yarn is 50% merino, 50% silk and 101m/110yds per skein and a DK weight.  This is an amazingly generous prize donation.

The Ravellenic Games is upon us.  I had very mixed feelings about joining in with this.News reports regarding the Games can be found here and here, and Human Rights Watch give a good summary of the situation here.  I have decided to join in loosely after reading this post.

I'd love to know what teams people are joining in the episode chat thread.  I managed to get some rainbow fibre dyed by BabyLongLegs in a destash (Sarah no longer dyes fibre) that I think is perfect to spin along with in support of LGBT rights being smothered in Russia.  It is 100% corriedale and weighs 100g.

Spinning it will help me focus on something important without distancing myself from the athletes and all their struggles and sacrifices on the way to excellence.  I also bought a skein of the Old Maiden Aunt yarn that Lilith has dyed in order to raise funds for Stonewall UK, who do really good work in raising awareness of LGBT issues.

The yarn is 100% Superwash Merino 4ply, and cost £15.00 +P&P. £5.00 of the price will be donated to Stonewall UK.  This Old Maiden Aunt yarn that I am going to use to knit something during the Winter Games, is in the "Nothing to Hide Colourway".  It is 100% superwash merino in a 4ply/fingering weight.  It has 395m/400yds from 100g of yarn.

I'm also planning a spin-a-long for March. Think about what fibre you would like to spin and how.  I'm not going to set any "criteria" other than you must spin at least 100g of fibre.  If you want to talk about it, do so in the Episode Thread.

Done and Dusted

Vanilla Socks with Fish Lips Kiss Heel, made with Knitters Nightmare Boogieman Sock in the "Thank You For Being A Friend" colourway, that I told you about last episode.

Now I've made the leg an inch taller than previously and incorporated increases in the back of the calf, these socks fit me the best out of any socks I've made before.

French Can-Can Shawl by Mademoiselle C.  I used Stylecraft Ethical Twist 70/30 in Camel colourway.  I used 529yds/484m of yarn.

It's already been nabbed by my friend.

I've finished spinning some fibre that I shared in the last episode, Fondant Fibre Falkland Silk.  It's a chain plied, worsted to heavy worsted weight yarn, from 97g, I got 110m/120yds.

I've also finished the fibre that I dyed yellow.  It is happy yarn!

This superwash merino produced 89g of sport/fingering weight yarn, measuring 227m/248yds.

Nose to the Grindstone

For the Winter Warmer KAL I cast on Lerryn Mittens by by Rachel Coopey in Countess Ablaze The English Gentleman DK in the Shiver colourway, that I told you about last episode.

The pattern is from Scrumptious Collection Volume 3, which I reviewed on the blog.  There is a giveaway of the book which you can enter on the review post, before Friday, 7th February 2014.

I've done a tiny bit on the infinity scarf in Madeline Tosh Tosh Sock and the Viajante is nearly at the point where the lace mesh starts.

I've been working on sock yarn blanket squares.  I've been saving up sock yarn scraps for several years. I'm using Sock Yarn Squares by Sharon Geddes.  My only difference to this pattern is NOT to knit in the back of the loop on YOs.  This makes the squares look quite a lot like the Barn Raising Quilt Squares.  I blame Aimee and Darren of the Knitting in Circles podcast.

I already have 9 squares done.

I cast on Shaped Capelet with Braided Cables.  The pattern is from Knit.Wear Premiere 2011 and is by Erica Patburg. I'm using Deramores Vintage Chunky in colourway 008.

I've obviously cast on another pair of vanilla striped socks with a Fish Lips Kiss Heel, using Nicole C. Méndez Ringel Sockenwolle in colourway #33.

I'm seriously addicted to self striping socks now.  I blame Megan of The Stockinette Zombies Podcast! I keep entering in her Self Striping KAL thread.

Splashed Out

I bought the yarn I'm using in my new self striping socks, from Nicole C. Méndez, who is a German ETSY seller.  She does interesting colours in yarn and fibre.

It's is comprised of 75% wool/25% nylon in a 4ply/fingering weight and is 395m/432yds in length from a 95g skein.  It is tightly plied and has good stitch definition.

Pamela Sock from Posh Yarns, in "The Door Just Opened For Someone" colourway.

It's a 4 ply/fingering weight yarn comprised of 75% Merino/20% Nylon/5% Other and gives 400m/440yds from 100g.

Fyberspates Scrumptious Lace in the Teal colourway, has 1000m/1094yds from 100g.  It is made up of 55% merino/45% silk.  I'm going to use it for the Simene Stole from the book I reviewed.

Malachite Punis from Fondant Fibre.  They are made of 65% Merino/20% Shetland/15% Yak.  I got 100g. This is a repeatable colourway.

Deeply Dippy Nests from Fondant Fibre are made from 70% Merino/15% Cashmere/15% Nylon.  I have 100g.  I mention Elly of Ellys knit (in)sanity.

Toolbox


There was a sale on at Moo (they happen fairly regularly if you get on their mailing list you will be notified of them). I got these postcards printed to use for keeping record of what I'm spinning to use as reference material.

The idea is to wrap the sample singles and different plying around the card to keep accurate.

Then there was another sale and I got some MiniCards to use for the fibre I spun into yarn and also my hand dyed yarn.

I got rounded corners so it wouldn't snag my yarn! I got my business cards printed by Moo and also some stickers I use when I send out prizes etc.  If you want to give them a go, use this link and I get some credit against my next purchase.  I cannot fault their quality or service.

Quest for Knowledge

I studied the Craftsy class by Anne Hanson, The Ins and Outs of Grafting.  It is a free class and useful for showing clearly and slowing the different types of grafting you might need to do.

There is also a good tutorial on www.socknitters.com, that focuses on grafting toes of socks.

Wise Hilda has put together a good aide memoire for grafting that is useful to refer to when you know how to graft but always forget the order you do it in.

I have used Woolly Wormhead's tutorials several times and they are very good for grafting, these tutorials and others can be found here.

I mentioned using Evernote to keep track of things.

Online Community

Thank you to Emily of the FibreTown podcast for her iTunes review.  I love her video podcast and highly recommend you check it out.  I only check the UK and USA iTunes stores for reviews, so if you post one on a store for a different country please let me know so I can check it out.

I have added the podcast to Stitcher, if you use that service for listening to podcasts.  The show is linked here.

If you use a different podcatcher and haven't found Stitched Together on it, please let me know and I'll see what I can do about getting it added.