Ep 119 recorded  7/14/23 - Tour de Fleece FOs Tanwen cowl for my neighbor, the winner of my prize drawing for all the Knit For Food Knitathon donators WIPs Hitchhiker #8? 9? In Lion Briand Shawl in a Ball (discontinued).  This is a simple garter stitch shawl by Martina Behm. Snowflake Sweater Scarf using Big Twist Heather in Grey bought at Joann’s, I’m onto the 3rd section Davit designed for Berroco by Amy Palmer, knit using Silk Noir by Great Adirondack Yarn Co bought at Rhinebeck last year. This was a project from before my wrist surgery. Spinning Tour de Fleece is in full swing and I’m on my 4th bobbin of some old, cheap cotton that I bought 1 pound of (just under half a kilo) at a festival many years ago.  On the Run Ballet class got delayed but started up again last week I’ve Got Sunshine Cheers to finding a new veterinarian.  

Ep 119 recorded  7/14/23 - Tour de Fleece FOs Tanwen cowl for my neighbor, the winner of my prize drawing for all the Knit For Food Knitathon donators WIPs <a href="https://www.strickmich-shop.de/en/Hitchhiker-DA1001-DE" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hitchhiker</a> #8? 9? In Lion Briand Shawl in a Ball (discontinued).  This is a simple garter stitch shawl by Martina Behm. <a href="https://www.knitatude.ca/shop/snowfall-sweater-scarf-knitting-pattern" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Snowflake Sweater Scarf</a> using Big Twist Heather in Grey bought at Joann’s, I’m onto the 3rd section <a href="https://www.berroco.com/patterns/davit" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Davit</a> designed for Berroco by Amy Palmer, knit using Silk Noir by <a href="https://sweethorsedesignco.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Great Adirondack Yarn Co</a> bought at Rhinebeck last year. This was a project from before my wrist surgery. Spinning Tour de Fleece is in full swing and I’m on my 4th bobbin of some old, cheap cotton that I bought 1 pound of (just under half a kilo) at a festival many years ago.  On the Run Ballet class got delayed but started up again last week I’ve Got Sunshine Cheers to finding a new veterinarian.

119 Tour de Fleece 2023

Ep 118 recorded  6/29/23 I can knit!  I can even Purl! FOs Pride Shawl I finished it about 20 minutes ago.  Pattern is Willowbrook by Brenda Castiel.   WIPs Hitchhiker #8? 9? In Lion Briand Shawl in a Ball (discontinued).  This is a simple garter stitch shawl by Martina Behm. Snowflake Sweater Scarf designed by Knitatude using Big Twist Heather in Grey bought at Joann’s On the Run I’m very excited that my wrist is healing nicely and I’ll be back in ballet class next week! I’ve Got Sunshine Date night in Boston!  

Ep 118 recorded  6/29/23 I can knit!  I can even Purl! FOs Pride Shawl I finished it about 20 minutes ago.  Pattern is <a href="https://www.lovecrafts.com/en-us/p/willowbrook-shawl-knitting-pattern-by-brenda-castiel-designs" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Willowbrook by Brenda Castiel</a>.   WIPs <a href="https://www.strickmich-shop.de/en/Hitchhiker-DA1001-DE" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hitchhiker</a> #8? 9? In Lion Briand Shawl in a Ball (discontinued).  This is a simple garter stitch shawl by Martina Behm. <a href="https://www.knitatude.ca/shop/snowfall-sweater-scarf-knitting-pattern" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Snowflake Sweater Scarf</a> designed by Knitatude using Big Twist Heather in Grey bought at Joann’s On the Run I’m very excited that my wrist is healing nicely and I’ll be back in ballet class next week! I’ve Got Sunshine Date night in Boston!

118 She Told Me To Knit More

Ep 117 recorded  6/5/23 Back from break, had wrist surgery WIPs Socks for Thing 1 – turned the heel (again!) Davit finished the body and blocked!  I need to seam the shoulders and hopefully I’ll be able to knit sleeves soon because I am SOOOO CLOSE Find Your Fade designed by Andrea Mowry, knit in Midori Bamboo from The Fiber Lady in a discontinued colorway, plus cotton/bamboo sportweight from Great Adirondack Yarn Co.   I’m nearly back to the 2nd lace section after the Knitting Fail from last episode Tanwen cowl (Ravelry)– designed by Thayer Preece Parker.  I finished the knitting and blocked it! I have tried a tiny bit of knitting since the surgery.  I’ve knit a total of 3 rows on my latest Hitchhiker in Lion Brand Shawl in a Ball.  It’s a fuzzy yarn in a garter stitch pattern, so gauge does not matter.  Which is good, because I’m not getting gauge at all ha ha Knitting Fail More drama with Thing 1’s socks – I was on the third version of these blasted socks.   Spinning Finished spinning the green fiber from Buchanan Fiber after the surgery.  Orders were to move my fingers 10 times per hour so I decided to be productive.  Plied on my Lendrum to give that wrist a break and have 933 yards 3-ply heavy fingering. Startes some old, cheap cotton.  Not my favorite to spin, but it spins thicker than most cottons, so I’m planning a 4-ply DK and I’m going yo dye it.  1 bobbin done, bought several new bobbins from Etsy Started purple silk that I bought at Wayland Farm and Fiber Days Started bamboo/faux cashmere blend bought from the now-closed Maine Top Mill On the Run Finally started exercising again this past week.  Went for a 1.5 mile walk around the block and really enjoyed it.   I’ve Got Sunshine Rain on the Nova Scotia fires!

Ep 117 recorded  6/5/23 Back from break, had wrist surgery WIPs Socks for Thing 1 – turned the heel (again!) <a href="https://www.berroco.com/patterns/davit" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Davit</a> finished the body and blocked!  I need to seam the shoulders and hopefully I’ll be able to knit sleeves soon because I am SOOOO CLOSE <a href="https://www.dreareneeknits.com/shop/find-your-fade-shawl" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Find Your Fade</a> designed by Andrea Mowry, knit in Midori Bamboo from The Fiber Lady in a discontinued colorway, plus cotton/bamboo sportweight from <a href="https://sweethorsedesignco.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Great Adirondack Yarn Co</a>.   I’m nearly back to the 2nd lace section after the Knitting Fail from last episode <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/tanwen" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tanwen cowl (Ravelry)</a>– designed by Thayer Preece Parker.  I finished the knitting and blocked it! I have tried a tiny bit of knitting since the surgery.  I’ve knit a total of 3 rows on my latest Hitchhiker in Lion Brand Shawl in a Ball.  It’s a fuzzy yarn in a garter stitch pattern, so gauge does not matter.  Which is good, because I’m not getting gauge at all ha ha Knitting Fail More drama with Thing 1’s socks – I was on the third version of these blasted socks.   Spinning Finished spinning the green fiber from Buchanan Fiber after the surgery.  Orders were to move my fingers 10 times per hour so I decided to be productive.  Plied on my Lendrum to give that wrist a break and have 933 yards 3-ply heavy fingering. Startes some old, cheap cotton.  Not my favorite to spin, but it spins thicker than most cottons, so I’m planning a 4-ply DK and I’m going yo dye it.  1 bobbin done, bought several new bobbins from Etsy Started purple silk that I bought at Wayland Farm and Fiber Days Started bamboo/faux cashmere blend bought from the now-closed Maine Top Mill On the Run Finally started exercising again this past week.  Went for a 1.5 mile walk around the block and really enjoyed it.   I’ve Got Sunshine Rain on the Nova Scotia fires!

117 - Bring On The Rain

Ep 115 recorded  4/30/23 All the Fails WIPs Socks for Thing 1 – I turned the heel and ran into trouble, more on that later. Davit designed for Berroco by Amy Palmer, knit using Silk Noir by Great Adirondack Yarn Co bought at Rhinebeck last year. I finished one side’s short rows and all I have left to do is the other side’s short rows and sew the back edges to the shoulders.  So close! Find Your Fade designed by Andrea Mowry, knit in Midori Bamboo from The Fiber Lady in a discontinued colorway, plus cotton/bamboo sportweight from Great Adirondack Yarn Co.  Tanwen cowl (Ravelry)– designed by Thayer Preece Parker.  This is the prize for the Knit For Food Knitathon winner.  I’m working it up in Lana Grossa Elastico, a plant-based yarn with elastic in it so it works cables beautifully.   Summer Happiness Crochet Top designed by Concept Creative in Scheepjes Whirl in the color Sherbert Rainbow, a pastel rainbow from pink to blue.   Knitting Fail Thing 1’s socks -so proud of myself turning the heel walking from the Washington Monument to the Capitol Building when I realized the sock didn’t look right.  I’d grabbed the wrong needles!  I meant to use US 2 (2.75mm) but I grabbed US 1s (2.25mm).   Tanwen – I worked on this a lot riding the DC Metro and while driving with friends to the Air and Space Museum out at Dulles, the one with Space Shuttle Discovery.  This pattern is an 8-row repeat that is easy to memorize, but the cable pattern is tight.  It’s easy to think, oh, the next right side row is the cable row, it doesn’t need a cable yet.  Wrong, it is the cable row, rip it back. Summer Happiness – I’m on the 3rd of 4 repeats that make up this top and at this point the rows are getting long.  And while on the train to DC I finished one row and got nearly to the end of a second when I realized that I had screwed up way back near the beginning of the previous row.  And it wasn’t a mistake I could fudge around, there weren’t enough holes in the resulting fabric to place all the next row’s stitches.  So I had to rip back alllllll my work.  Grrrrr.  Spinning More progress on my current spin, some beautiful green lightly-speckled cotton from Buchanan Fiber. I brought my Nano2 on the trian on our visit to DC. It worked like a charm!  I finished the 2nd bobbin and as of today I’m nearly done with the 3rd.  I hope to finish it this week. On the Run We walked soooooooo many miles in Washington DC – 9 miles alone our first full day!   Out and About – upcoming Fiber Events around New England NH Sheep and Wool – May 13 &amp; 14 MA Sheep and Woolcraft Fair - May 27-28, Memorial Day Weekend Maine Fiber Frolic – June 3 &amp; 4 I’ve Got Sunshine As I’ve mentioned several times, we went to Washington DC last week for school vacation.  What I didn’t say is that one of my childhood besties lives down there.  We got to hang out at least a little every day and it was marvelous.  She and I even snuck away for dinner one night, leaving all the kids with our husbands, and we got a little girl time in

Ep 115 recorded  4/30/23 All the Fails WIPs Socks for Thing 1 – I turned the heel and ran into trouble, more on that later. <a href="https://www.berroco.com/patterns/davit" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Davit</a> designed for Berroco by Amy Palmer, knit using Silk Noir by <a href="https://sweethorsedesignco.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Great Adirondack Yarn Co</a> bought at Rhinebeck last year. I finished one side’s short rows and all I have left to do is the other side’s short rows and sew the back edges to the shoulders.  So close! <a href="https://www.dreareneeknits.com/shop/find-your-fade-shawl" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Find Your Fade</a> designed by Andrea Mowry, knit in Midori Bamboo from The Fiber Lady in a discontinued colorway, plus cotton/bamboo sportweight from <a href="https://sweethorsedesignco.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Great Adirondack Yarn Co</a>.  <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/tanwen" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tanwen cowl (Ravelry)</a>– designed by Thayer Preece Parker.  This is the prize for the Knit For Food Knitathon winner.  I’m working it up in Lana Grossa Elastico, a plant-based yarn with elastic in it so it works cables beautifully.   <a href="https://conceptcreative.store/shop/summer-happiness-poncho-crochet-pattern-crochet-tutorial-in-english/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Summer Happiness Crochet Top</a> designed by Concept Creative in Scheepjes Whirl in the color Sherbert Rainbow, a pastel rainbow from pink to blue.   Knitting Fail Thing 1’s socks -so proud of myself turning the heel walking from the Washington Monument to the Capitol Building when I realized the sock didn’t look right.  I’d grabbed the wrong needles!  I meant to use US 2 (2.75mm) but I grabbed US 1s (2.25mm).   Tanwen – I worked on this a lot riding the DC Metro and while driving with friends to the Air and Space Museum out at Dulles, the one with Space Shuttle Discovery.  This pattern is an 8-row repeat that is easy to memorize, but the cable pattern is tight.  It’s easy to think, oh, the next right side row is the cable row, it doesn’t need a cable yet.  Wrong, it is the cable row, rip it back. Summer Happiness – I’m on the 3rd of 4 repeats that make up this top and at this point the rows are getting long.  And while on the train to DC I finished one row and got nearly to the end of a second when I realized that I had screwed up way back near the beginning of the previous row.  And it wasn’t a mistake I could fudge around, there weren’t enough holes in the resulting fabric to place all the next row’s stitches.  So I had to rip back alllllll my work.  Grrrrr.  Spinning More progress on my current spin, some beautiful green lightly-speckled cotton from Buchanan Fiber. I brought my Nano2 on the trian on our visit to DC. It worked like a charm!  I finished the 2nd bobbin and as of today I’m nearly done with the 3rd.  I hope to finish it this week. On the Run We walked soooooooo many miles in Washington DC – 9 miles alone our first full day!   Out and About – upcoming Fiber Events around New England <a href="https://nhswga.org/nh-sheep-wool-festival/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">NH Sheep and Wool</a> – May 13 &amp; 14 <a href="https://masheepwool.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MA Sheep and Woolcraft Fair</a> - May 27-28, Memorial Day Weekend <a href="http://www.fiberfrolic.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Maine Fiber Frolic</a> – June 3 &amp; 4 I’ve Got Sunshine As I’ve mentioned several times, we went to Washington DC last week for school vacation.  What I didn’t say is that one of my childhood besties lives down there.  We got to hang out at least a little every day and it was marvelous.  She and I even snuck away for dinner one night, leaving all the kids with our husbands, and we got a little girl time in

116 - All The Fails

Ep 115 recorded  4/28/23 FOs Socks for Thing 2, the second sock is done! Crochet square for Liberty Crochet Mural.  Today I mailed my square to Vermont.  WIPs Socks for Thing 1 – I knit socks for him for Christmas and already they don’t fit.   Songe d’été – Ravelry Link (Summer Dreams) designed by Dreaming In Chocolate Designs, knit using Linea Pura Unico yarn by Lana Grossa (discontinued)  Davit designed for Berroco by Amy Palmer, knit using Silk Noir by Great Adirondack Yarn Co bought at Rhinebeck last year. I’ve reached the short rows for the back, I’m nearly done! Find Your Fade designed by Andrea Mowry, knit in Midori Bamboo from The Fiber Lady in a discontinued colorway, plus cotton/bamboo sportweight from Great Adirondack Yarn Co.   Knitting Fail About ½ an inch down I’d missed the dropped YO and that made a corner I didn’t want.   Spinning More progress on my current spin, some beautiful green lightly-speckled cotton from Buchanan Fiber.  On the Run Not much fitness this week.  I pulled a muscle.  Did you know you have muscles in between each of your ribs?  I totally didn’t.   Out and About – upcoming Fiber Events around New England CT Sheep and Wool - April 29 NH Sheep and Wool – May 13 &amp; 14 MA Sheep and Woolcraft Fair - May 27-28, Memorial Day Weekend Maine Fiber Frolic – June 3 &amp; 4 I’ve Got Sunshine We’ve had lovely weather the last few weeks, so I pulled out my deck planters early and put a few pansies in them and it’s really cheered me up.

Ep 115 recorded  4/28/23 FOs Socks for Thing 2, the second sock is done! Crochet square for Liberty Crochet Mural.  Today I mailed my square to Vermont.  WIPs Socks for Thing 1 – I knit socks for him for Christmas and already they don’t fit.   <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/songe-dete" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Songe d’été – Ravelry Link</a> (Summer Dreams) designed by Dreaming In Chocolate Designs, knit using <a href="https://www.yarn.com/products/lana-grossa-linea-pura-unico" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Linea Pura Unico</a> yarn by Lana Grossa (discontinued)  <a href="https://www.berroco.com/patterns/davit" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Davit</a> designed for Berroco by Amy Palmer, knit using Silk Noir by <a href="https://sweethorsedesignco.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Great Adirondack Yarn Co</a> bought at Rhinebeck last year. I’ve reached the short rows for the back, I’m nearly done! <a href="https://www.dreareneeknits.com/shop/find-your-fade-shawl" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Find Your Fade</a> designed by Andrea Mowry, knit in Midori Bamboo from The Fiber Lady in a discontinued colorway, plus cotton/bamboo sportweight from <a href="https://sweethorsedesignco.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Great Adirondack Yarn Co</a>.   Knitting Fail About ½ an inch down I’d missed the dropped YO and that made a corner I didn’t want.   Spinning More progress on my current spin, some beautiful green lightly-speckled cotton from Buchanan Fiber.  On the Run Not much fitness this week.  I pulled a muscle.  Did you know you have muscles in between each of your ribs?  I totally didn’t.   Out and About – upcoming Fiber Events around New England <a href="https://ctsheep.org/ct-sheep-wool-fiber-festival.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CT Sheep and Wool</a> - April 29 <a href="https://nhswga.org/nh-sheep-wool-festival/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">NH Sheep and Wool</a> – May 13 &amp; 14 <a href="https://masheepwool.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MA Sheep and Woolcraft Fair</a> - May 27-28, Memorial Day Weekend <a href="http://www.fiberfrolic.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Maine Fiber Frolic</a> – June 3 &amp; 4 I’ve Got Sunshine We’ve had lovely weather the last few weeks, so I pulled out my deck planters early and put a few pansies in them and it’s really cheered me up.

115 Multiple FOs

Ep 114 recorded  3/31/23 Suddenly it’s April and wow, where has this year gone already?  Knitathon update - $340,000!!!! That’s $85,000 each to Meals on Wheels, No Kid Hungry, World Central Kitchen and Feeding America. FOs Socks for Thing 2 – his Christmas socks -  I unraveled the leg on both and I started re-doing the legs in 2x2 ribbing.  The first sock is done! WIPs Socks for Thing 1 – I knit socks for him for Christmas and already they don’t fit.   Socks for Thing 2 – 2nd sock leg restarted Songe d’été – Ravelry Link (Summer Dreams) designed by Dreaming In Chocolate Designs, knit using Linea Pura Unico yarn by Lana Grossa (discontinued) a linen/bamboo blend bought at Webs a few years ago.   Davit designed for Berroco by Amy Palmer, knit using Silk Noir by Great Adirondack Yarn Co bought at Rhinebeck last year.  Summer Happiness Crochet Top designed by Concept Creative in Scheepjes Whirl in the color Sherbert Rainbow, a pastel rainbow from pink to blue.   Find Your Fade designed by Andrea Mowry, knit in Midori Bamboo from The Fiber Lady in a discontinued colorway, plus cotton/bamboo sportweight from Great Adirondack Yarn Co.  I’m fading on my own schedule and not on the one written in the pattern.   Frog Princess Dress Blanket designed by Carol Hladik, a Princess Tiana-inspired  blanket crocheted using Joann’s Big Twist acrylic yarn.  Making this for a local charity to raffle off this fall.   On the Run Walking in warm weather – saw a housefire!  Family and dogs are fine. Out and About – upcoming Fiber Events around New England Stitches @ Home – April 1&amp;2 – this weekend! CT Sheep and Wool - April 29 NH Sheep and Wool – May 13 &amp; 14 MA Sheep and Woolcraft Fair - May 27-28, Memorial Day Weekend Maine Fiber Frolic – June 3 &amp; 4 I’ve Got Sunshine Seed starting with my youngest.  He’s my gardener.  10 days ago we transplanted 20 lettuce seedlings then started 184 herbs, veggies and greens.  

Ep 114 recorded  3/31/23 Suddenly it’s April and wow, where has this year gone already?  Knitathon update - $340,000!!!! That’s $85,000 each to Meals on Wheels, No Kid Hungry, World Central Kitchen and Feeding America. FOs Socks for Thing 2 – his Christmas socks -  I unraveled the leg on both and I started re-doing the legs in 2x2 ribbing.  The first sock is done! WIPs Socks for Thing 1 – I knit socks for him for Christmas and already they don’t fit.   Socks for Thing 2 – 2nd sock leg restarted <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/songe-dete" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Songe d’été – Ravelry Link</a> (Summer Dreams) designed by Dreaming In Chocolate Designs, knit using <a href="https://www.yarn.com/products/lana-grossa-linea-pura-unico" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Linea Pura Unico</a> yarn by Lana Grossa (discontinued) a linen/bamboo blend bought at Webs a few years ago.   <a href="https://www.berroco.com/patterns/davit" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Davit</a> designed for Berroco by Amy Palmer, knit using Silk Noir by <a href="https://sweethorsedesignco.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Great Adirondack Yarn Co</a> bought at Rhinebeck last year.  <a href="https://conceptcreative.store/shop/summer-happiness-poncho-crochet-pattern-crochet-tutorial-in-english/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Summer Happiness Crochet Top</a> designed by Concept Creative in Scheepjes Whirl in the color Sherbert Rainbow, a pastel rainbow from pink to blue.   <a href="https://www.dreareneeknits.com/shop/find-your-fade-shawl" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Find Your Fade</a> designed by Andrea Mowry, knit in Midori Bamboo from The Fiber Lady in a discontinued colorway, plus cotton/bamboo sportweight from <a href="https://sweethorsedesignco.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Great Adirondack Yarn Co</a>.  I’m fading on my own schedule and not on the one written in the pattern.   <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/587373290/frog-princess-dress-blanket-crochet" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Frog Princess Dress Blanket</a> designed by Carol Hladik, a Princess Tiana-inspired  blanket crocheted using Joann’s <a href="https://www.joann.com/yarn-needle-arts/featured-brands-yarn/big-twist/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Big Twist</a> acrylic yarn.  Making this for a local charity to raffle off this fall.   On the Run Walking in warm weather – saw a housefire!  Family and dogs are fine. Out and About – upcoming Fiber Events around New England <a href="https://stitches.events/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitches @ Home</a> – April 1&amp;2 – this weekend! <a href="https://ctsheep.org/ct-sheep-wool-fiber-festival.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CT Sheep and Wool</a> - April 29 <a href="https://nhswga.org/nh-sheep-wool-festival/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">NH Sheep and Wool</a> – May 13 &amp; 14 <a href="https://masheepwool.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MA Sheep and Woolcraft Fair</a> - May 27-28, Memorial Day Weekend <a href="http://www.fiberfrolic.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Maine Fiber Frolic</a> – June 3 &amp; 4 I’ve Got Sunshine Seed starting with my youngest.  He’s my gardener.  10 days ago we transplanted 20 lettuce seedlings then started 184 herbs, veggies and greens.

114 KnitAThon Done

Ep 113 recorded  3/16/23 Marching On Welcome back!  I just had a statistic pop up telling me that 2 days ago was my 6th podiversary.  Wow! Knit For Food Knitathon I’m back for a 3rd year – can you please donate $5? No one deserves to be hungry. WIPs Songe d’été – Ravelry Link (Summer Dreams) designed by Dreaming In Chocolate Designs, knit using Linea Pura Unico yarn by Lana Grossa (discontinued). Davit designed for Berroco by Amy Palmer, knit using Silk Noir by Great Adirondack Yarn Co  Summer Happiness Crochet Top designed by Concept Creative in Scheepjes Whirl in the color Sherbert Rainbow Find Your Fade designed by Andrea Mowry, knit in Midori Bamboo from The Fiber Lady in a discontinued colorway, plus cotton/bamboo sportweight from Great Adirondack Yarn Co.   Knitting Fail Really, a crochet fail.  My brain has been a sieve and I kept screwing up the Summer Happiness top.  It’s a problem with me, not with the pattern.   Spinning More progress on my current spin, some beautiful green lightly-speckled cotton from Buchanan Fiber. Unfortunately, Buchanan Fiber closed a year or two ago which is sad because I love their cotton slivers. On the Run Adult ballet class, so much fun.  Students from 30 to 84! Out and About – upcoming Fiber Events around New England CT Sheep and Wool - April 29 NH Sheep and Wool – May 13 &amp; 14 MA Sheep and Woolcraft Fair - May 27-28, Memorial Day Weekend Stitches @ Home – April 1&amp;2 Maine Fiber Frolic – June 3 &amp; 4 I’ve Got Sunshine I bought ballet slippers for class and it was the same store I shopped at as a kid in the 1990s.  So excited to find them still open and doing business.  Shout out to Dancer’s Drawer in Attleboro, MA.

Ep 113 recorded  3/16/23 Marching On Welcome back!  I just had a statistic pop up telling me that 2 days ago was my 6th podiversary.  Wow! Knit For Food Knitathon I’m back for a 3rd year – can you <a href="https://givebutter.com/knitforfood23/moniqueleonard" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">please donate</a> $5? No one deserves to be hungry. WIPs <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/songe-dete" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Songe d’été – Ravelry Link</a> (Summer Dreams) designed by Dreaming In Chocolate Designs, knit using <a href="https://www.yarn.com/products/lana-grossa-linea-pura-unico" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Linea Pura Unico</a> yarn by Lana Grossa (discontinued). <a href="https://www.berroco.com/patterns/davit" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Davit</a> designed for Berroco by Amy Palmer, knit using Silk Noir by <a href="https://sweethorsedesignco.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Great Adirondack Yarn Co</a> <a href="https://conceptcreative.store/shop/summer-happiness-poncho-crochet-pattern-crochet-tutorial-in-english/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Summer Happiness Crochet Top</a> designed by Concept Creative in Scheepjes Whirl in the color Sherbert Rainbow <a href="https://www.dreareneeknits.com/shop/find-your-fade-shawl" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Find Your Fade</a> designed by Andrea Mowry, knit in Midori Bamboo from The Fiber Lady in a discontinued colorway, plus cotton/bamboo sportweight from <a href="https://sweethorsedesignco.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Great Adirondack Yarn Co</a>.   Knitting Fail Really, a crochet fail.  My brain has been a sieve and I kept screwing up the Summer Happiness top.  It’s a problem with me, not with the pattern.   Spinning More progress on my current spin, some beautiful green lightly-speckled cotton from Buchanan Fiber. Unfortunately, Buchanan Fiber closed a year or two ago which is sad because I love their cotton slivers. On the Run Adult ballet class, so much fun.  Students from 30 to 84! Out and About – upcoming Fiber Events around New England <a href="https://ctsheep.org/ct-sheep-wool-fiber-festival.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CT Sheep and Wool</a> - April 29 <a href="https://nhswga.org/nh-sheep-wool-festival/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">NH Sheep and Wool</a> – May 13 &amp; 14 <a href="https://masheepwool.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MA Sheep and Woolcraft Fair</a> - May 27-28, Memorial Day Weekend <a href="https://stitches.events/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitches @ Home</a> – April 1&amp;2 <a href="http://www.fiberfrolic.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Maine Fiber Frolic</a> – June 3 &amp; 4 I’ve Got Sunshine I bought ballet slippers for class and it was the same store I shopped at as a kid in the 1990s.  So excited to find them still open and doing business.  Shout out to <a href="https://m.facebook.com/people/The-Dancers-Drawer/100063808852998/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dancer’s Drawer</a> in Attleboro, MA.

113 - Marching On

Ep 112 recorded  3/1/23 Back from a Break Hey all, long time no talk.  I’d planned to take a few weeks off and it just… stretched.  The truth is I’d lost my mojo, not in podcasting but in knitting, and it’s really hard to run a knitting podcast when you’re hardly knitting.  WIPs Songe d’été – Ravelry Link (Summer Dreams) designed by Dreaming In Chocolate Designs, knit using Linea Pura Unico yarn by Lana Grossa (discontinued)  Davit designed for Berroco by Amy Palmer, knit using Silk Noir by Great Adirondack Yarn Co  Frog Princess Dress Blanket by Carol Hladik, a Princess Tiana-inspired  blanket crocheted using Joann’s Big Twist acrylic yarn.   Summer Happiness Crochet Top designed by Concept Creative in Scheepjes Whirl in the color Sherbert Rainbow Knitting Fail Summer Dreams had a big setback while I was in Florida.   Spinning I brought my Nano 2 from Dreaming Robots to Florida with me.  I love it! On the Run I hit a major milestone on Monday, I swam MORE than 1/3 of a mile!  I swam 650 yards (594m).  Out and About – upcoming Fiber Events around New England Farm and Fiber Days at Wayland Winter Farmer’s Market is March 5, this Sunday at Russell’s Garden Center in Wayland, MA. CT Sheep and Wool - April 29 NH Sheep and Wool – May 13 &amp; 14 MA Sheep and Woolcraft Fair - May 27-28, Memorial Day Weekend Stitches @ Home – April 1&amp;2 Maine Fiber Frolic – June 3 &amp; 4   Knit For Food Knitathon I’m back for a 3rd year – can you please donate $5? No one deserves to be hungry. I’ve Got Sunshine We went to Florida last week for school vacation and basically spent the week hanging out at my in-law’s pool and playing board games  It was super relaxing and the rest we all needed. 

Ep 112 recorded  3/1/23 Back from a Break Hey all, long time no talk.  I’d planned to take a few weeks off and it just… stretched.  The truth is I’d lost my mojo, not in podcasting but in knitting, and it’s really hard to run a knitting podcast when you’re hardly knitting.  WIPs <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/songe-dete" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Songe d’été – Ravelry Link</a> (Summer Dreams) designed by Dreaming In Chocolate Designs, knit using <a href="https://www.yarn.com/products/lana-grossa-linea-pura-unico" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Linea Pura Unico</a> yarn by Lana Grossa (discontinued)  <a href="https://www.berroco.com/patterns/davit" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Davit</a> designed for Berroco by Amy Palmer, knit using Silk Noir by <a href="https://sweethorsedesignco.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Great Adirondack Yarn Co</a> <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/587373290/frog-princess-dress-blanket-crochet" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Frog Princess Dress Blanket</a> by Carol Hladik, a Princess Tiana-inspired  blanket crocheted using Joann’s <a href="https://www.joann.com/yarn-needle-arts/featured-brands-yarn/big-twist/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Big Twist</a> acrylic yarn.   <a href="https://conceptcreative.store/shop/summer-happiness-poncho-crochet-pattern-crochet-tutorial-in-english/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Summer Happiness Crochet Top</a> designed by Concept Creative in Scheepjes Whirl in the color Sherbert Rainbow Knitting Fail Summer Dreams had a big setback while I was in Florida.   Spinning I brought my Nano 2 from Dreaming Robots to Florida with me.  I love it! On the Run I hit a major milestone on Monday, I swam MORE than 1/3 of a mile!  I swam 650 yards (594m).  Out and About – upcoming Fiber Events around New England <a href="https://www.russellsgc.com/farmfiber" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Farm and Fiber Days</a> at Wayland Winter Farmer’s Market is March 5, this Sunday at Russell’s Garden Center in Wayland, MA. <a href="https://ctsheep.org/ct-sheep-wool-fiber-festival.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CT Sheep and Wool</a> - April 29 <a href="https://nhswga.org/nh-sheep-wool-festival/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">NH Sheep and Wool</a> – May 13 &amp; 14 <a href="https://masheepwool.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MA Sheep and Woolcraft Fair</a> - May 27-28, Memorial Day Weekend <a href="https://stitches.events/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitches @ Home</a> – April 1&amp;2 <a href="http://www.fiberfrolic.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Maine Fiber Frolic</a> – June 3 &amp; 4 Knit For Food Knitathon I’m back for a 3rd year – can you <a href="https://givebutter.com/knitforfood23/moniqueleonard" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">please donate</a> $5? No one deserves to be hungry. I’ve Got Sunshine We went to Florida last week for school vacation and basically spent the week hanging out at my in-law’s pool and playing board games  It was super relaxing and the rest we all needed.

112 Back from a Break

Ep 111 recorded  6/8/22  Segments this week include: Wearables, FO, Wips, Out and About, and I’ve Got Sunshine.  A note on showlinks – all links to Ravelry are clearly labelled as such and all links for yarn are directly to the dyer’s website. Wearbles It’s been gorgeously warm here, even insanely hot 2 days, so I’ve worn summer handknits.  No Day But Today Linen Butterflies Watermelon Shawl Strawberry Blossoms Lotus Mandala shawls FOs 48-st sock for E in red sock yarn, finished the first sock.  Allegro by Wisdom Yarns, distributed by Universal Yarns.  May be discontinued. WIPs As You Wish MKAL by Mary Annarella of Lyrical Knits.  This is a Princess Bride themed mystery knitalong that will eventually result in a rectangular shawl.  Nearing the end of Clue 3!  This shawl is sooooo much fun to knit.  48-st sock for E in red sock yarn, started toe of 2nd sock on US 2s.  Allegro by Wisdom Yarns, distributed by Universal Yarns.  May be discontinued. Mermaid Skirt by Concept Creative, a Ukranian designer.  It’s a wonderful pattern and very easy to follow, even for an advanved beginner like me.  It looks super fancy but the photos and inks to video tutorials makes it really easy.  It’s charted and written out. Juliana top by Linda’s Craftique, for once worked in the called-for yarn – Neve  by Juniper Moon Farms.  This pattern is bottom-up.  I finished the ribbing and am starting up the body. Hitchhiker in Lion Brand Shawl In a Ball Spinning I’m spinning handspun yarn for the winner of my drawing for the Knitathon.  Spun a bit more this week.  Fiber is 90’s School Supplies cotton from Hipstrings. Out and About  Vogue Knitting Live Virtual and June 9-12.  GGKCS podcast started their annual Summer craft-a-long, visit their FB page for more details. Splash Pad Party with Down Cellar Studio Stitches at Home Stitches at Home June 11/12 &amp; 18/19, Expo at Home July 8-10.  Coming up in person, Stitches So Cal in Pasadena, California November 10-13. If you have any events you’d like me to share please email me windsweptmonique@gmail.com I’ve Got Sunshine Knit in public day is Saturday!  Check your local yarn shop.  I'll be at March for our Lives in Washington DC while knitting

Ep 111 recorded  6/8/22  Segments this week include: Wearables, FO, Wips, Out and About, and I’ve Got Sunshine.  A note on showlinks – all links to Ravelry are clearly labelled as such and all links for yarn are directly to the dyer’s website. Wearbles It’s been gorgeously warm here, even insanely hot 2 days, so I’ve worn summer handknits.  No Day But Today Linen Butterflies Watermelon Shawl Strawberry Blossoms Lotus Mandala shawls FOs 48-st sock for E in red sock yarn, finished the first sock.  Allegro by Wisdom Yarns, distributed by Universal Yarns.  May be discontinued. WIPs <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb7sgMOLi_H/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">As You Wish MKAL</a> by Mary Annarella of Lyrical Knits.  This is a Princess Bride themed mystery knitalong that will eventually result in a rectangular shawl.  Nearing the end of Clue 3!  This shawl is sooooo much fun to knit.  48-st sock for E in red sock yarn, started toe of 2nd sock on US 2s.  Allegro by Wisdom Yarns, distributed by Universal Yarns.  May be discontinued. <a href="https://conceptcreative.store/shop/mermaid-skirt-crochet-pattern-crochet-tutorial-in-english/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mermaid Skirt</a> by Concept Creative, a Ukranian designer.  It’s a wonderful pattern and very easy to follow, even for an advanved beginner like me.  It looks super fancy but the photos and inks to video tutorials makes it really easy.  It’s charted and written out. Juliana top by <a href="https://lindascraftique.com/patterns/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Linda’s Craftique</a>, for once worked in the called-for yarn – Neve  by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/JuniperMoonFarm/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Juniper Moon Farms</a>.  This pattern is bottom-up.  I finished the ribbing and am starting up the body. <a href="https://www.lovecrafts.com/en-us/p/hitchhiker-knitting-pattern-by-martina-behm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hitchhiker</a> in Lion Brand <a href="https://www.lionbrand.com/products/shawl-in-a-ball-yarn" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Shawl In a Ball</a> Spinning I’m spinning handspun yarn for the winner of my drawing for the Knitathon.  Spun a bit more this week.  Fiber is 90’s School Supplies cotton from <a href="https://hipstrings.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hipstrings</a>. Out and About <a href="https://www.vogueknittinglive.com/portal" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Vogue Knitting Live</a> Virtual and June 9-12.  <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/725027111399924" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">GGKCS podcast</a> started their annual Summer craft-a-long, visit their FB page for more details. <a href="https://www.downcellarstudio.com/splashpad22/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Splash Pad Party</a> with Down Cellar Studio <a href="https://stitches.events/events/stitches-at-home-nov-21/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitches at Home</a> Stitches at Home June 11/12 &amp; 18/19, Expo at Home July 8-10.  Coming up in person, Stitches So Cal in Pasadena, California November 10-13. If you have any events you’d like me to share please email me <a href="mailto:windsweptmonique@gmail.com">windsweptmonique@gmail.com</a> I’ve Got Sunshine Knit in public day is Saturday!  Check your local yarn shop.  I'll be at March for our Lives in Washington DC while knitting

111 Wearing the Summer Handknits

Ep 110 recorded 5/18/22 Segments this week include: Wips, Knitting Fail, Out and About, and I’ve Got Sunshine.  A note on showlinks – all links to Ravelry are clearly labelled as such and all links for yarn are directly to the dyer’s website.   WIPs As You Wish MKAL by Mary Annarella of Lyrical Knits.  This is a Princess Bride themed mystery knitalong that will eventually result in a rectangular shawl.   Winona by Brenda Castiel in handspun from Hipstrings.  48-st socks for J, working toe-up, on foot of 2nd sock.  Bamboo Pop Sock in Sunset Colorway.  Bamboo cotton, PBT blend 52-st sock for E in red sock yarn, turned the heel .  Allegro by Wisdom Yarns, distributed by Universal Yarns.  May be discontinued.  More on this in Knitting Fail Started Mermaid Skirt by Concept Creative, a Ukranian designers. Juliana top by Linda’s Craftique, for once worked in the called-for yarn – Neve  by Juniper Moon Farms.   Knitting Fail Use the right needles. Spinning I’m spinning handspun yarn for the winner of my drawing for the Knitathon.   Out and About  Vogue Knitting Live Virtual and June 9-12.  GGKCS podcast is having their annual Sheepy Spring AL, visit their FB page for more details. Stitches at Home Stitches at Home June 11/12 &amp; 18/19, Expo at Home July 8-10.  Coming up in person, Stitches So Cal in Pasadena, California November 10-13. If you have any events you’d like me to share please email me windsweptmonique@gmail.com I’ve Got Sunshine Kids and Pets

Ep 110 recorded 5/18/22 Segments this week include: Wips, Knitting Fail, Out and About, and I’ve Got Sunshine.  A note on showlinks – all links to Ravelry are clearly labelled as such and all links for yarn are directly to the dyer’s website. WIPs <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb7sgMOLi_H/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">As You Wish MKAL</a> by Mary Annarella of Lyrical Knits.  This is a Princess Bride themed mystery knitalong that will eventually result in a rectangular shawl.   <a href="https://www.lovecrafts.com/en-us/p/winona-shawl-knitting-pattern-by-brenda-castiel-designs" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Winona</a> by Brenda Castiel in handspun from <a href="https://hipstrings.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hipstrings</a>.  48-st socks for J, working toe-up, on foot of 2nd sock.  <a href="https://www.yarn.com/products/universal-yarn-bamboo-pop-sock" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bamboo Pop Sock</a> in Sunset Colorway.  Bamboo cotton, PBT blend 52-st sock for E in red sock yarn, turned the heel .  Allegro by Wisdom Yarns, distributed by Universal Yarns.  May be discontinued.  More on this in Knitting Fail Started <a href="https://conceptcreative.store/shop/mermaid-skirt-crochet-pattern-crochet-tutorial-in-english/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mermaid Skirt</a> by Concept Creative, a Ukranian designers. Juliana top by <a href="https://lindascraftique.com/patterns/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Linda’s Craftique</a>, for once worked in the called-for yarn – Neve  by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/JuniperMoonFarm/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Juniper Moon Farms</a>.   Knitting Fail Use the right needles. Spinning I’m spinning handspun yarn for the winner of my drawing for the Knitathon.   Out and About <a href="https://www.vogueknittinglive.com/portal" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Vogue Knitting Live</a> Virtual and June 9-12.  <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/725027111399924" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">GGKCS podcast</a> is having their annual Sheepy Spring AL, visit their FB page for more details. <a href="https://stitches.events/events/stitches-at-home-nov-21/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitches at Home</a> Stitches at Home June 11/12 &amp; 18/19, Expo at Home July 8-10.  Coming up in person, Stitches So Cal in Pasadena, California November 10-13. If you have any events you’d like me to share please email me <a href="mailto:windsweptmonique@gmail.com">windsweptmonique@gmail.com</a> I’ve Got Sunshine Kids and Pets

110 Kids and Pets

Crafting and fitness in 30 minutes or less

I love listening to Monique’s progress on her projects.

Knitting podcast

Knitting On The Run

Segments this week include: FOs, Wips, Spinning Well, it’s nice to be back finally! How is it July?!? FOs Not a lot of knitting the last few weeks.  I’ve been re-staining the deck and my finger has been hurting again so I haven’t gotten nearly as far in my Wips as I’d hoped. I finished my 52-st sock!  They’re not finished-finished, I still need to weave in ends, but the knitting is done.   Haven’t tried them on yet as it’s been HOT up in Boston recently, but they look good. Wips I’ve put a lots more rows onto my Changing Staircases shawl by Jenga Knits.  This is a shawl inspired by the Harry Potter books, the way the staircases are constantly changing and I’m working on it in Mousou a 100% bamboo yarn from The FiberLady.  I said last time that I was about 75% but I totally misjudged – I was about 66% complete and I’m on the last section, so probably 95% complete. Blue Dahlia pattern by Brenda York for Berroco Yarns.  Finished garter stitch and am about 1/3 way through the stockinette colorwork section.  Blue body is Juniper Moon Farms Neve in Lagoon colorway from my LYS that closed.  Red is Cascade Ultra Pima Fine in the Cranberry colorway held double, yellow is Berroco Modern Cotton in the Del colorway.  Green is also Modern Cotton in the Breakers colorway New 52-st sock in Plymouth yarns Diversity in the Fruity colorway, which is white with stripes of green, yellow, orange, pink and purple. Also been doing some design work again for the first time in ages and it feels so good to be creating again.  Can’t talk about the designs yet but hopefully I will be able to soon! Spinning Lots of spinning thanks to my sore finger Finished multiple braids of cotton from Hipstrings Cotton Club.   Johnny Jump Up – 2 ply sport weight – white, navy, dark purple and drops of yellow-green Break Of Day – 3 ply on the border between fingering and sport, blue with the golds and pale oranges of sunrise A Different Time – my first true 3-ply fingering weight yarn.  White, Navy and dark purple On my first Tour de Fleece.  Goal is to finish spinning 16oz of sustainable cotton I bought from the Woolery so I can get reliable enough to justify buying a sweater lot of fiber from Hipstrings.  So far ‘ve only spun 2 days (womp womp) but I have made a dent in the first 8-oz braid.   Running I have not run at all since my last recording, so I’m back to the drawing board in terms of fitness.  That brings my half marathon training to a screeching halt.  But it turns out I may have some upcoming projects that I need to be more all-around fit for so I’m going to focus on 5ks for running and also getting back in the pool more and on the rowing machine at our local YMCA. Running Talk Why is cross training so important?  Aside from overuse injuries, it turns out that cross training also affects your DNA in a positive way – but only in the body parts you’re actually using.  This Study from 2014 talks about epigenetics, which just means how what we do to &amp; with our bodies affects our genes.

Segments this week include: FOs, Wips, Spinning Well, it’s nice to be back finally! How is it July?!? FOs Not a lot of knitting the last few weeks.  I’ve been re-staining the deck and my finger has been hurting again so I haven’t gotten nearly as far in my Wips as I’d hoped. I finished <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/fish-lips-kiss-heel" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">my 52-st sock</a>!  They’re not finished-finished, I still need to weave in ends, but the knitting is done.   Haven’t tried them on yet as it’s been HOT up in Boston recently, but they look good. Wips I’ve put a lots more rows onto my <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/changing-staircases" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Changing Staircases</a> shawl by <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/jenga-knits-ravelry-store" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jenga Knits</a>.  This is a shawl inspired by the Harry Potter books, the way the staircases are constantly changing and I’m working on it in Mousou a 100% bamboo yarn from The <a href="https://store.fiberlady.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">FiberLady</a>.  I said last time that I was about 75% but I totally misjudged – I was about 66% complete and I’m on the last section, so probably 95% complete. Blue <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/dahlia-24" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dahlia</a> pattern by Brenda York for Berroco Yarns.  Finished garter stitch and am about 1/3 way through the stockinette colorwork section.  Blue body is <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/juniper-moon-farm-neve" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Juniper Moon Farms Neve</a> in Lagoon colorway from my LYS that closed.  Red is Cascade Ultra Pima Fine in the Cranberry colorway held double, yellow is Berroco Modern Cotton in the Del colorway.  Green is also Modern Cotton in the Breakers colorway New 52-st sock in Plymouth yarns <a href="https://www.plymouthyarn.com/yarn/diversity-item-629" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Diversity in the Fruity colorway</a>, which is white with stripes of green, yellow, orange, pink and purple. Also been doing some design work again for the first time in ages and it feels so good to be creating again.  Can’t talk about the designs yet but hopefully I will be able to soon! Spinning Lots of spinning thanks to my sore finger Finished multiple braids of cotton from Hipstrings Cotton Club.   Johnny Jump Up – 2 ply sport weight – white, navy, dark purple and drops of yellow-green Break Of Day – 3 ply on the border between fingering and sport, blue with the golds and pale oranges of sunrise A Different Time – my first true 3-ply fingering weight yarn.  White, Navy and dark purple On my first Tour de Fleece.  Goal is to finish spinning 16oz of sustainable cotton I bought from the Woolery so I can get reliable enough to justify buying a sweater lot of fiber from Hipstrings.  So far ‘ve only spun 2 days (womp womp) but I have made a dent in the first 8-oz braid. Running I have not run at all since my last recording, so I’m back to the drawing board in terms of fitness.  That brings my half marathon training to a screeching halt.  But it turns out I may have some upcoming projects that I need to be more all-around fit for so I’m going to focus on 5ks for running and also getting back in the pool more and on the rowing machine at our local YMCA. Running Talk Why is cross training so important?  Aside from overuse injuries, it turns out that cross training also affects your DNA in a positive way – but only in the body parts you’re actually using.  <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25484259" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">This Study from 2014</a> talks about epigenetics, which just means how what we do to &amp; with our bodies affects our genes.

41: July Crept Up On Me

Episode 27 – Playing Catch Up Knitting and Running in 30 min or less Segments this week include: Fos, Wips, Stash, Out and About, On the Run and Patterns  Be A Helper KAL - extended through January 6th so you can also participate in the Knitmore Girls Do Some Good KAL. FOs MIL hitchhiker shawl, pattern by Martina Behm, knit in Ito Yarn’s Kinu 100% silk Thing 2’s Christmas socks, 4 toddler vanilla socks knit in Plymouth Diversity in the Multi Blue Taube colorway which is self-striping white, taupe, aqua, navy and bright orange. Thing 1’s Christmas knee socks in Berroco Comfort Sock in Red Lillesand cowl by Monika Eckert for my aunt in some deep stash, Rozetti Yarns Soft Payette and Cascade Sateen Solids Blue baby socks for friend’s son, just a simple vanilla sock in some deep stash that I don’t remember the name of Husband’s super secret scarf in Pendenza by Plymouth Yarns.  At Thanksgiving, as I was audibly working mn my LAST Christmas gift,  he commented that I wasn’t making him anything for Christmas.   So when mom and I went shopping on Small Business Saturday I stopped into A Great Yarn in Chatham and bought this lovely gradient yard and knit him a Hitchhiker by Martina Behm, which I knit in secret and finished yesterday. Mom’s Christmas shawl – this is my new pattern, which hasn’t been released yet and I’ll talk more about it later, but I knit it in some Bernat worsted weight Handicrafter Holida yarn that I’ve had for a while, with the white on the lace edge and red for the body Wips My 1st non-vanilla socks! – Mahalo by Dana Gervais in CoBaSi by Hikoo My 2nd non-vanilla socks – Newlin by Sarak Jordan, aka Knit/Wit Designs – Berroco Comfort Sock and I’m working these on my brand new Size 2 Lykke needles to test them out. New shawl sample, hoping to release around Christmas, knitting it in Triyang, by Lee Meredith, in Araucania’s Yumbrel, a cotton thread/laceweight yarn in Pastels colorway, which is pastel peach, pink, blue and purple. Out and About Vogue Knitting in January!  It’s my birthday gift from my boys as it’s happening right around my birthday.  I’ll be there on the Friday so if you see me, say hello! Probably going to Stitches United in March in Hartford, CT.  Not planning on taking any classes at the moment, just enjoying the market and hanging out with people. Stash Rhinebeck: 9 skeins of bamboo dyed by Artisinal Yarns, 3 gold, 3 pink &amp; gold blend, 3 pink with gold undertones.  Think I’m going to fade a Lush by Tin Can Knits and possibly make it in the round instead of a cardigan, since I’m always cold. 2600 yards of lace-weight bamboo dyed by Spinnaway Farms (so nice, btw) Pendenza by Plymouth Yarns, bought at A Great Yarn in Chatham, MA over the Thanksgiving holiday 1 mini-skein of Lorna’s Laces Shepherd sock in “ooak” colorway 2 skeins of Elsebeth Lavold’s Hempathy in Light Denim (looks more like a light purple) 1 skein of Firefly by Classic Elite in a warm pinky-beige colorway called Delos – destined to be embroidery on a Downton Abbey themed Garden Kimono sweater I knit years ago Fiber (!) – have not started spinning any of these 16 oz Green/Mocha/White Show Special by Little Barn -  a blend of 3 naturally occurring, undyed cottons, one which is tan, another greenish, and the third the traditional whitish. 2 oz Tussah Silk from Fiber Kingdom 1 oz Yak/silk blend from Liberty Ridge 1 oz camel/silk blend from Fiber Kingdom 2 oz Tencel from Fiber Kingdom 2oz Bamboo from Fiber Kingdom Patterns I bought 4 patterns during the Indie Design Gift-A-Long kal, including the 2 sock patterns I mentioned earlier, Newlin by Knit/Wit and Mahalo by Dana Gervais.  I also bought Peppermint Mocha by CC Almon of Java Purl Designs the Isis Talicoat by Kari-Helene Rane (Side note for clarity – this pattern was released in 2012 before the current jihadist movement and was named after the ancient Egyptian goddess) it looks like the old fashioned Victorian women’s tailcoat but without all the frilly nonsense.  It has a detailed edging but the body is stockinette and fits under the bust with a large decorative button, then the edges gently angle towards the hips.  I plan to wear this with knee high boots and leggings in the spring and fall as an indoor/outdoor coat. On The Run As I mentioned last week, I threw my back out again after Rhinebeck and finally went to the doctor, the result of which is I’m now in physical therapy, again.  It’s been about 4 weeks now and I am seeing definite progress.  I am already stronger and I’ve been cleared to start basic exercises, within reason. No running yet, but I’m walking a few days a week and learned today that I can swim, ride my bike or even row if I take it slow and easy to start.  So I am very excited to get back out there.  With the PT I’ve been concentrating on strength training since my last On The Run segment, for obvious reasons, and it is definitely paying off.  My shoulders and upper back are a lot stronger and I’m starting to work on the middle and lower back and transverse abdomis, which is your central core muscle, what lays under your 6-pack abs (or lack thereof, in my case) and it’s the muscle that actually holds you upright.  Having a stronger core is awesome and I know will help me a lot in running once I’m cleared to start that.  In the show notes I am linking to some articles on Transverse Abdominis workouts that could help you. So if you want to work your abs, focus on your transverse abdominus, NOT a 6-pack.  Crunches make your tummy look pretty but it won’t make you stronger.  Try exercises like planks, modified planks, side planks, wood chops, burpees, or dead bugs – and as always, please check with a medical professional if you have any pain, especially any recurring pain.  I am not a medical professional, I am only trying to arm you with knowledge.

Episode 27 – Playing Catch Up Knitting and Running in 30 min or less Segments this week include: Fos, Wips, Stash, Out and About, On the Run and Patterns Be A Helper KAL - extended through January 6th so you can also participate in the Knitmore Girls Do Some Good KAL. FOs <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/hitchhiker-8" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MIL hitchhiker shawl</a>, pattern by Martina Behm, knit in Ito Yarn’s Kinu 100% silk <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/vanilla-socks-toe-up--afterthought-heel-8" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Thing 2’s Christmas socks</a>, 4 toddler vanilla socks knit in Plymouth Diversity in the Multi Blue Taube colorway which is self-striping white, taupe, aqua, navy and bright orange. <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/vanilla-socks-toe-up--afterthought-heel-6" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Thing 1’s Christmas knee socks</a> in Berroco Comfort Sock in Red <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/lillesand" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lillesand cowl</a> by Monika Eckert for my aunt in some deep stash, Rozetti Yarns Soft Payette and Cascade Sateen Solids Blue baby socks for friend’s son, just a simple vanilla sock in some deep stash that I don’t remember the name of <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/hitchhiker-10" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Husband’s super secret scarf</a> in Pendenza by Plymouth Yarns.  At Thanksgiving, as I was audibly working mn my LAST Christmas gift,  he commented that I wasn’t making him anything for Christmas.   So when mom and I went shopping on Small Business Saturday I stopped into A Great Yarn in Chatham and bought this lovely gradient yard and knit him a Hitchhiker by Martina Behm, which I knit in secret and finished yesterday. <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/christmas-shawlette" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mom’s Christmas shawl</a> – this is my new pattern, which hasn’t been released yet and I’ll talk more about it later, but I knit it in some Bernat worsted weight Handicrafter Holida yarn that I’ve had for a while, with the white on the lace edge and red for the body Wips <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/mahalo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">My 1st non-vanilla socks</a>! – Mahalo by Dana Gervais in CoBaSi by Hikoo <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/newlin" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">My 2nd non-vanilla socks</a> – Newlin by Sarak Jordan, aka Knit/Wit Designs – Berroco Comfort Sock and I’m working these on my brand new Size 2 Lykke needles to test them out. <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/purple-shawl" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">New shawl sample</a>, hoping to release around Christmas, knitting it in <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/triyang" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Triyang</a>, by Lee Meredith, in Araucania’s Yumbrel, a cotton thread/laceweight yarn in Pastels colorway, which is pastel peach, pink, blue and purple. Out and About <a href="https://www.vogueknittinglive.com/newyork18" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Vogue Knitting</a> in January!  It’s my birthday gift from my boys as it’s happening right around my birthday.  I’ll be there on the Friday so if you see me, say hello! Probably going to <a href="http://www.knittinguniverse.com/United2018" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitches United</a> in March in Hartford, CT.  Not planning on taking any classes at the moment, just enjoying the market and hanging out with people. Stash Rhinebeck: 9 skeins of bamboo dyed by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/artisanalyarns" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Artisinal Yarns</a>, 3 gold, 3 pink &amp; gold blend, 3 pink with gold undertones.  Think I’m going to fade a Lush by Tin Can Knits and possibly make it in the round instead of a cardigan, since I’m always cold. 2600 yards of lace-weight bamboo dyed by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Spinawayfarm/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spinnaway Farms</a> (so nice, btw) Pendenza by Plymouth Yarns, bought at <a href="http://agreatyarn.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">A Great Yarn</a> in Chatham, MA over the Thanksgiving holiday 1 mini-skein of Lorna’s Laces Shepherd sock in “ooak” colorway 2 skeins of Elsebeth Lavold’s Hempathy in Light Denim (looks more like a light purple) 1 skein of Firefly by Classic Elite in a warm pinky-beige colorway called Delos – destined to be embroidery on a Downton Abbey themed Garden Kimono sweater I knit years ago Fiber (!) – have not started spinning any of these 16 oz Green/Mocha/White Show Special by <a href="https://little-barn.myshopify.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Little Barn</a> -  a blend of 3 naturally occurring, undyed cottons, one which is tan, another greenish, and the third the traditional whitish. 2 oz Tussah Silk from <a href="http://www.fiberkingdom.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Fiber Kingdom</a> 1 oz Yak/silk blend from <a href="https://www.libertyridgefarmandgardens.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Liberty Ridge</a> 1 oz camel/silk blend from <a href="http://www.fiberkingdom.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Fiber Kingdom</a> 2 oz Tencel from <a href="http://www.fiberkingdom.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Fiber Kingdom</a> 2oz Bamboo from <a href="http://www.fiberkingdom.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Fiber Kingdom</a> Patterns I bought 4 patterns during the Indie Design Gift-A-Long kal, including the 2 sock patterns I mentioned earlier, <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/newlin" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Newlin</a> by Knit/Wit and <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mahalo-2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mahalo</a> by Dana Gervais.  I also bought <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/peppermint-mocha-socks" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Peppermint Mocha</a> by CC Almon of Java Purl Designs the <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/isis-tailcoat" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Isis Talicoat</a> by Kari-Helene Rane (Side note for clarity – this pattern was released in 2012 before the current jihadist movement and was named after the ancient Egyptian goddess) it looks like the old fashioned Victorian women’s tailcoat but without all the frilly nonsense.  It has a detailed edging but the body is stockinette and fits under the bust with a large decorative button, then the edges gently angle towards the hips.  I plan to wear this with knee high boots and leggings in the spring and fall as an indoor/outdoor coat. On The Run As I mentioned last week, I threw my back out again after Rhinebeck and finally went to the doctor, the result of which is I’m now in physical therapy, again.  It’s been about 4 weeks now and I am seeing definite progress.  I am already stronger and I’ve been cleared to start basic exercises, within reason. No running yet, but I’m walking a few days a week and learned today that I can swim, ride my bike or even row if I take it slow and easy to start.  So I am very excited to get back out there.  With the PT I’ve been concentrating on strength training since my last On The Run segment, for obvious reasons, and it is definitely paying off.  My shoulders and upper back are a lot stronger and I’m starting to work on the middle and lower back and transverse abdomis, which is your central core muscle, what lays under your 6-pack abs (or lack thereof, in my case) and it’s the muscle that actually holds you upright.  Having a stronger core is awesome and I know will help me a lot in running once I’m cleared to start that.  In the show notes I am linking to some articles on <a href="https://www.livestrong.com/article/422690-transverse-abdominis-workouts/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Transverse Abdominis workouts</a> that could help you. So if you want to work your abs, focus on your transverse abdominus, NOT a 6-pack.  Crunches make your tummy look pretty but it won’t make you stronger.  Try exercises like planks, modified planks, side planks, wood chops, burpees, or dead bugs – and as always, please check with a medical professional if you have any pain, especially any recurring pain.  I am not a medical professional, I am only trying to arm you with knowledge.

Playing Catch Up

Episode 28 FO, Wip, Stash, Wearables, Knitting Plans, Knitting Talk – wool allergies, On the Run, Out and About FO Purple shawl in some deep stash, Queensland Sugar Rush, for myself!  Also, it’s the last sample made of a new pattern that I will be releasing over the holiday weekend – keep an eye on Instagram/Facebook/Ravelry group because it will be free for the first few days as a thank you to the knitting community.  This year has been amazing and a lot of it is thanks to the amazing women and men in the fiber world.  I started this podcast, went to Stitches United and SSK for the first time, went back to Rhinbeck and have interacted with so many of you and this is my small way of saying thanks. Wip                    Only other wip I worked on was my Mahalo sock by Dana Gervais.  Full disclosure, she’s my tech editor, but she’s also an amazing sock designer and I am loving this pattern.  I have scrawny ankles so I tweaked the narrowest size to be a little narrower and it was easy to adjust – you could also easily adjust it bigger, and the lace pattern is memorizable after a few times through so I’ve really enjoyed working on it.  Knitting it in CoBaSi by Hikoo, a cotton, bamboo, silk and nylon blended sock yarn.  Stash Coming Next Week Wearables It’s been cold the last 6 weeks and I didn’t have time to put this segment in the last episode, so I’ll quikly summarize – I’ve been wearing Poema by Vera Sanon a lot.  Also, I’ve been wearing my (until now) only two shawls a lot, Maris Stella by Anna Victoria and May Flowers, an old pattern of mine, over store bought sweaters to stay warm.  Also I’ve been going back and forth between wearing my Hamilknit Hat by Emily Straw from Knitting Butterflies podcast and the Twist and Shout hat by Michele DuNaier which is a simple cabled hat. Knitting Plans I want to lengthen the sleeves of my Empire Tunic by Lily Go, knit in Frog Tree’s Picobo, a cotton/bamboo blend.  I love this top but since I’m always cold I’ll get more wear out of this if it has long sleeves and not ¾ sleeves. Also, I want to pull out my English Garden Wedding Kimono that I knit years and years ago and finally do the embroidery.  This is from the Unofficial Downton Abbey Knits from Interweave and I picked this pattern because the embroidery makes this sweater just amazing.  The Firefly I got at my LYS the last few weeks are destined for that. Knitting Talk I’ve had a couple of people ask about my wool allergy recently so I thought we’d devote this section to fiber and animal allergies.  I am not a medical professional, so please take what I am saying with that in mind, but I will share what I know with you.  First off, yes, wool allergies are real – you can be allergic to sheep just like you can be allergic to cats and dogs.  Unfortunately, I’m allergic to all 3 to varying degrees, and also to horses and goats.  I just happen to get the worst physical reaction to sheep whereas I have 2 cats and all I get is a stuffy nose sometimes when they shed. You can also have a reaction to the lanolin in the wool – if that’s the case then you might be able to work with a superwash wool where all the lanolin is stripped out so they can smooth down the scales in the wool fibers.  Well meaning knitters often try to tell me I’m just sensitive to lanolin.  I usually just nod and smile. Lastly, your skin could just be sensitive, in which you get itchy with certain wools.  This isn’t an actual allergy but a form of contact dermatitis, which is just a fancy way of saying that your skin is sensitive and something is irritating your skin.  Wearing a t-shirt underneath usually solves the problem. So, how do I know I’m allergic to sheep?  I found out when I was 4.  My great-grandmother bought me a lovely little coat and hat set.  Mom bundled me up and sent me off to pre-school and I came home covered in hives. Poor Gram felt awful, but she had no way of knowing, I just happen to have very severe allergies. A skin-prick allergy test the next year confirmed I am allergic to every animal they tested for, to varying degrees.  Last time I had a major reaction was 2002 in London, England.  My now-husband and I had just gotten to Europe for a 45-day backpacking trip around the continent.  We went to bed very jet-lagged and I never even thought to check the content of the blanket because in the US budget hotels do not have nice blankets.  It was hot and we didn’t pull it up over us.  Sometime in the night I must have tucked my feet under the blanket because when I woke up in the morning my ankles had literally doubled in size.  I could get 2 pairs of socks to fit, but none of the 3 pairs of shoes I brought.  I finally had to un-lace my sneakers and jam my feet into them so I could leave the hotel room.  It took about a week for them to shrink back to normal size – if I hadn’t been power-walking around European capitals it probably would have gotten better a bit faster but I was NOT about to miss anything, swollen ankles be damned. Out and About January – Vogue Knitting Live in NYC, if you’re coming too let me know! March – Stitches United in Hartford, CT.  A quick note for any of you debating coming, Stitches United 2018 is in CT but in 2019 it will be in Georgia.  Knitting Universe has announced that Stitches United will be alternating between the Northeast and the Southeast.  So, if you were planning on going to CT in 2019, go this year instead. On the Run Keep on walking and strength training

Episode 28 FO, Wip, Stash, Wearables, Knitting Plans, Knitting Talk – wool allergies, On the Run, Out and About FO <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/purple-shawl" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Purple shawl</a> in some deep stash, <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/queensland-collection-sugar-rush-jacquard" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Queensland Sugar Rush</a>, for myself!  Also, it’s the last sample made of a new pattern that I will be releasing over the holiday weekend – keep an eye on Instagram/Facebook/Ravelry group because it will be free for the first few days as a thank you to the knitting community.  This year has been amazing and a lot of it is thanks to the amazing women and men in the fiber world.  I started this podcast, went to Stitches United and SSK for the first time, went back to Rhinbeck and have interacted with so many of you and this is my small way of saying thanks. Wip                   <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/mahalo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Only other wip</a> I worked on was my <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mahalo-2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mahalo</a> sock by <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/dana-gervais-ravelry-store" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dana Gervais</a>.  Full disclosure, she’s my tech editor, but she’s also an amazing sock designer and I am loving this pattern.  I have scrawny ankles so I tweaked the narrowest size to be a little narrower and it was easy to adjust – you could also easily adjust it bigger, and the lace pattern is memorizable after a few times through so I’ve really enjoyed working on it.  Knitting it in <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/hikoo-by-skacel-cobasi" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CoBaSi by Hikoo</a>, a cotton, bamboo, silk and nylon blended sock yarn. Stash Coming Next Week Wearables It’s been cold the last 6 weeks and I didn’t have time to put this segment in the last episode, so I’ll quikly summarize – I’ve been wearing <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/poema" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Poema</a> by Vera Sanon a lot.  Also, I’ve been wearing my (until now) only two shawls a lot, <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/maris-stella-lace-shawl" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Maris Stella by Anna Victoria</a> and <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/may-flowers-shawl" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">May Flowers</a>, an old pattern of mine, over store bought sweaters to stay warm.  Also I’ve been going back and forth between wearing my <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/hamilknit" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hamilknit Hat</a> by Emily Straw from Knitting Butterflies podcast and the <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/twist-and-shout" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twist and Shout</a> hat by Michele DuNaier which is a simple cabled hat. Knitting Plans I want to lengthen the sleeves of my <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/empire-top" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Empire Tunic</a> by Lily Go, knit in Frog Tree’s Picobo, a cotton/bamboo blend.  I love this top but since I’m always cold I’ll get more wear out of this if it has long sleeves and not ¾ sleeves. Also, I want to pull out my <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/english-garden-wedding-kimono" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">English Garden Wedding Kimono</a> that I knit years and years ago and finally do the embroidery.  This is from the <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/the-unofficial-downton-abbey-knits-2013" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Unofficial Downton Abbey Knits</a> from Interweave and I picked this pattern because the embroidery makes this sweater just amazing.  The Firefly I got at my LYS the last few weeks are destined for that. Knitting Talk I’ve had a couple of people ask about my wool allergy recently so I thought we’d devote this section to fiber and animal allergies.  I am not a medical professional, so please take what I am saying with that in mind, but I will share what I know with you.  First off, yes, wool allergies are real – you can be allergic to sheep just like you can be allergic to cats and dogs.  Unfortunately, I’m allergic to all 3 to varying degrees, and also to horses and goats.  I just happen to get the worst physical reaction to sheep whereas I have 2 cats and all I get is a stuffy nose sometimes when they shed. You can also have a reaction to the lanolin in the wool – if that’s the case then you might be able to work with a superwash wool where all the lanolin is stripped out so they can smooth down the scales in the wool fibers.  Well meaning knitters often try to tell me I’m just sensitive to lanolin.  I usually just nod and smile. Lastly, your skin could just be sensitive, in which you get itchy with certain wools.  This isn’t an actual allergy but a form of contact dermatitis, which is just a fancy way of saying that your skin is sensitive and something is irritating your skin.  Wearing a t-shirt underneath usually solves the problem. So, how do I know I’m allergic to sheep?  I found out when I was 4.  My great-grandmother bought me a lovely little coat and hat set.  Mom bundled me up and sent me off to pre-school and I came home covered in hives. Poor Gram felt awful, but she had no way of knowing, I just happen to have very severe allergies. A skin-prick allergy test the next year confirmed I am allergic to every animal they tested for, to varying degrees.  Last time I had a major reaction was 2002 in London, England.  My now-husband and I had just gotten to Europe for a 45-day backpacking trip around the continent.  We went to bed very jet-lagged and I never even thought to check the content of the blanket because in the US budget hotels do not have nice blankets.  It was hot and we didn’t pull it up over us.  Sometime in the night I must have tucked my feet under the blanket because when I woke up in the morning my ankles had literally doubled in size.  I could get 2 pairs of socks to fit, but none of the 3 pairs of shoes I brought.  I finally had to un-lace my sneakers and jam my feet into them so I could leave the hotel room.  It took about a week for them to shrink back to normal size – if I hadn’t been power-walking around European capitals it probably would have gotten better a bit faster but I was NOT about to miss anything, swollen ankles be damned. Out and About January – <a href="https://www.vogueknittinglive.com/newyork18" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Vogue Knitting Live in NYC</a>, if you’re coming too let me know! March <a href="http://www.knittinguniverse.com/United2018" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">– Stitches United in Hartford, CT</a>.  A quick note for any of you debating coming, Stitches United 2018 is in CT but in 2019 it will be in Georgia.  Knitting Universe has announced that Stitches United will be alternating between the Northeast and the Southeast.  So, if you were planning on going to CT in 2019, go this year instead. On the Run Keep on walking and strength training

Episode 28- Wool Allergies

Episode 46 – 9/11/18 Knitting and Running in 30 min or less Thank you for listening! Be A Helper Craft A Long I've learned my lesson - don't end a Craft A Long during Back To School!  But my chaos is your gain - the Craft A Long has been extended to September 30th.  Enter your FOs here: https://www.ravelry.com/discuss/knitting-on-the-run---windswept-designs/3788284/ FOs First 52-st sock – Plymouth Yarn Diversity in the Deep Sea colorway Wips 2nd 52-st sock Dancing Dragons Coat – finished the back started the left front   Knitting Fail Last weekend we headed to CT for the day – realized I’d made a mistake 20 rows down, in the cabled pattern (ack!!!) Stash Got my first hand carders!  Can’t wait to try them out.  Also got 2oz of cashmere which I’m going to blend with 16oz of cotton to make a super-soft sweater Spinning Started spinning again over the weekend for the first time about a month!  Working on a braid of cotton from Hipstrings Pattern Stalking Ixchel Sweater from the Autumn 2018 PomPom Quarterly

Episode 46 – 9/11/18 Knitting and Running in 30 min or less Thank you for listening! Be A Helper Craft A Long I've learned my lesson - don't end a Craft A Long during Back To School!  But my chaos is your gain - the Craft A Long has been extended to September 30th.  Enter your FOs here: <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/discuss/knitting-on-the-run---windswept-designs/3788284/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.ravelry.com/discuss/knitting-on-the-run---windswept-designs/3788284/</a> FOs First 52-st sock – Plymouth Yarn Diversity in the Deep Sea colorway Wips 2nd 52-st sock Dancing Dragons Coat – finished the back started the left front Knitting Fail Last weekend we headed to CT for the day – realized I’d made a mistake 20 rows down, in the cabled pattern (ack!!!) Stash Got my first hand carders!  Can’t wait to try them out.  Also got 2oz of cashmere which I’m going to blend with 16oz of cotton to make a super-soft sweater Spinning Started spinning again over the weekend for the first time about a month!  Working on a braid of cotton from Hipstrings Pattern Stalking Ixchel Sweater from the Autumn 2018 <a href="https://www.pompommag.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">PomPom Quarterly</a>

46 - 20 Rows of Cables Down

Episode 19 - /16/17 It’s nice to be back.  Thanks for your patience with my 2-week hiatus.  I was only expecting to be away 1 week but sometimes life gets in the way. This weeks segments include FOs, Wips, Wearables, an extended Pattern Stalking segment in which we’ll discuss finding patterns that fit you, and On the Road as always this will be in 30 minutes or less.  Warning, there’s also a brief history lesson on what an Acadian actually is. FOs I have 2! 2nd Hamilknit Hat by Emily of the Knitting Butterflies podcast  Purple Hitchhiker by Martina Behm   Wips Pink silk hitchhiker by Martina Behm (strichmick) for MiL for Christmas Empire Top by Lily Go for me, out of discontinued cotton/bamboo blend Picoboo by Frogtree Yarns – need to finish it by the 20th for Stash Dash!  Only 1 sleeve to go, I can do this Triyang Shawl by Lee Meredith – haven’t done much on this, but I have done some and as the Knitmore’s say if I work on more than 1 stitch it gets listed here. Wearables Thoughts by Joji Locatelli made in Araucania’s Yumbrel Mommy’s Tunic in Juniper Moon Farm’s Neve Stash Birdie’s Knits Gradient Kit in colorway Denim for Days, pretty much every shade of bluejeans you can imagine, 400 yards total, 8 skeins of 50 yards each   Try it On Room at SSK – what I learned/Pattern Stalking Preface by saying every pattern I mention is linked in the show notes I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but I learned this by trying on over a dozen hand-knit sweaters: What your eye likes may not be what fits you best.  Let me repeat – WHAT YOUR EYE LIKES MAY NOT BE WHAT FITS YOU BEST For example, the Hitofude cardigan emphasizes your bust.  It looks great on everyone with average busts, no matter what size your waist or hips because the unusual shape hides those to some degree.  But if you have a large bust it’s like wearing a highlighter saying “look at my boobs”. Another popular top was Breathing Space – it looked great on lots of body shape, BUT, where the horizontal lines fell on your bust really changed the appearance.  Bustier women liked it better having the diagaonal lines start as written, at the bust line, because it de-emphasized a large chest.  Small/medium size busted women liked it to fall below the bust because the horizontal stripes helped balance their bust with their hips. Ann Budd’s skirt – never thought I’d want a knitted skirt, but the four sizes she brought looked good on everyone.  And I mean EVERYONE, from the skinniest to the widest person the A-line cur flattered every single body shape I saw try it on Secret Garden Tank by Melissa Wehrle – the hidden lace panel at the back gives it a very flattering A-line Hitofude by Hiroko Fukatsu – want to knit this again after losing my first at an airport last year :( Vitamin D Cardigan -  by Heidi Kirrmaier similar shape to Hitofude but hangs a little more straight up and down so you don’t get the bob-highlighting effect quite as much Hoodie Shawl Cardigan – Susanne Sommer – way more colors than I normally wear in one garment, but it looked great on me so maybe it’s time to branch out in my color choices Alice in Wonderland by Justyna Lorkowska – more fitted than I normally wear in a knitted garment but I was surprised how good it looked on me Dark and Stormy by Thea Coleman -  I usually avoide shawl collars, but this one looked good on a lot of people with a lot of body shapes On the Road Spent a week in Nova Scotia, Canada visiting cousins.  So nice, we hadn’t been back in nearly 3 years.  Also, you need to visit Le Village Historique Acadien.  In addition to great family history (for me, at least) there’s great examples of knitting and spinning from around the year 1900  and the food is AMAZING.   I’m still wondering where that tradition went because I have no memories of my grandmere doing any knitting beyond functional knitting, such as dishcloths.  Quilting, on the other hand, has a beautiful and celebrated history in the area and local quilt displays are a definite must-see!   Warning, there’s also a brief history lesson on what an Acadian actually is.  Here's a graphic of the Acadian Expulsion that I mentioned from the brand-new memorial, which shows where the Acadians were shipped off to.

Episode 19 - /16/17 It’s nice to be back.  Thanks for your patience with my 2-week hiatus.  I was only expecting to be away 1 week but sometimes life gets in the way. This weeks segments include FOs, Wips, Wearables, an extended Pattern Stalking segment in which we’ll discuss finding patterns that fit you, and On the Road as always this will be in 30 minutes or less.  Warning, there’s also a brief history lesson on what an Acadian actually is. FOs I have 2! <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/hamilknit-2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">2nd Hamilknit Hat</a> by Emily of the Knitting Butterflies podcast <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/hitchhiker-6" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Purple Hitchhiker</a> by Martina Behm Wips <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/hitchhiker-8" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pink silk hitchhiker</a> by Martina Behm (strichmick) for MiL for Christmas <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/empire-top" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Empire Top</a> by Lily Go for me, out of discontinued cotton/bamboo blend Picoboo by Frogtree Yarns – need to finish it by the 20th for Stash Dash!  Only 1 sleeve to go, I can do this <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/triyang" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Triyang Shawl</a> by Lee Meredith – haven’t done much on this, but I have done some and as the Knitmore’s say if I work on more than 1 stitch it gets listed here. Wearables <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/thoughts" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Thoughts</a> by Joji Locatelli made in Araucania’s Yumbrel <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/mommys-tunic-3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mommy’s Tunic</a> in Juniper Moon Farm’s Neve Stash Birdie’s Knits Gradient Kit in colorway Denim for Days, pretty much every shade of bluejeans you can imagine, 400 yards total, 8 skeins of 50 yards each Try it On Room at SSK – what I learned/Pattern Stalking Preface by saying every pattern I mention is linked in the show notes I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but I learned this by trying on over a dozen hand-knit sweaters: What your eye likes may not be what fits you best.  Let me repeat – WHAT YOUR EYE LIKES MAY NOT BE WHAT FITS YOU BEST For example, the Hitofude cardigan emphasizes your bust.  It looks great on everyone with average busts, no matter what size your waist or hips because the unusual shape hides those to some degree.  But if you have a large bust it’s like wearing a highlighter saying “look at my boobs”. Another popular top was Breathing Space – it looked great on lots of body shape, BUT, where the horizontal lines fell on your bust really changed the appearance.  Bustier women liked it better having the diagaonal lines start as written, at the bust line, because it de-emphasized a large chest.  Small/medium size busted women liked it to fall below the bust because the horizontal stripes helped balance their bust with their hips. <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/putting-on-the-pleats" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ann Budd’s skirt</a> – never thought I’d want a knitted skirt, but the four sizes she brought looked good on everyone.  And I mean EVERYONE, from the skinniest to the widest person the A-line cur flattered every single body shape I saw try it on <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/secret-garden-tank-2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Secret Garden Tank</a> by Melissa Wehrle – the hidden lace panel at the back gives it a very flattering A-line <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hitofude-cardigan" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hitofude</a> by Hiroko Fukatsu – want to knit this again after losing my first at an airport last year :( <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/vitamin-d" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Vitamin D Cardigan</a> -  by Heidi Kirrmaier similar shape to Hitofude but hangs a little more straight up and down so you don’t get the bob-highlighting effect quite as much <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hoodie-shawl-cardigan" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hoodie Shawl Cardigan</a> – Susanne Sommer – way more colors than I normally wear in one garment, but it looked great on me so maybe it’s time to branch out in my color choices <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/alice-in-wonderland-5" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Alice in Wonderland</a> by Justyna Lorkowska – more fitted than I normally wear in a knitted garment but I was surprised how good it looked on me <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/dark-and-stormy" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dark and Stormy</a> by Thea Coleman -  I usually avoide shawl collars, but this one looked good on a lot of people with a lot of body shapes On the Road Spent a week in Nova Scotia, Canada visiting cousins.  So nice, we hadn’t been back in nearly 3 years.  Also, you need to visit <a href="https://levillage.novascotia.ca/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Le Village Historique Acadien</a>.  In addition to great family history (for me, at least) there’s great examples of knitting and spinning from around the year 1900  and the food is AMAZING.  I’m still wondering where that tradition went because I have no memories of my grandmere doing any knitting beyond functional knitting, such as dishcloths.  Quilting, on the other hand, has a beautiful and celebrated history in the area and local quilt displays are a definite must-see!  Warning, there’s also a brief history lesson on what an Acadian actually is.  Here's a graphic of the Acadian Expulsion that I mentioned from the brand-new memorial, which shows where the Acadians were shipped off to.

Episode 19- Try it On

Episode 59  - Monty Python Illness - Knitting and running in 30 min or less Hello!  Yes, I am still alive!  My house has been incredibly ill since Christmas.  Nothing particularly serious, but at least one person in our house has been sick since Christmas – unfortunately, that counted me over the last 4 weeks.  I’ve had 2 viruses and strep throat.  Fun times!  Thanks kids. No pod-faded, I’m back Be A Helper KAL  Extended to Feb 28  Racism in knitting  We have work to do.  You are welcome here.  My 1 rule is be kind to others. FOs 3 preemie hats, 2 from CC Almon’s free pattern, 1 from Sarah Jordan’s Itty Bitty Kitty Sample for new pattern, a sleeveless top in sizes 34”-52” currently at tech editor.  Worked in DK, will be looking for test knitters soon   Wips 2 more preemie hats, 1 from each pattern mentioned earlier Changing Staircases shawl New socks for me On the Run Not much running, but some walking and a little swimming.  Record in the pool is ½ mile, but after illness I dropped back to ¼ mile and swam 1/3 mile today.  Slowly ans steadily getting back up there. Fitness Debating doing a local triathalon in June.

Episode 59  - Monty Python Illness - Knitting and running in 30 min or less Hello!  Yes, I am still alive!  My house has been incredibly ill since Christmas.  Nothing particularly serious, but at least one person in our house has been sick since Christmas – unfortunately, that counted me over the last 4 weeks.  I’ve had 2 viruses and strep throat.  Fun times!  Thanks kids. No pod-faded, I’m back Be A Helper KAL  Extended to Feb 28  Racism in knitting  We have work to do.  You are welcome here.  My 1 rule is be kind to others. FOs 3 preemie hats, 2 from CC Almon’s free pattern, 1 from Sarah Jordan’s Itty Bitty Kitty Sample for new pattern, a sleeveless top in sizes 34”-52” currently at tech editor.  Worked in DK, will be looking for test knitters soon Wips 2 more preemie hats, 1 from each pattern mentioned earlier Changing Staircases shawl New socks for me On the Run Not much running, but some walking and a little swimming.  Record in the pool is ½ mile, but after illness I dropped back to ¼ mile and swam 1/3 mile today.  Slowly ans steadily getting back up there. Fitness Debating doing a local triathalon in June.

59 - Monty Python Illness

Episode 70 Segments this week include  Wips, FOs, Wearables, an Extended Out and About classroom visit, Goals for 2020 Wips  Aggregate Shawl #2 deigned by JimiKnits knit up in Tencel yarn from Artisinal Yarns I bought at Rhinebeck several years ago. Indie GAL project, turning an old skirt into a dress A couple of designs I can't talk about FOs I finished 7 pairs of socks for Christmas gifts!  5 were kids, 2 grownups.  I love knitting gifts but I think I need to dial it back a little next year. Wearbles All the hand knits!  Winter has certainly arrived, I’m wearing hats daily, all the shawls, seaters such as Frosted by Lisa K Ross and Second Grace by Bristol Ivy Out and About Wayland Winter Farmers Market Fiber Days – Jan 26 &amp; Mar 1 VKL NYC Jan 16-20 Stitches United - March 26-29, 2020 2nd grade class visit - teaching my son's class about how clothes are made by hand.  Boy do they appreciate being able to go to a store! Goals for 2020 More design work, submit more designs to publications  also, take time to knit myself stuff Fitness goals – realistic goals, go from 8 miles to 20 miles in the pool, eat more vegetables, hike a couple of times a month New Years Day hike

Episode 70 Segments this week include  Wips, FOs, Wearables, an Extended Out and About classroom visit, Goals for 2020 Wips  Aggregate Shawl #2 deigned by JimiKnits knit up in Tencel yarn from Artisinal Yarns I bought at Rhinebeck several years ago. Indie GAL project, turning an old skirt into a dress A couple of designs I can't talk about FOs I finished 7 pairs of socks for Christmas gifts!  5 were kids, 2 grownups.  I love knitting gifts but I think I need to dial it back a little next year. Wearbles All the hand knits!  Winter has certainly arrived, I’m wearing hats daily, all the shawls, seaters such as Frosted by Lisa K Ross and Second Grace by Bristol Ivy Out and About Wayland Winter Farmers Market Fiber Days – Jan 26 &amp; Mar 1 VKL NYC Jan 16-20 Stitches United - March 26-29, 2020 2nd grade class visit - teaching my son's class about how clothes are made by hand.  Boy do they appreciate being able to go to a store! Goals for 2020 More design work, submit more designs to publications  also, take time to knit myself stuff Fitness goals – realistic goals, go from 8 miles to 20 miles in the pool, eat more vegetables, hike a couple of times a month New Years Day hike

Impromptu 2020

Rhinebeck Recap

Episode 68 recording on 11/20/19 today’s segments include New Patterns, Wips, FOs, Wearables and Rhinebeck Recap. Pattern Release Send Me That Horizon launched on Monday.  I’ve always loved the sea. I grew up near the ocean, with both sets of grandparents living a few dozen feet from the water. Playing on the beach, listening to the waves, sailing on a boat, hiking along ocean-side cliffs – I love anything involving the sea. But nothing is the same as being far from shore with no land in sight. I love seeing the horizon taper off to meet the ocean waves; so when I first watched the original Pirates of the Caribbean movie and Captain Jack Sparrow looked into the distance and murmured “Send me that horizon” under his breath my heart sang. I know that feeling, I love that feeling, and with this shawl I want you to experience it too. While working on the waves, I wanted to create something easier than I’m perhaps known for.  Yes, I realize that I’m known for patterns with complicated sections, because that’s what I like to knit.  But with this pattern I wanted something that you could take on an airplane or to a retreat, or that a beginning knitter could knit and learn new skills.  One of my test knitters was even a beginning knitter and he did a great job! Use code PODCAST to get 25% off the pattern on Ravelry, that’s coupon code PODCAST and that is  bigger discount than the one listed in the pattern.  Enjoy! Wips Just started a new pair of socks for mom for Christmas, still on the toe of the first sock. I’ve started a new project just for me.  2nd Aggregate Shawl by JimiKnits, this one in Tencel yarn from Rhinebeck 2 years ago from Artisinal Yarns. FOs 3 socks, Christmas socks for Thing 1 and Thing 2 and also a pair for my maid of honor all from Regia's Tutti Frutti II Hitchhiker by Martina Behm.   Wearables All The Shawls.  SO cold and wet – “Novembruary”. Both of the Changing Staircases, by Dragon Hoard Yarns, Hitchhiker by Martina Behm.  At Rhinebeck I wore Frosted by Lisa K Ross with my Pont du Marais shawl, and day 2 I wore Second Grace by Bristol Ivy with my Taking Flight Captain Marvel shawl. Related – I’m mad that I can’t find my Tan House Brooke Shawl, a pattern by Jennifer Lassonde of Down Cellar Studios.  I’ve looked everywhere and just cannot find it.  Maybe I’ll have to knit another. Rhinebeck Recap All the fun for 2 whole days!

Episode 68 recording on 11/20/19 today’s segments include New Patterns, Wips, FOs, Wearables and Rhinebeck Recap. Pattern Release <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/send-me-that-horizon" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Send Me That Horizon</a> launched on Monday.  I’ve always loved the sea. I grew up near the ocean, with both sets of grandparents living a few dozen feet from the water. Playing on the beach, listening to the waves, sailing on a boat, hiking along ocean-side cliffs – I love anything involving the sea. But nothing is the same as being far from shore with no land in sight. I love seeing the horizon taper off to meet the ocean waves; so when I first watched the original Pirates of the Caribbean movie and Captain Jack Sparrow looked into the distance and murmured “Send me that horizon” under his breath my heart sang. I know that feeling, I love that feeling, and with this shawl I want you to experience it too. While working on the waves, I wanted to create something easier than I’m perhaps known for.  Yes, I realize that I’m known for patterns with complicated sections, because that’s what I like to knit.  But with this pattern I wanted something that you could take on an airplane or to a retreat, or that a beginning knitter could knit and learn new skills.  One of my test knitters was even a beginning knitter and he did a great job! Use code PODCAST to get 25% off the pattern on Ravelry, that’s coupon code PODCAST and that is  bigger discount than the one listed in the pattern.  Enjoy! Wips Just started a new pair of socks for mom for Christmas, still on the toe of the first sock. I’ve started a new project just for me.  2nd Aggregate Shawl by JimiKnits, this one in Tencel yarn from Rhinebeck 2 years ago from Artisinal Yarns. FOs 3 socks, Christmas socks for Thing 1 and Thing 2 and also a pair for my maid of honor all from Regia's Tutti Frutti II Hitchhiker by Martina Behm.   Wearables All The Shawls.  SO cold and wet – “Novembruary”. Both of the Changing Staircases, by Dragon Hoard Yarns, Hitchhiker by Martina Behm.  At Rhinebeck I wore Frosted by Lisa K Ross with my Pont du Marais shawl, and day 2 I wore Second Grace by Bristol Ivy with my Taking Flight Captain Marvel shawl. Related – I’m mad that I can’t find my Tan House Brooke Shawl, a pattern by Jennifer Lassonde of Down Cellar Studios.  I’ve looked everywhere and just cannot find it.  Maybe I’ll have to knit another. Rhinebeck Recap All the fun for 2 whole days!

68 - Send Me That Rhinebeck Recap

Episode 20 – 8/23/17 There might not be a show next week – it’s Thing 1’s last week before Kindergarten starts so we’re planning lots of fun stuff to end the summer.  But I’ll definitely be back the following week.  FOs Empire Top by Lily Go in discontinued bamboo/cotton blend, Picoboo by Frogtree  Wips Triyang Shawl by Le Meredith in Yumbrel Araucania Hitchhiker for my MIL in Kinu by Ito yarns, 100% silk Cast on Second Grace by Bristol Ivy (first Bristol Ivy pattern) using Berroco Modern Cotton, then ripped it out to go down a needle size for the ribbing, and started casting it on again.  I’m about half way through a cast on. Wearables Thoughts by Joji Locatelli on Araucania Yumbrel, a discontinued cotton lace-weight yarn Today’s Discussion: There are No Knitting Police Some people are really hesitant to change something and are fearful that they are doing it “wrong” but I want to assure you there are no knitting police.  When you’re knitting from a pattern you do NOT have to do it exactly as written, you do NOT have to use the same yarn.  Do you have a long torso?  Add some extra rows.  Short torso?  Feel free to skip a few.  Do you like your bum covered but the pattern doesn’t seem to work well in that area? Add some short rows in the back to cover your derriere.   Love the body of the sweater but hate the sleeves?  That’s fine, you could find a new pattern or just knit them in stockinette.  Switch up the yarns (I’ll be doing a whole podcast on this in a future episode).  My point is, once you purchase a pattern, it’s yours to alter as you please for your own sweater.  I am NOT saying you should tweak the pattern and publish it – that’s a copyright violation.  But tweak the pattern to fit your body and your knitting style.  Here’s an example – I hate inserting sleeves after the fact, I can never get them to line up properly.  So I don’t.  I look at the sleeve pattern, reverse the pattern, then pick up and knit stitches around the arm hole and work all my sleeves that way, no matter what the pattern says. On the Run I’ve been running the past few weeks but haven’t mentioned it because the knitting segments have been running long.  But this is the “Knitting On The Run” podcast after all so it’s time to get back on track.  I’ve been injured basically since right after this podcast started, so over the next few weeks I want to talk about some injury issues and injury prevention.  Even if you don’t run you might learn something that could help you, particularly if you’re dealing with chronic pain in your knees or hips for example. First off – disclosure, I am not a medical professional.  I am only someone who has gotten injured a lot and has had to learn a lot the hard way.  If you are in pain, please consult a doctor or specialist.  That being said, today let’s talk quickly about body mechanics and injuries.  When you’re running you are putting stress on your body, particularly your lower body.  That’s a good thing, it keeps you in shape and your body is designed to move, not sit.  You run into problems (and injuries) when something is off.  If you have a mechanical issue, say in your foot or hips, the rest of your lower body, aka kinetic chain has to compensate. (linking to the American Academy or Orthopedic Surgeons to learn more).  Over time the muscles, tendons and ligaments doing the compensating have too much stress on them and that’s where you get an injury.  So the CAUSE of your injury isn’t necessarily where your injury APPEARS.  That is why cross training and strength training is soooo important – you use your muscles different ways and strengthen the weak muscles. Real world example – hip flexors (group of muscles/tendons/etc in front of your hips that you use to lift your legs. If they are really tight then they pull on your hamstrings so your hamstrings are always stretched and rarely relax.  You’ll eventually end up with a pulled hamstring, but the cause isn’t the hamstring, it’s the hip flexors. Your hamstring is where the kinetic chain broke down

Episode 20 – 8/23/17 There might not be a show next week – it’s Thing 1’s last week before Kindergarten starts so we’re planning lots of fun stuff to end the summer.  But I’ll definitely be back the following week.  FOs Empire Top by Lily Go in discontinued bamboo/cotton blend, Picoboo by Frogtree Wips <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/triyang" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Triyang Shawl</a> by Le Meredith in <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/araucania-yumbrel" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Yumbrel Araucania</a> <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/hitchhiker-8" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hitchhiker</a> for my MIL in <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/ito-kinu" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Kinu by Ito yarns</a>, 100% silk Cast on Second Grace by Bristol Ivy (first Bristol Ivy pattern) using <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/berroco-modern-cottontm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Berroco Modern Cotton</a>, then ripped it out to go down a needle size for the ribbing, and started casting it on again.  I’m about half way through a cast on. Wearables <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/thoughts" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Thoughts</a> by Joji Locatelli on <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/araucania-yumbrel" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Araucania Yumbrel,</a> a discontinued cotton lace-weight yarn Today’s Discussion: There are No Knitting Police Some people are really hesitant to change something and are fearful that they are doing it “wrong” but I want to assure you there are no knitting police.  When you’re knitting from a pattern you do NOT have to do it exactly as written, you do NOT have to use the same yarn.  Do you have a long torso?  Add some extra rows.  Short torso?  Feel free to skip a few.  Do you like your bum covered but the pattern doesn’t seem to work well in that area? Add some short rows in the back to cover your derriere.   Love the body of the sweater but hate the sleeves?  That’s fine, you could find a new pattern or just knit them in stockinette.  Switch up the yarns (I’ll be doing a whole podcast on this in a future episode).  My point is, once you purchase a pattern, it’s yours to alter as you please for your own sweater.  I am NOT saying you should tweak the pattern and publish it – that’s a copyright violation.  But tweak the pattern to fit your body and your knitting style.  Here’s an example – I hate inserting sleeves after the fact, I can never get them to line up properly.  So I don’t.  I look at the sleeve pattern, reverse the pattern, then pick up and knit stitches around the arm hole and work all my sleeves that way, no matter what the pattern says. On the Run I’ve been running the past few weeks but haven’t mentioned it because the knitting segments have been running long.  But this is the “Knitting On The Run” podcast after all so it’s time to get back on track.  I’ve been injured basically since right after this podcast started, so over the next few weeks I want to talk about some injury issues and injury prevention.  Even if you don’t run you might learn something that could help you, particularly if you’re dealing with chronic pain in your knees or hips for example. First off – disclosure, I am not a medical professional.  I am only someone who has gotten injured a lot and has had to learn a lot the hard way.  If you are in pain, please consult a doctor or specialist.  That being said, today let’s talk quickly about body mechanics and injuries.  When you’re running you are putting stress on your body, particularly your lower body.  That’s a good thing, it keeps you in shape and your body is designed to move, not sit.  You run into problems (and injuries) when something is off.  If you have a mechanical issue, say in your foot or hips, the rest of your lower body, aka kinetic chain has to compensate. (linking to <a href="https://www.aaos.org/Education/SportsMedicine/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the American Academy or Orthopedic Surgeons</a> to learn more).  Over time the muscles, tendons and ligaments doing the compensating have too much stress on them and that’s where you get an injury.  So the CAUSE of your injury isn’t necessarily where your injury APPEARS.  That is why cross training and strength training is soooo important – you use your muscles different ways and strengthen the weak muscles. Real world example – hip flexors (group of muscles/tendons/etc in front of your hips that you use to lift your legs. If they are really tight then they pull on your hamstrings so your hamstrings are always stretched and rarely relax.  You’ll eventually end up with a pulled hamstring, but the cause isn’t the hamstring, it’s the hip flexors. Your hamstring is where the kinetic chain broke down

Episode 20 - There Are No Knitting Police

Episode 60 – Thank yous, FO, Wips, Wearables, Out and About, On the Run, Fitness Talk, Knitting Talk Apologies for sound – laptop died.  Recording this on travel mic in my car.  Need to get an amp to get my mic to work with old laptop.  Hopefully I’ll have it all sorted before next recording. Thank yous Thanks for bearing with me during this last delay.  Turns out the antibiotics did not get rid of strep throat, I was sick again a week after they ended and back at the doctor to get something stronger.  Feeling better now! Big thank you to my test knitters!  I have one test knit winding up in the next few weeks, with pattern ready to release in early April and I’ve lucked into some amazing test knitters this time.  You ladies are wonderful!  Also, if you have any interest in summer knit tops, I have 2 coming out in the next 2 months, so be sure to visit WindsweptKnits.com and join my email list for access to the best discount codes.  I promise to only email once or twice a month at most and to never, ever share your data with a 3rd party.  No spam, no selling your data, I promise.  That’s a personal pet peeve of mine. FO  Rhinebeck Shawl – Changing Staircases pattern by Dragon Hoard Yarns knit up in bamboo/cotton fingering yarn from Great Adirondach Yarn Co Wips Matchy-matchy socks 2 preemie hats, 1 held single, 1 held double 2 new patterns, a shawl and a cowl Wearables All the shawls – Rhinebeck, murder mystery knit along, tan house brook, changing staircases,   Sweaters - Frosted, Second Grace   Boys wearing star wars adaptation of Nordic Yoke pullover from Patons, Thing 2 grew into Thing 1’s Monomoy Sweater, still fits in an ancient sweater I knit for Thing 1, pattern no longer exists, I forget the name. Pattern Stalking Ice Time Hat and Cowl set from Jennifer Lassonde of Down Cellar Studio.  Full disclosure – Jen gifted them to me for free, but I’d seen her photos and loved this hat even before she sent it to me.   Knitting Talk Fiber allergies.  Out and About  Wayland Farm and Fiber, met Boston Jen again. Wearing her Tan House Brooke shawl! CT sheep and wool April 27 Vernon, CT – not sure if I can make it Sheepshearing festival, Gore Place, April 27th, Waltham, MA NH SHeel &amp; Wool May 11-12 Wool Days, Old Sturbridge Village, May 25-27 MA sheep and woolcraft fair, May 25 Cummington, MA  On the Run Actually ran!  Well, run-walk-run 1 mile Jeff Galloway-style, when the pool closed suddenly on Monday.  Swam 20 laps Wednesday, a new record for me .55 miles (.88km) Fitness Talk Tennis ball used like a foam roller on deep/fleshy muscles

Episode 60 – Thank yous, FO, Wips, Wearables, Out and About, On the Run, Fitness Talk, Knitting Talk Apologies for sound – laptop died.  Recording this on travel mic in my car.  Need to get an amp to get my mic to work with old laptop.  Hopefully I’ll have it all sorted before next recording. Thank yous Thanks for bearing with me during this last delay.  Turns out the antibiotics did not get rid of strep throat, I was sick again a week after they ended and back at the doctor to get something stronger.  Feeling better now! Big thank you to my test knitters!  I have one test knit winding up in the next few weeks, with pattern ready to release in early April and I’ve lucked into some amazing test knitters this time.  You ladies are wonderful!  Also, if you have any interest in summer knit tops, I have 2 coming out in the next 2 months, so be sure to visit <a href="http://WindsweptKnits.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">WindsweptKnits.com</a> and join my email list for access to the best discount codes.  I promise to only email once or twice a month at most and to never, ever share your data with a 3rd party.  No spam, no selling your data, I promise.  That’s a personal pet peeve of mine. FO <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/changing-staircases-2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rhinebeck Shawl</a> – <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/changing-staircases" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Changing Staircases</a> pattern by Dragon Hoard Yarns knit up in <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/great-adirondack-yarn-co-bamboo-cotton-fingering" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">bamboo/cotton fingering yarn</a> from Great Adirondach Yarn Co Wips <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/fish-lips-kiss-heel-9" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Matchy-matchy socks</a> 2 <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/top-down-preemie-hat-5" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">preemie hats</a>, 1 held single, 1 held double 2 new patterns, a shawl and a cowl Wearables All the shawls – <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/changing-staircases-2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rhinebeck</a>, <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/addition-by-subtraction" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">murder mystery knit along</a>, <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/tan-house-brook-shawl" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">tan house brook</a>, <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/changing-staircases-2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">changing staircases</a>, Sweaters - <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/frosted" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Frosted</a>, <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/second-grace" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Second Grace</a> Boys wearing <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/nordic-yoke-set-pullover" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">star wars adaptation of Nordic Yoke pullover from Patons</a>, Thing 2 grew into Thing 1’s <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/monomoy-sweater" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Monomoy Sweater</a>, still fits in an ancient sweater I knit for Thing 1, pattern no longer exists, I forget the name. Pattern Stalking <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ice-time-hat" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ice Time Hat</a> and <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ice-time-cowl" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cowl</a> set from Jennifer Lassonde of Down Cellar Studio.  Full disclosure – Jen gifted them to me for free, but I’d seen her photos and loved this hat even before she sent it to me.   Knitting Talk Fiber allergies.  Out and About <ul><li>Wayland Farm and Fiber, met Boston Jen again. Wearing her Tan House Brooke shawl!</li> <li>CT sheep and wool April 27 Vernon, CT – not sure if I can make it</li> <li>Sheepshearing festival, Gore Place, April 27th, Waltham, MA</li> <li>NH SHeel &amp; Wool May 11-12</li> <li>Wool Days, Old Sturbridge Village, May 25-27</li> <li>MA sheep and woolcraft fair, May 25 Cummington, MA</li> </ul> On the Run Actually ran!  Well, run-walk-run 1 mile Jeff Galloway-style, when the pool closed suddenly on Monday.  Swam 20 laps Wednesday, a new record for me .55 miles (.88km) Fitness Talk Tennis ball used like a foam roller on deep/fleshy muscles

60 - On The Mend (fixed)

Episode  18 – 7/25/17 – The SSK Episode Knitting &amp; running in 30 minutes or less Wips Firebird by Romi Hill, a gorgeous shawl designed for red yarn.  I’m doing this in Blue Heron Yarn’s Egyptian Mercerized Cotton in the Carnelian colorway, it’s dark red tonal gradients.  I finished the central flower, which was knit in the round then bound off the top and bottoms, now working on the left wing.  The wing has 4 or 5 decreases with a sort of feather hanging down – finished the first feather and onto the 2nd  Pink Hitchhiker by Martina Behm (aka strickmich) knit in Ito Yarn’s Kinu, 100% silk.  It’s like a raw silk, not a finished, smooth thread. Empire Top by Lily Go in Frogtree’s Picoboo, a discontued blend of cotton and bamboo – this is a tunic that criss-crosses across the bust then fits around the ribs and flares over the tummy.  Looking to wear this with leggings and boots this fall.  My primary WIP at SSK, re-cast it on the day before and got it almost to the raglan arm separation Triyang shawl by Lee Meredith – cast on last night in Araucania’s Yumbrel Wearables Wore lots of knits at SSK – Scarrit Bennet center is fully air conditioned and some rooms were chilly.  Maris Stella by Anna Victoria, knit in Birdie’s Knits gradient kig Linen Butterflies by me, Monique Leonard – knit in Louet Euroflax Sport Thoughts on Small Needles by Joji Locatelli; worked the size XL pattern with a lace/thread-weight yarn to make a size M Out and About SSK!  A summer knitting retreat hosted by the KnitGirllls.  4 days in Nashville with 150 amazing knitters, vendors and teachers.  Thank you to Laura, Leslie, Gwen, Sarah and Mama Linneman for all your hard work, it was an amazing retreat.  I arraived late, on Thursday morning instead of Wednesday night, but it was fine; I still met so many lovely people and felt welcomes right away. Took 2 classes and 2 breakouts. Variegated Yarns class with Margaret Radcliffe.  Learned a lot about how to read the yarn, make some colors pop and others fade; how to use texture to bring out colors like when you look at a cake of variegated yarns.  Long and short is, play with the yarn BEFORE you cast on for a project Triyang Shawl with Lee Meredith (aka Leethal) was incredible to see a little into how her mind works.  She’s known for usuing unusual construction to make amazing patterns.  This shawl as no picking up or binbding off!  We knit mini-versions of this shawl and learned the sideways Cast On and how to consider what looks like the middle of the row as your actual “start” of the row.  The pattern is very well written and if you follow it exactly as written you will end up with a marvelous shawl.  Trust Lee, she’s worked it all out.  Even if it feels wrong, just do what’s written and it will work. 2 breakouts by Hipstrings.  The first, learning to use a supported spindle.  I got the very basics down.  I made a rather horrible-looking spindle, but I made one!  My very first time spinning.  The 2nd, learning to spin cotton on a supported spindle.  By the end I had a half-way decent spindle and learned to use the smallest and fastest of her spindles. Market  - Ross Farm  Knitty and Color  Whimzee Stitches  2 Guys Yarn Co  Hopkins Sewing Studio Gynx Yarns Gales Art  Marigold Jen  Hobbledehoy Fibers Hipstrings  Twist Fiber Studio  Akerworks  Lollipop yarn  Fiber Seed Yarn  Miss Babs  BareNaked Wools  Stranded Dyeworks  Fat Squirrel Fibers  Jeri Brock  Rock and String  Tuft Woolens Jelby So much beautiful yarn and so manyknitting bags! I bought a spindle and a fibre sampler from HipStrings, bags from Whimzee, Fat Squirrel, and On the Run I’ve run twice and walked a LOT since the last episode. Since I was up at the crack of dawn on Friday I went for a run, about a mile around Vanderbilt – beautiful campus!  Felt totally safe as a woman running alone.  I upped the number of run intervals from 5 to 7.  Saturday I went for a walk with PAKnitWit to the Parthenon, about a mile each way. Today continued the 7-run intervals.  Knees are a little creaky after all the running and walking the past 5 days so I’m going to hold off on running again until the end of the week.  But I’m so happy to be slowly increasing my running in a healthy manner.

Episode  18 – 7/25/17 – The SSK Episode Knitting &amp; running in 30 minutes or less Wips <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/firebird-2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Firebird</a> by Romi Hill, a gorgeous shawl designed for red yarn.  I’m doing this in <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/blue-heron-egyptian-mercerized-cotton" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Blue Heron Yarn’s Egyptian Mercerized Cotton</a> in the Carnelian colorway, it’s dark red tonal gradients.  I <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/firebird-2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">finished the central flower</a>, which was knit in the round then bound off the top and bottoms, now working on the left wing.  The wing has 4 or 5 decreases with a sort of feather hanging down – finished the first feather and onto the 2nd <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/hitchhiker-8" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pink Hitchhiker</a> by <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hitchhiker" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Martina Behm</a> (aka strickmich) knit in <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/ito-kinu" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ito Yarn’s Kinu</a>, 100% silk.  It’s like a raw silk, not a finished, smooth thread. <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/empire-top" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Empire Top</a> by <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/empire-top" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lily Go</a> in <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/frog-tree-picoboo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Frogtree’s Picoboo</a>, a discontued blend of cotton and bamboo – this is a tunic that criss-crosses across the bust then fits around the ribs and flares over the tummy.  Looking to wear this with leggings and boots this fall.  My primary WIP at SSK, re-cast it on the day before and got it almost to the raglan arm separation <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/triyang" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Triyang shawl</a> by <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/triyang" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lee Meredith</a> – cast on last night in <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/araucania-yumbrel" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Araucania’s Yumbrel</a> Wearables Wore lots of knits at SSK – Scarrit Bennet center is fully air conditioned and some rooms were chilly.  <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/maris-stella-lace-shawl" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Maris Stella</a> by Anna Victoria, knit in Birdie’s Knits gradient kig <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/linen-butterflies" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Linen Butterflies</a> by me, Monique Leonard – knit in Louet Euroflax Sport <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/thoughts" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Thoughts on Small Needles</a> by Joji Locatelli; worked the size XL pattern with a lace/thread-weight yarn to make a size M Out and About <a href="http://supersummerknitogether.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">SSK</a>!  A summer knitting retreat hosted by the <a href="http://www.theknitgirllls.com/wordpress/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">KnitGirllls</a>.  4 days in Nashville with 150 amazing knitters, vendors and teachers.  Thank you to Laura, Leslie, Gwen, Sarah and Mama Linneman for all your hard work, it was an amazing retreat.  I arraived late, on Thursday morning instead of Wednesday night, but it was fine; I still met so many lovely people and felt welcomes right away. Took 2 classes and 2 breakouts. Variegated Yarns class with <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/designers/margaret-radcliffe" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Margaret Radcliffe</a>.  Learned a lot about how to read the yarn, make some colors pop and others fade; how to use texture to bring out colors like when you look at a cake of variegated yarns.  Long and short is, play with the yarn BEFORE you cast on for a project Triyang Shawl with <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/designers/lee-meredith" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lee Meredith</a> (aka Leethal) was incredible to see a little into how her mind works.  She’s known for usuing unusual construction to make amazing patterns.  This shawl as no picking up or binbding off!  We knit mini-versions of this shawl and learned the sideways Cast On and how to consider what looks like the middle of the row as your actual “start” of the row.  The pattern is very well written and if you follow it exactly as written you will end up with a marvelous shawl.  Trust Lee, she’s worked it all out.  Even if it feels wrong, just do what’s written and it will work. 2 breakouts by <a href="https://hipstrings.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hipstrings</a>.  The first, learning to use a supported spindle.  I got the very basics down.  I made a rather horrible-looking spindle, but I made one!  My very first time spinning.  The 2nd, learning to spin cotton on a supported spindle.  By the end I had a half-way decent spindle and learned to use the smallest and fastest of her spindles. Market  - <a href="http://www.therossfarm.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ross Farm </a> <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/KnittyAndColor" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Knitty and Color </a> <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/WhimzeeStitches" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Whimzee Stitches </a> <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/2GuysYarn?ref=offsite_badges&amp;utm_source=sellers&amp;utm_medium=badges&amp;utm_campaign=en_isell_3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">2 Guys Yarn Co </a> <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/HopkinsSewingStudio" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hopkins Sewing Studio</a> <a href="http://www.gynxyarns.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Gynx Yarns</a> <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/galesart" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Gales Art </a> <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/marigoldjen" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Marigold Jen </a> <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/hobbledehoy" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hobbledehoy Fibers</a> <a href="https://hipstrings.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hipstrings </a> <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/TwistFiberStudio" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twist Fiber Studio </a> <a href="http://www.akerworks.com/bobbins.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Akerworks </a> <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/LollipopYarn" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lollipop yarn </a> <a href="https://www.thefiberseed.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Fiber Seed Yarn </a> <a href="https://www.missbabs.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Miss Babs </a> <a href="http://knitspot.com/knitting_pattern/yarn-and-fiber-c-21.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">BareNaked Wools </a> <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/StrandedDyeworks" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stranded Dyeworks </a> <a href="http://fatsquirrelfibers.bigcartel.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Fat Squirrel Fibers </a> <a href="https://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/home/jeribrock" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jeri Brock </a> <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/RockAndStringYarn" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rock and String </a> <a href="http://www.tuftwoolens.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tuft Woolens</a> <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/Jelby" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jelby</a> So much beautiful yarn and so manyknitting bags! I bought a spindle and a fibre sampler from HipStrings, bags from Whimzee, Fat Squirrel, and On the Run I’ve run twice and walked a LOT since the last episode. Since I was up at the crack of dawn on Friday I went for a run, about a mile around Vanderbilt – beautiful campus!  Felt totally safe as a woman running alone.  I upped the number of run intervals from 5 to 7.  Saturday I went for a walk with PAKnitWit to the Parthenon, about a mile each way. Today continued the 7-run intervals.  Knees are a little creaky after all the running and walking the past 5 days so I’m going to hold off on running again until the end of the week.  But I’m so happy to be slowly increasing my running in a healthy manner.

Episode 18 - SSK, So Much Fun Even The Introverts Are Here

Episode 72 1/22/20 Be a helper, wips, knitting fail, wearables, pattern stalking, out and about Be a Helper Craftalong 4th Be A Helper Craft-a-long has begun! We keep the rules simple. Anything you make for any charity counts, doesn’t have to be knit/crochet/woven or spun. ANYthing you make for ANY charity. One FO per photo in the FO thread Donating blood counts too - post a photo of your bandaid or of you drinking OJ afterwards, something like that. FO Thread closes when I wake up April 1st. Wips are welcome  One more new prize to announce, a pattern from Jennifer Lassonde of Down Cellar Studio!  Thanks so much, Jen! Wips – lots these last 2 weeks! Preemie hat – about half way through my first for the year. Aggregate Shawl – I’ve reached the end of the shawl as written, but I have more yarn left.  I’m continuing in the pattern as established until I run out of yarn. Matchy Socks – nearly to the cuff Dress – The handmade dress I’ve been working on is coming along nicely.  I’ve split for armholes and I’m nearly done with the front left strap.   South Woods – started a new sweater for myself, South Woods by River Road Knits .  I’m using some old stash yarn for the lace underlayer and my handspun for the main body of the sweater, which leads me to… Kitting Fail Be careful not to twist! Wearables My birthday weekend was incredibly warm, topping out at 74F (23C) whereas our highs should hover right around freezing.  So I wore lots of warm-weather handknits, like one of my Mommy’s Tunic samples and the Lace Sweater 01 from Vogue Knitting Magazine designed by Brooke Nico.  Knit this in a cone of 5/2 bamboo from Webs years ago.  The pattern is a lace coat, nearly knee-length, and I wore it as a jacket out for my birthday dinner. Since then, it’s been COLD.  I’ve also worn Frosted sweater by Paper Daisy Creations and lots of shawls, including Changing Staircases, Pont du Marais and Use Your Stash Shawls, both designed by me.  Also my boys and I have all worn some handknit socks, all made using the Fish Lips Kiss Heel.  I;m wearing my Twist and Shout had by Michele duNaier nearly every day.  My youngest has worn the Monomoy Sweater several times and wears his Bermuda Hat every day.  And I’ve worn the Dancing Dragons Coat – it makes a great indoor layer on super cold days. Pattern Stalking Thing 2 want’s a new sweater, another hat, Halloween socks and Christmas socks and I keep thinking about knitting another Hitofude.  Out and About Wayland Winter Farmers Market Fiber Days – Jan 26 &amp; Mar 1 Boston Farm &amp; fiber Fest – Feb 9 Stitches United - March 26-29, 2020

Episode 72 1/22/20 Be a helper, wips, knitting fail, wearables, pattern stalking, out and about Be a Helper Craftalong <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/discuss/windswept-designs/3994541" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">4th Be A Helper Craft-a-long</a> has begun! We keep the rules simple. <ul><li>Anything you make for any charity counts, doesn’t have to be knit/crochet/woven or spun. ANYthing you make for ANY charity.</li> <li>One FO per photo in the <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/discuss/windswept-designs/3994542" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">FO thread</a></li> <li>Donating blood counts too - post a photo of your bandaid or of you drinking OJ afterwards, something like that.</li> <li>FO Thread closes when I wake up April 1st.</li> <li>Wips are welcome</li> </ul> One more new prize to announce, a pattern from Jennifer Lassonde of Down Cellar Studio!  Thanks so much, Jen! Wips – lots these last 2 weeks! <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/top-down-preemie-hat-7" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Preemie hat</a> – about half way through my first for the year. <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/aggregate-2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Aggregate Shawl</a> – I’ve reached the end of the shawl as written, but I have more yarn left.  I’m continuing in the pattern as established until I run out of yarn. <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/fish-lips-kiss-heel-9" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Matchy Socks</a> – nearly to the cuff <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/evenstar-shawl-2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dress</a> – The handmade dress I’ve been working on is coming along nicely.  I’ve split for armholes and I’m nearly done with the front left strap.   <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/south-woods" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">South Woods</a> – started a new sweater for myself, South Woods by River Road Knits .  I’m using some old stash yarn for the lace underlayer and my handspun for the main body of the sweater, which leads me to… Kitting Fail Be careful not to twist! Wearables My birthday weekend was incredibly warm, topping out at 74F (23C) whereas our highs should hover right around freezing.  So I wore lots of warm-weather handknits, like one of my <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/mommys-tunic-3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mommy’s Tunic</a> samples and the <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/01-lace-coat" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lace Sweater 01</a> from Vogue Knitting Magazine designed by Brooke Nico.  Knit this in a cone of 5/2 bamboo from Webs years ago.  The pattern is a lace coat, nearly knee-length, and I wore it as a jacket out for my birthday dinner. Since then, it’s been COLD.  I’ve also worn <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/frosted" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Frosted</a> sweater by Paper Daisy Creations and lots of shawls, including <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/changing-staircases-2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Changing Staircases</a>, <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/pont-du-marais" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pont du Marais</a> and <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/use-your-stash-shawl" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Use Your Stash Shawls</a>, both designed by me.  Also my boys and I have all worn some handknit socks, all made using the Fish Lips Kiss Heel.  I;m wearing my <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/twist-and-shout" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twist and Shout</a> had by Michele duNaier nearly every day.  My youngest has worn the <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/monomoy-sweater" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Monomoy Sweater</a> several times and wears his <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/j-bermuda-hat" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bermuda Hat</a> every day.  And I’ve worn the <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/dancing-dragons-coat" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dancing Dragons Coat</a> – it makes a great indoor layer on super cold days. Pattern Stalking Thing 2 want’s a new sweater, another hat, Halloween socks and Christmas socks and I keep thinking about knitting another Hitofude.  Out and About <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Wayland-Winter-Farmers-Market-161090303930270/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wayland Winter Farmers Market Fiber Days</a> – Jan 26 &amp; Mar 1 <a href="https://www.newenglandfarmtofiber.com/events-1/3rd-annual-boston-farm-fiber-festival-2020" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Boston Farm &amp; fiber Fest</a> – Feb 9 <a href="http://www.knittinguniverse.com/United2020" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitches United</a> - March 26-29, 2020

72 - All The Tangents

Episode 26 – 11/21/17 - Knitting and Running in 30 min or les Calling this one “Unexpected Rhinebeck Hiatus” This will be a short episode, as you can hear from my voice I’m still a little under the weather.  I just wanted to record a new episode so you know I haven’t pod-faded.  If you’re new to the show, I’ll be back with a regular episode, as long as my children co-operate. Which leads me to my 2-minute health update.  I wasn’t planning on taking a hiatus after Rhinebeck, but since then Our household has been hit by 2 different viruses, both of which lef to  Laryngitis Toddler started getting molars I threw my back out again Moved the toddler out of the crib because he started climbing out  Quick Rhinebeck Chat I do want to say a big “thank you” to everyone I met, it was so much fun to see everyone and spend a day with some great fiber folks. I’ve had several people ask me about the Webs bus, so I will give you a quick recap. For the Webs bus to Rhinebeck this year it was $50 (if I remember correctly), they ask you to get there about 30 minutes early and they had breakfast of local apple cider donuts waiting for everyone inside the store.  Once the busses arrived we all boarded three very nice coaches.  One note – please don’t be late if you take a bus. En route everyone received a free skein of yarn for Lorna’s Laces.  Also there were about 10-12 raffles on our bus.  Prizes included stuff like yarn, project bags and several with cash for you to spend at Rhinebeck!  Each bus had 2 Webs guides and ours were so much fun! We were dropped off right near the main entrance around 10ish, if I remember correctly and we had to be back aboard the bus by 3:45, so we did get most of the day at the festival. That’s all for this week, thanks for putting up with my croaky voice today.  I wish all those of you in the US a very Happy Thanksgiving and I hope to be back to my normal recording schedule next week, providing my toddler naps. Bye!

Episode 26 – 11/21/17 - Knitting and Running in 30 min or les Calling this one “Unexpected Rhinebeck Hiatus” This will be a short episode, as you can hear from my voice I’m still a little under the weather.  I just wanted to record a new episode so you know I haven’t pod-faded.  If you’re new to the show, I’ll be back with a regular episode, as long as my children co-operate. Which leads me to my 2-minute health update.  I wasn’t planning on taking a hiatus after Rhinebeck, but since then <ul><li>Our household has been hit by 2 different viruses, both of which lef to </li> <li>Laryngitis</li> <li>Toddler started getting molars</li> <li>I threw my back out again</li> <li>Moved the toddler out of the crib because he started climbing out</li> </ul> Quick Rhinebeck Chat I do want to say a big “thank you” to everyone I met, it was so much fun to see everyone and spend a day with some great fiber folks. I’ve had several people ask me about the Webs bus, so I will give you a quick recap. For the Webs bus to Rhinebeck this year it was $50 (if I remember correctly), they ask you to get there about 30 minutes early and they had breakfast of local apple cider donuts waiting for everyone inside the store.  Once the busses arrived we all boarded three very nice coaches.  One note – please don’t be late if you take a bus. En route everyone received a free skein of yarn for Lorna’s Laces.  Also there were about 10-12 raffles on our bus.  Prizes included stuff like yarn, project bags and several with cash for you to spend at Rhinebeck!  Each bus had 2 Webs guides and ours were so much fun! We were dropped off right near the main entrance around 10ish, if I remember correctly and we had to be back aboard the bus by 3:45, so we did get most of the day at the festival. That’s all for this week, thanks for putting up with my croaky voice today.  I wish all those of you in the US a very Happy Thanksgiving and I hope to be back to my normal recording schedule next week, providing my toddler naps. Bye!

Episode 26 - Unexpected Rhinebeck Hiatus

Episode 64 Segments include Tour de Fleece, Wips, Knitting Fail, On the Run,  Stash Acquisition, Out &amp; About Tour de Fleece This is my second Tour de Fleece! Wips New socks knit in Plymouth Yarn Diversity in the Violets colorways.  Picked the yarn up last week at A Great Yarn in Chatham, MA.  I needed something on smaller needles – I seem to be only using US 4s or 5s and it was just too much.  Started the toe, but the wooden needles I bought were too sticky for this yarn. Sea-themed shawl I mentioned last week. My third Rent-themed pattern, a shawl with 2 color cables.  Yes, that’s a cable using 2 different color yarns within the cable.  That sounds hard, but if you learn one simple trick they are SO EASY!  I can’t believe more people don’t use this technique.  I would call this technique intarsia-adjacent, but much simpler than how I learned intarsia.  For the record, I am not a big intarsia fan, but I do really enjoy these 2 color cables. Knitting Fail Photoshoot fail – tried to have a sunset photoshoot at the beach last Saturday and it turns out a front came through and there were 30mph winds! On The Road Spent a week at my parent’s place on Cape Cod, lots of fun, lots of beach.  Thing 1’s arm is doing much, much better and while not able to swim he was able to splash in the water, build sandcastles with help, go on some flat hikes. Yesterday, I tried to take a self-care day.  I’d been planning this day for months, then Thing 1 broke a bone, so he came with me.  We drove an hour to a “local” yarn and fiber shop The Fiber Loft.  Stash Acquisition From The Fiber Loft I got 1lb of cotton sliver that I am going to attempt dying.  I also got some beautiful green speckled fiber from Buchanan Fibers and a skein of silk/linen blend in blues and purples for an upcoming shawl. And yesterday, my very first Akerworks bobbins arrived!  I can’t wait to try these.  I’m going to use it for my 2nd bobbin in Tour de Fleece. Out and About In August I will be spending a week in Nova Scotia, Canada visiting family and I can’t wait! September 19-22 I will be attending Into The Wool fiber retreat in Crossville, TN run by Dana from Unwind Yarn Company and Tiffany, aka The Project Bag.  So looking forward to this! Rhinebeck!  For the first time I will be going both Saturday and Sunday.  This is my first time driving myself to the fairgrounds, that is, not being dropped off by family or taking the Webs bus, so if you have any parking tips I’d love to hear them. Not sure if I’ll be attending these next 2 but I hope to: Vermont Sheep and Wool, Oct 5 &amp; 6 Fiber Festival of New England, Nov 2 &amp; 3 at the Big E out near Springfield, MA

Episode 64 Segments include Tour de Fleece, Wips, Knitting Fail, On the Run,  Stash Acquisition, Out &amp; About Tour de Fleece This is my second Tour de Fleece! Wips New socks knit in Plymouth Yarn Diversity in the Violets colorways.  Picked the yarn up last week at A Great Yarn in Chatham, MA.  I needed something on smaller needles – I seem to be only using US 4s or 5s and it was just too much.  Started the toe, but the wooden needles I bought were too sticky for this yarn. Sea-themed shawl I mentioned last week. My third Rent-themed pattern, a shawl with 2 color cables.  Yes, that’s a cable using 2 different color yarns within the cable.  That sounds hard, but if you learn one simple trick they are SO EASY!  I can’t believe more people don’t use this technique.  I would call this technique intarsia-adjacent, but much simpler than how I learned intarsia.  For the record, I am not a big intarsia fan, but I do really enjoy these 2 color cables. Knitting Fail Photoshoot fail – tried to have a sunset photoshoot at the beach last Saturday and it turns out a front came through and there were 30mph winds! On The Road Spent a week at my parent’s place on Cape Cod, lots of fun, lots of beach.  Thing 1’s arm is doing much, much better and while not able to swim he was able to splash in the water, build sandcastles with help, go on some flat hikes. Yesterday, I tried to take a self-care day.  I’d been planning this day for months, then Thing 1 broke a bone, so he came with me.  We drove an hour to a “local” yarn and fiber shop The Fiber Loft.  Stash Acquisition From The Fiber Loft I got 1lb of cotton sliver that I am going to attempt dying.  I also got some beautiful green speckled fiber from Buchanan Fibers and a skein of silk/linen blend in blues and purples for an upcoming shawl. And yesterday, my very first Akerworks bobbins arrived!  I can’t wait to try these.  I’m going to use it for my 2nd bobbin in Tour de Fleece. Out and About In August I will be spending a week in Nova Scotia, Canada visiting family and I can’t wait! September 19-22 I will be attending Into The Wool fiber retreat in Crossville, TN run by Dana from Unwind Yarn Company and Tiffany, aka The Project Bag.  So looking forward to this! Rhinebeck!  For the first time I will be going both Saturday and Sunday.  This is my first time driving myself to the fairgrounds, that is, not being dropped off by family or taking the Webs bus, so if you have any parking tips I’d love to hear them. Not sure if I’ll be attending these next 2 but I hope to: Vermont Sheep and Wool, Oct 5 &amp; 6 Fiber Festival of New England, Nov 2 &amp; 3 at the Big E out near Springfield, MA

64-Want some rope?

Episode 71 – Be A Helper Craftalong – we’ll go over the (simple) rules and some ideas for what you can make.   Be A Helper Craftalong 4th Be A Helper Craftalong has begun! We keep the rules simple. Anything you make for any charity counts, doesn’t have to be knit/crochet/woven or spun. ANYthing you make for ANY charity. One FO per photo in the FO thread Donating blood counts too - post a photo of your bandaid or of you drinking OJ afterwards, something like that. FO Thread closes when I wake up April 1st. Wips are welcome  Prizes 1 skein of Sock Yarn from A Great Yarn in Chatham, MA dyed exclusively for them by Hauteknits in the Finest Hours colorway, 75% merino, 25% nylon 1 25g skein of Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock plus a mini skein of handspun Spun to order handspun, by me. I have 2 or 3 colorways that I’ll let the winner choose for me to spin up.  Need some ideas? Check out these charities: Preemie Hats – check with your local hospital for yarn requirements. These need to be washed in an industrial strength washing machine so there may be limits, many only accept acrylic/nylon. If your local hospital isn’t accepting hats, Dana from the Unwind Yarn Company collects them from her retreat attendees in the fall and I’ll be happy to collect them and mail them to her with my own in September. Greg, aka Knitting Daddy of the Unraveling podcast also has accepted mailed hats in the past for his local hospital. Knitted Knockers– these are prostheses for breast cancer survivors who have not had or cannot have reconstructive surgery. Knockers must be made with plant based yarn – wool is too scratchy on scar tissue – and a list of acceptable yarns is linked in the shownotes available via PDF and there are top down and bottom-up patterns on their website. Mother Bears– I learned of this charity from the 2 Knit Lit Chicks who run a Mother Bear KAL every year. These bears provide comfort to children who are victim of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa. Mother Bear will snail mail you the knitting or crochet pattern for a small fee. All they ask is that you return the finished bear with $3 to cover the shipping to Africa. KnitAid– has USA and UK branches. UK is currently collecting hats, mittens, blankets and water bottle covers.  All items must be knit in dark-colored yarn because the recipients will not be able to wash them easily. CompassionKnit- Bay Area, CA charity that gives handknit items to foster kids, most of whom have very few belongings of their own. A gift knit especially for them, something a stranger took hours and hours to make just for them, is something they cherish. Animal Rescue Craft Guild – knit, crochet or sew Joey pouches, bat wraps, nests, possum pouches, etc for animal survivors of the devastating wildfires in Australia. Before crafting, check the announcements on the FB page (linked in the show notes) as the graphic is updated with what they do and do not need.  They work closely with carers and animal rescue groups and update the graphic regularly.  Please be aware they currently have plenty of koala mittens but are in need of a lot of other help. A Great Yarn in Chatham, MA runs an annual blanket project for the homeless population on Cape Cod. Use any washable worsted-weight yarn to make a panel 1-foot [30cm] by 6 feet [1.8 m] and drop it off or mail it to the shop, mailing address in show notes.  Their goal this year is 250 blankets.  A Great Yarn 894 Main Street Chatham, MA 02633 A local homeless shelter or domestic violence shelter. Please check with them before assuming they take items, but many are happy to accept gifts of socks, hats, scarves and mittens especially in the winter. Do you have a charity craft idea that you think others would like to hear about? Let me know and I’ll talk about it on a future episode.  Out and About Wayland Winter Farmers Market Fiber Days – Jan 26 &amp; Mar 1 VKL NYC Jan 16-20 Stitches United - March 26-29, 2020 Knitting Weekend and Fiber Marketplace at Slater Mill -  Jan 11 &amp; 12 Boston Farm &amp; fiber Fest – Feb 9

Episode 71 – Be A Helper Craftalong – we’ll go over the (simple) rules and some ideas for what you can make. Be A Helper Craftalong 4th Be A Helper Craftalong has begun! We keep the rules simple. <ul><li>Anything you make for any charity counts, doesn’t have to be knit/crochet/woven or spun. ANYthing you make for ANY charity.</li> <li>One FO per photo in the FO thread</li> <li>Donating blood counts too - post a photo of your bandaid or of you drinking OJ afterwards, something like that.</li> <li>FO Thread closes when I wake up April 1st.</li> <li>Wips are welcome</li> </ul> Prizes <ul><li>1 skein of Sock Yarn from A Great Yarn in Chatham, MA dyed exclusively for them by Hauteknits in the Finest Hours colorway, 75% merino, 25% nylon</li> <li>1 25g skein of Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock plus a mini skein of handspun</li> <li>Spun to order handspun, by me. I have 2 or 3 colorways that I’ll let the winner choose for me to spin up.</li> </ul> Need some ideas? Check out these charities: <ul><li>Preemie Hats – check with your local hospital for yarn requirements. These need to be washed in an industrial strength washing machine so there may be limits, many only accept acrylic/nylon. If your local hospital isn’t accepting hats, Dana from the Unwind Yarn Company collects them from her retreat attendees in the fall and I’ll be happy to collect them and mail them to her with my own in September. Greg, aka Knitting Daddy of the Unraveling podcast also has accepted mailed hats in the past for his local hospital.</li> <li><a href="https://www.knittedknockers.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Knitted Knockers</a>– these are prostheses for breast cancer survivors who have not had or cannot have reconstructive surgery. Knockers must be made with plant based yarn – wool is too scratchy on scar tissue – and a list of acceptable yarns is linked in the shownotes <a href="https://www.knittedknockers.org/download/1600/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">available via PDF</a> and there are top down and bottom-up patterns <a href="https://www.knittedknockers.org/make-a-knocker/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">on their website</a>.</li> <li><a href="http://motherbearproject.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mother Bears</a>– I learned of this charity from the 2 Knit Lit Chicks who run a Mother Bear KAL every year. These bears provide comfort to children who are victim of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa. Mother Bear will snail mail you the knitting or crochet pattern for a small fee. All they ask is that you return the finished bear with $3 to cover the shipping to Africa.</li> <li><a href="http://www.knitaid.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">KnitAid</a>– has USA and UK branches. UK is currently collecting hats, mittens, blankets and water bottle covers.  All items must be knit in dark-colored yarn because the recipients will not be able to wash them easily.</li> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/compassionknit/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CompassionKnit</a>- Bay Area, CA charity that gives handknit items to foster kids, most of whom have very few belongings of their own. A gift knit especially for them, something a stranger took hours and hours to make just for them, is something they cherish.</li> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/arfsncrafts/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Animal Rescue Craft Guild</a> – knit, crochet or sew Joey pouches, bat wraps, nests, possum pouches, etc for animal survivors of the devastating wildfires in Australia. Before crafting, check the announcements on the FB page (linked in the show notes) as the graphic is updated with what they do and do not need.  They work closely with carers and animal rescue groups and update the graphic regularly.  Please be aware they currently have plenty of koala mittens but are in need of a lot of other help.</li> <li><a href="http://agreatyarn.com/event/knit-a-thon-to-make-blankets-for-cape-cods-homeless/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">A Great Yarn</a> in Chatham, MA runs an annual blanket project for the homeless population on Cape Cod. Use any washable worsted-weight yarn to make a panel 1-foot [30cm] by 6 feet [1.8 m] and drop it off or mail it to the shop, mailing address in show notes.  Their goal this year is 250 blankets.  A Great Yarn 894 Main Street Chatham, MA 02633</li> <li>A local homeless shelter or domestic violence shelter. Please check with them before assuming they take items, but many are happy to accept gifts of socks, hats, scarves and mittens especially in the winter.</li> <li>Do you have a charity craft idea that you think others would like to hear about? Let me know and I’ll talk about it on a future episode.</li> </ul> Out and About <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Wayland-Winter-Farmers-Market-161090303930270/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wayland Winter Farmers Market Fiber Days</a> – Jan 26 &amp; Mar 1 <a href="https://www.vogueknittinglive.com/newyork2020" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">VKL NYC</a> Jan 16-20 <a href="http://www.knittinguniverse.com/United2020" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitches United</a> - March 26-29, 2020 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/2570177989709954/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Knitting Weekend and Fiber Marketplace at Slater Mill</a> -  Jan 11 &amp; 12 <a href="https://www.newenglandfarmtofiber.com/events-1/3rd-annual-boston-farm-fiber-festival-2020" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Boston Farm &amp; fiber Fest</a> – Feb 9

4th Be A Helper Craftalong

Episode 66 Designer Notes, Wips, FOs, Spinning, Out and About, On the Run Designer Notes Pont du Marais Shawl released today, October 11!  Inspired by the epic fog in my grandmother’s village and named for one of the foggiest places therein (literally, it means Bridge at the Marsh). I can’t wait to share this easy, fun pattern with you. When I first saw this skein of color-changing yarn from @wollesyarn at #VKLNYC last January I knew I wanted to make this shawl, showcasing the fog and waves that I love about Nova Scotia. Pronunciation – Nova Scotia versus France. 30% off for podcast listeners with code ONTHERUN through Friday, 10/18. Wips Taking Flight – Captain Marvel inspired shawl by Katherine Belisle.  I’ve been trying to finish up the applied lace edging to I can wear this beauty to Rhinebeck because it’s beautiful!  I am ¾ done.  Knitting this up in discontinued Longmeadow from Webs (red and blue) and Berocco Modern Cotton (yellow). A new sleeveless top in silk, just started the sample, long ways to go. FOs Aggregate Shawl by #jimiknits Jiminez Joseph for the #BIPOCMAL2019 I love this pattern and I can already tell I’ll be knitting this one again in a thicker weight yarn for winter wear. New Rent-inspired shawl pattern.  For those of you at ITW, this is the gray and pink shawl that you saw me working on.  I’ll be sending it to the tech editor soon then opening it up for test knitters. Spinning I spun Alpaca for the first time.  Rolags and spinning directly from the locks.  First time using regular flyer I think! Out and About Rhinebeck in just over a week!  I’ll be there Saturday and Sunday.  Come find me and say hi!  On the Run – Back Stretching edition Regular listeners will recall that I threw my back out late last winter pretty badly.  It was a just a muscle pull, thankfully nothing worse.  But I learned some great warm up stretches that really helped get mobility in my spine back.  I still use them periodically when I feel knots in my back muscles starting to form again and they still help.

Episode 66 Designer Notes, Wips, FOs, Spinning, Out and About, On the Run Designer Notes Pont du Marais Shawl released today, October 11!  Inspired by the epic fog in my grandmother’s village and named for one of the foggiest places therein (literally, it means Bridge at the Marsh). I can’t wait to share this easy, fun pattern with you. When I first saw this skein of color-changing yarn from <a href="https://www.instagram.com/wollesyarn/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@wollesyarn</a> at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/vklnyc/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">#VKLNYC</a> last January I knew I wanted to make this shawl, showcasing the fog and waves that I love about Nova Scotia. Pronunciation – Nova Scotia versus France. 30% off for podcast listeners with code ONTHERUN through Friday, 10/18. Wips <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/taking-flight" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Taking Flight</a> – Captain Marvel inspired shawl by Katherine Belisle.  I’ve been trying to finish up the applied lace edging to I can wear this beauty to Rhinebeck because it’s beautiful!  I am ¾ done.  Knitting this up in discontinued Longmeadow from Webs (red and blue) and Berocco Modern Cotton (yellow). A new sleeveless top in silk, just started the sample, long ways to go. FOs <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/aggregate" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Aggregate Shawl</a> by #jimiknits Jiminez Joseph for the #BIPOCMAL2019 I love this pattern and I can already tell I’ll be knitting this one again in a thicker weight yarn for winter wear. New Rent-inspired shawl pattern.  For those of you at ITW, this is the gray and pink shawl that you saw me working on.  I’ll be sending it to the tech editor soon then opening it up for test knitters. Spinning I spun Alpaca for the first time.  Rolags and spinning directly from the locks.  First time using regular flyer I think! Out and About Rhinebeck in just over a week!  I’ll be there Saturday and Sunday.  Come find me and say hi!  On the Run – Back Stretching edition Regular listeners will recall that I threw my back out late last winter pretty badly.  It was a just a muscle pull, thankfully nothing worse.  But I learned some great warm up stretches that really helped get mobility in my spine back.  I still use them periodically when I feel knots in my back muscles starting to form again and they still help.

66-2 weeks in a row?

Episode 37 -  4/27/18 – The One With No Knitting   As you may have guessed from the title this week, I have no knitting to talk about!  I went to the doctor just after the last recording and I got good news and bad news.  The good news: I do NOT have arthritis. The bad news? No knitting for two weeks.  It has been a rather frustrating few weeks but I have not cheated, not even once.  I’ve done some spindling and I taught myself to drop-spindle ply with my other hand, which helped.  I’ve also picked up some old cross stitch projects, and I’ll talk about all that in Wips.  Also, I should add that knitting is my stress relief so Mama’s been a little on edge the last two weeks but by some miracle I have not throttled or defenestrated any family members.  They are all still alive, lol. No episode next week because I still cannot knit. FOs I finished spinning my very first 2oz braid!  It’s a cotton sliver in the colorway Skies Over Pittsburgh from Hipstrings and to my great surprise I ended up with a whopping 654 yards!  I was guestimating I’d end up with 300-400 yards.  Boy was I wrong!  The first half of the plied yarn is unfortunately chock full of knots.  The first single I spun was not done well – it was alternatingly over spun and underspun, then that was one of the singles I used to learn to ply with my non-dominant hand and that was a bad combination.  But the second half turned out well and definitely usable.   Wips Today while getting the car worked on I started spinning another 2oz braid of cottom from Hipstrings in the A New Beginning colorway which is one of the first colors from their new Cotton Club (highly recommend!)  Lady and the Unicorm: The Lady and the Unicorn is the modern title given to a series of six tapestries woven in Flanders from wool and silk circa 1500. The set of 6 tapestries is  on display in the Musée de Cluny in Paris Five of the tapestries depict the five senses – taste, hearing, sight, smell, and touch. The sixth hasthe words "À mon seul désir" or "to my only desire" and the project I am working on is based on this last one. The pattern is from Golden Kite and when it's done it will look like this:   Golden Kite is a husband and wife team from Europe who specialize in making cross stitch patterns out of works of art in the public domain.  They have everything from Van Gogh to Kadinsky to Edmund Blair Leighton to the cieling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.

Episode 37 -  4/27/18 – The One With No Knitting As you may have guessed from the title this week, I have no knitting to talk about!  I went to the doctor just after the last recording and I got good news and bad news.  The good news: I do NOT have arthritis. The bad news? No knitting for two weeks.  It has been a rather frustrating few weeks but I have not cheated, not even once.  I’ve done some spindling and I taught myself to drop-spindle ply with my other hand, which helped.  I’ve also picked up some old cross stitch projects, and I’ll talk about all that in Wips.  Also, I should add that knitting is my stress relief so Mama’s been a little on edge the last two weeks but by some miracle I have not throttled or defenestrated any family members.  They are all still alive, lol. No episode next week because I still cannot knit. FOs I finished spinning my very first 2oz braid!  It’s a cotton sliver in the colorway Skies Over Pittsburgh from Hipstrings and to my great surprise I ended up with a whopping 654 yards!  I was guestimating I’d end up with 300-400 yards.  Boy was I wrong!  The first half of the plied yarn is unfortunately chock full of knots.  The first single I spun was not done well – it was alternatingly over spun and underspun, then that was one of the singles I used to learn to ply with my non-dominant hand and that was a bad combination.  But the second half turned out well and definitely usable. Wips Today while getting the car worked on I started spinning another 2oz braid of cottom from Hipstrings in the A New Beginning colorway which is one of the first colors from their new Cotton Club (highly recommend!) Lady and the Unicorm: The Lady and the Unicorn is the modern title given to a series of six tapestries woven in Flanders from wool and silk circa 1500. The set of 6 tapestries is  on display in the Musée de Cluny in Paris Five of the tapestries depict the five <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senses" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">senses</a> – taste, hearing, sight, smell, and touch. The sixth hasthe words "À mon seul désir" or "to my only desire" and the project I am working on is based on this last one. The pattern is from <a href="https://www.goldenkite.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Golden Kite</a> and when it's done it will look like this:  Golden Kite is a husband and wife team from Europe who specialize in making cross stitch patterns out of works of art in the public domain.  They have everything from <a href="https://www.goldenkite.com/947.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Van Gogh</a> to <a href="https://www.goldenkite.com/p3559.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Kadinsky </a>to <a href="https://www.goldenkite.com/2483.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Edmund Blair Leighton</a> to the <a href="https://www.goldenkite.com/2707.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">cieling of the Sistine Chapel</a> in the Vatican.

37: The One With No Knitting

Episode 23 – 9/25/17 Knitting and running in 30 minutes or less Topics this week include FO, Wips, Out and About, On the Run FO Itty Bitty Kitty Preemie Hat test knit from Sarah Jordan, aka Knit Wit.  To fit 2-3lb baby hat worked in Berroco Comfort Sock  Wips Emerald Deep by Romi Hill – finished charts B &amp; C, started chart D.  Finished that Irish-style lace section I mentioned.  It was lots of fun but you have to place close attention because it’s knit lace on both sides – no rest rows.  Gift for my cousin’s wife for Christmas in Prism Delicato Layers in Kale colorway Another Itty Bitty Kitty preemie hat, the same test knit pattern in the Maldvies colorway of Berroco comfort sock Lillesand cowl by Monika Eckhert, working on this in some deep stash, Cascade Yarn’s Sateen in a burgundy-red color and Rozetti Yarns Soft Payette in white with a few sequins for sparkle here and there – got a few more rows done on this cowl for my aunt for Christmas Hitchiker by Martina Behm in Ito Yarn’s Kinu, 100% silk – still plugging away at this a few rows a week.  It’s my purse knitting Knitted Knocker in Cascade Ultra Pima – literally just cast this on waiting for my toddler to fall asleep so I can record this show – visit their website at www.knittedknockers.org Knitting Talk Fit and Ease Ease - how much extra room (or lack thereof) do you want in your garment?  An inch or so of ease will be a fitted garment but the material will not stretch to fit you.  Negative ease, where the material is actually less around than your body, will give you a very fitted garment where the material itself is stretching to fit around your body – think a typical sock. 2-3 inches of you will give you a comfortable fit without feeling fitted. 4 inches or so and we’re getting more into loose-fitting cardigans and approaching boyfriend sweater territory.  Some of the huge boxy sweaters out there these days may have as much as 8 inches of ease to give you that boxy effect. Out and About Rhinebeck!  I’m headed to Rhinebeck for the day via the bus from Webs.  Gonna be a long day – I have a grad school reunion at the MFA in Boston the night before then I have to leave my house around 5-5:30am to drive to Webs. I cannot wait!  The artichoke line was waaaay too long by the time I found it so I hope to grab one of those earlier in the day.  I’ll be at the podcaster meetup, of course, and probably at the Ravelry meetup too.  I’m also hoping to locate the bag check this year – missed it last year, but I’ll have a big ‘ol day pack with me for the bus and car ride.  On the plus side, with a minimum of 4 hours on the bus I should get a bit of knitting done that day! On the Run After walking to school for 3 weeks today I started a Galloway-style run-walk-run on the way home and it felt good.  Rolled out my quads, IT bands and solias muscles, which have been cranky with the sudden mileage increase, but they felt OK too.  Will try again in a couple of days. Mileage Increases – keep it low, keep it slow As I mentioned last week, I broke one of the cardinal rules of running by suddenly drastically increasing my mileage by walking my son to kindergarten.  That’s an additional 3 miles or so per day for me.  Now, we mitigated this by not walking every single day – we’re averaging about 3 days a week and some days we only walk one way and not the other.   But this is a huge faux pas and something even us veteran runners forget. If you’re new to running, an important rule to remember is to keep your mileage increases small, no more than 10% increase per week.  This is super important because most injuries are directly linked to increasing intensity or duration of exercise too much too soon. Now, let’s unpack this statement – this does not mean you should increase your mileage by 10% every week – on the contrary if you look into the data, most folks should be increasing your mileage by a MAXIMUM of 5-10% every OTHER week.  You should also be incorporating rest weeks where you run less than your baseline, or average weekly miles.  The reason for all this is your body needs time to adjust to the changes your asking of it. Particularly when starting out, don’t plan on increasing mileage or speed any time soon.  Listen to your body.  Take more rest weeks if you need it, or put mile increases off till next week if your body is feeling off.  The whole point is to start running or increase running without injury and that means giving yourself time to adapt.  If you have existing injuries, then you REALLY need to take it slow.  Thinking of starting a couch-to-5k program?  You can plan on repeating the 1st week 3 times to give your chronic issues time to adapt slowly.  Or something I did when I did my marathon training I took the marathon training plan and slowed it down by adding more rest weeks because I knew my body and knew that I had to be careful of asking too much of it too soon. To sum up – take it slow and stay injury free.

Episode 23 – 9/25/17 Knitting and running in 30 minutes or less Topics this week include FO, Wips, Out and About, On the Run FO <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/itty-bitty-kitty" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Itty Bitty Kitty</a> Preemie Hat test knit from Sarah Jordan, aka Knit Wit.  To fit 2-3lb baby hat worked in Berroco Comfort Sock Wips <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/emerald-deep" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Emerald Deep</a> by Romi Hill – finished charts B &amp; C, started chart D.  Finished that Irish-style lace section I mentioned.  It was lots of fun but you have to place close attention because it’s knit lace on both sides – no rest rows.  Gift for my cousin’s wife for Christmas in Prism Delicato Layers in Kale colorway Another Itty Bitty Kitty preemie hat, the same test knit pattern in the Maldvies colorway of Berroco comfort sock <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/lillesand" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lillesand</a> cowl by Monika Eckhert, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/lillesand" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">working on this</a> in some deep stash, Cascade Yarn’s Sateen in a burgundy-red color and Rozetti Yarns Soft Payette in white with a few sequins for sparkle here and there – got a few more rows done on this cowl for my aunt for Christmas Hitchiker by Martina Behm in Ito Yarn’s Kinu, 100% silk – still plugging away at this a few rows a week.  It’s my purse knitting Knitted Knocker in Cascade Ultra Pima – literally just cast this on waiting for my toddler to fall asleep so I can record this show – visit their website at <a href="http://www.knittedknockers.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.knittedknockers.org</a> Knitting Talk Fit and Ease Ease - how much extra room (or lack thereof) do you want in your garment?  An inch or so of ease will be a fitted garment but the material will not stretch to fit you.  Negative ease, where the material is actually less around than your body, will give you a very fitted garment where the material itself is stretching to fit around your body – think a typical sock. 2-3 inches of you will give you a comfortable fit without feeling fitted. 4 inches or so and we’re getting more into loose-fitting cardigans and approaching boyfriend sweater territory.  Some of the huge boxy sweaters out there these days may have as much as 8 inches of ease to give you that boxy effect. Out and About Rhinebeck!  I’m headed to Rhinebeck for the day via the bus from Webs.  Gonna be a long day – I have a grad school reunion at the MFA in Boston the night before then I have to leave my house around 5-5:30am to drive to Webs. I cannot wait!  The artichoke line was waaaay too long by the time I found it so I hope to grab one of those earlier in the day.  I’ll be at the podcaster meetup, of course, and probably at the Ravelry meetup too.  I’m also hoping to locate the bag check this year – missed it last year, but I’ll have a big ‘ol day pack with me for the bus and car ride.  On the plus side, with a minimum of 4 hours on the bus I should get a bit of knitting done that day! On the Run After walking to school for 3 weeks today I started a Galloway-style run-walk-run on the way home and it felt good.  Rolled out my quads, IT bands and solias muscles, which have been cranky with the sudden mileage increase, but they felt OK too.  Will try again in a couple of days. Mileage Increases – keep it low, keep it slow As I mentioned last week, I broke one of the cardinal rules of running by suddenly drastically increasing my mileage by walking my son to kindergarten.  That’s an additional 3 miles or so per day for me.  Now, we mitigated this by not walking every single day – we’re averaging about 3 days a week and some days we only walk one way and not the other.   But this is a huge faux pas and something even us veteran runners forget. If you’re new to running, an important rule to remember is to keep your mileage increases small, no more than 10% increase per week.  This is super important because most injuries are directly linked to increasing intensity or duration of exercise too much too soon. Now, let’s unpack this statement – this does not mean you should increase your mileage by 10% every week – on the contrary if you look into the data, most folks should be increasing your mileage by a MAXIMUM of 5-10% every OTHER week.  You should also be incorporating rest weeks where you run less than your baseline, or average weekly miles.  The reason for all this is your body needs time to adjust to the changes your asking of it. Particularly when starting out, don’t plan on increasing mileage or speed any time soon.  Listen to your body.  Take more rest weeks if you need it, or put mile increases off till next week if your body is feeling off.  The whole point is to start running or increase running without injury and that means giving yourself time to adapt.  If you have existing injuries, then you REALLY need to take it slow.  Thinking of starting a couch-to-5k program?  You can plan on repeating the 1st week 3 times to give your chronic issues time to adapt slowly.  Or something I did when I did my marathon training I took the marathon training plan and slowed it down by adding more rest weeks because I knew my body and knew that I had to be careful of asking too much of it too soon. To sum up – take it slow and stay injury free.

Episode 23 - Wips, Ease and Increasing Mileage

Episode 67 – Get Ready for Rhinebeck Segments this week include – Wips, FOs, Knitting Fail, Wearables and Out and About – getting ready for Rhinebeck edition Quick reminder, Pont du Marais shawl is on sale for podcast listeners – use code FOG to get 30% off through Friday, 10/18 Wips Christmas socks for Thing 2 – finished 1st, turned heel this morning for 2nd. A few rows on the latest Hitchhiker – then I put it down and decided to save it for Rhinebeck Knitting. FOs Taking Flight – done and blocking, needs ends woven in Knitting Fail What happens when you finish a sock at Legoland... and have nothing to cut the yarn so you can start the 2nd? Wearables Mommy’s Tunic – one of my patterns, knit in the discontinued Be Sweet Bamboo.  Wore this on a recent warm day Empire Tunic by Lily Go made in discontinued Frog Tree Picoboo, a cotton bamboo blend.  ¾ sleeve tunic that crosses over the bust, perfect for the in-between fall weather and leggings Changing Staircases 2 – designed by Dragon Hoard Yarns and knit up in Great Adirondack Yarn bamboo/cotton blend that I picked up at Rhinebeck last year Changing Staircases – knit up in Fiber Lady’s Mousou 100% Bamboo Out and About Rhinebeck!  New York Sheep &amp; Wool Starts Thursday 10/17 – Sunday 10/20 at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds in Rhinebeck, NY.  In a minute I’m going to go over some Tips For First Timers, but first lets do logistics.  I will be there Saturday and Sunday likely almost all day both days.  Feel free to stop me and say “Hi!” if you see me.  On Saturday I will be at the Ravelry Meetup at noon on The Hill, and at the Podcaster meetup at 1, also on The Hill.  On Sunday I will be at the Leaping Llama Contest in Bldg 34 at 11:15, and possibly at the Ravelry Meetup right afterwards, depending on timing.  The rest of the time I’ll be walking around, shopping, knitting, spinning and soaking up the general awesomeness. Terminology – I’ve already used some words you might not understand if you haven’t been before The Hill – there are several small hills on the property and this confused me so much the first year I went. Look at the fairgrounds map – The Hill is just above the petting zoo.  It’s a wide open hillside where lots of folks can gather The Buildings – shorthand for Buildings A, B, C, D and 41 which is really one large building divided into sections. Sometimes also refers to Building E, the food hall The Barns – a group of much smaller, free standing, well, barns, on the far side from The Buildings. Building 22 has Upper and Lower levels (separate entrances), the rest are all 1 story  Food – lines are crazy from 11:30 to 2 – eat before or after if you can.   Link to Map Seating – there are lots of places to sit, scattered around.  However, if you have issues with mobility, bring a chair in your car and have someone in your party go get it for you.  The paths or paved, but the fairground is all small hills.  Sit down if you need to, it’s not worth getting hurt.   Bags – try not to bring a backpack.  I made this mistake the first year, and you keep bumping into people by accident, it’s not worth it.   Book Signings &amp; Author Talks – lots of fiber authors there, check out the link in the shownotes and make a note of who you want to see. On a related note – Make A List On Paper!  - Check out the list of vendors (link to searchable page) Cell phone signal is spotty.  Don’t count on having it – write down what you want to do, what time it is and where it is.  Speaking of spotty cell signal – it affects the vendors too.  If you have cash you won’t be stuck waiting while the vendor tries to process your card – and some of the bigger vendors will have a fast Cash-Only line. What am I bringing? Purse &amp; 2 resuable shopping bags Water bottles – large one for the car, smaller one for carrying around in my purse. Larabars or healthy snack to combat the junkfood lol Cash Easy knitting – hitchhiker or a sock or both for walking around Intermediate knitting for hanging out with friends and dinner, etc Drop spindle and fiber Folding Chair Spinning Wheel &amp; fiber for if I get tired and need to sit for a while    What am I wearing? Haven’t decided yet, probably my Frosted sweater by Lisa K Ross or Dancing Dragons Coat by Heike Campbell over a Mommy’s Tunic or Second Grace by Bristol Ivy.  I’ll probably have a shawl each day as well and maybe a hat or mitts.  I’ll have layers underneath to keep warm because I am always cold.  I will probably wear warm, well-loved boots the first day and sneakers the second

Episode 67 – Get Ready for Rhinebeck Segments this week include – Wips, FOs, Knitting Fail, Wearables and Out and About – getting ready for Rhinebeck edition Quick reminder, <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/pont-du-marais" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pont du Marais shawl</a> is on sale for podcast listeners – use code FOG to get 30% off through Friday, 10/18 Wips Christmas socks for Thing 2 – finished 1st, turned heel this morning for 2nd. A few rows on the latest Hitchhiker – then I put it down and decided to save it for Rhinebeck Knitting. FOs Taking Flight – done and blocking, needs ends woven in Knitting Fail What happens when you finish a sock at Legoland... and have nothing to cut the yarn so you can start the 2nd? Wearables Mommy’s Tunic – one of my patterns, knit in the discontinued Be Sweet Bamboo.  Wore this on a recent warm day Empire Tunic by Lily Go made in discontinued Frog Tree Picoboo, a cotton bamboo blend.  ¾ sleeve tunic that crosses over the bust, perfect for the in-between fall weather and leggings Changing Staircases 2 – designed by Dragon Hoard Yarns and knit up in Great Adirondack Yarn bamboo/cotton blend that I picked up at Rhinebeck last year Changing Staircases – knit up in Fiber Lady’s Mousou 100% Bamboo Out and About Rhinebeck!  New York Sheep &amp; Wool Starts Thursday 10/17 – Sunday 10/20 at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds in Rhinebeck, NY.  In a minute I’m going to go over some Tips For First Timers, but first lets do logistics.  I will be there Saturday and Sunday likely almost all day both days.  Feel free to stop me and say “Hi!” if you see me.  On Saturday I will be at the Ravelry Meetup at noon on The Hill, and at the Podcaster meetup at 1, also on The Hill.  On Sunday I will be at the Leaping Llama Contest in Bldg 34 at 11:15, and possibly at the Ravelry Meetup right afterwards, depending on timing.  The rest of the time I’ll be walking around, shopping, knitting, spinning and soaking up the general awesomeness. Terminology – I’ve already used some words you might not understand if you haven’t been before <ul><li>The Hill – there are several small hills on the property and this confused me so much the first year I went. Look at the fairgrounds map – The Hill is just above the petting zoo.  It’s a wide open hillside where lots of folks can gather</li> <li>The Buildings – shorthand for Buildings A, B, C, D and 41 which is really one large building divided into sections. Sometimes also refers to Building E, the food hall</li> <li>The Barns – a group of much smaller, free standing, well, barns, on the far side from The Buildings. Building 22 has Upper and Lower levels (separate entrances), the rest are all 1 story</li> </ul> Food – lines are crazy from 11:30 to 2 – eat before or after if you can.   <a href="https://sheepandwool.com/essentials/festival-map/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Link to Map</a> Seating – there are lots of places to sit, scattered around.  However, if you have issues with mobility, bring a chair in your car and have someone in your party go get it for you.  The paths or paved, but the fairground is all small hills.  Sit down if you need to, it’s not worth getting hurt.   Bags – try not to bring a backpack.  I made this mistake the first year, and you keep bumping into people by accident, it’s not worth it.   <a href="https://sheepandwool.com/events/book-signing-conversations/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Book Signings &amp; Author Talks</a> – lots of fiber authors there, check out the link in the shownotes and make a note of who you want to see. On a related note – Make A List On Paper!  - Check out the list of vendors (<a href="https://sheepandwool.com/vendors/vendor-list-2019/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">link to searchable page</a>) Cell phone signal is spotty.  Don’t count on having it – write down what you want to do, what time it is and where it is.  Speaking of spotty cell signal – it affects the vendors too.  If you have cash you won’t be stuck waiting while the vendor tries to process your card – and some of the bigger vendors will have a fast Cash-Only line. What am I bringing? <ul><li>Purse &amp; 2 resuable shopping bags</li> <li>Water bottles – large one for the car, smaller one for carrying around in my purse.</li> <li>Larabars or healthy snack to combat the junkfood lol</li> <li>Cash</li> <li>Easy knitting – hitchhiker or a sock or both for walking around</li> <li>Intermediate knitting for hanging out with friends and dinner, etc</li> <li>Drop spindle and fiber</li> <li>Folding Chair</li> <li>Spinning Wheel &amp; fiber for if I get tired and need to sit for a while</li> </ul> What am I wearing? Haven’t decided yet, probably my Frosted sweater by Lisa K Ross or Dancing Dragons Coat by Heike Campbell over a Mommy’s Tunic or Second Grace by Bristol Ivy.  I’ll probably have a shawl each day as well and maybe a hat or mitts.  I’ll have layers underneath to keep warm because I am always cold.  I will probably wear warm, well-loved boots the first day and sneakers the second

67- Getting Ready for Rhinebeck

Episode 69 Winter Yuck I’m sitting in my new office in the middle of a 36-hour crazy storm.  Currently alternating between snow and sleet and I’m wrapped in several handknits so it’s a good time to record.  I should preface this – both kids are home and the cats are awake so we’ll see how well this recording goes… Indy GAL 2019 It’s GAL time!  By the time this goes live the GAL sale will be done, but the knit-a-long/crochet-a-long will be in full sweing and it runs through December 31st!  There are over 200 very talented indy designers participating.  Each designer has to have at least 20 self-published paid-for patterns.  There are a lot of incredibly talented designers participating and looking through the threads at the patterns available has been a wonderful rabbit hole to go down. All eligble patterns  click on Advanced Search then Patterns By These Designers to see the 22,000+ patterns that are eligible for the knitalong part.  4th Be A Helper Craft A Long Dec 15th – Feb 28th.  Anything you make for any charity or donating blood.  One FO/blood donation photo per post in the FO thread please (a photo of your bandaid or a selfie sipping OJ is fine).  This year there will additional chat participation prizes!  More details on the craftalong next week, but I wanted to get this info out there for you. Upcoming Test Knits 2 upcoming test knits, both for shawls.  1 is a garter st shawl with a simple cable, the second is another shawl designed to use up scraps. http://www.windsweptknits.com/testknitters/ Wips 2ndAggregate shawl in Artisinal Yarn’s 100% Tencel from Rhinebeck 2 years ago Starting the bodice of a dress.  Knit part of the Evenstar circular shawl as a skirt several years ago.  As part of the GAL I bought 2 bottom-up tank top patterns and I’m using one as the bodice of the dress. Christmas socks for mom in Regia Tutti Frutti 2, cotton/elastic yarn in the Watermelon colorway Making progress on my Star Wars costume – about 15 inches in out of 120. Wearables Currently wearing Changing Staircases by DragonHoard Yarns in Fiber Lady’s Mousou, 100% bamboo yarn. Wore Frosted by Paper Daisy Creations to Frozen 2 – gradient snowflakes Second Grace by Bristol Ivy, colorwork yoke all in Berocco Modern Cotton

Episode 69 Winter Yuck I’m sitting in my new office in the middle of a 36-hour crazy storm.  Currently alternating between snow and sleet and I’m wrapped in several handknits so it’s a good time to record.  I should preface this – both kids are home and the cats are awake so we’ll see how well this recording goes… Indy GAL 2019 It’s GAL time!  By the time this goes live the GAL sale will be done, but the knit-a-long/crochet-a-long will be in full sweing and it runs through December 31st!  There are over 200 very talented indy designers participating.  Each designer has to have at least 20 self-published paid-for patterns.  There are a lot of incredibly talented designers participating and looking through the threads at the patterns available has been a wonderful rabbit hole to go down. <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/bundles/indie-gift-a-long-2019-all-eligible-patterns" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">All eligble patterns </a> click on Advanced Search then Patterns By These Designers to see the 22,000+ patterns that are eligible for the knitalong part.  4th Be A Helper Craft A Long Dec 15th – Feb 28th.  Anything you make for any charity or donating blood.  One FO/blood donation photo per post in the FO thread please (a photo of your bandaid or a selfie sipping OJ is fine).  This year there will additional chat participation prizes!  More details on the craftalong next week, but I wanted to get this info out there for you. Upcoming Test Knits 2 upcoming test knits, both for shawls.  1 is a garter st shawl with a simple cable, the second is another shawl designed to use up scraps. <a href="http://www.windsweptknits.com/testknitters/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.windsweptknits.com/testknitters/</a> Wips 2nd<a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/aggregate-2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Aggregate shawl</a> in Artisinal Yarn’s 100% Tencel from Rhinebeck 2 years ago Starting the bodice of a dress.  Knit part of the<a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/evenstar-shawl-2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Evenstar circular shawl as a skirt</a> several years ago.  As part of the GAL I bought 2 bottom-up tank top patterns and I’m using one as the bodice of the dress. Christmas socks for mom in Regia Tutti Frutti 2, cotton/elastic yarn in the Watermelon colorway Making progress on my Star Wars costume – about 15 inches in out of 120. Wearables Currently wearing <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/changing-staircases" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Changing Staircases</a> by DragonHoard Yarns in Fiber Lady’s Mousou, 100% bamboo yarn. Wore <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/frosted" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Frosted</a> by Paper Daisy Creations to Frozen 2 – gradient snowflakes <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/WindsweptMonique/second-grace" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Second Grace</a> by Bristol Ivy, colorwork yoke all in Berocco Modern Cotton

69 - Winter Yuck

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