Yarn and Ewe girl Podcast Episode 23: Hephzibah Release
Places to find me:
Instagram and Twitter @yarnandewe
Facebook: Yarn and Ewe www.yarnandewe.com
News:
West Knits KAL 2017: Started February 1 and goes through April 30th. Any Stephen West project, WIPS are allowed. Prizes will be pulled for chatter thread and finished objects thread. Katelyn from knitlifedesigns etsy shop has generously offered to donate 2 of her row counter bracelets, one for each winner and there is a coupon code for 10% off her shop through the knit a long. Coupon code is westkal17 Here is a link to her etsy shop: http://etsy.me/2ktWWOp I will also be giving a project bag and skein of sock yarn to the winners TBA.
Winners of the 300 and 400 subscriber giveaway.
Momlimberg and Quiet-Zone Congratulations! You each win a Stephen West pattern of your choice. Please private message me and let me know which pattern you want.
FO’s
Hephzibah Shawl my new pattern this one is done with Sweetgeorgia Superwash worsted in Slate. US size 9 needles. Pattern is available now, 20% off through this Friday. It is a very fast knit and would make for great gifting. Also I have put together kits in the shop which include 3 skeins of Sweetgeorgia superwash worsted, a printed copy of the pattern and an e-code for Ravelry download. https://yarnandewe.com/shop/yarn/kits/hephzibah-kits/
Vanilla Socks
Yarn is Patons kroy color is Blue striped Ragg. Heels, cuffs and toe are Hazelknits picquant in Happy hour. I did 60 stitches and a Fish Lips Kiss Heel
WIPs:
Kandahar by Alice Yu. Yarn is Ancient Arts Yarn color Frost Flower making the medium size and using Chiaogoo red lace 40 inch circular US Size 1
Murder and Mozzarella Cardigan, using Custom Fit by Amy Herzog. Yarn is SweetGeorgia Yarns Superwash Worsted in Coral Rose on a US Size 7
Mister Invested by Meaghan Schmaltz Using The Fiber Seed sprout seed pack berry for heels, cuffs and toes and Oh! Loops perfection knot in Loyal Companion color on Addi lace 40 inch circular US size 1
West Knits KAL kicks off today. Check out the threads in the group for more details
I’m going to be knitting the starburst by Stephen West. Going to do it as a dk weight shawl and am using 4 colors instead of 3. I have for sure picked out 3 of the colors but still debating the 4th color. Please go over to the Vote my Starburst color thread to help me decide.
I am going to use Republic of Wool dk in Sourpuss and Crackle, and the third color is Knitted Wit Victory DK Blush color and the 4th is to be announced either Knitted wit Victory DK Blue or Sweetgeorgia DK in Wisteria
FO’s:
Hephzibah Shawl by ME!! Yarn is Malabrigo Yarn Rios English Rose Color. Shawl is done on US Size 9 I should have the pattern available by March 1st, at the latest maybe sooner. I have some wonderful test knitters, Rebecca and Stephanie from the Mean Girls knit Podcast, Jenny from the Lucky Jenny Knits Podcast, and my Instagram friend Emilia.
WIPS:
Vanilla socks with my Patons Kroy Blue striped Ragg, with contrasting cuff, heel and toes using Hazelknits artisan sock. Making these on 40 inch Addi US 1, magic loop two at a time. Did a Fish Lips Kiss Heel
A Trip with Stitches using a kb knitting loom. Yarn is Freya fine hand paints Color is Vertigo
Acquisitions:
Knittykittybags yarn 75/25 merino nylon 463yds color is Siberian.
Jacquard Acid Dyes in multiple colors to start doing some dyeing!!!
Podcast Love:
The Mean Girls Knit Podcast
Lucky Jenny Knits Podcast
Jessicaruthknits Podcast
Knitters Party Podcast
DogDare Podcast
Roundrabbit Podcast
Hey Sister Podcast
All so different and very fun to watch. You should check them out!!
Coupon Code: happy17 for 10% off entire purchase from the website. Coupon good until 1/31/17
Starting Feb. 1, 2017 Stephen West Knit a long. Wips welcome! All you have to do is any pattern by Stephen West. Knit a long goes through April 30th.
300 subscribers!!! Thank you all for supporting me. I am still coming up with a prize for hitting that milestone. Stay tuned!!
Finished objects:
Camp Wilkerson Shawl by Caitlin Hunter. Actually turned out to be a camp wilkerson cowl. I ran out of the last color for the finished edge so I decided to mattress stitch the chevron together to make a large cowl. I love how it turned out. So big and cozy!! I used Sweetgeorgia Dk in Glacier, Mink, Silver and Pumpkin. I skein of each and used a US size 6 knitting needle.
Carroll Park by Lynn Di Cristina. Worsted weight shawl done on US Size 9 needles. Yarn is Dragynknyts Wyvern base. One skein 470yds. Blue green color. (unsure of real name of color as I lost the ball band 🙁 ) Made as a gift for someone I shall not mention just in case she watches.
WIPS:
Kandahar socks by Alice Yu. Yarn is Art Yarns Frost Flower color. I am still working on these I did a few rows, so nothing really exciting to show.
Knitting machine progress. I opened the box and watched the video and tried using it. Having a bit of difficulty though. I don’t have the right table. The carriage was very stiff and it drops the same two stitches each time. Very frustrating but I am still working on figuring it out.
Granny Stripe Blanket:
Crochet blanket using Size G hook and leftover sock yarn held double. Chained 221 to start. Following @dreamsinfiber her template
Design shawl: Using Malabrigo Yarn Rios English Rose Color. Worsted weight shawl following the template for the triangle format and adding my own design.
Acquisitions:
Kobuk by Caitlin Hunter. Hat pattern
Shibui Silk Cloud. Color Pool 25gm 330 yds lace weight 60% kid mohair and 40% silk Paytons Kroy Sock. Color Blue Striped Ragg 50gms and 166 yds per skein. I bought 2. Hopefully to get my sock mojo back.
Thanks again for joining me for another episode of the Yarn and Ewe Girl Podcast. I truly appreciate you all and am thankful for our amazing crafting community.
Finished objects:
Decorative burp rags for my nephew
American Girl Doll Carolina Summer dress by Elaine Phillips. I used some leftover sock yarn from Black Trillium fibers and Miss Babs (unsure of the names of colorway). I held the yarn together double to make the dress a worsted weight. Basically so I could get it done faster! I adjusted the stitch count to get an appropriate gauge.
WIPS:
Camp Wilkerson Shawl by Caitlin Hunter. Yarn is Sweetgeorgia DK 100% superwash merino, colors are Mink, Pumpkin, Silver and Glacier. I ran low on the mink and had to improvise on the last row of the last stripe, now I won’t have enough mink to get to the end. I’m thinking of sewing together at the end to make a cowl. Not sure yet, but I’ll come up with something.
Kandahar Socks by Alice Yu. Yarn Ancient Arts, Frost flower. Using Chiaogoo US size 1, magic loop.
Project Purge:
I’m deciding to rip out a sweater I was making for my mom from about 5 years ago. Tea leaves cardigan by Melissa Labarre using Dream in Color classy, Absolute Magenta. 100% superwash merino. I was about halfway down the back and only needed to finish that and complete the arms. My mom isn’t really into sweaters. I’m going to learn how to use my knitting machine and use this yarn to make something for me.
Shop news!
Sweetgeorgia Tough Love sock and superwash worsted got restocked with lots of new colors. So be sure to check those out.
Coupon code for all my wonderful viewers. happy17 will give you 10% off your entire order! The coupon is good through January 31, 2017.
Winner of the 200 subscriber giveaway!! Knitnwithdogs Karen on ravelry said her current favorite knits are the Susan B Anderson Topsy turvy inside out toys. Karen wins a signed copy of Westknits Bestknits. Congratulations Karen please get in touch with me and I will send that out as soon as possible.
My favorite knit is the Lepidoptera Mitt byAllison Van Zandt
Also starting a Stephen West knit a long February 1st. So keep an eye out for any Stephen West project you might be interested in. Wips are welcome!!
Ravelry podcast group: The Yarn and Ewe girl Podcast group
FO’s
Banff by Tin Can knits: First hat turned out a bit small. Yarn is Sun Valley Fiber arts main color Kent, Contrast color is some random white I had in my stash. I made the toddler size, and I used a 6 for the brim and 8 for the main body of the hat. My yarn is a worsted weight and the pattern calls for Aran. So my toddler size looks more like a infant. Second hat is also done with main color of Kent and contrast color is Berroco Vintage in a green. (Both were done in leftovers from my stash.) This time I did the adult small size and used the same needles for brim and main body of hat and I think the size turned out much better. This is a pay for pattern from Tin Can knits and is a great beginner colorwork project. Be careful when reading the pattern because each size uses the chart differently, so be sure to read through all the directions for the size you are making.
WIPS
Custom fit Murder and Mozzarella Cardigan. I finished the back of the sweater 🙂 Yarn is Sweetgeorgia worsted in Coral.
Kandahar Socks by Alice Yu. Yarn Ancient Arts, Frost flower. Using Chiaogoo US size 1, magic loop.
Camp Wilkerson Shawl by Caitlin Hunter. Yarn is Sweetgeorgia DK in saffron, mink, pumpkin, glacier. US Size 6.
The Project Purge cont.
Shawl I was designing I decided to rip out. I was having a hard time remembering the pattern and couldn’t find my notes. The addi needles I was using were very sticky and the project was going slowly so instead of letting it frustrate me I choose to frog and will figure out something to do with the yarn.
Acquisitions:
I met Stephen West at Twisted in Portland and got his new book “West Knits, Best Knits” autographed! I also got one for my lovely viewers to win. I will open up a thread in the Ravelry group under 200 subscribers and put a question up. Please post answers in the thread to enter in a chance to win your very own autographed copy of the book
Knitted Wit Victory DK in Blush and Blue: 100% superwash merino 280 yards per skein
Republic of wool DK in Sourpuss and Crackle: 100% Superwash merino 250 yards per skein I won a door prize at the book signing, 2 gigantic skeins of Blue moon fiber arts Single Silky Targhee, 70% Targhee wool and 30% Tussah silk. Color Flamingo Feet. 696 yards each skein.
Ravelry podcast group: The Yarn and Ewe Girl Podcast
FO’s
Building Blocks Shawl by Stephen West. Yarn is Madelinetosh merino light in Posey, Esoteric, Coal Seam and Dustweaver. Used US Size 4 needles. Made the medium size. Very fun and interesting knit. He does a I-cord bind off which looks really nice but was time consuming.
Park Lane Coaster and Trivet Set: Pattern found in Interweave Knits spring 2016. Used leftovers of Blue Sky fibers Cotton Worsted Chocolate, Teal, hot pink and light pink (can’t remember colors exactly) Leftovers were from my Caledonia Cowl that I did this summer. Used US size 6 needles.
HO’s
Vanilla sock using La Jolla fingering by Baah yarns. Color is Hanalei Bay, CO 60 stitches and then decreased at the gusset to 56 stitches for the foot.
WIPs:
Custom fit Murder and Mozzarella Cardigan: Yarn is Sweetgeorgia Worsted Color Coral rose. Broken rib design. Custom fit by Amy Herzog
The Purge:
As a wedding gift my sister in law got me a family tree kit. This kit has been sitting in my closet for 13 years and while cleaning out the closet I found the kit and went to work on finishing it! Did some family research on ancestry.com and finally finished this project. So rewarding to complete.
Shawl design I was working on probably 2 years ago. Yarn is Neighborhood Fiber Co. in a lace weight. Hot pink color. The reason I quit was because the yarn got caught in the vacuum cleaner and I couldn’t be bothered to rejoin the yarn. Ha how lazy am I.
Knitapotamus the knitted hippo by Heidi Bears, yarn is various socks yarns. I have 2 legs and some of the butt done. US Size 1, Chiaogoo 40 inch, magic loop.
Kandahar Socks by Alice Yu. Yarn is Art yarns in Frost flower.
Thanks for the pattern gift from one of my lovely viewers, Pattern is Lomond by Meg Gadsbey
Quilt, Craft and Sewing Festival. Puyallup, WA. THIS THURS – SAT @ WASH STATE FAIR / PUYALLUP’S BIGGEST & BEST SHOW-NOV 17-19! FREE PARKING! 110 9th Ave SW / park in the gold lot…FREE!
Yarn and Ewe Booth is #520 come by and say hi!
FO’s
Gusseted Helmet liner by Ellen Silva. Yarn is Imperial Tracie Too in the chocolate color. US Size 6 for the ribbing and US size 8 for the head.
Sockhead Hat By Kelly McClure. Yarn is Baah La jolla in the Shipwreck color. Fingering weight 100% superwash merino. US Size 3 16inch circular
Montgolfier Hat by Irina Anikeeva. Pattern in the Interweave Knits 2017 Holiday issue. Yarn is Sweetgeorgia worsted in Charcoal. US Size 6 for rib and US size 8 for main body of hat.
WIPs
Building blocks shawl by Stephen West. Yarn is Madelinetosh Tosh merino light. Color Dustweaver, Coal Seam, Esoteric, and Posy. Using US Size 4
Murder and Mozzarella Cardigan. Designed by me using Custom fit by Amy Herzog. Yarn is Sweetgeorgia Worsted in Coral Rose. Using US Size 7
Happy Halloween! I love Halloween and always dress up. Growing up my mom always made our Halloween costumes and I’ve tried to carry on that tradition with me and my kids. I don’t always manage it, but sometimes. Anyway this year I pulled out a costume I made a fews years ago. It is a gypsy girl and I am wearing my imagine when shawl by Joji Locatelli.
FO’s
Gusseted helmet liner by Ellen Silva. Yarn is Imperial Tracie Too. Chocolate color. Alas I can’t show it off to you because my son Dylan is wearing it to school today. But it is finished and it turned out great. I will try to post a picture of it on my ravelry page and social media so you guys can get a look at it.
WIPs
Building Blocks MKAL by Stephen West. Yarn is Madelinetosh Tosh merino light in Coal seam, Dustweaver, Esoteric and Posy.
Using a US Size 4 needle and I am just into clue 3. I fell a little behind what with the Tacoma show but trying hard to get caught up. A small part of me just wants to stop at the small size but then a larger part of me says that is like cheating so I am going to push for the full size.
Sockhead hat by Kelly McClure. Yarn is Baah La jolla in Shipwreck. 100% superwash merino, fingering weight and I am using a US size 3. I started this at the tacoma show. I was attempting to work on my camp wilkerson shawl but I found it to be too big and cumbersome to stand and knit with. Like working with a blanket. I tried to start a pair of vanilla socks but I think I have the gauge wrong and I am worried about them being too big. And I couldn’t work on my son’s Halloween costume because I was at the part where I needed to undo the provisional cast on and pick up those stitches and I couldn’t do that and talk to people at the same time. I needed a simple knit that was a no brainer so this was it. I decided to do a folded brim. I have never done one before but I knew the concept and wasn’t too worried about the final delivery of it. I worked the ribbing for about 7 inches, then folded it up on itself and knit into the stitch along with the stitch from the cast on edge. Took me two tries. First time I didn’t have the stitches lined up right. I am just doing the decreases for the crown now. This is going to be for Jordan my oldest.
I am still working on my camp wilkerson shawl and my stranded mitts. Everything is going dreadfully slow right now. I am still having trouble with my hands. During the holiday show I was fine. I knit for the greater part of the day always on the sockhead hat. I had no problems at all. The show ended on Sunday and on Monday morning I picked up Dylan’s sackboy hat and started working on that. After about an hour my hands were cramping up and hurting. I took breaks to stretch but I needed to finish it so like an idiot I kept going. I did finish the hat but I came to the conclusion that the knitting needles I was working with might be to blame. I’m not really sure what the problem is. If anyone has any suggestions I would greatly appreciate it. I really don’t want to stop knitting. I’ve tried throwing instead of picking. I am trying to change my grip. But of course none of those ways feels natural and I keep drifting back to my regular style. So for now, I am stretching after every round. I am trying some different needles and just not pushing myself as much.
Acquisitions:
The latest knitscene edition and the Interweave holiday knits edition.
Flannel fabric for a winter dress. The cherry corduroy dress from Gertie’s Ultimate dress book.
Podcast Group on Ravelry: Yarn and Ewe Girl Podcast Group
No FO’s 🙁
WIPs:
#strandalong project. Yarn is Nature’s spun by Brown sheep co. 100% wool. No idea what the colors are called. But I am using 5 different colors and sort of came up with my own pattern. Oatmeal, aqua, purple, green and marigold. Planning on making fingerless mitts out of these. Using Knitter’s pride Nova Cubics Platinum in US Size 1 or 2.25mm.
Gussetted Helmet Liner by Ellen Silva. Yarn is Imperial Yarns Tracie Too in the Chocolate color. Using US size 6 for the ribbing and US Size 8 for the crown. This is going to be a sackboy head for my son’s Halloween Costume.
Building Blocks Shawl MKAL by Stephen West. Yarn is Madelinetosh Tosh Merino light. Colors are Posey, Esoteric, Dustweaver, and Coal Seam. Using US Size 4 needles. Almost done with clue 1.
Upcoming Events:
Preparing for the Tacoma Holiday Food and Gift Festival that is next week. Thursday Oct 20th through Sunday Oct. 23rd. At the Tacoma Dome. My booth is in the Exhibition Hall. Stop by if you are in the area and say hi!! That’s all for this week.
Podcast group on ravelry: Yarn and Ewe Girl Podcast Group in the groups tab on Ravelry
All show notes are posted on the Yarn and Ewe website in the blog section and also in the ravelry group.
Housekeeping:
I have winners to announce!!!
Winner for the Lacy days of Summer Kal is….Daynamyte on Ravelry. Her name is Dayna and she wins for her entry of the 3 pips (peas in a pod) shawl.
Winner of the 100 Subscriber giveaway is….Dinahflo on Raverly. Her name is Diane “
My first experience with knitting was when I took a class at Sears so I could learn to knit a baby blanket while waiting for my first baby to be born.
I also wanted to tell you all about my first yarn experience. Which I forgot to do last time. We had an afghan that was on my parents bed growing up. It was cream in color and was crocheted. It had popcorns and all this wonderful texture and I loved it. Turns out my dad actually made the afghan. He was diagnosed with a bleeding ulcer when I was about 3 and he told me that the doctors recommended crochet or knitting as a hobby that might help him relax. So as any good patient he said he tried it out. It wasn’t something that relaxed him though. Like all things he took to it obsessively and apparently cranked this blanket out. I always thought it was amazing that he made this beautiful huge blanket. When I was in college I decided I wanted to try to make something like it. I bought about 10 skeins of Red Heart yarn and one of those crochet afghan magazine things and set to work. My sister wanted to learn as well, she got about 3 inches into her blanket and called it quits. I made a giant afghan that I still have to this day. It is battered and beat up, it has been cut in places where my kids went at it with scissors but it was the start of my journey and I think I will always keep it.
Finished objects:
Rodin Cardigan:
Yarn is Imperial Columbia 2 ply in Pearl Gray color. I used 6 skeins but have quite a bit of the 6th skein left. So much that I think I can make a pair of thrummed slippers with it. I absolutely love this sweater!! It is so warm and cozy. I love the cable detail on the trim and collar. The pattern is from Interweave knits Fall 2016 20th anniversary edition. It was fairly simple for the most part. All garter except for the cabled edge. I finally figured out the trick for cabling without a cable needle.
WIPs:
Camp Wilkerson Shawl
Finally onto the fourth color!!! Using US Size 6 needles and Sweetgeorgia dk in Mink, Silver, Glacier and Pumpkin. 100% SW merino
Gussetted Helmet liner: This is going to be the Sackboy head for Dylan’s costume. Yarn is Imperial Tracy Too in Chocolate. It is a sport weight yarn 100% wool 395 yds per skein. Using US Size 6 for the ribbing and 8 for the head portion
Kandahar Socks for my sister: Not even worth mentioning. I think I did 2 rows. I haven’t even made it past the ribbing. Yarn is Ancient Arts in the Frost Flower color. 80% superwash merino, 20% nylon Fingering weight
Glove/fingerless mitts: Sorta making up a pattern as I go. I am using the Paint by Numbers hat pattern as a template for the colorwork. I am trying again to attempt some colorwork. The Sockmatician is doing a strandalong that started October 1st and I am hoping that this will give me motivation to complete some gloves. I have a bunch of Brown sheep fingering that I will be using. I have had this in my stash and completely lost all the tags for it. No idea what colorway any of these are. Also I decided to use dpns for this. I am not a huge fan of dpns. I am probably setting myself up for failure but we shall see.
I had to take a little break from knitting this last week so I haven’t felt like I have made much progress on anything. I was having some numbness and tingling in my right hand. I think maybe I had a pinched nerve or something. It kind of freaked me out though. I took 2 days off and have only tentatively been knitting, a few rows here and there. But that gave me a good excuse to work on the dress I am making.
Sewing:
Deer and Doe Cardamome dress. Using a cotton and steel fabric. Cotton lawn. I have done both the front and back bodice pieces and started working on the pockets for the skirt. I had everything cut out but a few of the techniques in the dress I wasn’t sure how to do. The smocking had me stumped and I did many a test run on some of the scrap fabric. I have never worked with elastic thread. I am a little concerned that it won’t have enough stretch. This dress has no zipper and the smocking and the front button placket on the bib are all that you have to help you to get into it. I am going to be optimistic and hope for the best.
Acquisitions:
First I just wanted to give a big thank you and shout out to the sisters of the Mean Girls knit podcast, Rebecca and Stephanie. It is because of them that I made a big yarn purchase this week. You two crack me up!! If you haven’t checked them out be sure to do it you won’t be disappointed. They are funny and honest and have a very real attitude about knitting. Thank you for the kind words and the podcast love.
They inspired me to sign up and join in the Westknits MKAL that starts this Friday. I have never knit a Stephen West project, but I admire his daring style and have had my eye on the Exploration Station shawl of his for awhile now. I spent 2 days agonizing over color choices. I dug all my stash out and just couldn’t come up with a color combination that I really loved so of course I had to buy some yarn. It is a 4 color shawl and it was so hard to pick 4 colors when you don’t know what is going to be where. In the end I chose to go with Madelinetosh Tosh merino light in Esoteric, Dustweaver, Posy and Coal Seam. Tosh merino light is 100% merino fingering weight. Each skein is 420 yards. Apparently you need at least 400 yards of each color so I should be good to go. The first clue comes out this Friday so I will be caking these up and getting started on this project then. I also snagged myself a skein of Voolenvine yarns. Kristen of Voolenvine yarns and the Yarngasm podcast did a preorder for a mystery colorway and I got in on that. Her yarn is very hard to come by and I really wanted to try it out. I have never been able to get in on one of her updates so I was excited about the prospect of snagging something of hers even if it was a mystery. It is on her Blitzed Base which is 75% SW merino 20% nylon 5% Stellina Fingering weight. Color is Mooncusser. It is amazing!!!
