Knitting Pipeline is sponsored by my Longaberger home businessn and Quince & Co.

Knitting Pipeline is sponsored by Quince & Co. and Knitcircus Yarns

Friday, July 27, 2012

Episode 98 Pi Shawls and Eliza-Palooza Week 2

Listen here or use the Flash Player on this site for current and past episodes.

This show by sponsored by my Longaberger Home Business and Quince & Co.
The folks at Quince & Co confess to a strong bias toward natural fibers, be they soft and sensuous or rustic and sturdy. They also think businesses can be good citizens—should be good citizens—without making too much of a fuss about it.  The wool at Quince & Co is sourced from American sheep and other fibers come from earth friendly suppliers.  If you have not yet signed up for the Quince & Co newsletter be sure to hike on over to www.quinceandco.com to get your name on the list. 
I enjoy your feedback, comments on the blog, and questions.  Feel free to write to me at Paulaef@aol.com or on Ravelry as PrairiePiper.  My business site is www.longaberger.com/paula

Pipeliner Notes
Brenda Castiel who is Goodstuff on Ravelry is donating all the proceeds from her pattern sales in the month of August to The American Cancer Society in honor of her sister who is undergoing treatment for ovarian cancer. Use Code AUG20 for 20% price of pattern in August.

2012 NordicKnitting Conference: Nordic Mittens!  October 5 – 7, 2012
I read notes from qwiltknitnut, Lee, and Suzanne.

Nature Notes
We decided to stop putting food in our bird feeders because the turkeys forage on what falls to the ground.    It is amazing that within a day we could tell a difference and a few days later it was very quiet outside.  No squirrels, no turkeys, hopefully no chipmunks.  We still have our hummingbird feeder filled and our black niger seed feeder for the goldfinches and we’ve found that some of our songbirds who normally will go to our safflower feeder or platform feeder, such as Black capped chickadees and nuthatches, have decided that they will eat thistle seed in a pinch.  In a few weeks when birds are migrating through we will start feeding in full force again but we did need to disperse the turkeys for a while.
Our American Robin pair that nested in our little black tupelo tree in our front yard has a nest of babies and we hope they are ok in our extreme heat and drought.  What looked to be a bonus summer for butterflies early on has deteriorated in the heat and drought.

In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer. ~Albert Camus

Needle Notes


Summer Solstice Mystery KAL by Wendy D Johnson.


NUPPS…best ones are the ones made the traditional way…at least for me.

I used Knit Picks Bare that I dyed with Kool-Aid.  Looks great but it bleeds terribly.  I have tried setting it with vinegar but that didn’t help.  I need help from the Kool-Aid Experts! 
Shawls have been around for a long time but Elizabeth Zimmermann brought them to modern knitters in a new way. 
Knitting without Tears, a true knitting classic, c. 1971
A Knitter’s Almanac   1974  July: A Shawl: Good Travel Knitting.  Bonus: One Row Buttonhole
There are so many shawl designs today that are descendents of the Elizabeth Zimmermann’s pi shawl.  These are the shawls that are circular or half-circular with concentric rings that are separated by YO increases.
In Knitter’s Almanac, Elizabeth wrote to use a needle size larger than you normally would use for fingering weight.  I had been using 9 and 10 circulars for my Lopi sweaters so this is what I used for the Pi Shawl.
Pi Shawl Nap for Two 1978

Torben with Pi Shawl.  3 months.

 A Note from Elizabeth

Winter 1982  She was not writing about the baby in the photos above.  This is son #2.

The Blethering Room
Peter finished his hike on The Colorado Trail, over 500 miles!  He hiked from June 26 through July 21 2012.  There are more photos on my personal blog. 

I tell a story about how my mom duped us kids with Kool-aid by putting food coloring in water.
Charr, Bronwyn and I decided to go to Stitches Midwest in Schaumburg/Chicago this year August 9-10!  We hope to see you there!

Paula, Bronwyn, and Charr.  We got together for knitting at The Blend this week!
In The Pipeline
Finally decided on my Ravellenics project.  Vodka Lemonade by Thea Colman.  Baby Cocktails.
Brooks Farm Solo that purchased at Stitches Midwest 2010.
Mathematical Notes on Pi
My husband, Bob, joined me to talk about pi and how this irrational number works with the pi shawl.  This segment is about 8 minutes long.

The Flowers of the West by Cheryl Ann Fulton  The Airs of Wales 

Friday, July 20, 2012

Episode 97 Eliza-Palooza

Listen here or use the Flash Player on this site for current and past episodes.
This show by sponsored by my Longaberger Home Business and Quince & Co.
The folks at Quince & Co confess to a strong bias toward natural fibers, be they soft and sensuous or rustic and sturdy. They also think businesses can be good citizens—should be good citizens—without making too much a fuss about it.  The wool at Quince & Co is sourced from American sheep and other fibers come from earth friendly suppliers.  If you have not yet signed up for the Quince & Co newsletter be sure to hike on over to www.quinceandco.com to get your name on the list. 
Hyla Brook in Quince & Co Tern.  Colorway Buoy

I enjoy your feedback, comments on the blog, and questions.  Feel free to write to me at Paulaef@aol.com or on Ravelry as PrairiePiper.  My business site is www.longaberger.com/paula

We are celebrating the Two Year Anniversary of the Podcast (July 3, 2010) and the upcoming 100th episode with an Eliza-Palooza.  There will be a story, letter, or some Elizabeth Zimmermann chatter in the upcoming episodes.
Shell Lake Knitting Camp circa 1978

 Nature Notes

It is not here and there is no sign of this letting up in the near future.  It was 86 degrees outside last night at 10 PM.  We are dry and hot.   Last weekend we drove to KC and it was very sad to see the dry corn and beans in the fields.  Leave water out for the birds and other critters out there if you are in a drought situation.  We have a running creek so we don’t always do this but they may have trouble finding water.  A pot saucer works well or any shallow container.

Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life.
John Updike

Needle Notes

Hyla Brook Errata
on the last row of the Garter Panel section, it should read K3, pm for lace, etc….knit to last 3 sts, pm for lace, k3.
Thank you Memphis Holli! 

Thanks to fantastic test knitters Lu, Linda, Kim, and Nancy!  (Errata slipped in AFTER they test knitted.)

My First Finch Cardigan
Sweater is ready to be cut on the steek!

Quince & Co Finch 8 skeins 1768 yards. Icelandic colorway. US Size 3/3.25 mm. Gauge 6.5 stitches per inch.
Key #=250 for a 38 inch sweater.
Cast on 10% less=230 which was 115 on front and 115 on back.  Marked 5 steek stitches in the front.
My little diagram to lay out the stitches for the ribbing.

Next time:  measure distance from bottom to armhole.  Figure where your waist is and decrease to this point and then increase back to bust. On the sides of the sweater rather than all the way around. Fits fairly well.  Could have been an inch or so smaller.  Have button band but looks ok without buttons.

A Note from Elizabeth
I'm sorry I cannot get these photos turned around.  Blogger keeps turning them the wrong way.  Just lie down to view. ;)



The Blethering Room

Emily at her shower.  Anyone recognize the dress?  One of the Quince models wears it.
More Bridal Shower photos on my personal blog.  There are two posts for the shower.
I did some unusual knitting in public this week as I had jury duty…
Peter update.  He is about 70 miles from the end of the trail.  He’s taking the last 130 miles slowly so he doesn’t get to the end of the trail before his girlfriend who is flying from NYC.
In the Pipeline
Dinner at the Eiffel Tower: a Shawl by Jessie Dodington of Multi-craftual designs.
Georgiana by Susanna IC
Thin Ice by Laura Linneman
My Hope by Laura Linneman
Vodka Lemonade by Thea Colman
Music:
 Foggy Dew by Lydia McCauley album Entrances

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Episode 96 Happy Two Year Podiversary!

Listen here or use the Flash Player on this site for current and past episodes.
This show by sponsored by my Longaberger Home Business and Quince & Co.
The folks at Quince & Co confess to a strong bias toward natural fibers, be they soft and sensuous or rustic and sturdy. They also think businesses can be good citizens—should be good citizens—without making too much a fuss about it.  The wool at Quince & Co is sourced from American sheep and other fibers come from earth friendly suppliers.  If you have not yet signed up for the Quince & Co newsletter be sure to hike on over to www.quinceandco.com to get your name on the list. 
Thank you to Bronwyn who started the thread in our group about the 2 year anniversary of the podcast.  Thank you for your kind comments on this thread.  Without listeners there would be no show, certainly not for two years.  Pipeliners rock!

Nature Notes
Baby Eastern Phoebes on our retaining wall

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.
John Muir


Needle Notes
SSK in Nashville
Megan of Stockinette Zombies wearing her Piper's Journey.  We are in the "Hogwarts" dining hall.

Here's Megan with her eyes open.  See what I mean about fuzzy photos?

Yarn Sniper strikes with her Sock Blankie!
Stephen wearing Piper's Journey like a kilt.

SSK Projects

Drops Baby Blanket in Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino.  b18-30 Blanket with wavy pattern in ”Merino Extra Fine"Ravelry: b18-30 Blanket with wavy pattern in ”Merino Extra Fine" pattern by DROPS design

Summer Solstice Mystery Shawl Wendy Johnson

Ribbed Baby Jacket by Debbie Bliss
Garter Stitch Cardigan by Erika Knight with same Debbie Bliss yarn
Socks for Plane Knitting and Plain Knitting with Camp KIP Yarn.

Did not work on anything except the Drops Baby Blanket and the Cupcakes for Carin  Jayne Cupcake by Kathleen Sperling

Summer Solstice Mystery KAL
Nupps.  JPeled.  My You Tube video on making nupps.  Same idea except instead of purling on the wrong side you knit into the back on the right side.  It is key to note what is next to the nupp so you don’t accidentally knit a YO into the nupp that is not supposed to be there.
Tip.  Read your knitting backwards.  (Did not use markers on this project because they have to be moved)
The Blethering Room
Stormy weather in Chicago on my way home from SSK resulted in a sort of carnival ride on the runway while the small plane waited out the storm.
Peter update: July 10 email from Salida CO  trip has been fantastic.  He’s hiked 250 miles in 14 days.
In the Piping Circle
We have lots of new tunes to learn for an upcoming event.
Played a funeral on Saturday in 100 degree temperatures.   My pipes were HOT!  People got out of the tent and cemetery FAST.

A High Note
The Perfect Iced Coffee  from A  Pioneer Woman Cooks
A Mug of The Perfect Iced Coffee with my Sideways Shawl and SSK Yarn from Gale's Art.

I forgot to mention that when I made the coffee I strain with cheap coffee filters covered by a paper towel (instead of cheesecloth.)
Ruidoso track 7 on Almeria by Fernwood

Me with roommate Linda.  She is wearing Piper's Journey and I'm wearing Hyla Brook.  Hey, it was only 106 degrees F outside!

Barbara wearing Piper's Journey.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

One Week on the Colorado Trail

Pete has been on the trail for a week now.  He called on Monday and left a message that all is well.  He had reached his first resupply point, or close to it on Saturday after the post office was closed.  He had a shower in Breckinridge and slept in the woods behind the public ice rink.  He said he needed a rest day so it worked out.  On Monday he went into Frisco to get his first box.

Nils has been keeping track of the mileage and in about a week on the trail, including the rest day, Pete has gone 143 miles.  That is averaging about 20 miles per day which was his goal.  He said he would call us Wed night or Thursday morning. I'm guessing it will be Thursday morning as today is July 4 so his phone will be in his supply box sitting in the post office in Leadville.  In his message this morning it looked as if he was quite close to Leadville so he might have had another rest day waiting for the post office to open.

It seems he is moving away from the area with the wildfires so I'm not as worried about him now.


When both Nils and Pete were visiting we made homemade pizza on the grill. Those are my whole wheat crusts on the counter and Pete's guacamole aka "guac" on the counter.  Fun times.

About Me

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I play the Great Highland Pipes, knit, observe nature, and read. My name on Ravelry is PrairiePiper. Find me on Instagram as KnittingPipeline.