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

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

Friday, May 24, 2013

Episode 132 Wash Your Woolies!



Listen here or use the Flash Player on this site for current and past episodes. Flash Player is not compatible with Internet Explorer.  Try a different browser like Safari.  Or jaunt on over to iTunes to find the show there.

This episode is sponsored by my Longaberger Home Business and Quince & Co.

At the Knitting Pipeline Retreat the knitters were excited to see all the colors of Quince & Co sparrow.  Sparrow is a plain little yarn, beautiful in its simplicity. Its clean, smooth hand is crisp as you knit it. But after washing and wearing it becomes handkerchief soft. It is spun from organic linen grown in Belgium. With names like san, juniper, birch, nannyberry, blue spruce, little fern, butternut, port, viburnum, pigeon, paprika, truffle, and fen, who can resist?  I can’t!  I’m knitting with Sparrow for the first time and I can’t wait to get more.

You can find my Longaberger Home Business at www.longaberger.com/paula.  Please send me a personal message or visit my web site to sign up for my customer email list.

There are many ways to participate in the Knitting Pipeline Community.  You can comment on the show blog, jump in to the discussions on our Ravelry Group, or you can just download and enjoy the show.  Show notes are found at www.knittingpipeline.com.

We will be on vacation next week so there will not be a show during that time.
Bronwyn and Sarah have joined me this week. You will notice a little difference in the format (just a temporary thing for this week.)  At the end of the show instead of the show’s theme music you will hear birdsong that I recorded while sitting on the porch.  Near the end of you can hear the wood thrush in the background.  One of our Pipeliners called the wood thrush the “flutey-flutey bird”.  See if you can hear the magical sound.

Pipeliner Notes

Many of  you enjoyed the photos of the Barred Owl Strix varia on the blog last week.  Thank you so much for your comments both on the blog and on the Ravelry board.  I’m still amazed that the owl seemed to pose for me. I finally got the little video finished and up on You Tube for you.




Prize Drawing for Handmade in the U.K. by Emily Wessel aka Tincanknits.
2 winners!  Random Number Generator 2-129
#49 Auntea wrote:  I have never been, but still dream of taking the Royal Scotsman Train! I think it would be terribly romantic.
#15 JudyAnn wrote: A very long time ago, my husband’s family inhabited Dunnottar Castle located near Stonehaven, Scotland. Now in ruins, it’s just a magnificent setting high above the North Sea. I need to return.
I love knitting lace, and I’d love that book. Estuary would be my first knit!
Congratulations to Auntea and JudyAnn and thank you to Emily Wessel aka Tincanknits for the giveaways and review copy of the beautiful book.

Nature Notes
We were going to record on the porch so you would have ambient sounds from the birds but it started raining too hard!
 
Needle Notes
 
Works in Progress
 
Sarah aka MotherEarthknits
Paula
 
Paula
  • Wee Ones by Susan B Anderson
  • Craftsy class Wee Ones by Susan B Anderson—please click on link in sidebar as I will get credit if you sign up for a class. Bonus pattern sweater is so cute!
  • We mention Topsy-Turvy Inside-Out Toys by Susan B Anderson and the tutorials in it.
 
 

There are no knit stitches in the entire hat!
Pressed Leaves by Alana Dakos.  It fits suits Sarah.

 
Bronwyn
 
The Blethering Room

Public Service Reminder:
Wash your woolens!  Store them clean for the summer so you won’t have holes in them in the fall.
I’m partial to Kookaburra Wool Wash.  Others we use are Eucalan and Soak.
Have a great week, haste ye back, and hold your knitting close.

Friday, May 17, 2013

Episode 131 Guess Who Came to Dinner?


Listen here or use the Flash Player on this site for current and past episodes. Flash Player is not compatible with Internet Explorer.  Try a different browser like Safari.  Or jaunt on over to iTunes to find the show there.


This episode is sponsored by my Longaberger Home Business and  Quince & Co.

At the Knitting Pipeline Retreat the knitters were excited to see all the colors of Quince & Co sparrow.  Sparrow is a plain little yarn, beautiful in its simplicity. Its clean, smooth hand is crisp as you knit it. But after washing and wearing it becomes handkerchief soft. It is spun from organic linen grown in Belgium. With names like san, juniper, birch, nannyberry, blue spruce, little fern, butternut, port, viburnum, pigeon, paprika, truffle, and fen, who can resist?  Find it and the other Quince fibers at www.quinceandco.com.

You can find my Longaberger Home Business at www.longaberger.com/paula.  Please send me a personal message or visit my web site to sign up for my customer email 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. 

Pipeliner Notes


Nature Notes

May 13 2013.  A flash of bright orange and black near the hummingbird feeder caught my eye.  This could be nothing other than a Baltimore Oriole.  The Baltimore Oriole is named after the Baltimore family, whose crest has the same orange and black colors of this magnificent bird.  Baltimore Maryland is named for the same family.

We have been trying to attract Baltimore Orioles to our property for the past 6 years.  We’ve tried oranges, grape jelly, and even an Oriole feeder with grape jelly.  With the many acres of woods behind us we figure they have to be out there.  My friend Nancy says that once you get them they will keep coming back.  This oriole tried to drink out of the hummingbird feeder but I don’t think it could get anything. It fluttered and hovered over the feeder and then flew over to the safflower feeder.  I ran to the pantry to get an orange, sliced it in half, cut out one section and put a teaspoon of grape jelly in the cavity.  By this time the bird was gone.  I put the orange jelly tantalizer on the deck railing.  Then I went down to my husband’s woodshop to find a piece of wood, a hammer, and a nail.  It is harder to drive a nail into wood than you might think but I managed.  See, it was very windy on Monday and I didn’t think the orange would stay on the deck railing. I secured the orange half to the nail and laid this contraption, of which I was quite proud on the railing.  We haven’t seen any Baltimore Orioles yet but the Red Bellied Woodpeckers and Flickers have occasionally enjoyed the orange and jelly. 

Yesterday was the most amazing day of birding out here.  Bob and I were bantering about as we were making multiple trips to the porch setting our table for dinner.  BTW if you can get a good loaf of whole wheat bread together and a pot of lentil soup you can always have a tasty dinner on hand. I stopped suddenly and in a stage whisper said, Look!”  On a branch just outside the porch window, sitting almost above our wren house was a Barred Owl. Bob whispered, “Get your camera!”.  I started taking photos from inside and the bird just sat there, turning his head occasionally, sometimes looking up, then down. 



He knew I was there.  I took a short video too which I will post on You Tube (later this weekend). Bob suggested I go out on the deck.  I was sure the owl would fly away but he did not.  It was as if he was posing for me.  He knew I was there and it was as if he knew I would do him no harm. I’m not embarrassed to say that I got a little choked up at his beauty and magnificence and that I was so privileged to witness it.  Looking into the eyes of the owl I understood how through centuries people have seen wisdom in these eyes. 




It is a natural tendency for humans to attribute our own qualities to animals. The eyelids with very long lashes slowly lower as the owl blinks and then turns his head. The Barred Owl sat there for almost 30 minutes before flying up to a higher branch.  This is truly a high point in my birding life as I have never been so close to an owl and had such a long time to really watch one.  Amazing.  Needless to say there will be photos on the blog and maybe one or two above my fireplace.


The house wrens are building nests and singing their little hearts out.  Mayapples and Sweet William line the path to our compost pile next to the log pile by the woods.  The spring peepers are either mated or their songs are too faint to be heard among the louder spring tree frogs in the evenings. 

The Owl

When cats run home and light is come,
And dew is cold upon the ground,
And the far-off stream is dumb,
And the whirring sail goes round,
And the whirring sail goes round;
Alone and warming his five wits,
The white owl in the belfry sits.

When merry milkmaids click the latch,
And rarely smells the new-mown hay,
And the cock hath sung beneath the thatch
Twice or thrice his roundelay,
Twice or thrice his roundelay;
Alone and warming his five wits,
The white owl in the belfry sits.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

 Needle Notes

Mignon by Loop London

See my project notes for  modification suggestions.

Little Shells by Holly Griffin-Weidner (designer of Summer Flies, one classic design that is always at the top on Ravelry)

I used Another Crafty Girl Strong Sock in Sam the Eagle Colorway  (SSK) Size 3 needle 3.25 mm.  Better photos of these projects to come!

Gills Rock in Quince & Co Finch Winesap—a true red

The Blethering Room

After The Great Needle Case Search I am staying with accordion folder for my circulars.  I added
Browning Fishing Worm Binder Bag about $20 and extra pages for $6 for surplus dpn’s.



Susan B Anderson Blog and photos
This type of photo is pretty typical.

Redeemed!

Book Note

Handmade in the U.K. by Emily Wessel aka Tincanknits. 
$18 US  $26 for print and ebook preorder
Giveaway!  Please post your comment on the Knitting Pipeline Ravelry board!  If you have been to Scotland tell us your favorite place or make any comment about Scotland or Tincanknits.

 
Heather and I with friends of Dutch Pipes and Drums


The Dutch Pipes and Drums CD In Harmony The 10th H.L. I (Highland Light Infantry) Crossing the Rhine and John D Burgess.

Have a great week, haste ye back, and hold your knitting close.

Friday, May 10, 2013

Episode 130 Sewn Bind Off to the Rescue

Listen here or use the Flash Player on this site for current and past episodes. Flash Player is not compatible with Internet Explorer.  Try a different browser like Safari.  Or jaunt on over to iTunes to find the show there.

This episode is sponsored by my Longaberger Home Business and  Quince & Co.

Owl is the newest addition to the Quince and Co family. Squishy, lofty, plump, little Owl is made from a blend of American alpaca and wool. It is spun and dyed in New England and knits up between 4 ½ to 5 stitches per inch, the perfect weight for just about everything. Find it and the other Quince fibers at www.quinceandco.com.

You can find my Longaberger Home Business at www.longaberger.com/paula.  Please send me a personal message or visit my web site to sign up for my customer email list.

Pipeliner Notes

Thanks to everyone who was in touch with me this past week. Thank you so much for the star ratings and reviews on iTunes.  There were new reviews by Rlynn, mkslp, nalbindinga, the2bamboo, and Sharon Edmondson.

Cindy aka PuffyGriffinclaw kindly wrote that the cast on for  Twinkle Twinkle baby blanket is the magic disappearing loop cast on is similar to Emily Ocker’s cast on which Elizabeth Zimmerman used in her Mystery Blanket.  She found THIS  Youtube video to be most helpful as she shows both Euny Jang’s and TechKnitter’s methods. Those two are nearly the same but one works better with even number st COs and the other with odd number st COs.  Cindy says the middle of her blanket is smooth so it might be the cast on that caused the bump in the blanket.  I’m not sure but I’ll use the proper cast on next time.

Tracey, a proud owner of a galaxy S3 android uses the app :”podcast Addict.”

Heather wrote that a woodpecker wakes up the neighborhood by making rounds and drumming/pecking on their fake wood siding. She asked why a woodpecker is doing this.  
My answer: Yes, it is a mating thing.  When woodpeckers are banging on your fake siding or trees it is called drumming.  Drumming is related to territory and mating, not feeding.

Nature Notes

I am writing today at dusk which is one of my favorite times of the day.  I love the light, the colors, and watching the birds come for their last meal of the day.  A hummingbird just took a drink out of the nectar feeder.  We’ve actually seen more downy woodpeckers at the hummingbird feeder than hummers this week but there are hummingbirds and their numbers and frequency at the feeder will increase.  One day an adventurous black capped chickadee perched on the hummingbird feeder and the thistle feeder.  We haven’t seen that before and we wonder whether he will try these feeders again. 

The first week in May is peak migration time for our area of Central Illinois.  It is my favorite time of the year here in the woods.  Just for fun I kept a record of bird species as seen from our porch from May 1 through May 7.  Many of these are common visitors.  Some are not. 23 species are represented.

Pileated woodpecker, House Wren, Goldfinch, House Finch/Purple Finch, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Red-bellied Woodpecker, White breasted nuthatch, Downy Woodpecker, Red-headed Woodpecker, Tufted Titmouse, Cardinal, Mourning Dove, Eastern Phoebe, Chipping Sparrow, Bluejay, Black-capped Chickadee, Cowbird, Turkey (female only), Indigo Bunting pair, White throated sparrow, Red-Wing blackbird, and Ruby Throated hummingbird.
Two handsome guys.  Rose Breasted Grosbeak and Northern Cardinal.

Just a few days before I started the list I saw a Barred Owl on the other side of the ridge.  The trees were filling in and there was only a small window where I could see the other side of the ridge.  I heard the Barred Owl and by the merest of chances happened to see him as he landed on a branch that swayed as he found his footing.  That window through the trees where I saw the Barred Owl is gone now.  The trees have filled in every bit of space and it will be mid October before we see that side of the woods from the window.

Indigo Buntings have never been visitors to the feeder but we’ve been seeing them for nearly a week now.  First a single one came and then a pair.  Now we see them daily as their jewel like blue is so easily seen.  Until now I have had a warped view of the size of an Indigo Bunting as I’ve usually seen them through binoculars, singing from the very top of a tree.  They are actually quite small, just slightly more plump chickadee.
Pair of Indigo Buntings

The Rose Breasted Grosbeaks are usually here for about 10 days in early May and they showed up right on time this year.  I can hardly tear myself away from the window when these birds are at the feeders but they are now there so often that I really have to stop admiring them.  The females are not so attractive and are also very territorial.  We watch the females as well as the male grosbeaks, defend the feeder to the extent that they aren’t even eating anything but just standing their ground for the sake of it.
Male  Rose Breasted Grosbeak

The list of species does not include the birds that we often hear but do not see.  Aside from the spring warblers that mystify us with their song we also enjoy the complex and melodic song of the woodthrush both in the early morning and at dusk.  

It is nearly dark now as the song of the wood thrush begins to fade and the Barred Owl begins his nightly sojourn.  The spring peepers and tree frogs begin their ratchety chorus that covers the night. I think of the ancient songs of these elusive birds and the reptiles, the many years they have lived among the oaks, maples, and sassafras of these woods and fed from the waters of the creek.  When native Americans walked the forest paths and river bluffs and when pioneers broke the sod of the prairie they were lifted by the songs that still resonate in our woods today.
Our nature quote today is from Natalie Babbitt, Tuck Everlasting.
“Everything's a wheel, turning and turning, never stopping. The frogs is part of it, and the bugs, and the fish, and the wood thrush, too. And people. But never the same ones. Always coming in new, always growing and changing, and always moving on. That's the way it's supposed to be. That's the way it is.”
Natalie Babbitt, Tuck Everlasting

Needle Notes
Lessons learned:  It is a lot more fun to knit with the proper needle

Peerie Flooers Take 2 by Kate Davies
Sarah wearing  Peerie Flooers by Kate Davies

Allison aka Time-not-cash is the Queen of Estimating yardage!
This is what was left, about 10 g.

I started with provisional cast on so I could pick up live stitches and knit the corrugated ribbing downwards.  This way if  I had to fudge on the colors I could do it in the ribbing.
 Elizabeth Zimmermann's Sewn Bind Off




Sweet Little Nothing by Susan DeBettignes kit Pattern free with yarn $18 or $5 pattern from OgleDesign.
Bronwyn wearing Sweet Little Nothing by  Susan DeBettignies.

The Blethering Room 
Visited Birgitte at Klose Knit in Urbana IL.  Great selection and wonderful atmosphere!

Opal Vincent Van Gogh
Malabrigo Silky Merino

In the Pipeline
Caroline by Hannah Ingalls
 
Stacy is wearing Caroline, the shop sample from Klose Knit.


Watching
Two Tangled Skeins videocast.
Listening
Reading
Far from the Rowan Tree by Margaret Gilles Brown

 High Note

Henry David Thoreau called the wood thrush a “Shakespeare among birds”.  The following writing from Thoreau is often quoted in articles about the wood thrush.  He wrote:

Whenever a man hears it he is young, and Nature is in her spring; wherever he hears it, it is a new world and a free country, and the gates of Heaven are not shut against him.  Henry David Thoreau

 J.S. Bach Adagio Sonata For Violin and Continuo In G Major performed by Voices of Music.
www.magnatune.com

Haste ye back!

Friday, May 3, 2013

Episode 129 Take me to a Knitting Retreat!


Listen here or use the Flash Player on this site for current and past episodes. Flash Player may not be compatible with Internet Explorer.  Try a different browser like Safari.  Or jaunt on over to iTunes to find the show there.

This episode is sponsored by my Longaberger Home Business and  Quince & Co.

Owl is the newest addition to the Quince and Co family. Squishy, lofty, plump, little Owl is made from a blend of American alpaca and wool. It is spun and dyed in New England and knits up between 4 ½ to 5 stitches per inch, the perfect weight for just about everything. Find it and the other Quince fibers at www.quinceandco.com.
Beautiful Owl!


You can find my Longaberger Home Business at www.longaberger.com/paula.  Please send me a personal message or visit my web site to sign up for my customer email list.

Winners for Gill’s Rock KAL!
Gill’s Rock by Paula Emons-Fuessle
1st prize Knittinsisters  Quince & Co Yarn of choice.
#2 prize Benji9 Quince & Co Yarn my choice
#3 Spindrift Giftable pattern on Ravelry
#4 Powerslake Giftable pattern on Ravelry
Please contact me and I will get your prize to you!

Thank you to all who made the Knitting Pipeline Retreat a HUGE success!
Retreat Sponsors
Ewe-nique Yarns Morton IL
The Fiber Universe in Peoria IL
Klose Knit in Urbana IL
Peddler’s Way Quilt Co in Washington IL
Knit4Together Yarn Company in Dunlap ILThe Blend Cafe in Washington IL
Susan B Anderson.  Her blog post about the Knitting Pipeline retreat is here. Susan B. Anderson: The Knitting Pipeline Retreat in Review
Nikki and all the kitchen help at Crossroads!
Vendors and Door prize donors.

Classes
Continental Knitting by Brigitte Pieke of Klose Knit in Urbana IL.
Wet Felted Surprise Ball by Knit 4 Together Dunlap IL
Beaded Bracelet by Ewe-nique Yarns
Belly Dancing by LibyBall Multicraftual podcast NOW on iTunes!
Rare Breed Sheep by Julie Mathis of Heritage Hill Farm in Tremont IL
Lace Shawls by Cindi aka Tales of Yarn
Darning and pre-darning socks by Paula

Needle Notes
Sarah’s WIP:  Girlfriend Market Bag by Laura Spradlin
Bronwyn: Barn Bag
Paula: Oak Trail from Botanical Knits by Alana Dakos


Sarah wearing Oak Trail by Alana Dakos

What were you inspired to cast on or add to your queue after the retreat?

Sarah: Leap of Faith by Nicole Montgomery with Fat Squirrel BFL Nylon Fingering
Bronwyn: Volan by Christiane Burkhard.  Inspired by Aizome and Funky.
Paula: Sweet Little Nothing by Susan DeBettignes kit available from Ogle Designs

The Blethering Room
Ant Update  Cinnamon repels them but I took away the cinnamon and they came back in 5 minutes!
I used this recipe but cut it down to 1/3.

Favorite moments from retreat:

Seeing people get their retreat bags with Quince Yarn.
Jennifer was surprised with Pomegranate!  Yum.


Look! It's Carrie's Yellow and Bird's Egg!
Carey said, "I think I'm going to cry!"  Kelley was shocked!  What about that  Peacock?

This intrepid group began the trek with me to Bass Pro but a few bailed out when it turned into Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.  I don't blame them at all!

Worm Bait Bag may not be for me because the dpn’s don’t fit well in their original cases.

Heritage Hill Farm
Who doesn't love a sheep?

Susan B Anderson
Topsy-Turvy Inside Out Knit Toys by Susan B Anderson: Magical Two-in-one Reversible Projects


Trading sweaters on Saturday morning




Paula wearing Susan's Calligraphy Cardigan and Susan wearing Paula's Acer Cardigan.

Product Note
Paula: Portable Yarn holder from Kim Ogle  Ogle Design
Sarah  The Fat Squirrel Knitting Pipeline Retreat Limited Edition Sweater Bag

Have a great week, haste ye back, and hold your knitting close.

About Me

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