Episode 55 Leafprints Shawlette & Westknits Mystery KAL

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Thank you to Quince & Co for sponsoring this show.  Visit their web site and sign up for blog and pattern updates. 

I am taking a week off so the next podcast will be released after Stitches Midwest.

Pipeliner Notes

I heard from new pipeliners: Nancy in Alabama, AuntTea/Ellen, Abbysknits, Julia, MaggieGrl, Cheryl, and Helen.

New iTunes reviews from GuruNam and Listening in the Adirondacks made me happy!  Thank you.

Nature Notes 

The Barred Owls are very busy these days, or really these nights.  

Louise of the Caithness Craft Collective Podcast noticed that I talked a lot more about butterflies last year than I have this year.  She is absolutely correct.  It hasn’t been the best summer for butterflies. 

Needle Notes

Leafprints Shawlette by Anne Hanson. 

Review of Creamy by Kollage. Creamy is a blend of milk and cotton. 80/20 .  A little slippery but it is a lovely material.

Westknits Mystery KAL

Intarsia has not killed me....yet.

Quince & Co Tern in Barnacle, Driftwood, and Seagrass.

Don't worry if you are a few stitches off.  I don't think it will matter.
Intarsia has not killed me yet.  In fact, I'm enjoying it!  (But know better than to overdo it.)

Events 

Stitches Midwest is August 25-28.  I will be there on the 25^th and 26^th.  There will be a Pipeliner Meet and Greet on Friday August 26 starting at 11 AM in the Concession area of the Market.  I will be sitting there with my knitting and I hope you can join me. 

Betty Hay asked questions about attending big knitting events such as Sock Summit and Stitches.  Betty, I apologize for not answering sooner. 

The Market:

• Set a budget and perhaps some goals.  I try to think ahead of time what I am looking for.
• Take cash for the Market.
• If you are wavering on a purchase then think about it for a while.  Come back later.  Sometimes you have more perspective.  

I take easy project to work on so I can chat with people easily.

Take some business cards with your Ravelry information, your blog if you have one, to exchange with people you meet.

Keeping up energy among a lot of people:  Are you and introvert or an extrovert?  A definition is that an introvert gathers energy from being along and an extrovert gathers energy from being with others.

The Blethering Room

AJ 's favorite dishcloth is Chinese Waves by Margaret Radcliffe.  Join in our discussion on Episode 54 on dishcloths and natural cleaning.

I knitted two Chinese Waves Dishcloths.  I know, I thought I was done but I needed the palate cleanser of knitting.  Thanks, Angela!

Check out 1to1's Dishcloth Binge of over 100!

In the Piping Circle

Field Marshall Montgomery Pipe Band won The World Pipe Band Championship Games!   

BBC Scotland Coverage

Haste ye back!

Episode 48 A Soothing Shawlette

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Thank you to Quince & Co for sponsoring this episode of Knitting Pipeline.  10% off your order ($20 min) with code KP62011 through June 30, 2011!

Welcome to New Pipeliners 

Sally from Cleveland, Susan, Beverly, Leislknits, Jeri, Arlene, MontanaSue, and Kathy Green! 

Thanks to knitstersusan for the Thumbs Up iTunes Reviews!

I found out that I need to change my country on iTunes to see reviews from outside the U.S.  A big thanks to Canadian Pipeliners: Djdee, Debbie, Clementine 22, and KnittingJane.

KnittingJane wrote in her review:  My dad was born in Edinburgh and the skirl of the pipes always sends a shiver down my spine. 

I wonder about the word skirl since it I have only heard it used in relation to bagpipes.  Do any other musical instruments have words that describe their sound exclusively?   That is a question for Martha and Grant of A Way with Words.  Check out this show/podcast!  It is fantastic!

 Pipeliner News

Joy (nitiram on Ravelry) started Kevin Fan Club on our board.  Kevin is our good friend and the announcer on the podcast.  I will get him on the show soon!

Anna Lena's Evenstar Shawl won a Blue Ribbon at the County Fair. Well done! (Pattern by Susan Pandorf)

I read notes from Pipeliners Maggie H and Shanna about going into Squirrel Mode when packing for a trip.  Patti/Wombat knitter links to podcasts on Facebook as she listens.  Great idea! I’m going to do that also.  JanMarie’s note was so clever.  She thinks that I’d better watch out since my husband suggested the ruffle on LaLa’s Simple Shawl…he might be turning into the next Stephen West.  I love reading your notes!

Ravelry Notes

Michele from the Quad Cities friended me today and I responded that I thought we already were friends. Lately I’ve been friended by people on Ravelry and I am fairly certain we were already friends.  Maybe we’ve just corresponded enough that I felt we were.  Michele wrote, “I’m curious how people use their “friends” on Ravelry.  I figure this is a work in progress.”

On an earlier episode I told you how I use the friends feature on Ravelry but what about you?  Share your ways of using the friends feature and I will share your tips on the show.

Giveaway Notes

This week’s giveaway is a skein of Simply Fine in your choice of color from Green Mountain Spinnery.  Many of you wrote that you loved the color I had and hope to get the same.  The color that I reviewed is "Variegated".

The winner is Jeri who is Patternwhisperer on Ravelry. Jeri, please contact me and I will let you know how to claim your beautiful skein of Simply Fine.

Nature Notes

After a big thunderstorm early one morning I encountered a baby robin on the sidewalk.  The nest was too high to reach and the mother bird was sitting on the nest.  The bird was close to death.  At moments like these I remind myself that nature does account for such accidents of nature.  It sounds a bit callous but there is consolation in knowing that a bird lays a sufficient number of eggs to ensure survival.  The main factor that nature cannot control is mankind.  We need to do what we can to minimize damage.

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time. 

 --J. Lubbock.  British Statesman 1834-1913

Needle Notes

I finished my second And So Are You Shawlette by Rose Beck of RosyPosy Designs.   I love this cuddly shawl.  Finished measurements are 15" deep, 50" across and an astounding 11 ft from tip to tip along the outside border edge.

I used 30% of the total yardage for the border, which is 2".  The yarn is delicious Opulence from The Woolen Rabbit.  Colorway: Iris.

Tip

Take a load off your circular needles when you have so many stitches.  I was using Knit Picks Options Needles so I turned the one circular needle into two very long needles with the purple stoppers at one end of each needle. If you do not have interchangeable needles try using two circular needles even if one is not exactly the same size. Twist a rubber band around the non-working end of the needle. For a border such as this a slight difference in needle size would not make much difference and would probably be indetectable.

I continue knitting Triangular Summer Shawl by Nancy Bush.  I am getting pretty good at nupps now!

I started Stripe Study Shawl by Veera Valimaki.  The yarn is Quince & Co Tern in Stonington and Oyster.  Tern is a blend of merino wool and tussah silk.  So soft and wonderful to work with. Garter stitch goodness and a stripes are a combination I can hardly resist!

Ready to begin a new project!

Quince & Co Tern in Stonington and Oyster

Yes, the design is assymetrical.

The Blethering Room

I'm moving along on the Stash Dash 5K with The Knit Girllls.  My total yardage is now 2,354.  I will post over there soon.
I do not recommend knitting laceweight yarn on a small needle to try to use up stash!

In the Piping Circle

Singing Happy Birthday to Jose.

Celtic Cross Pipes and Drums competed in the Chicago Highland Games.  We were fortunate to have The Pipe Major of Dutch Pipes and Drums, Willie McVean, and his wife Jose (Yo-say) with us.  It was Happy Birthday to Jose at our band tents!  I gave her the Merope Shawl from Romi's Seven Small Shawls knitted with Woolen Rabbit Harmony in the Chiquita colorway.

Massed Bands after a long day at the Games.

Aren't these little tenor drummers the cutest things ever?
The two on the left have curly red hair with a red ribbon braided through their plaits.

In Piping our lifelines are our fellow bandmates, the other pipers and drummers.  When one piper falters another will pick up the slack.  We play as a team, just as a team in sporting events.

Remember to share how you use the Friend Feature on Ravelry.  Do you "drive by" friend?   Do you group your friends?  Share with me and I'll share your tips on an upcoming episode.

The tune is Morgan's Magan by Turlough O'Carolan performed by Healing Muses on the CD Dolce Musica.  www.magnatune.com

Haste ye back!

Episode 39 Spring Peepers

Listen here or use the Flash Player at right.  All episodes can be accessed from the Flash Player.  Find the show on iTunes.  Thank you for your positive 5 star reviews and wonderful comments!

Thank you to Quince & Co for their continued sponsorship of Knitting Pipeline!  Sign up for their free e-newletter to stay current on Quince & Co news.  Our Estelle KAL starts on May 1, 2011.

Estelle by Melissa LaBarre.  Yarn: Lark in Peacock

Open up your peepers to this beautiful bag set from Three Bags Full!  Leave a comment below by noon on April 14th to enter the drawing for the bag set!  Enjoy FREE SHIPPING through April 2011 from Three Bags Full by using the promo code "piper".  Since this episode was prerecorded the winners from Week #1 and Week #2 will be announced on the April 15 episode.

Spring Peepers

Peepers (Pseudacris cruciferi) are as sure a sign of spring as bird song in the morning and the first crocus.  In the spring I like to "go to bed with the frogs and wake up with the birds."

Download Spring Peeper wallpaper and ringtones at National Geographic site.

Hyla Brook

By June our brook's run out of song and speed.

Sought for much after that, it will be found

Either to have gone groping underground

(And taken with it all the Hyla breed

That shouted in the mist a month ago,

Like ghost of sleigh bells in a ghost of snow)—

Or flourished and come up in jewelweed,

Weak foliage that is blown upon and bent,

Even against the way its waters went.

Its bed is left a faded paper sheet

Of dead leaves stuck together by the heat—

A brook to none but who remember long.

This as it will be seen is other far

Than with brooks taken otherwhere in song.

We love the things we love for what they are.

--Robert Frost

Needle Notes

Pieces laid out on the floor to mark the sides for steeking.

Red wool marks the side stitch.  I was preparing to use my sewing machine to stitch on both sides of the line.  Two times for good measure.

I am coming down the home stretch on the Norwegian Sweater.  On Saturday I steeked for the sleeves.  I recorded this technique for you on video.

The next step was joining the shoulders at the top.  I used Meg Swansen's technique, an i-cord Bind Off that is similar to the Three Needle Bind Off except you incorporate i-cord.  It makes a sturdy seam for the drop shoulder and looks nice too.  I left the 3 icord stitches live on each shoulder and will incorporate them into the neck ribbing.  I also sewed the sleeves in the sweater.

The Blethering Room

Thank you for your information and tips about sock heel reinforcement.  Woolly Serger Thread can be found in some fabric stores.  Schoolhouse Press has a heftier version.  It is not wool.  It is actually stretchy nylon with a brushed coating.  Use it to reinforce socks. 

My favorite tip is from Anna Lena.  She uses the slip stitch heel technique on the bottoms of her children's socks for reinforcement.  I am going to try this on my next pair of socks.

I darned one more sock using the Swiss Darning Method with my mods.

In the Piping Circle

Thanks to my band mates Karen (Band Manager), Heather, Rob, and Deb who listen to the podcast and encourage me.  Also thanks to Kevin, a great friend and the voice you hear at the beginning of each episode.  The music is Amazing Grace, played at a regular rehearsal in March 2011.  Soloist is Pipe Major Ted Kerrn.

Episode 2 Charting Your Way

I explain how I prepare a chart for knitting.

I finished Brandywine in the "Ribbit" colorway from The Woolen Rabbit.

Shalom (free pattern by Meghan McFarlane) was finished once, maybe twice, then frogged. I coin a new word for knitters:  Frufo.  A finished project that has been frogged.  (Frogged + UFO)
Cascade Ecological Wool is a bargain.
Schoolhouse Press has a nice large chart keeper.
McCallum Bagpipes...my pipes!
Celtic Cross Pipes and Drums

Recipe for Salmon
The Rub: 1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp paprika

The Sauce:
1 Stick butter, softened
3 to 4 TBSP fresh basil, chopped
3 to 4 TBSP chopped green onion
freshly squeezed lime juice to taste.  I use about 2 TBSP

This is way more butter than you need but it is good leftover on sandwiches.  Easily halved.