Episode 83 Captivating Cats

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

The folks at Quince & Co believe that businesses can be good citizens—should be good citizens—without making too much a fuss about it. So, they have created a line of thoughtfully conceived yarns spun from American wool or sourced from earth friendly overseas suppliers. Find them at www.quinceandco.com and while you are there, sign up for their free e-newsletter.

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 longaberger.com/paula

Thank you to everyone who left 5 star reviews on iTunes, commented on the show blog, participated in the Knitting Pipeline Group on Ravelry, and send good vibes my way.  Our group on Ravelry is very friendly and I invite you to join us.  We have over 1586 members!

Pipeliner Notes

I read a note from Nancy.  Her husband is going to build owl houses.  Does anyone have experience with these?  Please let me know.

Nature Notes

Pileated woodpecker, spring peepers, and a fox runs past as I record the show.

Spring Beauty  Claytonia virginica

Native Americans ate the bulbs of this plant.  Euell Gibbons called it Fairy Spuds.

The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month. ~Henry Van Dyke

Needle Notes

Follow up on Purl Tension.  Cat Bordhi.  Video shared by offherneedles.  How to tighten your purl stitches.

The next two cats are Greta theCaptivating Cat by Rebecca Danger.  Inspired by Diane of Knitabulls.

Greta The First wanted a bow.  I used Malabrigo.

3 needle bind off was used to close the top.  Getting it turned inside out was painful.  I felt sorry for the cat.

Greta the Second I used kitchener stitch at the top of the head.  Had added stitches to the opening but still very small.

Greta the Second did not want a bow.  I used Jojoland Melody.

 

I use DMC Cotton Perle for the facial features.  You have to get it right or all the knitting is for naught.

Stuffing:  Always takes more than you think it will.

Piper’s Journey KAL

Not much to say about this KAL and I guess that is a good thing. 

Lorix5 has a lovely Piper's Journey!  I loved her photos and asked whether I might post them here for you to see.

The Blethering Room

I explain where The Blethering Room originated, with a group of friends who met online and met face to face in Virginia in 1999. “Blether” is the Scottish word for blather.

Book Notes

The Knitter’s Life List by Gwen W. Steege. Highly recommended.

In the Piping Circle

St. Patrick's Day Recap

I did a little yarn shop visit during the pub crawl.  I visited with Erin and Melinda at The Fiber Universe.  I wanted to stay and knit but the piping must go on!  I am wearing our special Celtic Cross Pipes and Drums St. Patrick's Day shirts.

Paula and Erin St. Patrick's Day 2012

Kevin and Heather with Bishop Daniel Jenky of the Peoria Diocese.

Music from Musica Pacifica.  Kid on the Mountain and Mountain Rose. www.magnatune.com
Haste ye back!

Episode 54 A Dishcloth Binge

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Thank you to Quince & Co for sponsoring this episode! www.quinceandco.com Sign up for their free e-newsletter.

Emily in The Kilkenny Cowl by Pam Allen.  Knitted in Chickadee in the Clay colorway.

Pipeliners

I heard from new pipeliners Carolyn and Jenn.   

There were two new 5 star reviews on iTunes.  Kitten Little and Lyn862.  Thank you so much for your kind reviews. 

Dilemma is the proper spelling.  Is "dilemna" a regional issue?  According to Common Errors in English Usage by Paul Brians "dilemna" with the "n" is clearly wrong!

Nature Notes

We finally have a break in the heat.  It was so wonderful to open up the house.   This morning it was in the 50’s when I went on my morning walk. It is noisy here with the grasshoppers and cicadas buzzing and chirping all day and most of the night.  I listened to the grasshoppers while knitting the Leafprints Shawl by Anne Hanson, and noted that the buzzing started up faintly at 8 AM and was quite a bit louder at 8:30 AM. 

On the Grasshopper and Cricket  

The poetry of earth is never dead:

When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,

And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run

From hedge to hedge about a new-mown mead;

That is the Grasshopper’s – he takes the lead

In summer luxury, - he has never done

With his delights; for when tired out with fun

He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.

The poetry of earth is ceasing never:

On a lone winter evening, when the frost

Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills

The Cricket’s song, in warmth increasing ever,

And seems to one in drowsiness half lost,

The Grasshopper’s among some grassy hills.

--John Keats  1795-1821

Needle Notes

I have 3 patterns that I go to when I feel a dishcloth frenzy coming on.  I have no idea what propels me to stop what I am doing and knit up a pile of dishcloths.  It is a nesting instinct that hits me every two years or so.

Mason-Dixon Knitting by Ann Shayne and Kay Gardiner.  These ladies are hilarious. 

Petal Dishcloth by Hazel Schrock
Waffle Dishcloth from Debbie at Homespun Living Blog.  Visit the Firefly Farm Goods!
Eloomanators Diagonal Knit Dishcloth.  Variation of Grandmother's Favorite.

Petal Dishcloths

Waffle Stitch Dish Cloth from Homespun Living

Eloomanator's Dishcloth

New one I tried.  It is just ok.
Holes and Ridges Knitted Dishcloth Debra Proctor USU Extension Agent.

Holes and Ridges

Peaches and Cream site  Cotton yarn
Knit Picks Dishie
Lily Sugar and Cream carried by Michael's and Wal-mart in my area.

Events

Stitches Midwest.  Meet me in the Market in the Concession/Snack Area about 11 AM on Friday, August 26th, 2011.  I will be arriving Thursday morning and leaving after lunch on Friday.

Knitting Pipeline Retreat March 2-3.  Details will be announced in late September.  The place is reserved as well as some local accommodations.

Blethering Room

Bronwyn is going ahead with her cardigan with the twist in it.  She knitted up a baby version of the sweater with the twisted join.  I think she can pull it off!  Check it out on our board on Ravelry under Episode 53.

Franklin the Turkey has been banging on the window occasionally.  He flew to the rooftop when Bob walked around back with our son's two dogs on leads.  He knows that dogs are more dangerous than people. 

High Note

The New Best Recipe: All New Edition by Cooks' Illustrated  $35 but $21.47 on Amazon.
A hefty volume that would be even heftier if it had photos of the food.  I love food photos!  Reliable, extensively tested recipes.  A must for my kitchen.

Foolproof Hard-Cooked Eggs from Best Recipes.  (my abbreviated version)  Put 6 eggs in a pot with water at least one inch above eggs.  (You can cook more eggs as long as the water is 1" over the top of the eggs. )Bring to a boil over high heat.  Turn off heat.  Cover and let sit for 10 min.  Meanwhile, fill a bowl with water and a tray of ice cubes.  Put the eggs in the ice water for 5 minutes.  Peel eggs from the blunt end.  Perfect!

These instructions from Simply Recipes are quite similar. 
Martha Stewart has her egg say here.

In the Piping Circle 

Celtic Cross is preparing for a competition on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend Sept 3 in Waukesha WI.

Harry Potter Fans take note.  You can learn to play Quittich at the Waukesha Games.

BBC World Pipe band Championships  Live streaming begins at 9:00 BST on Saturday August 13 that would be about 3 AM for those of us in the Midwest.  Later on you can catch video of the highlights.

Visit my business site at www.longaberger.com/paula. 

Thanks for listening.  Haste ye back!

Haste ye back!

Episode 51 Estonian Lace

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Quince & Co is a sponsor of this podcast.  I love their yarns!  Right now I am knitting Stripe Study Shawl in Tern in Stonington and Oyster.  It is almost finished!

 

Pipeliner Notes 

Happy Anniversary to all Pipeliners!  Knitting Pipeline was one year old on July 3!

Your notes, comments on the show blog, and participation on our Knitting Pipeline group on Ravelry keep the show going.   I appreciate each one of you!

A warm welcome to new Pipeliners! I heard from Lacey, Jenny, Penny, Wendy, and Lu.  We had two new 5 star reviews on iTunes thanks to Laurie Starr and Julie Bonello.  And if you are just out there clapping or cheering me on, that is great too. 

For those of you going to Sock Summit, keep your eyes on the board for meet ups.  There is a meet up scheduled for the lunch hour on Saturday at the Bar Maid's booth #400.  I will be there.  Also, I will try to meet up with you as best I can.  Please stop me to say hello if you see me at Sock Summit...or anywhere else.

Nature Notes

I wanted to carry Lily of the Valley in my wedding bouquet.  My Tante Grete in Denmark asked all her friends to gather their Lily of the Valley in their gardens.  They dropped off their flowers at her house on the morning of the wedding. 

Outside the church after the wedding

Bob wore his hiking boots...the only shoes he had with him for our trip to Norway and Sweden.

See that shawl?  I had totally forgotten that I wore a shawl.  My friend, Vibeke, loaned it to me that day as it was a little bit chilly in the morning.  In this photo we are standing in Onkel Orla's garden in Aarhus before going to the church.  We had ridden a city bus to the City Hall to get our marriage license.

I’ve always loved Lily of the Valley.  My grandmother had them in her garden.  When the first flowers bloomed in the spring she put a small bouquet in a little vase that had been her grandmothers.  This black vase, which I have now, has lily of the valley painted on it.  (Photo coming soon)

Kate Middleton carried Lily of the Valley in her wedding bouquet. Did she copy me?
Queen Victoria popularized The Language of Flowers where flowers each had their meaning. Lily of the Valley meant "return to happiness" or "trustworthy".
Other names are Our Lady's Tears, May Lily, May Bells, Lily constancy, Ladder-to-heaven, male lily, Muguet (French)
Became national flower of Finland in 1967

Lily of the Valley became the National Flower of Finland in 1967.

All parts including the berries and highly poisonous.  It has some of the same effects that foxglove might have, another one of my favorite flowers.

By all those token flowers, that tell

What words can never speak so well.    ~~Byron

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Needle Notes

Triangular Summer Shawl by Helve Poska from Knitted Lace of Estonia by Nancy Bush.

Probably the best seaming I've ever done!

Nupps!

My first foray into nupps was the Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn Clark.  I found nupps to be tricky and sometimes I didn’t secure all the loops properly.

Here are some tips.

• When they say to knit loosely into the loop, they mean very loose.  Pull the stitches out as you make them and hold them with another finger to keep them nice and big.
• After you have the required number of loops in your nupp put your free needle tip (the one that would be in your left hand) inside them and pull towards you to neaten them up.
• On the WS when you come to a nupp and all those loops have to be purled into one:  This is a trick that I do that I didn’t see anywhere else.  I hold the loops at the base of the nupp and pull straight down before putting the right needle tip in.  Then I slide the right needle tip alongside the bottom of the left needle tip as it goes in.  Once I started doing all three of these precautions, the nupps improved and got easier.

The first clip are my tips for the right side and the second clip shows tips for the wrong side of the work.

I knitted this shawl for my nephew's fiancee, Susan. Isn't she lovely? Does she look a bit like a knitwear designer we know and love?

The Blethering Room

Stephen West (Westknits) has a Mystery Shawl KAL that starts on August 1, 2011.  The pattern is $4 now and $6 when released after the KAL.  I jumped right in and bought the pattern.  I can't resist Stephen West.

I need 3 colors for the shawl.  I'm thinking some of this Quince & Co Tern would work nicely.  What about Barnacle, Driftwood, and Boothbay Blue...or Sea Grass?

The wonderful music is from Lydia McCauley, Beauty of the Earth, on the album Beauty of the Earth.  www.magnatune.com

Haste ye back!

Episode 29 A New Favorite Bind Off

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My New Favorite Bind Off

This is similar to the bind off on the Ishbel Shawl but not in purl.  This is the bind off used in Pogona by Stephen West/Westknits.

Designs mentioned in this episode
Ishbel by Ysolda Teague  (bind off is similar to the one above only in purl)
Boneyard by Stephen West (free)
Daybreak by Stephen West (currently on my needles)
Simple Yet Effective Shawl by Laura Chau (free)
Baby Sophisticate by Linden Down  (free)
Simple Things by Mary-Heather Cogar
Knitted Cap Patterns for patients undergoing treatment.  Thank you, Mandikat!
Knots of Love

Thank you to everyone for your suggestions for cap patterns for chemo patients!

Nature Notes

I saw a Common Redpoll at the feeder on 1/20/11.  We've been hearing the drumming of the Pileated Woodpecker, which is our largest woodpecker.  They are shy birds but are occasionally seen near the house. 

On Netflix Instand Watch:  John James Audubon 55 min documentary from PBS American Masters Series.

Needle Notes

This is the Lacey Ladies Cap I gave to my friend.  Another one is in the works.

News Flash on Friday!  It fits her!

Simple Things

A Pogona Pose
This was one of "pensive poses" that made me laugh so hard I could barely take the photo without shaking the camera.

Another pair of "Those Mitts".  #7 I think.

Pogona as it was blocking on the guest bed.  I need blocking wires.  The pins don't work here.

No-Purl or Garter Stitch Patterns suggested by Pipeliners on Ravelry. 

Addabootees by Elizabeth Zimmermann  $1.00
Felted Clog by Bev Galeskas  $7.95
Bear Claw Blanket by Veronik Avery
Mothed by Mags Kandis (free)
Chocolate, Vanilla, Swirl Baby Blanket by JamieKnits (Free)
Ten Stitch Twist Blanket by Frankie Brown  (free with a suggested charity donation)
Johanna Maria Shawl by Elsa Maria Baerentsen
Pimpelliese by Christine Ebers (free)
Favorite Garter Cardi  by Anne Lecrivain-Cozzoli  Creative Knitting 2010
Garter Diamonds Shawl by Lois S. Young Creative Knitting Nov 2010

In the Piping Circle
The Burns Supper 2011

Robert Burns was born on Janury 25, 1759 in Alloway, Scotland.  People all over the world celebrate his birth each year with a dinner and an evening of ceremony.

George in his Baby Sophisticate Sweater.



Meat Pie, Neeps, Haggis, Peas, Tatties



Celtic Cross Pipes and Drums.  Burns Supper 2011

These are Those Mitts made for me by Charr.  Don't they work great with our Flower of Scotland Tartan?

Norwegian Sweater Knit Along

Twila is going to use Cully's Norwegian Sweater, child size, to make a sweater for charity.
I ordered from Quince & Co. for a man's large 44" (tall) sweater

Chickadee (sport weight)

• 12 (50 g) balls Crow (black)  Probably only need 10
• 7 (50 g) balls Egret (natural White)  probably only need 5

Leave your name in the comment section to be in the drawing for an autographed copy of Faith Hope Love Knitting by Lorna Miser.

Book Notes

Knitting at Home: 60 Classics from Ella Rae Designs by Leanne Prouse.  2010

The book sets  relaxed mood and has a wide array of patterns.  Instructions assume some knitting intelligence, which is refreshing.  All projects use Ella Rae yarn but substitutions are easy, especially because most of the designs are not fitted.  While I do not consider this a "must have" for my library, it would be a welcome addition. Recommended.

Music

"Ye Banks and Braes O' Bonnie Doon"

Lyrics by Robert Burns

Sung by Shira Kammen from A Celebration of Robert Burns.  Magnatune.

Ye banks and braes o' bonnie Doon

How can ye bloom sae fresh and fair?

How can ye chaunt, ye little birds

And I sae weary full o' care?

Ye'll break my heart, ye warbling bird

That wantons thro' the flow'ry thorn

Ye mind o' departed joys

Departed never to return.

Oft hae I roved by bonnie Doon

To see the rose and woodbine twine

And ilka bird sang o' its love

And fondly sae did I o' mine

Wi' lightsome heart I pu'd a rose

Full sweet upon its thorny tree

And my fause lover stole my rose

But ah! he left the thorn wi' me.

Episode 22 Norwegian Knitting Book Reviews and A Finished Norwegian Cap

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Norwegian Patterns for Knitting
Classic Sweaters, Hats, Vests, and Mittens by Mette Handberg
Trafalger Press 2010  $24.95

Purpose:  To reawaken interest in Norwegian knittting and push the boundaries of these traditional designs.
Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in colorwork and traditional Nordic knitting.
Favorites patterns in this book:  Wilderness (p 38), Women's Long Jacket (p 69), Man's Jacket (p 72)

Norwegian Handknits:  Heirloom Designs from Vesterheim Museum
Sue Flanders and Janine Kosel
Voyageur Press, 2009

Purpose:  Make the historical pieces in the Vesterheim Museum available for knitters today.
One of my best knitting purchases in the past 10 20 years.  Beautiful layout with bits about Norwegian culture and the immigrant experience in the U.S.  A whopping 34 patterns with large charts and plenty of white space on the page so not to make me crazy.  Many new and interesting techniques explained clearly.  Charming vintage photos from late 19th century to early 20th century of Norwegian people both in Norway and in the U.S.

Ruth's Cap.  Pompom, tassel, or leave as it is?

I knitted Ruth's Cap and found an error.  The sample cap shows a picot edge on the hem but the pattern will produce a straight purled edge.  Beware because the instructions for Ruth's Blanket will produce the same effect.  The pattern instructions should produce the sample.  Hopefully this type of error will be corrected in future printings.  And yes, I have notified the publisher.  Erratta are here but this is not yet listed.  The publisher wrote that corrections are being made to the second edition.

Our Honeymoon Backpacking Trip

After camping through Norway (mostly in the rain) we were happy to arrive in Kjelbotn to cousin Elisabeth and her husband Magnus. 

Elisabeth Ingebritsen (cousin to my MIL), Paula, and Bob.  Our honeymoon is the only time Bob has had a beard.  Although it was late June, the weather was chilly so Elisabeth loaned me one of her handknit sweaters.  This photo was taken about 10:00 PM.  We were way above the Arctic Circle so it never got dark while we were there.  They didn't sleep much either.

Voss, Norway.  June 1975

Looking grave in the Ursin family graveyard at Lille Grosnaes, north or Tromsoe in northern Norway.

Elisabeth and sheep.

Leaving Elisabeth and Magnus at the train station in Narvik.  On our way to northern Sweden!  One more month of traveling to go before we travel home to the U.S.

See that little red dot way up high on the map where it says "Hammerfest"?  Below that is Tromso.  We were just north of Tromso.  From Trondheim on up the traveling was pretty slow because the train ended in Bodo (not shown) so we had to travel by bus and ferry.