Episode 87 Knit That Puppy

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 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 www.longaberger.com/paula

Thank you for your iTunes reviews and star ratings! When I checked today there were exactly 400 star reviews.  That is a lot and I appreciate each one!

I appreciate all the ways that you participate in the Knitting Pipeline Community whether it is leaving a comment on the show blog, participating in the Knitting Pipeline group on Ravelry, or just downloading and enjoying the show.  Show notes will be found at knittingpipeline.com

A Playful Day with Green Triangle Girl  4/15/2012  Thank you!

The Fat Squirrel Speaks with Amy Beth.  Thanks for the nice shout out and EZ love fest.

Pipeliner Notes

Kell left a message on the show blog that she liked the idea of purchasing a pattern from a designer if you have enjoyed one of their freebies.   I should have said last week that this is a fairly new idea of mine so don’t beat yourself up if you didn’t think of it.

I also want to thank StripeySpots for the lovely message she left on the show blog.

Ana’s message on the show blog was representative of a lot of the feedback about the link to Joy in the Congo.

Nature Notes

Happy Earth Day April 22nd.  Spring Clean Up is in our town on Saturday..

Spring beauties are past their prime.  Sweet William is blooming along with May Apples.  We’ve been seeing a lot of Red Admirals, which is a butterfly with orange red bands on the outside of the wings. With all the tree frogs singing one day and birds calling back and forth it sounded a bit like the rainforest out there.  One night about nine thirty we heard a very loud and strange sound coming from the woods.  It was not a human cry nor did it sound like a birds.  It was a loud and raucous  BAHHHHHHHH that occurred several times.

My bench in the woods. The view changes every day, but I change too. I like seeing things from another viewpoint. I remember stories like Horton Hears a Who and Honey I Shrunk the Kids

My Bench several weeks ago when spring beauties were in bloom.

My Bench today (4/20/12) with Sweet William and Trillium in bloom.  And the trees have a lot more leaves!

The Backyard Birds Newsletter by www.birdwatchersdigest.com

Backyard Notes  Diane Cooledge Porter

 “Anytime you want to see something new, just go for the same walk you went on yesterday.  You don’t have to go someplace new.  Every day it will be different, but you have to walk it every day to appreciate the novelty.”

Needle Notes

Reasons to Love Simple Skyp Socks

One more reason…I knit the first sock in 24 hours!

Skyp Ribbed Socks by Adrienne Ku  Knit Picks Stroll Tonal Springtime 

McHenry by Susan B Anderson   Stuffed dog with matching hat for Baby.   gender neutral!Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts 2011 and $5.50 individual pattern.

McHenry by Susan B Anderson

Even a Puppy can enjoy a quiet moment in the woods.

McHenry in a moment of reverie.  That is Oak Creek that winds around at the bottom of the hill.

Only two Pipeliners have knitted McHenry and one of them is Susan B Anderson and the other is Plashus/Pam.  Pam wrote in her notes that she did not overstuff her McHenry.  Amy Beth on The Fat Squirrel Speaks said that she learned not to overstuff knitted toys.  I think I already had overstuffed. 

First time for poly pellets.  I used the end of a nylon stocking.  Remember those?

Calls for DK.  Blue Sky Alpaca Skinny Cotton. I used Lion Brand Wool Ease which is worsted so my puppy is a little bigger.

Tip:  Keeping track of rows with contrasting yarn. 

Piper’s Journey KAL

The Blethering Room   At Home by Bill Bryson.  String aka yarn is a marvelous invention!

In the Pipeline

Camp KIP—no show next week as I will be gone.

Swing Knitting?

Effortless Cardigan  Quince & Co Tern Boothbay Blue

KnitBot Essentials by Hannah Fettig I fell down the Rabbit hole and cast on Sunday afternoon.

McHenry Hats

Reading: After finishing At Home I am ready for some fiction.  Lots of good suggestions on our Good Reads thread started by Choosejoy.

Listening to The Hunger Games.  Almost done!

Watching: Lilyhammer on Netflix Instant Watch. 

After he testifies against a Mafia boss, ex-gangster Frank Tagliano enters the witness protection program and asks to be sent to Norway. Despite the peaceful surroundings, it's not long before Frank strays from the straight and narrow.

An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.
Henry David Thoreau

Episode 86 Skyp Sock Wave

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 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 www.longaberger.com/paula

Pipeliner Notes

I share notes from Judiuni and Lasknits2.

Nature Notes

Garlic Mustard Day.  Take a few hours each year to pull up these plants on your property so you can keep it in control. 

Common Violet  Viola sororia sororia State Flower of Illinois since 1908 Possible host plant for a number of butterflies, especially fritillaries. Flowers are edible but have little flavor.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream  Act 2 Scene 1  William Shakespeare

I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine:
There sleeps Titania sometime of the night,
Lull'd in these flowers with dances and delight;
And there the snake throws her enamell'd skin,
Weed wide enough to wrap a fairy in:
And with the juice of this I'll streak her eyes,
And make her full of hateful fantasies.
Take thou some of it, and seek through this grove:
A sweet Athenian lady is in love
With a disdainful youth: anoint his eyes;
But do it when the next thing he espies
May be the lady: thou shalt know the man
By the Athenian garments he hath on.
Effect it with some care, that he may prove
More fond on her than she upon her love:
And look thou meet me ere the first cock crow.

Needle Notes

Main Needle Choices for Socks or other small items in the round:

1.      Double Points  4 or 5

2.      Very Short Circular 9 to 12”

3.      2 circulars, usually 24”

4.      One long circular also called Magic Loop, 32” or longer

Both of these somewhat dependent upon newer and more flexible cables than were available prior to 2000 or so.

Socks Soar on 2 Circular Needles by Cat Bordhi  2001

The Magic Loop by Bev Galeskas January 2002 

I attempted 2 at a time socks on Magic Loop.  Took Judiuni’s email to heart and divided up my Austermann Step into two equal balls of 21 g each.  What a mess!  Would work better with toe-up using Judy’s Magic Cast On.

KarenE1969 started the Simple Skyp Sock Wave at the Knitting Pipeline Retreat.  Thank you, Karen!  This is my new favorite sock pattern.

Simple Skyp Socks by Adrienne Ku   Written for sport weight but I didn’t realize that until today when I started on the show notes.  Stitch count seemed right for fingering weight and mine fit perfectly.

Cakewalk Yarns Stash  colorway Vernon  80/10/10

Reasons to Love Simple Skype Socks by Adrienne Ku

1.      6 + 2 rib is super stretchy so the sock fits well.

2.      Easy to memorize, only 2 rows and one is simple rib.  Skyp comes from the main stitch Slip one, knit 1 YO, PSSO

3.      Wonderful for variegated yarns.  Pop of color and texture. 

4.      Unisex-usually a YO in a man’s sock is the death knoll but it works here because of the pass over.

Piper’s Journey KAL

Welcome to newbies who are joining the KAL!

The Blethering Room

I tell the story of how a Snowy Owl was in our town for two days and I didn’t know about it.  Sigh.  Shed a few tears.

In the Pipeline

Lookbook KnitBot Essentials

KnitBot Essentials by Hannah Fettig

Print and e-Book $24

e-book only $20

Slipped Stitch Patterns

Interrupting Cow Socks by Laura Linnemann  $4.00 Ravelry Download

Blue Monday Set a free design by Thea Colman www.spudandchloe.com  Beewing linked to it on our board.  Hat and mitten pattern with stranded slip stitch colorwork. 

Lorna Miser Blue Ray Socks from The Knitter’s Guide to Hand-Dyed and Variegated Yarn.  

Skyp Ribbed Socks by Adrienne Ku

Claire by Adrienne Ku top down, unisex, ribbed  $5

If I like a free pattern by a designer then I try to purchase one of her patterns as a thank you.

Joy in the Congo.  60 minutes April 8, 2012   Amazing Story!

Book Notes

Sock Knitting Master Class: Innovative Techniques and Patterns from Top Designers by Ann Budd. 

17 designs by 15 designers so that is a great value even if you just consider the patterns in the book.  Although the font is a rather small I recommend this book if you enjoy sock knitting.  Font is a bit small.  Highly recommended.

Haste ye back!

Episode 85 Sock Songs

Listen here or use the Flash Player on this site for current and past episodes.  You can subscribe on iTunes!

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.

Thank you to everyone who left 5 star reviews on iTunes

Pipeliner Notes

Thanks for the feedback on last week’s show.  Several of you enjoyed the story that Lois sent in about Alexander McCall Smith.  Musings on the Slip Stitch brought in comments.  Karebot said she is going to honor the Slip Stitch in April.  That came off the cuff more or less in jest but in reality I have actually been appreciating slipped stitches more.  Funny thing.

Nature Notes

We’ve gone from very hot weather to much cooler, which I am enjoying.

A Eastern Phoebe, or pair of phoebes, is building a nest on our gutter outside the bedroom window.  Phoebes are in the flycatcher family so you will see them doing some gymnastics as they fly and catch insects.  They have a tail that bobs up and down.  Their call is a raspy and short Phoebe rather than the clear Phoebe or Sweetie of the Black capped chickadee.

May Apples and Sweet William are adding to the color of the woodland floor.  The Spring Beauties are still in full bloom and the leaves are really beginning to come out on the trees.  We are still hearing the spring peepers although they were quiet last night as the temperature was below 50 when we went to bed.  Fifty degrees seems to be the cut off point for the peeper song. 

Every spring is the only spring - a perpetual astonishment. ~~Ellis Peters

Needle Notes

Low Note: Proactive Star Toe Socks:  Pico Accuardi Dyeworks.  Accidental Felting despite not going into dryer. 

Plain Ol' Socks

Used Austermann Step with Aloe and Jojoba. Two knots in skein.  Great yardage.  A little on the thin side.

Listening back to an Episode and I heard myself say that I didn’t like having two pair of socks going at the same time.  Why?

Erin of MommyNeedsYarn No MoreTears for Autism Speaks.  Started project on March 23, Finished April 1, 2012.

BBknits Butter Pecan  Size 1 32” Harmony Needle

Learned:

1.      I will not collapse if I have more than one pair of socks in progress
2.      Magic Loop…getting into the groove. 
3.      Had a gutter where the loop came out.  First stitch on each needle was a purl stitch. See Episode 84 Cat Bordhi video with alternative way to purl.  At this point my head was beginning to spin but I decided to
4.      Cable without a needle.  Knittinghelp.com  (see below)
5.      Short Row Heel  First do a series of decreasing short rows with wrapped stitches and then a series of increasing short rows with wrapped stitches
6.      New way of concealing wraps  Cat Bordhi video

Cabling without a Cable Needle

Piper’s Journey KAL

Will probably unsticky the thread at the end of the month

Upcoming Pattern: Hyla Brook

Will use 2 skeins of Quince & Co Tern (wool/silk blend)

In the Pipeline

Knitting

McHenry by Susan B Anderson

Simple Skyp Socks by Adrienne Ku

Watching

The Fat Squirrel Speaks by Amy Beth.  Fantastic video cast!  Go watch it!

Reading

At Home by Bill Bryson

Listening

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Bird Decals from Duncraft 

Episode 84 Slip, An Unsung Hero

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 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

Pipeliner Notes

Carol asked how to distinguish yarn weights.  I talk about wraps per inch tool.  The best way is to do a gauge swatch.

I read a letter from LaLaLand

Nature Notes

Spring Beauty aka  Claytonica virginica  Closes up at night or on cloudy days.

Spring Beauty

Shepherd’s Purse is the flower/weed of the week.  Botanical: Capsella bursa-pastoris

The Flowers

 by Robert Louis Stevenson 

All the names I know from nurse:

Gardener's garters, Shepherd's purse,

Bachelor's buttons, Lady's smock,

And the Lady Hollyhock.

Fairy places, fairy things,

Fairy woods where the wild bee wings,

Tiny trees for tiny dames--

These must all be fairy names!

Tiny woods below whose boughs

Shady fairies weave a house;

Tiny tree-tops, rose or thyme,

Where the braver fairies climb!

Fair are grown-up people's trees,

But the fairest woods are these;

Where, if I were not so tall,

I should live for good and all.

My bench in the woods, surrounded by spring beauties and other fairy things.

 Needle Notes

Mystery Mittens for Me by Laura Linneman

Clever use of the slipped stitch...and that got me thinking about slipped stitches and how they are unsung heros.

Shetland wool fingering weight from Schoolhouse Press. 

Knit Stitch is like the good well behaved child.  Purl is rather like the black sheep of the family, in some circles anyway. The Slip Stitch is like the forgotten wall flower or perhaps the one we wouldn’t miss until it was gone.

I talk about some of the ways that the slip stitch, if it can be called a stitch at all, is used in knitting.

Edges, SSK and other decreases, colorwork patterns, texture patterns, slipped stitch heel flap, brioche, and mosaic knitting are some of the occasions when slipped stitches are essential.

Barbara Walker is probably the Queen of Slipped Stitches with her invention of Mosaic Knitting. I believe she is the inventor of it and certainly the mistress of it.  One piece is a tea cozy that is done in mosaic and then lined in red wool, a most effective way to keep a pot warm.

Faithful mosaic knitting tea cozy and faithful teapot.

It has at i-cord piping along the edge.

Inside lining is also mosaic knitting.

If you are doing stripes you can decide to slip a stitch at regular intervals and it looks a bit like stranded work.  On the next round, try purling your slipped stitch for a completely different effect.  It is fun to play around with color and slipped stitches.

The Blethering Room

Story about neglected wildflowers  Bastard Toadflax and Hoary Puccoon

In the Pipeline

Watching

Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables

Reading

Maisie Dobbs #3 and #4 Pardonable Lies and Messenger of Truth

Listening

Louise Penny Still Life

Knitting

Socks

Cardigan (in the planning stages)

Quince & Co Finch in Icelandic colorway. Waiting to become a sweater.

Quince & Co Tern in Boothbay Blue, a potential sweater for me.

Music

Lydia McCauley

Hawthorn from Quieting

www.magnatune.com

Haste ye back!

Episode 83 Captivating Cats

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

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 82 That Pesky Purl

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 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 www.longaberger.com/paula

BostenJen has a new podcast called Down Cellar StudioPodcast.

Erin, MommyNeedsYarn has video from the Knitting Pipeline Retreat on her show.  Episode 48 RetreatRecovery  Thank you, Erin! 

Pipeliner Notes

I read notes from Hybridgirl and Silverbell.

Bronwyn wrote on the group thread:

 I guess we’re all spun from the same sheep, knit from the same skein.

Nature Notes

80 degrees the past few days

Why a warm winter does not mean more insects in summer.

Spring Visitors:  Pileated Woodpecker

Franklin the Wild Turkey takes a few pecks at the window.

The peepers are back!

Flocks of blackbirds

Every day that is born into the world comes like a burst of music and rings the whole day through, and you make of it a dance, a dirge, or a life march, as you will.
Thomas Carlyle

Needle Notes

SpinunLady wrote about the Purl Stitch being larger, a question Charr posed last week.

Ysolda Teague Little Red in the City

The Principles of Knitting by June Hemmons Hiatt

The Principles of Private Detection by Clovis Andersen in Alexander McCall Smith’s #1 Ladies Detective Agency.  I read a short passage from Blue Shoes and Happiness.

Piper’s Journey KAL

Warm enough in March to sit on the deck and knit!

In The Pipeline

Listening this week:

CaithnessCraft Collective, Fiber Beat, Knit Knit Café, Knitting Brooklyn, Positively Overcommitted, and A Playful Day.   Thanks to A Playful Day for a mentioning Knitting Pipeline on her show.

Knitting:

Socks.  Austermannwool Step Classic had two knots, both of which landed on the heel and heel flap!

Hyla Brook final sample for Quince and Co.

Cardigan for me?   NantucketJacket by Norah Gaughn

 Paulie by Isabelle Kraemer 

The Lady Edith by Carrie Steinmetz

Susan B Anderson toys  McHenry and Fat Robin

Watching

Watched Anatomy of Knitting.  Erin is either switching to video or doing both.

Lie to Me  Tim Roth and Kelli Williams  

The Good Wife

Project Runway All Stars

Owl Cam: The Hidden World.  Ward and June Barred Owls.   2 hours.  Ward is getting frustrated, is worried,   Learned:  some owls are a lot busier during the day than you might think. 

The Blethering Room

A Visitor surprised me when I was playing my pipes by the creek.

In The Piping Circle

St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow!  I will tweet.

Music

Dutch Pipes and Drums

In Concert

Haste ye back!