The best knitting podcasts for when you can't knit

One of my favorite projects from last fall - The Cozy Canuck Chullo.

For the past year and a half my knitting (and spinning) has decreased.... I do continue to make what time in my day I can for a little bit, but a little something called "breastfeeding the baby" has made using my hands a little more challenging. However, being a fiber lover is something that you can't just ignore, so when I find myself holding my sweet boy and unable to knit I have been enjoying a few fabulous podcasts about my favorite topics!

Video Podcasts

Snappy Stitches - This is Chrissie, she has two babies. She spins, and knits, and cooks enough to put the rest of us normal humans to shame. She is also amazingly sweet and has the most amazing eye for color and pattern! I really wish I could go yarn shopping with her.

Round the Twist with Carin - Carin. She also has two babies toddlers - and they are twins! She knits what she wants to. I like that. She has also almost sold me on the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery... almost.

Skeins and School - Deanna is new to podcasting, but she is not new to homeschooling. This is a delightful mix of knitting and teaching!

The Passioknit Spinner - I JUST found Theresia. She has the longest Ravelry handle ever - and she is a wiz at spinning. The episode tutorial about how to combine different braids of fiber in order to have a sweater quantity is genius.

Audio Podcasts

Curious Handmade - First of all, Helen has a lovely accent, secondly, in January she encouraged us all to "love the yarn you've got". What's not to love?

Your Morning Basket - No knitting here - but some amazing insight into choosing to make time for the most important little bits of your homeschool right away so that they don't get lost in the general chaos of life. Every episode has a guest and a specific topic to help you add Truth, Goodness, and Beauty to your homeschool day.

 What podcasts do you always make time for?

Ravellenic Games 2014

Tonight is the night!

I've been carding wool, and tuning up my spinning wheel in preparation for the Ravellenic Games.



This year I will be spinning (and then knitting!) approximately seven ounces of brown Corriedale wool from the fleece that I purchased last summer at the Iowa State Fair.



Participating in the games is a low key and friendly opportunity to set yourself a goal and then accomplish it during the course of the Olympic Games. I am on team Daybreak Dyeworks and team Coconut Two-Sters. The teams are mainly a place to discuss what you are working on and cheer for each other.

Last time I participated, the Summer Games I knit these Blomst mittens, my first colorwork project!



Are you participating?

Rainy Day Blues and Grays

Super Bowl Sunday... to many around the US that means a great opportunity to knit and spin for HOURS. Today is also cold and sleeting, so even more reason to stay warm and snuggled up on the couch with some yarn and needles.



I am spinning, blue and gray... chosen at the DFW Fiber Fest last spring for my husband. It is from Butterfly Girl Designs, and is 100% Ashland Bay Multicolored Merino Top in the Granite colorway.

His birthday is coming up soon... so better get busy. Especially since the socks I am knitting him are nowhere close to being done. They are just not working out, and I am so tempted to rip back and try something different. Except, there is no time! argh!



The main reason is I am running short of the main yarn color, and should have thought to knit the toe in the complimentary color in the first place... but I didn't. When projects get like this, I just don't want to work on them... and that is not good when you have a deadline. So, I guess I am feeling a little blue and gray today.

So I will spin instead, and maybe he will get a hat for his birthday.

Back to the Blog

Hi.

It is February 1st and I really haven't "blogged" in a while, but that's ok. It happens.

We have been enjoying, and sometimes not enjoying, the ups and downs of the North Texas winter. 70's one day and 30's the next will drive anyone's nose to drip at an alarming rate. We have chickens. We love them. Really, they are awesome and you should get some too.




Our girls love them. And they lay eggs... giant eggs. Did I mention that the girls love them?




We made cards for Thanksgiving.



I spun some yarn... dyed by the lovely Dawn of Daybreak Dyeworks.



The girls colored pictures of chickens.




I spun some more.... Daybreak :)



And I bought some fiber... from Daybreak Dyeworks!



I cut up a quilt.



The girls busted out their water colors.

And I spun more Daybreak - surprise!



I washed a fleece.



Crocheted one of these crazy hats.





Made Helen cry by trying to take a picture of her new sweater... a Bulle.



And some other stuff... including...

Starting to read a couple books.

The Mission of Motherhood: Touching Your Child's Heart of Eternity by Sally Clarkson

and 

Our Lady of Fatima by William T. Walsh

Ordering a bunch of seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, so that we can pretend to be real farmers.

I also roasted a pretty darn good chicken last week (from the store, not the backyard)!

That is about it, welcome February!

The Handspun Cowl

Every time I knit with my handspun yarn I think - wow. I love knitting with handspun. It is so fresh! so new! every yarn is unique!



Right now I am working on a simple diagonal rib cowl out of my Daybreak Dyeworks Tour de Fleece Team Braid. Remember this?



It is knitting up like this!



I love the diagonal rib pattern, it adds a little movement to the cowl. I am also looking forward to seeing the color changes as I knit! Did I mention that handspun is SO FUN?!



Daybreak Dyeworks is hosting a "Back to School Handspun KAL" and the Must Stash Podcast is also hosting a handspun KAL right now... time to knit the handspun :)

Happy Knitting!

A Little Handspun

Yesterday I completed my Daybreak Dyeworks Eggplant on BFL. It is so soft! 4 oz, 299 yards, 2 ply. It is more purple than the photo shows. Love this.



Next up for spinning? Learning to Navajo Ply.

Spinning and Dreaming

Spinning is a great time to just sit and dream. The other day I moved my wheel outdoors to watch the girls play and chase frogs. I can't believe we are having this cool weather in August... I just have to be outside!

The fiber above is Daybreak Dyeworks in Eggplant on BFL. It is a part of Dawn's Farmer's Market Series. Just lovely... a perfect dreaming fiber.



All this outside time must be going to my head because I am thinking about taking another crack at gardening (a hobby I love but feel I am not quite right for!). And, we are researching chickens! The girls are thrilled about all the visits to baby chicks and backyard chickens as we gather knowledge from our friends who already care for flocks of their own. Helen keeps telling me we need to hurry and build our chicken house, and she is right! Let's do this before we wimp out!

Multnomah for Lavinia

From the start....

Beautiful Into the Whirled Superwash Merino in the Lavinia Colorway, a spin a long with Knitabulls podcast.













To the finish...


Multnomah

Stash Dash, Tour de Fleece, and other stuff.

I like the knitting community. I like talking about knitting, reading about knitting, listening about knitting, participating in group knitting. I like it. a lot.

I don't usually talk about "what's going on" that I am a part of, but right now is an exciting time in the world of knitting so here is what I am up to....

1. Stash Dash

This is with the Knit Girllls. They are pretty awesome and one of the first major "knitting podcasts" that really went wild. Every summer they host "Stash Dash". It is a challenge to finish projects and use up stash yarn and fiber. The goal this year is to knit/spin/crochet four kilometers of yarn! That is 4,375 yards! I have already spun/knit 1,354! I like this challenge because you can work on any project you want, and if you finish an old work in progress you get to count all the yardage! And, there are prizes - I like prizes!

2. June Sweater KAL/ Must Stash Sweater KAL

There are always different KALs (Knit-Alongs) going on out there and usually they line up nicely with things I am already doing. The Knit Girllls are also hosting an "adult sized" sweater KAL for the month of June - hence why I am knitting away on my caramel sweater. The Must Stash podcast is also having a sweater KAL... so I get to double dip!


Still the old photo! 1.5 sleeves left to knit!

3. Tour de Fleece

This one is REALLY exciting. Now that I am spinning I am really looking forward to the Tour de France and the opportunity to "Spin Along" at home! You make personal goals, join teams, and enter your finished spun yarns in prize drawings... and you know I love prizes :) You can read all about it in the Tour de Fleece Ravelry group.

I am super excited to be joining my friend Dawn on her Daybreak Dyeworks team and spin up the fabulous team braid!


"Neon & Neutral" by Dawn of Daybreak Dyeworks

4. Curious Collective Shawl

I have also been enjoying this fun little project... Helen Stewart of Curious Handmade is holding weekly voting on her blog for a Curious Collective Shawl Project. We all get a vote on each aspect of the shawl and I can't wait to see (and knit!) the final design. Now I just need to get my hands on some Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine...

5. My Other Groups...

I am a part of several wonderful Ravelry groups! I love getting to know other knitters (and spinners) and having the chance to do projects along with them. One group is busy knitting baby blankets for new arrivals... and I volunteered to seam one this summer. It is so pretty - I can't wait to show you the final result!

Also, my buddies in the Knit While They Nap group will be having a Christmas in July knitting celebration... we are all pulling out our new (and unfinished from last year!) knitting projects to work on in July and cheer each other on. I am looking forward to knitting some ornaments for our Christmas tree and maybe finish poor Clare's Christmas stocking!



If you are a mom with little ones (and you knit/crochet/spin - a little!) you need to join this group. These are wonderful and supportive ladies and when you have kids you need a creative outlet and a support group! We would love to welcome you (and did I say there were prizes? lol).

Happy knitting and spinning!

The Non-Expert's Guide to Learning to Spin: Part 1 - Start Small

I am no expert when it comes to spinning. I am self taught and have been spinning only since February of this year. But, in the few months that I have been spinning, I have been considering what advice I would give others who want to learn to spin.

My first handspun, Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Roving

Part 1: Start Small

There are many advantages to starting your spinning journey with a drop spindle and not a wheel.

1. Most obvious is that it is a much smaller investment and if you end up realizing you are not a spinner you are not out much of your yarn budget.

Knit Picks Turkish Spindle, bottom whirl setting, Daybreak Dyeworks fiber.

I chose a Knit Picks Turkish spindle. It was easy to drop in my Knit Picks cart, free shipping, and they are on sale right now!

2. It's portable. This is one of the reasons many of us love knitting, and if you start spinning stuck in a chair behind a wheel it might not feel natural to you. You can drop spindle sitting, standing, and walking around the yard! I have even drop spindled in the car :)

3. It's slower. This may not seem like an advantage at first, especially to those of you who want finished handspun yarn in your hands RIGHT NOW, but the fact that drop spindling is naturally slower than using a wheel will give you the time you need to learn to DRAFT your fiber. Drafting is one of the most challenging parts of learning to spin and when you feel like the wheel is just yanking the fiber from your hands (don't ask how I know!) you will appreciate that you are in control of your spindle to focus on the drafting process.

Second Handspun, with center pull ball of single

4. You can produce beautiful yarn from start to finish. You can not only use your drop spindle to spin, but you can also use it to ply. You don't need a Lazy Kate or any other special spinning tools to complete the process. The Turkish style spindle is nice because it automatically puts your yarn into a center pull ball you can use for plying. I let my husband hold two of these balls for me while I plied them together... and when he wasn't available I stuck them in the side pockets of my knitting bag while I plied - worked great!



5. You will fall in love with spinning. Or, at least I did :)

My first knitted object from drop spindled handspun, Hogg Wild Fibers.

More commentary from the non-expert to come! Happy Spinning!

Knitting Socks like crazy.

Last night I completed my Hermione's Everyday Socks - because Hermione is practical like that.



Clare wanted to help me photograph them this morning.



I made these as a part of the Knitting in Circles Podcast March Pop Culture Madness Knit Along (that is a mouthful). But, I have wanted to knit this pattern since I first saw it back in 2009. Luckily, I think I have enough yarn left over to make myself another pair as my mother claimed these as her own.

In other news, I am waiting patiently (and Helen is waiting impatiently) for the arrival of our "Snow White" Merino wool that I will be spinning in April. That will be a "Spin Along" with my new favorite dyer Hogg Wild Fibers. You should like her on facebook! She is just about to dye up her first batch of sock yarn!!

This is the last week to get Disney Princess inspired fiber (or Disney Fairy!) for the April SAL, and you can even get her to pre-spin it for you to knit or crochet with if you are not a spinner. This is such a fun chance to include Helen in my hobby, I couldn't resist! Hurry to the Hogg Wild Fiber Etsy shop if you want some too!