Episodes
Thursday Aug 24, 2017
Episode 20 - There Are No Knitting Police
Thursday Aug 24, 2017
Thursday Aug 24, 2017
Episode 20 – 8/23/17
There might not be a show next week – it’s Thing 1’s last week before Kindergarten starts so we’re planning lots of fun stuff to end the summer. But I’ll definitely be back the following week.
FOs
Empire Top by Lily Go in discontinued bamboo/cotton blend, Picoboo by Frogtree
Wips
Triyang Shawl by Le Meredith in Yumbrel Araucania
Hitchhiker for my MIL in Kinu by Ito yarns, 100% silk
Cast on Second Grace by Bristol Ivy (first Bristol Ivy pattern) using Berroco Modern Cotton, then ripped it out to go down a needle size for the ribbing, and started casting it on again. I’m about half way through a cast on.
Wearables
Thoughts by Joji Locatelli on Araucania Yumbrel, a discontinued cotton lace-weight yarn
Today’s Discussion: There are No Knitting Police
Some people are really hesitant to change something and are fearful that they are doing it “wrong” but I want to assure you there are no knitting police. When you’re knitting from a pattern you do NOT have to do it exactly as written, you do NOT have to use the same yarn. Do you have a long torso? Add some extra rows. Short torso? Feel free to skip a few. Do you like your bum covered but the pattern doesn’t seem to work well in that area? Add some short rows in the back to cover your derriere. Love the body of the sweater but hate the sleeves? That’s fine, you could find a new pattern or just knit them in stockinette. Switch up the yarns (I’ll be doing a whole podcast on this in a future episode). My point is, once you purchase a pattern, it’s yours to alter as you please for your own sweater. I am NOT saying you should tweak the pattern and publish it – that’s a copyright violation. But tweak the pattern to fit your body and your knitting style. Here’s an example – I hate inserting sleeves after the fact, I can never get them to line up properly. So I don’t. I look at the sleeve pattern, reverse the pattern, then pick up and knit stitches around the arm hole and work all my sleeves that way, no matter what the pattern says.
On the Run
I’ve been running the past few weeks but haven’t mentioned it because the knitting segments have been running long. But this is the “Knitting On The Run” podcast after all so it’s time to get back on track. I’ve been injured basically since right after this podcast started, so over the next few weeks I want to talk about some injury issues and injury prevention. Even if you don’t run you might learn something that could help you, particularly if you’re dealing with chronic pain in your knees or hips for example.
First off – disclosure, I am not a medical professional. I am only someone who has gotten injured a lot and has had to learn a lot the hard way. If you are in pain, please consult a doctor or specialist.
That being said, today let’s talk quickly about body mechanics and injuries. When you’re running you are putting stress on your body, particularly your lower body. That’s a good thing, it keeps you in shape and your body is designed to move, not sit. You run into problems (and injuries) when something is off. If you have a mechanical issue, say in your foot or hips, the rest of your lower body, aka kinetic chain has to compensate. (linking to the American Academy or Orthopedic Surgeons to learn more). Over time the muscles, tendons and ligaments doing the compensating have too much stress on them and that’s where you get an injury. So the CAUSE of your injury isn’t necessarily where your injury APPEARS. That is why cross training and strength training is soooo important – you use your muscles different ways and strengthen the weak muscles.
Real world example – hip flexors (group of muscles/tendons/etc in front of your hips that you use to lift your legs. If they are really tight then they pull on your hamstrings so your hamstrings are always stretched and rarely relax. You’ll eventually end up with a pulled hamstring, but the cause isn’t the hamstring, it’s the hip flexors. Your hamstring is where the kinetic chain broke down
Wednesday Aug 16, 2017
Episode 19- Try it On
Wednesday Aug 16, 2017
Wednesday Aug 16, 2017
Episode 19 - /16/17
It’s nice to be back. Thanks for your patience with my 2-week hiatus. I was only expecting to be away 1 week but sometimes life gets in the way.
This weeks segments include FOs, Wips, Wearables, an extended Pattern Stalking segment in which we’ll discuss finding patterns that fit you, and On the Road as always this will be in 30 minutes or less. Warning, there’s also a brief history lesson on what an Acadian actually is.
FOs
I have 2!
2nd Hamilknit Hat by Emily of the Knitting Butterflies podcast
Purple Hitchhiker by Martina Behm
Wips
Pink silk hitchhiker by Martina Behm (strichmick) for MiL for Christmas
Empire Top by Lily Go for me, out of discontinued cotton/bamboo blend Picoboo by Frogtree Yarns – need to finish it by the 20th for Stash Dash! Only 1 sleeve to go, I can do this
Triyang Shawl by Lee Meredith – haven’t done much on this, but I have done some and as the Knitmore’s say if I work on more than 1 stitch it gets listed here.
Wearables
Thoughts by Joji Locatelli made in Araucania’s Yumbrel
Mommy’s Tunic in Juniper Moon Farm’s Neve
Stash
Birdie’s Knits Gradient Kit in colorway Denim for Days, pretty much every shade of bluejeans you can imagine, 400 yards total, 8 skeins of 50 yards each
Try it On Room at SSK – what I learned/Pattern Stalking
Preface by saying every pattern I mention is linked in the show notes
I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but I learned this by trying on over a dozen hand-knit sweaters: What your eye likes may not be what fits you best. Let me repeat – WHAT YOUR EYE LIKES MAY NOT BE WHAT FITS YOU BEST
For example, the Hitofude cardigan emphasizes your bust. It looks great on everyone with average busts, no matter what size your waist or hips because the unusual shape hides those to some degree. But if you have a large bust it’s like wearing a highlighter saying “look at my boobs”.
Another popular top was Breathing Space – it looked great on lots of body shape, BUT, where the horizontal lines fell on your bust really changed the appearance. Bustier women liked it better having the diagaonal lines start as written, at the bust line, because it de-emphasized a large chest. Small/medium size busted women liked it to fall below the bust because the horizontal stripes helped balance their bust with their hips.
Ann Budd’s skirt – never thought I’d want a knitted skirt, but the four sizes she brought looked good on everyone. And I mean EVERYONE, from the skinniest to the widest person the A-line cur flattered every single body shape I saw try it on
Secret Garden Tank by Melissa Wehrle – the hidden lace panel at the back gives it a very flattering A-line
Hitofude by Hiroko Fukatsu – want to knit this again after losing my first at an airport last year :(
Vitamin D Cardigan - by Heidi Kirrmaier similar shape to Hitofude but hangs a little more straight up and down so you don’t get the bob-highlighting effect quite as much
Hoodie Shawl Cardigan – Susanne Sommer – way more colors than I normally wear in one garment, but it looked great on me so maybe it’s time to branch out in my color choices
Alice in Wonderland by Justyna Lorkowska – more fitted than I normally wear in a knitted garment but I was surprised how good it looked on me
Dark and Stormy by Thea Coleman - I usually avoide shawl collars, but this one looked good on a lot of people with a lot of body shapes
On the Road
Spent a week in Nova Scotia, Canada visiting cousins. So nice, we hadn’t been back in nearly 3 years. Also, you need to visit Le Village Historique Acadien. In addition to great family history (for me, at least) there’s great examples of knitting and spinning from around the year 1900 and the food is AMAZING.
I’m still wondering where that tradition went because I have no memories of my grandmere doing any knitting beyond functional knitting, such as dishcloths. Quilting, on the other hand, has a beautiful and celebrated history in the area and local quilt displays are a definite must-see!
Warning, there’s also a brief history lesson on what an Acadian actually is. Here's a graphic of the Acadian Expulsion that I mentioned from the brand-new memorial, which shows where the Acadians were shipped off to.