Episodes
Friday Apr 05, 2019
61 - Lots of Updates
Friday Apr 05, 2019
Friday Apr 05, 2019
Episode 61- Lots of Updates
New Mic
Hopefully this setup works! No more car recording if I can help it.
New Pattern
Strawberry Blossoms, a sleeveless tank top with cabled straps. Sign up for my email list at WindsweptKnits.com to get the best discount code.
Be A Helper Prizes
Listen for your name! A big thank you to everyone who participated and congratulations to the winners.
FOs
- 4 preemie hats, all 4 using fingering weight held double. 12 complete!
- New shawl pattern sample
Wips
- Another new shawl pattern inspired by grandmere’s village (heading to visit this summer)
- Preemie hat held single
- Preemie hat held double
- Silk lace cowl
Wearables
All the shawls – Rhinebeck, murder mystery knit along, tan house brook, changing staircases,
Out and About
Not sure if I can make these, but will try to attend some of them.
- CT sheep and wool April 27 Vernon, CT
- Sheepshearing festival, Gore Place, April 27th, Waltham, MA
- NH SHeel & Wool May 11-12
- Wool Days, Old Sturbridge Village, May 25-27
- MA sheep and woolcraft fair, May 25 Cummington, MA
- September – Into the Wool Fiber Retreat in Tennessee
On the run
Back pain. PT. Ouch.
Monday Mar 18, 2019
60 - On The Mend (fixed)
Monday Mar 18, 2019
Monday Mar 18, 2019
Episode 60 – Thank yous, FO, Wips, Wearables, Out and About, On the Run, Fitness Talk, Knitting Talk
Apologies for sound – laptop died. Recording this on travel mic in my car. Need to get an amp to get my mic to work with old laptop. Hopefully I’ll have it all sorted before next recording.
Thank yous
Thanks for bearing with me during this last delay. Turns out the antibiotics did not get rid of strep throat, I was sick again a week after they ended and back at the doctor to get something stronger. Feeling better now!
Big thank you to my test knitters! I have one test knit winding up in the next few weeks, with pattern ready to release in early April and I’ve lucked into some amazing test knitters this time. You ladies are wonderful! Also, if you have any interest in summer knit tops, I have 2 coming out in the next 2 months, so be sure to visit WindsweptKnits.com and join my email list for access to the best discount codes. I promise to only email once or twice a month at most and to never, ever share your data with a 3rd party. No spam, no selling your data, I promise. That’s a personal pet peeve of mine.
FO
Rhinebeck Shawl – Changing Staircases pattern by Dragon Hoard Yarns knit up in bamboo/cotton fingering yarn from Great Adirondach Yarn Co
Wips
2 preemie hats, 1 held single, 1 held double
2 new patterns, a shawl and a cowl
Wearables
All the shawls – Rhinebeck, murder mystery knit along, tan house brook, changing staircases,
Sweaters - Frosted, Second Grace
Boys wearing star wars adaptation of Nordic Yoke pullover from Patons, Thing 2 grew into Thing 1’s Monomoy Sweater, still fits in an ancient sweater I knit for Thing 1, pattern no longer exists, I forget the name.
Pattern Stalking
Ice Time Hat and Cowl set from Jennifer Lassonde of Down Cellar Studio. Full disclosure – Jen gifted them to me for free, but I’d seen her photos and loved this hat even before she sent it to me.
Knitting Talk
Fiber allergies.
Out and About
- Wayland Farm and Fiber, met Boston Jen again. Wearing her Tan House Brooke shawl!
- CT sheep and wool April 27 Vernon, CT – not sure if I can make it
- Sheepshearing festival, Gore Place, April 27th, Waltham, MA
- NH SHeel & Wool May 11-12
- Wool Days, Old Sturbridge Village, May 25-27
- MA sheep and woolcraft fair, May 25 Cummington, MA
On the Run
Actually ran! Well, run-walk-run 1 mile Jeff Galloway-style, when the pool closed suddenly on Monday. Swam 20 laps Wednesday, a new record for me .55 miles (.88km)
Fitness Talk
Tennis ball used like a foam roller on deep/fleshy muscles
Friday Dec 28, 2018
55-Live from Florida with a Special Guest
Friday Dec 28, 2018
Friday Dec 28, 2018
After a conversation with a certain special someone at breakfast yesterday, we decided to record a quick episode live from my parent’s house with him as a very special guest.
Apologies for the sound quality, we recorded on a lanai and I don’t have all my regular software here to edit, but this opportunity was too good to pass up 😍
Monday Dec 17, 2018
54- Be A Helper Craft-a-long 3
Monday Dec 17, 2018
Monday Dec 17, 2018
Episode 54 – 12/5/18 Knittin & Running in 30 min or less I am WindsweptMonique and today’s segments include: Be A Helper KAL, FOs, Wips, Pattern Stalking, Wearables, On the Run and Running Talk about wearable fitness trackers and accuracy.
Be A Helper KAL
Started on December 5th but I didn’t record last week because Christmas shopping (had to buy all presents by last Saturday – long story) and laryngitis. If you finished a WIP for charity on or after December 5th go ahead and enter it.
- Any thing made for any charity – not just ravelry crafts
- Donate blood
- Wips count
- FO Thread is here
Prizes
- Free pattern from Jennifer Lassonde of Downcellar Studios
- 1 skein Cascade 220 in an orangey peach color from an anonymous donor and a mini skein of merino – thank you very much, donor!
- I’m offering up 1 skein of Shibui Reed
FOs
Kippah made from handspun cotton from Hipstrings, in the Break Of Day colorway, blues and orange using the To Life pattern by Sarah Jordan, aka PAKnitWit
Wips
Tan House Brooke Shawl by Jennifer Lassonde of Down Cellar Studio in my most recent handspun, Midseason Cliffhanger and Recurrent Theme cotton slivers, from fiber from Hipstrings
Icon Dress by Kari-Helene Rane in some very old stash that I want to get rid of. Reached 6th set of decreases in Front of dress
New hat for Thing 2 (not xmas gift) – in Valley Yarn’s Southwick. I’m using the green as the contrast ribbed brim, then the purple that Thing 2 chose as the body of the hat. No pattern, just knitting to his head size. Folded brim so it will grow with him. About 3/4 way through folded ribbing
Find Your Fade shawl. I’m on section , the 2nd lace section and still in color #1, the raspberry-dyed handspun cotton that I’ve mentioned in past episodes
New socks, these are an un-Christmas gift that I will mail to Maura in January. I’m knitting these up in CoBaSi, which is a cotton, bamboo, silk, nylon blend that is super stretchy and breathes beautifully on sweaty feet. The toes, cuffs and heels are a blue/gray blend called Wave Caps, and the foot and leg in a gray named Seattle Sky.
Pattern Stalking
I bought 4 patterns during the Indie Designers Gift-a-long sale:
Tan House Brooke, mentioned above by Jennifer Lassonde
Willowbrooke shawl by Brenda Castiel
Heroes of Yarnia RPG Scarf from last year’s MKAL by Tania Richter
Harry Potter and the Strange Persistent Font by Mary Annarella
Wearables
Twist and Shout cabled hat by Michelle DuNaier
Frosted sweater by Paper Daisy Creations
Changing Staircases by Dragon Hoard Designs in Fiber Lady’s Mousou bamboo
Dahlia by Brenda York for Berocco Yarns
On The Run
I’ve run a few times in the last 2 weeks. I’ve also gone for a few swims and boy do I need a swimming cap! Last time I went swimming it was 25F out (-4C) and that is just too cold to have soaking wet, long hair.
Running Talk – Fitbits and other trackers
On my last episode I mentioned that I like having a fitbit because it keeps me honest and a listener, Marie, wrote in saying she’d heard that the data isn’t accurate and wanted to know how I used it.
Thanks very much for writing in Marie. If you have a question about fitness, running, knitting, patterns, GALs or anything else feel free to write in. You can reach on Ravelery or Instagram as WIndsweptMonique or email me at WindsweptMonique@gmail.com. My website is windsweptknits.com and you can find this podcast and shownotes there as well as all my designs and a few other fun projects I’ve worked on, like how to make the R2-D2 sweater I knit for my son last year.
Thursday Nov 29, 2018
53-Indie GAL 2018
Thursday Nov 29, 2018
Thursday Nov 29, 2018
Episode 53 – 11/29/18 – Indie Gift-a-long Wips
FOs, Wips – lots, Knitting Fail, Spinning, Knitting Talk, Wearables, On the Run, Out and About
FOs
Mom’s Christmas socks – both are done; Plymouth Yarn Diversity in Deep Sea
Thing 2’s Christmas socks – both are done; Plymouth Yarn Diversity in Pizazz
Wips
Icon Dress by Kari-Helene Rane in some very old stash that I want to get rid of.
New hat for Thing 2 (not xmas gift) – in Valley Yarn’s Southwick that he chose while we were on holiday in Bermuda.
Find Your Fade shawl. I’m on section 3, the 2nd garter section and still in color #1, the raspberry-dyed handspun cotton that I’ve mentioned in past episodes
Changing Staircases shawl in 50/50 cotton/bamboo blend from Great Adirondack Yarn in the Hydrangea colorway blue, turquoise and purple
1 handspun kippah, yarn from Hipstrings Cotton Club in some beautiful handspun yarn made with fiber dyed in Pittsburgh. Pattern is To Life by Sarah Jordan (all proceeds to Tree of Life Synagogue).
Spinning
I finished spinning the Midseason Replacement and Recurrent Theme, both 2oz cotton sliver from Hipstrings. Roughly 400 yards total together and they’ll be paired beautifully in a shawl, I expect.
Started spinning new fiber
Knitting Talk
I was able to take some time to get back into design work this week and it felt sooooo good. Garment design is my favorite, and I am working on 2 new patterns. But I’m also trying to branch out and design some accessories that I want to wear. This is all long term, likely coming in 2019 or beyond, but I am really excited by the what’s coming on the horizon!
Down Cellar Studio Pigskin Party
Knitmore’s Grinchalong
Indie Designer Gift-a-long sale ends Nov 29 at 11:59opm Eastern
Be A Helper 3 will run from December 3 to February 15th
Wearables
Oh so many!
Pattern Stalking
Harry Potter and the Strange Persistent Font by Mary Annarella
Don’t Panic by Nim Teasdale (nimble knits)
Willowbrook Shawl by Brenda Castiel – use my handspun
Heroes of Yarnia RPG scarf with draogns and castles that my son would adore, could be done in double knitting or stranded colorwork
On the Run
Until yesterday I hadn’t done a blasted thing since I last recorded. I lost my fitbit about a month ago and I’ve been a lazy bum ever since.
Out and About
December 1st - Norwood Adult Day Health Center, a community VNA
December 8th, 31st Framingham Auxilliary Police Fair, my 4th or 5th time there
Thursday Oct 11, 2018
48 - When Dragons Attack
Thursday Oct 11, 2018
Thursday Oct 11, 2018
Episode 48 – 10/9/18 - When Dragons Attack
Thanks for listening!
Segments this week include FOs, Wips, Knitting Fail, Pattern Stalking, On the Run and the wrap up of our Be A Helper craft a long!
FOs
3 doll sweaters from my Super Simple Fuzzy Sweater pattern, all knit in Plymouth Yarn’s Adore in red, orange, and a green and gray multi-colored yarn
What I’m now calling my Hamilton Socks, 52-st socks in Plymouth Yarn’s Diversity in the Deep Sea colorway
Wips
Another doll sweater, this one in pink
Dancing Dragons Coat by Heike Campbell in Be Sweet Yarn’s Bamboo in the Sea Green colorway, a malachite-green, but a little lighter than true malachite. About 50% done but…
Knitting Fail
Dancing Dragons Coat – I realized I was going to run out of yarn!!
Wearables
Empire Top by Lily Go – wore this to Hamilton
I wore my Changing Staircases shawl several times, knit up in Fibre Lady’s Mousou Bamboo
Mommy’s Tunic, a pattern I designed a few years back – short sleeve A-line tunic with a cabled band under the bust. This one is knit up in Juniper Moon Farm’s Neve in a lovely shade of cobalt blue
Dahlia – the colorwork shawl I knit this summer has been worn at least once
Linen Butterflies – I wore the short sleeve version of this this morning over a tank top before the heat arrived, which I knit in Euroflax Sport 100% linen in their Straw colorway, is a lovely shade of gold, over a tank top one warm day.
Pattern Stalking
Over the past few weeks I’ve realized how many red long-sleeved shirts and sweaters I have, but none of my shawls go with red. I really need to knit a grey, or black, or even royal blue shawl to go with them. There’s a gradient cake yarn I’ve been eyeing a year or so that goes from black, through many shades of gray, to white. If you have a shawl suggestion that would look good in grey gradients I would love to hear about it!
On The Run
Had a great few runs these last few weeks, including a 2.5 miler a week ago. My knee was a little cranky after that last one, but it felt good at the time. I’ve got a 5k fundraiser race for my son’s school coming up this weekend. First whole-family race
- Toddler running in Tot Trot
- 1st-grader and husband running 1-miler
- I’m running 5k
Be A Helper Craft A Long wrap-up
A huge thank-you to everyone who participated! I have 3 prizes to award and all 3 need to be mailed. If you hear your name, please contact me with your mailing address. You can reach me at windsweptmonique@gmail.com, or as WindsweptMonique both on Ravelry and on Instagram.
Friday Apr 13, 2018
Episode 36 - Work Your Glutes
Friday Apr 13, 2018
Friday Apr 13, 2018
Episode 36 – 4/12/18 – Knitting and Running in 30 minutes or less
WindsweptMonique on Ravelry and Instagram, windsweptmonique@gmail.com. Visit my new website at WindsweptKnits.com and stream the podcast or read shownotes.
Thanks so much for listening! There are 1000’s of podcasts for you to choose from and I am you take time out of your busy life to listen to mine.
Segments this week include FOs, Wips, Pattern Stalking, Training Update and Running Talk
FO
Hitchhiker knit out of Makimo by Fiberlady in the Scrumptious Berries colorway – goes from raspberry pink to blackberry purple. 100% bamboo. I love it. I love having my own hitchhiker. I’ve worn it several times already because it’s still unseasonably cold here in New England (though theoretically that will change in the next few days!)
Wips
Changing Staircases - pattern by Jenga Knits – Mousou by Fiberlady in the Plum colorway, light to mid-tone purples in laceweight bamboo base. I am about 40% done and I really like it. It’s a little more brain power than a Hitchhiker, but also has more visual interest. It’s still simple enough to knit at karate, swimming, soccer, etc.
52-st sock – this is my current car knitting so I’m slowly chugging away at it. I’m knitting it in 2 shades of CoBaSi by Hikoo, a sock yarn made of cotton, bamboo, silk and nylon. KNitting this in leftover Raspberry and a skein of Slated, a gray variegated yarn.
Wearables
It’s still cold. Thing 1 has worn his Star Wars Sweater twice more this last week and Thing 2 has worn a very old sweater I knit for Thing 1 in the years I didn’t document much on Ravelry. It was a free pattern from Sirdar but I can’t find it online anymore! I’ve worn my Maris Stella shawl and my new Hitchhiker a few times, too.
Pattern Stalking
Tisane by Maria Olson – a spring/summer coat with ¾ length sleeves cardigan/coat that buttons in front of the bust and lays open below it. The upper portion is stockinette and the lower non-buttoned section is a lovely lace pattern.
Training Update
Still swimming as cross training and it is finally getting easier! Last week I swam 150 yards and today I did 250! I won’t say it’s easy, per se, as my freestyle is still abysmal and I find it quite challenging. I swim freestyle in one direction, then swim the breaststroke back, which for me is an easy stroke.
Running Talk
Let’s talk butts. Rear Ends. Glutes. Your gluteus muscles are some of the most important muscles for walking and running but in so many of us they don’t work the way they’re supposed to. Thanks so our modern sedentary lifestyles and office jobs, many of our pelvises tilt too far forward and our butts don’t actually engage when they are meant to, leaving other muscle groups to take over the load. I’m definitely guilty of this, and of not realizing it, and I ended up with two badly sprained hamstrings during my marathon, and months of physical therapy, because of it.
First we’ll cover a few tests to see if your glutes are week. Then I’ll talk about some glute strengthening exercises and how to get your glutes firing again when they’re supposed to.
Tests
Test 1 – chair of death “to start this test, stand in front of a chair with your feet under it and your knees touching the seat. Put your arms out in front of you. Now squat down and try not to let your knees push into the chair. If you find that your knees are hitting the chair or you are even moving the chair, your glutes are not working properly.”
Test 2 – Bridge “Lie on your back with your knees up and your feet flat on the ground. Hold your arms straight out above you. Lift your hips up to make a straight bridge from shoulders to knees. Where do you feel it? If you feel stress anywhere but your butt, you aren't activating your glutes. “
Exercises –
Lunges and squats are great if you have proper form. Here are a few other exercises that will help:
Prone hip extension – lie on your stomach and use your glutes to lift your leg up of the floor.
Bridges with weights –
Lie on your back, knees bent and put a light weight or soup can on your lower abdomen. The extra weight your body isn’t used to will help make your glutes engage. Also, try lifting your butt only a few inches off the floor and work on activating your glutes, not on the height of your bridge.
Deadlifts -
To do this exercise, stand in front of a kettlebell or 2 dumbbells or even 2 soup cans to start. Take a hip-width to shoulder-width stance, knees slightly bent. Bend forward at the hips and grab your weights. Use your glutes and hamstrings to lift your torso and stand straight up. Now lower the weights by hinging at the hips and allowing your glutes to move backward as you keeping the weights close to our touching the fronts of your legs. the bar in contact with your legs on the way down. If you are flexible enough, let the bar touch the floor and then pull it back up. Or you can stop about mid-shin height and then raise the bar back up.
To sum up - your legs are like a fulcrum or the pendulum on a clock and your glutes power that movement. Get those glutes strong and prevent injuries down the road. Several articles you may find helpful are linked in the show notes.
Articles:
https://www.runnersworld.com/injury-prevention-recovery/its-all-in-the-hips
https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a19544187/5-signs-you-have-weak-glutes/
https://www.runnersworld.com/workouts/glute-strengthening-workout/slide/1
Friday Dec 22, 2017
Episode 28- Wool Allergies
Friday Dec 22, 2017
Friday Dec 22, 2017
Episode 28
FO, Wip, Stash, Wearables, Knitting Plans, Knitting Talk – wool allergies, On the Run, Out and About
FO
Purple shawl in some deep stash, Queensland Sugar Rush, for myself! Also, it’s the last sample made of a new pattern that I will be releasing over the holiday weekend – keep an eye on Instagram/Facebook/Ravelry group because it will be free for the first few days as a thank you to the knitting community. This year has been amazing and a lot of it is thanks to the amazing women and men in the fiber world. I started this podcast, went to Stitches United and SSK for the first time, went back to Rhinbeck and have interacted with so many of you and this is my small way of saying thanks.
Wip
Only other wip I worked on was my Mahalo sock by Dana Gervais. Full disclosure, she’s my tech editor, but she’s also an amazing sock designer and I am loving this pattern. I have scrawny ankles so I tweaked the narrowest size to be a little narrower and it was easy to adjust – you could also easily adjust it bigger, and the lace pattern is memorizable after a few times through so I’ve really enjoyed working on it. Knitting it in CoBaSi by Hikoo, a cotton, bamboo, silk and nylon blended sock yarn.
Stash
Coming Next Week
Wearables
It’s been cold the last 6 weeks and I didn’t have time to put this segment in the last episode, so I’ll quikly summarize – I’ve been wearing Poema by Vera Sanon a lot. Also, I’ve been wearing my (until now) only two shawls a lot, Maris Stella by Anna Victoria and May Flowers, an old pattern of mine, over store bought sweaters to stay warm. Also I’ve been going back and forth between wearing my Hamilknit Hat by Emily Straw from Knitting Butterflies podcast and the Twist and Shout hat by Michele DuNaier which is a simple cabled hat.
Knitting Plans
I want to lengthen the sleeves of my Empire Tunic by Lily Go, knit in Frog Tree’s Picobo, a cotton/bamboo blend. I love this top but since I’m always cold I’ll get more wear out of this if it has long sleeves and not ¾ sleeves.
Also, I want to pull out my English Garden Wedding Kimono that I knit years and years ago and finally do the embroidery. This is from the Unofficial Downton Abbey Knits from Interweave and I picked this pattern because the embroidery makes this sweater just amazing. The Firefly I got at my LYS the last few weeks are destined for that.
Knitting Talk
I’ve had a couple of people ask about my wool allergy recently so I thought we’d devote this section to fiber and animal allergies. I am not a medical professional, so please take what I am saying with that in mind, but I will share what I know with you. First off, yes, wool allergies are real – you can be allergic to sheep just like you can be allergic to cats and dogs. Unfortunately, I’m allergic to all 3 to varying degrees, and also to horses and goats. I just happen to get the worst physical reaction to sheep whereas I have 2 cats and all I get is a stuffy nose sometimes when they shed.
You can also have a reaction to the lanolin in the wool – if that’s the case then you might be able to work with a superwash wool where all the lanolin is stripped out so they can smooth down the scales in the wool fibers. Well meaning knitters often try to tell me I’m just sensitive to lanolin. I usually just nod and smile.
Lastly, your skin could just be sensitive, in which you get itchy with certain wools. This isn’t an actual allergy but a form of contact dermatitis, which is just a fancy way of saying that your skin is sensitive and something is irritating your skin. Wearing a t-shirt underneath usually solves the problem.
So, how do I know I’m allergic to sheep? I found out when I was 4. My great-grandmother bought me a lovely little coat and hat set. Mom bundled me up and sent me off to pre-school and I came home covered in hives. Poor Gram felt awful, but she had no way of knowing, I just happen to have very severe allergies. A skin-prick allergy test the next year confirmed I am allergic to every animal they tested for, to varying degrees.
Last time I had a major reaction was 2002 in London, England. My now-husband and I had just gotten to Europe for a 45-day backpacking trip around the continent. We went to bed very jet-lagged and I never even thought to check the content of the blanket because in the US budget hotels do not have nice blankets. It was hot and we didn’t pull it up over us. Sometime in the night I must have tucked my feet under the blanket because when I woke up in the morning my ankles had literally doubled in size. I could get 2 pairs of socks to fit, but none of the 3 pairs of shoes I brought. I finally had to un-lace my sneakers and jam my feet into them so I could leave the hotel room. It took about a week for them to shrink back to normal size – if I hadn’t been power-walking around European capitals it probably would have gotten better a bit faster but I was NOT about to miss anything, swollen ankles be damned.
Out and About
January – Vogue Knitting Live in NYC, if you’re coming too let me know!
March – Stitches United in Hartford, CT. A quick note for any of you debating coming, Stitches United 2018 is in CT but in 2019 it will be in Georgia. Knitting Universe has announced that Stitches United will be alternating between the Northeast and the Southeast. So, if you were planning on going to CT in 2019, go this year instead.
On the Run
Keep on walking and strength training
Monday Oct 16, 2017
Episode 25 - Stress Knitting
Monday Oct 16, 2017
Monday Oct 16, 2017
Segments include: Be Helper craft-a-long, FOs, Wips, Wearables, Knitting Fail and Knitting Talk
Y’all knit when you’re stressed, too, right? I don’t want to get into the details but it has been a very stressful week at our house, luckily with mostly good outcomes. Let’s just say that the the least crappy thing was being a cloth diaper family and having our washing machine break. Pun intended. Because I had diapers that needed washing.
The result being, I did LOTS of knitting the last 2 weeks.
Also, I am getting a cold as you probably hear in my voice. I don’t want to push this recording any later since I skipped last week due to sick kids and I have a feeling this cold will be worse tomorrow…
Be A Helper Craft-a-long
In case you missed it, I’m hosting a charity craft a long. You can get entries by 1) donating blood or 2) making ANYthing for ANY charity. No FOs in the thread so far! I know lots of you craft for charity regularly so go ahead and enter – you do NOT need to be a member of my Ravelry group to win. I honestly don’t care if you join or not, my only goal with the KAL is to encourage others to stop feeling frozen with all the crazy, hard stuff going on in the world and give you an impetus to go out and help others.
FOs
Knitted knocker in Cascade Ultra Pima in ivory. I made size C using top-down magic loop pattern. Visit KnittedKnockers.org to learn more about the great work they do and see a list of approved yarns.
3 preemie hats using Java Purl Design’s Top-Down Preemie Hat pattern – free on Ravelry – in Caron Simply Soft Paints
1 preemie hat also using Java Purl’s pattern using Loops & Threads
Another Itty Bitty Kitty preemie hat, the same test knit pattern in the Maldives colorway of Berroco comfort sock
Wips
Emerald Deep by Romi Hill – finished charts B, C & D. Halfway through E. Finished that Irish-style lace section I mentioned. It was lots of fun but you have to place close attention because it’s knit lace on both sides – no rest rows. Gift for my cousin’s wife for Christmas in Prism Delicato Layers in Kale colorway. Only 30 rows left!
Lillesand cowl by Monika Eckhert, working on this in some deep stash, Cascade Yarn’s Sateen in a burgundy-red color and Rozetti Yarns Soft Payette in white with a few sequins for sparkle here and there – got a few more rows done on this cowl for my aunt for Christmas
Toe-up Vanilla Socks with an afterthought heel for Thing 2 – first sock done, about to reach the heel on sock 2; looking to make 4 for him for Christmas in Plymouth Yarns Diversity
Wearables
Heat wave here in New England most of October!
Marshes Cabled Sleeveless Shell – one of my first patterns released. Need to go grade it for larger sizes and get it re-tech edited. Will let y’all know when that happens
Mommy’s Tunic – Juniper Moon Farm’s Neve in Blue
Knitting Fail
That sweater got shrunk in the dryer! We went a little crazy washing stuff after we got the new washing machine and my husband tossed the cotton tunic in the dryer and it shrunk. So I gave it to my LYS to model the yarn since I bought it there.
Knitting Talk
To design or just knit a shawl for AGC Scholarships? AGC is run by a woman I went to high school with who chnoicled her battle with infertility on her blog, later published as the book Infertility Inferschmility which you should definitely check out if infertility is something you or a loved one has been dealing with. Also - what color? Black to go with Everything? Or use their turquoise logo color? Or perhaps a gradient kit - they look so impressive to non-knitters :)
Thursday Sep 07, 2017
Episode 21 - Back
Thursday Sep 07, 2017
Thursday Sep 07, 2017
Episode 21 - 9/7/17
Wips
Hitchhiker for my MIL in Ito Yarn’s Kinu 100% silk
New CO, Second Grace by Bristol Ivy in Berocco Modern Cotton. Gotten a lot done since I threw my back out and have been sitting a LOT. Body just a few rows from the underarms, also have 1.5 sleeves done. Using 7 colors, the main color is green, a medium-dark green with a hint of blue to it, then the fair isle parts are in navy, light blue, yellow, rust, medium-purple, and turquoise. It’s forced me to learn 3-colors-at-a-time colorowork and since I cannot get tension holding yarns in 2 hands, I’ve adapted the 2-color-continental hold for colorwork to be a 3-color hold, all in the left hand. I’m not a fan, but I’ve gotten to the point where I can do it and make it look decent.
Triyang Shawl by Lee Meredith in Araucania’s Yumbrel, a lace-weight cotton in the pastels colorway, peach, pink, sky blue and light purple
Stash
Blue Heron Yarn’s Cotton/Rayon blend from A Great Yarn in Chatham, Cape Cod, MA. Love this yarn, love Blue Heron colorways I’ve knit with them several times in the past. With all the talk Laura of the KnitGirlllls has been doing about the Evenstar, I’m debating making it again. I’ve already knit it 1.5 times, that is, 1 finished in a sport weight yarn (basically made a blanket) and 1 skirt made out of it, but haven’t made the top for the dress yet. Someday I’ll finish it. But yeah, totally tempted to make Evenstar again, I LOVE that pattern
Pattern Stalking
Lillesand by Monika Eckert – a colorwork cowl that I’m debating making for my aunt for Christmas. I have a white sparkly yarn and red yarn that this would look GORGEOUS in. Haven’t bought it yet but don’t be surprised if you hear me cast this one on soon
Wearables
Mommy’s Tunic, knit last spring/early summer in Juniper Moon Farm’s Neve in a cornflower blue
Empire Top, just finished a few weeks back and got to wear it for the first time on a col evening :) Knit in Picoboo by Frogtree, a discontinued bamboo/cotton blend
Out and About
Spent Labor Day weekend at my parent’s place on Cape Cod, which was good because I threw my bavk out the day we drove down. And my parents are super awesome. Even though I’m over 30 and have kids of my own, my parents took great care of me and it was feeling much better till I threw it out again yesterday wrestling my tantrum toddler into the car. Sigh. But we had a great visit even though it was chilly.
On the Run
No running, since I threw my back out, but I have been able to walk my oldest son to school, thankfully. But I would like to talk more about injury prevention this week. I want to talk about a common foot problem that can lead to injuries in your kinetic change, which we discussed last time: pronation.
In rough, non-medical terms, you can think of pronation as how your foot rolls through a step. I know you medical folks are probably yelling at your devices, but work with me here, I’m trying to avoid medical jargon and anatomy terms on purpose. Like me, you could be an over-pronator, meaning your ankles roll inward when you walk and you push off primarily from your big toe. You could be a supinator, or under-pronator, whose ankles roll outward and push off from your outer foot. Or you could be a neutral walker and push off using basically all your toes. There’s no good way to determine this yourself because once you start thinking about it, your gait will change. If you’re dealing with knee or hip issues, that is, issues further up the kinetic chain, you should go to a running store and ask them to determine if you have a neutral gait, over-pronate or supinate, because once you know that you can get the correct shoe to help correct any pronation problems, if you have them. Any good running store will have people there who know how to determine your gait type.