Episodes
Friday Jun 26, 2020
For Spacious Skies
Friday Jun 26, 2020
Friday Jun 26, 2020
Episode 81 - Recorded Thursday, June 26th 2020
New pattern, end of be-a-helper kal, wips, knitting fail, spinning, wearables, out and about and if we have time I’ll do an on the run segment.
New Pattern alert!
As of the time you’re hearing this, I have a new pattern available through Knotions Magazine! The pattern is named For Spacious Skies and is knit using a gorgeous muted red, blue and white colorway from Birdies Knits named Old Glory and a small amount of white yarn for the star.
I found this yarn and this indie dyer at the very first Stitches United in Hartford, CT several years ago. I was so excited – I’d never met a hand-dyer who worked in anything other than wool. Being highly allergic to sheep, wool is not an option for me. This colorway reminded me of 4th of July parades with my grandparents and great-grandmother, of summer beach days and Friday night band concerts at the local park all summer with my family.
The star is worked first, from the center out, then short rows make the circle into a square. The remainder of the top is worked top-down – the bust area is worked back-and forth to the underarm, then the whole piece is joined in the round.
Recommend -1 to -3 inches of ease (negative ease). This means if you’re targeting a 38 bust, that you should choose a 36 (38-2). Bust: 32 - 60” , [81.5 - 152.5) cm]
Be-A-Helper KAL
Last 2 prize winners announced!
WIPs
Laceweight Boxy – Now about 16” long
Papillon – Started 2nd section. Using Berroco Medina that I bought at The Yarn Patch in Crossville, TN last year and a gold Tencel yarn from Artisinal Yarns that I bought at Rhinebeck 2 years ago.
Goldberry – I started a new crochet pattern this week.
Triyang – an old WIP that I started as SSK in 2017, I tend to keep this pattern for travelling and since we have 2 small kids we don’t travel much anymore.
Star Wars scarf for Thing 2 – I’m still working on the Blasters section of the Light Side section.
Ozone Sweater – worked a little on the Ozone Sweater, a crochet sweater, which leads me to…
Knitting Fail
I tried to work on this last Thursday during my stitching group, but apparently I cannot join crochet and talk at the same time. The medallions are linked in 5 places along one side, and I screwed it up 3 times. At the end of 1:45 I had completed (and successfully joined) 1 medallion and started the center of a second. That’s all. In nearly 2 hours.
Spinning
I finished my Pride Month spin! I pulled apart 2 braids from Hipstring’s cotton club from 2019, and spun them color by color to make a rainbow. Then two nights ago I started to learn to chain ply, which I finished yesterday. It’s not my best yarn ever, since it’s my first-ever chain ply, but I’m proud nonetheless.
Wearbles
It’s tank top season finally here in MA so I’ve recently wore my Out Tonight pattern, which is a sleeveless top inspired by the musical Rent. We had a cold windy day last weekend and I wore the Taking Flight shawl, a pattern by Katherine Belisle and inspired by Captain Marvel.
I recently wore my Strawberry Blossoms top, which I still love, but I’ve noticed after washing that the CoBaSi yarn tends to stretch more sideways than vertically when knit in garments. I have an extra skein of the yellow left, so I’m considering pulling out the turned hem, knitting a few extra inches, then re-doing the hem. I’ll let you know if I decide to go ahead with it.
On the Run
No exercise this week, poison ivy sucks
Out and About
Tour de Fleece 1 Sat Jun 27 – Sun Jul 19
Tour de Fleece 2 Sat, Aug 29, 2020 – Sun, Sep 20, 2020
Here in MA we’re slowly opening back up while keeping our new cases of COVID19 low, and I went to a yarn shop! This is my first visit to a LYS since January. I visited @agreatyarn in Chatham, MA, a store I love to visit.
Wednesday Jun 10, 2020
80 - Let's Be Real
Wednesday Jun 10, 2020
Wednesday Jun 10, 2020
Recorded Wednesday 6/10/20
Let’s start with the basics: black live matter. Black people should matter just as much as any other person but the fact is, in American society, they do not.
If you have any doubts about that I am including a link to an old video of Jane Elliot that you should watch. I think all white folks should watch it, it’s only 1 minute and I wager a few of you have seen the clip before. But it speaks volumes.
The fight is not over. We still have work to. Vote, support businesses, make donations if you can, write to your lawmakers, sign petitions. Not all of us are able to attend protests but there’s a lot we can do. Most importantly educate yourself. Listen. I will be donating 50% of the profits from my self-published patterns for the month of June to the Southern Poverty Law Center who work to combat racism across the country. I also personally donated to Black Girls Code, a group who supports black women in computer science. Many of you may know that my background is in computer science, I have a BS in computer science from St Michael’s College and a MSc in Computing and Internet Studies from King’s College London, UK. My field really, really needs diversification. For undergrad I was one of two girls in my grade in my major and there were no black folks at all. I know it’s changed some in the past 15 years, but our field needs to change more, so I’m putting my money where my mouth is.
Also you may have noticed sound quality has changed. My husband surprised me with a new podcast mic for mother’s day, it arrived a few weeks after and I am finally recording with it today. Also Cally the deaf cat is here.
FOs
South Woods - pattern by River Road Knits. First handspun sweater complete! So proud of it. Great fit. I want to make a sleeveless version of this.
Aggregate 2 – Pattern by JimiKnits. Knit in Tencel yarn by Artisinal yarns. Kinda want to start another already. Love this pattern.
Go With the Flo shawl – pattern by Jennifer Lassonde Designs, knit in handspun.
WIPs
Sassy Wrapitude – Part of the Wrapitude collection by Megan Williams, Just Run Knit. Using yellow CoBaSi by Hikoo and bamboo/cotton blend dyed in peachy oranges with speckles of pink and yellow from Great Adirondack Yarn that I bought at Rhinebeck. On section 8, lace.
Laceweight Boxy – Now about 14” long
Papillon – Started 2nd section. Using Berroco Medina that I bought at The Yarn Patch in Crossville, TN last year and a gold Tencel yarn from Artisinal Yarns that I bought at Rhinebeck 2 years ago.
Ankle socks – using Fish Lips Kiss heel and 52 sts, finished the first sock, just finished toe of second sock.
Out and About
Rhinebeck officially cancelled for 2020.
“After much deliberation, the DCSWGA board and festival planning committee have decided to cancel the in-person 2020 NYS Sheep & Wool Festival. In its place, we will host a virtual festival online. More details on that to come.
If you have any questions, please contact our Festival Manager, Nena Johnson at festivalinfo at sheepandwool dot com”
Be a Helper Craftalong
I will close the FO thread on June 20th. Thank you SOOOOO much for your participation.
Thursday Apr 02, 2020
76 - Exercise in Isolation
Thursday Apr 02, 2020
Thursday Apr 02, 2020
Episode 76 – 4/1/20
Segment this week include Happy Podiversary, Be A Helper Craftalong, Wips, Learn Something New, Exercise in Isolation
Happy anniversary to Knitting On The Run podcast! In all the recent craziness, I forgot that last week was my podiversary! Three years down, hopefully many more to go!
Be a Helper Craftalong
4th Be A Helper Craft-a-long is ongoing! We keep the rules simple.
- Anything you make for any charity counts, doesn’t have to be knit/crochet/woven or spun. ANYthing you make for ANY charity.
- One FO per photo in the FO thread
- Donating blood counts too - post a photo of your bandaid or of you drinking OJ afterwards, something like that.
- FO Thread closes when I wake up April 1st.
- Wips are welcome
Prizes Today:
- 1 skein of Sock Yarn from A Great Yarn in Chatham, MA dyed exclusively for them by Hauteknits in the Finest Hours colorway, 75% merino, 25% nylon
• 1 25g skein of Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock plus a mini skein of handspun
Posts 2-34 were up through March 31st
Wips
South Woods – I’m continuing to work on the body in stockinette. This has been my go-to knitting while the boys are home schooling. I think I’m up to 6 or 7 inches, haven’t measured officially.
Ankle socks – a few more rows, still getting close to the 1st heal
Sassy Wrapitude – cast on for the Sassy Wrap by Megan Williams, got the pattern free from attending Into the Wool. Cast on with yellow CoBaSi by Hikoo and bamboo/cotton blend from Great Adirondack Yarn that I bought at Rhinebeck.
Ozone – swatching for the Colorful Sweater Ozone by Concept Creative – more on this later.
New shawl, can’t say much yet. Yeah I have cast-on-it is
Learn Something New
About that ozone sweater I mentioned – it’s crochet not knitting!
Exercise in Isolation
I haven’t been great in terms of keeping up with exercise this week. I did something to my wrist so I’ve been taking it easy, but I wanted to go over what we’d been doing up until that point and what my kids are still doing.
Cosmic Kids Yoga – we started this the first day of school at home, even before we got official school work. I did Cosmic Kids with my oldest when Thing 2 was born and I was so excited to find that she has kept releasing videos these last 4 years.
Karate – my boys take karate and their dojo has been sending out videos for the kids to do at home. Our dojo hasn’t made them public but several have – if your kids want to try just search google or youtube and you’ll find some.
Running around – at recess I kick the boys outide and give them a time when they can come back in. That gives me a few minutes alone without them and also gives them exercise as they usually run around outside.
Gardening – I like to grow food and gardening is definitely exercise!
Dance – I’ve done a few dance videos I’ve found online. I love Broadway musicals and several cast members have been recording video at home, workouts set to the music of their shows, and some are a lot of fun! I’ve also taken a ballet class or two.
Monday Mar 23, 2020
75 - Stress Knitting
Monday Mar 23, 2020
Monday Mar 23, 2020
Welcome to the Knitting On the Run Podcast
I want your input - should we extend the Be A Helper Craftalong? Listen for my plan and let me know what you think.
Wips
Ankle Socks
Stress
Ways to deal with the cray stress we're all feeling right now.
And remember it’s OK to not be OK right now. The whole world is topsy turvy and we are just figuring out how to handle all the changes. It’s OK to be upset, or sad, or angry. But if you feel like it’s all too much and you can’t handle what’s going on, please talk to a mental help professional. Call your therapist, call your doctor to get a referral or visit mentalhealth.gov for links and numbers to services that can help you. If you need help right now text the Crisis Text Line. In the US its 741741, in Canada text 686868 or 741741 and in the UK 85258.
Wednesday Mar 04, 2020
74- Star Wars Costume Complete
Wednesday Mar 04, 2020
Wednesday Mar 04, 2020
Episode 74 – 3/4/2020
Segments this week include tech talk, Be A Helper Craftalong, FOs, Wips, Out and About.
New temporary mic. Pardon the head cold. Yes I’m sick again.
Be a Helper Craftalong
4th Be A Helper Craft-a-long is ongoing! We keep the rules simple.
- Anything you make for any charity counts, doesn’t have to be knit/crochet/woven or spun. ANYthing you make for ANY charity.
- One FO per photo in the FO thread
- Donating blood counts too - post a photo of your bandaid or of you drinking OJ afterwards, something like that.
- FO Thread closes when I wake up April 1st.
- Wips are welcome
Prizes:
- 1 skein of Sock Yarn from A Great Yarn in Chatham, MA dyed exclusively for them by Hauteknits in the Finest Hours colorway, 75% merino, 25% nylon
• 1 25g skein of Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock plus a mini skein of handspun
• Spun to order handspun, by me. I have 2 or 3 colorways that I’ll let the winner choose for me to spin up.
• One pattern of your choice from the Down Cellar Studio Ravelry store, courtesy of Jennifer Lassonde
FOs
Matchy Socks – At the cuff of first sock
New pattern for a magazine coming out this summer – check out social media this week if you’re interested in test knitting a tank top.
Rey costume – working on my Rey costume for an upcoming Star Wars Day. I’ve knit roughly 19 feet out of 10, then it’ll be time for armbands.
Wips
South Woods – On second repeat of Chart 2 lace for the back.
Ankle socks – started my first ever ankle socks.
Out and About
Stitches United - March 26-29, 2020
Got back from 12 days away – 4 days in FL at my in-laws, a week on a cruise. For the next week you’ll see images from our trip on social media, including my Rey costume on our Star Wars Day at Sea on the cruise.
Thursday Feb 13, 2020
73 - The One With The Headcold
Thursday Feb 13, 2020
Thursday Feb 13, 2020
Episode 73 – 2/12/20 Segments include Be A Helper Craftalong, Wips, Knitting Fail, Out and About
Microphone cable finally arrived! Wrong cable arrived first, had to return and wait for second. Hopefully sound is better this week. Apologies for the headcold but I don’t dare wait longer to record.
Be a Helper Craftalong
4th Be A Helper Craft-a-long is ongoing! We keep the rules simple.
- Anything you make for any charity counts, doesn’t have to be knit/crochet/woven or spun. ANYthing you make for ANY charity.
- One FO per photo in the FO thread
- Donating blood counts too - post a photo of your bandaid or of you drinking OJ afterwards, something like that.
- FO Thread closes when I wake up April 1st.
- Wips are welcome
I’ll go over prizes again in March, they are listed in the Ravelry group.
Wips – lots!
Rey tabard – working on my Rey costume for an upcoming Star Wars Day. I’ve knit roughly 9 feet out of 10, then it’ll be time for armbands.
Preemie hat – Made progress on the preemie hat
Aggregate Shawl – A few short rows on this shawl
Matchy Socks – At the cuff of first sock
South Woods – Finished Chart 1 of lace, started Chart 2. Blocked what I had so far so I can take it on vacation with me in a few weeks.
Knitting Fail
The Dress. Ugh. Ripped it back to skirt. Fabric was awful.
Out and About
NETA Spa – Feb 28 – Mar 1
Wayland Fiber Day Farmers Market – Mar 1
Stitches United - March 26-29, 2020
Thursday Jan 23, 2020
72 - All The Tangents
Thursday Jan 23, 2020
Thursday Jan 23, 2020
Episode 72 1/22/20
Be a helper, wips, knitting fail, wearables, pattern stalking, out and about
Be a Helper Craftalong
4th Be A Helper Craft-a-long has begun! We keep the rules simple.
- Anything you make for any charity counts, doesn’t have to be knit/crochet/woven or spun. ANYthing you make for ANY charity.
- One FO per photo in the FO thread
- Donating blood counts too - post a photo of your bandaid or of you drinking OJ afterwards, something like that.
- FO Thread closes when I wake up April 1st.
- Wips are welcome
One more new prize to announce, a pattern from Jennifer Lassonde of Down Cellar Studio! Thanks so much, Jen!
Wips – lots these last 2 weeks!
Preemie hat – about half way through my first for the year.
Aggregate Shawl – I’ve reached the end of the shawl as written, but I have more yarn left. I’m continuing in the pattern as established until I run out of yarn.
Matchy Socks – nearly to the cuff
Dress – The handmade dress I’ve been working on is coming along nicely. I’ve split for armholes and I’m nearly done with the front left strap.
South Woods – started a new sweater for myself, South Woods by River Road Knits . I’m using some old stash yarn for the lace underlayer and my handspun for the main body of the sweater, which leads me to…
Kitting Fail
Be careful not to twist!
Wearables
My birthday weekend was incredibly warm, topping out at 74F (23C) whereas our highs should hover right around freezing. So I wore lots of warm-weather handknits, like one of my Mommy’s Tunic samples and the Lace Sweater 01 from Vogue Knitting Magazine designed by Brooke Nico. Knit this in a cone of 5/2 bamboo from Webs years ago. The pattern is a lace coat, nearly knee-length, and I wore it as a jacket out for my birthday dinner.
Since then, it’s been COLD. I’ve also worn Frosted sweater by Paper Daisy Creations and lots of shawls, including Changing Staircases, Pont du Marais and Use Your Stash Shawls, both designed by me. Also my boys and I have all worn some handknit socks, all made using the Fish Lips Kiss Heel. I;m wearing my Twist and Shout had by Michele duNaier nearly every day. My youngest has worn the Monomoy Sweater several times and wears his Bermuda Hat every day. And I’ve worn the Dancing Dragons Coat – it makes a great indoor layer on super cold days.
Pattern Stalking
Thing 2 want’s a new sweater, another hat, Halloween socks and Christmas socks and I keep thinking about knitting another Hitofude.
Out and About
Wayland Winter Farmers Market Fiber Days – Jan 26 & Mar 1
Boston Farm & fiber Fest – Feb 9
Stitches United - March 26-29, 2020
Wednesday Jan 08, 2020
4th Be A Helper Craftalong
Wednesday Jan 08, 2020
Wednesday Jan 08, 2020
Episode 71 – Be A Helper Craftalong – we’ll go over the (simple) rules and some ideas for what you can make.
Be A Helper Craftalong
4th Be A Helper Craftalong has begun! We keep the rules simple.
- Anything you make for any charity counts, doesn’t have to be knit/crochet/woven or spun. ANYthing you make for ANY charity.
- One FO per photo in the FO thread
- Donating blood counts too - post a photo of your bandaid or of you drinking OJ afterwards, something like that.
- FO Thread closes when I wake up April 1st.
- Wips are welcome
Prizes
- 1 skein of Sock Yarn from A Great Yarn in Chatham, MA dyed exclusively for them by Hauteknits in the Finest Hours colorway, 75% merino, 25% nylon
- 1 25g skein of Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock plus a mini skein of handspun
- Spun to order handspun, by me. I have 2 or 3 colorways that I’ll let the winner choose for me to spin up.
Need some ideas? Check out these charities:
- Preemie Hats – check with your local hospital for yarn requirements. These need to be washed in an industrial strength washing machine so there may be limits, many only accept acrylic/nylon. If your local hospital isn’t accepting hats, Dana from the Unwind Yarn Company collects them from her retreat attendees in the fall and I’ll be happy to collect them and mail them to her with my own in September. Greg, aka Knitting Daddy of the Unraveling podcast also has accepted mailed hats in the past for his local hospital.
- Knitted Knockers– these are prostheses for breast cancer survivors who have not had or cannot have reconstructive surgery. Knockers must be made with plant based yarn – wool is too scratchy on scar tissue – and a list of acceptable yarns is linked in the shownotes available via PDF and there are top down and bottom-up patterns on their website.
- Mother Bears– I learned of this charity from the 2 Knit Lit Chicks who run a Mother Bear KAL every year. These bears provide comfort to children who are victim of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa. Mother Bear will snail mail you the knitting or crochet pattern for a small fee. All they ask is that you return the finished bear with $3 to cover the shipping to Africa.
- KnitAid– has USA and UK branches. UK is currently collecting hats, mittens, blankets and water bottle covers. All items must be knit in dark-colored yarn because the recipients will not be able to wash them easily.
- CompassionKnit- Bay Area, CA charity that gives handknit items to foster kids, most of whom have very few belongings of their own. A gift knit especially for them, something a stranger took hours and hours to make just for them, is something they cherish.
- Animal Rescue Craft Guild – knit, crochet or sew Joey pouches, bat wraps, nests, possum pouches, etc for animal survivors of the devastating wildfires in Australia. Before crafting, check the announcements on the FB page (linked in the show notes) as the graphic is updated with what they do and do not need. They work closely with carers and animal rescue groups and update the graphic regularly. Please be aware they currently have plenty of koala mittens but are in need of a lot of other help.
- A Great Yarn in Chatham, MA runs an annual blanket project for the homeless population on Cape Cod. Use any washable worsted-weight yarn to make a panel 1-foot [30cm] by 6 feet [1.8 m] and drop it off or mail it to the shop, mailing address in show notes. Their goal this year is 250 blankets. A Great Yarn 894 Main Street Chatham, MA 02633
- A local homeless shelter or domestic violence shelter. Please check with them before assuming they take items, but many are happy to accept gifts of socks, hats, scarves and mittens especially in the winter.
- Do you have a charity craft idea that you think others would like to hear about? Let me know and I’ll talk about it on a future episode.
Out and About
Wayland Winter Farmers Market Fiber Days – Jan 26 & Mar 1
VKL NYC Jan 16-20
Stitches United - March 26-29, 2020
Knitting Weekend and Fiber Marketplace at Slater Mill - Jan 11 & 12
Boston Farm & fiber Fest – Feb 9
Tuesday Dec 03, 2019
69 - Winter Yuck
Tuesday Dec 03, 2019
Tuesday Dec 03, 2019
Episode 69 Winter Yuck
I’m sitting in my new office in the middle of a 36-hour crazy storm. Currently alternating between snow and sleet and I’m wrapped in several handknits so it’s a good time to record. I should preface this – both kids are home and the cats are awake so we’ll see how well this recording goes…
Indy GAL 2019
It’s GAL time! By the time this goes live the GAL sale will be done, but the knit-a-long/crochet-a-long will be in full sweing and it runs through December 31st! There are over 200 very talented indy designers participating. Each designer has to have at least 20 self-published paid-for patterns. There are a lot of incredibly talented designers participating and looking through the threads at the patterns available has been a wonderful rabbit hole to go down.
All eligble patterns click on Advanced Search then Patterns By These Designers to see the 22,000+ patterns that are eligible for the knitalong part.
4th Be A Helper Craft A Long
Dec 15th – Feb 28th. Anything you make for any charity or donating blood. One FO/blood donation photo per post in the FO thread please (a photo of your bandaid or a selfie sipping OJ is fine). This year there will additional chat participation prizes! More details on the craftalong next week, but I wanted to get this info out there for you.
Upcoming Test Knits
2 upcoming test knits, both for shawls. 1 is a garter st shawl with a simple cable, the second is another shawl designed to use up scraps.
http://www.windsweptknits.com/testknitters/
Wips
2ndAggregate shawl in Artisinal Yarn’s 100% Tencel from Rhinebeck 2 years ago
Starting the bodice of a dress. Knit part of the Evenstar circular shawl as a skirt several years ago. As part of the GAL I bought 2 bottom-up tank top patterns and I’m using one as the bodice of the dress.
Christmas socks for mom in Regia Tutti Frutti 2, cotton/elastic yarn in the Watermelon colorway
Making progress on my Star Wars costume – about 15 inches in out of 120.
Wearables
Currently wearing Changing Staircases by DragonHoard Yarns in Fiber Lady’s Mousou, 100% bamboo yarn.
Wore Frosted by Paper Daisy Creations to Frozen 2 – gradient snowflakes
Second Grace by Bristol Ivy, colorwork yoke all in Berocco Modern Cotton