podcasts

Episode 179

September 17, 2017 by Sara

New Pattern: Concordia

My most recent pattern design is knit with Concordea yarn, created by Carole of Foster Sheep Farm and spun at Battenkill Fiber Mill. Concordea is a gorgeous, sport weight yarn in two natural colors. Soft and incredibly springy, it is spun from a 50/50 blend of Carole’s Romney fiber and Falkland fiber.

The Concordia pattern includes instructions for a luxurious cabled neckline and an easy-to-knit ribbed option. There are directions for three sizes, and the split front makes this capelet comfortable and effortless to wear.

Visit Carole and shop her wares . . .

Foster Sheep Farm Yarn Shop
Adirondack Wool & Arts Festival – September 23&24
New York Sheep & Wool Festival – October 21&22
New England Fiber Festival – November 4&5

Ever-expanding Skill Set

Join the conversation and take your lunch from sad to savory!
What the Heck to Pack for Lunch — thanks, Kathy
Week 3: curried chicken salad

Week 1: grain salad with radish, pecan and dried cranberries

Week 2: deep dive in the pantry, fridge and freezer for lentil soup ingredients

On the Needles

And Sew Forth

The #embroidermore stitch along will start on October 1st

I followed Rebecca Ringquist’s tutorial to make these charming needle minders. They will be prizes for the upcoming #embroidermore stitch along.

One thought on “Episode 179”

Judy says:

September 17, 2017 at 6:11 pm

With a power outage and an extended period of no internet, thanks to Irma, it’s been a challenge to keep up with podcasts! That said, I’m enjoying some peace and quiet while our youngest grandson naps, and I was able to listen to your entire episode as I knit a sleeve cuff!😊
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Concordia and can’t wait for the pattern release. I’d love to purchase some cafe and au lait so that mine will look like yours! Can’t wait!
I had to laugh when you spoke of your lentil soup adventure! My mother-in-law made the best lentil soup and she always topped it off with very thinly sliced hotdogs and a bit of sherry. YUMMM! Thanks for the memories.
Your needle minders are adorable. Don’t know how you do all that you do! I would like to embroider the hem edges of some pillowcases. I would first purchase some very soft cotton and construct the cases, and then do the embroidery.
Thanks for another great episode.

Arrows and Doorways

The design for this super-cozy cowl was inspired by textiles in a hotel lobby. Concentric geometric shapes kept playing in my mind until finally I was able to chart the pattern and get it onto my needles. The interplay of this chevron-like patterning has a mesmerizing effect–while you’re knitting and when you wear the finished accessory.

Knit up a cowl with yarn from your stash, adding some magical new mini-skeins from your advent calendar, or exchange leftover yarn with a friend. The design invites frequent color changes, and makes an ideal knit for the advent season. It could be just as striking knit with two high-contrast colors.

While most cowls of this type are seamed within a band of a single color, this pattern incorporates a technique called stranded donut grafting, an incredibly clever and completely seamless graft that allows you to maintain colorwork patterning so that your starting and ending rounds are undetectable. Really! With many possibilities for color play and a new technique to add to your skill set, this cowl pattern is really an opportunity for knitters to level-up!

NEW PATTERN DESIGN!

ONE DARK BLUE NIGHT

This hat is the third in a series of patterns inspired by teachings in Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ Women Who Run with the Wolves. This time, I drew inspiration from Estés’ retelling of a Japanese tale, Tsukina Waguma or “The Crescent Moon Bear,” in which a young woman travels to the cave of an incredibly intimidating and ferocious bear. She makes several journeys to the cave, leaving food and quickly retreating, until “one dark blue night,” she musters the courage to stand her ground and ask for what she seeks--one hair from a moon-shaped patch on the bear’s chest--which she is granted. The young woman returns, triumphant, to the old healer who has sent her on this quest. She believes this single hair is the magic ingredient in solving the problem that plagues her. She holds it forth, but the healer tosses the hair into the flames. The young woman is in despair until she realizes the true lesson of her quest: that using her determination, courage, and patience, as she did with the crescent moon bear, will help her to confront the challenge at hand.

The moon phase motif of this colorwork hat is meant to capture the magic of a dark blue night--when the moon shines brightly overhead, the frosty air sparkles with possibility, and we succeed in summoning accumulated wisdom from deep within ourselves so that we can apply it to our own healing. Choose colors to conjure a wintery night sky, or select a palette of your signature colors.

Available on Ravelry December 20th.

Yarns at Yin Hoo

Episode 179

New Pattern: Concordia

One thought on “Episode 179”

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