podcasts

Episode 272

March 29, 2021May 21, 2021 by Sara

In this episode, I catch you up on my recent projects. There’s lots of sewing, including this darling clothespin bag, a dress with voluminous sleeves, and more mending for Mom. I’ve begun knitting a cowl in spring colors with yarn from Robin of Birch Hollow Fibers, and I have some poems that are perfect for spring, plus a new-to-me recipe that I encourage you to try!

I was so lucky that Mary Jeanne Packer introduced me to Robin at Vogue Knitting NYC. Robin’s Sojourner Sock is spun at Battenkill Fiber Mill–speaking of which–did you know the Washington County Fiber Tour is ON? Check it out!

Join in the fun as we knit the Baby Surprise Jacket designed by Elizabeth Zimmermann. This KAL will continue through all eight parts of my conversation with Dr. Lilly Marsh. All details for the KAL and the 8-part series can be found on this Ravelry thread.

My sock knitting is on pause at the moment while I work on this cowl for spring. I’m alternating beautiful colors dyed by Robin of Birch Hollow Fibers. There’s also a bit of yarn from Liesl of Buckaloo View in there too.

More sewing and stitching in the works. I have another pair of Mom’s well-worn jeans to mend, and I’ve cut the fabric for View A of McCall’s M7969.

Absurdly Addictive Asparagus

Ruth Moose “Laundry“
Thomas Carper “Laundry at Night“
Naomi Shihab Nye “I Still Have Everything You Gave Me“

2 thoughts on “Episode 272”

admin says:

April 5, 2021 at 11:22 am

I may need to look into this as a summer project. I have been too lazy to do anything about this difficulty and then always sorry after I spend a few hours cutting a project. Thank you for the tip.
Valerie says:

April 1, 2021 at 2:15 am

A suggestion that I received about cutting tables is to use bed risers to make a table higher for cutting. I use an 8 ft folding table with the risers and it works great!

knitfantasy on Ravelry

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 272

2 thoughts on “Episode 272”

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