KnottyGirls Knitcast

Catching Up: (0:20)

Jen has been working out to get into shape some more and she's enjoying it, but it's hard. She's been working on pattern writing. She's really loving the new season of Orphan Black. She and Ron have been working on the music. And she's enjoying Mad Men but is sad to see it go.

Laura is normalizing to her new job. She got her new shipment from Annie Modesitt's yarn club and it's really, really pretty. It's inspired by a moth. And the extra is a matching bag from Namaste. She's working on the Sunnydale Yarn Club Patrol 4 Sign ups. We talk a little bit about Season 4 of Buffy. Even if you don't join to club, join the Dizzy Color Ravelry Group to talk about Buffy. She's also preparing for a trunk show at Ewe+You. She's also working on a new yarn club (Teaser!).

In the Knitting Bag: (14:01)

Jen has been working on the Ysolda Teague’s Wee Envelope out of Oink Pigments in purple. She's working on the Baby Yours Sweater by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee out of Cascade 220 SW Sport. She's regretting not getting the worsted for the blanket, because it's taking forever. She is working on Rainbow socks out of White Birch Fiber Arts self-striping sock yarn in Fade to Gray (rainbow and grey self-striping). She only works on one sock at a time. She worked on that up at a show at the Groundlings. She is working on her sample for Sunnydale so she can take pictures.

Laura is working on a hat for Halos of Hope out of Knit Picks Brava. These seem to be her standard Disneyland knitting. She is also casting on the Carson Shawl by Romi Hill out of Forbidden Woolery Pride Fingering. This is her Knitalong (or Slackalong) with her friend. And she is almost done with Swirl Hat (Crochet) from Patons out of Knit Picks Gloss Fingering in black.

Finished Objects: (24:03)

Jen blocked her Baby Yours sweater and it's not seamed. She has a ton of partially finished stuff, but nothing finished. She is struggling with inspiration to knit.

Laura had hoped to finish her Swirl Hat, but isn't done. But she will be done with it tomorrow.

Jen is sad about her lack of finishing. We need a finishing bootcamp.

We mention Stash Dash by the Knitgrillls and Miss Kalendar's Finishuary.

Devil's Tower: (27:24)

Jen's Devil's Tower is languishing.

Laura pulled out Carson, even though she hadn't really started, but she had swatched so that's kind of started. Her Ink by Hanna Maciejewska is going to escape and get worked on at some point.

Frog Pond: (28:52)

Jen is not challenging herself as a knitter, so she has no Frog pond.

Laura has been having some issues with her Swirl Hat because it's black yarn and crochet and she's not really used to it.

We want to hear about your frog ponds in the episode thread!

On Deck: (31:00)

Jen doesn't feel like knitting and is so uninspired she's not queuing patterns.

Laura used up all her On Decks forever in the last episode, with all of her Amy Herzog sweaters. She needs to make herself go kits, because all her yarn will be inaccessible for a while due to some home remodeling. She's overwhelmed by her list a bit, but we love all the designers.

But as a bonus, Jen learned the difference between a bedroom and a bonus room!

Knit Culture: (33:52)

Jen has been feeling uninspired, so we talk about our knitting inspiration. Jen is inspired by her awesome friends who knit and crochet. For example, one of her friends has been posting her Sophie's Universe crochet projects. Her friend Melissa (who is well known to regular listeners) is an inspiration because of her color sense.

Laura is inspired by her friend Dorothy, who is an amazing lace knitter.

Jen and Laura's mutual friend Erica makes excellent sweaters and her finishing work is amazing.

Laura gets hugely inspired by yarns: colors, groupings, etc. Jen used to have this inspiration but lately she hasn't been feeling it. While this keeps her from buying too much yarn, she wants it to be more of a struggle.

Jen's friend Sarah is an amazing knitter, especially double knitting.

Jen and Laura both find specific patterns pretty inspiring. We talk about how Kristin Omdahl has helped us reconsider crochet.

Jen also talks about her friend Sandra who is an amazing fiber artist and does really cool yarn bombing projects and also other fiber art installations (including sweaters for fish).

And of course Laura's first inspiration was her friend Jen (different Jen) who taught her how to knit initially.

So who are your real life knitting inspirations?

Geek Culture: (50:19)

Agents of SHIELD has been awesome lately! And we are excited to see Age of Ultron. Jen wants to do a Marvel Cinematic Universe marathon.

We also think Hot Topic Marvel Line.

We're also a disappointed at the lack of Black Widow on Avengers merchandise.

Upcoming Events: (54:48)

Laura has a trunk show at Ewe and You on May 31st, for their first anniversary.

We will be doing our own version of World Wide Knit in Public Day on June 20th from 2:30 to 5:30 at the Five O'Clock Winde Bar in Alamitos Bay Marina (right next to a yarn store).

Camp CogKNITive is August 21-23, Camarillo, CA. It’s a great and relaxing weekend.

Knit Dizzney will Sunday, September 13th, 2015. There will be T-shirts, project bags, and exclusive yarn available for pre-order. The meetup will be at 2pm at the Hearthstone Lounge in the Grand Californian.

Yarnosphere is October 17-18 EXPO Art Center in Bixby Knolls, Long Beach. Laura is vending.

Want Knotty Girls Swag? You can get some by donating! Click the donate button in the right sidebar! $10 gets you a set of stitch markers, $20 gets you a project bag, and $25 gets you both! Please include your name and mailing address when you donate and specify if you want crochet or knitting type stitch markers if applicable.

It's Earth Day! Laura is a Giant Squid; Jen is a Mantis Shrimp. What kind of animal are you? Also, as promised, here is the Radio Lab episode where they talk about colors.

We play a promo for the Actually Knitting podcast.

Catching Up: (1:51)

Laura loves her new job. She had a couple weeks off between jobs and she got to see her stepdaughter and her family for a visit. They went to Disneyland. She a had a pizza party with her step-granddaughter and mother-in-law. She and her step-granddaughter went to see Home and she really liked it. She's doing a fundraiser for the Walk for Wellness House with her boss. She also went to Vogue Knitting Live and had a great time taking Amy Herzog's class. She's inspired to knit all the sweaters. The marketplace was small, but the vendors were pretty good. There were a lot of designers, which is interesting to look at.

Jen has had a lot of gigs and is really enjoying that. She went to visit some family for her sister's wedding shower and played with her nephew, who is obsessed with Beymax. She's been working some on her Firefly cross-stitch from Watty’s Wall Stuff. She went to see some films at a David Lynch film festival at a local art theatre. She started her new job as well, it's a little overwhelming in a way, because she's still having to do stuff for her old departments. And being exempt means she's losing some knitting time because she doesn't have to clock out for lunch anymore, so she forgets to take it. She's really enjoying it though.

In the Knitting Bag: (15:49)

Laura is working on her Swirl Hat (Crochet) from Patons out of Knit Picks Gloss Fingering in black. That was her work training crochet. She's also working on a hat for Halos of Hope out of Knitpicks Brava.

Jen started some Rainbow socks out of White Birch Fiber Arts self-striping sock yarn in Fade to Gray (rainbow and grey self-striping). She's swatching for Ysolda's Wee Envelope out of Oink Pigments in purple. And she's still working on her Baby Yours Blanket based on Baby Yours Sweater by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee out of Cascade 220 SW Sport. She has been working on some mitts for Sunnydale Yarn Club.

Finished Objects: (22:37)

Laura finished her taxes! And her studio organization. And Patrol 3 of Sunnydale. But no knitting.

Jen just needs to push through and finish some of her stuff that is very close to finished.

Devil's Tower: (23:33)

Laura's Yggdrasil Afghan by Lisa Jacobs is in Devil's Tower because she doesn't have the freedom to work on Mean Girls stuff at work. Her Carson Shawl by Romi Hill out of Forbidden Woolery Pride Fingering for her KAL with her friend is in Devil's Tower before she even started. And she's glad she put Ink by Hanna Maciejewska into Devil's Tower until after she took Amy's class. She would have made the wrong size for sure.

Jen has her Customfit tunic top in there until she has time to block and seam it. She needs to dig some stuff out of her bin and swatch. She needs to organize the pattern charts for her Four Season Summer Symphony Wedding Ring Shawl, so she can actually knit it.

Frog Pond: (29:48)

Laura and Jen have no frog pond, luckily. But when you don't knit much, you don't frog much.

On Deck: (30:26)

Laura was really inspired by Amy Herzog. She wants to make Birch Bark, Aislinn, Cushing Isle, Striper Cardigan, and the Drumlin Cardigan. Otherwise, it's the same.

Jen wants to make Hitofude and redesign her Joshua Tree Cardigan. She wants to make something for her friend’s baby out of White Birch Fiber Arts Rainbow Warrior colorway. She also has the Watermelon by Alana Dakos planned.

Knit Culture: (35:03)

We review Defarge Does Shakespeare, edited by Heather Ordover (of Craflit), published by Cooperative Press. It retails for $16.95 for pdf only and 29.95 for print and pdf copy. We LOVE this book. We love the patterns and the essays and that in the electronic copy there is a button to click that takes you to the Ravelry page for the pattern.

Basically, we say buy this book and all the other Defarge books.

Geek Culture: (55:57)

We talk about the new trailer for Star Wars and the return of Orphan Black.

Upcoming Events: (59:07)

Laura has a trunk show at Ewe and You on May 31st, for their first anniversary.

Camp CogKNITive is August 21-23, Camarillo, CA. It’s a great and relaxing weekend.

Knit Dizzney will Sunday, September 13th, 2015. There will be T-shirts, project bags, and exclusive yarn available for pre-order. The meetup will be at 2pm at the Hearthstone Lounge in the Grand Californian.

Yarnosphere is October 17-18 EXPO Art Center in Bixby Knolls, Long Beach. Laura is vending.

Catching Up: (0:19)

Jen got a new job (new position, same company) and she's really looking forward to starting it. She did some serious spring cleaning at home. She went to Craftcation and had a great time. She even got to hang out with Kim Werker, who is an awesome crochet designer and Amy Tangerine was also there. She has been doing a lot of gigs with Ron. And she's continuing to work on Firefly sampler from Watty’s Wall Stuff. She has a lot of tiny detail work left.

Laura also got a new job! This one is at a different company than where she previously worked. She has a few weeks off while she transitions and will get to spend some time with family, including helping her mother-in-law clean house for remodeling and visiting with her step-daughter and her family. She got some new lovely yarn in the mail from Annie Modesitt's yarn club and it's super pretty.

In the Knitting Bag: (12:10)

Jen hasn't had a lot of knitting mojo for various reasons. She worked on her blanket inspired by the Baby Yours Sweater by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee out of Cascade 220 Superwash Sport in Winter White. She finished all the knitting on her Customfit tunic top out of Cascade Heritage in Deep Plum.  Now she needs to block.

Laura worked on her Yggdrasil Afghan by Lisa Jacobs out of Berroco Vintage Chunky in Mocha. She also worked on her Swirl Hat (Crochet) from Patons out of Knit Picks Gloss Fingering in black.  She worked on her Ink by Hanna Maciejewska in Dizzy Blonde Studios Superwash Sock in Applegate and she swatched for her Carson Shawl by Romi Hill out of Forbidden Woolery Pride Fingering.

We thank our listeners for the good crochet swatching advice.

Finished Objects: (18:36)

Jen hasn't finished anything because of no mojo and no blocking space. She also seriously needs to update Ravelry.

Laura has finished another preemie hat and all the crocheting on her Quinty by Bernadette Ambergen. She blocked it and wove in ends and it just needs photos.

We mention Caro Sheridan's Photography Class on Craftsy.

Devil's Tower: (24:46)

Jen just has lots of stuff waiting on blocking and finishing. She misses her mojo.

Laura had a block party and blocked Quinty, her Night Blooming Shawlette, and her Clapotis.

Frog Pond: (26:07)

Jen had to rip back to fix a split stitch in the sleeve cap of her tunic. She also had a sad mishap with an order from a company--just a minor mistake and the company had great customer service to fix the problem really quickly, it was just a sad disappointment to open the package and find the incorrect order. Basically, she just isn't very patient.

Laura didn't have any issues, luckily.

On Deck: (30:58)

Jen is having trouble thinking about it because she has lost her mojo, but she wants to make some baby sweaters for various baby-having people in her life. She wants to make one sweater out of the White Birch Fiber Arts. This was inspired by Jasmin of the Knitmore Girls's sweater for her new baby. She has a lot of other stuff, including the Hitofude Cardigan.

Laura wants to do a crescent or semi-circular shawl with some of her lovely new gradient yarns. Other than that, she has the same list as previously detailed in other episodes (

Knit Culture: (34:06)

We review A Head for Trouble: What To Knit While Catching Crooks, Chasing Clues, and Solving Murders by Julie Turjoman from Passiflora Press. The book retails for 19.95 for a Ravelry download and starting at 20.03 for the hard copy book on Amazon (regular price $26.95). We both LOVE this book. The styling, photography, and patterns are all gorgeous. We love the details on all the patterns and can't wait to make them. The patterns are inspired by the 20's but not costumey. There are patterns for 10 hats and each hat has a matching accessory. Also each hat/accessory combination is inspired by a fictional woman detective and each hat has a paragraph describing the character who inspired it. We like it just as much as the designer's other book, Knits That Breathe. And we are really excited about the fact that this one is called "Volume I" and can't wait for "Volume II".

Geek Culture: (45:37)

We talk about Con Man, a new project from Alan Tudyk and Nathan Fillion and also the return of the X-Files (and Twin Peaks and Full House--so it's apparently the 90's again).

Also Hot Topic and Torrid have an Orphan Black collection.

Events: (50:51)

Vogue Knitting Live, April 17-19 at the Pasadena Convention Center. Laura is taking Amy Herzog’s class.

Camp CogKNITive is August 21-23, Camarillo, CA. It's a great and relaxing weekend.

Knit Dizzney will Sunday, September 13th, 2015. There will be T-shirts, project bags, and exclusive yarn available for pre-order. The meetup will be at 2pm at the Hearthstone Lounge in the Grand Californian.

Yarnopshere is October 17-18 EXPO Art Center in Bixby Knolls, Long Beach. Laura is vending.

Catching Up: (0:25)

Laura went to Disneyland for Dapper Day. We also talk about Galliday. She's been dying for both Mean Girls and Sunnydale Yarn Clubs. She's really enjoying Agents of SHIELD. And she did some family visiting.

Jen has been working a million hours a week, cutting into her knitting time. She and Ron played two gigs, one at a wine bar and one at the Long Beach Art Walk. She visited her family and got to see her new baby niece and her other niece and her nephew. She's continuing work on her Firefly sampler from Watty’s Wall Stuff and spinning on her Threewatersfarm.

Melissa went on a cruise with her knitting group and got a lot of knitting done, for the first time in a while (because she likewise work a million hours a week). She has a cold (not Legionnaire's Disease). She saw Kingsman and we talk about the violence in the film. And she's really excited for Furious 7.

We also talk about inappropriate work emails.

In the Knitting Bag: (11:05)

As a note: Melissa is wearing her Customfit Featherweight Cardigan out of Dizzy Blonde DK in the Martha colorway.

Laura passed the 2nd corner and on the 3rd side of her Yggdrasil Afghan by Lisa Jacobs out of Berocco Vintage Chunky Mocha. One more row until the second sleeve of Quinty by Bernadette Ambergen is done. She's making the XL size in Dizzy Blonde Studios Superwash Sock, color Marie. She started on Swirl Hat (Crochet) from Patons for her mom for Mothers' Day out of Knit Picks Gloss Fingering in black.  She's all ready to start on Ink by Hanna Maciejewska in Dizzy Blonde Studios Superwash Sock in Applegate.  She's also doing a magic ball preemie hat out of odds and ends of Knit Picks Brava and Berroco Vintage.  And she's planning to do a Yarn Baby Shawl KAL with her friend Cheryle of the Carson Shawl by Romi Hill in 3-color yarn baby from Forbidden Woolery out of Pride Fingering in Smoke Signal, Illium and Mo Duinne

Jen is almost done with the second sleeve of her Customfit Tunic out of Cascade Heritage.  She's also working on her Bohus Cuff from her class from Stitches West.  She's swatching for the Four Season Summer Symphony Wedding Ring Shawl by Russian Lily out of Gossamer Weight Silk/Cashmere from Colourmart in a cream color.

Melissa is doing a test knit for Customfit that is way overdue out Wollmeise DK in Erbse. She is also working on her Coracle in Sweet Georgia Trinity Worsted in Oceanside. And another Customfit sweater that she calls her Korl!!! Cardigan out of Cascade 220 in Coral (and yes the name is a reference to The Walking Dead. She is also preparing for a knitalong with a coworker that she taught how to knit. They are going to make an open-front cardigan from the book Knit It!: Learn the Basics and Knit 22 Beautiful Projects, which we recommend for the beginning knitters in your life.

Finished Objects: (22:30)

Laura finished one preemie stripy hat that she cast on for social knitting for Stitches West. She's made it out of leftover Berroco Vintage and Knitpicks Brava.

Jen finished her second 15-color Rainbow Sock in The Fab Funky Fibres self-striping sock yarn of the same name and the heel was out of black Cascade Heritage.  She did the thumb joint top hat afterthought heel by Lara Neel and loves it! (You can find instructions in the Fork in the Road Socks pattern--which is free). We mention Lara's book Sock Architecture and her blog Math4knitters.

Melissa blocked and seamed a sweater that had been done since December. She had a pile of stuff to block and seam, but she had a blocking block. All three of us have them.

Devil's Tower: (25:37)

Which segues to a boring Devil's Tower where we all have stuff to block.

Frog Pond: (25:54)

Melissa wants to do a shawl collar on her Korl!!! cardigan. She decided to wing it. She had to frog it one time. Then, history repeated itself, so Jen frogged it this time because Melissa just couldn't bring herself to do it...again.  What are friends for? This sweater also had an issue with the sleeves, because Melissa generated the pattern with straight sleeves instead of tapered sleeves. This sweater has been a lot of knitting. This sweater is cursed.

We mention the films Snowpiercer and Dracula: The Untold Story.

On Deck: (31:31)

Laura added Bunnies "R" Us by Marken of the Hat and I to her list of usual suspects.

Jen's planning on starting on the Hitofude, redesigning the Joshua Tree Cardigan, something for her friend's baby and a shawl for her to wear at her sister's wedding.

Melissa will start the aforementioned cardigan with her coworker. She also wants to make the adult version of the Playful Stripes Cardigan by Alana Dakos, Charlie's Cardigan by Amy Herzog, and she might make a third Leah’s Lovely Cardigan. Jen and Melissa both love how the sweater fits although the find knitting it a bit of slog.

Knit Culture: (36:50)

Stitches West wrap-up!

Laura spent most of the time in her booth, but she enjoyed it. Her haul included a lace-weight linen gradient yarn baby from Apple Tree Knits, another 3-color sparkly yarn baby from Forbidden Woolery, a Little Brother gradient set from Yarn on the House.  Sparkly "Exploding T.A.R.D.I.S." yarn from Steven Be and the book "Crochet so Lovely" by Kristin Omdahl.

Jen and Laura got to meet Stephen West at the pajama party and he was very personable and funny (he judged the pajama contest) and he complimented Jen's Leah's Lovely Cardigan. Melissa got a ton of compliments on her Rainbow Sweater.

Jen and Melissa had dinner with the Knitmore Girls and Maria from Subway Knits. Jen took a design your own Pi Shawl class and learned a new cast-on she loved.

Jen got a mug and some stitch markers from Jennie the Potter, some lovely red fingering weight yarn from Jill Draper Makes Stuff for a sweater, some pink fingering yarn from Miss Babs for a sweater, and lots of vintage buttons, including Bakelite sets. Both Melissa and Jen got some rainbow yarn from White Birch Fiber Arts.

Melissa enabled Jen to get some Indigodragonfly for a sweater (and Melissa got some too) from the Yarnover Truck. We love her colorway names.

Melissa also got a Jennie the Potter mug and some citrus yellow Jill Draper Makes Stuff Yarn. Melissa got some new yarn babies from Newton's Yarn Country, one in hot pink and one in purple and they were a great deal. She also got several sweater quantities of yarn from Miss Babs in Perfectly Wreckless and Deep Sea Jellyfish and Funny Papers.

Melissa and Jen took a six hour class on picking up stitches with Lily Chin and are now experts on picking up stitches. It was amazing. Jen took a class on Bohus Knitting with Susanna Hansson and it was amazing. She even got to see some of the original vintage garments, and even pick them up and handle them. They worked on a cuff in class as well. She wants to get a kit to make a sweater from Angora Garnet. And she also took a great stranded knitting class with Beth Brown-Reinsel, which was amazing, but her brain was seriously fried because it was Sunday.

Melissa took color classes with Laura Bryant of Prism Yarns.

Jen is not going to take so many classes next year; she is going to do more social stuff. Laura got to meet Marnie McClean in person. And Melissa and Jen got to reunite with a old knitting friend who surprised everyone by coming from England to attend Stitches (who also won the student fashion show). And everyone managed to have great food, including Psycho Donuts.

We mention Exploration Station, Rockefeller, Enchanted Mesa, Green Planet Yarn, and Foxy Knits.

Geek Culture: (1:05:00)

"Goodbye Old Friend", we bid a bittersweet farewell to Leonard Nimoy and Terry Pratchett. Jen shares her favorite Leonard Nimoy story.

Upcoming Events: (1:08:32)

Vogue Knitting Live, April 17-19 at the Pasadena Convention Center. Laura is taking Amy Herzog's class.

Camp CogKNITive, August 21-23, Camarillo, CA.

Yarnopshere, October 17-18 EXPO Art Center in Bixby Knolls, Long Beach.

Catching Up: (0:35)

Jen has been working out a lot of new music. She's still spinning her BFL from Threewatersfarm; she plans to make a two ply. She's been running and using her new Fitbit to try to be more active, including running. She's continuing work on her Firefly cross stitch sampler from Watty’s Wall Stuff. She and Melissa also watched some terrible movies including Last Stand and Fire with Fire.

Laura saw Wicked with her mom. She did a trunk show at Ewe + You and it went really well. Blarney Yarns was also there. She got caught up on Blacklist and thinks it's awesome. Heather shipped the newest installment of Sunnydale Yarn Club, which was based on the episode "The Zeppo". Laura is also really excited for some new crochet patterns from Ann at Freeform Fibers.

And we are both really excited for Stitches West!

In the Knitting Bag: (17:54)

Jen worked on her Baby Yours Blanket based on Baby Yours Sweater by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee out of Cascade 220 SW Sport in Winter White, her CustomFit tunic in Cascade Heritage, the second sock of the 15 Color Rainbow Socks from the 15 Color Rainbow self-striping yarn by Fab Funky Fibres. And she's been doing her Stitches Homework and her Playful Stripes Cardigan out of Cascade 220 SW Sport.

Laura worked on her Yggdrasil Afghan by Lisa Jacobs in Berroco Vintage Chunky in Mocha, her Quinty by Bernadette Ambergen out of Dizzy Blonde Studios Dizzy Blonde Superwash Fingering in the "Marie" colorway.

Finished Objects: (25:32)

Jen finally blocked and wove in ends on her Leftie, Hitchhiker, and Leah's Lovely Cardigan

Laura finished a preemie Hat and blocked and wove in ends on her Down the Garden Path Shawl

Devil's Tower: (30:45)

Jen pulled out her Rocky Coast Cardigan and her Rockefeller.

Frog Pond: (34:56)

Laura had some issues with her Quinty caused by "dumbassery" (her words). First, there were gauge issues and we ask for help with crochet swatching. Then she started over and lost some stitches and had to frog again!

We mention Craftsy.

On Deck: (39:39)

Jen really wants to make a Hitofute Cardigan by Hiroko Fukatso. She wants to rework her Joshua tree sweater and needs her charts. She also wants to finish her Sunshine Sock, but it's somewhere safe.

Laura has a lot of deck: Ink by Hanna Maciejewska, Loie by Beth Kling, and the Pashley Wrap by Amy Pickard from the current Knitty.

Knit Culture: (41:48)

My Modern Met article about Teresa Lim: Textile Artist Creates Travel Snapshots by Embroidering with Needle and Thread. We mention Jenny Hart.

The Fiber Factor Season 2 call for designers was cancelled. This makes us sad because we will miss the competition, but we do understand the backlash.

Geek Culture: (50:27)

S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier Set is real

Lego Doctor Who Is Officially Happening in 2015.

And we talk about this Lego In N Out.

Events: (53:13)

Stitches West is February 19-22 and both Jen and Laura will be there.

The LA County Yarn Crawl will be March 26th through 29th.

Vogue Knitting LIVE! is at the Pasadena Convention Center on April 17-19. Laura may take some classes and Jen may go to the marketplace.

Camp CogKNITive will be August 21-23 in Camarillo, CA

We mention Amy Herzog and her book Knit to Flatter and Lisa Souza again (cuz we lurves her!).

Want Knotty Girls Swag? You can get some by donating! Click the donate button in the right sidebar! $10 gets you a set of stitch markers, $20 gets you a project bag, and $25 gets you both! Please include your name and mailing address when you donate and specify if you want crochet or knitting type stitch markers if applicable.

Catching Up: (0:21)

Laura saw Gravity and really enjoyed it. She's adjusting to the new bosses at work. She managed to bruise a rib, which is painful. She's still prepping for Stitches. She released the latest installment for the Mean Girls Yarn Club, based on Moriarty from Elementary. She's been watching Agent Carter, Downton Abbey, and Season 7.2 of Doctor Who. We both gush a bit about Agent Carter. And she's going to see Wicked with her mom soon.

Jen has been spinning some BFL she got from Threewatersfarm in the colorway Cherries and Chilis. She saw The Theory of Everything, Birdman, and The Imitation Game and loved both of them. She's working on a Firefly cross stitch sampler from Watty's Wall Stuff. And she has a new baby niece, which is really exciting!

We mention this video by Chris Hadfield about How you Cry in Space. Also Odyssey Magazine.

In the Knitting Bag: (18:47)

Laura is working on her Yggdrasil Afghan by Lisa Jacobs. She’s making it out of Berroco Vintage Chunky in Mocha.  And she is working on Quinty by Bernadette Ambergen out of DizzyBlonde Studios Sock.

Jen is working on her Customfit tunic top out of Cascade Heritage in Deep Plum; she is on the front.   She's working on her Porcupine Blanket from 60 Quick Baby Knits out of Cascade 220 Superwash in Charcoal, Silver Grey, Turtle, Winter White, and Shire. The knitting is done, but she has a bit of finishing work to do.  And she is working on the blanket inspired by the Baby Yours Sweater by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, out of Cascade 220 Superwash Sport in an off-white (the sweater is done). She finished the first sock out of the FabFunkyFibres 15 Coloured Rainbow self-striping yarn and she is working on the second sock. She did the thumb joint tophat heel from Lara Neel (you can find an explanation in the Fork in the Road Socks. She's working on premie hats. And she's knitting on her Stitches West homework.

Finished Objects: (28:49)

Laura started and finished a hat for Halos of Hope of her own design out of some Berroco Vintage and Knitpicks Brava. She used a lot of mixed textures. She also finished her Berry Slipped Stitch Hat for Halos of Hope. Jen hasn't finished anything.

Devil's Tower (31:31)

Laura has put away her Night Blooming Shawlette for the Sunnydale Yarn Club KAL out of Sunnydale Yarn Club color “My Boyfriend is a Demon Robot” until she has time to block it.

Jen is pulling out several projects to do that last bit of finishing before Stitches West, including her Leah’s Lovely Cardigan, her Leftie shawls, and her Hitchhiker. And she worked a little bit on the sleeves for her Rocky Coast Cardigan by Hannah Fettig out of Fibre Company Organik in Highlands.

Frog Pond: (34:15)

Laura has no frog pond because she's actually reading her patterns.

Jen forgot to do an decrease in the front of her tunic, because the book she was reading while knitting was interesting.

On Deck: (36:02)

Laura's next project is Ink by Hanna Maciejewska. She also wants to make the Quilted Lace Ascot by Pam Powers, Death Star by Patricia Castillo, Swirl Hat, Loie, the Crochet Fan Shawl by Valerie Martin, and Art Déco and Dreambird by Nadita Swings, and the the Effortless Cardigan by Hannah Fettig, and the Sea Glass and Stone Cowl.

Jen wants to make the Hitofude Cardigan, she wants to change her Joshua Tree Cardigan, and something for her friend's new baby.

Knit Culture: (40:54)

We review Kung Fu Knits by Elizabeth Green Musselman, illustrated by Ben Bender, published by Cooperative Press. It retails for 9.95 pdf only and 15.95 for print and pdf. We both love this book and think it's really creative and cute. We love the illustrations and the patterns are really creative and it's a great story in the book.

Geek Culture: (48:27)

Inspired by this article on Comicbook.com, we discuss recurring Whedon tropes in Agents of Shield, Buffy, and Firefly.

Events: (1:04:44)

Stitches West is February 19-22 and both Jen and Laura will be there. Laura is vending in booth 924 and Jen will be taking a ton of classes, but come say hi!

The LA County Yarn Crawl will be March 26th through 29th.

Vogue Knitting LIVE! is at the Pasadena Convention Center on April 17-19. Laura may take some classes and Jen may go to the marketplace.

Catching Up: (0:25)

Jen saw Birdman and she really enjoyed it. She really liked the film and thought the way it was shot was really impressive. She finally caught up on Agents of SHIELD and she really likes the direction it's going, but doesn't like that they killed off on of her favorite characters. And she LOVES Agent Carter. She is really jealous of her friend's cool new yarn bowl that her dad made her out of a salad bowl.

Laura has a new boss at work and it's a bit of adjustment. Her stepdaughter and stepgranddaughter came to visit and they saw Into the Woods and they really liked it. She's been dyeing a lot in preparation for Stitches West. And the first installment of Sunnydale Yarn Club Patrol 3 shipped, inspired by "The Wish".

In the Knitting Bag: (13:18)

Jen is working her Porcupine Blanket from 60 Quick Baby Knits out of Cascade 220 Superwash in Charcoal, Silver Grey, Turtle, Winter White, and Shire. She has to do the finishing on it. She is also working on her Customfit tunic top out of Cascade Heritage in Deep Plum. And she is working on her Baby Yours Sweater by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, out of Cascade 220 Superwash Sport in an off-white.

Laura worked on her Slipped Stitch Hat for Halos of Hope out of three colors of Berroco Vintage. She finished the knitting on her Night Blooming Shawlette for the Sunnydale Yarn Club KAL out of Sunnydale Yarn Club color “My Boyfriend is a Demon Robot”. She just needs to block it.

Finished Objects: (16:50)

Jen forgot that she already talked about her cowl last episode.

Devil's Tower: (17:57)

Laura pulled out her Yggdrasil Afghan by Lisa Jacobs. She's making it out of Berroco Vintage Chunky in Mocha.

Frog Pond: (19:45)

Jen had some troubles with her swift. It broke and she needs a new one.

On Deck: (23:15)

Jen: Playful Stripes Cardigan, Hitofude Cardigan, she wants to change her Joshua Tree Cardigan, and the Southern Skies to go with her Celestarium. She wants to do some serious lace.

Laura: Quinty by Bernadette Ambergen, the Death Star by Patricia Castillo, Swirl Hat, Loie, Ink by Hanna Maciejewska, the Crochet Fan Shawl by Valerie Martin, and Art Déco and Dreambird by Nadita Swings, and the the Effortless Cardigan by Hannah Fettig, and the Sea Glass and Stone Cowl.

We mention the Lacy Knitters Guild.

Knit Culture: (30:20)

We announce the final winner of the stashdown. Congratulations MrsZuvers! Since the stashdown is over, you win YARN!

We talk about how we personally did on the stashdown and our goals for 2015. We both want to concentrate on uncharted waters of our lives--trying new things and focusing on new goals. And we want to encourage you all to do the same. We started a thread in the Ravelry group.

Laura wants to work on larger projects, be more of a social knitter, and grow Dizzy Blonde. Jen wants to spin more and design more and be a better designer and work on her running and her music.

We mention the site Knitmeter.com and Forbidden Woolery.

Geek Culture: (42:25)

Edward James Olmos will be joining the Agents of SHIELD cast, which is awesome.

And we point to this poll to vote for your favorite Doctor Who episodes. We want to hear about your favorite Who episodes.

Events: (44:43)

Stitches West is February 19-22 and both Jen and Laura will be there. Laura is vending in booth 924 and Jen will be taking a ton of classes, but come say hi!

The LA County Yarn Crawl will be March 26th through 29th.

Vogue Knitting LIVE! is at the Pasadena Convention Center on April 17-19. Laura may take some classes and Jen may go to the marketplace.

We mention Lisa Souza.

Catching Up: (0:43)

Laura finally saw Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and liked it. She also watched The Red Tent mini-series on Lifetime, which starred Morena Baccarin as Rachel. She's been dyeing yarn for Stitches West--she has several new colorways. When she did her Christmas shopping, she used Amazon Smile to get some extra money donated to Halos of Hope. She went to Disneyland and love the holiday-themed "Jingle Cruise". Her father-in-law died, which made the holiday season a little less happy.

Jen went and visited her family for Christmas and saw all the babies. And she had a lot of fun shopping for presents. She's been working on music stuff. Her day job is still crazy. She plans to do some cleaning in her stash.

As promised, some clips of Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton: Sparkley!

In the Knitting Bag: (8:45)

Laura is working on her Night Blooming Shawlette for the Sunnydale Yarn Club KAL out of Sunnydale Yarn Club color "My Boyfriend is a Demon Robot". And she's working on a Berry Slipped Stitch Hat for Halos of Hope out of Berroco Vintage.

Jen is working on Customfit tunic top out of Cascade Heritage in Deep Plum. And she’s been working on her Porcupine Blanket from 60 Quick Baby Knits out of Cascade 220 Superwash in Charcoal, Silver Grey, Turtle, Winter White, and Shire.  She started her Rockefeller for Ron out of Twist Yarns Heavenly in Fog and Navy. She is doing German short rows instead of wrap and turn. She started the Baby Yours Sweater by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, out of Cascade 220 Superwash Sport in an off-white.

Finished Objects: (13:58)

Laura finished the Knitted Scale Mail Gloves in an Iron Man theme by CraftyMutt out of Brown Sheep Wool. She crocheted the repulsors out of gray and white Knitpicks Brava. She also finished the Owl Mittens for her friend’s daughter in pink Knitpicks Brava sport weight. And she finished an Openwork Crochet Hat for her mom out of Knitpicks Brava Worsted in Paprika.

Jen finished her project for her guild’s knitalong, a cardigan inspired by the VESSST by Bebe Thomas. It's made of Malabrigo Arroyo. She also finished The Age of Brass and Steam by Orange Flower Yarn out of Feederbrook Farms Entropy in the colorways Nebula and Paradox. And she finished a cowl out of some bulky alpaca from a local yarn store, Twist, Yarns of Intrigue in Blueberry and Grey.

Devil's Tower: (21:22)

Laura set aside her Yggdrasil Afghan by Lisa Jacobs to work on last minute Christmas knitting.

Jen worked for a tiny bit on her Watership Down KAL Shawl out of Unique Sheep Selene.

Frog Pond: (23:13)

Laura missed some increases in her Nightblooming Shawlette so she had to rip.

Jen has been lucky, but she hasn't knit anything too taxing.

We mention the Laminaria Shawl.

On Deck: (26:20)

Laura: Quinty by Bernadette Ambergen, the Death Star by Patricia Castillo,  Ink by Hanna Maciejewska, the Crochet Fan Shawl by Valerie Martin, and Art Déco and Dreambird by Nadita Swings, and the the Effortless Cardigan by Hannah Fettig, and the Sea Glass and Stone Cowl.

Jen: Playful Stripes Cardigan, Hitofude Cardigan, she wants to change her Joshua Tree Cardigan, and the Southern Skies to go with her Celestarium.

Knit Culture: (30:55)

We talk Stashdown.

We have a great interview with Tammy Burke, also known as wearingpurple.

And we talk a bit about the Definitive Ranking of Willow's Sweaters on Buffy.

We also mention Tom and Lorenzo's Mad Style recaps.

Geek Culture: (1:03:24)

We have two cool articles: We emailed a wrench to space with 3D printing and this neuron dress is amazing.

Events: (1:05:32)

Stitches West is February 19-22 and both Jen and Laura will be there. Laura is vending in booth 924 and Jen will be taking a ton of classes, but come say hi!

The LA County Yarn Crawl will be March 26th through 29th.

Vogue Knitting LIVE! is at the Pasadena Convention Center on April 17-19. Laura may take some classes and Jen may go to the marketplace.

Catching Up: (0:26)

Jen had three Thanksgivings and met her niece. She took a trip to the Huntington and it was pouring rain. But the Yarnover Truck was there! She also bought recipe dice. She also bought a new guitar at a Black Friday sale. And she's been working a ton of overtime. She also has been listening to a lot of the Thrilling Adventure Hour Podcast.

Laura had a game day for Thanksgiving. She saw Mockingjay and she liked it. She also mainlined Outlander and can't wait for more. We also talk a little bit about the historical accuracy of the costuming. Mei Mei had a little adventure, but she is fine. And she's been dyeing yarn for various clubs and stores. She got caught up on accounting and filing. And she's heading out for some Disney time soon.

In the Knitting Bag: (17:30)

Jen is working on her sweater for her guild’s knitalong. It’s a cardigan inspired by the VESSST by Bebe Thomas (which was designed specifically for the KAL) and is using a Customfit pattern. She’s making it out of Malabrigo Arroyo in a purple with pink and natural accents. She's also working on her Customfit Tunic Top out of Cascade Heritage in Deep Plum. And she's been working on her Porcupine Blanket from 60 Quick Baby Knits out of Cascade 220 Superwash.

Laura is also working on Knitted Scale Mail Gloves in an Iron Man theme by CraftyMutt for her granddaughter’s father out of Brown Sheep Worsted in the Red Fox colorway. She's crocheting a pair of Owl Mittens for her friend’s daughter in pink Knitpicks Brava sport weight for her friend's daughter.  She's working on her Night Blooming Shawlette for the Sunnydale Yarn Club KAL.  She's also working on her Yggdrasil Afghan by Lisa Jacobs out of reclaimed Berroco Vintage Chunky in Mocha. She’s on the applied edging (still).

Finished Objects: (25:25)

Jen and Laura haven't finished anything.

Devil's Tower: (28:05)

Jen is saying her Rainbow socks are officially with the aliens.

Laura is working on some hats for Christmas presents so she's not working much on her Yggdrasil and it may find it's way into the Devil's Tower.

Frog Pond: (30:02)

Jen frogged her VESSST sweater because she didn't like the stripe placement when she was first starting.

Laura had some gauge issues on the owl mitts and she wasn't sure the correct size as well, so she's ripped out several times. We ask about the "rules of crochet". She also had some issues with scale placement on her scale mail mitts.

On Deck: (34:55)

Jen will make a layette based on the Baby Yours Sweater. She will make a Playful Stripes Cardigan by Alana Dakos, the Hitofude Cardigan, and a Rockefeller for Ron. She also wants to change her Joshua Tree Cardigan.

Laura has a long list: Quinty by Bernadette Ambergen, the Death Star by Patricia Castillo,  Ink by Hanna Maciejewska, the Crochet Fan Shawl by Valerie Martin, and Art Déco and Dreambird by Nadita Swings, and the the Effortless Cardigan by Hannah Fettig, and the Sea Glass and Stone Cowl.

We also mention Leadlight.

We mention Never Not Knitting and Hollywood Knitter.

Knit Culture: (43:15)

We talk about the November theme and announce the winner. Congratulations Knitgirlwalking! You win a copy of History on Two Needles by Annie Modesitt (who donated the copy)!

We also review Mystic Shawls by Anna Dalvi, which was given to us for review by Cooperative Press. We LOVE this book. Go buy it!

We mention Laminaria.

Geek Culture: (55:16)

We talk about cool geek gifts.

Doctor Who Converse

Star Trek onesie

Harley Quinn Hoodie

Avatar the Last Airbender/Legend of Korra Periodic Table

Double Helix Necklace

A Beautiful Science Book

Space Lollipops

Star Wars AT-AT Lawn Ornament

Weeping Angel Tree Topper

Star Trek dog collar

Big Bang Theory Clue

Lab Cocktail Set

Events: (1:02:30)

Stitches West is February 19-22 and both Jen and Laura will be there. Laura is vending and Jen will be taking a ton of classes, but come say hi!

The LA County Yarn Crawl will be March 26th through 29th.

Vogue Knitting LIVE! is at the Pasadena Convention Center on April 17-19. Laura may take some classes and Jen may go to the marketplace.

Catching Up: (0:32)

Laura is happy to announce that her health is just fine. She tried to get into Gotham but she couldn't get into it. Jen was in the same boat with regards to the show. She's been dying a bunch. And she's looking forward to the holidays and spending time with family.

Jen has been working a lot. She saw some movies: Big Hero 6, Snowpiercer, and Ouija. And she has a new pattern available for sale: Cradle Will Rock Shawlette.

Also, we were on Yarn Thing (Marly Bird's Podcast) and it was great. You can listen to our episode!

In the Knitting Bag: (9:14)

Laura is working on her Knitted Scale Mail Gloves in an Iron Man theme by CraftyMutt for her granddaughter’s father out of Brown Sheep Worsted in the Red Fox colorway. She has one done.  She is going to crochet the repulsors in Knitpicks Brava Worsted in grey and white. She's also working on crocheted Owl Mittens for her friend’s daughter in pink Knitpicks Brava sport weight.  They're for her friend's daughter.  She's going to add an edging.  She's also working on her Yggdrasil Afghan by Lisa Jacobs, out of Berroco Vintage Chunky in Mocha. She really likes the pattern but she has to work on it in small pieces because it's huge.

Jen is working on a sweater for her guild's knitalong. It's a cardigan inspired by the VESSST by Bebe Thomas (which was designed specifically for the KAL) and is using a Customfit pattern. She's making it out of Malabrigo Arroyo in a purple with pink and natural accents. She's also working on her Customfit Tunic Top out of Cascade Heritage in Deep Plum. It's a lot of knitting at a really small gauge so it's slow going.

Finished Objects: (19:17)

Laura finished her husband's Motoring Madness mittens by Audrey Nicklin from the book Lit Knits out of a custom-dyed yarn she made. She wants to take the same cable pattern and make a hat and some mitts for herself out of the leftover yarn.

Jen finished a lot. She finished her Mustachioed blanket by Christina Behnke from 60 Quick Baby Blankets. She made it out of Cascade 128 Superwash. She also finished her Heirloom Layette Set by Kerin Dimeler-Laurence out of Cascade Heritage in Snow. She finished the sweater and the hat and they knit up really quickly. And she just made up her own edging for the blanket. And she finished her Playful Stripes Cardigan by Alana Dakos.

We mention Celestarium.

Devil's Tower: (24:10)

Laura needs to block the Motoring Madness Mitts (and several others including the Down the Garden Path Shawl and her Sectumsemptra Socks) and she decided to keep working on Yggdrasil because the corners of the edging is interesting.

Jen pulled out her Rocky Coast Cardigan by Hannah Fettig from Coastal Knits. She did a little work on the sleeves. She's making it out of Fibre Company Organik.

Frog Pond: (27:25)

Laura had some trouble with her Scale Mail Mitts, getting the placement of the scales so she was happy with it.

Jen ripped out her initial attempt at her VESSST because she didn't like where she put the stripes.

On Deck: (30:07)

Laura will make the Night Blooming Shawlette for the Sunnydale Yarn Club KAL. She also has on the list Quinty by Bernadette Ambergen, the Death Star by Patricia Castillo,  Ink by Hanna Maciejewska, the Crochet Fan Shawl by Valerie Martin, and Art Déco and Dreambird by Nadita Swings, and the the Effortless Cardigan by Hannah Fettig.

Jen will make a layette based on the Baby Yours Sweater. She will make a second Playful Stripes Cardigan, the Hitofude Cardigan, and a Rockefeller for Ron.

Knit Culture: (38:44)

We check in on the Stashdown. December's Theme is "A Gift for Myself" so post your FOs in the the thread.

We talk about knitting bags: Namaste, Slipped Stitch Studios, Atenti Bags, Jordana Paige, and Erin Lane Bags.

Geek Culture: (51:55)

We landed on a comet, which is awesome! And we think these bike paths are gorgeous and amazing!

Events: (58:05)

Stitches West is February 19-22 and both Jen and Laura will be there. Laura is vending and Jen will be taking a ton of classes, but come say hi!

Vogue Knitting LIVE! is at the Pasadena Convention Center on April 17-19. Laura may take some classes and Jen may go to the marketplace.