snappy stitches

Our last show before Christmas! I should be back early next week though with a recap of my knitting and spinning from the rest of this week.  I have a few spinning projects I'd like to finish up before the end of the year, and I'd like to cast on for a new project using one of these beauties - Making great progress on my Christmas socks, Vanilla Is The New Black by Anneh Fletcher, using Flock Fibre Studio Take A Hike Sock in Naughty or Nice.  I also mentioned the Sport/DK weight version and the toe up version, Vanilla Reversed. These work for the Indie Design Gift-A-Long too! I almost forgot to mention on the podcast that I released a new hat pattern!  It's called Kendale, and has been fully tech edited and test knit. You will find both written and charted instructions for both the texture and lace sections.  This hat pattern uses worsted weight yarn and is written for 3 different sizes. I share my frustrations with using the Brio-Garter Hat by Stephen West as my first brioche experience, plus how I turned it around. It's a great pattern, but I just didn't have the framework I needed to understand it without outside resources, which made it a less than ideal choice for a first brioche project. I found some (FREE) helpful brioche knitting resources for the absolute brioche beginner: The Unapologetic Knitter Brioche In The Round - Two ColorbrLsl (brioche left slant decrease)brRsl (brioche right slant decrease)brkyobrk (brioche knit, yo, brioche knit)Basics of Two Color Brioche - Sosu Knits (she also has some cool brioche patterns on Ravlery) Two Colour Brioche In The Round - Stephanie Jeanne Brioche isn't difficult per se, it's just learning another knitting language! You can do it! I also share a quick update on my Silverfox cardi in the 2T size from  Lisa Chemery using Cascade 220 Superwash. STASH (but not really because I'm planning to use it SOON!) Flock Fibre Studio Take A Hike Sock in Princess Tiger Cub, Desert Flower and Antique Shop. I finished spinning the singles for my COMBO SPIN. Royale and Brimstone from Pigeonroof Studios made a great pairing.

Today I talk about my first finished whale toy, my frogged and restarted Christmas socks, Silverfox cardigan progress and upcoming spinning and knitting projects, including a combo spin for the yoke of a sweater (more details next time). I'm also hoping to start Stephen West's new pattern, the Brio Garter Hat using Sweet Fiber Cashmerino Worsted in Bruin and Shipwreck.

This week I welcome you into my living room and chat about my knitting. We set up the tree over the weekend, and snow was falling outside while I recorded. It's definitely feeling like winter around here. Teas (from David's Tea) Snow Day Coffee Cake FOs Entrechat by Lisa Chemery Fledgling Featherweight by Hannah Fettig in Manos Del Uruguay Marino in Ciruela WIPs Silverfox by Lisa Chemery Yellowtail by Taiga Hilliard Monkey socks by Cookie A (Flock Fibre Studio Take a Hike Sock in Naughty Or Nice) I mentioned Wee Fox by Sharon Ojala and Susan B Anderson's Wee Ones Craftsy class. Indie Design Gift-A-Long 2016 Future WIPs Baby Humpback Whale Crochet Pattern I'm using the same yarn as the designer for the blue one and Loops and Threads Impeccable for the secondary yarn on the pink one. Denim Whale Tutorial - so CUTE!!! And there is a template for it, I just didn't find it at the page I visited before. Definitely making one now!

I draw for a winner of the Flock Fibre Studio yarn - Naughty Or Nice on the Take a Hike base.  It's heading down to Sarah in Minnesota (Cibola won with post #93)! I've started on my Christmas socks already - a pair of Monkey socks out of the same colourway as the giveaway yarn - Naughty or Nice. As of Monday morning, they still have Gingerbread listed!! And a coupon code listed on their etsy shop homepage that's good until the end of the day. I continue to progress (although a little bit slowly) on the Yellow Tail shawl by Taiga Hilliard, using Caterpillar Green XL skein of Shorn This Way. Hoping to get it done before I start on the Buccaneer shawl. Have you checked out the Indie Design Gift-a-Long?  Some great designs, and major prizes being given away in the KAL threads.  The discounts end at the end of the day on November 30th, but the KAL goes until the end of the year, so it's definitely not too late! You can find my designs here.  Next show, I'll show you my new bulky weight shawl design as well as a new hat design. I'm hoping to release them before the end of the year.   I haven't done any spinning in the last 2 weeks, but I did show off the November 2016 Nest Fiber Club!  It's polwarth and surprisingly reminiscent of the Flock Fibre Studio Gingerbread colourway.   Time to get out the holiday movies and knit way December!

Enter the giveaway from Flock Fibre Studio for your very own skein of Take A Hike Sock in Naughty or Nice!  Enter before the end of the day on Sunday, November 27, 2016. All the details are in the Snappy Stitches Ravelry group here!   You could be unwrapping your very own skein in time for the holidays! Nikki and Kim, the dyers behind Calgary, Alberta’s Flock Fibre Studio have very generously donated a skein of this sock yarn for one lucky winner! My Designs on Ravelry| CGD Facebook PageTilbury HatTilbury CowlTilbury Collection EbookTilbury Mittens - coming soon. Yarns|Flock Fibre Studio - specifically, I mentioned Take a Hike Sock in Cold Snap, Gingerbread, Naughty or Nice, Princess Tiger CubMountain Meadow Wool Alpine DKLettlopiCaterpillar Green - XL Skein - Shorn This Way Patterns|Yellow Tail by Taiga HilliardStopover by Mary Jane MucklestoneBuccaneer by Justyna Lorkowska Fiber|Sweet Georgia BFL Spectra 6 Pack from the Spinzilla goodie bag. Tools|Uli's stitch marker from Knitter's NookHiya Hiya SharpsKnitter's Pride Nova Platinas

Winners of the Kinfolk Yarn & Fiber giveaway announced!!  Thank you to Kislan for this awesome giveaway and to everyone who entered! If you were a winner, please send your mailing address to Kylan on Ravelry. I'm currently working on the Stopover pullover by Mary Jane Mucklestone using Lettlopi. Review: Mountain Meadow Wool Alpine DK. I have two pretty skeins in the teal colourway. Some of my pattern suggestions for this yarn: Burnaby Hat by Brooklyn Tweed Hirombe Hat by Brooklyn Tweed Laurel Hat by Brooklyn Tweed High Pines Cowl by Brooklyn Tweed Pond Hopping Fingerless Gloves by Alicia Plummer Pond Hopper Hat by Alicia Plummer Just in case anyone is interested, my new leggings are from Sweet Legs.

I talk about working on getting sweaters and clothes in general to fit, as well and starting a new sweater knit, and a Spinzilla 2016 recap! It's not too late to enter into the huge giveaway by Kinfolk Yarn & Fibre! You can find more information on how to win on the Snappy Stitches Ravelry group - specifically, this thread and this thread.  The giveaway closes October 17, 2017 and all of the specifics are in the entry threads. I've started knitting the Stopover Pullover by Mary Jane Mucklestone, and I'm fiddling with the sizing so I can have a truly custom sweater. It's been a few years since I've sewn any garments (I popped in a slideshow of some of the garments I've made myself), but I'm planning to get back to it so I can have some clothes that fit me. I mention Amy Herzog's first Craftsy class, Knit to Flatter, which has great information on measuring yourself.  Amy's site, Custom Fit, also has great (and free!!) info on taking your measurements, as does her book, Knit to Flatter. Interested in finding out more about Spinzilla?  I'd strongly recommend participating if you're a spinner!  Keep an eye out for spinner registration next Aug/Sept. I gush about the Northbound Knitting Fiber Club and show off the September shipment as well as the October shipment of the Nest fiber club. I am kicking myself for not signing up for the Oct-Dec club from NBK. Most of the fiber I spun during Spinzilla this year was from Custom Woolen Mills (4 pounds to be exact!), but I did spin 1 braid of superwash merino/nylon in the Tea Leaves colourway from Sweet Georgia. I'm not sure they're dyeing this colourway anymore though, because it was a special colourway for Spinzilla this year.  The roving I spun was Rambouillet, Hampshire, and Texel. The Texel was my favourite by far. It's going to make an awesome sweater. My total yardage (which I think I forgot to mention in the podcast) was 10,858 yards!! Better than my stretch goal of 10,000 yards! After Spinzilla I plied up the superwash merino/nylon singles in the Cousteau colourway from Kinfolk Yarn & Fiber. The Yellow Roses shawl by Clothesline Designs has been released, and during the months of October and November 2016, 75% of the proceeds will be donated to Mind, a mental health charity in the UK.

On today's show I recap my Knit City 2016 experience, including talks by Ysolda Teague and Stephanie Pearl McPhee, aka the Yarn Harlot! We also kick off a huge giveaway by Kinfolk Yarn & Fibre! You could win one of these beauties!!! - You can find more information on how to win on the Snappy Stitches Ravelry group - specifically, this thread and this thread. The giveaway closes October 17, 2017 and all of the specifics are in the entry threads. Knitting - I'm continuing to work on my Sandpiper rectangular shawl out of Kraemer Yarns Sophia (lots of details on Episode 128), pattern to be released fairly soon. I frogged the lace shawl out of Sweet Georgia Yarns CashLuxe Fine, Wisteria colourway. I'm going to cast on for something else fairly soon! Knit City - I saw Ysolda's talk on Every Body is Knit Worthy on Friday night, which really got me thinking more about sizing and my feelings attached to it. On Saturday night, I went to the talk by Stephanie Pearl McPhee, aka the Yarn Harlot. It was great! She was hilarious. Here's an article about it by the cbc. I wore my Nordic Wind Shawl by Cabin Four out of Lettlopi on Friday night, all day Saturday and Saturday evening. It was the perfect knitwear for me for the weekend. Super warm - doubling as a jacket almost! I got tons of goodies from Knit City and talked about these companies/people in particular - Ysolda Teague Stephanie Pearl McPhee aka the Yarn Harlot Sweet Georgia Yarns Julie Asselin Sweet Fiber Soft Sweater aka Sylvia McFadden Tin Can Knits Baaad Anna's Yarn Shop in East Van Wet Coast Wools in Kitsilano Wet Coast Wools Videocast with Glenda and Bernadette Yarn Ink Ancient Arts Yarns Sea Turtle Yarns Josee Paquin, Knitwear Designer Mudpunch YOTH (yarn on the house) I grabbed lunch from the Culver City Salads food truck - noodles, salad, creamy ginger dressing and a kombucha to drink. Delicious!

Today I'm wearing the Hakone Cardigan by Amy Herzog, knit from Berroco Ultra Alpaca in January 2015. I talk about participating in the second Initiate Knit Design Challenge with Aroha Knits.  I think she'll be running another one in the future, so you might want to sign up for her newsletter or follow her on social media if you think you might be interested in participating. I'm so excited to be announcing a HUGE giveaway from Kinfolk Yarn & Fibre on the next show, so don't miss out, and make sure you watch it as soon as it comes out!  There will be yarn and fiber!! I'm currently spinning some really nice Superwash BFL in Wanderlust from Kinfolk Yarn & Fibre. I take a look at dyeing and knitting with Kraemer Yarns - Sophia, a sport weight, undyed yarn tailored to the hand dyer. I used RIT Dye in Denim and Teal that I picked up from Michael's. I would really love to try out some of the other Kraemer Yarns bases, I've enjoyed the Sophia so much.  Thanks to Kraemer for providing the yarn, and to Stitchcraft Marketing for arranging the yarn for me to review. When I dyed up the Sophia base (merino, silk, cotton, linen), I used some of the techniques I learned in the Professional Yarn Dyeing At Home Craftsy class.  I would highly recommend both the Kraemer Yarns Sophia base as well as this class. The pom pom maker I showed was the 3 3/8" Clover Pom Pom Maker.  Keep an eye out on Twitter and Instagram for the release of both the Sandpiper rectangular shawl and the Watershed Hat! I mentioned the release of my Watershed Cowl and Mata Shawl. I'm gearing up for Knit City and excited to hear Ysolda Teague and Stephanie Pearl McPhee speak. See you next week!!

Thank you to Kinfolk Yarn & Fibre for sponsoring the show from September to November!  Don't forget there will be a huge giveaway from Kinfolk, which will be announced during the first show in October! The fiber shown at the start of the show is Kinfolk Yarn & Fibre Organic Polwarth in the Cirque du Soleil colourway (repeatable!!!) Lalylala Crocheted Amigurumi characters by Lydia Tresselt (Bina Bear, Dirk the Dragon, etc) Amigurumi To Go - Sharon Ojala I mention Stitch Mastery charting software. I'm spinning Kinfolk Yarn & Fibre - Merino/Nylon in Cousteau on my Lendrum DT, and on my Turtle Made spindle, some Romney/Texel I bought as a raw fleece and have been processing Design New pattern! River District Hat (5 sizes, written and charted). Soon to be released (by the end of September 2016) - Watershed Cowl - keep an eye on Twitter and Instagram for specifics. Shetland - Show I just started watching on Netflix Handworks Coffee Studio