Stitchcraft Podcast

Join us for some self-soothing craft talk to help you weather the pandemic. Take care of yourself, do what you can to take care of others, and wash those hands!

Maranda is enjoying a J. Carver Bourbon and Vernors. Aislinn is belatedly celebrating International Women’s Day with a Big Grove/Domestic Violence Intervention Program Equalitea Party sour beer, and is enjoying it out of a stein made at a local ceramics event with Lion Bridge Brewing and Iowa Ceramics Center and Glass Studio. She glazed it in a pseudo-Memphis style design.

Aislinn is, as usual, getting overambitious with her crafting plans. She just finished her Diesis sweater and has gone back to weaving the pieces for her Penny Cardigan. She will be starting a lacy gift scarf/shawl with Wool and the Gang Shiny Happy Cotton in 101 Spots; the pattern will be the openwork Vs pattern from 400 Knitting Stitches by Potter Craft. She is also loving the idea of patching her jeans with some Mezame Designs Mending Bag patches.

Maranda is a little more cautious, planning to continue working on her friend’s toddler’s overalls and getting herself ready to work from home for the foreseeable future. More projects likely to come!

Gold stars were numerous this episode, including but not limited to: healthcare workers, those who do essential jobs (custodians, sanitation workers, bus drivers), those who wash their hands, and those who stay home if they have the privilege to do so. Everyone who stays home protects the lives of those don’t have the option to stay home. Support small makers and local makers during this time: order from them online/by phone or buy a gift certificate now to use later. Go ahead and buy some fancy soap and hand lotion; you’ll be needing it for a while! Thanks to the internet and mail service for keeping us connected with those we love in this time of social distancing.

Hello almost Spring!

For the podcast, Aislinn was enjoying a limited edition Hazier Things: Neverending Story from Big Grove Brewery. Maranda was trying a new-to-her brewery: Tin Whiskers Blueberry Wheatstone.

Aislinn is almost finished with her Diesis. She is also working on little crochet hearts using the 2019 Advent yarn calendar from Stitch Together Studio held double.

Maranda is a champion of Valentine’s Day, and this year was no exception. This year she assembled little kits of emergency sprinkles and paper valentines from Dunkin’ Donuts. Beautiful enough to display, and tiny enough to use when you need them most! Maranda is also working on some visible mending for toddler overalls.

If you’re interested in getting a tarot card reading, look for @marandatarot on Instagram!

Gold stars this episode go to: West 7th Wool in Fort Worth, Texas. They have a podcast, too! Aislinn really liked their local wall, where she got some Savvy Skeins Optimum DK in Tattooed Lady, and Making Magazine Issue 8: The Forest. Maranda is loving her friend Keith’s new venture BreadCo in Minneapolis. Last but not least, a huge shoutout to @flora_n_fauna_victoria in New Zealand, who introduced us to so many good makers on Instagram (take a look at @thebrightblooms, @detroitknots)!

Holiday recovery! Sorry it took us so long to come back to you all. Aislinn worked through all of the holidays and has had 3 days off in January (total) so it’s been a time. Thankfully, we’re back in time to chat about our new favorite things this year and about looking forward to one of our favorite holidays, Valentine’s Day.

Show notes and links hopefully coming soon!

Aislinn’s gold star goes to No White Saviors.

Maranda’s gold star goes to an oldie but a goodie, Dungeons and Dragons!

We hope to get more detailed show notes up in the future, but at least for now, here are links for shopping Black Owned Business Black Friday!

https://hellobeautiful.com/playlist/black-friday-business-deals-from-black-owned-businesses-2019/

https://uomabeauty.com/

https://lozatam.com/

https://www.camaraaunique.com/shop

http://www.ashya.co/

https://hanifa.co/

pearnova.com

https://www.brownbutterbeautyshop.com/

Aaaand, we’re back! Travel, work, and life changes got the better of us, and it took us a little while to get back to our regular grind. But here we are, no worse for the wear. Aside from the fact that even after I looked it up, I was incorrect about the episode number. :/

Today we talk about so many things, I will probably miss some of them in the links. But here we go:

We’re sharing a New Glarus Moon Man No Coast Pale Ale.

It’s Sweata Weatha!

Aislinn: I made a bunch of these washcloths and also some plain garter linen washcloths. I highly recommend the Quince and Co. Sparrow, it doesn’t hurt your hands even on a small needle!

With all my zero spare time, I have also picked colors and wound yarn for Diesis, named after this symbol ‡. The designer, Alice Caetano, created a really fun online tool for trying out potential colors on that link, just scroll down to the bottom of the page to find it. I’m planning to knit mine in mostly Plucky Cozy, potentially with some Trusty thrown in.

I’m also still working on WATG Penny Cardigan in Shiny Happy Cotton. Lord, does the weaving take forever.

Maranda: is doing line reviews for Target Cat and Jack. You’ll be able to see it in stores next season! Take a look at our Instagram for pictures of the Halloween witch house decorations. The kids had huge amounts of fun. The headstones were done in a version of the exquisite corpse.

Gold stars:

Maranda: loves hanging out with other people and their kids, particularly interacting with the kids as a friend. We don’t have kids, but we still like them!

Aislinn: loving sweater weather, which drove me to the unnecessary step of purchasing two more sweater quantities of Plucky Knitter yarns (Cozy and Traveler Aran). In my defense, both were discontinued, so when they returned, I lost all my reserve and bought them. I’m also enjoying working on my instagram algorithm to see more BIPOC makers and designers; the world is so big and creative, and it’s been so inspiring to see more of what’s out there.

We’re baaaaaaack! Show notes coming (hopefully) soon. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy our silliness and love of harvest season.

Welcome back, friends! This month we’re delving into Maranda’s new plant obsession (tips welcome!) and Aislinn’s total inability to relax when her to-do list is to-done.

Links:

Aislinn is enjoying this celery simple syrup (but you do have to heat the syrup for the sugar to go into solution) for pretty much every beverage.

Maranda was enjoying the Little Sister Witbier from Door County Brewing, and Lemon Breaker Shandy from Hop & Barrel Brewing, both from the beautiful state of Wisconsin.

Aislinn is looking forward to knitting up Quince and Co. Sparrow in the marled colors Mineral and Rosa Mundi, and Done Roving Frolicking Feet in Highland Haze.

Salvage previously-unsalvagable leftovers with a Cuisinart toaster oven air fryer combo. For small homes or energy-conscious kitchens, it can sometimes replace a standard oven. Aislinn highly recommends it.

Maranda’s gold star this month went to generosity and kismet. Thanks to Marieke Gouda Farmstead Cheese of Thorp, WI, for being so kind and sharing with us! Although sometimes this world feels full of hot garbage and cruelty, there are gems out there and they are one of them.

Welcome back! We’re thrilled to share with you our favorite summer quaffs, our new projects for old friends, and more efforts at a plastic-free life. If menstruation conversation bothers you, feel free to skip from ~42:00 to the end of the podcast, haha!

Links:

Aislinn was drinking Big Grove Passion Project. Maranda was righting the ship with ginger kombucha from KeVita and following it up with Indeed Peach Bum IPA.

Aislinn is working on Shockwaves by Beata Jezek (shortened to 3 skeins instead of 4) in a combination of The Plucky Knitter Single (discontinued) in Mermaids and Gertie, and Madelinetosh Tosh Mo Light in Baudelaire. If you’re looking for a sub for Single, their newer Solo yarn has the same fiber content and structure. She is also finishing a time-traveling love letter: a feather-and-fan baby blanket (pattern handed down from Grandma from some unknown book of patterns) started by Grandma before she died, for a new baby cousin.

Maranda is working on another denim shirting baby blanket, and hemming jeans for our dad.

Gold stars went to Thinx Air hiphugger style (with a bonus point to Diva Cup for still hanging in there for over 10 years), and Maranda’s dear friend Bushra for making a lunar garland for Amanda, whom she does not know. Love abounds!

Wow, the Wisconsin hot tubs really bring out the best in us. In this episode, we extol the virtues of Bud Light Orange (?!), tips and tricks for mixing fabrics in projects, and trying new things. Enjoy our surround sound belly laughs!

Maranda was enjoying a fine Bud Light Orange.

If you’re interested in Pat’s latest invention, orange vanilla Coke + Captain Morgan = Creamsicle Dream. It is a lot of sugar in the tank.

If you’re in Waupaca, and you like a place that takes beer (but not themselves) seriously, we enjoyed H. H. Hinder Brewing Company, especially the I Pledge My Assets IPA. We also really loved New Glarus 2019 Flanders Sour. Might be hard to find, but if you do, definitely a treat for those who love fruity, non-sugary, sours.

Aislinn finally finished the knitting for the Baby’s First Principles blanket! Now for the month-long procrastination on finding fabric to put on the back…she’s also knitting the Overbury Mitts from PPQ’s remake of their first issue, and stitching the Sojourner Truth portrait from Feminist Icon Cross Stitch.

Maranda mentioned Folk Fibers, quilts by hand by Maura Grace Ambrose. For working with knits or any kind of difficult fabric, she highly recommends purchasing a walking foot.

Maranda celebrated Mother’s Day with all of her nurturing friends with a gua sha kit.

Aislinn’s gold star this episode goes to OLIO, an app for food sharing to reduce food waste. Free, easy, and good for the environment! If you’re wondering why food waste is bad for the environment, the case is made very clearly and concisely in the documentary Wasted.

Maranda gave her gold star to the Hoodoo Heritage Festival in Forestville, CA. She learned a ton from many wonderful teachers, and pushed herself out of her comfort zone. If you’ve been thinking about going, she highly recommends it!

It’s been too long! Thank you for your patience as we waded through work and life for the past month. We hope you enjoy our ramblings on our careers, our crafts, and the midwest festival season.

Links:

Aislinn popped open a can of These Boots Were Made for Hoppin’ Hazy IPA, a collaboration between Lionbridge and multiple women brewers from around Iowa for International Womens Day. It was part of Pink Boots Society, a women’s brewing group.

Maranda was enjoying Stone Tangerine Express IPA.

Interested in learning more about how to share a complex topic with the general public? Even if you’re not a scientist, these online lectures could be useful for helping get other people interested in what you do. Aislinn found these super helpful as she participated in the Kavli Institute’s inaugural Share Your Science course.

Maranda’s working on several “secret” Mother’s Day and housewarming gifts for folks…come back in future episodes to hear more details!

Aislinn is finally hitting the home stretch on the Baby’s First Principles baby blanket. We discussed a little bit how to pick colors for colorwork that pops (so you can see the patterns clearly), and here is a visual for how to do the black-and-white photo check to confirm your colors have different enough values (brightness/darkness, contrast) that they will show your hard work!

Knitpicks yarns are a good place to start if you want good quality yarns on a budget. Their Palette yarn is a particularly good place to start for colorwork newbies, since it is affordable, “sticky” (meaning it won’t slide off your needles or out of stitches when they’re dropped), and has lots of color options.

We waxed poetic about our love for the now-defunct ReadyMade Magazine. It was, truly, really awesome. It was the magazine that got Aislinn thinking maybe she really was a crafty person, even if her skill set told her otherwise.

Gold stars for this episode go to Lizzo for her new album Cuz I Love You. The first tour sold out super fast, but she announced a second one that might be coming to your town! Maranda also recommends Tales From the Tour Bus. Aislinn is super pumped for festival season, done Midwest style, with space at venues, friendly people, and a lot of variety. We both really enjoyed Mission Creek this year, and we look forward to Rock the Garden, and of course our annual state fairs! Other potential festival visits include Hinterland and 80/35. Eaux Claires is not happening this year but hopefully will be back in 2020.