90% Knitting...has moved!

I've officially moved the 90% Knitting videocast over to the new Fibernymph Dye Works blog. So, each week's episode will now appear over there along with the show notes. Though I will not be updating this blog with the videocast any longer, I am going to leave it up and active, as I haven't yet decided if I will try to continue to use it for it's original purpose or not. Time will tell! :)

If you're looking for this week's 90% Knitting episode, though, here's the direct link for it. I'm having some issues with the sidebar stuff on the main page of the new blog (issues as in...it's no longer there...no idea why...it's on all the other pages, just not the main one, which is kind of a problem), but I'm hoping to get them worked out soon!

90% Knitting - Episode 11

This was Take (freakin') Four of recording today. Me and the camera...grrrr. I was far more put together and coherent in Take One and Two. Sigh.

Welcome to the new members of the 90% Knitting group on Ravelry, and thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers for our son in Afghanistan. He's all recovered from his injuries and has returned to his unit now.

ON THE NEEDLES:

• 1. Moody Blues Socks, plain vanilla sock, my hand-dyed, stilllll on #2. US1/2.25mm needles.
• 2. Autumn Dream Scarf, pattern by Wendy Johnson, yarn by Indie Dyer in Dragonfly. US6/4mm needles.
• 3. Slouchy Cardigan, vaguely following Helene Roux' pattern from Greetings from Knit Cafe, Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy yarn, on US7s/4.5mm needles.

FINISHED OBJECTS:

• 1. Preemie Baby Beanie, pattern by Karen Everitt, leftover sock yarn. (Little baby Caroline, for whom Melissa started the Sweet Caroline preemie cap KAL passed away. Sadness. :( )

ON THE WHEEL:

• 1. Started the Knit Girllls SAL last Friday. Spun half of my Tempted fiber so far.

SHOP UPDATE:

• 1. Lots of sock yarn this week, mostly 100% Merino. There will be some short skeins and a few new colorways featuring my new favorites shades of pink and purple.
• 2. Two new colorways in the light fingering 535 yard skeins.
• 3. I dyed up mini-striping yarns w/ coordinating semi-solids in worsted with monsters and mittens in mind.
• 4. Featured spinning fiber this week is BFL.
• 5. There will be more bags this week (I don't think I remembered to say this on the videocast!)
• 6. This week's shop update will be on Friday between 6 - 7 p.m. eastern. Hoping to give people who work during the day a shot at catching the update!

RESOURCES/RECOMMENDATIONS:

• 1. The Big Book of Knitted Monsters, by Rebecca Danger
• 2. Spud & Chloe at the Farm, by Susan Anderson
• 3. Norwegian Handknits, but  Sue Flanders and Janine Kosel
• 4. Also, the Deluxe Collector's Edition book of Gnomes, illustrated by my favorite illustrator, Rien Poortvliet. Not at all knitting related, but still very cool. (Beware the nekkid gnomes.)

10%:

• 1. This week's Quickie KAL will be Susie's Reading Mitts, by Susie Rogers and Janelle Masters.
• 2. Got the basement cleaned out enough that I can access my workout equipment again! Time to get busy! I feel so sluggy.
• 3. I can't help it...I feel the urge for a new tattoo. Soon. Very soon. Stay tuned!

90% Knitting - Episode 10

ON THE NEEDLES:

• Moody Blues socks, my hand-dyed. Still working on #2
• Wendy's Autumn Dream Scarf, by Wendy Johnson, yarn by Indie Dyer. No progress, but it is still active.
• Slouchy Cardigan, pattern from Greetings from Knit Cafe, by Helene Roux. I'm actually following the mods from Belleepoque's Rav notes on how to do the sweater top down.
• Preemie Baby Beanie, pattern by Karen Everitt, leftover sock yarn.

FINISHED OBJECTS:

• Pedestrian Crossing Cowl, pattern by Melissa Tuttle Sibley, Malabrigo Rios in Indicetia
• Bunny Nugget, pattern by Rebecca Danger, my hand-dyed
• March YOSS Shamrockin' Socks - done only in the sense they are going to be frogged due to excessive stupidity and lack of common sense on my part. Total and utter sock FAIL. :(

ON THE WHEEL/IN THE DYE:

• Still spinning the camel on the wheel while I wait to start the Knit Girllls SAL with the Tempted fiber on Friday.
• Bought a fabulous new spindle - a Trindle - at Homespun Yarn Party.
• Dyeing galore to try and restock the shop for this Friday's update. This week, there will be some worsted and fingering self-striping, some light fingering vareigated and some Falkland top, as well as a few more bags. The shop will update this week between 4-6 p.m. eastern, NOT 5-7 as I said in the videocast! Argh!

RESOURCES/RECOMMENDATIONS:

• CraftSanity magazine again, since the video got goofed up last week right as I was talking about it.
• Japanese Garden Shawl drawing winner - Marigayle!

10%:

• Happy birthday Lala/Laura from The Knit Girllls!
• This month's Quickie KAL drawing winner is...announced in this segment of the videocast! ;)
• This week's Quickie KAL pattern will be Preemie Baby Beanies by Karen Everitt. I chose this in support of Melissa/Meliabella's Sweet Caroline KAL on the His & Her's podcast group.
• Homespun Yarn Party was so much fun last Sunday! Really enjoyed meeting those of you who introduced yourselves to me there! :)
• Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who came and made opening day of the shop a huge success last Friday! I really appreciate each and every one of you!

90% Knitting - Episode 9

The big announcement this week is that the Fibernymph Dye Works Etsy shop will open on Friday, between noon and 2:00 p.m. eastern. Hope you stop by! You can sign up for the FDW Update Newsletter on the new blog. (I'm still updating the old blog too, but we'll be completely switched over in the new few weeks.)

ON THE NEEDLES:

• March YOSS plain vanilla in Shamrockin' colorway of Big Footie, Keegan Lane Yarns.
• Pedestrian Crossing Cowl, pattern by Melissa Tuttle Sibley; Malabrigo Rios, Indecitia colorway.

ON THE WHEEL/IN THE DYE:

• Finished spinning the BFL/Silk in Juniper colorway from Dyeabolical Yarns.
• Re-started spinning the camel down I started a couple years ago from Anne Tullett's Luxury Natural Fibers.
• Dyed a lot of self-striping sock yarn and variegated light fingering; also sewed up our first batch of bags.

RESOURCES/RECOMMENDATIONS:

• CraftSanity Magazine - available in PDF or hard copy
• Wendy Johnson's Japanese Garden Shawl. She's donating the profits from this pattern to the American Red Cross for relief efforts in Japan through the end of April. I'm offering a drawing for one copy of this pattern on the Rav group. Enter here.
• I will also be donating any profits I make from now through the end of April from my two patterns on Ravelry, Call Before Digging and Twisted & Twining to relief efforts in Japan through Mission to the World.

10%:

• This week's Quickie KAL will be Bunny Nuggets and/or Chubby Chirps, free patterns both from Rebecca Danger. Make either or make both and post pictures on the Rav thread to be entered in the monthly KAL drawing. First monthly KAL drawing will be on next week's episode.
• Going to the Homespun Yarn Party on Sunday in Savage, MD!
• I'm obsessed with Plants vs. Zombies on the iPad. Totally addictive!

90% Knitting - Episode 8

This week my daughter Emma joins me for the videocast. We're also using a new camera, which hopefully will not throw in any technical surprises with regard to viewing it. Fingers crossed!

(Note that right around the 15 minute mark, there is a weird jump in what I'm saying...had to stop to deal with a phone call and had to stop recording for a few minutes, but that isn't overly obvious in the video, it just kind of looks like I randomly switched topics...I'm scattered, but not that scattered. LOL)

Welcome to all of the new members this week who introduced themselves on the 90% Knitting Rav board.

And thank you to ALL of you who watch 90% Knitting. There are a ton of knitting videocasts out right now, so I appreciate that you choose to use your valuable time watching mine. :)

The shawl I'm wearing is the Traveling Woman, pattern by Liz Abinate, which I made last year out of Fleece Artist Merino 2/6, Moss colorway.

ON THE NEEDLES:

• Moody Blues Sock #2, my hand-dyed self-striping yarn.
• March YOSS plain vanilla Sock #2, Keegan Lane Yarns in the Shamrockin' colorway.
• Autumn Dream Scarf, pattern by Wendy Johnson, yarn from Indie Dyer, 100% Merino, Dragonfly colorway.

FINISHED OBJECTS:

• Beret de Printemps, pattern by Jeni Chase; Malabrigo Silky Merino yarn in the Archangel colorway.
• Mitered Leaves Shamrock, pattern by Vickie Howell, yarn is Univeral Yarns Ditto.
• Round Dishcloth, patterny by Amy Carpenter, yarn is Peaches & Cream cotton

ON THE WHEEL:

• Dyeabolical Yarns, BFL & Silk fiber, Juniper colorway. Since I forgot to bring the bobbins in for recording, here's a picture...the one on the left is the second quarter(ish) of the fiber. I'm so bad at dividing fiber equally.
  
  
  
• Check out my special episode, Intro to Spinning.
• If you'd like to see a good video plying demonstration, check out the one LynnZimm -- spinner extraordinaire! -- recorded last week.
• Dyed four braids of 100% Merino top for the shop, including the one informally being referred to as the "Happy Hippy" colorway. ;) Did some yarn dyeing as well, though some was for specific people, so I didn't show it, and the rest of it was still damp.

DESIGN PROJECTS:

• I'm teaching my first class at the new LYS this Saturday, Beginning Knitting. 

OOPS:

• Dyeing oops...learned that dye doesn't always do what you think it will do under certain circumstances. So noted. :}

RESOURCES/RECOMMENDATIONS:

• If you're looking for a drop spindle, check out the ones made by Highland Handmades. I've heard nothing but good things about them. Individual spindles and fibers are available in her shop now, but Heather is putting together more spinning kits for anyone just starting out or who'd like both a spindle and a bit of starting fiber. She said they'll be listed sometime this weekend.

10%:

• Received my Knit Girllls SAL fiber in the mail from Tempted today! Yum!
• The 90% Knitting Quickie KAL pattern for this week will be the Pedestrian Crossing Cowl by Melissa Tuttle Sibley of Keegan Lane Yarns. Perfect project for Malabrigo Rios, if you're still looking for a Malabrigo March project.
• Made reservations for the hubby and I to go to Rhinebeck in October. Yeay!
• New videocasts you might want to check out...I haven't had a chance to watch all of them yet, but you can't say there aren't viewing options! ;) (Rather than link them all here, you can find the links to them over to the right in the sidebar for Knitting Videocasts.)
• A Chronic Knitter
• Complex Textures
• Dragonfly Soars
• Knit Bytes
• Needle Bound
• Suezee Knits
• The Expectant Knitter
• This Cat Knits
• I'm putting together a new blog to go along with the shop once it opens. Eventually, this blog will no longer be updated, and all new videocasts will be posted over on the Fibernymph Dye Works blog (the old ones have already been put up over there as well), along with shop news and my own knitting, spinning and fiber-related news. There is a button over there that will let you sign up to be on the FDW mailing list and receive updates about the shop a few times a month.

90% Knitting - Intro to Spinning

Because there seemed to be a lot of interest on spinning on the 90% Knitting Ravelry group, especially from new spinners, today I recorded the first in a series of special episodes on spinning. This one mainly talks about the basics of what to know about fiber and your spinning tools before you actually get started spinning. As I said in the

The book I referred to is The Knitter's Book of Wool, by Clara Parkes. I realllly recommend this book to all knitters, but especially if you want to spin. You need to know your fibers!

I may have referred to the S & Z twists backwards. I said that spinning clockwise creates an S twist and spinning counterclockwise creates a Z twist. After I recorded, I thought about it and decided I had it backwards. So I looked it up in several different places. Depending on where you look, you'll see it both ways! Gah! Regardless, what is important to note is that if you spin clockwise, you must ply counterclockwise and vice versa. But I'll talk about that more when I get to the plying episode. :)

Thanks for watching!

90% Knitting - Episode 7

So sorry for the horrible lighting in this episode! Between needing to have my ceiling light on and my unforunate choice of a hot pink shirt (never! again!), the colors in this episode are quite off at some parts. Blargh. :( 

Thank you to everyone who introduced themselves in the Ravelry group this week! We've over 200 members now, and to celebrate that, I did a couple of random drawings. Wombatknitter and flangel813 will both be receiving a little something direct from my stash!

ON THE NEEDLES:

• Moody Blues Socks, from my hand-dyed yarn.
• Plain Vanilla March YOSS sock; Keegan Lanes Yarn, Shamrockin' colorway.
• Beret de Printemps, pattern by Jeni Chase; Malabrigo Silky Merino, Archangel colorway.

FINISHED OBJECTS:

• I got nuthin'.

ON THE WHEEL/IN THE DYE:

• No spinning, but I dyed some roving and several skeins of self-striping worsted weight. Still testing out colorways for the shop! Shared some swatches of how they might knit up.

DESIGN PROJECTS:

• Planning outlines for upcoming classes I'll be teaching at a LYS, Stormy Blue, this month and next.

OOPS:

• Beret de Printemps mess...I should NOT knit lace while watching TV, no matter how simple the chart seems.

RESOURCES/RECOMMENDATIONS:

• Namaste Buddy Case - what do you use yours for?
• Knitter's Review e-newsletter and web site, specifically the events calendar. Events I'm hoping to get to this spring:

• Homespun Yarn Party, Savage, MD, March 27
• Spring Fling, St. Louis, April 28 - May 1
• Maryland Sheep & Wool - Howard County Fair Grounds, MD; May 7 & 8
• Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Festival, Waynesburg, PA; May 21 & 22
• Great Lakes Fiber Show, Wayne County Fair Grounds, Wooster, OH; May 28 & 29

10%:

• Stash enhancement - I fell down with a large Rios purchase from TLE's update last Monday. Also received a lovely skein of Wollmeise in the mail in a swap, and I won a TLE gift certificate as well as a skein of Bugga in Blue Lobster from the Spring Fling Feb. KAL.
• This week's Ravelry group Quickie KAL pattern is the Mitered Leaf Shamrock, by Vickie Howell. Great way to knit a little something for St. Patrick's Day next week and use up some leftovers in the process!

90% Knitting - Episode 6

ON THE NEEDLES:

• Moody Blues socks, plain vanilla pattern, my hand-dyed self-striping sock yarn.
• Will be casting on soon for Beret de Printemps (pattern by Jeni Chase) out of Malabrigo Silky Merino in Archangel and my March YOSS plain vanillas out of Keegan Lane Yarns Toasty Sock Big Footies in Shamrockin'.

FOs:

• February YOSS plain vanillas w/ ribbed cuff out of Fleece Artist Somoko in Sun.
• Slouchy Copy Cat Hat (pattern by Terra Jamieson) for last week's Quickie KAL out of Plymouth Tweed.
• Haruni (HUZZAH!!) (pattern by Emily Ross out of The Loopy Ewe Solids in white.

ON THE WHEEL/IN THE DYE:

• Spinning Dyeabolical Yarns BFL/Silk top in Juniper on my wheel.
• Spinning my hand-dyed Targhee-Mohair in Storm Clouds on my drop spindle.
• Dyed three colorways of sportweight self-striping.

DESIGN PROJECTS:

• Simple lace pattern for a class I'll be teaching next month.

OOPS:

• A few minor dyeing mishaps, but it's all part of the learning process!

RESOURCES/RECOMMENDATIONS:

• It's Malabrigo March on Ravelry!
• Addi Turbos and HiyaHiya circs. I compare them, but ultimately I love them both.

10%:

• This week's Quickie KAL project in the 90% Knitting group on Rav will be the free Round Dishcloth pattern by Amy Carpenter. I'll be using Peaches & Cream yarn for mine, but any unmercerized cotton yarn will do!
• 3191Q, the quarterly indie published magazine put out by the women behind 3191 Miles Apart web site. Fabulous photography, inspiring articles, projects and recipes. Love it! (Sorry, I was way off on the price. A year's subscription within the US is $58, individual issues $20, including shipping. I still think they're worth it.)
• Anton Strout's Simon Canderous series of the urban fantasy genre. Good storytelling, fun sense of humor throughout. The fourth in the series, Dead Waters, just came out.

90% Knitting - Episode 5

Show Notes:

ON THE NEEDLES:

• Feb. YOSS plain vanilla sock; Fleece Artist Somoko, Sun colorway
• Haruni, pattern by Emily Ross; Loopy Ewe Solids Series, white
• Swiftly Turning Afghan, garter stitch afghan; multiple yarns

FINISHED OBJECTS:

• Lowell Cowl, pattern by Antonia Shankland; Sublime Angora Merino & Sublime Kid Mohair Blend
• Daybreak Shawl, pattern by Stephen West; Three Irish Girls Kells Sport Merino, Lagoon & Arboretum

ON THE WHEEL/IN THE DYE:

• Finished the Rambouillet-Soy Silk, 124 yards 2-ply worsted/heavy worsted
• Dyed some (hopefully) four-stripe self-striping sock yarn and some Targhee-Mohair fiber

OOPS:

• Overestimating the yardage I had to work with for the Daybreak shawl, necessitating much tinking in order to bind off!

RESOURCES/RECOMMENDATIONS:

• Keegan Lane Yarns (where I got my Shamrockin' sock yarn)
• BeaGin Designs (for the awesomest stitch markers)
• KnitMeter.com
• More new videocasts (some new-new, some only new to me) -
  
  • I Swear I'm Knitting
  • Dramatic Knits
  • The Wandering Knitter
  • Pink & Barbara
  • Knit Views

10%:

• Join us for the Quickie KAL that is starting this week on the 90% Knitting Ravelry group. This week's Quickie KAL pattern will be the Slouchy Copy Cat Hat by Terra Jamieson.
• AnnualCreditReport.com
• MORE weekly update e-mail, which I talked about the Author Blogs and Books that Inspired Writers features from this week's edition.
• Also, Google Analytics for the win in letting me get in touch with my inner stat geek & learn how many countries are visiting my blog!

90% Knitting - Episode 4

This week the 90% Knitting Ravelry group topped 100 members! Thanks! Please feel free to start your own threads on the board...you don't have to wait for me!

The videocast also appeared on the "New and Noteworthy" page on iTunes in the Hobbies category for podcasts! Check it out! :) Thanks to those who are leaving star ratings and reviews!

ON THE NEEDLES:

• Plain Vanilla Sock for Feb. YOSS; first sock finished, second one started. Fleece Artist Somoko yarn, Sun colorway.
• Calvados - still there, no progress.
• Lowell Cowl - pattern by Antonia Shankland; Sublime Angora Merino & Sublime Kid Mohair Blend

FOs:

• My quickie "Hungry Hands" fingerless mitts to match my Starving Artist hat from last week; Zitron Unikat yarn.
• Swap shawl is finished! Yeay! Details and pictures on my Rav project page.

ON THE WHEEL:

• Still slogging through the neppy Rambouillet-Soy Silk

DESIGN PROJECTS:

• Twisting & Twining has been released and is for sale here. :)
• Crescent shawl - edging ideas are still percolating in my brain

OOPS:

• No oopsies this week other than the angora yarn of death, which really isn't my fault!

BOOKS/RESOURCES:

• Piddleloop Bags are complete awesomesauce! Check out Jennifer's Etsy site!
• Lots and lots of new knitting videocasts out there, and I'm enjoying them. I think I talked a little about all of the ones I've gotten to watch so far, and I'm keeping a running list of the ones I've been watching over there ------>  in the sidebar. Check 'em out!

10%:

• Son's dance picture and Daughter's Lolita dress pictures are in this post.
• Enjoyed Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet Festival despite walking around in the fog of a killer headache. :P (And when I rolled my eyes as I mentioned Bloomin' Yarns, it was not at all a reflection on them! It was just an ill-timed eye roll based on the fact that I was thinking about how crappy I felt at PK&C at that point due to my headache! The Bloomin' Yarns people were extremely lovely!!)
• Big, big thank you to my Shawl Swap partner, Lisa33, for the beautiful Seaside Shawlette and other goodies!

90% Knitting - Episode 3

Welcome to Episode 3!

90% Knitting is now available through iTunes. Hopefully, I've solved the iPod/iTouch issue with this week's episode, but if someone could let me know for sure, I'd appreciate it! Also, there is a 90% Knitting group on Ravelry now. C'mon over!

And again I failed to mention the knitted object I was wearing. It was my A Little Jazz scarf that was made from the pattern (by Samantha Roshak) and yarn (Fiesta Baby Boom) from the March 2010 Loopy Sock Club shipment.

I think I rolled my eyes less in this videocast, but they're still looking shifty. What's up with that??

ON THE NEEDLES:

• Calvados, Thea Colman, Cascade 220.
• February YOSS sock, plain vanilla sock, Fleece Artist Somoko yarn, "Sun" colorway.
• Swap shawl revealed, even though it is still secret. Check it out on the videocast if you want to know more about it. ;)

FOs:

• Starving Artist, pattern by Laura Linneman, yarn is Zitron Unikat.
• I-Love-Stockinette Baby Bibs, pattern by Laura Treadway, yarn is Elsebeth Lavold Cable Cotton.

ON THE WHEEL:

• Finished spinning and plyed the Targhee wool & mohair fiber from last week. Got 285 yards of a worsted weight.
• Handpainted some Rambouillet-Soy Silk fiber. Check out this blog post for more info on this project.

DESIGNING:

• Working on finalizing Twisting & Twining.

OOPS!:

• Calvados Oops Redux...don't just re-read your pattern if you've taken a long break in the middle of a pattern. Go back to your Ravelry project page and see if you've left yourself any helpful notes! Duh.

BOOKS:

• No books this week, but Yarndex is a very helpful resource if you're looking for info on most commercial yarns.

10%:

• Steelers lost the Superbowl...there's always next year. ;)
• Got my TLE Swap package last week, and it was WONDERFUL! Thanks again, Meesh! The book was Alice Starmore's Book of Fair Isle Knitting. The socks were the Inferno pattern made from DIC Smooshy, Lipstick Lava colorway.
• This weekend: My daughter's Lolita meet (here are the cat shoes I mentioned...cute!), my 16 year old son's first official dance (eep!) and Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet Festival.

90% Knitting: Episode 2

The aspect ratio on this video is really wonky, and I can't find a way to fix it. I'll work on it for next week's videocast. Until then, please know that my head really is not that squished. ;)

Thank you to everyone who watched the first episode last week & left such encouraging feedback for me!

Also, thank you SO MUCH Leslie (udontcallmeles) from The Knit Girllls for helping me figure out post-production.

There is a new Ravelry group for the podcast. Come join us!

(Also, I found out right after I finished recording - natch - the podcast is now available on iTunes!)

ON THE NEEDLES: (Links go to my Rav project pages)

• CalVADos Cardigan (as opposed to CalDAVos, as I have been calling it since I started knitting it last year...duh) - Thea Coleman pattern, Cascade 220 Heathers yarn.
• Haruni - Still there, no progress.
• Crescent Shawl - Scholler & Stahl Limbo from deep in my stash; just winging the pattern as I go.
• Shawl Swap Shawl that I can't show you because the swap is still at its secret stage. I can tell you I'm knitting it from the BamHuey fiber I spun and showed you last week, and it's being knit into an Anne Hanson shawl so it will count for the Spring Fling February KAL.
• YOSS February Plain Vanilla Sock - Fleece Artist Somoko yarn, Sun colorway.
• The project bag is a GoKnit pouch, the small one, made by KnowKnits and sold at The Loopy Ewe.

ON THE WHEEL:

• A Targhee wool and mohair blend from Cosymakes' Farm Wool Fiber Club, the November 2010 colorway called Fire Gang. Cosy's blog. Cosy's Etsy shop.

FO's:

• The Little Girl's Valentine's Socks, Austerman Step, plain vanilla pattern.

DESIGNING:

• Twisting & Twining is out to the test knitters!

OOPS:

• Austerman Step...6 knots and reversed color sequence halfway through the ball? So! Not! Acceptable!
• Not re-reading instructions for projects you've set down for a prolonged period leads to errors, such as forgetting to change needle sizes after the ribbing on the back of your Calvados Cardigan.

BOOKS:

• Knit One, Embellish Too, Cosette Cornelius-Bates
• The Knitter's Book of Wool, Clara Parkes

10%:

• Photobooks from Snapfish
• Stinkbugs - ICK!
• The Superbowl is this Sunday! Go Steelers! (Or just watch for the commercials.)

90% Knitting: Episode 1

And...ta-daaaa! The idea for a weekly knitting videocast has been percolating in my mind for a while, and this is my first attempt at making it happen. I beg your mercy for anything strange (including the hum in the audio...will work on that!). I'd love your feedback, as I hope to improve as I go, both technically and content-wise. :)

Show Notes:

Thanks to all of the knitting podcasters (both audio and video) who've come before me and been an inspiration for me to come and join the party. Special thanks to Laura and Leslie from The Knit Girllls and Carin from Round the Twist...your shows are highlights in my week and inspire and encourage me more than you will ever know! (And extra special thanks to Leslie for her technical assistance in getting this up on Blip!)

I said I'd link to my blog in the show notes. However, if you're watching the show, chances are you've already been to my blog, so duh! Still, here it is.

On the Needles: (links go to my Rav project pages)

• I'm participating in the Year of Stash Socks group on Ravelry.
• Little Girl Plain Vanilla Toe-Up Socks, Austerman Step yarn, generic toe-up pattern using Judy's Magic Cast-On and Wendy Johnson's gusset heel. (And yes, I realize my husband's cousin's daughter is not our niece...gah!)
• Caldavos Cardigan, pattern by Thea Colman (Baby Cocktails), knit in Cascade 220. (And yes, I am good with the word things..."pattern writer"...really? I'm sure Thea would be thrilled to know I called her a "pattern writer"...desiiigggnnnerr. That's the word. Sigh.)
• The all-white Haruni that I talked about but didn't show because it a gift that will be finished some time this year.

Finished Objects:

• Year of Stash Socks January Plain Vanilla, my original Pair #1. Regia 4-ply, Kaffe Fassett colorway. (My Danskos that I knit them to knit!)
• Pulpie and Val, made from my original design for a piece of orange juice pulp, that can do extra duty as a candy corn or water droplet. Pulpie was knit from Plymouth Encore worsted; Val was knit from Cascade 220 and Cascade 220 Superwash.

Spinning:

• BamHuey fiber from New Hue Handspuns, Secret Wild Child colorway. There are two pictures of this fiber's true color in this blog post.

Designing:

• Twisting & Twining Cowl, using Frog Tree Alpaca Sport, 130 yards (1 ball). I need a couple more test knitters before I publish this pattern, so leave a comment if you'd like to be one of them!

Oops:

• Why yes, Virginia, Malabrigo Silky Merino DOES felt. Really well. Sigh. (What the Beret de Printemps used to look like.)

Books:

• The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns, by Ann Budd
• Knitting Workshop, Elizabeth Zimmerman

10%:

• It's the middle of a gray winter in Pittsburgh, it's snowing (again) today, so thank goodness I have my yarn basket of sunshine-y goodness! (And I mentioned the Cupcake Mittens that I haven't yet started.)
• Lolita dress in progress. Go here to read about Lolita fashion.
• The Steelers are going to the Superbowl in Dallas a week from Sunday! Woohoo!