The Wayward Skein: Episode 11

Giveaway:

Please don’t forget to enter the Brandi Miller giveaway to celebrate reaching 10 episodes and 250 subscribers on Youtube and 250 members on Ravelry!! To enter on Ravelry, visit the Giveaway thread and post a comment telling us what pattern you’ve knit more than once (or if you’ve never knit a pattern more than once, that’s valid too!) To enter on Youtube, please comment ON EPISODE 10 and answer the same question. You must be subscribed to youtube if you’re entering there, or be a member of the Ravelry group if you’re entering here. No chatter in the Ravelry thread, please!

Tea: Valerian Nights by David’s Tea (YES, I’m a sucker for David’s Tea!). This is a sort of fruity, sort of sweet herbal tea. Valerian is used by people who have difficulty getting to sleep. This one has bits of caramel, apple, and coconut added to it, and it has a delicate flavor reminiscent of fairground caramel apples.

Birthday Shoutouts

Happiest of birthdays to all our August babies!!! KnittaGal, disascraftwork, DancingLeaf06, huntress1327, Cherylcan (FROM PEI, sorry I forgot!), haizle, rtn1946, soccerballetmom, yarnjunkiemom, AuntyNanaNz, Linknitter, aemummie, shazky, Appaloosa, dragonlady, Mikaria, redyarnknits, YellowZx5, TyMoral, crazyknittinnana, and truffles06, I hope you all had (or are having) a fantastic birthday! ❤

Knitting Content:

Rob’s 2018 socks (based on Sock Recipe: A Good, Plain Sock by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee). Knit out of Bergère de France Lubéron in the Eau Vive colourway on size 2.5mm (US 1.5) needles.

Color Affection by Veera Välimäki. Knit out of Night Owl Fibers Basic Sock in the Rusted Hook, Pumpkin Spice Latte, and Leather Boots colourways on size 4.5mm (US 7) needles.

Peppermint Mocha Socks by C.C. Almon. Knit out of Tilting Planet Apollo Sock in the “Ocean in a Bucket” colourway on size 2.5mm (US 1.5) needles.

Screen Time:

I have given up watching Sliders, since my two favorite actors had left the show, and the final season was never made, so the series ends on a cliffhanger. Instead, I’m rebooting the Marvel universe, according to this CNET article. I watched Captain America and the first two episodes of Marvel’s Agent Carter this week and look forward to seeing more in the next few days!

Podcasts:

The Knit Girllls have a new episode out, as do Ninja Chickens (hosted by ninjachickens and The dunkelgrün group (hosted by dunkelgrun.

Must Love Yarn, which features jrbirdkid and KellySpins, reached their hundredth episode in the last couple of weeks, which is a HUGE milestone! Congratulations ladies!!! If you’re ever in the Burlington area in Vermont, their shop is worth a stop, a restop, and maybe one last visit before you leave!

Have a great week, everybody!

The Wayward Skein: Episode 10

Milestones!

Not only is this episode ten, but we’ve surpassed 275 members in the Ravelry group, and 245 subscribers on the Youtube channel!! I think that’s worthy of a little celebration, don’t you? There will be a two-pronged giveaway held over Ravelry and Youtube. Brandy Miller Designs (eatmyyarns ) has generously offered to donate two of her patterns! She wants you to tell her which pattern you have knit more than once! Brownie points if you link to the pattern on Ravelry, so we can all grow our queues a bit. (If you have never knit the same pattern twice, telling us that will be considered valid).

Ravelry: You must be a member of the group to enter. No chatter, please. Simply visit the Giveaway thread, and answer the prompt!

Youtube: You must be a subscriber. Comment under Episode 10, answering the prompt. Comments that don’t answer the question posed simply won’t be entered into the draw.

The winners will be chosen the weekend of September 1st, when I’ll be recording from Chicago!

Tea: I’m drinking Rainbow Sherbet by David’s Tea today. It’s a vivid, fruity tea that is excellent cold! i was going to try Rhubarb Cream Soda today, but I noticed JUST as I was about to add water to the teabag that it contains mango! Not doing that twice in one weekend 😉

Knitting content:

Rob’s 2018 Socks (based on Sock Recipe: A Good, Plain Sock by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee ). Knit out of Bergère de France Lubéron in the Eau Vive colourway on size 2.5mm (US 1.5) needles.

Color Affection by Veera Välimäki. Knit out of Night Owl Fibers Basic Sock in the Rusted Hook, Pumpkin Spice Latte, and Leather Boots colourways, on size 4.5mm (US 7) needles.

Podcast Reviews:

The Knit Girllls Leslie udontcallmeles and Laura LaLa just recently had their 400-episode anniversary!!! That’s a HUGE milestone. Congratulations, ladies!!! There are some fabulous sweaters being worked on in this episode (403).

Rosehaven Yarn Shop Podcast: Lesley artsymom and Tim have a new episode this week, and they were at Twist Fibre Festival this weekend! Tim recently attended a Men’s Knitting Retreat and tells us all about it, while the dyepots are bubbling in Lesley’s basement!

Selma’s Knits: Not to be confused with Selma from Little Big Knits, THIS Selma, Selmasknits, is from France, and records her podcast both in English and French! I love seeing the yarns she uses, as they’re not generally widely available here.

That’s about it for this week, folks. Have a great week!

The Wayward Skein: Episode 9

Knitting Content

Rob’s 2018 socks (based on Sock Recipe: A Good, Plain Sock by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee). Knit out of Bergère de France Lubéron in the Eau Vive colourway on size 2.5mm (US 1.5) needles.

Color Affection by Veera Välimäki. Knit out of Night Owl Fibers Basic Sock in the Rusted Hook, Pumpkin Spice Latte, and Leather Boots colourways on size 4.5mm (US 7) needles.

Tea:

Today’s tea is a from a fantastic local producer called Take Charge Tea. I’m drinking their Chaga with Cocoa Nibs, and it’s such a deliciously subtle flavor, good hot or cold. It has a taste somewhat like maple, but not cloyingly sweet or overly chocolatey. I apologize, apparently the website address on the back of the tea package, which I mentioned on the podcast, is no longer correct. They’re now at maidenkanadah.com!

Recipe Review:

This week, I made Filipino Chicken Adobo from the Two Sleevers blog. It’s a deceptively simple recipe – this version is done in the Instant Pot, and then put under the broiler for a few minutes to crisp up the skin. Who would have thought that only five or six ingredients would make such a fantastic meal? Mods I made included replacing the soy sauce with coconut aminos, since that’s all I had in the kitchen, and substituting apple cider vinegar for the white vinegar.

Podcasts:

selmaknits put out a new episode of the Little Big Knits podcast this week, Serenova put out a new episode of the Serenova Crafts podcast, and my lovely friend Kate put out a new episode of the Hawthorn Cottage Craft podcast. Please go show them some love!

What’s Going On:

Thanks to RabbitRibbit and krysknits for hanging out with me this week!!! ❤

I’m looking forward to the Twist Fibre Festival next weekend, and starting to plan for my RHINEBECK!! activities 🙂 If you’re thinking of heading to Twist next weekend, NatalieServant still has room in some of her classes. She’s a great teacher, and you should check out what’s still available 🙂

Wedding planning has started in earnest, so let me know if I start bombarding you guys with too much wedding garbage!

And big, huge, MEGA thanks to Rob for the early birthday present. I think the new camera made a huge difference, don’t you?

Stream of consciousness…

So wow…

Apparently with all the fun of starting a new podcast, I kind of forgot to blog for a while. My two readers must be BESIDE THEMSELVES. (Hi, mom!)

As it turns out, not being able to sleep because of the heat and humidity kind of kills a person’s productivity (unless we’re talking about sitting in front of the a/c, knitting). So much knitting has happened – well, until this week, that is. The lack of sleep has caught up with me, and I’ve been falling into bed pretty much as soon as I get home from work. Did I ever mention that I hate summer? I really hate summer. I don’t deal with the time change very well (yes, that happened back in March – what of it?). I don’t deal with heat or humidity very well. I don’t deal with teenagers who have no life and so keep me awake at all hours of the night by banging around the kitchen for snacks very well. Let’s just say that from May to September, I’m a hot mess – literally! Bring on pumpkin season!

Back in June, I decided to try this low-carb thing. As you may know, I’m a type II diabetic, and I’ve had difficulty controlling my blood sugar levels. I’m not keeping strictly keto, but I have been using a lot of their recipes. There are a few blogs I follow for ideas and inspiration (I’ll list them below). So far, when I manage to stick to it, my blood sugar is within normal ranges, which is super duper awesome! Sadly, I suck at meal planning and cooking ahead, so when I’m lazy, I tend to fall off the wagon. I’m getting better, though. I’m not trying to advocate a low-carb lifestyle, or push it on anyone, I’m just reporting my anecdotal evidence that it seems to be helping me keep my blood sugar under control. I haven’t lost any weight yet, but between that and going to the gym, there have been some minor changes to my body that I’m pretty happy about. The blogs I’ve been following are Two Sleevers (I even have her cookbooks!), My PCOS Kitchen (I’ve never been diagnosed with PCOS, nor do I think I have it, but I do get ovarian cysts… so there, that’s a TMI thing you know about me now!), and Low-Carb Yum (so many tasty things!)

I’ve also been on a quest to get rid of a lot of clutter in my life. Part of that has been stashing down rather than acquiring any new yarn/fiber/hobby stuff, and getting plastic bags and plastic waste out of my life. I started knitting these little Reusable Produce Bags, and they’re SO quick and super cute! I’ve been knitting piles of them. They’re having their inaugural fling at the grocery store this evening. My friend Jen (stormcoast on Ravelry, and the host of The Uncreative Crafter podcast) has been doing trash walks, and recently did a Books, not Butts walk, where she encouraged people to sponsor her for one cent per cigarette butt she picked up. In one short walk, she managed to pick up 505 cigarette butts! That’s both impressive (on her part) and really gross (on the part of the smokers). You can follow her efforts to clean up her town here!

Anyway, school has started again for me, so I’d better get back to my assignment (and my breakfast!)

The Wayward Skein: Episode 8

Knitting Content:

Finished Objects:

Reusable Produce Bag by Tia Stanfield in size small. One made out of unknown fingering weight, one made of Louet EuroFlax Sport (unknown colourway). Knit on size 3.75mm (US 5) and 6mm (US 10) needles. The purple bag has one extra pattern repeat.

Works in Progress:

Winterlong by Bristol Ivy. Knit out of Filtes King Velour (discontinued) in colourway 1317. Knit on size 5mm (US 8) needles.

Rob’s 2018 socks (based on Sock Recipe: A Good, Plain Sock by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee). Knit out of Bergère de France Luberon in the Eau Vive colourway on size 2.5mm (US 1.5) needles.

Mitered Square Blanket (based on Knitted Patchwork Recipe by Martine Ellis). Squares this week were Infinite Twist Helix in the Hooker’s Green colourway, and an unknown sock yarn. Knit on 2.75mm (US 2) needles.

Tea:

This week’s tea is Just Peachy by David’s Tea. It’s a subtle, sweet, and smooth peach-flavoured herbal tea that’s one of my favourites for drinking iced in the summertime. It’s very fresh and delicate!

Screen Time:

Netflix: I watched Hannah Gadsby’s new special, called “Nanette”. It’s a very thought-provoking piece, and I highly recommend it.

Podcasts: I spent time catching up with the Knitting Expat Podcast with MinaPhilipp. She has KnitCrate review videos as well as regular podcast episodes, and I love watching her. She’s funny and smart, and her little daughter Layla is a delight to watch!

I also watched the most recent episodes of the Must Love Yarn podcast with jrbirdkid and KellySpins. If you haven’t visited their shop in Shelburne, Vermont, you need to get there soon! I love watching these ladies, it’s always relaxing and enjoyable!

Also spent some time catching up with StormCoast on The Uncreative Crafter Podcast Fans and selmaknits on the Little Big Knits podcast.

Recipe reviews:

I’ve been trying to follow a low-carb diet to get my blood sugar under control, so this week, I tested out two dessert recipes from blogs I’ve started following. My favorite is the Coconut Pandan Chia Seed Pudding from the Two Sleevers blog. Another good one I plan on tweaking a bit is the Keto Triple Chocolate Cheesecakerecipe from My PCOS Kitchen blog.

Book Talk:

I started reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo this week, and I’m very much enjoying it thus far! If you find that you get stressed thinking about cleaning, I highly recommend giving this a read.

Have a great week, everyone!