Episode 44

COUPON CODE for Night Owl Fibers

Rachel has generously offered us a 15% off coupon code for her shop, using the code WAYWARD15. Go show her some love!

Tea: Today’s tea was Strawberry and Vanilla Fool by London Fruit & Herb Company. It was procured for me by the lovely StormCoast prior to New Hampshire Sheep & Wool. Thank you Jen! I also made a pot of Twinings Buttermint tea to drink iced over the course of the day. It was delicious!

Knitting

I made some progress on Rob’s Denim Socks (based on Sock Recipe: A Good, Plain Sock by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee). Knit out of Fiber Stash Dyeworks Strong Toes Sock yarn in the Ink colourway on size 2.5mm (US 1.5) needles.
Goal for next episode: I want to finish the leg, heel flap and turn before I next record.

I also got quite a bit of knitting done on my Lace Chuppah by Kat Coyle. It’s knit out of Bartlett 2-ply Hand Dyed in the Oatmeal colourway on size 9mm (US 13) needles.
Goal for next episode: I would like to make it to the half-way point in the first chart.

New cast-on! I cast on the Branching Out scarf by Susan Lawrence! I’ve been wanting to knit this for YEARS. It’s knit out of Berroco Bonsai (97% bamboo, 3% nylon) yarn in colourway 4149 on size 5mm (US 8) needles.
Goal for next episode: I think I’m going to set a goal of one pattern repeat per day.

Tragedy has struck, and my scrappy blanket has gone missing and is presumed dead. I’m very sad, but I have learned a valuable lesson about putting things away and keeping my house tidier. So I have a goal of starting a new scrappy blanket in the coming week. If I only get one square done, so be it, but I want to at least make a start. I’m working on organizing my knitting area so I have a box/bin to keep all my WIPs in so that tragedy can’t befall them again! (I also have to take a lint brush to ALL my project bags, since the cats think they make the BEST pillows!)

Flipping pages: I finished Elevation by Stephen King. It was a pretty quick read, being only about 150 pages. I was pretty happy with it, since it evokes imagery from a lot of his older novels, such as Thinner and several short stories and novellas. Some of his more recent novels have been a welcome return to his pre-accident writing style, and I’ve been enjoying them immensely!

I have now picked up Deadly Whispers by Ted Schwartz. It’s a true crime story about Tom Bonney murdering his daughter Kathy, and claiming multiple personalities as a defense. I can’t say I’m enjoying Mr. Schwartz’s writing style at all (he’s very repetitive and preachy, and doesn’t seem to have a very strong grasp of style or grammar). The book also doesn’t seem to bring anything new to the table in terms of story – it’s just a rehashing (reminiscent of 90s era A&E crime drama shows) of the evidence presented in court, and some pretty ridiculous speculation. The author never even met Mr. Bonney, so there isn’t even a fresh interview or any insight at all. I’m not enjoying the book very much, but I do want to try to finish it. Goal is to get through it before I record again!

On Screen: I had been watching Quantum Leap, but then someone spoiled the series finale for me, so I’ve put it on hold for now. Ironically, I had been having a discussion at work about spoilers, and one of my coworkers teased me, saying nobody was going to spoil a 30-year-old series, because nobody would even be talking about it anymore. And then the NEXT DAY, someone outlined the entire series finale, and why it was such a disappointment.

So I’ve switched over to Schitt’s Creek, which is a HILARIOUS romp by Eugene and Dan Levy (also starring Catherine O’Hara and Annie Murphy). It’s VERY Canadian, and I’m enjoying it immensely. I just went through all of what’s available on Netflix (only the first 4 seasons). So I’m going to have to wait until they’re added before I can watch the last two. I highly recommend it.

I also watched Salt Fat Acid Heat, which is a FANTASTIC miniseries by Samin Nosrat. I found it a fascinating, sensual journey into what makes good food. I was drooling by the end of every episode, and I really want to pick up the book and read it now.

Podcasting world: I haven’t talked about podcasts in so long, there’s quite a list built up of ones I’ve missed. So I will simply give you a short rundown of most recent episodes.

Steeped in Books has had several videos per week recently, and they’re all fantastic!
The Gentle Knitter put out an episode just a few days ago that I really enjoyed.
The Knitting Expat posted an episode (mostly about spinning) the other day.
The Knitting Pipeline has a sister episode! (GO WATCH! Love you guys!)
The Bakery Bears have a new episode I’ve watched bits of (It’s a long one).
Ninja Chickens has a new episode out (Indigo and Ecoprinting featured)
Can’t forget The Knit Girllls!
And I think Night Owl Fibers deserves a bit of love, especially as thanks for that fantastic coupon code!

Have a great week, everybody. And as always, please be kind to one another!