Episode 19: A Short One

Hey everyone, it’s me again! Yes, I know it’s been FOREVER since I last updated, but, well, life got crazy again. (Of course, right?) Last Friday was my birthday and it was a great birthday – it was quiet, but awesome. I’ll have the crazy-ridiculous fun with my friends in the wilds of PA this weekend, like I do every year.

Remember, there is a prize giveaway for showing off your finished socks in the Ravelry group (www.ravelry.com/groups/sheepish-podcast) – there are only 19 entries in there so far, so your chances of winning are good… Just sayin’. Speaking of that thread, a couple of things:

1. I will close it on August 1 and open up the August thread. I’ll pull for the prize the next time I record.
2. What do you think about chatter in the thread? I don’t mind it, but what about you guys?
3. The winner will need to get in touch with me (of course I’ll PM you first) and let me know what colors you love. Personalized prizes FTW!

It’s a short episode this week (under 30 minutes!), with different formatting (no episode titles) because I recorded right before work and am editing here. (Shhh, don’t tell! LOL)

Current Roster 

• Bowties are Cool socks by Mandie Harrington. I finally picked these up again and what do you know? That resulted in a HO! Woot! I started on the second sock immediately after and am almost through the leg.
• Bondi Socks by me. after finishing the first Bowties are Cool sock, I started working on this one. The first sock is an almost HO (still needs to be kitchenered). I did experiment with two different types of DPNs on this one – the Karbonz and the Signatures. Apparently, I knit looser on the Karbonz than I do the Signatures.

Alumni Roster 

THEY ARE DONE!! Yes, the Allons-y Socks I designed are finally knit… though the pattern is still not published. I need to do some math, as I am offering 3 sizes and the heel math is a bit different for all of them, but it’s almost ready to go. I’ll post when it’s ready!

Stick Handling 

(Has anyone come up with a better hockey-themed name for this one?) I have wanted to spin ALL. THE. THINGS. OMG, it’s taken huge willpower to not go out and buy EVERYTHING to spin. Question for those of you who love to spin Loop batts – do you spin from the bag or pull out a sizeable length and pull it apart and spin from that? I was having the worst time spinning directly from the batt in bag.

What’s Making Me Happy 

• Going camping next weekend!
• The Zombies, Run 5K app – I never thought I’d run ever in my life. While I still hate running, the app makes it less hateful.

Remember to enter those last minute July socks into the thread! I’ll see you in August and will pull for a prize then.

xo,

Holly

Episode 18: Meet the ‘Bug!

Hi everyone! So, it’s been awhile, right? Things have been busy (and stressful) around Chez Sheepish the last few weeks, but that means that lots of knitting has gone on… along with a bit of shopping as well. I really should have named this the all enabling episode. I had a really good excuse for some of it, though – because, as you might be able to tell from the episode title, I got a new wheel! (Well, new to me, but I know that she was well loved in her old home.) I have spent the last few days spinning on her, getting used to her feel. (Yes, I decided that she’s a girl.)

Current Roster 

• Lacy Batwing Top by Brooke Nico. I haven’t worked on this too much in the last couple weeks, but I did get to the third repeat in the chart. There are a total of 9 that need to be done… that’s going to be over 600 stitches. Have I lost my ever-loving mind?
• Bondi Socks by me. So I started this to knit along with my Top Down Socks class at fibre space – well the class ended Sunday and I haven’t finished my sock. They finished theirs, though, so that’s a good thing!
• Allons-y! socks by me. I sent the pattern out to my test knitters after having done math at 1am. Yeah, that meant I needed to knit through the heel so I could figure out what I had calculated wrong. I dropped everything to knit furiously to get those numbers figured out. I should have the second sock done by the next time I record – it’s the project I’ve been throwing in my bag to take to work and about with.

Alumni Roster 

Yes, I know, this is both a Current Roster and Alumni Roster project, but it really is the only way I’ll have anything for this section, lol. So, I started the Barn Raising Quilt. Since it’s made from individual squares, each square is an FO to me. 🙂 This episode’s square was out of String Theory Colorworks Resonance Self-Striping yarn. I forget the actual name of the color, but I know that fibre space was calling it fibre girl at one time.

Scouting Report: The All-Enabling Episode 

• SW Twist Sock Yarn from Storied Yarns in Ten and Eleven.
• 1 skein of Sparkle Gnome in Butterbeer, 1 skein each of the House Gnome in Bertie Bott’s and Arthur Weasley from GnomeAcres.
• 2 sets of rolags from Dripping Fiber Studios.
• 3 braids of fiber (2 BFL, 1 Rambouillet) from Cloudlover.
• 2 braids of fiber (1 mixed BFL, 1 Polwarth) from Highland Handmades.
• 10 skeins of the 80/10/10 (Merino, Nylon, Cashmere) from madelinetosh as part of the Magnolia Society club.

Stick Handling 

So, I’ve actually been spinning – mostly because… I GOT A WHEEL!!! WOOT! So excited. Emily from the Whatcha Swatchin’ podcast was selling hers and I had the good luck to be the first to respond. She’s wonderful. It’s been a fun few days getting to know her and get used to her. I’ve been spinning through Tour de Fleece for the Knit Me Sassy and Highland Handmades teams and I’m loving it. I’ve become a bit more consistent, though the singles are still full of over and underspun spots. So far, I’ve spun the remainder of a braid of Highland Handmades mixed BFL (about 1.25 oz) and a braid of the Highland Handmades Polwarth in the Not Soon Effaced colorway.

What’s Making Me Happy 

I did this completely off-the-cuff, so other than George being all right and safe and sound, I have no recollection of what I said. 🙂

Have a great week, everyone! See you next time!

xo,

Holly