Knitwise Podcast Episode One: Diving in

I recorded my first podcast video! Please watch and give me advice. 

Show notes:

Knitwise:

Finished Objects:

1) Snuggly Sweater using Blue Alvarez's Nutmeg sweater with Laines du Nord Prancer in color 77 on size US 9, 5.5 mm needles

2) Spiral Cowl using Amanda Berka's Lator Gator pattern with Yarns of Italy's Inammorata DK in Bright Blue on size US 6, 4 mm needles

3) Groovy Socks using Wendy D. Johnson's Sport Weight Toe Up Socks with a Gusset Heel with Knit Pick's Felici Sport in the Groovy colorway on US 2, 2.75 mm needles

4) Basic Poems Shawl using Janina Wikholm's Pretty Basic pattern with Wisdom Yarn's Poems in color 172 on US 8, 5 mm needles

Yarnwise:

1) 2 skeins of Knit Picks Felici Sport (75% superwash merino, 25% nylon) in the Stream Bed colorway

2) 2 hanks of Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud (100% baby alpaca) in the Iris Heather color

3) 4 skeins of elann.com Peruvian Baby Silk (80% baby alpaca, 20% silk) in Parchment and Aubergine

Plans (wise?)

1) Laura Ayler's Faberge pattern with (possibly) Knit Picks Gloss Fingering

2) Boyfriend socks with Knit Picks Felici sport

3) Stacey Trock's Otto the monster with Hobby Lobby I Love This Yarn in Peacock

Otherwise:

1) I organized my yarn! 

2) I am watching Eureka and reading Carl Sagan's Contact

Technical Difficulties

Hi everyone! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas/Tuesday, and that you are staying warm and out of the snow this week.

I had a wonderful Christmas with my family, and have been knitting up a storm the last few days. I came down with a cold the day after Christmas, so yesterday I just laid in bed, knitted, and caught up on some TV shows. 

A few days before Christmas, I hung out with my best friend, Hannah. We made chocolate peppermint and chocolate chip pomegranate cookies, and she let me teach her how to knit!! 

I started teaching her in the English style (holding the yarn in the right hand), but she wanted to learn to knit the continental style like her Grandma (and I) knit. I was surprised by how easily she picked up knitting continental, since it took me a lot longer to get the hang out it. I think that it is easier to learn an entirely new skill than it is to change the way you have been doing something for years.

I am really hoping she gets hooked on knitting so that we can be knitting nerds together.

Last Sunday, I had Christmas with my mom, stepdad, my sisters, and my step-brothers. It was a lot of fun, and we spent hours eating delicious food and playing board games. I got a lot of wonderful presents including this gem from my sister and brother-in-law

I am, of course, currently using it to hold my works-in-progress.

On Christmas Eve, Brandon and I both worked all day and then had Christmas with his family, which was also a lot of fun. His parents and siblings got us a computer chair, a new vacuum, and a new set of silverware and dinnerware. Awesome!

Brandon and I exchanged presents Christmas morning. He loves his scarf, and he got me some wonderful presents as well!

He definitely spoiled me this year, with yarn, a new blender and iced-coffee maker, some board games, and a ton of candy. But best of all he got me a webcam, so I can finally start making my podcast. Hannah told me that I can't call it a podcast because it will actually be a videocast, but anyway. It will be some sort of video-thingy. 

Then we went up to my grandparent's house and had Christmas there. It was so much fun to spend time with my cousins and grandparents, and my aunt and uncle whom I don't see very often. Everyone loved their handmade gifts, which made me really happy.

Molly and Brandon

Molly, mom, and Celeste modeling their presents

I love my family

My mom looks great in her sweater!

Celeste and Levi

My mom and Ken

I am always reminded this time of the year how much I love my family. They are so awesome, and so much fun to be around. 

Now, on to the knitting!

Finished Objects

The only thing that I have finished recently is my adorable little monster for the 600 Monsters project. 

He is so adorable. I definitely want to make another one to keep. I made him out of Hobby Lobby I Love This Yarn in the Peacock color, and I used Michele Lugo's Adorkable Monster pattern. I was not completely in love with this pattern, but the result is so adorable that I can understand the fiddliness (my spell checker is telling me that is not a word, but I am too sick and grumpy to care :P)  of the pattern. This little guy will be going out in the mail on Monday, and will be sent with hundreds of other monsters to Sandy Hook Elementary at the end of January.

Works in Progress

This is where the title "technical difficulties" comes in. I was home sick from work yesterday, so I spent all day knitting this:

I'm sorry about the poor picture quality. The camera has been acting funny. This is my first ever sweater for myself. I am using Blue Alvarez's Nutmeg sweater pattern, which is a wonderful unisex top-down, seamless raglan sweater and I am really loving it. I am adding some waist shaping and ribbing at the neckline, sleeves, and hem.  I am also probably going to have to make 3/4 length sleeves because I only have two balls of the Laines du Nord Prancer yarn (in color number 77). I am in love with this yarn. It is very soft and snuggly, and the color changes are beautiful. 

I am knitting this on my size 9, 5.5 mm, circular bamboo needles. Or I was knitting with them, until the cord completely snapped off the needle halfway through a round. I was very upset, but  I cannot say that I am surprised- I bought this needle as part of a very cheap set on Ebay a few years ago, and the cables are extremely flexible, but they do not stand up well to magic loop knitting. So, unfortunately, this sweater will have to be on hiatus until my new needles come in the mail, since I do not have another set of size 9 circulars. 

2) Since I could no longer work on my sweater, I cast on for my first pair of toe up socks

I am using Knit Picks Felici Sport in the Groovy color, and am using size 2, 2.75 mm, dpn's. I absolutely love how soft and smooth this yarn is. This was one of the yarns I got from Knit Pick's black Friday sale. I believe it is still on sale on their website. 

I used the figure 8 cast-on method, which was way more difficult than it should have been.  I tried three different cast-on methods before I finally got it right. I don't know if it is my cold, or my crappy needles, but I was definitely having some knitting problems yesterday. 

One of the main problems was that my size 2 needles are super dull, and I kept casting on too tightly. Finally, I just decided to knit the first row in the next needle size down, and that worked perfectly. It also had the added benefit of eliminating the looseness that this cast-on can sometimes cause. I am using Wendy D. Johnson's Sport Weigh Toe-up Socks pattern as a guideline.

Stash Enhancement 

I have actually purchased a little bit of yarn with my Christmas money, but for the moment all I have to show you is this wonderful yarn that Brandon got me as a present.

These are five balls of Bernat Natural Blends Alpaca yarn. He got me the Natural, Lavender, Aqua, Tomato, and Forest colors. They are very beautiful and soft yarns. I am not sure what I will be making with them yet, but I may either buy a couple more skeins to make a striped or colorwork (eeks) sweater, or make a striped cowl or scarf. 

Hopefully I will be feeling (and looking) better soon so I can officially start my videos. It is snowing like crazy outside right now, which makes me think it is a perfect time for a nap.

Have a great weekend!

Nicole

Plans and Hats and MORE PLANS

Hi everyone!

I hope that you have had a wonderful week and that everyone has been safe from the horrible weather. I don't think there is anyone that looks at this blog from the East Coast, but if there is, I hope that you have been able to avoid the worst of the storm. 

I have not made a lot of progress on my boyfriend's Christmas scarf, and I gave up on carrying the yarn up the side. I didn't like how the blue was peeking through on the white sections. I am just too picky :P. 
BUT I have managed to crochet almost two hats in the last 24 hours!! 

Finished Object(s)

Since both of these hats are pretty much identical, and I am still finishing weaving in the ends on the second hat, I will just take a picture of one of them

I crocheted these both with my size I bamboo crochet hook from ThinkBamboo out of Yarn Bee's Bamboospun in Olive. This yarn is very soft and nice to work with. The wrong side of the crocheted fabric actually ends up being softer than the right side, which is perfect for a hat. 

A note about these crochet hooks- they are clearly not the highest quality bamboo hooks, but I am in no way a snob when it comes to hooks and needles. As long as my tools feel comfortable in my hands, do not snag or otherwise disrupt my crafting process, and if they can get the job done well,  I am a happy camper. 

I like how the head of the hook is a little pointy

I have noticed in the the last year that I cannot knit or crochet comfortably with metal. My hands and wrists start cramping up quickly, and I cannot work for long periods of time. Because of this, I have switched almost completely over to using bamboo and, since I buy all of my supplies on a waitress' salary, I buy the least expensive tools I can find. I always check the reviews and look closely at all pictures before I buy any tools, and I have not been disappointed yet (except for when an inexpensive set of circular needles started to detach from the cable..you win some, you lose some).

This is a very very simple half-double crocheted hat. I started with seven or eight stitches and increased to 62 st (for my uncle) and 66 st (for my boyfriend's giant head). 

I have been promising my uncle a hat for the last four years, so I am going to surprise him tomorrow with this early Christmas present. 

Stash/Tool Enhancement

I am super excited to tell you that I have just purchased my first drop spindle!!!!

I bought a fairly inexpensive spindle, because I have never spun before, and did not want to shell out a lot of money for a craft that I may not like. 

I ordered a bottom whorl spindle from theknitstore on Etsy. From the research I have done, I think that I will prefer a bottom whorl over a top whorl, but I will have to let you know once I start spinning if this is really the case.

I also purchased some inexpensive, undyed blueface leicester fiber from threewatersfarm on Etsy. I am planning on dyeing this fiber myself, or just spinning it in it's natural color. (OR maybe I could dye half of it and then ply the natural and dyed fiber together!!! I am getting way too excited) 

I was really drooling over this roving from Ethereal Fibers and this one from Fibernymph (and don't even get me started on Into the Whirled and SpunRightRound...can you tell that I'm a color freak?)  but those will have to be on my Christmas wish list. And I should probably know what I'm doing with a spindle before I start getting googly eyes for more pricey fibers. 

Podcast Plans

So, as I have mentioned before, I am planning on starting a video podcast/ video blog about my projects and what I'm up to. I am waiting until I can figure out a good way to videotape myself, and until I can find a good video-editing software. 

My podcast will feature all of the basic elements as many of the other knitting podcasts you have seen/listened to. Therefore, it will include

1) Works in Progress

2) Finished Objects

3) Some good resources/patterns 

4) Stash enhancement/ new crafty tools

However, I want my podcast to be unique, and to represent me as much as possible. 

Podcast Philosophy

The general theme of my podcast is going to involve the three following areas as much as possible

1)Not only am I a student in college, I also consider myself a "Collegiate Crafter"- meaning that I have mastered many areas of knitting, crocheting, and sewing but I still have a LOT to learn, and am still honing and developing my skills.

As the title of my blog suggests, I am seeking to become wiser in the ways of knitting and crafting, as well as in life. As often as I can, I will show you what I have learned recently, and may even give demonstrations of my newly learned skills.

I may also end up talking a little bit about what I am learning in my classes, and incorporating this as much as possible into my discussions on crafting. As a studio art minor, I may have a lot to talk about some days :). 

2)   Since I am putting myself through college on government loans and the tips from my part-time job, I do not have unlimited funds to put towards my crafting. I love silk and cashmere as much as the next knitter, and I greatly admire and totally lust over the beautiful hand-dyed yarns that I see on Etsy, but I just cannot afford these luxuries on a regular basis. 

What I can do is look for the highest quality yarns that I can fit into my budget. That involves a lot of time scouring the web, local yarn stores, and, yes, even Hobby Lobby for good, affordable yarns and tools. I am picky, but I am not a snob when it comes to yarn and, while I would prefer to work with superfine merino all the time, you may see the occasional (good quality, soft and durable ) acrylic sneak in to my knitting. 

I will provide a lot of tips for finding bargains and sales, as well as how to make your dollar stretch when looking for crafting supplies. 

3) I am not a monogamous crafter. Although I generally prefer knitting over any other craft, I also spend a lot of time crocheting and sewing, as well as drawing and baking. I also write a lot, and have even been known to make jewelry and do calligraphy (although this is a rarity). 

Although this podcast will be primarily about the fiber arts, do not be surprised if I show off some cookies that I have baked or a drawing I have made for class as well.

Whew, that's a lot of content, right?

But I am not crazy. I know that I will not be able to cover every single one of these areas every podcast, but these tenants will direct the general theme of my podcasts, and they will help viewers understand the goal of my video.

So keep an eye out for that! I will let you know when I be starting these videos, and I hope that I will have some viewers! :P

Have a great week, and happy November!

-Nicole