Episode 26: What's Your (Knitting) Sign?

On the Needles
The Summer Flies shawl for my swappee is officially lost. I cast on for something in cashmere and its a bit tedious, so I am scrambling to finish it. I think I won't get the yarn again because it was hard to knit with due to the way it was plied and the yarn was coming off onto the needles and my hands as well.


I swatched for the Larch Cardigan and even when washing my swatch (done in Shelridge Yarns DK in Azure) I still got gauge. Now the question is: what size? 38 or 41? The sweater is done with minimal ease so I need to figure out which size is best for me.

Lastly, I cast on for Jo March Mittens in 100% handspun Wensleydale gifted to me generously by Rachel from On the Round. I might have to frog it and redo in a smaller needle size because the cuff part is too big, and I like my mitts snug.

Stitching the Past
This week, we jump across the pond back to the United States and to November 24, 1941 when Life magazine published an article on "How to Knit" and it was featured on the front cover. I came across this site from Washington State called HistoryLink.org which is a great source if you want to go into more detail about knitting in America during WWII.


Knitting Finds
Knit-strology: Over at the Canary Sancturary blog is Teresa, a designer on Ravelry who has been doing a blog series on your knit-strology, that is your knitting sign.

This pattern is adorable for a shelf in my knit nook: Red Roof Croft Cottage by Julia Marsh, who is based in Scotland. Done in the right colors, it will definitely give my knit nook that Japanese zakka-esque quality with an British country flair - I definitely want to weigh these down somehow so that I can make them as bookends! Or if not, at least enough so that it looks pretty on a shelf.

There are two new knitting collections out by  Finnish designers Mari Muinonen & Suvi Simola called Hold Your Needles.

They come in parts 1 and 2 which go for 15,90 euro each but By purchasing 2 books together, you will recieve a discount of 6,80 euros so the bundle will cost you only 25 euros (regular price 31,80). My favorite out of the two is Hold Your Needles 1:  love the Reha Sweater and Muikkuset hat and mittens set.

On a more serious note, the BBC recently published an article about a study from the journal Environmental Science and Technology which states how "microplastic" is a threat to coastlines. The microplastic - beleive it or not - actually came from clothing which has synthetic fibres. the article states, "which release up to 1,900 tiny fibres per garment every time they were washed" this gets into the water supply and into the ocean and animals tend to eat these synthetic fibres.

Finally, there is a really nifty link out to help you design your own custom lopayesa.

The SuperBowl is tomorrow, and people in Indianapolis are going crazy for handknit (and crocheted) Super Bowl scarves. 

Review
New Knitscene is out! And this one is all the more special because there is an article in there about the different types of handdyed yarn - and it is Lisa and Amy of Roman Hills who did the samples!

The Knitty Winter Surprise is also out and the two patterns are adorable: Freja Mittens and Majestic Moose Vest.

Announcements
A very belated congrats to Jasmin, Gigi and the rest of the Knitmore family - they welcome Geneveive Danger Knitmore earlier this month. They will be returning March 5, which is incidentally the day my practicum class starts, so you know I will be listening to that episode while heading to the Upper East Side for class.


Several podcasts have sadly come to an end: Stitch It and Knitajourney. These were some of hte first podcasts I listened to when I started to knit and were such an inspiration for me to pick up the mic - I wish Susan and Meghan all the best in the future and hope that they do return once in awhile to update us on their latest knitting and other fibre related adventures.


That being said, there are some new podcasts out on the horizon: Knitting Brooklyn, TVKnitting and With Pointed Sticks. They just started and have a few episodes out but do try and give them 3 bites as Gigi woul say - I remeber when I first started to podcast and still internally cringe when I think about my first episode and that 1.5 minutes of silence because I couldnt figure out GarageBand. Learning how to podcast definitely requires patience and has a learning curve so remember that it is a process and give the new podcasters a chance.

We have a lively Downton Abbey thread, complete with hilarity from the Downton Abbeyonce tumblr thanks to Lisa. I'm thinking of hosting a Downton Abbey swap. Anyone interested?What would you want in a DA-themed package? What kinds of questions would you want in the questionnaire?

Knit-Alongs
The reason why I swatched and have the mojo to knit the Larch Cardigan is because of the Amy Christoffers KAL over in the 2012: A Sweater Odyssey Group. There are prizes and there is alot of fun and chatter to be had.

The second round of the QAL has begun! The last day to enter patterns into the queue to qualify for the Spring edition was January 31, and it will run from February 1-April 30. Guidelines are in the Knit the Queue-Along thread and the following have been donated for prizes. Thank you so much to our sponsors! Please see this post for details.

Thanks for listening!
Closing Song: "Constellations" by Jack Johnson