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Episode 145

November 27, 2016November 27, 2016 by Sara

cover145 I’m back with Episode 145 after a #digital detox this week. This episode includes the following segments: The Back Porch, The Front Porch, Ever-expanding Skill Set, and details about the Taproot make-along that will begin on January 1. The old friend I mention in this episode is crochet, which was my entry into the world of fiber arts. Do you have an old friend (craft, yarn, tool) that takes you back to the early days of your life in fiber arts? I’d love to hear about it!

ep145-04 — The crochet hat by Debra Dandaneau features six cabled owls. I really enjoy the front post crochet method that assists in making cables and the way the stitches pull together to make it seem as though the owl is perched on a branch.

The Back Porch

Magic Corkshrooms pattern by Julie Tarsha
Tungata cowl designed by Stephen West
crochet Owl Hat by Debra Dandaneau

The Front Porch

Feminist Killjoy hat by Glitz Knits Boutique
crochet rug
Collywobbles socks designed by Emily Estrada
Lonely Tree Shawl designed by Silvia McFadden
Pomegranate pullover designed by Bonnie Sennott

Ever-Expanding Skill Set

This weekend, I made pumpkin bread (recipe from Joy of Cooking).

In December, we'll be cooking with onions for #powerpantry. — In December, we’ll be cooking with onions for #powerpantry.

The Taproot make-along begins on January 1 and concludes on March 1. You're invited to make anything from the Hands section of Taproot magazine, any issue. Projects in progress are okay too. Post your plans, progress, and finished projects on the Ravelry thread. Generous listeners have offered up some prizes for participation too. Click on the image above to travel to the group thread.

The Taproot make-along begins on January 1 and concludes on March 1. You’re invited to make anything from the Hands section of Taproot magazine, any issue. Projects in progress are okay too. Post your plans, progress, and finished projects on the Ravelry thread. Generous listeners have offered up some prizes for participation too.

Arrows and Doorways

The design for this super-cozy cowl was inspired by textiles in a hotel lobby. Concentric geometric shapes kept playing in my mind until finally I was able to chart the pattern and get it onto my needles. The interplay of this chevron-like patterning has a mesmerizing effect–while you’re knitting and when you wear the finished accessory.

Knit up a cowl with yarn from your stash, adding some magical new mini-skeins from your advent calendar, or exchange leftover yarn with a friend. The design invites frequent color changes, and makes an ideal knit for the advent season. It could be just as striking knit with two high-contrast colors.

While most cowls of this type are seamed within a band of a single color, this pattern incorporates a technique called stranded donut grafting, an incredibly clever and completely seamless graft that allows you to maintain colorwork patterning so that your starting and ending rounds are undetectable. Really! With many possibilities for color play and a new technique to add to your skill set, this cowl pattern is really an opportunity for knitters to level-up!

NEW PATTERN DESIGN!

ONE DARK BLUE NIGHT

This hat is the third in a series of patterns inspired by teachings in Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ Women Who Run with the Wolves. This time, I drew inspiration from Estés’ retelling of a Japanese tale, Tsukina Waguma or “The Crescent Moon Bear,” in which a young woman travels to the cave of an incredibly intimidating and ferocious bear. She makes several journeys to the cave, leaving food and quickly retreating, until “one dark blue night,” she musters the courage to stand her ground and ask for what she seeks--one hair from a moon-shaped patch on the bear’s chest--which she is granted. The young woman returns, triumphant, to the old healer who has sent her on this quest. She believes this single hair is the magic ingredient in solving the problem that plagues her. She holds it forth, but the healer tosses the hair into the flames. The young woman is in despair until she realizes the true lesson of her quest: that using her determination, courage, and patience, as she did with the crescent moon bear, will help her to confront the challenge at hand.

The moon phase motif of this colorwork hat is meant to capture the magic of a dark blue night--when the moon shines brightly overhead, the frosty air sparkles with possibility, and we succeed in summoning accumulated wisdom from deep within ourselves so that we can apply it to our own healing. Choose colors to conjure a wintery night sky, or select a palette of your signature colors.

Available on Ravelry December 20th.

Yarns at Yin Hoo

Episode 145

The Back Porch

The Front Porch

Ever-Expanding Skill Set

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