podcasts

Episode 237

December 15, 2019December 15, 2019 by Sara

#homedecmal prizes

Use any of the fiber arts to craft something for the home. This MAL will run through the month of December and prizes will be awarded in January.

Ravelry pattern prize from Melinda of the Yarnderwoman podcast
HVTP mitts and socks from Mary Jeanne of Battenkill Fiber Mill

Post to IG and on the Ravelry MAL thread for your chance to win!

The Knit Local Getaway 2020

Yes, it’s happening! The dates are April 24-26. Last year’s attendees will receive registration information in mid-January. If you would like to join us, but did not attend the 2019 getaway, use this LINK to enter the lottery. Learn more about the event, lodging, and pricing HERE. More information about the Washington County Farm and Fiber Tour can be found HERE with updates as the event draws near.

Sustainable Fashion

Twinsetellen shared some helpful details about B Corps (Benefit Corporations) in response to my segment about sustainable fashion in Episode 236. You can find more information HERE and add to our conversation on the Ravelry thread for Episode 236.

The Back Porch

legwarmers knit to Jessie’s specifications in KnitSpinFarm self-striping sock yarn
Hyldemoer by Yuko Shimizu knit in Blacker Yarns Tor

On the Porch

Burra cowl by Marie Wallin in J&S 2-ply Jumper Weight leftovers
linen stitch table mat in MuckleMarl

The Front Porch

Washington by illitilli in Foster Sheep Farm Concordea
Foraged by Hunter Hammerson

Off the Shelf

“One Art” by Elizabeth Bishop

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 237

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