Episode:41

Production scheduling
1. I’m semi freshly back from camp KIP. I have so much to talk about regarding camp that I think it’s going to be an entire podcast. SO instead of launching into that now I’ll use this week to get caught up on what I’ve been doing and will recap Camp in depth next episode. I will say this. Camp Kip was absolutely awesome. I had an amazing time and I will be stalking Jackie so that I can do it again. If she woub

Production
What’s in My Teapotbb
Materials Sourcing
Shipping
After 5

Production
1. Drop stitch Scarf by Lisa Buccellato found in the spring and summer 2012 issue of vogue knitting. Knitting this our of Cascade Ultra Pima.
  1. I think Last week I called this Pima Silk. I shocked my self when I wound the second skein and saw that it’s 100% Pima cotton. No silk…
  2. I finally have this chart for the most part memorized. Which maded me feel brave enough to pack this as my knitting for CAMP Kip. That lasted about ½ a chart repeat. No sooner did I settler into a chair to knit the conversation started and it was really good conversation so I lost my spot in the pattern. Then we decided it was too cold where we were and moved off in search of sun… again I lost my place in the pattern. At that point I put the scarf down. This wasn’t going to work.
  3. Now that I’m home I’ve picked it back up again I have about 3 feet of the six foot length done. I just wound the second ball of yarn. I’m getting antsy I _Really_ want to drop those stitches!

What’s In My TeaPot
1. Metropolitan Teas Ice Wine Tea
2. I got this at Warm Glow Candles off of I 70 in Indiana. Not only did they have tons of yummy candkles, they had the best beef brisket I've had in a while and I found tea!
3. A sweet offering from the originator of Icewine Tea

In recent years Canadian made Icewine has begun winning awards at prestigious wine shows the world over. To make the sweet flavorful treat, Vidal or Riesling grapes are plucked from frozen vines in temperatures below 17°F or -8°C. Brrr! Our fabulous Icewine tea blends real I cewine with premium high grown Ceylon black tea and100% natural flavors. Just like the real thing, our tea has started winning accolades from customers the world over!

A touch alcholic but more floral than anything. Not as boozy as the rum tea. Sweet on its own and very yummy. I drank a pot on my own before bed. (And then paced the floor all night the black tea base packs a caffeine punch.)

Shipping
1. The Cotton Candy Merino is off the bobbins and came in at 342 yds of a fingering-ish yarn. I was immediately in love with this yarn so I finished and balled it to head to camp with me.
2. The intent was to cast on the Wingspan by Maylin Tri’Coterie Designs after I realized how distracted I was going to be at camp this was just the ticket. Short rows with stitch marker telling me where to turn and all in garter! Just what the doctor ordered!
  1. I loved this pattern and I love the way my handspun looks knit up. But as with my last project knit with handspun I didn’t have quite the yardage I would have preferred to have had. My wingspan has 7 triangles and I had to unravel my swatched to finish and bind off. It does fit me but I think I would have preferred to add on a few more sections. I toyed with gifting it to my one of my more petite friends but the handspun is just too yummy. 
  2. I will make another one. I keep looking at the ravelry page for this pattern and those projects done in swing knitting are calling my name… and I have some new stash to burn up.

Material Sourcing
1. I think I got more spinning done at camp than knitting.
  1. I brought the last chunk of the Nantucket to finish. I would call it about an ounce (It’s the fiber B found under the couch.) I this wasbv sweater I ordered 4 oz of Cormo from Herman Hills Farm in southern Ohio. The Cormo is lovely stuff but the pin drfting doesn’t seem to agree with me. This may just be something I need to get used to. I meant to spin this at camp but I ignored it.
  2. What got the most action was the PotLuck fiber from paradise fibers in the Party Colorway. I bought 16 oz of this to get a discount not knowing how much 16 oz really was in terms of spinning. I did 4 ozs a long ways back. I took the remaining 4 oz of the 1st ball as loaner fiber for anyone that wanted to use my wheel. The bright colors caught some eyes and I spent most of my time spinning this. I finished that ball the day after I got home. Now I’m looking the second ball thinking that I may just start on that. bbbb
    1. The last time I spun this fiber I stripped out all the color repeats and Navajo plied. That gave me a worsted-ish weigh yar with long color repeats. This time I left the roving intact, Pre darafted, and spun back and forth across the top of all the colors. With the difference I think I’d going to do some ply tests before I break into that second ball.
After 5
1. The house is standing. I didn’t get any panicked phone calls. I even came home to a clean house! Maybe I should leave more often.
2. Joe took B to the Kindergarten Fair. This little event sounded pretty cool the was supposed to be a petting zoo, a clown, games an prizes. Joe unlike me is on time for everything. In fact he’s so on time that it sometimes border on rude. (45 minutes early for a job interview..) Joe and B got there before the clown and while the animals were still getting set up. Which brought B face to face with a tarantula. Who the heck brings a tarantula to a Kindergarten petting zoo? Needless to say he freaked and wouldn’t stay for the balloon guy and wouldn’t look at any more animals.
3. As if the Kindergarten Fair weren’t emotionally scarring enough B also had a dentist apt. which is now required for entrance to kindergarten. From what I hear everything was going fine until joe got his big ol’ size 15 shoe on the pedal that starts the drill. The drill went off and scared everyone in the room and once again B was done. Though to tell the tale now B believes he is an expert at the dentist and proudly tells me about the watermelon paste the dentist put on his teeth.
4. Last episode I recoded a bit on the new issue of vogue knitting the episode would have been an hour long so I kept it for this week…
  1. Vogue Knitting – spring and summer. Think Pink!
    1. I bought this issue for the drop stitch scarf. But I feel it’s worth picking up. Articles of note that caught my eye… A write up on Ysolda Teague she talks about how she became a knitwear designer. I love that her parents thought she was “depressed”. There’s also a series on finishing that started this month with “Finish before you start” which contains some good reminders that a poorly written pattern may be the first challenge in finishing. I like articles like this because it brings the tips I know but have managed to forget back to the fore. Like reading through a pattern to take a look at the sizing or to make sure everything makes sense. I hate when I look at the pattern and look at my stitches and I have no idea how to get from point A to point B in the pattern.
    2. This month also has cute spring knits.
      1. I could see my self swaning around pool side in the Summer Poncho by Sheri more. The pattern as written is tunic length in the front and knee length in the back. If I decided to cast this one I would look into making it ankle length and the same length in the front and back. Which would be a TON of knitting. But I’m pretty short at 5 ft 1 so it may be doable. Lace, panels, cabling, and drop stitch detail.
      2. I really like The Shaped Hemline sleeveless pullover by Vicki Square. This is in the running for Camp KIP Knitting. I’ve been looking at the summer tops in here and even though I prefer sleeves the A line body and collar are styles that I find appearing in my wardrobe over and over.