Episode 174: Sleight of Hand

Sheila is back this week and both ladies have FOs, including Sheila's MadTosh cowl and Wendy's handspun mittens. WIPs include a cotton baby blanket, generic toe-up socks, the beaded lace shawl that never ends and the nearly finished Rita the Rabbit. No baubles and bling featured this week, but we review Knits that Breathe, give away a copy of Big Foot Knits and feature the Buried in Stash calendar, which will be offered as a prize! Check out all the contests in our thread on Rav.

SHOW NOTES

KAL/CAL:  We are hosting a Stash Busting KAL/CAL for the month of August.  Post a pic of your finished project made from yarn purchased at least 6 months ago in the August Stash Busters Thread and get that stash under control!  A winner will be drawn at the end of the month.

We are also hosting a Donate a Shawl Charity KAL/CAL. This week, we show off TWO new prizes!  Three skeins of Jojoland Melody from viewer Emilia, and a bag, stitch markers and yarn from Sam of Knitrundig on etsy.  She has a podcast too!  Get your donations in because the contest ends this week.

On The Dance Card:

Wendy is working on:

Star Leaves Shawl by Jenny Johnson Johnen in Fleece Artist Saldanha 2 in the Starlight colorway.

Rita the Rabbit by Lydia Tresselt in Caron Simply Soft Light

Sheila is working on:

Improvised toe-up socks in two colors of Miss Babs (Denim and an unidentified color way from the Podcaster Challenge).

Diagonal Comfort Blanket by Lion Brand in kitchen cotton.

Rate Your Date:

Wendy finished:

Deathflake Mittens by Sissel KB, using her warm/cool color experiment in Portfiber Polwarth (4oz) in the Prickly Pear color way

Sheila finished:

City Creek Cowl by Susan Lawrence in Madelinetosh Vintage

Whirlwind Romance:

No progress this week.

Future Dates:

Wendy needs to finish all of her WIPs and maybe have a little Frog It or Finish It session.

Sheila will be casting on something in Socks that Rock.

Baubles & Bling:

Nothing this week.

Gossip & Innuendo:

Book Review:  This week, we reviewed Knits that Breathe by Julie Turjomen, and published by Cooperative Press.  This book brings you 12 patterns that are flowy, drapey, light-weight garments knit in summery fibers with plenty of ease and in flattering shapes.  We both really liked this book for a number of reasons.  First, we love that some of the models are older women (closer to our own age demographic).  It really helps us to visualize ourselves in these sweaters!  Second, most of the sweaters are designed to flatter any size and shape, and come in larger sizes.  Third, there is a great table with the qualities of the lighter fibers (drape, etc) which we both thought was really interesting and helpful.  This is a beautifully photographed and styled book, with designs for all levels of knitting skill (as long as you can do basic stitches and yarn overs).  If you are looking for light weight knits (especially those who live in warmer climates and can't knit garments out of wools), this is an excellent book for you!

We will draw a winner for this book in Episode 176, when we will also review another fabulous Cooperative Press book!

Contests:

Buried in Stash Calendar by Debi Tomasello and lots of lovely knitters!  We preview a copy of the calendar (it includes 2 colorwork patterns), which will be given away in Episode 176 - check out the contest in our group.  If you are interested in purchasing the calendar for yourself (or a friend!), you can find purchase information through the link, which is to Debi's group.

 We drew a winner for the Big Foot Knits PDF from Cooperative Press!


Charity Comfort Shawl KAL/CAL:  This is a new contest organized by our friend Lise from Webs! She organizes donated comfort shawls for people in her church community, but she has recently lost a few of her helpers.  If you donate hand knitted or crocheted shawls to her effort, you can be eligible to win a $50 gift certificate to Webs (one prize will be drawn), a skein of Webs anniversary yarn custom dyed by Lorna's Laces yarn (two prizes will be drawn), a pattern of your choice from KNitDesigns, or a skein of Wollmeise donated by our amazing viewer, Katluvz2knit, a bag, yarn and stitch markers donated by the lovely Samantha Boggia of Knitrundig, or a skein of BFL/Nylon sock yarn from ITW in the "What's This?" color way.

The contest will run until August 31, 2014.  Shawls should be sent to:

Webs Warehouse
ATTN:  Lise Gill
6 Industrial Parkway
Easthampton, MA 01027

(Note:  The earlier address will still work, but this is the much more direct mailing address which Wendy should have used the first time.  Oops!)

You can knit or crochet shawls specifically for this charity event OR go through your stash and give away some shawls to a good home.  There is no specific fiber content required - they can be machine washable or handwash only.  There is no specific pattern or size.  Lise will make sure your donations go to people in nursing homes, hospice care, new mothers or other people that need a comfort shawl.

You may post a picture of your donation (one picture per shawl - make sure to post them separately to get multiple chances at the prize) in our Contest Thread.

Upcoming fiber events in our area:

Southern Adirondack Fiber Festival at Washington County Fairgrounds, Greenwich, NY 9/27-9/28/14.  We do not plan on attending.

VT Sheep and Wool at Tunbridge Fairgrounds, Tunbridge, VT 10/4-10/5/14.  We do not plan on attending.

Stitches East in Hartford, CT 10/9-10/12/14.  Wendy plans on attending the Saturday marketplace.

Rhinebeck at Dutchess County Fairgrounds, Rhinebeck, NY 10/18-10/19/14.  We plan on attending for the weekend.

New England Fiber Festival at Eastern States Exposition, West Springfield, MA, 11/1-11/2/14.  Wendy plans on attending.

The Gathering at Sunday River, Newry, ME, 11/7-11/9/14.  We do not plan on attending.