Ben is the Designated Driver Episodes 20-21

You can listen to episode 20 here and episode 21 here!

Latte: Ben continues to work on the Weasley sweater, Abby is working on Cassidy, which she's KAL with Gigi of the Knitmore Girls, and she is almost finished with the Snapdragon Mittens, and is still working on the Blattwerk socks.


Grande: Ben finished the Link hat for his girlfriend. In case you don't know, Link is the main character in the Legend of Zelda games from Nintendo. Abby wants one, too. Abby finished the Maia shoulderette and wants to find a way to wear it without looking like an old lady.


Brewing: Abby is trying to figure out how to plan the spinning for the Texting Mitts; Ben wants to make Link gauntlets (hence the theme music throughout the podcast). We talked about looking in the book "Power Cables" by Lily Chin for cable inspiration and illumination.


Abby and Ben are making grand plans for a Knitwiki and Dishwiki (names may change). This was inspired by Meghan from Stitch It's Cranberry Cheesecake Pie. Meghan substituted agave nectar for sugar and greek yogurt for sour cream. Abby kept these modifications and added a crust made from 1 cup flour, 1 stick butter, 1/4 cup ground almonds and a tablespoon or two of agave nectar. We welcome your modifications, too!


Stir: Abby gave her wheel a nice, big drink of Howard's Feed 'n' Wax and recommend that you give your wheel the care it deserves! Also, she is trying to watch Tools for Spinners and stay awake at the same time. Interweave gives you a discount if you download their DVD's rather than pay for the "hard copies".


Bite: We would like listener input on how and what you pack for knitting when you travel. Also, "what are you doing here"? See Ravelry group for further explanation....


Tip Jar: When knitting two socks, sleeves, or mitts at the same time, put each ball in a zip lock bag with the corner cut off for the yarn to exit. Keeps them from getting tangled! Ben says: watch your gauge when you switch needles, for instance from circular to dpns or one circular to two. Abby and Ben both note that increases (and decreases) continue to make themselves "known" even after you're done doing them. When you knit a toe up sock, stop increasing when the width of the sock just touches your pinky toenail. Abby learned this tip from Cat Bordhi.

This garment was grown from bacteria - really!

Demi Tasse: Abby shared one of the New York Times' great ideas of 2010: Biocouture.You can read about clothing grown from bacteria(!!!) here!


Coming next week (or soon)! Knit-Ed - our episode about teaching and learning knitting.

Killer Scarves! Episode 19 (with notes from Episode 18 too!)

Abby's "Firefly" hand spun. It bloomed beautifully!

Listen here!

Lethal knitting? Abby is compared to the murderous Madame Defarge, and relates the tale of Isadora Duncan's "death by scarf" as she speaks of her love for all things Cowl.

Latte: Ben is making a Brambles hat and preparing to make the "Weasley" sweater. Abby is knitting BFF socks, Maia, Tree of Life Socks and Coventry.


Grande: Ben finished the "It Looks Like Rain" sweater and Abby finished the Greenfield Cardigan!


We had a special guest, Deborah. Deborah is an intern at Vogue Knitting, and she is a busy student and yarn evangelist! You can find her blog here. Deborah is teaching people to knit and collecting hats for the needy. She hopes to distribute them at this year's Midnight Run. If you want to knit for charity, you can find a wonderful list of organizations here.


Tip Jar: Ben and Abby both like their wandas, and you can get one here! They also are both fans of KnitPicks Options Needles.


Taste: We reviewed Cookie A's new book, "Knit. Sock. Love."