It's Halloween -- and Episode 13!

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Don't forget about our donation incentive! Donate a dollar or more by Election Day and you'll be entered to win High Whorling and some fabulous fiber!

Ghoul-latte: Ben is working on a vest of his own design. He's almost finished and is employing a "partial steek" technique. Abby's is making great progress on both the Tree of Life socks and the Knitmore KAL CeCe.

Chai-Day the 13th: Abby tells a spooky story about her failed attempts to felt (full) a knitted project.

Tip Jar: Abby recommends getting a tape measure and using it! Ben extols the joys and benefits of spit splicing.

Brewing: Ben wants to knit a tie. Abby dissuaded him from lining it. Abby's working on a new sock pattern (it's a secret!).

Stir: Ben is checking his mailbox for his Jenkins Turkish Delight and we hope for a spinning section from him soon. Abby's still spinning the superwash merino from Becoming Art.

Taste: Ben was amazed and thrilled when he finally watched The Nightmare Before Christmas, and both Ben and Abby love Tim Burton's films!

Extra: Dalya crocheted a Pikachu hat for Halloween! Check it out:

Come visit our ravelry group or feel free to leave a comment here!

Long Episode with a Funny Finish Ep. 12

This is what happens when Ben and I don't speak to each other for a week! Listen here.

Ben knits like the wind! He finished his Devon in a week and a half.

Latte:

Ben has a vest of his own design on the needles. Abby started several projects and frogged almost as many. She couldn't stop herself from casting on CeCe for the next Knitmore KAL.

Abby is also working on a surprise for Dalya, as well as the Tree of Life socks by Janel Laidman from The Enchanted Sole. Abby is also itching to cast on the Vine Yoke Cardigan by Ysolde Teague.

Grande:

Ben finished Devon! See above. Abby finally finished the Ada Lovelace socks. You can see them here.

Chai:

Rhinebeck, of course! It was chaotic, it was fabulous. The weather was superb and Abby managed some well-planned stash enhancement.

This fabulous haul includes luxurious, yummy Free Range yarn from Sanguine Gryphon, acid green super saturated sock yarn from Fiber Optic and three skeins of fingering weight from the incredible Creatively Dyed. Abby also purchased a beautiful Turkish Delight Jenkins Spindle for Ben from Morgaine at Carolina Homespun.

Abby also had fun meeting and seeing lots of knitters and podcasters! Here are just a few photos:

Stir: 

Abby didn't spin this week, but she went a long way towards enabling Ben to start spinning - see above.

Taste:

We talk a bit about Debbie Stoller in general, and review her new book, Stitch 'n Bitch Superstar Knitting: Go Beyond the Basics. Abby is a big fan of Debbie's magazine, Bust. We also mention two classic knitting books which anyone who wants to design his or her own knitwear should own at some point: Knitting in the Old Way and Sweater Design in Plain English.

Bite:

We want to talk about yarn! What do you like, what don't you like? Which are your favorite yarns and for what purpose? We want this to be an ongoing investigation, so please let us know, either here, or on the ravelry group!

Finally, don't forget our donation incentive! Just click on the donate button, donate any amount, and you will be entered to win our fabulous prize package: High Whorling book and some tasty fiber!

Do Yiddish Cops Run in Doc Martens? Episode 11

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Wow, we did a lot of talking this week! Here are the links for everything we talked about.

Latte: Ben is knitting Devon by Norah Gaughan, with modifications. He's devised a spreadsheet which allows him to see everything that is happening "at the same time". You can see -- and download -- the spreadsheet here. Ben says: "the chart attached applies only to size XS, but the same format could easily be used for any other size. Sleeve increases of -2 are to be placed at either side of the sleeve. No stitches are bound off in this version of the pattern. Ones set aside are to be placed on stitch holders, spare needles, or waste yarn. They will either be grafted later or used to start the collar."

Brewing: Abby is getting ready for the Knitmore Girls new knitalong: CeCe by Chicknits. It gives her something to shop for at Rhinebeck. She's also getting ready to cast on the Serpentine Socks from her handspun Sunshine of Your Love.

Demi Tasse: We discussed various strategies for breaking in Dr Martens shoes. Ben recommends Overunder Lacing to make things a bit easier. You can find a tutorial here.

Stir: Abby has started spinning some yummy fiber from Becoming Art in the colorway Firefly. The shop still shows up on etsy, but it looks like they haven't offered anything for sale this month yet. 

Bite: We review The Yiddish Policemen's Union and mention The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay, both by Michael Chabon. We've heard that the Coen brothers are making a movie of The Yiddish Policemen's Union, but have no solid information about it.

The Barista reminds you that our October donation incentive is still happening! If you donate any amount $1.00 or more towards our production costs, you will be entered to win High Whorling along with some cool fiber! Just click on the Donation button at the top right of this page.

Last but not least, if you are at Rhinebeck on Sunday, please come to the Podcasters' Grip and Grin meetup! It's at noon, right next to the Ravelry meetup. Here's the ravelry map:

If you have any questions or comments, you can leave them here, or on our ravelry board. Have a yummy week!

Abby has a Super Power and Ben has Ennui

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Latte: Abby and Ben continue to work on their socks, but Abby has finished Acorns! (Well, except for the button band). 

Brewing: Ben's having a little knitting ennui - he can't decide exactly what to knit next. Feel free to send recommendations! Abby's ready for another sweater, or she might just pick up her partly finished Kingscot.

Abby and Dalya took the yarn bus to the Flying Fingers Yarn Shop in Tarrytown, New York. We highly recommend it! Tarrytown is right next to Sleepy Hollow, so if you're up for a Halloween, Headless Horseman type outing, this might just be perfect.

Abby bought some sock yarn, some mystery gift yarn and some mohair for Dalya. She also scored these fantastic buttons:

If you're coming to Rhinebeck, don't forget our Podcaster "Grip and Grin" at noon on Sunday. Abby will be there with Kari from the High Fiber Diet, SavvyGirls Deborah and Melanie, Sydney from Knaked Knits, and others!

We love to hear from you, so please feel free to comment here, on our ravelry group, or PM Abby (Abbyknitz) or Ben (Numbersandnoise) on ravelry.

Have a delicious week! Knit, knit!

For those who asked: here's a picture of the "mouse repellant" shoes (which have not repelled any mice).

Jay and Silent Bob Go to MakerFaire Episode 9

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Latte: Ben has finished one of his Mojo socks, knit from Farmhouse Fannie's Fingering Weight. He loves using the sewn bind off, while Abby likes to use Jeny's Super Stretchy bind off. We discussed the merits of each.

Grande: Ben took scissors to his knitting and "refinished" his first sweater, Layers.

In "Taste", we review the podcast "Jay and Silent Bob Get Old" WARNING: this is not a podcast for the squeamish or highly sensitive. It is, however, both hilarious and heartbreaking, and well worth it if this is your sort of thing.

Cup of Joe to Go: Abby and Ben compare their experiences of knitting in class.

Chai: Abby went to the Maker Faire and had a fun and inspiring time. A knitted car cover (a great use for fun fur)

This is where anyone could learn to knit, crochet, embroider, felt or sew. Lots of yarn and fabric was given away for "make it and take it" projects.

Knitted New York!

Life size Mousetrap game.

Dalya (Abby's daughter/Ben's sister) learned to solder at the SparkFun tent. 

Human powered vehicles of all kinds dotted the faire grounds.

Abby is inspired to add electronics to her crafting, and she purchased Fashioning Technology at the Faire. Abby will report back on her venture into what seems to her like the magical world of electricity.

Abby is going to Rhinebeck on Sunday, October 17th, and there might be a little podcast surprise. Let us know if you can make it!

Finally, we are trying our very first Donation Incentive! If you donate any amount from $1.00 to $100 you'll be entered to win a copy of Priscilla Gibson-Roberts High Whorling, along with some fiber to spin! Donations for this incentive can be made until October 31st, after which we will announce our winner. Just visit our Tip Jar (above) and click on "Donate".

We welcome your comments here or on our ravelry group.

We're Bi-Coastal!

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Ben and Abby got together via Skype. The sound quality isn't perfect, but we think it's pretty good! 


Abby talked a little bit about the Ada Lovelace socks again, and revealed to those who might not know, that Ada Lovelace is a real historical person who was the daughter of Lord Byron (the poet) as well as the FIRST computer programmer!


Ben continues to work his Mojo magic. His yarn stash finally arrived, so more knitting should be forthcoming.


Abby gave up on the flame socks, but not before taking a few photos.

She frogged the flames and is now working on some near-vanilla socks with the gray yarn. This is her current "knitting in class" project.

"Acorns" proved more of a challenge than Abby originally anticipated, but she's having a great time with it now that she's gotten a few repeats done.

Neither Ben nor Abby had anything to share in "Grande". We just didn't finish anything this week!

In "Bite" we reviewed Boardwalk Empire. We'd love to hear your reviews as well. BTW, there are some cool wallpapers on the HBO site for you to download.

Ben has a cardigan "brewing"; he's working out some unique construction to eliminate some seams while emphasizing others. Abby continues to "brewed" about gauge, and noted that Amy Tyler did a "wraps per inch" experiment which showed just how subjective measurements can be. An excerpt of the article can be found here.

In "Stir" Abby has finished spinning her "sample singles" from the Susan's Spinning Bunny Merino-Tencel. She'll ply, swatch and report back shortly.

Chai brings us a story of Sukkah building in Olympia WA, and a rodent invasion in Abby's apartment. Bonus: Check out some very unusual sukkot (plural of sukkah) in New York City here!

Engaged with Gauge

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Sorry that the show notes are a little latte, I mean late!
Ben returned to WA, and Abby is solo, at least for now. She continues to work on Ada Lovelace, and has swatched and cast on Acorns. 
Louisa is the size of a small city in Montana, and Abby contemplates what to do with this enormosity.
Abby went to Sag Harbor and enjoyed wearing Annis and Clapotis.
Review: Around the World in Knitted Socks and Sockupied; both from Interweave Knits.
Elizabeth Zimmerman makes a "guest appearance" to talk about gauge, from Knitting Without Tears.
Abby has two fleeces in her stash, both processed by Shari at  Morro Fleece Works. One is a white Cormo from Sue Reueser's farm!