Episode 80 - Solo

Abby was on her own this week; Ben has been under the weather.

Latte: This week Abby focused mainly on the Ebbtide Knitalong shawl and the Rocky Coast Cardigan. She's also about to cast on a pair of Hickory socks for one of her teachers.

Stir: Abby has been spinning along with The Spin Doctor Podcast's Jacey Boggs Spin Art spinalong.

More spinning: Abby learned to use a high whorl spindle and can finally enjoy both her Bosworth and her Golding drop spindles. 

Taste: Review of Knitting Never Felt Better by Nicky Epstein.

Take a Bite: What have you done or would you like to do with "art" or "textured" yarn?

Caffeinated: Abby was very excited to read the article "Your Brain on Fiction" and urges you to read it! As a result, she has jumped into Stephen King's lastest book 11/22/63.

Demi Tasse: Abby just bought a new pair of "Dimrs" for those pesky headlights. 

Tip Jar: Abby is using this dental floss case to carry a supply of crochet cotton.

Unclassifiable: Knit a Uterus! Find out why and how here.

79 - Cashless Cashmere

Barista's Special: Elizabeth Doherty kindly extended the discount for Ebbtide. You can find the discount code on the ravelry thread for the KAL.

Latte: Ben is working on his second Java sock and Ebbtide. Abby's working on Ebbtide  too, and she also started the Rocky Coast Cardigan

Grande: Abby finished the Meisi gloves. Sadly, Shalder is still waiting for buttons.

Ben has finally had photos taken of some of his projects! Check out ravelry.

Chai: Cupcake Throwdown: Hello Cupcake vs. Bonjour Cupcake. Bonjour wins by a bite.

Abby went to the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center and was transported to blissful  ballet land.

Brewing: Abby marvels at the wonders of gauge and that sweaters ever fit.

Menu: Ben made deep fried burritos, sushi and mango lassi. Abby make chocolate pudding from scratch.

Stir: Abby talks about Judith Mackenzie's class on recycling cashmere. You can find an article that explains everything about this in the Spring 2012 issue of Spin Off.

Abby has joined the "Spin Art" spin along sponsored by Sasha Torres of the Spin Doctor Podcast.

Steamed: Abby has been deeply offended by a KIA commercial. She contacted the company and urges listeners to do the same. Note: Curiously, I could not find the commercial online the way it's being shown in New York City. Hmmm.

Caffeinated: Ben is reading Debt: the First 5000 Years and says it's one of the best books he's ever read. He is also excited about Streetlight Lullabies, new music by Toh Kay.

Abby's reading Crisis Economics, a Crash Course in the Future of Finance, a great book that explains the recent crash. Ben also recommends The Giant Pool of Money on This American Life, and both recommend the movie Inside Job.

78 Madrona and More

Latte: Ben's still working on the Java socks. He plans to go to Canvasworks or the Acorn Street Shop to get yarn for a sweater.

Abby's knitting the Adrian vest from Cocoknits. She is using yarn she bought at the first sock summit from Briar Rose Fibers.

Grande: Abby finished Shalder -- all but the buttons.

Chai: We went to Madrona! We bought Fly Designs Felted Possum Yarn

Abby bought a Will Taylor Clever Kate from Carolina Homespun.

Abby bought lots of fiber from Klaus of Crown Mountain Farms.

Abby took a class in spinning paper with Judith Mackenzie. 

Abby bought a Jenkins Turkish Spindle, larger than her other one.

In Portland, Abby had a yummy meal at the Waffle Window. 

Ben got a skein of his first spun yarn and had a great time using the Hansen Mini Spinner.

Barista's Special: Elizabeth Doherty of Blue Bee Studio introduces us to our new Knitalong! Ebbtide is a beautiful shawl. Elizabeth used two yarns for the two sizes of shawls: Skinny Bugga from Sanguine Gryphon (now closed) and a Silk/Wool yarn from Dog Eared Dyeworks. For the next two weeks, listeners can get a 20% discount on the pattern. Listen to the podcast for the discount code and come join us! See Elizabeth's other designs here.

Caffeinated: Abby is excited about Principles of Knitting by June Hemmons Hiatt

Ben is excited about David Graeber's book Debt: the first 5000 Years. 

Announcement: For the foreseeable future, the podcast will be broadcast every other week. When Ben and Abby's schedules allow, they will return to a weekly format.

74 Seuss & Snow

Nichs joined Abby and Ben for this episode.
Latte: Ben is knitting Borough Mittens, but without the flip tops. Nichs is knitting cabled socks out of Tosh Merino, worsted weight.
Abby's reworking the Lucky 13 hat to make one that is not felted. She's continuing with the Dahlia cardigan.
Nichs finished her Daybreak, which she knit from Happy Feet yarn. While knitting it, she discovered combination knitting, which made her stockinette much more even.
Abby's working on Julia Mueller's gloves Eddy and Meisi. She tried using Malabrigo sock yarn, but switched to Dream in Color Smooshy.
Caffeinated: Nichs and Ben are excited about Bonjour Cupcake in Olympia and suggest it's worth a trip, especially for the salted caramel flavor.
Abby reviewed Knit Simple Knitting Workshops.
Tip Jar: Ben suggests buying firewood when you can. (Olympia had a great, atypical snowstorm.) Abby extols the virtues of Goo Gone.

73 Questions, Questions

Latte: Ben is working on Borough mittens from Knitty.com.

Abby is working on Dahlia, Shalder, My Heart Beets 4 U socks and Meisi gloves.

Grande: Ben finished the herringbone mittens.

Abby talks about fast vs. slow knitting and tight vs. loose knitting. She mentions combination knitting as a way to keep a more even tension when knitting back and forth.

Bitter Cup: Abby runs into difficulty with her Dahlia sweater, and praises the patterns of Chicknits and Ysolda Teague for their stylish designs and wonderful construction.

Abby tried to add conductive thread to the Meisi gloves using a technique from the Teknika gloves on Knitty.com.

Chai: Ben spent New Year's Eve at Occupy Wall Street. Abby shared what a wonderful time she had meeting Sasha Torres, host of the Spin Doctor Podcast, and she also did some interesting studies with different religious leaders, which culminated with a trip to the Islamic Galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ben talks about seeing a wonderful frog exhibit at the Museum of Natural History.

Take a Bite: Abby asks for moving advice.

Bite Back: We were asked for yarn suggestions for the OpArt baby blanket. Ben recommended something with cotton; Abby recommended Cascade 220 Superwash, and they both discussed the pros and cons of Encore. We were also asked why people get so excited about knitting socks, and we had many answers.

Menu: Ben baked Challah and also made a modified version of Winter Minestrone and spaghetti squash. Abby gives her "generic frittata" recipe and she made Squash Parmesan soup with so-so results.

Tip Jar: Ben talks about discovering the Readability extension for Mozilla Firefox or Chrome. The extension allows you to save an online pattern in Kindle format and then mail it to your Kindle, leaving out the pdf conversion. Abby shares the tip of putting the bulk of your sweater into a drawstring project bag (hers is from Knowknits) when you are working on, say, a sleeve, to keep the bulk out of the way.

Announcements: We talk about SOPA, pending legislation which could severely impact everything online from photos to podcasts, and paves the way for unprecedented censorship. We urge you to speak out about this danger to our freedom.

We will both be attending the Madrona Fiber Arts Festival. Information about a podcaster meet and greet will follow, and we hope to see you there.

72 Emphasis on "Cafe"

Announcements: Shirlee Claire is helping to organize a KAL for the Latticework Jacket.

Latte: Ben started the  Herringbone Mittens. He continues to work on his original striped tie and the Java Socks.

Abby's plugging along on the Dahlia Sweater and Shalder. She started the Meisi gloves and plans to add conductive thread so she can text without taking them off.

Abby's planning to begin the Knotted Vest from Custom Knits 2 out of Madeline Tosh DK.

Stir: Ben had his first experience spinning on a wheel!

Chai: We went to Annie & Company, a delightful knitting shop on the Upper East Side. (BTW, they have a needlepoint floor upstairs, but we didn't go there.)

We visited a unique shop, My Plastic Heart. Abby began her "art toy" collection and Ben bought a book, The Unknown Portraits.

We stopped at Vivi Bubble Tea in Chinatown.

Ben had "dinner" at  Pommes Frites, which only serves fries.

We cook! We mentioned Gojee, a great recipe site.

Ben made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies . Note that we used semi-sweet chocolate chips, which it says not  to do. They were great. 

We cooked Winter Minestrone and Tomato Basil soups from The Daily Soup cookbook

We made deep dish pizza dough from The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American.

Abby made challah from her own recipe.

Banana nut cheesecake from125 Best Cheesecake Recipes.

Abby followed Ban's tip and got a Swiss Army Knife while Ben is hoping to get a Leatherman.

71 Together Again

Abby continues to try spinning cotton!

Ben and Abby are together again in New York!

Ben reports finding his Java Socks, and he's working on them again.

Abby is still working on the Dahlia sweater, Shalder sweater and the Kleio shawl. 

Abby cast on the Lucky 13 Hat from Pretty in Punk. There have been a few bumps, but she's determined to work it out.

Ben is looking forward to starting the Herringbone Mittens when he finds his suitcase!

Abby continues to do battle with spinning cotton on her Schacht Sidekick.

Ben asks our listeners:  How do you pack knitting for a trip?

Abby keeps patterns on her Kindle or her iPad and can access documents on her computer using the GoodReader app.

Ben is excited about the massive strategy computer game Civilization V which is available on Steam.

Abby got a small wrist rest to combat "Starcraft blister" and recommends this!

Abby shared a tip she read in Spin Art by Jacey Boggs

Abby remembered that the construction for Vonica was quite unusual and a bit counter-intuitive.

Ben suggests that knitters carry a multi-tool or Swiss army knife or Leatherman.

We talk about the Nantucket Bagg which was originally designed as a tool bag/apron and is now marketed as a knitting bag.