Sisters of the Holy Fiber -Episode 25

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Sorry for the sound of wind! TK forgot to turn the fan off! -_-;

Projects of the Moment: WIPs Report

TinyKiwi has almost finished a scrubby washcloth–she’s keeping the ends to weave in for detention next month, or it’d already be done.  It’s based on a nubby flower block out of 75 Floral Blocks to Crochet by Betty Barnden.
She also works on Miss Jane’s Hat by Heide Petroski. Almost there with the cabled band (hopefully!)

TK works on another rosary, this time with slightly better beads!

RambunctiouSky rips out Terri’s (new) socks and re-casts on in a smaller size.

It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Finished Objects!

RambunctiouSky is a fount of finished objects, but most importantly she’s finished her Evenstar Shawl! Huzzah!

Origami Place Card written and pictorial directions

RS’s tutorial of how to make the origami place card

RS also made vases out of regular food jars and canning jars by hot gluing a strip of ribbon around the rim with a button accent. She made colorful votive candle holders by gently scuffing the candle holders with sand paper, wrapping in rubber bands, spray painting, and then taking off the rubber bands. Pretty!

Tip! Spray paint is much cheaper at home-improvement stores than at the craft stores–only problem is color selection is isn’t always as extensive.

Brainy Moments (17:32)

RS talks getting the kink out of frogged (re-used) yarn.

RS uses Jeny’s Stretchy Slip Knot Cast-On when re-casting on Socks for Terri.

TK shows how she makes “master-keys” out of eye-pins so she can cut wire to the same length every time while she’s beading.

Hyperventilate (24:50)

RS’s partner is playing through Zelda without a sword.  We also talk about how we enjoy watching people play video games while we craft.

Shiny (26:54)

TK goes on a crazy bead buying spree–so much cuteness.  She ponders making an H.R. Giger Alien-head necklace. Anyone got a spare Alien head?

TK also showcases her “don’t-tell-the-boyfriend-how-much-I-spent” shiny: new skates from SureGrip! Atom wheels! Avenger plates!

RS got new T-pins to block the shawl and a curling iron to make pretty hair.

I Spy (39:28)

RS visits a botanic garden, enjoys a docent lead tour and learns about how hummingbirds always have food throughout the year, as there is always something red blooming. Also, bumblebees! She’s also is going camping later today and expects to have something good to report next week.

TK sees (and loves) Turkey Vultures. Hawk of some sort. Agave? *sigh*

Books to Stick Your Nose In (42:52)

RS has had no time for reading due to above wedding crafting, but is going to re-read Slow River by Nicola Griffith. She bought it off of Better World Books, a good alternative to Amazon, that participates in humanitarian efforts. Check ’em out!

RS also buys new bowls and plates (extra belated shiny!)

TK borrows a book by Nicky Epstein called Knitted Embellishments and talks about all the unexpected fun she’s learned you can have with I-cord. She’s particularly interested in the Celtic knots made of I-cord…

Ear Party (47:42)

TK again enumerates the joys of pop-artist Sia.

Walks in the Urban Wilderness (49:40)

RS has been wedding-focused, so everything took a back burner to that, except the one walk in the botanic garden.

TK walks and gardens and skates (sorta) but has back-slid a little herself.

Random Remnants (51:30)

More placecards!

InkScape is like Photoshop but it’s freeee!

dafont.com has the Mathilde Font that everyone thought was hand-written by RS!

We are also planning a KNIT ALONG! Care of Magical Creatures Bracelet #1 by TinyOwlKnits, so feel free to join us.  We’re hoping to start the 1st of September. Hopefully? Yes! No hoping, it’s happening!

Sisters of the Holy Fiber – Episode 11 – Kiwi Monocle

Sisters of the Holy Fiber Episode 11 <Click here to listen to audio only.

Projects of the Moment: WIPs Progress Report

RS works on some striped vanilla socks. Sleeves are done and pieces are sewn together on her Sashiko Cardigan. TK is knitting the Fibonerdy Shawl. The Color Affection Shawl is everywhere. TK is making more buttons with vintage fabric and turning them into rings. Very pretty!

Brainy Moments (10:12)

“Jogless stripes” blog post from Tech Knitter. RS is using Traveling Jogless Stripes for socks. TK makes a container for holding needle files out of a glass jar, a piece of crochet fabric, and a plastic drain to keep tools handy and organized.

Shiny! (17:37)

RS shows a few of the different skeins of 2,000 yards of organic heathered gray bulky wool yarn for a future blanket. One of the blanket patterns RS is considering is the Knitted Garter Stitch Blanket by Elizabeth Zimmerman and she mentions Umaro. TK went crazy at the craft store and returned with skull beads and little black felt hats. We mention Lolita style.

Books to Stick Your Nose In (27:55)

TK continues reading the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs.

I Spy! (28:21)

RS went to the beach and saw a sea lion swimming in the surf, an invertebrate (probably some kind of snail), a large black fish, and a snowy egret. The Oak Titmice are the ones that make the “tweetweetweetweetwee.” TK saw great blue herons nesting in palms, a flyby pheobe, squirrels, house sparrows, a red tail hawk, hummingbirds, and lots of pill bugs.

Ear Party (33:29)

TK listens to the blues with Billy Holiday singing Pennies from Heaven and Ma Rainey.

Walks in the Urban Wilderness (36:21)

RS gets her walks in, including walking to work, but no yoga. TK got her four walks in AND is working out while volunteering in the garden!

Random Remnants (41:10)

RS relates a story about teaching loud and soft to first graders and students relating to the material through monster trucks. TK discovers some new cds in a car junkyard. Score! TK makes her own Ravelry “Hello My Name is” button. We make a vow to go to Stitches someday. TK shares her Kiwi Monocle.

Sisters of the Holy Fiber – Episode 10 – I Learneded It Good

Sisters of the Holy Fiber Episode 10<Click Here to Listen to Audio Only

Projects of the Moment: WIPs Progress Report

TinyKiwi works more on her Fibonerdy Shawl, and despairs of getting it finished by the end of the month.
TK tries out a scrapbooker’s glue on her potion jar earring stoppers. Hopefully it works!
She then also shows off some of her patterned fabric stash, most of which was originally intended for purses, but TK’s trying to get rid of purses, not make more…so she’s trying to think of something else to do with the fabric.

Rambunctiousky makes good progress on her Sashiko Cardi! Sleeves are cast off, but yarn isn’t cut until they get blocked to make sure that they fit. If not, math may be in her future!
RS also works on a washcloth! The ubiquitous washcloth…
As follow-up from last week, there is also progress on her kiwi cross-stitch bookmark–it’s over half-done now, although RS now remembers that cross-stitch always takes longer than one thinks it will, and fights her need to make her stitches perfect. Sneaky cross-stitch!

RS finally casts on socks for her partner Terri in Knit Picks Stroll. Cast on one cuff. We mention Terri’s previous socks in the Herringbone pattern from Around the World in Knitted Socks by Stephanie van der Linden.

It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s FOs! (12:34)

TK has one small finished object this week, which is kind of a continuation of last week…but we’ll let her get away with it. She took the shank-less button she made from her grandpa’s shirt fabric scraps, and hot-glued an adjustable ring shank to the back of it. Voila! Instant vintage fabric ring.

Brainy Moments (16:23)

RS talks about wet blocking vs. steam blocking, and shares a link that she’s found useful to a video on youtube about steam blocking your knits. She’s going to use steam blocking for piecing together the parts of her sweater.

Shiny! (20:14)

TK gets new potions jars, including some weird…memory capsules? She’s not quite sure what to do with those guys, so if you have ideas or a link to a pinterest idea, do share!

She also gets  more “cotton crochet thread” to finish up some wristers/wrist-warmers based on a section of the Tracery vest pattern by Kathleen Sperling out of the Unofficial Harry Potter Knits magazine

RS shares the tip that using wool for stranded knitting is better, ’cause the scales of the wool fiber help keep things in their proper places, but as TK’s weaving in as she goes, this property is not as important.

Hyperventilate (29:25)

Murder She Wrote TV series with actress Angela Lansbury. RS talks about episode 2.5 “Sing a Song of Murder.”

Books to Stick Your Nose In (31:50)

TK reads the 5th book in the Mercy Thompson series, called Silver Borne, by Patricia Briggs.

She also reviews One Yard Wonders by Yaker and Hoskins, and shares the errata for the book (of which there’s a lot!) This book has so many mistakes that it’s really better as an idea book, more than a pattern book.
TK also shares the tidbit that interfacing is best when washed, as well as shares a link on the importance of washing (certain kinds) of interfacing, from the sewing blog Male Pattern Boldness. She also talks about pre-shrinking your interfacing by steaming it with the iron (like when you steam block) to keep it from being bubbly when you attach it to your pattern fabric.

Here’s a link to the Japanese book of simple bag patterns that TK talks about: (基礎からていねいに) 手づくりバッグレッスン  “From the ground up, handmade bag lessons” with it’s lovely pictorial instructions. ❤

RS requests a WIP bag that’d hold two sweaters.  TK may comply or might get lazy! There’s a 50/50 chance!

I Spy! (44:12)

TK hears a Flicker/Woodpecker, and sees a Kestrel, House Sparrows, Hummingbirds and some Red Tailed Hawks having a disagreement of sorts.

RS lures in Juncos and a mystery bird…perhaps a Towhee?

Ear Party (50:02)

TK recommends the CD “Dark of Days” by Bourbon Princess, a sort of lo-fi slowed down alt-rock/funk/jazzy group that’s kind of hard to pin to a genre. The lead singer Monique Ortiz has a deep smokey voice and plays the bass, with saxophone, drums and guitar filling up the rest of the sound. TK usually feels sax makes a piece sound very dated, and that it’s often an overpowering sound, but for some reason I dig it in Bourbon Princess (and Morphine.)

She’s also been listening to Fitz and the Tantrums’ “Out of My League”

RS is still digging on Kasey Musgraves, (not Musgrove as we thought last week! Sorry Kasey!)  We worry a little about the hyper-sexualization in her videos, but without knowing the intention, we try to avoid passing judgement.

RS is a sneaky teacher using “In the Hall of the Mountain King” by Edvard Grieg from the Peer Gynt suite to introduce musical concepts to her students.

Walks in the Urban Wilderness (56:58)

TK falls short of her goals, with only 3 sessions this week, but as she busted her buns gardening on Tuesday, she’s not really sweating missing the mark a little.

RS gets her two walks and a (questionable) yoga session in!

Random Remnants (59:31)

We start tangenting talking about yoga, and the benefits of doing something aerobic in a class, as it forces you to work harder for longer in a way you don’t on your own.

TK expresses her disappointment that the fabric paint she got is just Puffy Paint in disguise.   She’s still searching for an easy way to do something similar to silk-screening.
TK also talks more about the iron-on letters from a different episode, and her trepidation with working with them, but thankfully she found a tutorial, so hopefully she’ll get working with them soon.

RS makes cream-puffs and dreams of her own chef knives! She tries to convince TK to do a knife-sharpening demo…which really just depends on whether or not TK remembers!

And that’s all for this week, folks! Thanks for watchin’/listenin’!