(We are working on a new place to store our audio. We won’t update in iTunes until we resolve this. Your patience is requested! Also, if this is a feature you use, please let us know; your feedback is important.)
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!
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.
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.
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!
TinyKiwi picks her Granny Rose Square Triangle back up after two three weeks of neglect and vows to finish the horrible thing.
RambunctiouSky plugs away at her Shawl of DoooooomEvenstar Shawl, while her second pair of Socks for Terri are in time-out.
It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Finished Objects! (2:44)
RS’s FOs: Starfish Bottle Topper/Cat Toy~!
Preemie Hat
TK’s FO: It’s a Slouchy Hat! More importantly, it’s done!
*******HAT PIC TK!******
Accidental Brainy Moment, where TK teaches that you can cast-on over two needles if you’re a tight knitter (then pull one out when you’re done casting-on) and it helps keep your cast-on row from being too tight.
Brainy Moments (8:27)
TK made the long-promised tatting video, but hates it, so will re-do next week.
RS reminds us, if you don’t know how to make something, just ask! People won’t bite your head off, we promise. By the Power of Raverly vested in me, we can help you make a bobble.
Hyperventilate (13:19)
RS geeks out playing the old-school version of Zelda. Much wandering around and dying ensues!
TK worries about the quality of the upcoming TV show Constantine and the upcoming Maleficent movie. Fingers are crossed, but breath is not being held. Maleficent has been one of TK’s favorite villains for as long as she can remember, so the new movie makes her very anxious.
Books to Stick Your Nose In (18:34)
Book of Stitch Symbols [Crochet] {Japanese Vogue’s Golden Series Basic Book}: Well understood basics in the first person …Sorry if my translation is a bit wonky. I’m by no means a proficient translator, but I content myself by usually being at least a smidge more understandable than Google Translate. 編み目記号の本 かぎ針あみ (日本ヴォーグ社の基礎BOOKゴールデンシリーズ) はじめての人にもよくわかる基礎の本
Lovely book though. Very helpful if you like to make amigurumis or work off of Japanese patterns.
I Spy (21:04)
TK gets too excited. She sees a Red-Tailed Hawk, American Crows, a Phoebe, House Sparrows and Finches. Interrupting TK is interrupting to remember she also saw sheep and goats. So cute! TK learns from the British Goat Society that the little dangly bits from the chin of the goat are called tassels or toggles. Now you know! She also saw a mostly-intact lizard skin. Crazy!
RS sees a Red-Headed Woodpecker crossing the road. She doesn’t know why he’s crossing the road, but our investigative reporters are getting right on it. She also see lizards and wishes to see snakes. We then start making snake-alluring sounds of a dubiously alluring nature.
Ear Party (30:00)
TK’s been enjoying Elliott Smith and is bummed to learn he’s passed on (I’m always late to the party), but it makes the suicide scene in The Royal Tenenbaums make more sense, as they used Smith’s “Needle in the Hay” song and Smith was a known suicide risk who eventually (most-likely) took his life in 2003. Stop killing yourselves angsty singer/songwriters! TK is currently addicted to his song Alameda. She also listens to Liszt (here’s a link to Miserere du Trouvère de Giuseppe Verdi played by Stéphanos Thomopoulos) and we talk about the craaazay people who play Liszt. Take care of your hands people!
RS talks about how the best place to find classical CDs is thrift stores, ’cause nobody wants them (except us apparently!) and they’re cheap! So there’s your brainy tip for the week. 😉
RS listens to her favorite clarinetist Sabine Meyer. Our hero(ine)!
Walks in the Urban Wilderness (35:40)
RS went on one hike.
TK gets a long day of gardening one day, plus extra gardening days and one walk, so she feels like this week’s goals are met.
Then we wander into Random Remnants (37:00ish) And we talk about how we hate buying shorts, but it’s on the docket.
RS cleans trumpets! 15 years of unwashed student trumpets is apparently really, really gross. We can imagine! Our sympathies!
TinyKiwi works on a slouchy hat. Complete with cranky boyfriend voice cameo!
RambunctiouSky works on her blanket panel, and is at chart 2 on the Evenstar Shawl (which she’s making from Eos yarn from The Unique Sheep in coloway Winter Wonderland)
It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Finished Objects!
RS makes a Jellyfish–which she accidentally calls an octopus because we are a very-octopus friendly people apparently, and can’t stop making octopuses and their Cnidarian cousins.
TK makes a Scottish flag coaster and gets her shell cowl done!
Brainy Moments
Moral: Don’t make decisions at night.
Shiny (20:22)
New bracelet, and a cute stitch-marker holder! TK’s stoked but it can’t compare to the fact that:
RS gets a wedding ring designed by Jorge Revilla from ZFolio!
Hyperventilate (26:14)
TK is geeking out about the possibility of a Constantine TV show and RS is watching lots of House.
RS has a fun time seeing her students get excited over animals, and wishes for TK’s Hawks In Flight book (second edition.) It’s an awesome book! 100% recommended. She also sees some kind of swallows.
TK sees cute House Sparrows, Mockingbirds, a crow, Brewers Blackbirds and Grackles, which we’ve included links to since they can look similar, although their behavior and calls can help you ID them, and the presence of female BB’s can also help. 😉 Look for a wedge-y tail!
RS listens to singer/songwriter Heather Combs
TK introduces RS to DailyMotion, a French video-sharing website like YouTube
Walks in the Urban Wilderness (45:30)
TK gardens 3 times, but gets no walks in.
RS goes to yoga and gets to do shoulder-stands! She bikes! She walks!
Random Remnants (48:45)
RS signs up for another vegetarian cooking class.
TK hears of a good vegan chocolate cake recipe from @AstroKatie, if you’d like it, drop us a note. (We don’t have permission to share it on our blog.)
RS meets a textile designer, makes friends and gets propositioned to knit for her. RS ponders it.
We send out our condolences to the Weasley Sisters, who’ve just lost their mom. What a tough time! Our hearts and thoughts are with them.
If you’d like to get involved with some way of supporting them, you can message your nest leader in Slytherin or just drop by their Rav page and leave your condolences there. ❤
TinyKiwi works on one of her longest long-term WIPs–a colorwork crocheted shell scarf! RambunctiouSky tries to convince her to make it into a cowl. TK also makes a smidge of progress on the stained-glass “swatch” (actaully wristers) she’s making based on the Tracery Vest out of the Unofficial Harry Potter Knits Magazine.
RS makes the ever-exciting washcloths! (Hey! Somebody’s got to!)
We talk break month, more O.W.L. plotting, the Hedwig Memorial Society in Slytherin, and other things to do with the craziness in the Harry Potter Knit/Crochet House Cup on Ravelry.
SPOILERALERTat (7:20) as we discuss some of who dies, on the very off chance you haven’t read the 6th or 7th Harry Potter books (or movies.)
It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Finished Objects! (9:30)
TK finishes a small shuttle-tatted flower.
Brainy Moments (13:34)
RS talks about how the border for the Evenstar Shawl requires more of the color that’s to be used for the border section and The Unique Sheep makes it so!
TK plots to give a beginning tatting demo, but hasn’t figured out how to make it happen yet.
Shiny (15:55)
RS shows off her new hand-dyed 50% silk 50% merino gradient yarn in the Winter Wonderland colorway from the aforementioned Unique Sheep (we don’t get paid for this name dropping, people!) which she bought with the Evenstar Shawl pattern, as the yarn is one of the recommended choices listed in the pattern page. RS talks about how the Evenstar Shawl is gigantic and needs a lot of heavy blocking, so the yarn choice for the pattern has to hold up to that need and if you decide you want to substitute your own yarn, keep that in mind.
Books to Stick Your Nose In (20:50)
Reads a smidge more of Orphan Train by Christina Baker, and re-reads The Tempest by William Shakespeare. Oh noes! It’s true! TK is an unashamed Shakespeare fan, and is probably one of the only people in her age group who can spell Shakespeare right on the first try. MacBeth has been her favorite ever since she was a wee child (she was a strange child.) She also talks a little bit about the 75 Floral Blocks to Crochet by Betty Barnden that she’s talked about before.
RS reads Singing Games for Children by Denise Gagné, and sings a song game from it!
I Spy (28:16)
RS sees llamas in someone’s backyard while she was hiking. We squee.
TK only sees the neighbor’s cat.
Ear Party (29:15)
TK listens to some EDM Trap by Baauer, notably Swerve, and gives a very brief overview on her understanding of the differences between Trap (Rap) and Trap (EDM/Electronic Dance Music) as genres of music.
RS listens to Meshell Ndegeocello (Sorry we butcher your beautiful name Meshell! which Wikipedia tells us is pronounced N-deh-gay-o-chel-o), and RS is listening to the album Weather
Walks in the Urban Wilderness (32:52)
TK gets her 9-5 gardening work-out in on Tuesday, and one extra session of gardening in, but has otherwise missed her exercise goals.
RS wanted to walk or bike to work more than she rode in the car to work, but that didn’t quite happen this week, but she still biked and walked and biked again, so she’s still doing great!
Random Remnants (A bit before 36:35)
RS and her S.O. sign up for CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box and talks about what that is and how they’re using it. They’re loving it, so tune in to find out more about it!
We talk again about fresh food. (Sorry we talk about it so much! We can’t help it! Apparently we just love fresh food!) Then we talk about freezing bread to extend the shelf-life, especially for preservative-free breads.
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.
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.
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 ridof 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!
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!
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.
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’!
Projects of the Moment: WIPs Progress Report (0:50)
RambunctiouSky makes significant progress on her Sashiko Cardi–Look at all that progress–fronts and backs done! Now it’s time for two-at-a-time sleeves!
RS mentions The Knitter’s Handy Book of Sweater Patterns by Ann Budd, although she couldn’t remember it’s name, so here’s the link!
She’s also working on an owl plushie but needs to make some felt eyes, so it’s sitting on the WIPs shelf for now.
TinyKiwi reaches the 50% mark for the row count on her Fibonerdy Shawl! She shows her progress on the octopus knee-warmers, but admits they may not get done… her enthusiasm for this project is waning. She also finally breaks down and uses her fabric button maker, and starts making little Harry Potter-inspired potions jar charms. RS wants some!
It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s FOs! (15:12)
TK counts her one button as a finished object, in her desperation to showcase something finished. 😛
Shiny! (18:01)
RS got her yarn that she bought from a destash! Show-and-tell time!
Books to Stick Your Nose In (with Brainy Moment Tangent!) (21:24)
TK’s button book that she shows off: 手づくりくるみボタンの本which is full of cute ideas for embroidered, painted and crocheted fabric buttons. We both geek out a little bit. Stay tuned next week to see what TK ends up making out of this book.
We discuss “best” ways to attach buttons to knit fabric. Our consensus is to use a backing button, but if you have any other ideas, we’d love to hear them!
I Spy! (35:30)
TK sees Crows & Hummingbirds, hears Mockingbirds, and sees Ash trees in need of some TLC/pruning.
RS isn’t a fan of meadows, but sees some cool ….
INSECT/SPIDER WARNING! Skip to time stamp (39:48) if you can’t stand that kinda talk, and skip the rest of this paragraph. Ok…so she saw some cool brown spiders all along the side of the path in their in-ground lairs. So cool!
Phew! It’s safe now! Never let it be said that we don’t care about you, dear listeners! ❤
RS also sees something that she thinks is a Junco, but isn’t entirely sure.
Then TK talks about Slavic Soul Party, with their version of Opa Cupa (or Opa Tsupa) being a favorite of TK’s (although the female vocalist isn’t part of the band,) and Gogol Bordello…for which TK gave up finding a song of theirs with G-rated lyrics (they have some, but they’re not easy to find on the YouTubes), so she recommends the very NSFW Huliganjetta, which although it’s a great song, comes with a very strong language warning. Advisory! It’s got a couple of curse words.
RS finds a new podcast through the Knitmore Girls, called Geeky Girls Knit Podcast, which is also another mother-daughter podcast. We can dig it!
Walks in the Urban Wilderness (52:38)
TK hit within her flex goal (4-7), with 5 walks this week, while RS met her goal of 2, and adds one yoga session to her weekly goal.
Random Remnants (54:49)
Then we’re back to slightly bad video/sound for a bit as TK rambles on about sewing some new pillowcases, maybe for the Headmistress’ Challenge??
RS talks about her new vegetarian cooking class. Different teaching styles, ftw? Ftw!
We’re trying a slight re-arranging of the segments this week. As the Hitchhikers Guide to the Universe advises us, “DON’T PANIC!”
Projects of the Moment: WIPs Progress Report (0:46)
Tiny Kiwi gets more work done on her Fibonerdy Shawl and Sea-life Kneewarmers. She worries about having knit one row on her shawl while staying in a “smoking room” at a hotel while on vacation. (Why is this still a thing?! Oh, Arizona, you’re so 1950s.)
Rambunctious Sky has finished one of the fronts of her Sashiko Cardigan. RS has changed the ribbing to p2k1 rib, which she likes better.
We discuss the terms “running stitch” vs. “cable.” Weigh in if you have an opinion or know the difference!
We also affirm that RS should have “made a bigger swatch, madam” as TK had previously advised, as RS is two stitches shy of gauge now. 😦 Sad trombone. Thankfully with a few minor adjustments it will still fit her! Phew!
No FOs this week, so moving right along into…
Brainy Moments (9:26)
TK shares another papercutting tool, as an elaboration on last weeks bamboo tool, to use instead an eraser you’ve beveled slightly. The eraser gives more than the bamboo, and will hold the paper in place while you cut, without gouging as the bamboo tool does. If you try it and it works for you (or doesn’t,) let TK know and leave a comment! Hopefully she’ll try it sometime this next week and update y’all on how well it worked for her.
RS talks about Ravelry’s pattern and project searching, pros and cons. She wants to knit a shawl for her upcoming wedding ceremony, the more complicated, the better, from the sounds of it! Attributes search only works for pattern searching, not project searching. 😦
We beg Ravelrians to TAG YOUR PROJECTS and tag them thoroughly, as it really helps people find them.
TK talks about how they’ve now implemented the ability to link to more than one pattern in your personal Ravelry projects, which she loves.
RS is taking pattern advice for a circular shawl for her wedding. If you know of a good pattern, she’s looking for one that’s interesting to knit and to look at, using multiple stitches, (eg. Stars, that turn into Tulips, into Leaves, into Birds, etc.), and it needs to look good when folded and draped over shoulders. Some examples she is considering include Leaves of Grass by Jared Flood, Heliotaxis Pi Shawl by Renata Brenner, and Evenstar Shawl by Susan Pandorf.
TK wants to make a very specific fandom shirt, so she’s bought iron-on letters to try, but is very hesitant…remove the plastic backing or not? Well, it’ll be an adventure! She’s also gotten fabric paint to try, but is worried that it’s just another form of puffy paint, which she then denigrates, while RS reminisces fondly.
Hyperventilate (22:17)
RS goes off the deep end and joins a bunch of Destash/In-Search-Of groups, and buys some yarn. (Surprising? No.)
Some helpful lingo for you if you’re interested in joining those groups: Destash–means to get rid of things you already own, usually referring to one’s “yarn stash” ISO–just means “in search of”, and is used when you’re looking for something specific FS–means “for sale” and is tagged on things people are willing to sell.
There’s also an option when you’re adding yarn into your stash page on Ravelry, to tag the yarn as “for sale,” so if you change your mind about something you’ve bought, or have left-over skeins you don’t mind parting with, you can denote that there. Very helpful if someone is looking for a specific dye-lot to finish up a sweater or something, and they can’t find the right dye-lot in stores anymore.
RS cautions that if you do join these groups, please remember that it is the internet–be safe. Check the feedback threads for positive feedback before you buy/sell. ❤
TK goes out on a limb and buys the “ONYX professional nail dryer” spray without reading reviews first. It is supposed to help your nail polish dry a lot faster (and with “Island Coconut” scent!) It’s full of flammable things! Wheee! So far, it has an A+ rating with TK, but she’ll keep trying it out in the next few weeks and see how it does with multiple polishes. She’s really excited about this product though, as it really opens up the world of nail polish to her, if drying time can become less of an issue. Stay tuned!
TK geeks out a little about a paint swatch from Martha Stewart Living that is in Slytherin colors, and proceeds to choke on laughter thinking of Martha Stewart as a Slytherin. The shoe fits, though!
RS is watching the show Bones, and drops the memorable line, “I love Bones!” which, if taken out of context, is a funny statement.
She also’s been watching Star Trek’s Deep Space Nine, but can’t binge watch it the way she does other shows–just a little too corny for that!
So she shopped around on Netflix and found that the entire series of Murder She Wrote is available! Geeking out ensues, and we discuss our appreciation for female characters who aren’t written to be “sexy” and are –Just–Smart– which is somewhat of a rarity. We mention another favorite murder mystery show of ours, “Rosemary & Thyme,” talk about our love of murder/mystery and crime shows, with the caveats that (1) you’re not trying to scare us, and (2) you’re not showing us people dying. We’re not into watching people murder other people! (Is that really such a bad thing?!?) RS also states that she likes the show to have a conclusion, problem and then solution, all in one episode, and TK heartily agrees. We don’t like waiting years for a plot arc to resolve itself (if ever).
We then proceed to disparage Battlestar Galactica for that very reason. TK gives a mild spoiler alert, but just ends up giving her opinion of the final episode (aka was it Good? Bad?), so if you don’t want to hear that…. just skip ahead a bit. It’s hardly a spoiler. *MILD SPOILER ALERT*
We also talk about Lucy Lawless’s appearance on the show, and how she will always be Xena to us. Sorry Lucy! You’re a legitimate actress, but some things run deep.
TK rambles on about need for more strong female warrior role models in popular culture. Also, sorry Whedon fans! TK likes some of his stuff, but…let’s just not get into a long drawn-out discussion of feminism+pop culture, k? K. The main point being there’s always room for more strong female characters, and that at least is a point we can all hopefully agree on. 🙂
RS references the page Practical Female Armor, TK rants a little more, and then we move on to…
Books to Stick Your Nose In! (38:03)
TK recommends the book How to Wrap 5 More Eggs by Hideyuki Oka (1975). Very inspirational! Great knot-work, and really creative ways to package things, this one will really get your mind going.
I Spy (42:01)
RS goes to a freshwater pond/lake bird preserve, and sees Egrets, Coots and informational placards! YAY! TK talks about the differences between American and Eurasian Coots.
TK went to Arizona and saw Grackles and Quail! Also…Sparrows…don’t judge! TK L.O.V.E.S. birds, even Sparrows!
Ear Party (47:17)
RS had a surprise pop quiz in her opera class–she got none right! But surprisingly, that won her the CD “The Best of Italian Opera.”
TK’s listening docket: Missy Elliot “Best Friends,” with Aaliyah, which is a sweet down-tempo song (not rap) about best friends supporting each other, especially as it relates to not letting your best friend be in a relationship with someone who treats them badly. Kaskade “Raining”, Filth Colins remix, about longing for your loved one that you’re apart from, this is dubstep/electronica and Filth Colins remixes are good–check em out Suzanne Vega “Caramel”, which is slow and loungy (you might know her from her pop hits “Left of Center”, “Luka” or “Tom’s Diner” in the 80s)
And finally FeverRay’s strange videos like the ones for “When I Grow Up” and “If I Had a Heart,” made TK think of other artsy/strange videos like:
Nine Inch Nails “We’re in This Together,” video is post-apocalyptic strangeness, which comes with a mild content warning, but only cause we try to keep this podcast family friendly. The lyrics themselves are 98.8% fine, but they’re screamed at times, and the video is gritty.
& Interpol “C’mere” with the crazy flame-y fur coat lady
Walks in the Urban Wilderness (52:27)
RS was secretly awesome, and got her two walks in. She’s gotta figure out her new goal though, as she’s on the mend and needs to up it.
TK met her minimum goal of 4!
Random Remnants (54:19)
Nails mini-segment: TK gives a quick review of Revlon’s Colorstay in Bold Sangria (260). It’s a lovely wine (1 coat) to deep purple/almost brown (2 coats). It eventually wore away at the tips, but still held up pretty well. She’s starting to be a fan of the Colorstay line… This is also what TK tried the new polish-drying spray on, and it worked great! You can use the spray after every coat, which makes it infinitely easier to apply multiple coats! Her thumbs took two coats of color, silver linework (with I ❤ Nail Art’s striper in Silver Argent-280), and a clear coat over that, and it all worked out fantastic! She used the spray after every layer, and not a single problem!
Snake 1 (You can’t see his tiny tongue! So sad!)
A thumbnail of a thumbnail! So meta
RS gets new glasses! We complain about how art frames pinch. TK laments not taking the “make your own glasses” after-class option in her metalsmithing class. Whyyyy?! What was she thinking?!
So that’s it for this week. Thanks for joining us!
Tiny Kiwi goes ahead and starts her “wacky knee warmers” project, which she thinks is going to be an octopus for one knee, and fish for the other, but as she’s winging it–we’ll see! Also, progress is made on her Fibonerdy shawl. The colors are working well together! Phew! Mad cackling ensues, but that might be because TK is part mad-scientist.
TK also talks about an on-going paper-cutting project (there really needs to be a better term for this craft! (In fact, there are several nicer-sounding words, but they’re all in other languages! (and pretty much mean the same as paper-cutting!)(Parenthesis in parenthesis! (Oh the humanity!)))) TK likes annoying language formalists, even though she’s an amateur linguist. ❤ What is language for but to bend to our will?
Moving on!
Rambunctious Sky is plugging away on her Sashiko cardigan. The back is knit and a good portion of the front right side. RS is a knitting machine! She also talks about the saggy nature of silk, and the benefits of working things in pieces. We discuss options for knitted toys for a baby shower.
It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Finished Objects! (8:50)
TK finally shows off her Mullein Leaves Phone Cosy–even though it was finished a few weeks ago–as she promptly lost it in a purse! It was an experiment in crocodile stitch, and needs a few more incarnations before TK will really like it, so she’s sending it off to RS!
Hyperventilate! (10:12)
TK talks about two blogs she recommends: The Tearoom of Despair–mostly comic and movie reviews
& Hermione’s Garden (Although it doesn’t appear to update anymore, sadly!) which is one person’s look at herbs, their past, and their uses. TK is mostly stuck on the idea, more than the execution.
RS geeks out about the GoodReader app for iPad, which she uses to mark up her knitting patterns. The app allows you to write on and mark up pdfs using text, highlighting, boxes, arrows, note tabs, lines, and more. Good for teachers, knitters, or those who just like to deface their own PDFs! Wooo!
Books to Stick Your Nose In (17:25)
TK recommends the aptly, if succinctly, named Tropicals by Gordan Courtright, a book on tropical plants that are used in landscaping, & the New Zealand comic series Footrot Flats by Murray Ball, which is a favorite in our family.
RS talks more about the contents of The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury, and we note the parallels between the short story in that and Fahrenheit 451.
TK makes a bamboo pressing tool to help her in her paper crafting
RS talks about the modifications she’s made on the selvage edges of her Sashiko, so that they seam up nicer. She re-asserts it’s OK to modify your patterns!
We also talk about how TK calls RS in the midnight hour when she’s panicking about a dropped or missing stitch or something. A true story, or as TK says, “Tru Fax.”
I Spy (33:36)
RS is visited by an Oak Titmouse, and laughs at her cat chit-chattering at it. We also get a cameo from RS’s other cat, Sweetie, who has perfected the “not-amused” look that Timber is an amateur at, comparatively. Sweetie’s the little old lady of the cat world. ❤
TK talks about the adult raccoon she saw, and her part-time-lover/time-share cat of her landlord, Felix. If you ever hear her talk about “my old man,” she’s not talking about her boyfriend, she’s talking about her borrowed cat. They’ve been friends for 15+ years, so they have a lot of history. ❤
Ear Party (38:08)
TK listens to Dry & Dusty by Fever Ray, and pretty much loves all of Karin Dreijer Andersson’s work, both independently in Fever Ray, and in the duo The Knife, which is her and her brother.
RS recommends the Downcast app, for managing your podcasts and making playlists, & recommends the podcast knit.fm
Walks in the Urban Wilderness (43:27)
TK only meets her minimum goal, with 4 walks this week. It’s been a schlub-y week.
RS gets in her two, despite (finally!) recovering from illness. Yay!
Aaaand we accidentally move on to… Random Remnants! (44:33)
TK reviews the purple ORLY nailpolish… color is Elizabeth #534…beautiful color, but chips easy at the tips of her fingers. Holding up pretty well on toes, though.
RS talks about the spinach soup she made out of the vegetarian cookbook The New Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen …TK suggests possibly adding konbu seaweed.
And that’s all for this week, folks! Thanks for joining us!
Sisters Of The Holy Fiber 