Episode 11 Distracted by the internet

You can listen to the episode here

Thank you everyone for stopping by to listen to this weeks episode. We are a little disorganized this week so show notes will be delayed. We each started a new schedule last week and its taking us a little bit of effort to get into a steady routine.

listen to the new episode Here 

Episode 10 Why is the red light not on? 

In this episode we have some recording hiccups about half way through, so we tried to record the missed part over again. Its harder to do then you would think!

 

                                   (I did, in fact, beat Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask over break!)

 

 Drawing:   

   I had way more projects planned then I could reasonably do this break; building a kiln, making a paper mache cat bed, etc, but I still have made progress on other projects. The comic I have been working on for some time now is almost finished. This is a picture of all the pages laid out. 
It's not a recent picture, so the pages are more complete then they look here.
Crossing my fingers that this is good enough for Heavy Metal magazine! Also it has no title....

 I also got a foldable easel for Christmas which will make painting a lot easier for me. I have a self portrait that I'm doing in oils that really needs to be done outside because of the smell, and having an easel that I can just carry outside makes things much less complicated.

 

Knitting: 

My knitting Goal for 2014 is to finish all the things ( or at least enough so that I can find my needles).
I  started by finishing the Calvados cardigan by Thea Cloeman. I knit mine with Manos del Uruguay Rhittenhouse yarn in the Goldenrod color. I think this is a discontinued yarn now. (I have leftovers if anyone wants it). Im not a big fan of it. It had way to many knots in it.
I then pulled out my Plucky knitter cardigan in Dream in color smooshy. Mine is a bright happy green. I have about 3/4 of the body done. This isn't very exciting knitting so its good for Movie watching or car knitting.
I also pulled out my Entangled Vines cardigan knit with Malabrigo worsted. This only needs 1 1/2 sleeves. The button bands and everything are done.  The sleeves hava a charted leaf motif so I need to pay attention to what Im doing but it won't take long to finish this.
Are you wondering at this point" Gee whiz how many unfinished sweaters does this women have? "

I talk about knitting totally cool reflective hats using Lumio by Schachenmayr. 
They are very quick and fun to knit.

Spinning: 

My spinning goals for 2014 are to

•  spin a sweaters worth of yarn to knit a sweater for myself

• participate in the spin the bin challenge. Spin 12 braids/batts of fiber from your stash in 2014

I'm doing great so far this year. I have finished 6 oz of Hobbledehoy fiber and almost a 4oz braid of Unwind yarn co. These are both fantastic dyers to purchase from.

I didn't talk about it in the podcast. I did the first time we recorded but not when we re-recorded but I'm making pretty good progress on my feathers quilt.

Running:

In an ideal world, you supplement your 30 minutes of cardio with 30 minutes of strength training. 
 So after my runs, I've been lifting weights using a severely outdated training program (Weider's Triple Progressive Muscle Building Courses from 1975!) modified for my interests.  
When it comes to lifting, the formula is: more weight + less reps = building muscle
                                                                 less weight + more reps = toning muscle

Episode 10 will be delayed until after Christmas. We seem to be having a little trouble keeping up with all the holiday crafting, gifting and family gatherings. We would like to wish all of you a very happy and safe holiday. 

 

Stephanie & Ginna

Its time for a GIveaway.

Hello everyone. I am super excited about the Quilt-Along that I talked about in the last episode. I can't wait to get started on my Feathers quilt.  In fact, I have been trying to get everything ready so that I can start on January 1st. BUT the really exciting news is that I have found myself with an extra copy of the pattern thanks to Alison Glass, the very creative designer of the pattern.  She has very kindly given me permission to give a copy away to a lucky person. If you would like to win this pattern and participate in the Quilt-Along please leave a comment on this post along with some way for me to contact you. (If you're on Ravelry your Ravelry name will work.)

Here is a wonderful picture of the quilt from Alison's blog. The information for the Quilt-Along can be found here. You can also see what people are planning on instagram by using #feathersqal.
So if you would like to win a copy of this pattern just leave a comment on this post with some way for me to contact you if you win. We will be drawing on December 27th so that I can get this pattern to the lucky winner before the 1st. 

Episode #9

Episode # 9 BRRRR its cold outside

                                                                  In which we feel "cold"

Knitting: 

I finished my Ramona Cardigan and wore it grocery shopping even though it was way too cold for a cotton sweater. Now I can work on the Sprig cardigan by Alana Dakos again. It would be great to finish it this year but I do have Christmas presents to take care of. I am continuing to work on the Vivid blanket squares. Nothing like cold weather to motivate you to knit on a blanket.

Sewing and an adventure:

This week I had the opportunity to visit Birch fabrics. It was so much fun. This store is bright and cheerful and full of inspiration. I purchased some Charlie Harper fabrics to make large project bags and a quilt. I didn't plan on buying fabric or a pattern for quilting but this was such a cool pattern I couldn't resist.  I  later found out from Instagram that there is a QAL for this pattern that starts on January 1st. Here is a link for more information. . Its the feather pattern by Alison Glass. After finding her and the QAL on instagram I was led on a internet adventure full of inspiration and new sewing blogs to read and new people to follow. It was such a fun adventure.

 I made two nice big bags to hold a sweaters worth of yarn or a sweater wip.

 So far these are the fabrics I have picked for the feathers quilt.

For now I have to finish my brothers quilt before I get too excited about this new pattern.

Running:

we talked a little about what motivates us to run when we don't want to. Ginna talked about how food choices keep her running.  I talked about how having a training program set keeps me on track and having the encouragement of others.

Drawing:

 With finals coming up I have little free time for art, but I'm trying to get some in anyway. If the photoshop fairies can fix my disaster, then I will share the results with you. Until then...ugh...
I plan to work on a comic over the winter break, because I've been putting it off all semester! 
My biggest project is going to be researching ceramic techniques, because I'd like to set up a kiln in the backyard. I mentioned the video "Daughters of the Anasazi" ,which I watched in my ceramics class, as being my inspiration. It centers around the ceramicist Lucy Lewis, and I encourage you all to check out her work! I also talked a bit about the Raku process we used in class, which produces some really amazing effects.  

Episode #8

                                                                   

  Inspiration overload, or "Help I've lost my desk!"

  Knitting 

Current project : In an attempt to actually get something finished I have been focusing my efforts on just a few projects. This week I spend a great amount of time avoiding knitting the 2nd sleeve on my Ramona Cardigan Its a great pattern and I feel like it would be a good choice for a first sweater. I am just not fond of knitting sleeves.   I started the Dogwood blanket by Tin Can knits for a coworker. I am using Berrocco comfort. Working on this reminded me that I should work some more on my Vivid blanket also be Tin Can knits. I now have 11 squares done.  My car knitting is the sugar high cowl by Megan Williams of the Stockinette Zombies.  

I went on a search for patterns that would use up small amounts of handspun of left over yarn and found several that I really like. 

Chevzam and  the Zam hat by Alexandra Tinsley I love these two patterns and I think they would be great for my Gourmet stash handspun. 

The coloring book collection by Lee meredith is so much fun. 

I also really like the monster cowl pattern that I have seen several people knitting on instagram. I might use my freshly spun Hobbledehoy fall battlings and make one. 

I also talk about Rosemary Hills new collection. The Great Oddments knitdown

We have a family spinning night. I was excited to see my loved ones trying to spin. 

Here is a picture of my Hobbledehoy

Painting and Future Plans

I discussed a recently finished painting of the Celtic god Cernunnos, done with acrylic on cardboard rather then canvas. It's dirt cheap and absorbed moisture well, which makes it quick to dry but it helps to keep your brushes and paint wet. Here is the final result:

 Here is the finished portrait done for my Photoshop class that I've discussed, of Khan from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. (The real Khan, of course!)

I also talked about my plans to make a cat bed from paper mache or similar materials. My plan is sort of inspired by Rodger Dean's designs for these virtual reality pods which were being designed back in the early 90's, but didn't make it past the initial production. I couldn't find any good pictures online unfortunately, though I've seen the designs in his book Dragon's Dream. 

Other Crafts

I did some sewing this week. I have started a quilt for my little brother using my stash of Batik fabrics. He wanted a grey and blue quilt so I have picked fabrics that are predominantly in those two colors. I am using a pattern that I have been making for many years that is quick and easy.  Here is a brief description. 
I have two blocks. Block A is a 8 1/2 inch cut square and block B is made up of 16  2 1/2 inch cut squares. The A and B blocks will be alternated on the quilt top. I have cut my fabric into 2 1/2 inch wide strips and will sew them together lengthwise and then cut them into sections. I will post pictures once I get that far. 

Running

We talk about our tradition of running on the Holidays. 
Why? 
So you can eat both kinds of pie.Actually we find that after a hard run we crave healthy foods so we are more likely to make good choices. (mostly)
To get rid of post party stress.


Come join our Ravelry group at Knitdrawrun podcast

We would also like to wish everyone a Happy November. 

 

Episode # 7 Grasshopper knitting and Birthday wishes. *updated!*

                        Happy almost Birthday to Ginna.

Painting and other Art goodness:

   Sorry for the delay, I was having to much fun celebrating my B-day by eating cake and watching Dr. Strangelove! As my comic illustrates, I was attempting to write an art history paper, but wound up getting too inspired to continue! (Also, if you're curious the paintings I photoshopped into the comic are Rubens' Raising of the Cross and Caravaggio's Bacchus.)  The Friday before this podcast I spent the afternoon jumping between three different acrylic paintings, and the Saturday before I bought new brush cleaning supplies.
Other then that I have a project in my photoshop class to do a realistic painting-style portrait that I hopefully will be able to show you in our next show notes, along with my recently finished painting.
  This is the previous class project which I have mentioned in other podcasts:
          

(I think I could have done better on a few things, but I still got an A- on it!)

Knitting: 

Stephanie talks about Grasshopper knitting because she spent the weekend jumping from project to project. ( Had a great time doing it too)
Of the needles: Noodle has limbs.
On the needles: The above picture shows all the projects I worked on this weekend.
The Ramona Cardigan by Elizabeth Smith, Sprig by Alana Dakos , Sugar High Cowl by Megan Williams, Arm warmers using Dancing Dog Dyeworks Yarn and Felfs by Cat Bordhi.

Knit slippers and fight cancer.
The art of Felfs book can be found on Ravelry or at  the Cat Bordhi  website
She is donating all the money from the sale of this book to a Cancer research fund. Please go check it out.  You can find the Knitmore girls episode # 255 and  a review of the book here.
You can find an interview with Cat on the Twinset designs podcast episode # 26 here .

Spinning: 

Stephanie clears off her bobbins and finishes 4 hanks of yarn. Here is a picture of the wet yarn hanging up to dry.  The wheel has Friend in fiber falkland on it. Next up is the Bag of Hobbledehoy fall battlings. ( there is a picture of these in the last podcast post)

Get your run on :

We talk about how to deal with the time change and running in the dark.
Stay in well lit residential areas. Avoid dark areas and uneven terrain.
Wear things that are highly visible like Glow bracelets and reflective clothing. Glow in the dark shoes.
Layer for the change in weather that comes when the sun sets. 
Have everything ready for your run ahead of time.