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. 

Epsode #6 Bad movies and Crafting

Click here to download the mp3 file for this episode

                                 Manos: The Hands of Fate, also known as Mangos: Cans of Fruit

  We discussed bad movies such as "Santa Claus": a confusing Mexican Christmas movie about nothing, Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death, Attack of the Killer Tomatos, and of course, Manos: The Hands of Fate, which really just defies any manner of explanation.

Drawing: 

I talked about my current project in Photoshop which is meant to depict a surreal version of an experience. My plan is to include an old picture of me reading in a fantasy landscape. I've taken lots of reference pictures, used older photographs, and integrated watercolorings. I complained a bit about the pen tool on Photoshop and mentioned  my Wacom tablet that I use here at home. Here are some examples of a Wacom tablet  
I will post the project in the next show notes once it's finished.  

Knitting: 

I finished socks for Don, Brickless and didn't knit on Noodle at all. Poor Noodle. 
I started socks from the Little skien kit. I also started the Ramona cardigan out of Mirasol Hopi.
There was lots of rambling about new sweater patterns and my struggle with picking one. 

Spinning: 

I love Hobblede hoy fiber I finished two sets of battlings on my Turkish spindle and I'm ready to start two more sets on my wheel. The November fiber for the Rockin whorl club came today and is fantastic. 

A picture of the next batch of Hobbledhoy batllings. 

Get your run on: 

Tips and thoughts on starting back up

• The first run won't go great, but that isn't bad
•  Shorter distance is best
• No such thing as too slow
• Listen to your body and take extra care with problem areas
• Find a good recovery formula

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