Stash and Burn

Winner!

Congratulations, Gladys! You are the winner of our Baywood Yarn sportweight superwash merino in Harvest. Her dyer pick was Rabbitch in BC. Thanks, everyone, for playing! Now we have a great resource for indie dyers. Hurrah!

Episode 16: All About Artfibers

Episode 16: All About Artfibers (37:49)

This week we talk to Roxanne Seabright, owner of Artfibers, and Kira Dulaney, designer and manager of Artfibers, our local yarn store treasure.

Kira Dulaney
If you have ever been in Artfibers, you have probably met Kira. Not only is she a helpful presence in the yarn store and an amazing designer, she is also a great interview.

Interested in what Artfibers looks like inside?
Kira's designs at Artfibers (make sure to page through to see her amazing creations!)
Kira K Designs (here are the beginnings of her site!)
The software they use is called Knitscape
Golden Chai
Yarn-a-Go-Go
Kira's favorite yarns:

• Rush
• Golden Chai/Golden Siam
• Rosetta
• Abacus

Specs for Kira's designs in the episode photo:

Side Impact Sweater
Finished bust: 32" (34", 36", 38", 40", 42", 44", 46")
1050 (1200, 1200, 1200, 1350, 1350, 1500, 1500) yards Artfibers Rush (100% cotton; 150 yards/50 grams)
Gauge: 4" = 24 sts by 32 rows in Stocking Stitch on US size 4 needle

Crocheted Toque
Finished circumference: child 18" (adult 20")
Main color: 120 (150) yards Artfibers Rush (100% cotton; 150 yards/50 grams) Contrast color: 25 yards Artfibers Rush (100% cotton; 150 yards/50 grams)
Gauge: 4"=20 sts by 16 rows in Half-Double Crochet on size E hook

If anyone has questions they can email Kira at kirakdesigns@sbcglobal.net. To order, call Artfibers at 888.326.1112.

Roxanne Seabright
Roxanne, Artfibers owner, talks about the evolution of Artfibers, how fibers are chosen, and what happens when an Artfibers yarn disappears.

Artfibers silks (four pages!)
Sanskrit is a discontinued Artfibers yarn (I believe)

Thank you Kira and Roxanne! Thanks for listening!

Music:
Dig Me Out: Sleater Kinney
Bocce Ball: Continental
Chipindura: Cosmas Magaya

Episode 15: Motoring!

Episode 15: Motoring! (36:05)

This week we meet some knitters at Nine Rubies, get slightly overwhelmed at the Maker Faire, and UFOlosophize. (Show notes will improve later in the week)

Visit Nine Rubies
We knitted with some of you all at Nine Rubies while checking out their goods!

Nine Rubies
Sudha & Saloni
Giant February Baby Sweater
Pearl Buck Swing Jacket (scroll down)
Brainy Alison
Baywood Yarns
Cuteknitter
Bali Sun
Prize yarn pictured above!
Other attendees: Marisol of Purls Just Wanna Have Fun, Janice of Knitflix, Lisa and Darwin, Rajni, Stephanie, Stacy, Jocelyn, and Laurie
Group photo

Maker Faire
We hit the Maker Faire with Harold & Marisol

Make Magazine
Craft Magazine
Barbe Saint John of Saints and Sinners
Sweeny Todd yarn
Honolulu yarn

Tokyo Pop yarn
Fluffalicious
Natasha Fialkov
Shannon Okey
Noe Knit

UFO, I FO
Your incredible resolve in finishing your knits makes us take a hard look at our compulsions

Nicole's UFO post
Knit Two Together (buy it now for $8.96!!)
My brother's socks

Contest
Enter our contest by May 29th for a skein of Superwash Sportweight Baywood Yarn in Harvest (in the episode photo)! Leave a comment with a link to your favorite "local" or "small" yarn dyer. We leave it up to you what is local and/or small.

Thank you Sudha & Saloni! Thank you, Jocelyn! Thanks to all the knitters who came to meet us at 9 Rubies! Thanks, Barbe!

Episode 14: Knitting the Natural Way

Episode 14: Knitting the Natural Way (36:46)

This week we completely unravel, explore organic cottons, read about alternative fibers, and you help us destash with knitting techniques. And no, we did not record this episode in the bathroom (we were trying out our new mic and will continue to work on it).

Unravelling thanks to Ravelry
We reassess our UFOs and bring our stashes up front.

• Ravelry, again. (We know Ravelry is not open for the masses yet, but Jess and Casey are signing more people up every day. Put your name on the list, and, eventually, you'll be on!)
• UFO evaluation
• Bye, bye Cleo
• More documentation of progress
• Everything's in the living room!
• Variation on a Frill
• Golem
• Giant scarf of doom
• BFL in Mars Quake
  

Organic Cottons
Different organic yarns for different uses

• Pakucho can be found here
• Elann
• It changes color in the wash! (acidity, sunlight)
• Corset Pullover
• February Sweater
• Ribbed cable cardigan
• Top-down raglan boatneck sweater
• Machine knit raglan sweater with leftovers
• Lion Organic Cotton
• Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton (and the dyed colors)
• Beware the ribbing!

Hit the books
Fiber knowledge is power!

• No Sheep for You
• Anatolia and Arietta
• Intoxicating sweater
• Sweet Maryjane cardigan
• Drunken Argyle (Holli Yeoh made a women's sweater version for the book)
• Fixation
• The Natural Knitter
• We love Norah Gaughan!

Destash Tip Corner
Stash-busting knitting techniques

• Nupps and bobbles
• Double your yarn!
• Girl on the rocks
• Needle felting
• Spiral Sophie (pattern found here)
• Knit more and faster!
• Make time for knitting (knitting meet ups, listen to podcasts)
• Magic loop knitting
• Scarves from sock yarn
• Fringe!
• Knit projects of many different levels so you always have a project appropriate for any activity you're doing.
• On the Media (Nicole's podcast obsession)
• Executive Bag

Thanks to you! Thanks again Jess and Casey. You rock!

Music
Dig Me Out: Sleater Kinney
10-9-8-7-6-5-4: Slumber Party
High Beam: Continental
+81: Deerhoof

Episode 13: Hello Neighbors!

Episode 13: Hello, Neighbors!(43:51)

Helen Kim of Urban Knitting Studio, 320 Fell Street
We talk to the charming Helen Kim about living the dream, her method for working with clients, her thoughts on organic knitting, and her favorite yarns.

Naturwolle
Colinette Tagliatelli
Blue Sky Alpaca Cotton
VOCs
Yves Chouinard, Patagonia Clothing Company
Plymouth Royal Bamboo
Helen says, "Use the smaller needle size when working with bamboo."
Helen's top 5 yarns of all time:

• Misti Alpaca Chunky
• Blue Sky Alpacas
• Manos Del Uruguay
• Rowan Kidsilk Haze
• Cascade Pastaza

We go shopping
Jenny finds something to knit in Misti Chunky Alpaca (see the episode photo!) and Helen tells us about the baby shower blanket.

Blue Sky Alpacas Cropped Cardi (see the FO above!)

Listener destash tips
You tell us how to shop! Then we confess our purchases.

• Pay in cash or debit card
• Stay away from online stores
• Give yourself an allowance
• Stick to expensive yarns, as you can't buy as much of it
• Allow yourself some purchases, so you don't go crazy
• Take a photo of your stash and keep it with you at all times.
• Beware free shipping limits (don't buy to reach the limit)
• Tell your LYS owner, so he/she keeps you accountable

Jenny wants to make Shedir (from the Knitty Breast Cancer Awareness mini-issue)

Join the Ravelry
The coolest site for knitters EVER.

Frecklegirl Jess and the amazing Casey
Ravelry
Carrieoke

Thanks for listening!

Music
Sleater Kinney: Dig Me Out
Cosmas Magaya: Chipembere
Iron and Wine: Naked as we Came
The Gossip: Listen Up!
The Shins: So Says I

UFO contest winner!

Congratulations! Queue, with a respectable 8 UFO's, was our random drawing winner. A Knitpicks sampler is coming your way...

Episode 12: You Can't Help Helping Yourself

Episode 12: You Can't Help Helping Yourself (31:04)

This week we review our yardage, talk about how you can do some good with your yarn, and lead you to some awesome free patterns on the web.

Gar(b)ageband ate our original intro, so we had to re-record online while Jenny was in Ohio. It definitely sounds like we are on iChat, but it doesn't sound too bad.

Let's do the numbers
We review where we are with our stashes

• Jenny's yardage: 63,859
• Nicole's yardage: 37,420
• Carolyn
• Cabled Hoodie from Paton's Street Smart
• Plymouth Royal Bamboo
• Chic Cami
• Rachel's class at Knit-One-One (there's still time to register!)
• Olive Tones in Hard Twist (Lisa Souza)
• Simple Knitted Bodice
• Mars Quake (Lisa Souza)

Destash Corner: First, do no harm
Thanks to you we have lots of good places you can send your yarn or knitted goods.

• Stitches from the Heart
• Project Linus
• Keeping Kids Warm
• Guideposts Knit for Kids
• Dulaan
• Make baby blankets for your local hospital
• Cast-on for Kenya
• Auction off knitted good & send proceeds to an organization
• Raffle off knitted goods or yarn & send proceeds to an organization
• Interim House blog

Free patterns galore!
We search high and low on the internet for cool, free patterns.

• Dulaan patterns
• Warm Woolies pattern
• Nicole's Warm Woolies vest
• Berroco free patterns
• Valpuri: Jenny's Latest Obsession
• Brittania
• Wren
• Wisteria
• Twyla (it's actually crochet!)
• Flag sweater
• F.Pea Free Pattern Fridays
• Fetching
• Sarah's Knitting-and page
• Feather and Fan Comfort Shawl
• Frame Knitting
• Star Wars Fair Isle
• Cider Moon patterns
• Free Beer!
• Jayne Cobb
• Plaidos

Music excerpts from:

• Dig Me Out- Sleater Kinney
• Neighbors extended- Continental (an awesome SF instrumental band)
• Karigamombo- Cosmas Magaya (an amazing Zimbabwean mbira player that once played for the Community Music Center, SF)
• Plankton- Continental