Episode 43 - The one with the crows

As the end of August draws near, Gayle and I record on one of our typical seasonal foggy afternoons.  The start of the new school year approaches and I have already seen both Halloween and winter decorations for sale in the stores. There is still a month left until the autumnal solstice, giving us a few precious weeks to finish and photograph our KAL entries. The discussion on fall colors and how to wear our hand knits has been so fun and thought provoking. I look forward to seeing all the fall looks, hoping to freshen up my own appearance using all the great ideas. If you haven't done so already, stop by our Yarniacs Podcast group on Ravelry and join in the chat.

Gayle and I recorded this episode at a local park, so there are some crows in the background, and a car or two zooming by. It isn't too distracting, and I hope you will enjoy.
- Sharlene

What are we wearing?
Yogini Bolero by Wendy Bernard
Sharlene's Yogini

What are we stalking?
Vignette by Amy Herzog
Grace by Jane Richmond
Bravura by Tracy Purtscher, as shown on The Fiber Factor
(Bravura pattern not available as of this episode release, but should be available in future)
Casual Lace cardigan by Justyna Lorkowska
Cromarty by Heather Dixon
Gnome is where the ♥ is by Susan Claudino

What are we knitting?
Afternoon Tea by Helen Stewart
Askew by Lisa Mutch
Altostratus by Lisa Mutch
Bumble Beret by Elizabeth Doherty
CustomFit by Amy Herzog
Easy Folded Poncho from Churchmouse Yarns and Tea

What have we finished?
Sharlene's Zip cardigan, designed with CustomFit software from Amy Herzog
Zephyr Cove by Rosemary Hill

Book review
More Modern Top-Down Knitting: 24 Garments Based on Barbara G. Walker's 12 Top-Down Templates by Kristina McGowan from Stewart, Tabori and Chang

Episode 42 - Fall is coming

This episode finds us back in our usual recording spot (my dining table) after recording "in the field" for the past two episodes. We are definitely back in our groove, post-analysis paralysis. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing since for both of us, analysis paralysis seems to yield lots of knit hats for charity! In my case, being trapped in a yarn store adds to the donation pile as well!

Lots of project talk, color talk, and new patterns to check out. Fall--not winter--is coming, and we want to be prepared with the colors and styles of Fall!
- Sharlene

What are we wearing?
February Lady Sweater by Pamela Wynne
Sharlene's February Lady
Summer Dawn by Andrea Black
Gayle's Summer Dawn

What are we stalking?
Boxy and Buttony by Joji Locatelli
Window to my soul by Joji Locatelli
Aniron by Luise O'Neill
Obsidian by Lisa Mutch

What are we knitting?
Afternoon Tea by Helen Stewart
Askew by Lisa Mutch
Altostratus by Lisa Mutch
Amy Herzog CustomFit sweater
Gayle's Stripey mitts 
Easy Folded Poncho by Churchmouse Yarns and Teas

What have we finished?
Boxy by Joji Locatelli
Sharlene's Boxy
Brattleboro Hat by Melissa LeBarre
Sharlene's modified Brattleboro
Sharlene second modified Brattleboro
Sharlene's "Trapped in a yarn store" hat
Dance All Night Slouch Socks by Erica Jackofsky
Gayle's Slouch Socks
Seamless Salomas Slippers by Megan Williams
Gayle's Salomas Slippers
Oak Trail by Alana Dakos
Nozky by Monika Sirna
Gayle's legwarmers
Julissa by Vanessa Smith
Gayle's Julissa

Trapped in a yarn store?

The subtitle to this post should be "Fantasy or nightmare?" In general, being trapped in a yarn store would be an enjoyable experience. I can't leave? Oh, darn, let's just feel the fiber. But when trapped inside with a customer who hadn't intended to spend quite that much time and a FedEx delivery guy who cannot stand still, one does start to wonder if the hidden camera person is going to pop out of the classroom. Seriously, a FedEx guy? Oh, the comedic possibilities! The guy came in with one small box, not even yarn-filled, turned to leave and couldn't get the door open.

"Um, does your door stick?" he asked after repeated handle rattlings and some pushing and pulling. No, our door doesn't stick. Not like that, with such purpose and finality. It wouldn't even rattle within the door frame. When it became obvious that the door was definitely not going to open, the aforementioned customer called her husband who was at the bakery having a coffee. We also managed to flag down our regular UPS driver and sent him to fetch the landlord.

Long story short, someone did manage to get the door out of the frame to release the customer, the FedEx guy having jumped out the window. (Note: The store is firmly first-floor grounded.) The door latch had broken in the closed position, not to be released by mere handle rattling. Fortunately, one of our regular knitters Carol was there to keep me company and lend a calming presence. But I would seriously love to hear the story FedEx guy told once he got back to the station. "I was trapped in a yarn store and the door wouldn't open!" Sure you were buddy, sure you were...
- Sharlene

Beta testing: Measurements

You may have heard Gayle and I mention that we are beta testing software for Amy Herzog called CustomFit. I have been looking forward to this since we contacted Amy, have knit my swatch and tentatively tried generating my first pattern. The hard part prior to the pattern generation is taking one's own measurements. Fortunately my partner in crime Gayle is ever at the ready and together we tackled this task. Even with instructions, taking measurements is hard! Why? I think the answer to that lies with the garment industry's one-size-fits-most approach to garments. We are used to being served with minimal choices. Women don't generally shop with measurements in mind, and the average shopper probably can't tell you her measurements beyond her bra size. (And don't get me started on that, since the media would have us believe that we are all walking around wearing ill-fitting bras.)

So, challenge accepted. Measurements taken. I am not sure they are 100% correct, but they can be tweaked further along in the process. Fingers crossed for a good fit!