Episode 117 A Revelation For Good

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This episode is sponsored by my Longaberger Home Business and Quince & Co.  The folks at Quince & Co produce a line of thoughtfully conceived yarns in an historic spinnery in the state of Maine.  Their wool comes from domestic sheep and other fibers come from earth friendly suppliers.  You will find that Quince & Co 100% wool is a living fiber, beautiful, practical, sustainable, and affordable. Find them at www.quinceandco.com

You can find my Longaberger Home Business at www.longaberger.com/paula.  If you wish to be on my email preferred customer list, please send me an email at paulaef@aol.com with your name, mailing address, and phone.

I enjoy your feedback, comments on the blog, and questions.  Feel free to write to me at Paulaef@aol.com or on Ravelry as PrairiePiper.

Pipeliner Notes

Celia said she is also an Elizabeth Zimmermann fan and when she talks to non-knitters she describes Elizabeth Zimmermann as “The Patron Saint of Modern Knitters.”

Thank you so much for the star ratings on iTunes.  There were four new reviews on iTunes thanks to westomyers, JShoke, Decolliber, and Babsbutterfly.  Your reviews were so kind and encouraging. 

Franklin Habit’s Blog post Me, Me, Me

Events:

Knitting Pipeline Retreat  April 26-27, 2013 with Yarn Crawl Fun Day on April 25^th.  When we receive your registration we will earburn you on Ravelry.

New to Yarn Crawl Fun Day!  Field Trip to Heritage Farm to see Leicester Longwools and maybe baby lambs.

Nature Notes

It is very cold today as I look out to the feeders and the ground below.  I am occasionally startled by the crystalline sound of an icicle falling from a tree onto the skylights of the sunroom. The birds are trying to keep their metabolism up.  It has been around 16 deg F in the mornings when we get up and has been staying below freezing during the day.  We are supposed to get a few days in the 40’s and then its going to plummet down to zero.  That’s 0 degrees F so it is quite cold.  Polar Blast, Plummet, Winter’s Icy Grip are some of the dramatic terms we hear to describe normal winter weather. Right now at the crowded feeder there is a Redbellied woodpecker, purplre finches, female cardinal.  Downey woodpeckers, a hairy woodpecker, tufted titmice, nuthatches, black capped chickadees and several male cardinals round out the scene in the trees.  Below on the ground the scavengers include the sweet little juncos and several squirrels.  There was also a little sparrow with an eye stripe that I was not able to positively identify before something scared him off.  The suet is a special treat at the feeders during this very cold weather. A little gray squirrel sits motionless on top of the wood pile.  His tail is curved up on his back like a cloak. He is the same color as the bark on the logs. Our creek is iced over but not entirely covered with ice so the wild life can still drink there.  Birds do need water even in cold weather so if you do not have a natural source of water you might try to provide for them.  

Have you heard the expression “eat like a bird”?  My grandmother would say, “You don’t eat enough to keep a bird alive.”  This phrase would fall into the myth category because birds do eat a lot.  They must consume a great deal of food to stay alive.  A sparrow can only go 15 hours in very cold weather without food whereas in the summer that bird could last for 3 days.  Comparing birds with other types of animals and their food needs is tricky because climates, size, and behaviors all have bearing on the issue but if you compare a fish a lizard a bird and a mammal of the same size, the bird would be the biggest eater.  The fish needs the least amount of food, the lizard would need a little more, then the mammal and then finally the bird.  (Backyard Birds newsletter Dec 2012)  Kevin Cook author

Nature Quote of the Day
Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit.
Edward Abbey

Needle Notes

Ellison Bay KAL

We are in Week 3 of the KAL but we have until Feb 15 so you still have a month to finish. If you have had trouble keeping your yo’s in place you are not alone.

“One more row” at Midnight….equals disaster in the daylight! :). But I’m back on track which is all that matters!—Seashore Sharon.

So many people, including me, are enjoying the Project Sheet from Joyce Garris’ After This Row. I am just a little bit behind with the Small Bites but not too much.

Tip: (I've said it before, I know) Use two long circulars when you have a lot of stitches and are knitting back and forth.

Tip from Bronwyn and I do this too.  For establishing border.  If you find yourself making mistakes and having to go back and check.  Put a safety pin style marker in where you stopped checking, do a little more, then you only have to check from the marker on.

For Good Hat by Megan Williams

Color is actually like first photo.

Hand-turned wooden buttons.  The walnut one is not broken.  That is just the shape of  it.

Touch Possum gift from Sheepchick in New Zealand.  Possum is a very warm fiber. 

Thank you, Cori, for giving me the pattern!

The Revelation:  Used two strands of possum fingering weight as a worsted weight.  It works!  What a wonderful way to revolutionize your stash.  Thank you, Megan.

I had enough left over to knit a little shawlette for her.  In other words: one color but two projects, one in medium weight and one in light weight. Genius!

I'm still undecided about the buttons. I've been through my button stash and nothing seems quite right.  My husband made wooden buttons on his lathe but I think that’s a lot pressure for a hat. 

Sweater for my nephew Andy

I chatted about finishing up this sweater.  It is the Elizabeth Zimmermann Saddle Shoulder turned Gansey.  

At least I knew if it did not fit nephew Andy I could give it to son Nils.  Love this color of Quince!

This one of the fun poses when he was imitating models in ads. 

Update on Herbivore.  If a scarf has a point on it in any way shape or form it will not go over among the males of my family.  I’m sorry Stephen West.

Cool Wool Hat by Katy Tricot. Gift from Liz, AriadneWeb. Thank you, Liz!

A cozy, quick to knit hat and cowl set is easily adapted to difference sizes: toddler, child, teen,and adult.  It is also a great way to use up a single skein of chunky weight yarn.

My lovely daughter in law likes this hat because all her long hair fits in it!

Come into the Blethering Room for a Bit

Helen Stewart’s new web site is Curious Handmade

To celebrate the launch of her new site pattern Twinkle Twinkle Blanket Pattern is only 99 cents through Jan 31, 2013 on Ravelry.  It will be $6 after that.

Twinkle Twinkle is a charmingly simple baby blanket or shawl. It is constructed of four triangles knit “in the round” from the centre out to form a square blanket with a starry centre and an understated lace border. It was designed to be plain enough to be unisex but special enough to celebrate any new arrival. It can be knit in either fingering or DK weight yarn depending on the desired effect.

Possum that visited when he heard his name.

I was thinking that there must be beauty in a possum and it is quite possibly in the form of a hat and shawlette.

from A Winter Bluejay by Sara Teasedale

...There, on the black bough of a snow flecked maple,

Fearless and gay as our love,

A bluejay cocked his crest!

Oh who can tell the range of joy

Or set the bounds of beauty?

Have a great week, Haste ye back, and hold your knitting close!

Today we have a medley of traditional tunes by Healing Muses.  Tis the Gift to Be Simple, Be Thou My Vision, and Amazing Grace.  Enjoy

www.magnatune.com