Episode 159 Spate, Slippery and Trousseau

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This episode is sponsored by my Longaberger Home Business, Quince & Co and Ewe-nique Yarns

Quince & Co wool yarns are sourced and spun in the US. Known in the trade as "territory wool," our wool comes from Merino, Rambouillet, and Columbia-based sheep that roam the ranges of Montana and Wyoming. All our wool and wool-blend yarns are spun in New England mills with venerable histories. By sourcing our wool in the US and manufacturing our yarn locally, we minimize our carbon footprint. Find Quince wool and the other Quince fibers at www.quinceandco.com.

Ewe-nique Yarns in the Field Shopping Center in Morton Illinois is a sponsor of the Knitting Pipeline Retreat and the host of our workshops by Laura Linneman on March 13^th.  Ewe-nique Yarns is a full-service yarn shop with a full of Addi needles, Chiagoo, Dreamz, and Knit Picks.  They also stock Malabrigo, Madelinetosh, Frog Tree, Elsabeth Lavold, Debbie Bliss, Claudia Handpainted, Louisa Harding, Rowan, Sublime and dozens more. Debbie and Jenny are happy to ship to Pipeliners.  http://www.ewe-niqueyarnsetc.com/

I enjoy your feedback, comments on the blog, and questions

• Ravelry as PrairiePiper
• Instagram as knittingpipeline
• Twitter as knittingline
• Pinterest as Paula Emons-Fuessle.

Ravelry Group

Knitting Pipeline Retreats Group.

Pipeliner Notes

From Cperrine

RE: Cowls length. I tend to prefer two kinds of cowls. Narrow ones (not too narrow - more like a standard scarf width) I like to wrap 1 time (so the cowl is double) and I like it loose enough to fill that gap at the top of my coat and loose enough that it’s not on my neck, but I can pull it up over my face and it will stay there if I let go.

For short cowls - I like them to be very wide (at least 12 inches) so they bunch up around my neck and can be pulled up over my face or even as a hood.

From MaggieH

Another thought on cowls: I’ve knit 5 long cowls, aka infinity scarves, since Thanksgiving. They were all in the 24”-26” range length and were knit in the round with circumferences of 48”-52”. The scarves were for women ranging in height from 5’2” to 5’7” and they all looked great doubled.

Sticksnspokes aka Allison in Scotland

Cowls: I like neck warmers rather than cowls as I’ve got so used to walking the dog wearing a buff but I think long enough to twist and wear doubled is best for me. I like mine snug but not choking. I also like wide cowls.
Winter walking: I wear thick merino tights (panty hose? Is that right?) under my walking trousers in the winter plus thin knee socks so I’m only wearing 2 thin layers and my boots still fit. I get very cold hand so wear thin running gloves with mitts over the top since I’ve lost my fair isle mitts which I’m very sad about :(

Events:

Registration is closed for the Knitting Pipeline Spring Retreat March 14-15, 2014.

Ravellenic Games!  We have Team Pipeliners

Team Captains are Prairiegl and Windybrookspinne.  We have a banner ravatar by cperrine.  We are set!

Nature Notes

We’ve had record breaking cold spells this winter and lots of snow.  When the temperature was stuck around zero degrees F and below this week I heard sounds of spring.  Some of the birds are beginning their mating process.  The mating calls of the Black capped Chickadee and Tufted Titmouse have been the most prominent.

Slate colored Juncos, White Throated Sparrow and Male and Female Northern Cardinals

I’ve mentioned in a recent episode that Windybrookspinne recommended The Forest Unseen by David George Haskell.  I’ve been reading it, a little bit at a time because it isn’t the kind of book I can ready quickly.  There is a lot to absorb.

Diane (Scitcher) photo of a female cardinal. Don’t you just feel sorry for her? Either she’s shivering, or her body is shaking from being buffeted by the wind.

Diane, it probably was shivering and maybe being buffeted too. I learned in Haskell’s book that birds do shiver in order to generate body heat.  Birds such as the Black-capped Chickadee and probably your female Northern Cardinal have a large muscle in the chest and other muscles that will shiver to create body heat.  That’s the same reason we humans shiver also but we don’t have muscles that are that large in proportion to our bodies so we cannot survive without lots of layers of clothing.  Sadly all birds do not survive winters, especially ones as harsh as this one we are having.  There is only a limited food supply out there.  Birds such as the Black capped chickadee have extremely powerful eyesight.  I see them, along with woodpeckers and nuthatches, traveling along a tree trunk inspecting it intensely.  They can see the tiny insects that are being harbored there.  Backyard feeders do help and if you have been keeping a feeder filled this winter you know that birds can drain a feeder fairly quickly.  They have to find a lot of food (fuel) to keep their small bodies alive.  Suet or other sources of fat such as peanut butter add lots of calories to their diet. Bob and I have to be careful about putting out suet because it attracts starlings which we don’t care for.

Red Bellied Woodpecker before the snow started today.

I had another Eagle sighting this week in the comfort of the Steak and Shake. It was about 9 AM and I saw assorted mergansers and ducks in the open water. Can you tell I’m not good at identifying water fowl.  There is still a lot of ice on the river.  Shortly after I sat down two mature male Bald Eagles began flying over the ice.  One seemed to be driving the other one away.  Then there was one on the ice with a fish that he proceeded to devour.

I never gave up listening to the songs of our birds, or watching their peculiar habits.

John James Audubon

Needle Notes

Slippery by Sarah Dupuis

Prairie Piper’s Slippery

Inspired by Amy Beth, aka The Fat Foxy Squirrel.

Spate by Jane Richmond

PrairiePiper’s Spate

Jane has a Journey KAL going in her Ravelry group starting in a few days so if you are thinking of knitting one of the patterns in Journey then you might want to check that out.  Spate is now available as an individual pattern download on Ravelry.

Trousseau by Carol Feller

Prairie Piper’s Trousseau

Thank you, tinkerer, for the pattern!

Thank you, April and Melski for the lovely gift of two skeins of Swan’s Island Pure Blend Fingering.  85% Merino 15% cashmere blend. Colorway Seasmoke. It is beautiful and I used a full skein and about 100 yds of the second skein.

Yarn Benefactors

The Blethering Room

Handwarmers from Khalila

Helios heaters

Thank you, Machelle in Indiana for the handmade hand warmers. Heat up in microwave for 30 seconds.

After my admission that I had to push myself to do 12 minutes on the recumbent bicycle Jo/Qwiltnknitnut wrote

Paula, I enjoyed this episode very much.I have a recumbent bike at home, and catch up on my favorite podcasts while riding. I am also usually anxious to get off the bike, but now I settle in and say to myself “Paula says we’ll be riding for 32 minutes today, or tomorrow AB says we’ll ride for 36 minutes” or whatever. I will admit that if it’s more than 45 minutes, I will break the podcast into 2 parts. : ) This completely removes the clock watching aspect of exercising for me!

From CConnieGail

I love my recumbent bike, OK dear enabler Husband converted it into a spinning wheel. I never am a clock watcher when on it. Have spun 6-8 hours a day for projects and still can stand up and walk, would not happen on my other wheels. They spin amazingly. We call them Spin-a-cisers. LOL CConnieGail

We cannot tell the precise moment when friendship is formed. As in filling a vessel drop by drop, there is at last a drop which makes it run over; so in a series of kindnesses there is at last one which makes the heart run over. – Ray Bradbury