Episode 233 Knitcircus Socks

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This episode is sponsored by Quince & Co, where you will find 100% American wool yarn and responsibly grown plant fibers. Quince has recently introduced five new beautiful colors into their wool line: Boreal, Fox, Shell, Sage, and Nightshade. Find them at www.quinceandco.com.

Knitcircus Yarns is an independent yarn shop/dye business in Madison WI. Love self-striping gradient yarns? You've come to the right place! Jaala, Knitcircus dyer, can't stop creating new colorways and innovative dyeing techniques.

I am also a Craftsy Affiliate. This means that if you click from the Craftsy ad on my website and purchase a class or supplies, I receive credit for it. It is an easy way to support the show. Thank you!

You can also find me here:

Ravelry: PrairiePiper Feel free to include me in your friends.

Instagram: knittingpipeline

Twitter: knittingline

Pinterest: Paula Emons-Fuessle

Ravelry Group

Knitting Pipeline Retreats Group.

Events

2016 Knitting Pipeline Spring Retreat Information Download HERE

Or copy and paste in your browser: https://app.box.com/s/u2tslxnguzxkcgt7ef1hbxbt6foo9h5l

Feb 26-27, 2016 (Fri 2 PM to Sat 4 PM)

with optional Yarn Crawl/Workshop Fun Day on Thursday Feb 25, 2016

Crossroads United Methodist Church

1420 N Main St, Washington IL, 61571 (corner of N Main and Rt 24)

• Friday, Feb 26th Doors open at 2 PM. Dinner at 6 PM
• Saturday, Feb 27th               Doors open at 8 AM. Retreat hours: 9 AM to 4 PM

Thursday Feb 25th            Yarn Crawl and Workshop Fun Day

Thursday Workshops require separate registration. See Workshop Registration

Cornerstone Inn and Sleep Inn have room blocks.

• Cornerstone Inn Bed and Breakfast There are 7 rooms. 309-267-1878
• Sleep Inn 1101 N Cummings Lane Washington IL 61571 (309) 481-0450

Do not book online as you cannot access the block of rooms. Call directly and ask for a room in the Knitting Pipeline Block. We have 40 rooms reserved.

Georgia Retreat Registration will be out soon and sign ups will start in early January.  I’m aiming for January 10 or so for the postmark date. Those who attended last year will have first dibs on the spots and then will open up for others. Dates are April 3-6 at the Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center near Atlanta.

Nature Notes

This morning I happened to see a little white dot traveling up one of the maple trees outside our bedroom window. It was the cute and somewhat elusive Brown Creeper. This little bird is not much bigger than a hummingbird. It has a white breast, which is what I was seeing, and its head, beak, and back are about the color of the trunks of trees. Its beak is long and curved, especially suited to foraging for insects that have taken refuge in the crevices of the tree bark. Another bird that travels along the trunks of trees is the nuthatch, (White-breasted mostly in our area) but the nuthatch travels mostly downward. The Brown Creeper travels upward in a spiral around the tree trunk. I think he or she had a good breakfast. Read more about Brown Creepers here on the Cornell Lab Site.

Last week we had a big event with the birds at the feeder. My husband has been saying for some time that the birds get really close to him when he fills the feeder. He has tried getting them to come to eat out of his hand. He came inside and said that he had 3 “hits”, all Black Capped Chickadees. It was so exciting. It happened again the next day but I’ve not been able to get a photo or video of it yet. The weird thing is that it wasn’t very cold and there was no snow cover so food was not that scarce. I’ll keep you posted on that and we’ll see if they continue to come to him. I’ve said for a long time that I want to try this but he’s always the one filling the feeders so it’s only logical that they should come to him and know him.

Perhaps you have read that we are going to have a full moon on December 25, 2015. It’s the first Christmas full moon since 1977—38 years. The next Christmas Full Moon is in 2034. So it will be an especially bright night especially if we have snow cover. Sounds like a good time for a walk.

The winter solstice is coming up on December 22, next Tuesday.

I know I have read this little poem before but it is sweet and beautiful for this time of the winter solstice.

I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December
A magical thing
And sweet to remember.

'We are nearer to Spring
Than we were in September,'
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December."
-   Oliver Herford, I Heard a Bird Sing

Needle Notes

Knitcircus Socks

I would like to be as comfortable with toe up socks as I am cuff down. PrairieGirlSusie from Prairie Girls Knit and Spin podcast said, “I’m a cuff down girl in a toe up world.”

Procrastinatrix Socks Toe Up from Sock Architecture by Lara Neel

Let’s clear something up here. It’s a sock knitting urban myth: It is NOT easier to try on toe up socks. The needles are in the way! At least with DPN’s.

#2 try Basic Knee High Toe Up Sock.  Gusset and heel. Too short

#3 same thing but started gusset later. On Sock #2 found out that I was 2 or more stitches off from previous sock.

#4 Afterthought heel sock. Success! And it will be easy to replace the heels when they wear out.

Tried picot hem bind off but didn’t really like it so took that out and went with ribbing.

These might be my favorite socks ever, even though they are toe-up!

Knitcircus Socks!

Look at those stripes!

Best Ever House Socks by Erica Kempf Broughton (Photo coming soon)

Nomad Yarns in Plainfield IN from Taste of Nomad Club

I used Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran

Toe up with afterthought wedge heel. Super fast in Aran weight.

Basic Ribbed Socks by Kate Atherly

The FiberStory Fave Sock available at Warm N Fuzzy

The Sock Ruler and Sock Ruler Junior available from Friends in Fiber on etsy (JanL on Ravelry)

Summertide Shawl by Curioushandmade aka Helen Stewart

Prairie Piper’s Summertide 2 (Better Photo coming soon)

Seven Sister’s Arts Matrika Merino and Silk Blend  Lodestar and Platinum

Le Mouton Rouge Knittery is a new knitting shop in Bloomington IL

In The Pipeline

Thank you to Artisan Books for sending me a review copy!

Susan B Anderson’s Kid’s Knitting Workshop $17.95

The Winner is #5 Moknita from Madison CT!

New Giveaway!

Balsam Hollow Kit Giveaway from Little Skein in the Big Wool

Christmas at Green Gables features the perfectly Anne-inspired shawl, Balsam Hollow, which Paula Emons-Fuessle of the Knitting Pipeline created for my original Green Gables kit, with a brand new set of colors created by Leading Men Fiber Arts for the holiday version.

With a slight twist to the design, this kit offers a speckled main color (Christmas at Green Gables) and a coordinating edging color in your choice of Winter Shrubbery (a cool green) or Vintage Sleigh Ride (a beautifully vintage oxidized orange). This duo of colors are hand-dyed by Leading Men Fiber Arts on their squishy, warm, sportweight Callback base. The shades perfectly evoke the snowy, vintage landscape of Prince Edward Island.

Vintage Sleigh Ride

If you've knit Balsam Hollow in one of the original Anne colors, you'll want another one in this special, two-color edition. And, if you missed out on the original Green Gables kit, you'll be thrilled by this new interpretation!

Winter Shrubbery 

Add a Green Gables project bag to your cart, and we'll pack and ship it all together.

Enter Christmas at Green Gables giveaway by leaving comment in the giveaway thread (not the Episode thread). Which color you prefer, Winter Shrubbery or Vintage Sleigh Ride?

In the Piping Circle

4 gigs last weekend! 2 solo on Sat and 2 with the band on Sunday.

Eureka Christian Church, Eureka IL

Haste ye back!