Episode 256 Verdure Times 3

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This episode is sponsored by Quince & Co and Knitcircus Yarns.

At Quince & Co we are celebrating Tern Week. Tern is our merino and silk fingering weight blend. A new pattern is being released each day this week. Tern is wonderful for a drapey shawl or sweater. Find Tern and other beautiful and responsibly sourced fibers at www.quinceandco.com.

Knitcircus celebrates fun, a passion for knitting, and the delight of beautiful yarn.

Treat yourself to a gorgeous, hand-dyed, gradient yarn in saturated colors with smooth color transitions throughout the skein. We are hosting a Pick Your Gradient Shawl KAL in August.  We will be at Stitches Midwest again. Look for us in the first row, booths 226-228. www.knitcircus.com.

Knitting Pipeline is a Craftsy Affiliate. I enjoy taking Craftsy classes and have learned so much while taking them at my own pace. If you visit my blog prior to purchasing a class or supplies I receive credit for it. Thank you!

You can also find me here:

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

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Ravelry Group

Knitting Pipeline Retreats Group.

Events

Knitting Pipeline Ravellenics Team! Lead by TheaMidnight. Thank you, Thea!

Stitches Midwest Podcaster Meet up

Saturday August 6 12:30 to 2 pm location TBA

Pick a Shawl KAL with KnitCircus Yarns

From Jaala Spiro at KnitCircus:

It’s shawl knitting season! We’re inviting you to cast on a shawl with us in your favorite colorway and knit up a shawl on your bucket list.

If you’re looking for inspiration, I’ve created a bundle here on Ravelry with lovely gradient shawl options. You can also check out our project gallery on our website here.

If you’d like to order a Knitcircus gradient cake for your project, check out our ready-to-ship offerings on our website here. These yarns are ready to go, waiting to get packed up right away to reach your needles sooner. Our fingering weight bases are Greatest of Ease, Corriedale, and Lavish, but you could also choose Magnificent for a DK option or Ringmaster for a worsted weight yarn.

We also have a multitude of dyed-to-order yarns available: these yarns will be dyed for you and delivered 5-6 weeks later at the latest, which means if you order now you can still get your yarn on time to join in. Drop us a message in your order to let us know your yarn is for the Shawl KAL.

Nature Notes

From JenniferB in Dallas TX

I enjoyed the tree episode and all of the memories of the importance trees have had in people’s lives. I’ve always felt an emotional connection to the trees around my home, wherever I am living, and still recall the trees of my childhood. They were massive oaks, on the street where we lived, appropriately “Oakdale Rd”, in Atlanta. The large gnarly roots came up above the sidewalks in the most interesting twists and turns, and I remember pretending that little fairies lived amongst those roots. I would gather acorn caps and dogwood berries and fix “food” for them in the root kitchens. There was another giant that housed our swing, made of very long ropes and a plank, and my dad would push us, ever higher, trying to touch the sky with our feet. I also remember thinking about all that those trees had “seen” and experienced in their 200 years of existence. Sweet memories, Thank you, Paula,
Jennifer

From Sarah who is PAKnitWit

I’m a little behind in listening to the episode, but I finally caught up and really enjoyed it.

I never thought of it before, but trees have been an important part of my life. The street I grew up on was named for the giant old oak trees that grew along the street. I also spent many hours sitting in the tree in the front yard (my parents always said it was a Chinese cherry tree, but I have no idea if that’s an actual species) that had the perfect “seats” in it. It’s still there, despite losing about half its branches due to disease several years ago. Then there was the Japanese maple in the front yard of my grandparents’ house in suburban Detroit. We would go there fairly frequently when I was growing up, but our visits were infrequent enough that I can remember seeing a noticeable difference in its size. I still think of it when I’m at my parents’ house, as several years ago they planted a Japanese maple in their backyard. Theirs is pretty special in that it’s growing half purple and half green!

Incidentally, Paula, you mentioned that you’d picked up Knitscene Handmade -- I wanted to mention that I have a pattern in it! The Durango Socks are my contribution.

Galesburg Bur Oak

“The bur oak on North Lake Story Road is older than Galesburg and the nation at more than 300 years, and the City Arborist, Ryan Creek, has directed city employees not to touch the tree.  Trees Trunk had a circumference of 16 ft, 5 “, in 2005, giving it an estimated age of at least 300 years and possibly more than 400.

Postcard from TheJasperPatch, Amy

Kate Chopin was an American novelist and short-story writer best known for her startling 1899 novel, The Awakening. Born in St. Louis, she moved to New Orleans after marrying Oscar Chopin in 1870. B. 1851 d 1904

I wonder if anyone else has an ear so tuned and sharpened as I have, to detect the music, not of the spheres, but of earth, subtleties of major and minor chord that the wind strikes upon the tree branches. Have you ever heard the earth breathe? Kate Chopin


Needle Notes

SSK or Slip Slip Knit vs K2tbl

There was a  lot of feedback and interesting comments about the single decrease SSK and its counterparts.

From BabsButterfly

Hi Paula! I enjoyed the episode on ssk vs. k2tog through the back loop. I, too, heard someone say recently that they’re the same, so I decided to try it, though I, too, know they’re not. I’m currently working on my 2nd Indigo Frost poncho that has LOTS of yo, ssk’s. On the first one I did it correctly…on the 2nd one I’m I doing yo,k2togtbl, which goes much faster. I realize that the decreases are not the same, but when I compare my 2 ponchos, I cannot tell the difference. And, as the old saying goes, “if someone standing next to me can see the difference, they’re standing too close.”

From Kathy Kis4knitting

In my experience, when doing a single decrease somewhere in the midst of things it does not make a huge difference which one I use but it does make a difference when the decreases are stacked up on top of one other; clustered together their true nature really shows.

I replaced the SSK with knit two together through the back loop in the Pebble Beach shawl and I liked the texture it gave me. I am currently working on the Hitofude and do not think it would work well with that and am sticking with the SSK. Hate to say the “S” word but personally I would swatch and compare the two before swapping one for the other.

A few years back I changed the SSK to slip the first stitch knit wise and the second stitch purl wise when I was taking a class from Candice Eisner Strick at Stitches. In a side-by-side comparison I did see a difference, it looked a bit smoother and I don’t find it any more challenging to do it one way versus the other, so I just switched and it is automatic for me now.

AnneC wrote

It was Barbara Walker who originally came up with SSK as an easier dec than the slip, knit, pass maneuver--she talked about it at the first Sock Summit.

And I’m one of those who does the “improved” SSK, it does make my decs lie flatter; I don’t know if it’s because I’m a thrower, but it works for me.

From DCAlane

Good comments. I don’t think I ever knew of the k2togtbl, but I think I might use it to speed things up if it doesn’t seem to matter.

One thing I find interesting about knitters and knitting is that there are so many ways to do things depending on your perfectionism. How do people come up with these new ways?

Speaking of that, here’s yet another way to lean left (when knitting). http://techknitting.blogspot.com/2007/09/new-method-for-l...

Muddy Moose

I have used the slip one k-wise slip one p-wise SSK for a while. I teach beginning knitting and teach my students that way as well because it is easier to get your needle back through the stitches to knit them together if they both aren’t twisted. I explain to them why it is important to slip the first one k-wise and show them what it looks like if you forget. By this point in the class most of them are learning to read their knitting quite well and they seem to understand. Off to go check out the blog linked above

I often get ladders next to my SSK that don’t appear next to my K2Tog, any ideas/suggestions for that?

Kathy Kis4knitting linked to videos for SYTK Slip Yank Twist Knit

From TheaMidnight

No matter which way I knit the SSK, nothing will make my knitting go faster. I am a process knitter and equally love each stitch.

Basic Ribbed Socks by Kate Atherly

Cake Walk Yarns—my last skein! Colorway Kitchener.

Verdure by Alana Dakos from Botanical Knits 2

Prairie Pipers Verdure

Madeleine Tosh Vintage.

In the Piping Circle

The Springfield Games were cancelled due to the extreme heat! I had a “snow day”.

In the Pipeline

Thank you so much for spending time with me this week. Thank you to sponsors Quince & Co, KnitCircus Yarns, and Craftsy.

Have a great week, haste ye back and hold your knitting close.