Sunday, June 27, 2010

Black Sheep, White Sheep!

~Welcome/ Intro/ Thank Yous!
~ Sponsor:
Bar-Maids are donating an "I Deserve This!" package in the scent of your choice to the lucky winner this month!
~ Contest:
Cold Sheep!  Kick a bad habit or start a good one!  Find something that will help you save money, and do it!  Then, tell us all about it!
~ Knitting:
  -Finished the Father's Day socks just in time!
  - Still working on the sweater!  Almost done, but I keep deciding I want it to be longer because I like long tunic style tops!
  - Still working on the Regia vanilla socks!
  - Wedding Shawl: The current wedding shawl will be a practice shawl, because I've decided (with some help) to knit my wedding shawl out of cashmere and lace!
~Spinning:
  - Almost done with all the merino/tencel that I got at Madrona, I think it will grow up to be a Citron shawl!
  -Finished the first 4oz of the Polwarth I started from Sunset Fibers, now just 8oz to go!
  - Started some camel/silk at BSG too!
~Events/ BSG Recap!
  There was so much awesomeness at BSG that you'll just have to listen to find it all out!  I can't express the awesome in words typed out!
  I will be at Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival (OFFF) during September 24-25!
~Free Entertainment!
 I've been listening to SassyPantsKnitter by SillyFru, and I LOVE it!  I've also been listening to The Prince of Hazel and Oak by John Lenahan.  It is the podiobook sequel to Shadowmagic!  I accidentally said it was by Nathan Lowell in the episode, but it's actually John Lenahan!  OOPS!  It is also awesome!
~ The Garden:
  Has exploded!  It is huge! WEEEEE!
~ Sales!
Just one:
Discount Book Sale has awesome deals if you aren't a member, and even more awesome deals if you are!  If you decide to join, make sure you will really save because the membership is $20 a month!
~Tip of the Week
   Set a budget and rules and tell everyone about them!  They will either help you, or they will try to get you to spend more than your budget and if that happens, then it will be a fun game of trying to not spend money just to prove it to them that you can stick to your budget!
~How I saved the week!
We went to see the Karate Kid last night, and we used some free movie tickets we had earned from using our free Regal Crown club card!  It pays to join goofy free clubs!
~DIY:
  Fruitfly trap: We've been having a lot of trouble with fruitflies this week, so we set a trap.  They really like smelly food, so we set out a jar with about 1 inch of apple cider vinegar, and some chopped bananas.  We put it under our kitchen fan, so they would either get sucked up into the fan and out of the house, or they will fly down into the vinegar and drown! Muahahahaha!
~ Tour de Fleece:
If you want to spin for the Tour de Fleece, I'm co-capitaining Team Sasquatch!  Come join us!  There will be a kick-off chat in the group at 8:30 am on July 3, so come join Team Sasquatch!
~ Worth It!
2 at a Time Socks by Melissa Morgan Oakes
Retail Price: $16.95 17 patterns
Pros:
- If I wanted to do magic loop and 2 at a time, this book tells you exactly how to do it with step by step instructions that are very clear.
- All the patterns are fun and beautiful
- Patterns are clearly written and charted
- Lovely pictures of each sock
- There are lots of yarn options
Cons:
- Patterns don't translate well to DPNs
- Some pictures the yarn is a little too busy for the stitch pattern, making the pattern hard to see.
- The charted patterns aren't also written out line by line.
**Overall: Worth it if you want to do magic loop, not worth it if you're stubborn like me and just want to knit the patterns using DPNs.
Mini review: Lantern Moon Sheep Tape Measure.  ADORABLE!

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~Contact Info
Email me!
Ravelry: Roue
Ravelry Group: KnitCents
Twitter: Roue0824
Please leave a review on iTunes or feel free to click that shiny button below...








Episode 22- Quick and Dirty

(Sorry it took me so long to post this!)
~Welcome/ Intro/ Thanks
~ June Sponsor: Bar Maids are donating their "I deserve this!" package in the winner's choice of scents!
~Contest: Cold Sheep! Kick a bad habit or start a good one and tell us all about it, and if you have any special tips to go along with it!
~Event: Black Sheep Gathering
~Knitting: I've been super stressed out so I've been knitting A LOT!  I am not going to be able to finish the sweater because I'm trying really hard to finish the socks for my dad in time for Father's Day!  Also, got a little done on the wedding shawl!
~Spinning: No spinning actually done, but I bought an ounce of organic cotton and an ounce of hemp fiber to see how they spin up!
~Garden update:
   There are a bajillion strawberry flowers, the peas are climbing and we have broccoli and cauliflower florets!!
~Sales! (which are not any good anymore, but the sites may have some other good sales!)
   - Simply Sock Yarn
    -Claudia Handpaints for 40% off plus loads of other goodies for up to 60% off!
     - JoAnn is having their annual Firefly Frenzy sale!
  Elsewhere:
    - Since Father's day is coming up, lots of hardware stores are having great sales on power tools!
~ Tip of the week:  Get a rain barrel!  You put it under your drain spout, and it collects the rain which you can then use to water your garden!  Make sure you have some kind of netting so mosquitos don't get in, but its great because it also keeps the rain away from the foundation of your house!
~ Worth it!
 Greetings from Knit Cafe by Suzan Mischer and Victoria Pearson
This book is awesome!  It is filled with awesome patterns for gorgeous stuff!  Also, it has loads of fun little extras, like knitting quizzes to throw at your knitting group, recipes, and playlists that are extra awesome for knitting!  The patterns are well written and the projects are super well photographed, and there is something in here for EVERYONE!  From  yoga mat bags to red carpet gowns, saddle blankets and laptop cases to messenger bags and yarmulkes.  If you want a great book that will let you expand your range of techniques and projects, this book is it!
Overall: Worth it!

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Episode 21- Cold Sheep!

~Welcome/ Intro
~May Contest- LAL
  Sponsor: Laura's Organics- donated a jar of her hand cream!
  Winner: AbsinthAnnie!
~June Sponsor:
  Bar-Maids!  They are donating an "I deserve this!" package to our winner!
~June Contest:
Cold Sheep.  Either break a bad habit, or start a new one!  Then tell us all about it and how it's going!  Bonus points if it is something that will make you more healthy and save you money!
~Events:
  I will be at the Black Sheep Gathering during the weekend of June 18-20!  I'll be doing a meet and greet at the Bar-Maids booth with Erin from The Anatomy of Knitting Podcast from 12-1 on Saturday!  Come see us!  I am also going to be at the Ravelry meetup on Saturday at 4, and I'll be playing Black Sheep Bingo all weekend!  Let me know if you'll be there so we can meet up!
~Knitting and Spinning
I've made a bit of progress on the sweater, and a bit on the Regia socks.  I frogged the toe up socks while recording and I'm going to knit them up top down really quick before Father's day so I can get them done in time.  I'll try toe up again another time with NOT black sock yarn!
No spinning this week. :(
~Garden Update:
The garden is doing awesome!  I'll be slug-proofing it and building ladders for the peas and beans later today!  (PS >this is what I look like if you want to find me at BSG!)

~Sales!!
  - Yarn Barn has some awesome deals and discounts on discontinued yarn, and they have a weekly special!  Check back every Monday for the deal!
  - Knitting- Warehouse also has really great deals, especially on Lion Brand and Berrocco yarns!
 Elsewhere:
  - Puritan's Pride has an amazing selection of high quality vitamins and supplements and right now they are running a special: buy 1 get 1 free or buy 2 get 3 free!
~Tip of the Week:
From Harriet- When doing the long tail cast on, wrap your yarn around the needle as many times as you need stitches, then start there!  Then you won't run out of yarn or have a super extra way too long tail at the end!
~ How I Saved the Week:
  I went to Kohl's and cashed in on their awesome Memorial Day sale!  I had a giftcard, and I bought 6 shirts, a skirt and a dress for under $90 (about $30 was on the giftcard) and saved $159!!!  I WIN!
~ DIY:
 Slug repellers: Take a small cup or can (the size of a tuna can) and dig it into the ground and fill it with beer. (So the top is ground level)  Then, to keep other critters out of the beer, cover it with another can with a hole cut in so slugs can still crawl in.  The slugs will crawl in and fall into the beer and happily drown!
~Worth It!
Knit Socks by Betsy Lee McCarthy
$14.95 for 15 patterns.
Pros:
- Best vanilla sock pattern ever in my opinion!
- Patterns use lots of different weights of yarn so you could easily sub!
- Patterns in all sizes!
- Lots of little tips and tricks hidden in the book!
- Description of kitchener stitch and how to use DPNs are the best I've ever seen!
-Good skill progression through the book
- Patterns are all cute, lots of different styles.
- Patterns are written line by line, so easy and great for beginners!
- Pictures show really well the techniques you'll need!
Overall: WORTH IT!
~Contact Info:
Ravelry: Roue
Twitter: Roue0824
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Use your KnitCents!