Ep 71- Aaaaaaaaaand DONE!

~Welcome/ Intro/ Thanks!
~ Sponsors:
Audible and Bar-Maids
~ Sweater Forecast:
Mid 70s first part of the week, low 60 and rain for later part!
~Knitting/ Spinning:
The wedding shawl is DONE!!!!!!!!

It is currently blocking!! OMG YAY!  The BFF socks are coming along, and so has my Tour de Fleece spinning! (except for today) I've spun every day! And I've still got time today!!  Finally, I will be casting on another Daybreak Shawl, this one for Amy!  She is making one, and we are going to trade!

~Free Entertainment:

The Complete Guide to Everything Podcast! Thanks for the recommendation Jackie! You are awesome!

~Garden:

OMG I caged my tomatoes!  YUM!

~ Sales:

Knitpicks is having their book sale! Books are 40% off!!!

Also, JoAnn has all their summer stuff (like lawn chairs, beach towels etc) on sale for 75% off! Summer has barely started and they are already selling it off!!

~How I Saved the Week:

Bartering for my hairstyling for the wedding and haircuts for Aaron! My stylist is a new spinner and a knitter so I am trading fiber and spinning lessons!! Yay!

~ DIY

Mustard Trout

1 1/2 T whole grain mustard

2 T olive oil

1 T lemon juice

3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

4 fresh basil leaves, shredded

salt and pepper to taste

mix the ingredients, then use to marinate some fish. I used 2 filets about the size of the palm of my hand each.  Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 20 mins.  Wrap in foil topped with an onion slice, cook over bbq for 10 mins (skin side down) and serve with rice and salad with honey mustard dressing! YUM! Sauce would also be tasty on chicken or mushrooms!

~Worth It!

How To Make Soap Without Burning Your Face Off by Raleigh Briggs, Microcosm Publishing

$3.00, 12 pages, all hand written and illustrated! Once again, this is amazingly beautiful and really full of useful information!  A total of 8 recipes (2 basic with 6 add ons), all the processes and safety info you need and step by step instructions! For $3, you really can't beat it!  Totally worth it!
~Contact Info:
Email: cleverroue (at) gmail (dot) com
Ravelry: Roue
Twitter: Roue0824
Leave a donation or an iTunes review!

Ep 58- Daylight $avings

~Welcome/ Intro/ Thanks!
Sponsors:
Audible: Click the link to get a FREE audiobook download with a FREE 2 week trial!
Bar-Maids: Check them out for awesome eco-friendly skin care products!
~Knitting:
Finished another blanket square, started second baby sweater and finished raglan increases!
~Spinning: 
Finished the first 4oz of the second color!  Trying to finish all spinning by CampKIP (ONLY 3 WEEKS AWAY!!!)
~Free Entertainment:
House of Grey Eps 22-27
~ Sales:
Webs has tons of cotton yarn and blends in their closeout!
Paradise Fibers has 1 lb cones of cotton weaving yarn for $11.95! 6550 yards! WOOHOO!
 Elsewhere
Punchbowl has awesome free party planning tools, including save the dates, invitations, vendor lists and more!
~Tip of the Week:
Just because something is free doesn't mean it is tacky!
~How we saved the week:
I cried and got our car repair cut in half...  oops!
Also, instead of getting my wedding ring reset in white gold, (would cost $1400) we are getting it plated with rhodium so it looks like white gold but only cost $80! I WIN!
~Worth It!
No Sheep for You by Amy R Singer
Retail: $22.95  Published by Interweave Press, 20 patterns
First 30 pages is all about different fibers, how they work, what they're from and so on.  Then the patterns are all designed so highlight the benefits on these fibers! Drapey silk, comfy cotton and lustrous bamboo!  This book is so awesome that I bought a copy (used from Barnes and Noble) while I was writing the review!  Overall: TOTALLY WORTH IT!
~Contact Info:
Email: cleverroue (at) gmail (dot) com
Ravelry: Roue
Twitter: Roue0824
Thank you all!!!

Ep 56- The NO Fiber Diet

~Welcome/ Intro/ Thanks!
~ Sponsors:
Bar-Maids makes awesome, eco friendly skin care products!!
Audible! Download a Free Audiobook, or sign up and get your Membership for half price for 3 months! Click either link below!!!






~Contests:
February Contest Winner is AlyshaTree! Congrats!!
March Contest: The No Fiber Diet- I'm going on a yarn/ fiber diet until my birthday!  I know, it's totally crazy since CampKIP, Black Sheep Gathering AND Sock Summit are all before then, but since we are saving money for the wedding, It's something that needs to be done!  I would love company! Head over to the Ravelry Group and post photos of your stash and tell us how long you're going to diet to join in the contest!! If you go all the way until August with me, (ending on August 24, my birthday!!) we will have a special contest prize for you to qualify to win!!
~Sweater Forecast
Cold, wet, snow, rain, bleh.  That's what the forecast says.
~ Knitting, Spinning and Weaving!
Monkey socks are almost done!  One more repeat of pattern, then the toe!  I'm planning on warping my loom this afternoon, and starting spinning the second color for my next handspun sweater!!
~Free Entertainment:
The House of Grey by Collin Earl, chapters 10-15!
~Sales!
The South Sound Yarn Crawl
Abstract Fiber, knotty skeins and sales!
Sale.com highlights sales at major shops and retail stores!
~Tip of the Week
Quick Trip! Use limited parking time to keep your trips quick and impulse buys low!
~How Lorrina Saved the Week
One of my bridesmaids found her bridesmaid's dress for 50% off because I didn't put too many constraints on her!! Yay for both of us!
~DIY: 
Bacon, Feta, Tomato muffins
Ingredients:
2-3 slices of smoked bacon
2 c all purpose flour
2 T sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
4 T unsalted butter, melted
1 c milk
2 T sour cream or plain yogurt
1 small tomato, cut into small cubes
about 1/3 c crumbled feta cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 C)
Grease 9 standard muffin cups with butter or butter flavored cooking spray. Fill the unused cups 1/3 full of water to prevent warping.

In a frying pan, cook the bacon until crisp.  Allow to cool and drain on paper towel, then crumble.

In a bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

In another bowl, whisk together the egg, melted butter, milk and sour cream until blended.  Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until just evenly moistened.  Batter will be thick, like dough.  Stir in the bacon crumbles.

Spoon batter into cups, so that cup is 1/3 full.  Take 1-2 pieces of tomato and small amount of feta and press into the center of muffin.  Then add more batter until top of muffin is about level with top of pan.  Bake until golden, dry and springy, about 20-25 minutes.
Serve warm.  Refrigerate any muffins you aren't using right away.
Enjoy!
~Worth It!
Odd Ball Knitting by Barbara Albright
Retail $19.95 US, $27.95 CA. 30 patterns, 120 pages
Pros:
 Color photos
 Lots of designs
 Most projects use lots of small amounts of same yarn
 Good tutorial to figure out how much yardage you have
 Patterns are easy to sub yarn
Cons:
 A lot of big projects with small amounts of yarn in different colors
 Most projects look kind of tacky, I wouldn't knit anything from this book.
Overall: I'm glad I got it from the library, wouldn't buy it
~Contact Info:
Email: cleverroue (at) gmail (dot) com
Ravelry: Roue
Twitter: Roue0824
Please leave an iTunes review, or feel free to donate!!

Ep 55- Best Christmas Ever

~Welcome, Intro, Thanks!
~Sponsors:
   Audible- Get a free 2 week trail and a free audiobook download of your choice!
   Bar-Maids- Get some awesome, eco-friendly skin care products!
~ Sweater Forecast:
 Snow!! Get out your wool!
~ Madrona Wrap-up
AWESOME!!!!! I loved every minute of it!!!
~Knitting and Spinning:
I finished my Wren! I LOVE IT!

I've also been working on the Monkey Socks for my sister's birthday!

Spinning: I started spinning up 8oz of Crown Mountain Farms SW Merino in the "Time Waits for No One" colorway! I LOVE IT!

~Free Entertainment:

House Of Grey: Eps 4-9 this week!!

~No Sales this week, since Madrona section took up a lot of time!

~Tip of the Week:

Pack a snack!  Bring your own snacks so you don't get caught hungry and willing to pay anything for food!

~ How I Saved the Week:

I got a Shutterfly coupon for $20 off any purchase of $20 or more!  I also got 50 free prints for signing up with shutterfly so I got my sister a birthday present and 54 prints of photos I love for the cost of shipping!! WOHOOO!

~Worth It!

If you EVER get a chance to take a class with either Judith McKenzie McCuin or Jared Flood, DO IT! They were both TOTALLY worth it!!  DO IT DO IT DO IT!

Look! It's me and Jared and Judith!! (And my awesome Wren shawl still on the needles!)

~Contact:

Email: cleverroue (at) gmail (dot) com

Ravelry: Roue

Twitter: Roue0824

Ep. 32- Self Preservation

~Welcome/ Intro/ Thank you!
   I had an awesome birthday! Thanks for all the birthday messages!
~Sponsors/ Contests!  
Check them all out in previous posts from this month! 
   Visit audiblepodcast.com/knitcents to download a free audiobook of your choice and sign up for a free 2 week trial!
~Knitting/ Spinning:
  I've been working on my Simple Knitted Bodice again!  I'm almost finished with the first sleeve, and the second one won't take long either!  (since is short sleeved!)  I've also almost finished Aaron's first TDTU sock!  Haven't done any spinning :(  I did however, buy a Schacht Cricket rigid heddle loom with some birthday money!
~Free Entertainment:
 NPR Sunday Puzzle!  Check it out on iTunes!
~Garden Update:
   Tomatoes are still going crazy, and I got some canning supplies for my birthday so we are going to make dilly beans and pickles this week!  Yay!
~Sales!
  -Joann has a really amazing deal on fine crochet thread!! 1.19 for a spool of of 400 yards of fine crochet thread! Great to use as a lifeline!
  -CrystalCreekFibers has awesome prices on fibers, including 4oz of hand dyed mulberry silk top for only $17!
  - Lion Brand Yarn Co. has Schacht Cricket looms on sale, 15% off! I got mine there!
~Tip of the Week:
  Self Preservation!  Can, freeze, dry or pickle fresh foods now!  Buy them fresh in bulk and preserve them to have all year! Bulk foods are way cheaper, and they are even more of a steal when they are in season!!!
~ How I Saved the Week:
   - Everything I bought with my birthday money was on sale except for a skein of yarn and a couple sets of needle tips!  I win!  Also, I bought some gross yogurt (because I wasn't at my favorite grocery store and the terrible store I was at didn't have ANY good yogurt!!) so I made frozen fruit yogurt popsicles out of them!!
~Worth It!
Put 'Em Up! by Sherri Brooks Vinton
  $19.95 retail, 300 pages!
This book is amazing!  It teaches you really easily how to preserve your own food without using special equipment!  Dry foods in your oven or air dry, freeze, can in a large soup pot and pickle using vinegar!  The book is laid out by main ingredient, so if you find yourself saying "what am I ever going to do with x pounds of x?" you can flip to that section!  I made dilly beans and pickles, and also some bruiseberry vinegar!!
SO WORTH IT!!!
~Contact Info:
Email ME!
Ravelry: Roue
Twitter: Roue0824
Leave a review on iTunes or click that fancypants button over there!

Episode 25- Chickens and Chocolate

~Welcome/ Intro/ Thank yous!
~ Sponsor:
Trickle Creek Farm and Fiber is donating a bar of their soothing goat's milk soap and some of their bubblin' bath salts!  So wonderful!
~Contest: 
Come play with us in le Tour de Sheep!  Post photos in the Ravelry Group so help inspire us to spin and knit from our stash!
~Knitting/ Spinning:

Its been super hot so the Simple Knitted Bodice has been put on hold for a while.  I did finish my Vanilla Regia Socks  which turned out pretty awesome!  I also started a pair of toe up socks using some Pico Accuardi Sock that was gifted to me (thank you!) and they are going super fast!  I'm really enjoying how the colors are pooling!

I just started that sock last night and did all the toe increases.  The rest has been knitted in the car on the way back and forth to Seattle and while I was at the Seattle Luxury Chocolate Salon!  I didn't think there was such a thing as too much chocolate, but I was proven wrong.  But it was so much fun!  I also got asked questions about my knitting while I was taking a chocolate break!  Yay for KIPing!  

Finally, last night I started knitting the Brandywine Shawl by Rosemary Hill!  I'm knitting it out of KnitPicks Shadow Laceweight (which runs $2.99 for 440 yards!  Awesome!)  I've knitted the first 30 rows and I really like that the pattern is charted and written line by line.  I think it will help me improve my lace skills.

 As for spinning, I've been working on some 50/50 baby camel/ tussah silk on my Akha spindle, some merino/bamboo/silk blend on another spindle and some Polwarth on my wheel!  Yay for le Tour de Sheep!

~Free Entertainment:

Crooked Row: by Kim, an awesome new podcast about knitting and gardening!  Kim is going to be a huge asset to the knitting and gardening community!

Knitting Pipeline by Paula: Paula is a knitter and a bagpiper and she talks about how those 2 things affect her life!  Her voice is soothing and her music is really lovely!  Check out both of these shows on iTunes!

~Garden Update:

The garden is doing super well, and I thought I'd share a little about my chickens!

I have 2, a Barred Plymouth Rock (the black and white one) and a Gold Laced Wyandotte (the gold and black one).  They are super fun!  They live in my backyard and they have an indoor and an outdoor coop that is connected by the little trap door you can see in the above photo.  The outdoor coop is where they hang out during the day (if we aren't home) so they can roll around in the dirt and be cool. The outdoor coop is connected to the indoor coop by a sweet trapdoor.  The 

indoor coop is actually my childhood playhouse that we converted into a coop!  Inside there is a nest for their eggs, and their perch that they sleep on.  The trapdoor closes to keep any predators out!  The usually wander in there when it gets dark and go to sleep!

They are super adorable and fun, and fresh eggs are so delicious!  The are super inexpensive to keep, about $15 every 3 months.  A 50lb bag of feed is around $10 and lasts about 3 months, and a bag of the pine shavings on the floor of the inside coop lasts about 3 months and is around $5.  Sometimes we trade the eggs for other produce and the chickens eat the bugs out of the garden!  The only downside is that the poo attracts flies (even when Aaron is awesome and cleans it up every day) so we have to be sure to wash everything in the garden super well!  But we'd probably do that anyway, so we love having our chickens around to make us breakfast!  I know a lot about chickens, so if you guys have any questions about keeping them in your yard or anything like that, I'd love to answer them!  I think everyone should have chickens because they are rad!

~Sales: (/ Tip of the Week/ How I Saved the Week!)

- WEBS is having an awesome sale on silk laceweight cones!  Only $37.49 for 2450 yards! That's a lot of shawls!

- Amazon has a Polaroid 10Mp digital camera for $70 because it is orange.  The silver one (that is exactly the same) is $150!  I bought my mom the orange one for her birthday because she wanted a new camera and this one was a great price!

Tip: Be open minded about colors as long as it won't affect the performance!  Sometimes things cost less just because the color isn't popular!  

How I Saved: I got my mom an awesome gift for a little bit of money because I used my KnitCents!

~Worth It!

The Cool Girl's Guide to Knitting by Nicki Trench

I picked this up at JoAnn for $5, but Amazon has it for $.99!!  The patterns aren't great, there are probably only 2 that I would actually knit, but the techniques pages are really well done!  The pictures are really well done and the descriptions make a lot of sense.  The book is aimed at young girls (like teenagers) and while I probably wouldn't wear a lot of things from the book now, I would have worn everything in this book (at the same time) when I was about 15!  If you have a young lady in your life that is interested in learning to knit, for $.99-$5, this book is TOTALLY WORTH IT!

~Contact Info

Email me!

Ravelry: Roue

Twitter: Roue0824

Please leave a review on iTunes or click that fancypants button below!

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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!

~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...

Tip # 7: Shop the Stash

I know it might sound really obvious, but if you've ever knitted anything before, likely you have at least some kind of stash. Even if you aren't a "stasher" (do those people exist?) I'm sure you have leftover odds and ends from other projects. You can turn those leftover bits into awesome projects! If you only have tiny bits, those could become stripes in hats or scarves! If you have a little more, make small projects! Dishcloths, coffee cup cozies, and small toys are all fun and satisfying projects that can be finished quickly with only a small amount of yarn! (The turtle in the photo only used about 40 yards of stash yarn!) If you have yarn you bought a long time ago, and your tastes have changed since you got it, set up a trade! See if there is someone out there that wants the yarn you have, and has the yarn you want! If they don't have what you want, maybe you could sell them the yarn you have to finance the yarn you want! (It doesn't count as buying new stash if you paid for it with old stash). There are tons of ways you can use up your old stash (which has already been paid for)! Get creative! Set up a reward system for yourself! For example: You won't buy any new yarn until you have used up at least x amount of your stash. Then you still get to buy new yarn, but you are also using stash yarn! I promise that even though you don't think you have anything to knit in your stash, if you get really desperate, you'll find something to do with your stash!