YarnTalk Holiday Special 2015

It's a SPECIAL episode of YarnTalk! Heidi, Allyson and I exchange gifts (sort of), Heidi makes a signature YarnTalktail, and  mostly I  we all feature prominently in the blooper reel.

p.s. I promise you that parking ticket was 100% bullshit! I successfully contested it in like 30 seconds.

garter stitch baby hats!

On our upcoming YarnTalk holiday special (jazz hands!), I'll show you what I am working on for gifts this holiday season-- many many tiny hats for adorable tiny humans!

Want to make some? Yeah!

yeah baby marmoset!

Step 1: Make a gauge swatch

As usual, step 1 is make a swatch with your chosen yarn and needles. If you're working with multiple kinds of leftover yarns, just try to make sure they're in the same weight class. When in doubt, go bigger/thicker! Making something for a growing kid, always err on the side of too big.

Step 2: Pick a size and style

My favorite way (and the simplest) is to make rectangular hats that end up having adorable "ears" because of the extra fabric on each side of the head. You can always decrease like a regular hat, shaping the top of the crown by decreasing stitches towards the top (here's a good pattern for knitting flat, shaped baby hats), and then seaming up the fringed (or plain) edges as you would with the rectangular hats.

Once you have your gauge swatch, you can figure out your cast-on number. Multiply your stitch gauge (how many stitches you get in an inch) by either the total head circumference (in inches) if you're making the rectangle the width of the head, or HALF the circumference if you're doing a folded-down version.

Step 3: Knit it!

If you want a fringed hat, just cut the yarn after each row (leaving a 5" tail or so), knot a new yarn onto the cut yarn, and knit the next row. Keep doing that and you get a fringe on each side of the piece.

Go crazy! Have fun!! Happy Holidays.
xxoo

YarnTalk Season 1 Finale! Clip Show

Over the last 6 months, I've worked with two amazing women, Heidi Gustad and Allyson Dykhuizen, to produce an episode of YarnTalk every two weeks. It has been a wonderful, fun, intense learning experience, and I can't believe how far we've come since the first episode.

Well, Episode 12, the Season 1 finale, is here!

Heidi takes the spotlight to share our favorite segments from our first season, including the knitted film, math and science crafting/hyperbolic crochet (my fave), and talkin' indie publishing. We all also picked our favorite Can't Wait To Cast On project... patterns from Kieran Foley, Courtney Spainhower, and Susanne Sommer.

My favorite from Season 1 -- Atlas by Kieran Foley

We're so excited to get started on Season 2! Yes, we will definitely be back for a second season!

What do you want to see the YarnTalk gals do for Season 2?

• Should we visit a fiber farm?
• Should we spotlight spinning or dying yarns?
• Would you watch us in a house? With a mouse?
• Would you like to see a particular person interviewed?
• Should YarnTalk have its own instagram, twitter etc. account?

We'd love your ideas. Leave me a comment here, or on yarntalkshow.com under episode 12.

YarnTalk! Talkin' bout YARN.

New YarnTalk: Vogue Knitting Live Special!

Last weekend we visited Vogue Knitting Live in Chicago to check out all the yarn, accessories, books, and patterns on display from vendors far and wide.

Heidi and Allyson and I picked our favorites to share with you... and Allyson interviewed the wonderful Bristol Ivy!

Later, she and Vickie Howell talk about what Vickie is up to, namely the World's Biggest Stocking project which benefits Children of Fallen Patriots. Check it out!!

YarnTalk Episode 10 - Meet Heidi, Runaway Sheep, and Knit 1 Chicago!

A new YarnTalk drops today! Oh yeah, I do other things besides Great Northern!

Remember me?

In Episode 10:

• I interview Heidi about her work (my first interview!!!! Sorry, Heidi)
• Heidi talks about the sheep in the news lately who escaped shearing for long periods of time 
• Allyson interviews Lynn at Knit 1, my favorite Chicago yarn shop!

I hope you enjoy this episode!

YarnTalk Episode 9 - Carina Spencer, Show and Tell, and Chainette yarns

Horaay, it's a new episode of YarnTalk! In this episode:

• Allyson interviews Carina Spencer about her beautiful Midtown cardigan from Midwestern Knits
• Heidi talks about what is great and what is not so great about chainette yarns
• Leah and Allyson drink beer on camera
• Leah and Allyson talk about Great Northern and Holla Knits

This was a very "friends and family"-type episode! I hope you enjoyed watching it, at least as much as I was enjoying myself at the very end of the video. 

Cheers, everyone!!!! (too much)

YarnTalk Ep 7 is here! Indie Publishing, brainwave knitting, and Emily Ringelman

Check out the latest episode of YarnTalk! 

Allyson and I discuss the indie/self-publishing process for knitting books-- Since her book Midwestern Knits has just been released (yay!) and my book Great Northern is in the baby stages, we've got a unique perspective on the whole situation.

Heidi talks about a team of artists and researchers who are using people's brainwaves to knit (using a machine) scarves with their brain activity as a colorwork pattern! Very cool.

Allyson also interviews lovely designer Emily Ringelman, who has a pattern in Midwestern Knits, the beautiful Blowing Snow cardigan.

YarnTalk Episode 6, plus a giveaway!

This is a special episode of YarnTalk for me-- I get to talk about one of my favorite topics (hyperbolic crochet) Allyson interviews me about my designs, and we are having a giveaway for any one of my self-published patterns!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Also, this episode is dedicated to my dearly departed guinea pig, Spike. You were a good, fuzzy pal.

How cool is Hyperbolic Crochet?

While researching an upcoming segment for YarnTalk, I found myself once again pulled into the wonderful world of yarny math and science. 

Knitting and especially crochet are perfectly suited to produce a hyperbolic plane, which is a mathematical concept of a surface that expands exponentially as you move away from a center point. The idea of using crochet to create hyperbolic planes came from Daina Taimina, a mathematician at Cornell, who realized that she could represent this complex concept with crochet, by increasing stitches at a set rate in each row. This was in 1997, and before this, there was no comprehensive, effective way to produce a model of a hyperbolic plane, even on a computer, so this was a game-changer.

Daina Taimina's hyperbolic crochet model!

This idea later inspired the famous Crochet Coral Reef, which, since 2007, has traveled to major art galleries and museums all over the world. 

Coral grows in hyperbolic forms, so crochet was a perfect way to create a realistic yet whimsical version of undersea life. This evolving exhibit started with the Institute for Figuring, which is an amazing organization that educates people about the aesthetic and poetic beauty of science and math.

The Institute for Figuring was founded by Margaret Wertheim, a cultural historian and science author. Margaret and her twin sister Christine, and eventually thousands of other crafters, created the reef, which is now so extensive now that it is probably the worlds largest community art project. 

99% of the crafters involved in the project are women, and indeed much of Margaret's work explores the interactions between what are traditionally considered women's handicrafts and science and math. Margaret has a wonderful TED talk that I'd recommend watching!

Many more scientists, mathematicians, knitters and crocheters have explored this intersection of science and craft, a recent example being the Neural Knitworks, a collaborative project on brain health, that created a “walk-in brain” from over 1600 handmade neurons. It's not hyperbolic, but it's a great example of the way that craft and science can interact to strengthen communities.

If you're still hungry for more (and there is SO much more! Google "hyperbolic crochet" to get started) check out Gabriele Meyer's gorgeous hyperbolic surfaces, and keep your eyes peeled for hyperbolic crochet-- it's everywhere!

Our next episode of YarnTalk will include a segment on all this yarny-mathy goodness.

UPDATE: Here is Episode 6 of YarnTalk!

YarnTalk Episode 5! Brioche, Courtney Spainhower, and An Inspiring Story

YarnTalk Episode 5 is up! We're talking about the brioche trend (it's everywhere, has been for a year or so, and is hopefully not going anywhere!), Allyson interviews Courtney Spainhower aka PinkBrutusKnits, and Heidi tells us about Gregory Patrick, a man who knit his way out of homelessness.

Of course, there's a pet photobomb! Courtney's adorable rat makes an appearance.

(And at the end you can see Heidi being a naughty angel on Allyson's shoulder)

Enjoy!

YarnTalk Episode 4 - Epic Yarnbombs, Crop Tops for Curves, and Teresa Gregorio

Episode 4 of YarnTalk is here! In this one, we cover yarnbombing, crop tops for curvy ladies (40s-inspired cardigans!), and interview fabulous designer (and friend) Teresa Gregorio!

You also get to hear Heidi say "a smart pair of trousers."

YarnTalk Episode 3 is up on YouTube

Episode 3 of #YarnTalk is live!

In this episode, Heidi talks about that guy who's knitting a short film, Allyson interviews fab designer Emma Welford, and we chat about lace knitting for summer. Also, we share what we can't wait to cast on (patterns from Kirsten Singer,  Courtney Spainhower and Emma Welford)!

I think this is our best yet-- we're getting the hang of this video thing! Heidi is a great editor. Allyson is teaching me how to dimple with the best of them. I hope you enjoy this episode!

YarnTalk episode 2

Episode 2 of YarnTalk is now up! We talk about our experiences at TNNA, what we can't wait to cast on, capes, ponchos, kimono sweaters, lions, tigers, bears, oh my!

I'm still working on relaxing my face on video... harder than it looks! I'll get there.

TNNA recap!

Last weekend, the yarnfolk gathered in Columbus, OH for the fall 2015 TNNA tradeshow. This bi-annual event is where vendors sell yarn (and other crafty things) to store owners, people from all areas of the industry gather, classes are taught, and all the new designs and products are previewed before they get released to the public.

This was my first TNNA as a full-time designer, and I had a great time. I met some awesome folks, knit (although not as much as you might think), drank tons of beer, and hung out with designer and yarny friends new and old. There were also some meetings in there, too.

Beer flight at Wolf's Ridge, our first "meal"

L to R: Heidi Gustad, Carina Spencer, Allyson Dykhuizen, Me, Teresa Gregorio.

In the mornings, I hung with my friend Heather in her Ewe Ewe Yarns booth. I've worked with Heather's yarn a lot over the years and am a big supporter, so helping her sell it was no problem!

My wrap "Rainbows and Unicorns" in its natural environment

Heather Walpole and me rocking the knitwear

A huge reason that I decided to go to TNNA was that Teresa Gregorio and I are working on a project together, but had never met in person before. Teresa is awesome, and you should check out her designs if you haven't already. We had a very productive, fun time working together and not surprisingly, got a lot more done when we were sitting on the same couch than during our email sessions.

Schemin' (via @canaryknits on instagram)

Filmin' (via @canaryknits on instagram)

You may have heard rumblings about our project (and if you know me or Teresa personally, you certainly have), and we are almost ready to make an official announcement. Stay tuned for that!

Overall, TNNA was a great experience and worth the travel. I had never been to Columbus before and was pleasantly surprised with what it has to offer.

We're working on a YarnTalk episode about the show, so check back for that in a week or so!

New YouTube Show: YarnTalk!

We love yarn!

I'm so excited to share this with you!

Allyson, Heidi and I are now producing a bi-weekly show on knitting/crochet/yarn trends! YarnTalk will feature our favorite designers, knitting news, and the projects we want to cast on this week. Check out episode 1 here, and subscribe to our channel!

Talk yarn with us by using the hashtag #yarntalk, or email us at yarntalkshow@gmail.com to suggest a segment or designer interview for a future episode.

See you in two weeks with Episode 2-- our TNNA show! I bet I'll be less awkward in front of the camera...