Two Ewes Fiber Adventures: A Podcast About Knitting, Spinning, Weaving, Crochet, Dyeing-- All The Ways To Play With Yarn And

Whisky tasting, a trip to the Scottish Highlands, a knitting mishap, and podcasting in pajamas are some of the tangents this episode! Full notes with photos and links can be found in the podcast section of our shop website: TwoEwesFiberAdventures.com.  Join the community on Ravelry  or email us with your thoughts. twoewes@twoewesfiberadventures.com is our email address or you click contact us on our website. Project Updates Marsha has finished the body and one sleeve of a pullover Mountain High by Heidi Kirrmaier (again!) using The Croft Shetland Tweed by West Yorkshire Spinners that she bought at the The Yarn Cake in Glasgow. She also swatched with New Lanark Wool & Textiles DK that she bought at the mill in New Lanark, Scotland last March. She is looking for a sweater pattern for her brother. Kelly continues to work on Koru by Aroha Knits using the Dragonfly Fibers Dance Rustic Silk that she bought last year at Stitches. Somehow she began using the left chart on the right and the right chart on the

A Stitches recap with a Two Ewes twist.  We’ll let the others tell you about the popular knits at Stitches West. We fell in love with skulls, knitted plants and animals, and furry jackets! Plus we met some great listeners. Full notes with photos and links can be found in the podcast section of our shop website: TwoEwesFiberAdventures.com.  Join the community on Ravelry  or email us with your thoughts. twoewes@twoewesfiberadventures.com is our email address or you click contact us on our website. What did we wear on the Stitches West carpet? Marsha wore her cardigan Cloud Cover and her handspun combo spin sweater made with Simple Summer Tweed pattern. Both patterns are by Heidi Kirrmaier. Kelly wore the  Mystery Knit Along with Cozy Up Knits using the Two Ewes Replenish Rambouillet and the Running Water cardigan by Claudia Eisenkolb. What did we work on at Stitches West? Marsha exclusively worked on a pullover Mountain High by Heidi Kirrmaier (again!) using The Croft Shetland Tweed by West Yorkshire Spin

Despite the noises and interruptions the yarn talk continues! Through downpours, laundry, head shaving, a neighbor coming by and odd thumping in the background, the show goes on.  Hear the Ewes respond to the Fiberuary Challenge and Yarn Love Challenge prompts. Full notes with photos and links can be found in the podcast section of our shop website: TwoEwesFiberAdventures.com.  Join the community on Ravelry  or email us with your thoughts. twoewes@twoewesfiberadventures.com is our email address or click contact us on our website. Project Updates Marsha finished her cardigan Cloud Cover by Heidi Kirrmaier and loves it. Marsha double checked the label on her fleece and it is Wensleydale x Cormo x Merino fleece. After our last episode Marsha ordered another skein of worsted yarn from Thirteen Mile Lamb and Wool to have extra for dyeing for the colorwork pullover, Snowflower by Heidi Kirrmaier. She is still in the planning stage for dyeing the yarn. Plus she wants to take a colorwork class. Marsha is almost d

A little knitting and a lot of permission to break spinning and knitting rules. Wait--there are no rules! The Ewes share anti-racism resources, plus, listener questions and feedback to round out the show. Full notes with photos and links can be found in the podcast section of our shop website: TwoEwesFiberAdventures.com.  Join the community on Ravelry  or email us with your thoughts. twoewes@twoewesfiberadventures.com is our email address or you click contact us on our website. Project Updates Marsha continues to work on her  Cloud Cover cardigan by Heidi Kirrmaier. She is almost done with the collar and then will weave in the ends and block.  She has been spinning her  Wensleydale x Cormo x Merino fleece. It has been slow but steady progress but Kelly gives her permission to break some rules! Marsha is also planning her next project. She plans to use Imperial Ranch Columbia, a mulespun worsted weight yarn in the colorway Juniper Green. What is “mulespun”? Below are two links with for information: https://

Scheming and dreaming about all the yarn and fleece projects for 2019. Did you know Marsha and Kelly both love the smell of fleece? Have you heard about the woven ruana and the sheep tea cozy a few too many times? What does it mean to raise your default level? It’s all in this episode. Full notes with photos and links can be found in the podcast section of our shop website: TwoEwesFiberAdventures.com.  Join the community on Ravelry  or email us with your thoughts. Email us at twoewes@twoewesfiberadventures.com We’d love to hear your 2019 Dreams and Schemes! Project Updates Marsha continues to work on Cloud Cover by Heidi Kirrmaier. It has an unusual construction. Knit yoke, then sleeves, then body, then collar. Marsha is hoping she doesn’t run out of yarn before that big shawl collar is done. Marsha has carded a bunch of Wensleydale x Corriedale x Merino fleece and has been spinning it. This fleece is a gorgeous dark espresso color! More spinning is in Marsha’s plans for 2019. Kelly has also been mostly m

Ringing in the New Year with lace knitting, a vegetable terrine, lots of project planning, and a geographic survey of our listeners. Full notes with photos and links can be found in the podcast section of our shop website: TwoEwesFiberAdventures.com.  Join the community on Ravelry  or email us with your thoughts. twoewes@twoewesfiberadventures.com is our email address.  We’d love to hear from you! Project Updates Marsha continues to work on Slack Tide by Poststitch and is making steady progress. The yarn is Concentric by Hikoo, which is singles that are not pied. It’s very “splitty” and difficult to knit with especially on knit two together, but it’s beautiful fabric. Marsha is waiting for a day to herself to work uninterrupted on Rabbit by Claire Garland.  Marsha is also knitting Cloud Cover by Heidi Kirrmaier. It has an unusual construction. Knit yoke, then sleeves, then body, then collar. Marsha has finished first sleeve and started second. She’s still planning for SnowFlower by Heidi Kirrmaier  The na

Lots of finished knitting, a fleece processing and spinning project, and a new warp are all on the show this week. We also pull two winners for Stephany Wilkes’ book, Raw Material. Full notes with photos and links can be found in the podcast section of our shop website: TwoEwesFiberAdventures.com.  Join the community on Ravelry and discuss the episode, or contact us with your thoughts. twoewes@twoewesfiberadventures.com is our email address.  We’d love to hear from you. Kelly finished the Unice Unicorn Hood for her grandniece.  She also finished a second pair of Jo’s Perfect Slipper Socks. They are in one of the Western Sky Knits merino cashmere sport weight skeins that she has used for criss-cross colors in argyle socks.  This is a perfect gift knit! The bulky-weight, 6-shaft weaving is finished, too.  It turned out a little too narrow to be a loom bench cushion so it is now out in the cat’s house as a warm and comfy sleeping pad. It was a great way to sample bulky weaving and the 6-shaft draft and to ge

The Learn Along has people doing everything from brioche socks to knitting with a Shetland knitting belt. Marsha talks about learning agility and piano and Kelly is getting close to the end of a semester of learning. Full notes with photos and links can be found in the podcast section of  our shop website: TwoEwesFiberAdventures.com.  Join the community on Ravelry and discuss the episode, or contact us with your thoughts at twoewes@twoewesfiberadventures.com Kelly's Projects Kelly finished the Running Water cardigan and has worn it three times.  The fit is great and it is so soft and warm. Since the last episode she started and finished a pair of Jo’s Perfect Slipper Socks. Two strands of fingering weight. From Cozy Up knits. Found out about it from the Cozy Up Knits youtube show. Four Canadian Prairie sisters who knit and design patterns. Kelly has also started a gift knit. She’s making the Unice Unicorn Hood for her grandniece.  The hood is done, she is now putting on the fringe that makes the mane.  

Finished socks, an almost finished sweater and lots of knitting tips in this episode!  Full notes with photos and links are in the podcast section of our shop website:TwoEwesFiberAdventures.com.  Join the community on Ravelry and be part of the conversation! Kelly has been working to finish the Running Water cardigan. The sleeves are almost finished and then it will be finished! She hopes to have it finished by the time this episode is published. Kelly raves about the Sockhead Cowl she made out of Tassie Merino from Carrie at Handmade Travels. The scrumptiously soft yarn is sourced from White Gum Wool in Australia. It was made in summer but she just started wearing it.  Kelly  discovered she could twist the cowl in the middle and fold it into a hat! Another rave is for the Mama Stamberg cranberry relish (with onion and horseradish) that Kelly will be making for Thanksgiving. It’s been a staple on her Thanksgiving table for about 20 years. Kelly has also joined the Jane Stafford Online Weaving Guild and is

Joined by guest co-host Stephany Wilkes, sheep shearer, wool classer, and author of the fantastic new book Raw Material: Working Wool in the West.  Order it at your local bookstore or online.  Stephany is also president of the Northern California Fibershed Cooperative. She chats with the Ewes about her projects and then we discuss her book and her life as a shearer.  Stephany can be found on Instagram as @ladysheepshearer. Full notes with photos and links can be found in the podcast section of  our shop website: TwoEwesFiberAdventures.com.  Join the community on Ravelry where we will give away a copy of the book Raw Material: Working Wool in the West. Kelly’s Argyle adventure continues. The socks are roughly based on the pattern Men’s Argyle socks #5710. She’s not really using pattern that much, but she used it to create a Stitch Fiddle chart for the colorwork. Also active this week are the Humble Bee socks. The pattern was a gift from Sara Bauer (sarapomegranate on Ravelry and host of the Yarns at Yin H

Creativity, productivity, and community are three big benefits we've gained from 4 years of podcasting.  In our 100th episode we have our usual project updates and then we spend some time reflecting on the experience of the last four years.  Come join the community on Ravelry! Marsha's Update: I have a lot to say about my Afterthought Socks! It's a looooooooong stockinette tube and I'll be putting on cuffs, toes, and heels. We had quite a discussion about how to measure the spot for the heel. I'm sure some of our listeners can set us straight. Leave a comment here or join in the discussion in our Ravelry group. My other active project over the past two weeks is the Slacktide Scarf. It has a nice interesting stitch--the perfect antidote to a long, boring stockinette tube. I'm also planning for the Rabbit by Claire Garland and have ordered the yarn called for in the pattern. Kelly's Update: I'm running out of yarn on the Running Water cardigan. I'm almost done with the collar band and then will start the sleev

Lambtown Sheep and Wool Festival, two sweaters, some weaving, the Fibonacci sequence, and some dog talk round out the topics for this episode. All this knitting has left us wishing fiber crafts were more aerobic!  Full notes with photos and links can be found in the podcast section of our shop website: TwoEwesFiberAdventures.com Come join the community on Ravelry or become a patron and support the show on our Patreon Page. Marsha finished her Iba cardigan by Bonne Marie Burns, well sort of finished. She discovered after blocking the sleeves now need be shortened by about an inch. Marsha loves the cardigan! It fits well and the Rambouillet yarn is so soft, silky, and plump. Marsha is also working on the picot bind off of her Elinya shawl by Ambah O'Brien. Marsha started a scarf named Slack Tide for her brother with Concentric by HiKoo by Skacel. She purchased the yarn at a great new shop in Seabrook, WA call String Theory Yarns and Fiber. The owner, Jean Chambers, is focusing on local yarns. Marsha also b

A nasty fall has Marsha under the weather, but the knits, crochet, and weaving talk goes on. Besides a sweater project for each, the Two Ewes talk about future fiber plans, the Learn Along, and some new fall colors in the shop. No full show notes this week, but do check out The Small Bird Workshop pattern page on Ravelry.  Catherine has generously donated five patterns as prizes for the Learn Along. Her patterns are great. Take a look! Keep on Learning!    

Marsha's knitting project has some woes, but the Wool Auction and Shop News are a big WOW! There's a Two Ewes Shop update with an exciting new Replenish Rambouillet yarn, produced with climate beneficial practices. Support the podcast AND the planet with these new fingering weight yarns.  Kelly has no knitting projects on the needles and she has finished her first Papel Picado in filet crochet. It still needs to be washed and blocked, but it turned out great! There will be at least a few more of these finished before Halloween this year. Marsha had a set back with her cardigan Iba by Bonne Marie Burns. The skeins of yarn looked the same but when she started the sleeves she realized there was a difference. The hard lesson learned is this is what happens when you are so impatient to start knitting that you don't alternate skeins.  Remember, no one ever regretted alternating skeins.Marsha unravelled the entire sweater and has started over, making good progress. The Monterey Fair and Wool Auction was a complete

Marsha is knitting, Kelly is swatching crochet techniques, and the Ewes are planning a Learn Along that will last through November. For full show notes with pictures, visit the Two Ewes website. Marsha is working along on her Iba by Bonne Marie Burns.  She's using textured Rambouillet yarn from the same batch that is in the Two Ewes Shop.  She loves the feel of the wool and the fit of the pattern.  She also has the Elinya shawl on the needles for social knitting.  Kelly has no knitting or crochet in progress, but she is swatching and practicing filet crochet in order to make Papel Picado. The real papel picado is a traditional Mexican decoration for Dia de los Muertos.  Kelly found a pattern for a crochet lace version and has visions of making enough to string across an entire room.  She is also looking for a sweater pattern for some coned cashmere fingering and some Chickadee sport weight to combine into one cardigan.  A listener suggested Brise, a cute sweater designed for linen yarn.  Another one the is in

A bonus episode with a sneak preview of 100 fleeces that will be at the 2018 Monterey County Fair Wool Auction on September 3. Kelly talks about the auction, how it works and what to expect.  She also describes the beautiful fleeces, talks about the judge's comments, and shares which fleeces are her favorites.   Here is an article from shearer Stephany Wilkes about canary staining. Here is an article from Montana State that has a chart that compares the 3 grading systems. Here is a website from Wildfibres that shows the grades of wool by breeds.  The auction starts at 11:30 at the Livestock Pavillion near Gate 6 of the Monterey County Fairgrounds.  Viewing starts around 9 am and wool buyers can get into the fair for free with a copy of a flyer.  You can get a copy from me by emailing twoewes@twoewesfiberadventures.com or by going to the Two Ewes website and using the contact form.  Check out the Anne's Web Ravelry group.  The Anne's Web guild is the hosting guild for the wool show and auction.

Knitting and weaving, plus Alaska, sock recipes, and fresh starts in this longer-than-usual episode. For full show notes, including all pictures and links visit the Two Ewes Fiber Adventures website.  Kelly has finished almost all her works in progress (WIPs) and is contemplating a clean slate on her Ravelry project page.  She finished the woven blankets, using over 4400 meters of yarn in the process.  She also finished the Sockhead Cowl that she had been working on last episode.  She still has one Sockhead Cowl on the needles and plans to finish it by the end of the weekend before classes start on Monday. The yarn is Tassie Merino from Handmade Travels and it is so nice to knit with.  Kelly plans to rip out the socks she's making from a sock blank and give that yarn a chance to be something that will better show off the long gradient. She also contemplates ripping out the small start she has on the Coloresque Wrap. But that will have to wait until she can find it.  The yarn for that project has gone AWOL,

Sweater fit, math for pattern modifications, and a way to help sheep farmers impacted by California wildfires add to the usual project updates in this episode.  Join the Ewes for all this and more! For full show notes with links and pictures, go to twoewesfiberadventures.com Marsha's projects are her combo spin and a linen tee.  The combo spin is almost finished and the yarn is really beautiful. She has selected a simple cardigan pattern and will talk more about that when she is ready to cast on.  The yarn has a significant amount of silk in it and the feel is really luscious. The Summer Fjord linen tee is being bound off during the show.  It is knit from Fibra Natura 100% linen yarn.  Marsha had a mistake that she repaired by dropping about 5-6 stitches back a few inches and then reknitting only those stitches from the row. She has photos of the repair process on her project page in Ravelry.   Kelly has three finished projects, including the Bobble Sheep pillow that she finished awhile ago, but forgot to tal

The Two Ewes are back home after a fun weekend at The Black Sheep Gathering. This year the festival was held in Albany, Oregon June 29th - July 1st. Kelly and Marsha discuss the highlights of festival. Marsha had twelve hours of knitting on the round-trip train ride from Seattle plus knitting time the festival. She is almost ready to start the ribbing and short row shaping on her Summer Fjord tee by Trin-Annelie. At the BSG Marsha fed her addiction with more braids for a combo spin in, this time in red. She also bought two braids to go with a white, grey, and yellow braid she bought a year ago. She is not sure how she plans to spin these braids. Will it be her Combo Spin 5?  Marsha gave into temptation and bought a beautiful Corriedale x Romeldale fleece in steel gray.  Kelly also bought a Corriedale x Romeldale fleece, this one is white. And she succumbed to a beautiful steel gray Romney fleece that was for sale in the non-judged market. Her purchases at the BSG were restrained because after the Gathering s

Spinning and weaving projects are working down Kelly's stash, while Marsha finished a cardigan.  The Ewes also discuss linen, based on a listener question.  They're also in planning mode, thinking ahead to the trip to Black Sheep Gathering and projects that will work for that trip. Contact Marsha and Kelly here if you have a topic you'd like discussed, if you're interested in the Black Sheep Gathering Meet-up, or to provide feedback.   Marsha has finished her Little Wave cardigan by Gudrun Johnson.  She knit it using Neighborhood Fiber Company yarn that she got at Stitches West in February. She made some sleeve modifications that are detailed in her project page. Now she's working on Summer Fjord using a Fibra Natura Linen.  Her yarn is in a heavier weight than called for in the pattern so there has been some adjusting of the pattern. Kelly and Marsha have both been wearing their Wool and Wire Jewelry from Never Not Knitting shop in Atascadero, California.  Kelly has also discovered, that like her bees, she r