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

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

The combo spin discussion last week prompted some great discussion about color, design, knitting, and spinning. So after the project updates, the Ewes talk about some of the ideas shared by listeners and the inspiration they provided. For full show notes with pictures visit our show notes blog.  Kelly has done a lot of finishing!  Not saving the best for last, she finished the Lime Green and Pink Argyle socks.  They are so much fun that she's already cast on for the next pair of Argyles. The pattern she uses is adapted from this vintage sock pattern on freevintageknitting.com She also finished two summer tops.  The first is Summer Fjord by Trin-Annelie and is really happy with the results. The second is Sommer Sleeveless Top by Mari Chiba.  These will make a great summer tops if the weather on the coast ever warms up! Kelly also urges all California shepherds to enter fleeces into the Monterey County Fair Fleece Show and Auction.  Entries are due July 31 and entry instructions can be found here on the Monter

The knitting has been naughty, but the Ewes have plenty to say about potential new projects and combo spinning. For photos of the Combo Spin sweaters that Marsha has made, check out our full show notes with pictures here.  Marsha has been working on her Little Wave cardigan and is almost finished.  The pattern is by Gudrun Johnston.  Although Marsha has known how to read for a long time, (and has a degree in Literature) her reading skills failed her at times on this pattern.  Who hasn't had that problem!  Marsha's other active project, a Summer Fjord in DK weight, is requiring calculations and modifications since the original pattern calls for fingering weight yarn.  So this project spent some time in the knitting bag due to complications. Kelly is making a Summer Fjord, too (in lace weight). She has finished the bottom ribbing. Now its at the point of picking up sleeves--not the most relaxing part of the project so it also sits in its bag.  The pattern is by Trin-Annelie.   The Argyle socks have also been n

The Ewes are back to regular episodes with prize drawings, weaving, a couple stories and, of course, our knitting.  The weave along ended with some prizes.  One of the prizes is a Sweetheart Loom from Hazel Rose Looms. The Sheep Thrills KAL prize was also drawn in this episode. Marsha made good progress on her Little Wave cardigan by Gudrun Johnston. She has knit the body up to the armholes and has finished the first sleeve. When the second sleeve is completed both will be attached to the body and the yoke and saddle shoulders worked. This is the first sweater Marsha has made with this technique. Marsha cast on for the Summer Fjord by Trin-Annelie. This is the same Tee Kelly is making and like Kelly, Masha is using a different weight of yarn. She is going up to DK with Fibra Natura Flax (100% linen) and Kelly is going down with lace weight Sincere Sheep Linen. Lots of swatching, washing, measuring, and math went into the decision of sizes to make. There was pronounced biasing on Marsha's swatch so the Summer

Lots of knitting to talk about and then we're off to the NoCKRs retreat.  An unedited episode to catch you all up on our adventures before we rush off to another fun time. Visit our Two Ewes Fiber Adventures shop. 

The intrepid fiber adventurers have filed a few more foreign correspondent dispatches. And this time there's yarn!  Also whisky, department store gin, interesting food, sheep, and castles.  Join Marsha and Kim on this yarn lover's journey.

Kelly answers a few listener questions about the Argyle socks and then there are two dispatches from our foreign correspondent Marsha and her partner in travel, Kim. They see the sights, drink great Whisky, and eat wonderful food. And the Yarn Fest hasn't even begun! Here is a link to Kelly's Argyle chart for a 72 stitch sock. If you have a Stitch Fiddle account you should be able to download and edit your own version of this chart. Here is the link to the free vintage knitting patterns. http://freevintageknitting.com/  

No show notes this time. We talk about what we finished to wear at Stitches West and then we talk about our fun weekend. Since this is late getting out to listeners, we are dispensing with show notes to just get this episode out!

A little knitting and a lot of planning for upcoming events on today's show.  Plus a couple of knitting tips, the perfect spirit buttons, and some bee talk.  To see these show notes with photos, go to our website. Marsha's Projects Marsha started her second combo spin sweater so she'd have something going when the Opteka is finished.  She is quite close to finishing Opteka. Kelly's Projects Kelly continues to work on the Indigo Frost poncho.  Another careless moment led to a mistake. Instead of ripping back 8 rows of over 300 stitches, she attempted to rip out and re-knit only the section of 66 stitches that contained the mistake.  It worked really well and the poncho is back on track. Since the poncho had a mistake that needed to be repaired in a quiet time period, Kelly pulled the linen Summer Fjord top back out and put about an inch on it.  It has a few inches to go before the bottom ribbing and will be finished in time for warmer weather. Kelly also found the perfect buttons for her Curious Cardigan.  The

Knitting and spinning are so therapeutic for the difficult times in life. They also bring joy and a community that enhances the good times. Join the Ewes in this episode that includes a little of each.  Plus, they talk about the Two Ewes Shop and some of their learning experiences with this labor of love connecting local shepherds, mills, and small-batch yarns to knitters and crocheters. If you read these show notes on your podcast app and want to see pictures, go to our complete show notes here.  Kelly has two finished projects.  She finished the Aztec Cupcake socks made with beautiful Duren Dyeworks yarn using the Slip and Swirl Socks pattern by Kristi of the In a Sknit podcast.  The pattern and yarn are a perfect pairing and created this great design.  She also finished the black Molly hat for her sister using spirit yarn from Marsha's stash.  That leaves her with only one active knitting project, the Indigo Frost poncho. Marsha is also down to one active project.  She's almost finished with her Opteka sw