Ep 39: Lace has Holes and other Revelations

Our adventures continue. Marsha has a revelation about lace and another about her mama bear ferocity. :-) Listen to us discuss current projects, bees, a puppy, and some "Fiber in the Wild"!

Kelly continues the Star Wars crochet saga and has finished Luke, Han, Leia, and Jabba.

Creating tea cosies would be a similar sculptural activity and Kelly recommends a look at the work of Loani Prior , an Australian knitter who is also on Instagram as @queenoftheteacosies.

She has also finished the Wensleydale yarn she is making for her Aunt Betty to use for a Simply Garter Vest. The yarn is loosely spun and plied--a good way to make sure that the longer, courser wools don't end up feeling like wire. In fact, the yarn is shiny, silky, and very spongy in the skein.

For the Spring Fever Free-for-All Kelly has "chained up" the Latticework Cardigan by Michele DuNaier. At this point she is almost ready to separate the sleeves. The crocheting is fun and fast. It would be even faster for an experienced crocheter. This is Kelly's first crochet garment, so learning the construction and fitting methods has been interesting.

Marsha finished the knitting of her Edie Tee by Isabel Kraemer. Next is weaving in the ends and washing. The Two Ewes discuss the sweater's short rows and Kelly recommends the free Craftsy class by Carol Feller.

Marsha hasn't had time to spin more of her Shetland fleece but she did spend some time carding.

Marsha contacted Michele Wang, the designer of the Fairfield Cardigan, after she got stuck on the double yarn over. Michele was so kind to send photos of the how to work the stitch and now Marsha is back on track.

Marsha discusses two books she is reading by Clara Parkes. The Yarn Whisperer: My Unexpected Life in Knitting and Knitlandia: A Knitter Sees the World.

She also talks about two articles she recently read in the New York Times. "The Sock Queen of Alabama" is about an "artisan" sock manufacturer in Fort Payne, Alabama with two sock lines called Zkano and Little River Sock Mill. As more and more manufacturing is moved offshore, it is interesting to learn how one mill is thriving.

The second article, "A New Breed of Opera Diva: Sheep", is about the staging of Louis Andriessen's "De Materie", a Dutch avant-garde work that features a flock of 100 sheep! We cannot find a video of the sheep but here is an audio of the opera.

Click here to go to the blog, or here to go to the Ravelry group for the much discussed picture of Gary wearing undergarments crocheted by a co-worker. Don't worry! The picture is work safe. :-) You may remember Gary from the Kilt Hose interview in Episode 5.

The Two Ewes Spring Fever Free-for-All is underway. You are encouraged to cast on a project for spring but casting on is not required to play. (But really, why would you pass up an opportunity to cast on?) The project can be anything that feels like spring to you. Maybe a Tee or lightweight sweater, spring colors or maybe you want to learn a new technique for a new season. It can be knitting, crocheting, spinning, weaving--or just talking about the above. Finishing is DEFINITELY NOT required! Isn't spring fever the urge to be irresponsible? ;-) We have a discussion thread called Spring Fever Free-for-All on Ravelry. The winners will be selected by random number generator, so the more you participate the more chances you have of winning. If you're on Instagram we're using the hashtag #twoewesspringfever. Contest ends at midnight on May 4th.

Marsha plans to cast on a shawl for the Spring Fever Free-for-All with Friea in the colorway Melon. Here are some of the patterns she's considering. A couple of them she would need to combine with a complementary yarn.

Shetland Crescent - Kieran Foley

Hanami Stole - Melanie Gibbons

Non Troppo - Asa Tricosa

Merlin - Kieran Foley

Havasu Falls - Alison LoCicero

Windward - Heidi Kirrmaier