¶ Intro / Opening
I'm Drea. I'm Meg. I'm Tina. And I'm Jess. And this is Pardon My Stash. Welcome to Pardon My Stash, a podcast about knitting, the fiber arts, and how awesome it is. Before we delve into this week's topics, let's share what we're working on today. Drea? A chemishaw. Jeans. You did it. I did it. Okay, but real talk, I finished the desk. It's like finally cured. We have not brought it upstairs yet because there have been things happening in the last week. Pictures.
It just gives it more time to, you know, smell nice. Well, that polyurethane and stain smell has finally dissipated. So I'm pretty stoked. But since I have finished with the desk, I have picked up my knitting again. I feel great about it. I am like jamming away on this thing. I'm pretty stoked. Back in the groove. Yeah. I clearly needed to get the hyperfixation out of my system so that I can. Sometimes you gotta. Yeah. So I could come back to my first love, knitting. Jeans. Jeans. Meg?
I'm still working on Calliope by Melissa Clullo, and I am very close to splitting for the sleeves. Yeah. And I really hate how when you, right before you split for the sleeves, you're like, this sweater looks huge. This is never going to fit me. I know. I hate that feeling. And I'm looking at it and I'm like, I'm going to have to rip this whole thing out. There's no way it's going to fit. And forgetting that, that, yeah, the sleeves are going to take off like a ton of it.
This is, it's so good though. Your stitch work is really good. Thank you. Oh, thanks. So neat. I'm enjoying it a lot. I'm knitting it out of Critical Hit Dyes Wizard in Etherealness and also our new yarn Mystic, which is a mohair silk also in Etherealness. Tina? Well, I have exciting news to share. What do you got? I finally picked something to do for the goddamn make-along. I'll give you a applause for myself. You didn't tell me that. I'm excited. What are you doing?
I actually picked it right before I got into the car to drop my kids off so I could come record. It is called Tea in the Tropics and it is by Emma Davies. And I'm going to show you a picture. It is a pineapple. Oh my God. But it is a really nice pineapple. That is such a nice pineapple. That is really cute. I saw a lot of different pineapple ones, but this one is like the bougie one. Okay. So if I finish my snail, I'm going to make one too. Yeah. This is, I was like, yeah, I like that.
What weight is it? It is DK. Or no, lies. I lie. Oh no, it is DK. I'm so confused. It says yarn weight is Aaron, but then the suggested yarn is a DK. So it's DK. Probably could do either depending on the size of the teapot. I guess I'll have to do a gauge swatch. Maybe you will, but I won't. Okay. Other than that, I haven't started it yet because I didn't have enough time to wind. I do have the yarn. I just don't, didn't have time to wind the yarn before I got here.
So I still have my Ingalls sweater. Who knows? Maybe this last half inch will get done tonight. It has been sitting here. Like, I feel like I get like five stitches done and then I have to put it down. So but I am excited for finally picking something for the cozy. How about you Jess? I mean, well, right now I'm trying to skein up some yarn.
So that's not cooperating with me, but then I'm going to be working on my flower basket teapot, which is just a random pattern by sugar and cream yarn that I found. So I will do that as soon as I figure out how to tie this where I want it. Before I get more information about part of my stash in general, be sure to check out our website at part of my stash.com for info, pics, patterns, and yarns.
¶ The Main Topic
All right. For this week's episode, we were looking back and realized we haven't done a Q and a session for a while. So we decided to ask y'all some things you might've wanted to know more about, or that, you know, we could talk about that maybe wouldn't go inside a full episode. And we decided we're going to answer some of your questions. All right. So I got the question, since yes, since you have our Instagram access, you do have the questions. So let's, let's begin.
What's a good, give us a good first one. Jordan Rayhoff asks, what is your crafting wet dream? Can we ask that? That's the beginning. Well, I, I don't know if I can relate in parentheses, in parentheses, pattern event, yarn meeting designer, et cetera. Okay. What are you really excited for in the yarn world is what I'm going to take that as. But I wanted to read the full question because it made me giggle. I think it made the table giggle.
Thank you Jordan Rayhoff. Actually I could say one, and I think everybody would at this table would agree with, with what I'm about to say is if like a huge festival, like something like a Reinbeck or a new England fiber fest asked part in my stash to be there. Like I think that would be really cool. I would be like, I would be like, whoa, I feel like that's one of our dreams right now.
Yeah. That, that would be pretty balls that were, that were cool enough to be wanted to be asked to be somewhere. Like yeah, I think, I think that would be really awesome. I think it would extend, uh, really say something for all the work that we put into this podcast. I think it would be really cool to meet cookie. She makes all these awesome, like she comes from, I have no idea. I could have sworn. But I do love cookie patterns and I think it would be amazing to meet her.
I also think that I want to meet, uh, I also think it would be cool to meet, uh, crystal Nyberg who designed the Sunday swings. You would crystal if you're out there, you have a number one fan. I am the number one fan. I wish we had a tally of how many pairs you've made. I really wish that we had a tally for how many times I have mentioned Sunday swing on this podcast. I would get that. That's something we could do.
I don't know if we could actually come up with the full number of how many Sunday swings you've done. Probably not because I've gifted pretty much. You've gifted a lot of them. Don't tempt me with a good time. I will make a mix up of you saying Sunday swing socks. I know you will. Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, Sunday swing. Yeah. I will make it into a song. I will totally make that into a song. Every time you've said that, I'm excited. I'll start saying it in a fun way for you.
Get different tempos. Sunday swings socks. Oh my God. There's the chorus. That's funny. This Jeff says, how slash why do y'all choose a pattern? It needs to speak to me. I agree. For weeks. I don't agree. It's a process. It is a process. I keep coming back to it and deciding if I have the same or similar drive to do it after looking at it a few times. Yeah, I'll put something. I'll agree with that.
I'll put something into my queue and I will return to it most likely six to eight months later because I'll forget about it. And then I'll look at it and go, Oh, I still like that. Then. See, I feel like I'm the complete opposite because I put a whole bunch of stuff in my queue or in my saved patterns. Sometimes I'll even buy a pattern and then I will let it sit and then I'll come back to it. I'll be like, Nope, you're not the one. Yep. You're not the one.
I don't know why I liked you, but you're not it. The feeling is over. So I think a lot of my patterns I choose spontaneously. That makes sense with you. That tracks. Yeah. If I spend too much time looking for the perfect pattern, I'm not going to find the perfect pattern. So I will find something that looks fun. Usually something that's going to keep my attention. Usually something with cables. And then I just go from there. Skin it up, cast it on. I'm going to make that a shirt.
It sounded like you said skin it up and I got really. Yeah. Grossed out anyway. And I was going to make that a shirt. Well, you could, you got a little skin winder. Yeah. Make sure you put yarn because then people like me won't be freaked out. Just gain it. Thank you. Thank you. They got to be wearing a cowboy hat while riding a sheep. Put the skin on a sheep. It sounds like a rodeo. It's gaining. No, pass it on. Round him up. Rodeo. It's rounding up a needle and it's like running away.
Oh my God. Meg, how do you choose a pattern? I go in the reverse order. I pick the yarn first. Very good. I decide what I want to work with. If there's something in my, in my stash that's really nagging at me, something I want to cast on. That's how I actually, how I started. I got this sweater. I really knew I wanted to work with these two yarns. So I started by going through my, my favorites and seeing if there was anything in there that fit the bill and narrow it down that way.
I usually start with the yarn, not with a pattern. Sometimes it's the other way around, but usually I do start with the yarn. That is fair. I'm like 50-50. I think sometimes I do that where I have, I have yarn that I want to either get out of my stash or just like use. You just want to use it. And then there will be times it's usually that I see someone posting like a new pattern that they've put out.
Or I don't usually go like sifting through like a Ravelry or an Etsy and then like randomly find myself upon it. It's usually that someone's advertising that like, Hey, I made this pattern and check it out. And then in the past I used to pick stuff based on like, I would be like, what can I make that looks really complicated that isn't actually that complicated? Now I feel like I'm like, I feel like that's what this Ingalls sweater.
Like for me, it's like the color work was really interesting and now I'm just in stocknet land and I'm like, I can't. But I feel like, I feel like now I'm like, I look at things and I want something that's a little bit more intriguing. I feel like I'm falling down the Jess hole at this point. I'm like, yeah, I think I'm gonna go that way. Mind space plays a lot into that too. Because it's like, am I feeling like something that I actually have to sit and look at a chart and pay attention to?
Or you know what, am I just feeling like mindless stocknet for hours and hours while I watch TV? I'd say that plays a big part of it too. What is the goal? Like, what do you want to be doing most of the time while you're doing this project? Is it your on the go project? So you just kind of tuck it in your bag. So maybe don't make that a blanket. Right. Yeah. But if you're also sitting on the couch and you're watching a really good show, maybe you don't want to be making a color work sweater.
Yeah, because sometimes I'll want to work on one of my machines. And obvious, I have to be standing for that. And it's really difficult to kind of like watch anything when I'm doing that. Yeah. So I have to be in a certain mood for that. And then honestly, what I end up making are like scrunchies or like headbands or like something small and easy that I can like turn into an on the go project.
But in terms of like, I find that if I'm picking a pattern, it's ending up something that I do want to look at. It's not my easy project. Because at this point, if I'm doing a hat or something, I'm not really looking unless it's somebody else's hat that I really like. If I'm just going to do a stock knit hat on like, no, I got this. I think I got this. Can knit that one with your eyes closed. Yeah. I've done a lot of hats at this point.
Sometimes I just start with an idea and then I have to find all the pieces to make it happen. No, but see, that's the most hilarious thing because she'll just be like, we totally won't be talking about anything related to knitting. And then all of a sudden she'll be like, okay, so hear me out. And I know it's going to be good.
And it will be something like so wild and a color combination that doesn't make sense or like a sweater that I like never envisioned or like the one you're trying to bribe me about like with your mom. Oh yeah. Or she was like, okay, hear me out. And she gave me this look and she wants me to dye some yarn that I hate dying. Absolute colorway. I hate dying. And she's like, but I want to use it for this. And it would look so pretty. So that's usually how our conversations go.
Yeah. And I'll be thinking about them for a while. And then suddenly when pieces click, I'm like, oh, it just blurts out. I'm sorry. Because I know sometimes I. When the girl is in the resource, she's like, okay, so. It's true. It's like, okay, it's good time. It's really shouldn't be good time, but that's what my brain tells me. Can be Marie Knits asks, when did you decide that knitting slash yarn was your jam? Like when did it finally feel like home?
First off, I really love the fact that it's knitting yarn, like knitting slash yarn. Like both of those things. I know. And I appreciate that on a visceral level. Um, honestly, I want to say those two things clicked for me, like about the same time or years, five years at the time. All in the garter stitch phase. And I really wasn't enjoying it. I was kind of, you know, I was doing it just to have something to do. Following a friend of mine, Joy of fabulosity yarn.
She lives out West and she does hand spun, hand dyed yarns and she started, Oh God, her yarns are gorgeous. Like they're all done small batches. She does her own spinning. And she does dying. She has a lot of natural dying or at least she used to. And her yarns were gorgeous. And you know, they were small batch. So you, you know, couldn't do like a whole sweater or anything, but I was definitely not in a sweater stage at that point. And I don't know what it was.
I was looking at her yarns and something clicked and I'm like, I want to make stuff with that yarn. Like I had at that point I'd been buying mostly like big box yarn or borrowing yarn from like, what was my grandma's old stash and my grandmother knit like exclusively with, I think her favorite was Red Heart. But I saw these gorgeous like hand spun yarns and I had never considered, like I'd never gone to a local yarn store.
I never, I didn't, I don't think I even knew yarn stores existed like outside of like big box stores. But they were just so beautiful. And it was, it was like, I fell in love with the yarn and I fell in love with the idea of knitting that yarn. And I bought two skeins from her to make a garter stitch scarf with them. And they were just so nice. Like the feel of them was so nice and they knit up so beautifully.
They were like this gorgeous variegated like turquoise and tan to deep Navy, like it was just gorgeous yarns. And I think it kind of like made me realize that it wasn't even just about the finished product. Like it was about the process. I was really enjoying the process. I was enjoying buying yarn from somebody that I really liked as a person. I was supporting an artist and I was really enjoying the actual like experience of knitting with the yarn.
I agree with the, with it being, being on board with the process. And for all that I was knitting before I actually did it, I want to say that I knew that knitting was my jam like forever after I turned my first heel. Oh, that's a moment. Yeah. I remember that too. I remember when you turned your first heel because I was like, I can't do that. And you're like, no, you totally can. It's not hard. You can do it. It wasn't hard. But it looks so hard. It looks so daunting.
Yeah. And it looks intimidating, but I think that going through the process of seeing how it's done and doing it with my own hands and knowing that it was something that I could not only learn but do and do well. I was like, Oh, well, this is for me. I am good at this. I will continue to do this. I like it. Oh, nothing. I was just gonna say I could crochet dragons. Very good. That was the moment. That was the moment. Dragon mains. Dragons. I still have that one for Katarina. Yeah. It's so cute.
I put that dragon next to my mother-in-law's. She has these like brand of bears that are very nostalgic and old. And like, I'm like, no, these don't get touched. It's like those are those are those get passed down. Yeah. I feel like I operated for a long time, like blind. Like I thought I knew what I was doing and I didn't. That's everybody. You know what I mean? Like I was like, I was looking like I remember like I would make a project and it would be totally off. But I was like, it's done.
But then like I wouldn't feel I didn't feel like 100% about any of it. And then I think for me, it was when I when I felt like I finally like could call myself a knitter, like a good one was when I did the Orchard House shawl, because that one for me was technically very complicated. It was challenging. It was something new for you. Yeah. And I didn't think there was a lot to it. And I didn't think honestly that I was even going to do it right.
And then when it came out right and it came out good, I was like, oh my God, I think I know what I'm doing now. And that's probably after that. And that was actually probably maybe a year or closer. No, it was closer. I think that was right before I came back up. Yeah. Because at that point, it was interesting because I had done in North Carolina, I was like a part of different groups and stuff.
And I was working on stuff, but it was just it never I didn't feel like I was making something that was really good, like worthwhile, you know, because I would because there were people they have in the Raleigh area. Shout out to Raleigh. There are amazing fiber artists of all different kinds. They have there's just people down there that can do amazing things. And I would see the stuff that they were making. And I was like, wow, I don't even know how to do that. That's crazy.
And then like now I look back on that and I go like, wait, I know exactly how they did that. And like I could if I wanted to do that, I could do that now. Like I feel comfortable with it. And I think maybe it's that feeling of I think I can do any stitch as long as I can like see it once. Yeah. You know, that feeling. You practice it. Yeah. I feel like at that point, like when you get to the point where you're like there's no like hill that you can't conquer, given enough time, you could do it.
It's just a matter of like understanding the new technique or something, which is cool. That's actually really good advice for Shakes Without Coffee, who gave us a question saying knitting struggles and learning new things or techniques because she's trying brioche now and she's having a tough time with it. Brioche is like it's completely different muscle memory. Yeah. It is a it is knitting, but it's different.
You have this whole extra step that you need to do in between your knitting and it feels weird. You feel like you're making a mistake. But if you want some really good videos to see how the brioche stitch is is done and like done well and explained well, Steven West has really good videos for brioche. And that's where I learned how to do brioche. Yeah. I mean, that's a that's honestly his I would say his staple. He has it in almost every one of the shawls. There's some kind of brioche.
He does use it pretty often. Just keep looking at it and you will get it. It's just he got a train. No, that is true. That is true. Like once you see what it's doing, I find that it's a lot easier to implement it. And I'm a visual learner and definitely like look at a video. Don't look at like pictures trying to show you. Oh, God, no. I don't know why, but the pictures never make sense to me. Same. It's like reading an Ikea instruction guide. I'm like, I have no idea what's going on.
I need to physically see it move. Mom of the devil says, what is your most chaotic? I will never knit again project. And why do you also kind of love it? That's an interesting question. That actually is a really interesting question. Shalawin. Yeah, that's fair. Yeah, that's legit. Honestly, I feel like I wouldn't have have as much of a hate relationship with it if I hadn't have had to pull back that entire lace section. That section was tough. But and I had to do it twice.
But it is it was a very fun pattern. I enjoyed doing it. Like it had very cool stitches and a cool construction. Like and like I said, everything was different. But a couple of sections were very long. And by the time I was done, I was like, yeah, I'm good with those. Good. The brand wind shawl that I did the blue one. Is that the one you had to over die? It's the one that I over died. Yeah. It's a beautiful shawl. I love it.
But it was such an involved pattern that I don't think that I would have the patience or the mental stamina to go back and want to do it again. I love how it came out. It's beautiful. It's a beautiful pattern. And it's a joy to have in my collection. But I don't think that I would want to do it again. The one and done. I want to shout out to my Raleigh people again, because back in 2019 into 2020, as the pandemic was happening. So down in Raleigh, they have Carolina Fiber Fest.
And they usually do some kind of knit along so that you can get this pin at the festival if you do it in time for the festival. You just show your finished project and then you get a pin. Does it have to be finished and blocked? Yeah. Like finish finished. So that's rough. No sleeve on the way up. So I was sitting there and they had the option. The knitted option was called the Tiger Owl Cowl. And I think I felt the shutter from every single person in Raleigh that just heard me say that.
So the reason why there's a shudder with it, it's actually really cool looking. It looks like a tiger. It's supposed to look like a tiger on one side and an owl on another. Oh, that is cool. I think I've seen that before. Yeah, it's pretty. It's several years old at this point. That is neat. So here's the fun part. It's a terrible pattern. It is horrible. It's horrendous, horrendous. It looks so cool, though. The whole time.
I remember our knit group was like we'd meet on the weekend and there was like 20 plus people there and everyone would be lamenting about how terrible this pattern was. It was just that they had essentially a there was like a form of a noop, but it wasn't a noop for the eyes. And it was annoying as heck. It was like you had. So now I remember it. There was like four yarn overs to make the eyes. And then you had to like pearl into them, into those yarn overs on the next row.
And the problem was, is everybody kept dropping their yarn over. So you would just see people like ripping it out. Like, I already screwed up. I got to go back to. Anyways, so I did that with an angry, angry, angry fury. And then the pandemic hit and I lost. So we couldn't go to the fiber fest because the fiber fest was in March of 2020. So they canceled it. And then they were like, OK, well, if you finished it, you could like send us a picture. And we'll send you a pin.
And everyone was like, we could have just all worked on the same one and taken it and turned it in. But at the same time, I actually I think I ended up giving it to my goddaughter because I just couldn't like. You can't even stomach it anymore. I didn't even want it in my. I was like, I was like here. But I do as you saw it, it is a really cool looking cowl.
But like it was just every time I looked at it, I just remember sitting there like in my house quarantining from the pandemic and just angrily like texting back all of my friends in a group chat like this stupid cowl thing. And that's all the time we have for this week for additional content and opportunities to connect with the cast. Be sure to check out our website at PardonMyStash.com and remember to tune in next week for more tips, knits and wits at Pardon My Stash.