011: Hoppin’ for Yarn
Released July 2, 2019
In this episode, Anne has made some progress with the Master Hand Knitter Program, took part in the I-91 Shop Hop, reviews Tatamy DK by Kraemer Yarns and the Spring Treasure Bag pattern from their Festival Wear collection, shares more about Harriet’s Hat and Headband, and provides you some music to knit by.
Winner-winner!
Congratulations to KnittingQuilter on Ravelry for winning the episode 10 giveaway! KnittingQuilter won by sharing some summer plans on the Ravelry group.
There has been a stealthy giveaway going on on the Ravelry group. If the winner for the episode is a member of the Ravelry group, then members of the group can guess who won in an attempt to win a continually growing prize that comes from my stash. So far, it’s happened three times and there has yet to be a winner. But this time, Femminista correctly guessed that KnittingQuilter won the giveaway. Congratulations!
If you haven’t joined the Ravelry group yet, hop over and join so you will know when the next bonus giveaway occurs!
Progress on the Master Hand Knitter Program
Anne. Knit. Block. Three. (Cue raucous applaus!)
But block 2 wasn’t blocked yet when it came time to answer the questions on swatches 1-3. (Cue screeching brakes sound effect.)
I-91 Shop Hop
The I-91 Shop Hop takes place from the Thursday-Sunday of the last week of June. This year, eleven yarn shops along the Interstate 91 highway from New Haven, CT, to Putney, VT, participated.
For a $5 fee, hoppers receive a shopping bag and a punch card. When they visit each store in the hop, they receive a free pattern, a wooden stitch marker, and a stamp on the card. Hoppers leave their fully-stamped cards at the last store they visit, and the owners meet on the Monday after the hop ends to pick a winner.
It’s a great excuse to get out and visit yarn shops you don’t usually see. Each store has a daily door prize as well, and Anne was lucky enough to win the day 2 prize from Knit New Haven, a truly lovely little shop not far from Yale campus with a lovely selection of yarns, including many she didn’t see in other shops along the hop.
Harriet’s Hat and Headband
Anne finished her hat well ahead of the deadline for the knit-along hosted by the Minnesota Knitter’s Guild. (Click through to see some truly lovely alternative color combinations by the participants!)
Anne finished her Harriet’s Hat on a fine summer morning and then promptly stored it away for winter!
And good thing, too, because Harriet has released the headband pattern! The headband is reversible. You knit it as a tube and halfway along you work a purl row. When you’re done, you fold it along the purl row and connect the cast on and bind off edges. So, all your floats are hidden, and you can decide which side of the headband you want to wear on any given day.
One ball of each color is enough to knit the hat twice, but you will need an extra ball of the royal blue and cream shades if you want to knit the hat and the headband. There are additional patterns forthcoming for other cold-weather accessories. Each pattern costs £4 and can be purchased online from the MRI Maakers. If you are a retailer, you can purchase 25 copies of the pattern at a time to sell in your online or brick-and-mortar shop.
All of the proceeds from the patterns go toward supporting the Shetland MRI Scanner Appeal in their goal of raising £1.65mil to acquire an MRI scanner for Shetland and save patients the 12-hour ferry ride to Aberdeen when they are ill and worried. If you need yarn, The Woolly Thistle is selling kits at a discount for a limited time and donating the proceeds to the cause. If you happen to find yourself in Shetland, Jamieson and Smith is offering the kits for sale in their shop in Lerwick, also for a limited time, with the proceeds going to the cause as well.
There is a documentary crew who is hoping to get footage of people around the world working on the hat or headband. There are more details about this in the episode and at the MRI Maakers blog.
Yarn Review: Kraemer Yarn’s Tatamy DK
Kraemer Yarns was kind enough to send Anne two balls of their Tatamy Tweed DK, a lovely cotton and acrylic blend that is machine washable and dryable. Their Festival Wear pattern line is full of summery projects for knitters and crocheters! Anne knit the Summer Treasure Bag to give the yarn a test drive and was happy with both the pattern and the yarn! A complete review is available in the episode!
If you knit the Summer Treasure Bag and need some guidance on how to do a proper twisted cord, check out this video:
Giveaway
The giveaway for episode 11 is a collection of items purchased by Anne on the I-91 Shop Hop for one lucky listener. They are:
A hank of Shibui Knits Maai in Ivory, bought from Village Wool in Glastonbury, CT.
A ball of Bamboo Pop in Grape Garden by Universal Yarn, bought from Ewe and You Fiber Arts in Windsor, CT.
A hank of Classic Elite Yarn’s Fresco in a rich brown color, purchased at Marji’s Yarncrafts in Granby, CT.
A Love + Leche Anywhere Balm mini lotion in citrus and rose bought from Knit New Haven in
New Haven, CT.
A ball of Daletta by Dalegarn in an ivory color, bought from the Yarn Barn in Woodbridge, CT.
A mini-skein of fuschia yarn that I bought from Country Yarns in Wallingford, CT, but it’s unlabeled because it’s a mini skein. Sorry!
A ball of Cascade Yarns Cherub DK in a coral pink from Webs in Northampton, MA.
A ball of Kid Gloss by Plymouth Yarn at Northampton Wools in Northampton, MA.
From Sheep and Shawl in South Deerfield, MA, there is a sheep-themed note card that you can send to a fiber-loving friend.
From HandKnits in Brattleboro, VT, there is a mini skein of Mad Tosh Merino Lite in the Fate colorway.
And from the last stop, in Putney, VT, at the Green Mountain Spinnery, there is a wooden, sheep-shaped needle gauge.
And you know Anne will throw in a set of stitch markers, too!
The episode 11 giveaway retails at over $80!
This giveaway is only open to people with a mailing address in the USA. To enter, visit @IThoughtIKnewHow on Instagram and find the GIVEAWAY post. Like the post and comment on it. Tag as many people as you want, one per comment. Share it in your feed or stories, but be sure to tag @IThoughtIKnewHow so Anne sees it! If you don’t have an Instagram account or you’d like one more entry, send an email to anne at ithoughtiknewhow dot com (typed as a proper email address) with Shop Hop in the subject line. Enter by July 12 at 8 pm EDT.
The winner will be chosen with a random number generated by Siri on July 12, 2019 and announced in Episode 12 of the podcast on July 16, 2019.
International listeners: be sure to listen to Episode 12. That giveaway will be open to listeners worldwide!
Featured Music
We had a summer theme today, with “Sunset,” by Bobby Cole, and “Lost at Sea,” by Graeme Cornies.
If you are a musician who would like a song featured on the program, or if you have comments or feedback, please contact the show at anne@familypodcasts.com.
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