Two Ewes Fiber Adventures

An unedited episode full of knitting, dyeing, spinning, weaving, and future escapades! Enjoy! Click here to visit the Two Ewes Fiber Adventures shop where you can support the show and get beautifully sheepy yarn at the same time.

Projects

Kelly is almost done with the body of the linen Summer Fjord. The pattern has a drop shoulder and no sleeves. She is thinking about picking up stitches and adding a sleeve.

She has also been working on charity hats. One hat, Molly, has been finished. It's a simple textured stitch background with one large cable going up the hat. The second hat is her own pattern started flat and then joined in the round after doing a button tab brim. Both hats are made from leftovers in the stash.

Weaving off a cotton dishtowel warp that's been on table loom for almost 10 years.

Marsha has made good progress on her Recoleta by Joji Locatelli and has starting the waist shaping.

Marsha has been sidetracked knitting by her new obsession: combo spinning. She did not have any dyed braids but had 24 ounces of roving in her stash that she dyed. She then divided the roving equally by color and put in bags. Each bag is filling a bobbin with a bit of fiber left over. Very interesting project. So interesting, that not much is getting done around the house!

Advent-ewes

The Two Ewes are planning a Winter Weave Along!

It will be a 6 month learning adventure with weaving. It starts on October 1 and will go through March 31. It will include weaving instruction for beginners. Weaving information will start at the beginning so don't worry if you are new to the craft. Marsha is a beginner so she will be learning along, too. Handouts in pdf form will be delivered through the podcast feed to all the podcast subscribers. (If you aren't already subscribed there are links to subscribe on the sidebar of the shownotes. Or use your favorite podcatcher app.) The Ewes are also planning some short video tutorial. There will be a project discussion thread with weaving help and community.

Any kind of loom will work, rigid heddle, floor, table, potholder loom, cardboard loom, loom made with wallboard and nail, etc. An FO thread will be available later in the year and there will be a giveaway at the end.

There is also a Single Shot project along! Quick and satisfying like a single shot. This is for that small project around 200 yards or less. The perfect fun and done project for a palette cleanser. Knit or crochet something quick and satisfying. Prize thread in Ravelry group. starts now ends Nov 1.

Dyeing

While Marsha dyed roving, Kelly dyed Shetland yarn for a project and put some extra in the shop. Check it out at twoewesfiberadventures.com!

Here is a link the article about natural dyeing in Mexico from the 9/19/17 issue of The New York Times.

Future Escapades

Kelly will be going to Lambtown in Dixon, CA October 7-8.

Marsha will be traveling to Scotland for the Edinburgh Yarn Festival in March 2018. She is looking forward to meeting any UK listeners who will be going, too.

And of course, the Two Ewes will be at Stitches West in Santa Clara, CA in late February.

Advent-ewes in teaching kids to knit, updates on finished projects (Kelly has two very exciting finished projects!), the Monterey County Fair Wool Auction, a visit to a mill, and some yarn shops in Washington.

Kelly attended the Monterey Wool Auction and spun all week at the County Fair. Such fun!

There were also some finished projects. Kelly finished the Octopus! The pattern is so lifelike you have to check it out. It is Opus the Octopus by Cate Carter-Evans. Kelly's version is named Orson. Also finished is the very interesting Wolkig cowl. It was a perfect pairing of yarn and pattern, with the ripples in the fabric enhancing the shine of the yarn.

One finished project was done by Kelly's husband, but is no less exciting: toilet installation. Now all toilets in the house are in working condition (with the 4th purple one still disconnected and in need of retrofitting).

Still on the Kelly's needles in active status is the Summer Fjord tee in Sincere Sheep Linen.

Marsha finished her Twice Born shawl by Magdalena Lorentz and has made good progress on the Among the Shadows shaw by Kelen Kindersley. She also discusses the challenges of starting the sweater Recoleto by Joji Locatelli using worsted weight yarn from Neighborhood Fiber Company.

Marsha visited two yarn shops and a mill on Whidbey Island, Washington.

Kitty Purls in Langley, Washington

Whidbey Isle Yarns and Gifts in Coupville, Washington

Abundant Earth Fiber Mill in Clinton, Washington

Marsha also discusses the fun day she had teaching Sarah, Aaliyah, and Crystal to knit.

A little knitting, a lot of knitting planning, and details about the scrumptious yarn and fiber in the Two Ewes Fiber Adventures shop.

Kelly has taken a break from the Summer Fjord tee by Trin-Annelie She had made great progress, but then found a new fun project. Wolkig is a really interesting and EASY cowl by Martina Behm. It's a perfect pairing yarn and pattern. The yarn is a super shiny yak/silk blend handspun.

Marsha is continuing to work on her two shawls, Twice Born by Magdalena Lorentz and Among the Shadows by Kelene Kinnersly. Meanwhile, she has swatched for three different sweaters so there will be a new project on the needles soon.

The Two Ewes talk about the process of having yarn made from their fleeces and they describe each of the yarns that is available in the shop. There are three different gray yarns, a Merino, a Romney, and a Shetland. All are available in gray and also in beautifully overdyed colors.

There are two white yarns that are available in hand-dyed skeins, a soft, fluffy, and textured rambouillet is available in a worsted weight. A more rare variety, a Border Leicester/Corriedale cross, is available in about a sport weight.

The rambouillet wool is also available in carded batts. The batts are a blend of the wool, mohair, and silk noil.

In appreciation for Two Ewes listeners, one lucky listener was selected to win an item from the shop.

More sweater knitting for the end of summer. Two kinds of linen and a cotton/llama blend--we're trying all the fibers! We also talk about organizing strategies for the transition into the school year.

Marsha has started a new shawl with her Stonehedge Crazy! The yarn is fabulous.The shawl is the Among the Shadows and she is making it for the second time.

Marsha has also finished her sweater using the pattern 221 Summer Cardigan by Diane Soucy. And since she has finished one sweater, she is ready to cast on another using the linen that she has been swatching. After swatching the linen biased so she is looking for a pattern that will mitigate the tendency to bias.

Kelly has finished very little. One Mother Bear and one swatch of handspun are all she has to show for two weeks. The swatch will be submitted along with her county fair entries. It is a precursor to the Orca Run sweater that she has planned once the fair is over in September.

She has started a new linen tee since the last episode. She is making the Summer Fjord and the construction is really interesting.

The Two Ewes have a new website with a shop! The blog and shownotes will be on the new site as well as a shop with yarns and fibers from their fiber adventures. More details in the next episode! Join in our adventures with new producers and mills. Support the podcast and get something in return!

The Two Ewes also talk organization. Kelly celebrates New Year when school starts in the fall and gets structure and organization back into her life. Calendars and steno pads are her main supplies for organization.

Want to get the podcast automatically? Subscribe on Apple Podcast, Stitcher, Google Play Music, or even YouTube. Episodes will automatically load to your device. Episodes are also announced on the 1hundredprojects Instagram feed and in the Two Ewes Ravelry Group.

Planning and swatching for linen sweaters, a round-up of Tour de Fleece spinning, and our listener appreciation drawing winners are the main topics of this episode.

Kelly's Projects

Kelly's Tour de Fleece was successful and she will be entering a skein of Santa Cruz Island yarn in the Monterey County Wool Show. She also made progress on two different weights of California Variegated Mutant yarn and now has a sweater quantity (or close) of each.

Her other finished projects for this episode are bears for the Mother Bear Project. She has crocheted 4 bears and knitted 1 bear.

Marsha's Projects

Marsha has made good progress on her Summer Cardigan and her goal is to finish it by next episode.

She continues progress on her Twice Born Shawl and is enjoying the knitting.

As part of the Tour de Fleece Marsha tried to spin every day. She didn't finish spinning the Targhee roving but made good progress.

Marsha swatched the Done Roving Yarns DK Sweater Pack with #4, #5, #6 needles. Marsha wanted to make the cardigan called Cloud Cover, but thinks the yarn may too springy for the cardigan that needs a yarn that drapes. More planning is necessary!

Linen Sweater Swatching

The Two Ewes are both swatching for linen sweaters. Marsha is using Fibra Natura Flax yarn in Tarragon. Kelly is using a couple of truly golden skeins of Sincere Sheep Linen lace weight yarn that is no longer available.

While swatching, both found that the linen stitches don't make a very nice fabric. Once washed, the stitches relax and are nicely shaped, even at the larger gauge. The fabric also feels much better after being machine washed and dried. The swatches originally had the feel of a kitchen scrubby! Kelly also found shrinkage with her swatch so will expect her sweater to appear too large during the knitting process. These swatches will be an important reminder during the sweater knitting process.

Upcoming Events

Want to see some wool judging? Mark your calendar for Saturday, August 12. The Monterey County Wool Show judging will be held at the Monterey County Fairgrounds starting at 9 am. If you are attending and want more information, contact us at twoewes@twoewesfiberadventures.com

If you see a fleece you want to buy, the wool auction will be held during the fair on September 4, 2017.

Subscribers Don't Miss an Episode!

Want to get the podcast automatically? Subscribe on Apple Podcast, Stitcher, Google Play Music, or even YouTube. Episodes are also announced on the 1hundredprojects Instagram feed and in the Two Ewes Ravelry Group.

Kelly and Marsha talk spinning! Plus they give updates on current projects and news about upcoming events.

Marsha doesn't have any finished projects to report but has made steady progress on her Twice Born shawl and Summer Cardigan.

Marsha had a fun day with lunch and a visit to All Wound up in Edmonds, Washington with "laterknitter" and "jchant". Look how happy we are to be together surrounded by gorgeous yarn!

Marsha had a fun day with lunch and a visit to All Wound up in Edmonds, Washington with "laterknitter" and "jchant". Look how happy we are to be together surrounded by gorgeous yarn!

Kelly has finally finished the Playground Shawl! This pattern caused her a lot of trouble, not because it is difficult, but because of her combination of slippery yarn and slippery needles. The only other active project is the Striped CoBaSi Socks.

Oh wait! There's an octopus that needs to be stuffed and seamed up.

Marsha has been spinning every day as time allows. Here is a link to to her Tour de Fleece project page for more photos.

Kelly has also committed to spinning every day, along with a few other spinning related goals. Her Tour de Fleece 2017 page has a list of the goals and photos of the spinning projects. The first finished spinning of the tour is the Loop Bump that she plied with silk thread from the Black Sheep Gathering.

Kelly will be presenting to the Santa Cruz Knitting Guild for their July program. The title of the presentation is How Ply Structure Affects Knitting. Presentation will be July 20, 10:15-12:15 at the Vintage Faith Church in Santa Cruz.

Want to see some wool judging? Mark your calendar for Saturday, August 12 at 9 am. This is the date of the fleece judging for the Monterey County Wool Show. The show is in conjunction with the Monterey County Fair and the auction is held on the last day of the fair which is Labor Day in September. But the fleeces are judged ahead of time and the Ann's Web Guild holds a potluck lunch for attendees of the judging. If you are attending and want more information, contact us at twoewes@twoewesfiberadventures.com

Kelly had an aspiring beekeeper come over to watch her recent bee inspection. Four of the five colonies are doing well. They were able to see a couple queens and they had the chance to eat honey comb right out of the hive.

It's a chat thread on our Ravelry group that has been really fun. Come join the conversation. And if you're not a member of our Ravelry group, please join. Marsha and Kelly will be doing a member appreciation giveaway during our next episode.

The Black Sheep Gathering 2017 was so wonderful the Two Ewes can't stop talking about it! The wool judge was Judith MacKenzie so of course it was such a learning experience. There are also a few finished knits, some new fiber, yarn, and, you guessed it, FLEECE!

Kelly arrived in Eugene after a long hot drive through the northern California heatwave. Marsha and Kim came down from Seattle on the train. They met and prepared for the opening of the show the next day. Marsha and Kelly spent Saturday in the fleece judging, soaking up all the information that Judith MacKenzie so generously shared with the audience.

On Saturday, there was a side trip to two Eugene yarn shops. Cozy is a newly opened shop in the old downtown area near the train station. Youthful and spacious, this shop really showed off the many indie-dyed striped and speckled yarns in its stock. It also had a good stock of Flax by Fibra Natura and Marsha snagged some for a linen tee. Then on to Soft Horizons Fibre. This shop is in an old house filled with yarn. The attraction for the Two Ewes and their friend Kim was the Stone Hedge Fiber Crazy yarn. It has the largest selection of this yarn of any yarn shop in the northwest.

Back at the fleece barn, Kelly found a gem of a fleece had gone unsold so she bought it. She also found some interesting breed blends at the Homestead Hobbyist booth. Both Marsha and Kelly found plying silk on wood bobbins and Marsha also found some batts that she loved.

At the Jorstadt Creek booth, they both bought cashmere laceweight in support of The Great Steppe Fiber Project. Maddy from Jorstadt is going to Mongolia to teach spinning and help to provide women there with the skills to have a fiber company. To help pay for the trip and learn more, visit the gofundme page.

As for the knitting, Marsha made good progress on her Twice Born shawl by Magdalena Lorentz. Friends helped her determine that the Easy Folded Poncho is finished and doesn't need the cowl neck.

Kelly worked on an OLD project, her Playground Shawl, a pattern by Justyna Lorkowska. Started in August 2015, this shawl has been in hibernation since early last spring. Now it is back out and on its way to being finished.

Are you old enough to remember vacation slides? Did you ever go to someone's house for dinner and see their vacation slides? If so, you know exactly what you're in for in this episode. If not, don't worry, once you've listened you'll understand exactly what the experience was like!

Marsha and Kelly were both on vacation. So, in addition to sharing their current projects, they share some information about their vacations. Kelly was in in the Texarkana area, visiting cemeteries in Red Lick, Texas and Lockesburg, Arkansas to see Robert's family graves. She also visited Civil War sites and stayed in an antebellum home in Vicksburg, MS. Marsha spent some time on the Washington coast with her brother and Enzo.

To see Kelly's vacation photos, visit the show notes blog for episode 69.

This episode is an experiment in time travel. Because Kelly's Dead Relatives Tour conflicted with the recording schedule, the Two Ewes prerecorded this episode.

Marsha shares her experiences of the shops she visited on the Puget Sound LYS Tour.

Mad Cow Yarns in Lake Forest Park

Wild Fibers in Mount Vernon

Great Yarns in Everett

Pinch Knitter Yarns in Stanwood

All Wound Up in Edmonds.

The two patterns Marsha bought are a poncho called Stone Point by Courtney Kelly and a cardigan called Harebell by Amy Christophers.

She bought a skein of Madelinetosh Twist Light call Void to pair with her Apple Fiber Studio MacIntosh in the color way Moss on a Rock. She also purchased a giant, luscious skein of Done Roving Yarns DK Frolicking Feet Sweater pack. The skein is 1500 yards and weights over two pounds!

You'll all hear more about Kelly's Dead Relatives Tour in Episode 69. Stay tuned!

It's been a wild week, but some real knitting, a little fantasy knitting, and lots of travel-knitting planning are all in this episode.

Kelly finished the Havannah. This pattern by Heidimarie Kaiser is a great casual tee. Put in the beads that are called for in the pattern, or replace them with yarn overs for a more lacy style.

Marsha is on track to finish the Easy Folded Poncho in time to wear it for Black Sheep Gathering at the end of June. It is knit in Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool that she found at the Goodwill.

She also finished the Meret Beret but this one might be frogged because the yarn and pattern don't seem to be a good match.

The two pairs of socks that have been discussed in past episodes will also need to be frogged and restarted. Neither the striped socks out of CoBaSi, nor the short socks on 9-inch circulars actually fit. Oh well. It's not sock failure, its a learning experience!

Kelly's fantasy knitting and trip planning leads to a trip through her Ravelry queue. Most likely to be cast on are the Lavender Honey tee from an interesting cotton yarn in red and gray and a Mohair Bias Loop from two Habu yarns in red and eggplant.

She is also thinking about the Huntertwasser Neptunia shawl, the Cancun Boxy Lace Top, the Icarus tank, the Sea Glass cardigan, and the crocheted Camelia Chameleon.

This episode is all about the knitting projects and the plans. Kelly continues to work on two summer sweaters and has cast on a couple new small projects. Marsha finished a small project while keeping up progress on her stockinette rectangle!

The Easy Folded Poncho project continues, but meanwhile Marsha started an finished the Greenery Beret by Melissa LaBarre. She is having difficulty getting project pictures without someone to take photos of her during the daylight hours. She is planning the next sweater and has been swatching, but so far hasn't made a decision.

A conference and a weekend with Dad means that Kelly has made good progress on both Edie and the Havannah tee shirts. Meanwhile, she started a pair of socks with the turquoise and orange CoBaSi yarn that came from Maker's Mercantile. The stripes have a small slip stitch detail and the colors are fabulous together.

While recording, Kelly cast on another one of the In Threes baby sweaters using the last of her Colorando yarn.

Kelly visited Yarnitudes in Sebastopol when she picked up the bee packages. The yarn shop was conveniently just down the street from Bee Kind. While there she picked up cotton blend yarns for more baby sweaters.

Despite multiple signs saying "Yarn," a customer came in and wanted to know where the antiques were. Trudy, the proprietress, said it happens all the time!

Marsha had another call from the GoodWill and she left the shop with Madeleine Tosh and some Buffalo Wool. The Tosh was what she used for the hat and she is considering some options with the Buffalo Wool. It is a Canadian unspun wool yarn used for Cowichan-style sweaters.

Marsha and Kelly will be at the Black Sheep Gathering June 23-25, and there will be a Two Ewes meet-up on Saturday, June 24. No trailer this year, but we will definitely have a get-together with our fellow fiber adventurers. More details in the Ravelry Group and on the podcast as the event gets closer.

This bonus episode is all about bees. Our regular knitting, spinning, and fiber adventures episode will be published in Episode 66 on the weekend of May 12/13.

Kelly picked up two packages of treatment free bees to add to her apiary. They rode home in the car and were successfully installed the same day. She is so happy with the improvement of her beekeeping skills since 2015. Click here for video of the package installation.

The next day the existing hive that had been cut out of a drain pipe and had been progressing well swarmed. She saw the swarm from start to finish and describes the incredible experience. Click here for video of the swarm experience.

These are my first attempts to create YouTube videos. We won't be changing the podcast to video, but it was fun to document the experience for a YouTube supplement.

The Ewes have been busy as bees outside of knitting, but still there's a finished top, one almost finished, some dyeing, and a couple things on the needles. A bee shawl is on the maybe list, and Kelly is headed to pick up some real bees. Join us for our adventures.

Marsha has finished her Edie tee! The Edie pattern is by Isabel Kramer and the yarn she used is Hempathy. This is her second Edie in Hempathy so no swatching needed. Now that's incentive to repeat a project! She doesn't yet have a finished project photo and that leads to a discussion of project pages and the Finished Object Radar feature of Ravelry. While talking about the Finished Object Radar on Ravelry, Marsha saw the Hollywood Flare Tunic by Vera Sanen and was intrigued.

Kelly is almost finished with her Edie. This is also her second time with the project, but with a different yarn. The yarn is Linen Concerto, a variegated linen, rayon, cotton blend.

Kelly's other project, Havannah by Heidimarie Kaiser, is making slow progress, but progress nonetheless.

Marsha has been making progress on the Easy Folded Poncho and swatching for some sweaters. Meanwhile, Kelly is intrigued by two crochet shawls. Archangel by Katya Novikova is a pretty lace shawl with a Victorian feel. Hotel of Bees by Christina Hadderingh is a striped shawl with color and texture changes related to bees. The pattern was inspired by the book All the Light We Cannot See.

This weekend Kelly is headed to pick up two packages of bees at BeeKind in Sebastopol, California. Each package holds about 10,000 bees who will be installed into two empty hives. During the discussion she mentions Les Crowder, an interesting and informative beekeeper who is a proponent of treatment free beekeeping.

A fabulous yarny time at the retreat and then a trip to a fiber mill and more time playing with newly milled yarn and dye pots. The Two Ewes are on a Spring Break adventure!

Kelly is making great progress on the Edie tee-shirt that she is making with Linen Concerto yarn she bought at Stitches West. She is also moving along on the Havannah tee that she is making with Dragon Fly Fibers Rustic Silk Dance yarn.

Marsha brought a shawl and her Edie tee as retreat and vacation knitting.

The shawl is Among the Shadows by Kelene Kinnersly. She is using a very recent purchase of Feederbrook Farm yarn that she got during her post Stitches trip to SF.

First there was the wonderful weekend at NoCKRs, the Northern California Knitters Retreat, held by the Yarniacs and 2 Knit Lit Chicks podcasts. Held at the St. Francis Retreat Center, it was a relaxing and fun time catching up with friends and meeting new friends. Lots of knitting and food and drink and laughing!

Then we visited Ranch of the Oaks to pick up Kelly's yarn order. On the way we had to stop at Yarns at the Adobe, the yarn shop across from the mission in San Luis Obispo.

Finally, we spent the last few days of the visit dyeing the yarn that had just been milled. So much fun!

I'm finished knitting except I still have to...Have you ever said that about a project? The Ewes have projects in various stages of completion, but many things OFF the needles! Just like our projects, this episode is finished, except for the shownotes! We may not have photos in the show notes this week, but take a look at our project pages!

Kelly's project page.

Marsha's project page.

We hope to be back on track with normal show notes by Episode 64. Thanks for listening!

Knitting projects get finished and then the ewes are off on and adventure to Stitches West. Wearing ponchos and taking names!

Marsha arrived on Wednesday and was able to hang out in the sun room finishing her NoCKRs shawl. It is Good Vibes by Nadia Cretin Lechen. Kelly finished her Om Shawl by Andrea Mowry and her Funky Grandpa by Maison Rilillie, and was able to wear both at Stitches West.

Yarn, patterns for punch needle rug hooking, knitting needles for lace, and more yarn all came home with the Ewes. We loved meeting fiber friends and getting to know listeners we hadn't met yet.

Then Marsha left to go to SF for the second half of her California adventure.

A completed poncho, a train adventure, a handspun sweater, and an amazing beekeeping experience are on this week's show.

Marsha finished her Rodeo Drive Poncho. Marsha is really happy with this pattern by Staci Perry. She has also worked on her Good Vibes shawl. Even the Pismo Beach socks (yarn from the yarn crawl in our very first podcast) got a little knitting during her adventurous train trip!

Kelly has finished 4 more Pussy Hats. She also finally got on the ball and knitted the button band the on Funky Grandpa Cardigan. This is a pattern by La Maison Rililie. The button band has an i-cord bind off and Kelly isn't sure whether it will lay flat or not. If, after blocking, it still isn't laying flat, she will need to experiment with needles that are either larger or smaller. She isn't sure which direction will solve the issue.

Kelly has also been working on her poncho and is past the halfway point! She is using Andrea Mowry's Om Shawl pattern.

Marsha had quite the train adventure trying to get to Spokane to visit friends. Hours of delay had her almost hysterical! On the positive side, it gave her plenty of time to finish her Rodeo Drive Poncho.

She had planned to visit a couple of Spokane yarn shops. One was closed while she was there. Another that she saw from the train, The Knitting Factory, turned out to be a music concert venue and nightclub. The third was a charm, Sew E-Z Too is a knitting and quilting shop and she was able to visit.

Marsha and Kelly will be at Stitches West on February 25-26. Come say hi to us if you see us. Also, we will be attending the meet-up organized by the Yarniacs and 2 Knit Lit Chicks. The meet-up is in the lobby bar area of the Hyatt (host hotel) and will start at around 1 pm. We can't wait!!!

Kelly had a great bee adventure last weekend. A small beehive was found in a drainage pipe where her husband works. The area is slated for some construction and the hive had to be removed so Kelly went in on Saturday to remove it and bring it home to her yard. The experience was AMAZING! She was able to cut down the combs and wedge them between rubber bands in frames that then went into her bee box. Overnight almost all the bees went into the box (because the queen and all their brood was in there). Next morning she closed them in and took them home. Such an interesting process! So far they seem to be doing very well. They are a small hive, but busy bringing in pollen.

Many of our listeners have commented on the topic of compost and would like to know more. So next episode we will discuss composting and maybe a little gardening along with the knitting. What else would you like to hear more about? Leave a comment in the shownotes, email us at twoewesdyeing@gmail.com, or come talk to us in the Two EwesRavelry Group. Meanwhile, here is a funny video about urban farmers like Marsha and me.

The Women's March website and the Indivisible Guide website are both mentioned in this episode. Marsha and Kelly both attended marches and they talk about the experience. So many knitters made so many Pussyhats!

The Ewes have also been thinking about 2017 goals, and the political realm, along with some personal challenges of the past year, have played a part in that thought process.

If you are a new listener, you might want to listen to a different episode first. This one is not typical of the podcast, but we thought it was an important discussion to share with you.

We review our 2016 achievements and have a Fibershed segment where our minds are blown by discovering that compost can help mitigate climate change.

Marsha is almost finished with her #PussyHatProject hat for the Women's March that will be held in Seattle. Other than that, she has been working exclusively on her Great Poncho Adventure project. She is making the Rodeo Drive poncho from Berocco Ultra Alpaca yarn. It is getting close to finished!

Kelly's Great Poncho Adventure is moving along after a mistake in the colorwork meant she had to rip back about 4 inches of work. It was painful, but worth the effort. She has adapted the Om Shawl to three colors and is working this out of three different gray yarns from Neighborhood Fiber Co.

Kelly has also been spinning. She finished plying two skeins of the endless 3-ply CVM. When combined with the bulky CVM singles she has spun, there is a total of 2.5 lbs (of the 6 lbs) that has been spun from this fiber. She also spun and plied some longwool fiber from deep in the stash (circa 2002?).

She finished 6 #PussyHatProject hats and sent them (along with 4 more of her Aunt's hats) to Washington DC for the Women's March on Washington. There are 3 more to finish for the San Francisco march that she will be attending.

Kelly was excited to share some work being done by Jeff Creque, the Marin Carbon Project and the Carbon Cycle Institute. She describes research done by Ryals, et al. in a paper entitled, "Impacts of organic matter amendments on carbon and nitrogen dynamics in grassland soils."

If you would like to hear more about Carbon Farming and other ideas presented at the Fibershed Wool Symposium, the videos are available on the Fibershed site. If you are interested in purchasing the Climate Beneficial Cloth or making a donation for application of a cubic yard of compost, click here for more information.

Marsha and Kelly will be at Stitches West on February 25 and 26. We will attend the meet-up organized by the Yarniacs and the 2 Knit Lit Chicks starting at about 1 pm on Saturday in the bar of the host hotel. We hope to see you there!

If you enjoy the podcast, be sure to subscribe and share it with your friends on Ravelry, facebook, Instagram, or elsewhere!

Seattle! The Two Ewes are together in the Emerald City. Knitting hats, hitting the yarn shops, and having a great start to 2017!

Kelly arrived on January 5 to a partly snowy Seattle. It was a quick, three-day trip, and they managed to see three yarn shops. Hear about the visit in this short episode with the ewes recording together.

Some highlights of the trip were the felted chair at Maker's Mercantile and additions to Kelly's linens and button stashes.

The lowlight of the trip was that Tolt Yarn and Wool was closed for inventory (with no notification on the website). Alas, we were disappointed.

But we perked right up by visiting Quintessential Knits only ten miles away. We also had the opportunity to visit Fiber Gallery one day while Enzo was getting groomed.

It was wonderful to start 2017 with a visit! Our next time together will be Stitches West on Saturday, February 25 for the podcast meet-up in the afternoon and Sunday, February 26 for the Marketplace. We hope to see you there!

In Episode 47 Kelly talked about handspun singles. In this episode she talks about plying handspun yarn and the properties of plied yarn for knitters who are buying commercial yarn.

She talks about

• what plying is and how it works,
• why spinners might ply yarn, and
• the number of plies and their effect on yarn.

She also gives tips for yarn buyers and tips for handspinners.

The pictures in the show notes show a skein of yarn, rather than a piece of plied yarn, but the three pictures illustrate how the individual fibers look in a plied yarn that is over-plied, balanced, and under-plied. Pretend each strand of yarn is a fiber in a plied yarn and you will see that in a balanced yarn, the fibers are parallel with the direction of the yarn.

Here is Kelly's project page for her Swirl Sweater.

Here is Marsha's project page for her Swirl Sweater.

Podcasting about percolators, ponchos, and Pendleton woolens. Plus, we have two giveaway winners!

Marsha is making good progress on the Rodeo Drive poncho by Staci Perry. She has been focused on this one project and is making good progress. This despite a cabling accident caused by "knitting while podcasting" two weeks ago.

Kelly is continuing with the Curious Case of the Crazy Stitch Cardigan by Michele DuNaier. She can't figure out why it seems to have two sides (since it is crocheted similar to the way garter stitch is knitted, doing the same thing on each side), but she thinks she now has it back on track.

Kelly has also been doing a small amount of spinning while sitting in the living room enjoying the Christmas tree.

Marsha visited the Pendleton Woolen Mill in Pendleton, Oregon. She tells us all about the history of the company and the tour she had of the facility.

The wool that Pendleton uses is scoured in Texas--probably at the same facility that scoured the wool for the fabric in the fabric CSA that Kelly has purchased. Here is a link to the scouring company and here is an article about the expansion of their scouring operation.

Marsha took lots of pictures of the Pendleton Woolen Mill and the milling process.

Marsha also discovered that the Beach Boys wore Pendleton shirts and called themselves the PendleTones. Marsha's brother Mark splurged and bought a Pendleton blanket.

Marsha was able to visit the mill because she was spending the weekend in Walla Walla, Washington, where she and Kelly attended Whitman College together. She and Kelly reminisce about some of the familiar places and their college days.

Two winners were drawn. One lucky winner will be getting a skein of Countess Ablaze yarn and a totebag that the Countess was kind enough to throw in with Kelly's order. The other will take home three skeins of Blacker Yarns from the Woolly Thistle Shop. These skeins were contributed by Claire of the Woolly Thistle and the New Hampshire Knits podcast.

Kelly and Marsha will be attending Stitches West! It starts on February 23, 2017 and that is also the deadline for the Great Poncho Adventure.

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A little knitting and crochet progress, and a lot of discussion about the complicated topic of consumption. Climate beneficial wool cloth, thrift store finds, supporting local farmers and small dyers, and (gasp!) knitting from stash for a year are all part of the conversation.

Marsha has many things in progress (remember when she was a monogamous knitter?) but has been working exclusively on her Rodeo Drive Poncho. She loves the Berocco Ultra Alpaca yarn and is enjoying the simple but elegant construction of the pattern by Staci Perry.

Kelly worked on socks while recording, but other than that the only other project has been some negative crochet. Ugh! Due to a mistake that she still needs to figure out, she did the second half of the back panel and the second front both inside out. The shell pattern is markedly different on these new pieces of the cardigan--until you turn them over and look at the back. But no one wants a sweater with two right fronts! Ripping out has occurred so the offending pieces can be redone. The sweater is her Curious Cobalt Cardigan, made using a Michele DuNaier pattern.

The closest Kelly has come to a Poncho Adventure is to wind one of her three skeins. Stay tuned--she hopes to have more poncho progress for next episode.

Kelly talks about her experience at the Fibershed Wool Symposium 2016. There is enough material for a regular segment on the podcast for quite a few more episodes.

The mission of Fibershed is to "develop regional fiber systems that build soil and protect the health of our biosphere." The Symposium followed a "soil to skin" framework and had panels of speakers from shepherds to clothing designers.

One of the current projects is the climate beneficial wool Fabric CSA. The wool is grown in CA, woven in CA by Huston Textile Co., and being offered for pre-sale. Kelly bought some and will be receiving it in April. She will have to do the wet finishing of the cloth since that part of the supply chain isn't available in the state. That makes her a "prosumer" of the cloth, participating in the production, as well as purchasing the product.

The project is one of three farm-to-fabric projects that Fibershed has completed in their work to identify supply chains for a local textile economy.

The conversation led the Two Ewes to a discussion about consumption, consumer culture, the "buy local" movement, and a group of San Francisco residents that several years ago decided to give up purchases (other than food and other necessities) for a year. The verdict? It's complicated!

At Fibershed Kelly found out about an interesting KAL that they are hosting. The pattern is Radiata by Emily Cunetto. It is designed to be knit in any gauge of yarn that is local to the knitter, in other words, from their fibershed.

Another event coming next weekend (Dec. 11, 2016) is a natural dyeing workshop using mycopigments from mycoflora. That's mushrooms! The teacher is Alissa Allen and it is being held in Santa Cruz, CA in conjunction with the Santa Cruz Mycoflora Foray.

Kelly's family got an additional dog on the day after Thanksgiving. Nash is a yellow lab whose owner died. He is 10 years old and is very well mannered. He is fitting into the household very well.

Marsha shopped for a rain jacket for Enzo so she could continue to take long walks with him in the Northwest rain.

New projects this time for both Marsha and Kelly. Also lots of poncho talk and information about The Great Poncho Adventure. The Ewes are making ponchos! There are also two yarn giveaways announced this episode.

For photos and to subscribe to the podcast, visit the shownotes on our blog.

Marsha has started her shawl with the NoCKRs yarns she got from Duren Dyeworks last year in commemoration of the retreat. The pattern is Good Vibes by Nadia Crétin-Léchenn.

She was ready to start her poncho with some Spirit Yarn, but decided that it was not the right yarn for the pattern. Instead she is going to find some yarn that is better suited. Late breaking news! Marsha got some yarn for the poncho! The pattern she is using is The Rodeo Drive Poncho by Staci Perry.

Kelly has made some progress on the crocheted Crazy Stitch Cardigan. It's a pattern by Michelle DuNaier. She has started on the shoulder and is almost ready to start the second side of the sweater.

She also had a project that was both started and finished since the last episode! She made two pair of Helmikuu Boot Toppers (by Sunshine Ravioli) while on a camping trip. The yarn was leftovers of Rowan Soft Tweed. Each topper took less than a skein, so about 75 yards per topper. It was great to use up these leftover skeins.

The Two Ewes have two giveaways this episode! Thanks to Claire from The Woolly Thistle, (and the New Hampshire Knits podcast) we have three skeins of Blacker Yarns to give away: Blacker Classic, Westcountry Tweed, and Blacker Swan. All are DK weight, 50 g balls of yarn. Go to the Ravelry group and answer the question in the Woolly Thistle Giveaway thread to be entered to win. Thank you, Claire for supporting the podcast with these three skeins to give away to listeners! Here are the skeins that will be given to one lucky winner!

The second giveaway is one of three GORGEOUS hand-dyed skeins Kelly bought from Countess Ablaze in England. Kelly told The Countess that she was going to use one of the skeins for a podcast prize, so she included a free tote bag in the order. So the lucky winner will win a skein of The Blue-Faced Baron fingering weight yarn in the color "This Ain't a Scene" and a black Countess Ablaze tote.

The Great Poncho Adventure has started! It's a poncho-a-long. Details are in the episode and in the Ravelry group. Make a poncho, a ruana, a buttoned wrap or a cloak. Start a new one or finish a work in progress. If you post on Instagram use #ponchoadventure

Frank's Spirit Yarn Afghan is finished and the Two Ewes are celebrating! Project planning has begun for Marsha's next blanket and Kelly is once again making progress on the handspun Funky Grandpa cardigan. Join us for a fun episode full of fiber adventures!

The epic blanket is finished! Marsha finished Frank's Spirit Yarn Afghan and it is fantastic! The pattern is Garter Squish by Stephen West although it was made to be bigger than the pattern. Finished measurements are 6'8" x 5'7" and it weighs 5 pounds, 8 ounces. This blanket contains the memories of her father Frank. It was made from yarn that she used to make him a sweater many years ago. It also contains the Spirit Yarn from destashes, the Goodwill, and yarns from friends (including our listener HockeyRachel). This blanket is filled with good karma!

During the podcast we had another live bind-off. Marsha finished another washcloth or dishcloth. This one was the Atomic Washcloth pattern and she edged it with crochet while we were talking.

Kelly is back to working on her Handspun Charlotte Cardigan. She is using the Funky Grandpa pattern and knitting with early handspun from a sheep named Charlotte. She is now working on the second sleeve and is almost done. Next is picking up the button band and selecting buttons from her button stash. Kelly talks about the joys of knitting with handspun and the importance of not waiting until your yarn is perfect or you have found the perfect pattern.

Kelly has also made progress on the blue crocheted cardigan that she is making. The Curious Case of the Crazy Stitch Cardigan by Michele DuNaier. The interesting construction is more curious than the stitch!

Kelly purchased yarn from The Woolly Thistle. St. Kilda Lace by Blacker Yarns is a blend of Soay and Boreray wool. Yarn from sheep she had never heard of was just too much of a temptation! For those interested in the two primitive breeds, here is a link:

Sheep of St. Kilda.

Soay and Boreray Sheep Society

Claire of New Hampshire Knits podcast and owner of The Woolly Thistle interviewed a US shepherd at Rhinebeck who has Soay sheep in her episode number 52.

While in the Woolly Thistle shop, she also found Manx and Hebridean yarns, both with mohair. They are sock yarns (a bit on the heavy side of fingering weight) and will probably be part of some argyle socks for Robert.

Next episode check in to hear about a giveaway of some other varieties of yarn provided by the Woolly Thistle for Two Ewes listeners!

Marsha had another call from the Goodwill. (No, not on her phone, she just has a "spidey sense" about these things!) It resulted in the purchase of 22 skeins of one type of yarn and several other skeins of a couple other brands. Plus, she found some cones of wool and a cone of cotton/linen that she sent to Kelly. Wow!

If you enjoy the podcast, share it with a fiber friend, or two! Send them to the website or share the podcast link with them! Help spread the word about the Two Ewes Fiber Adventures!

There is knitting in the show, but we spend the first 15 minutes in non-fiber chit chat. Does that tell you how we feel about our knitting right now? We are both in a project low right now with long term projects and projects in transition phases. Finishing these items and the excitement of new cast-ons will come in time, but for right now we battle the long project blues.

Projects

Marsha continues to work on the Stephen West Garter Squish afghan she is calling Frank's Spirit Yarn Afghan. She is working color twelve of fourteen and is ready to be done. It is hard to work on because it is getting so big and heavy. Definitely not portable! Marsha has been highly distracted by her new addiction...wash cloths! She as made WAHMingIt by Amber Perry, Spa Day Facecloth by Anne Mancine, Atomic Washcloth by Nanette Cormack, and is working on Ballband Washcloth by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne. * As I was writing the show notes I realized that I made the Atomic Washcloth completely wrong. The peach color should be stockinette and the blue garter stitch. Oh well. It's a design feature. :-)

Marsha is planning for her next project. She is looking at shawl patterns to use the Duren Dyeworks yarn she purchased at the NoCKR's retreat. Javala by Cailliau Berangere and Asunder by Lisa Mutch are under consideration. Marsha is also inspired the the poncho discussion and thinks the universe is sending her a message because she found eight skeins of Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in navy at the Goodwill. Two possible poncho patterns are Easy Folded Poncho by Churchmouse Yarns and Teas and Mesa by Yumiko Alexander.

Kelly has finished the knitting on the octopus and decided to wash and block before stuffing and sewing. Sewing will be a loooooooong project with eight tentacles longer than sleeves, plus the underbelly. The NoCKRs shawl came back out long enough for Kelly to make a mistake and then proceed for two more rows. Now it is back in the bag awaiting a little tinking. Ugh! She did successfully start a new pair of socks just for knitting during the recording. So now there are two pairs on the needles--both from yarns she bought this month at Lambtown. The green, yellow and orange pair are Invictus Yarns and the red, gray, and yellow pair are Duren Dyeworks.

"Advent-ewes"

Marsha wants to learn more about crochet. She loves Kelly's sweater Latticework Cardigan by Michelle DuNair. She also loves Irene Floral Lace Cardigan by Vicky Chan and Cairo Jacket by Doris Chan. There is an afghan call Modern Blanket of Flowers that is gorgeous, plus an intriguing shawl by Esther Sandorf called Stash Buster Blarf.

Kelly will be attending the Fibershed 2016 Wool and Fine Fiber Symposium on November 19. The event has an interesting mix of talks-from fiber producers at one end of the fiber pipeline, to artisans and retailers on the other.

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Knitting a blanket, an octopus, and some wash cloths have been keeping the Two Ewes in stitches these days. Fleeces, yarn, and fiber friends were in abundance at Lambtown last weekend. In addition, two public pledges will keep the Two Ewes accountable for some future projects! For photos to go with the links, see our blog!

Marsha continues to work steadily on her Frank's Spirit Yarn Afghan but found she needed to take a break from it. She discovered washcloths!! She has made two from the pattern All Washed Up by Jill Arnusch and is almost done with Diagonal Knit Dishcloth by Jana Trent. Both are free patterns.

All octopus, all the time! Kelly has more than half of the tentacles finished and has been working mostly on this project.

She did finally get back to the Mesa poncho by Yumiko Alexander so she could finish it in time for her sister's birthday. Finding buttons from the stash will finish it up!

There has also been some casting on/hooking on! The Curious Case crochet sweater by Michelle DuNair and a new pair of striping socks. were both started during the weekend away. The yarn for the socks is from Invictus Yarns and was purchased at Lambtown.

Lambtown in Dixon, California was great fun! Quite a few Northern California fiber friends were also attending and Kelly talks about the fun they had, including watching the fleece judging and selecting fleeces. The judge for the day was Maria Rooney, a Romney breeder at Silver Creek Lambscapes in Oregon.

Kelly bought a skein of green and yellow striping yarn from Invictus Yarns, a skein of red, yellow and gray striping sock yarn and a skein of blue gray to finish the NoCKRs Shawl from Duren Dyeworks. She also bought a smaller gauge punch needle for punch needle rug hooking from Wooly Walkers. This will join some other equipment and supplies she got at Stitches 2015 and Kelly has publicly pledged to start a punch needle rug project before the end of November.

They are taking a lot of sugar water since they are a small foraging force and the food sources at this time of year are limited. Kelly hoped to be able to take video of the weekend inspection, but the sun was too hot and the phone camera kept shutting off. Maybe next time!

Marsha talked about how nice it would be to have video of her training to help her see mistakes more easily. Marsha and Enzo are learning a lot in their training classes. Marsha is learning that she needs to practice more between classes! She has also publicly pledged to do so!

Beautiful Autumn days, ongoing projects, an Enzo the Poodle update, and some of our listeners' knitting are the topics of this episode. Marsha is coming to you from Seattle, as usual. Kelly is coming to you from a tin can somewhere on the Central Coast of California. :-) She forgot to plug in her microphone and was recorded through the not-so-good computer microphone. Sorry for this rookie podcasting error!

Shortly after the last episode Kelly started to work on Opus the Octopus. He was the perfect project for her conference knitting. One sleeve of the Handspun Funky Grandpa was finished so that the needles could be re-purposed for the octopus, but that was the only other project she touched in the last two weeks.

Marsha continues to work on Frank's Spirit Yarn Afghan and has passed the halfway point. She'll be starting the ninth color of thirteen. She gives her hands a break by working on her Havasu Falls Shawl.

The Ewes share information about listeners' projects (including a beautiful shawl, a great poncho, a sweater, sock yarn scrap pajama pants, a knit dress and others) and they talk about future knitting plans. Kelly plans a second Edie tee shirt if she can find the yarn. A crochet sweater by Michele DuNaier is on deck next. It is The Curious Case of the Crazy-Stitch Cardigan. She'll be using a cobalt blue bamboo and cotton blend yarn, Valley Yarns Southwick from Webs. Kelly's final project in the planning stages is the Om Shawl, which is really a form of poncho! There are three colors of Neighborhood Fiber Company gray that will go into this poncho.

Upcoming Events: Kelly will be attending Lambtown in Dixon, California on October 1-2, 2016.

Our monogamous knitting continues, but the wool fleece auction, bees, and planning for upcoming fiber events has kept life interesting!

Project Updates

Marsha continues to work on Frank's Spirt Yarn Afghan using the pattern from Stephen West called Garter Squish. She loves how the afghan keeps changing with each additional color. The afghan currently is about six feet wide and about 36" long. The afghan is no longer very portable, so Marsha is back working on the Havasu Falls shawl by Alison LoCicero. It's pretty good social knitting right now.

Marsha also washed the black Wensleydale-Cormo-Merino cross fleece she bought at The Black Sheep Gathering.

Kelly continues for work on her Funky Grandpa cardigan that she is calling Handspun Charlotte Cardigan because she is using handspun from a sheep named Charlotte. She reports on her experience of redoing one of the sleeves.

Kelly also discusses dyeing yarn for the her next project, Opus the Octopus by Cate Carter-Evans. She is motivated by the need to have a project for to work on while attending a conference. (Since recording Kelly has been on work conference travel and has made some good progress on the octopus!)

"Advent-ewes"

Kelly attended the Monterey County Fair and the wool auction. She sat in on the fleece judging, volunteer with set up, and attended the auction. She exercised extreme self-control and purchased only one fleece, but it is a beauty...a Santa Cruz Island fleece from Blue Oak Canyon Ranch! Here is a link to an article about these sheep to understand why we are so intrigued.

Marsha will be attending some events this fall and wanted to remind people about the terrific website called Knitter's Review that lists world wide fiber events. Nice to read about the events and dream. :-)

Bees

Kelly is so happy to report that she had a bee swarm in her garden! Check out her Instagram account at 1hundredprojects to see videos of the swarm and how Kelly got the swarm into the hive. So interesting. Kelly highly recommends the book Honeybee Democracy by Thomas Seeley and you can see a discussion of the book here. If you want to see a presentation of the research that was in the book, here is a really interesting video.

Knitting monogamy and the fall semester have combined to reduce the yarn crafting of the Two Ewes this episode. Both are making progress on their Epic Adventures, though. View photos, and subscribe to the podcast at our Two Ewes Fiber Adventures blog!

Kelly has finished all the squares needed for the quilt that she started over 30 years ago. Now on to the sewing together!

Kelly also started a new sock project for meeting knitting. The Angler's Loop socks have an interesting cable pattern along the back of the sock. The pattern is designed by Andrea Mules.

Marsha has been moving along on Frank's Spirit Yarn Afghan. The pattern is the Garter Squish by Stephen West. She is on the third color now and, at the moment, is knitting on this project exclusively.

Marsha did something she never thought she would do. She bought a tie-dyed skirt! This is not your grandfather's tie-dye. She talked with the dyer about the technique (which includes dye removal as well as overdyeing) and is inspired to try some tie-dye.

Kelly attended the fleece judging for the Monterey County Fair Wool Show. The judge this year was Richard Jacobsen of Jacobsen Ranch. The fleeces in the show were spectacular, as usual! A "chrome" silver merino fleece caught everyone's imagination.

There are a few unusual entries this year. The most exciting was a Santa Cruz Island fleece.

This is a rare, heritage breed that had been feral on Santa Cruz Island. The Livestock Conservancy page links to a detailed and interesting article on the history of the breed by Lynn Moody. I don't know if she is the source of the fleece at the show. Here is an excerpt from the article.

"Jim and I acquired our starter flock of Santa Cruz Island sheep from Marion Stanley in July 2010. As an avid (though not particularly skilled) handspinner and knitter and beginning weaver, I was looking for a hardy, self-sufficient and fuss-free breed with nice wool, marketable to crafters and artists, and that were "endangered" and needed preservation and promotion. That these sheep were nearly indigenous in my adopted state of California, had an interesting history, and came from an environment similar to that of our ranch, were added attractions. I began this study wondering when exactly sheep were first brought to Santa Cruz Island–there seemed to be some conflicting accounts-and what kinds of sheep made up the ancestry of these unique and fascinating animals."

There were also Montadale and Oxford fleeces, not often seen at shows, and two Shetland fleeces. Although Shetland's aren't rare at wool shows, I haven't ever seen Shetland fleeces at the Monterey show.

The auction will take place on Labor Day, September 5, 2016. The fair opens at noon, but the wool area is open for pre-auction viewing starting at about 9 am.

If you have questions or comments and would like to email us, we are available at twoewesdyeing@gmail.com Or you can find us on Ravelry as "1hundredprojects" and "betterinmotion."

Civil War Socks, two epic projects, and a few rants from the Two Ewes are on the episode this week!

Kelly finished the Civil War Socks (pattern by Karin Timour) and they fit her husband perfectly. The choices of yarn color were made as a result of reading this Civil War discussion board post.

Marsha finished prepping the yarn for Frank's Spirit Yarn Afghan and she has cast on. This will be a long-term project.

She is also continuing work on the Havasu Falls Shawl that she is making from a Freia gradient yarn.

Kelly has started working on her long-term project, too. It is a quilt top that she started while in high school. Since the last episode she has made progress on this quilt, which she is planning to use as a queen-sized bedspread. It is a hand pieced quilt in the "Split Rail" design and is made from sewing project scraps from her childhood and teen years. For example, one of the fabrics is from the "Swirl Skirt" that Kelly had in the 1970s.

Kelly has also started a Mesa poncho for her sister. She discusses the yarn structure and how that is affecting the knitting in an interesting way.

Marsha discusses an article about the resurgence of sewing from the New York Times (August 2, 2016). The article led her to the pattern for the Walk Away Dress.

Another NY Times article details the use of the crystals on the leotards of the US Gymnastics Team. This led Marsha to a rant about women's athletic uniforms in the Olympics, but don't worry, Kelly derailed her before she started in on the Beach Volleyball uniforms!

Spinning, dyeing moth-proof yarn, crocheting bears, and knitting handspun singles are adventures in this episode. Kelly gives an extensive review of knitting with handspun singles so that spinners will know how to use their yarn without always plying it. Marsha has been researching the meaning of the old-fashioned "moth-proofing" that was done to her spirit yarn. We hope that both topics are interesting and helpful to you!

For show notes with pictures, see http://twoewesfiber.com

Marsha's projects

Marsha has not done too much knitting recently but she has made some progress on the Havasu Falls Shawl by Allison LoCicero and completed spinning 10 ounces of golden Shetland roving that she got at the Black Sheep Gathering.

She has also been doing a little more over-dyeing in preparation for the the afghan project she is making with spirit yarn. Detailed information about the preparations for this project (including the math that we discussed in the previous episode) is in the Project Page for Frank's Spirit Yarn Afghan. One of the colors came out lime green, as planned. The other skein was meant to be coral but turned out gold. The yarn was labeled as "moth-proofed" and Marsha has done some research about what that means. The process includes treating the wool with a pesticide called Mitin ff, and may be the reason that the dye didn't adhere properly.

Kelly's Projects

Kelly has started back up on the second of the Civil War Socks for Robert. She has put a few more sections on the NoCKRs shawl, too, but it is now time to figure out how much yarn she will need to do the final repeats. She has modified the New Beginnings pattern by Boo Knits in order to use two colors and wants to use all 800 yards, if possible. Kelly has also continued in her addiction to crocheting bears for the Mother Bear Project! She now has 13 bears to enter into the Knit/Crochet Along that the 2 Knit Lit Chicks are hosting on their Ravelry group. To see pictures of the bears with the children in African countries take a look at the Mother Bear gallery!

Swatch-a-Palooza

Kelly has been doing a study of knitting with handspun singles. She used a variety of handspun yarns and swatched them with a variety of needle sizes, documenting the process along the way. She has posted her article, complete with pictures, here on the Two Ewes blog dated July 31, 2016.

Fiber in the Wild

Marsha's ears perked up when she heard NPR commentators say that Hillary Clinton should "stick to her knitting" as a strategy for her acceptance speech. The Two Ewes weren't sure what that meant and speculated that it must be an old saying. After recording, they found this link that helps to explain the meaning!

Math, over-dyeing, color theory, and an interesting discussion of the Faroe Islands join knitting and spinning in the topics of this episode.

Kelly has won the battle with the first of the Civil War socks. Several adjustments for fit were needed, but the finished sock is now perfect and it is on to the second one.

The only other knitting has been on the NoCKRs shawl. The desire to use as much yarn as possible of both colors has led to some pattern modification experiments.

Kelly has been doing a lot of spinning with two different wool/angora blends. One is a dyed gray and the other is a natural white. She also continues working on the CVM fleece with both a fingering/sport 3-ply and a bulky singles yarns on the wheels.

Marsha was doing really well on her Fairfield Cardigan by Michele Wang but discovered she knit past the point where she should begin decreasing for the shoulders. Ugh! She now needs to do some ripping back.

She started a shawl call Havasu Falls by Allison LoCicero using Freia Handpaints Ombre Lace in the color way Ice Queen.

Since the last episode's discussion of the Tour de Fleece, Marsha has been focusing on spinning. She has one skein done and three bobbins waiting to be plied of the golden Shetland roving she purchased last month at the Black Sheep Gathering. When that project is done she plans to start spinning a big ball of unknown wool roving from Pendleton Woolen Mills.

The Two Ewes have a discussion on the planning Marsha is doing to make the Garter Squish afghan by Stephen West. There is lots of talk of math including the golden ratio!

The Garter Squish afghan is knit using two balls of worsted weight yarn. One in a main color and the second in ever changing contrast colors. For the main color Marsha will use the repurposed blue spirit yarn from the giant sweater she made for her father. For the contrasting colors she will use odds and ends from her stash. She didn't love some of the colors which leads to a Fiber in the Wild adventure.

Kelly and Marsha met Maddy Wallace (appledappy) at the Jorstadt Creek Dye Studio booth at the Black Sheep gathering. Maddy invited them to Over Dye Saturday held at the studio in Olympia, Washington. Marsha was able to attend and over dyed some of her thrift shop yarn that she will use in her Garter Squish afghan. Over Dye Saturdays supports Click for Babies who educate new parents on preventing shaken baby syndrome.

Jorstadt Creek Dye Studio is owned by Kerry Graber (jorstadtcreek) and she is focusing on fiber from local producers featuring Icelandic, Finn, and Gotland wools all grown in the Olympia area. Her yarns are sold at Bazaar Girls in Port Townsend, WA and Yorkshire Yarns in Lakewood, WA. An Etsy shop is coming soon. Kerry is also part of a design group call the BK Collective featuring Jorstadt yarns. Marsha met two of the designers, Kaia Petersen (cayennepepper) and Jann Hoppler (jmhknits) at the studio. They have some lovely patterns. A couple of Marsha's favorites are....

Traslov Hat by Kerry Graber

Garrison Street Scarf and Cowl by Kaia Petersen

Ebb and Flow Shawl by Jann Hoppler

A huge thank you to everyone at Jorstadt Creek. Marsha had a blast! Here are some pictures from the day or visit her project page, Frank's Spirit Yarn Afghan, for more photos.

And finally, Marsha talks about a story she heard on the BBC World Service about sheep being used to map the Faroe Islands. Here are links discussed.

Faroe Islands

Sheep View 360

Free Faroese Sweater Pattern

Free Sarah Lund Faroese Sweater Pattern

For photos check out our blog.

Show notes coming soon.

Knitting, spinning and preparing for the Black Sheep Gathering has Marsha and Kelly so excited that they can't stay on topic! Lots of interesting (we hope!) tangents in this episode.

Marsha has finished her Ricky for All Seasons by Vera Sanon. She loves the look and the fit and recommends the pattern.

She is still working on her Spirit-Yarn-a-Long project, a shawl called Sunny Delight by Brian Smith. This will be great train knitting for her train trip to Eugene for the Black Sheep Gathering.

Kelly cast on and finished a Spirit Yarn project. The Bethel Tank has been in her queue for about two years. She used some coned cotton that she and Marsha had dyed a couple summers ago in a dyeing experiment. Along with the cotton she carried along a strand of rough-spun linen coned yarn.

The Spirit Yarn Along will continue until June 30 in the Ravelry Group. Winners will be chosen randomly from the discussion participants. Share your projects and Spirit Yarn stories. While discussing the projects Marsha speculated that there was probably a podcast about buying storage units. Indeed there is! Kelly found this podcast about buying storage units. Storage Auction Shogun's Podcast.

Kelly is also working on Civil War era socks for her husband from a 19th century pattern. The toes, cuffs, and heels will be her handspun. It is a 3-ply mohair and merino blend fiber from Sincere Sheep. The leg and foot of the socks will be Invictus Yarn BFL sock in an indigo color.

Going to the Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene, Oregon? If so, we have a meet-up planned for the evening of Saturday, June 25. We hope you can join us. Listen to the show and check out the Ravelry Group for more details.

In this episode you will only hear one half of the Two Ewes. Kelly finished up the school year with a cold and wasn't able to record. We didn't want to miss reaching out to everyone so it is short episode with Marsha. Well, Kelly does make a short appearance at the end of the podcast since at editing time she had a little better voice!

Kelly has finished two projects! She decided that a good day to bind off the I Love My Husband scarf was their 32nd anniversary. It was one of the projects that she brought on the camping trip they went on. She also finished the Edie tee by Isabel Kramer. She decided not to add the neckline edging, but she did add a moss stitch edging to the hem and sleeves. The yarn fabric washed up nicely in a cold water machine wash and a trip through the dryer. The hem and sleeve edges are rolling up, so it will need a bit of ironing there.

She continues work on the Latticework Cardigan and hopes to finish before the Black Sheep Gathering. Breaking News! The sweater is finished!

The end of the semester prevented her from selecting a spirit yarn project (although Pi Baby from last episode was made from spirit yarn). Now that school is over and the grading is done, she will be searching through stash for a good candidate.

Marsha has not picked up her Fairfield Cardigan by Michele Wang for weeks since she has been working on other projects.

She is almost to the bottom edge of her Ricky for All Seasons by Vera Sanon. She want the T-shirt to be a little longer than the pattern is written. She plans to put the bottom edge on waste yarn, finish the neck and sleeves and see how much yarn she has to make the Tee longer.

Yarnia in Portland, Oregon was awesome and sent her 2 ounces more yarn to finished her Striped Study Shawl. Thank you so much Yarnia!

Marsha is still working on her Spirit-Yarn-a-Long project, a shawl called Sunny Delight by Brian Smith.

She has been spinning and carding the Merino fleece she bought last year at the Black Sheep Gathering. Marsha promised herself she cannot by more fleece at this year's gathering until she spins what she bought last year!

Fiber in the Wild:

Marsha visited just two yarn shops, Tolt and Quintessential Knits, during the LYS Tour of shops in the Seattle area. At Tolt she bought baa ram ewe Dovestone DK from Yorkshire, in a light grey/blue call Brambly Bath . The yarn is 50% Blueface Leicester, 25% Wensleydale, and 25% Masham. Marsha had not heard of Masham so had to buy the yarn!

We have a discussion thread in the Ravelry Group for the Spirit Yarn Along. Use your spirit yarn (whether de-stash or DEEP stash) to make something between now and June 30. Talk about it, show us pictures, and share the creativity. Winners will be selected randomly from the thread.

Kelly attended the Spinning at the Winery on June 4, held by the Treadles to Threads Guild at the Retzlaff winery in Livermore. What a fun event! In addition to spinning a braid from Woolgatherings, there was much spinning encouragement going on. Dagmar got going with her new wheel and Jennai actually won a wheel in the raffle! Woohoo! What a great day!

Going to the Black Sheep Gathering? If so, we have a meet-up planned for the afternoon/evening of Saturday, June 25. We hope you can join us. Listen to the show and check out the Ravelry Group for more details.

There is a little Bee Talk at the end of the podcast. For photos check out our blog at twoewesfiber.com

� Kelly and Marsha have been busy with non-fiber responsibilities but still made progress on various projects and even started a few.

Kelly finished a crochet gift for a first-time-father-to-be. Since it was a math department colleague, she made Pi Guy for the new baby.

She is currently working on the scarf for her husband, the Edie tee and the crochet Latticework Cardigan that she cast on for the Spring Fever Knit/Crochet Along.

Marsha continues to work on her Fairfield Cardigan by Michele Wang, but progress has slowed because she has started new projects. (What was she thinking!) She has finished the deceases for the armhole and will soon start the shoulder and neck shaping.

She is making good progress on her Ricky for All Seasons by Vera Sanon and is about to start the shaping decreases for the body.

In Episode 41 Marsha discussed her plans for a shawl using the Spirt Yarn from the NoCKR's detash room. She took home with her a skein each of Cascade Yarns Alpaca Lana D'Oro (multi), Knit Pics Capra (brown), and Ranch of the Oaks Alpaca (grey). She purchased a beautiful skein of The Fiber Company Acadia (cream) that coordinates beautifully with the Spirit Yarns. She cast on the shawl Sunny Delight MK2 by Brian Smith.

Marsha also has a self-imposed deadline to spin all, or at least part of, the two fleeces she purchased last year at the Black Sheep Gathering before she attends this year's festival in June.

Kelly discusses some Fiber in the Wild.

We have a discussion thread in the Ravelry Group for the Spirit Yarn Along. Use your spirit yarn (whether de-stash or DEEP stash) to make something between now and June 30. Talk about it, show us pictures, and share the creativity. Winners will be selected randomly from the thread.

Kelly is looking forward to Spinning at the Winery on June 4, held by the Treadles to Threads Guild at the Retzlaff winery in Livermore.

Going to the Black Sheep Gathering? If so, we have a meet-up planned for the afternoon/evening of Saturday, June 25. We hope you can join us. Listen to the show and check out the Ravelry Group for more details.

We did it! Kelly and Marsha completed the Big Sur 21-Miler walk on Sunday, April 24th and in this episode the talk about the experience. We also give updates on projects and announce the the winners of our Spring Fever Free-for-All.

Kelly finished all her Star Wars Amigurumi! They were sent to her brother-in-law just in time for "May the Fourth be With You." He really loved them. Check out Kelly's project page to see all the fun she had posing them with each other for pictures. There are still more of them that she might make but for now the Star Wars toys are done!

Kelly is currently working most on the shawl out of the NoCKRs 2016 yarn from Duren Dyeworks.

She decided to reuse the New Beginnings pattern by Boo Knits. She has one shawl from this pattern that she loves and she decided she could make some adjustments so that it will work with the two colors and use up all the yarn.

Kelly has swatched for the Edie t-shirt out of the Queensland Collection Savannah. This is the yarn that Marsha and Kelly both bought right before the retreat. It is a linen and silk blend.

Marsha has made good progress on her Fairfield Cardigan by Michele Wang. She has finished the decreases for the armholes.

She has cast on for a T-shirt called Ricky for All Seasons by Vera Sanon. She is using Queensland Collection Savanna a silk and linen blend. The sweater is designed for short, 3/4 length, or long sleeves, in either cotton or wool blends. Truly a pattern for all seasons.

Marsha also talks about wanting to cast on a project using Spirit Yarn from the NoCKRs retreat destash room. She brought home some beautiful alpaca and cashmere and wants to cast on a social knitting shawl. Keeping in the spirit of Spirit Yarn, she is looking for a free pattern and will use the free needles she got from the destash room. She doesn't have enough yarn so plans to purchase a fourth color from her LYS where she has a gift certificate.

Spirit Yarn Patterns:

Outdoors - Maanel

Livezey House Wrap - Jocelyn Tunney

Pradera Wrap - Jocelyn Tunney

Our Spring Fever Free-for-All is now done and we have drawn the names of the winners which are announced in the podcast. The discussion thread has been so popular we are keeping the thread open even though the contest is finished. Keep posting!

We will have a new discussion thread in the Ravelry Group for the Spirit Yarn along. Use your spirit yarn (whether de-stash or DEEP stash) to make something between now and June 30. Talk about it , show us pictures, and share the creativity. Winners will be selected randomly from the thread.

Going to the Black Sheep Gathering? If so, we have a meet-up planned for the afternoon/evening of Saturday, June 25. We hope you can join us. Listen to the show and check our Ravelry Group for more details.

The Two Ewes record together this week since Marsha is visiting Kelly for the NoCKRs retreat (last weekend) and the Big Sur 21-miler (coming up this weekend). You'll hear about what inspired us at the retreat, the progress we've made on our current projects, and our plans to meet more listeners. We also talk about the idea of Spirit Yarn.

The retreat was a great way for Kelly to get miles of spinning done! She worked on more of the yarn for her mother's Shibui Axis vest. Two large bobbins were filled and that should end up being 4-5 ounces of yarn once it is plied. Kelly also knitted on the Funky Grandpa cardigan that she is making out of handspun. Both of these projects turned out to be great social projects. Marsha worked on her Fairfield Cardigan by Michele Wang. She also started the Shetland Crescent shawl by Kieran Foley, but made better progress on the sweater.

The projects at the retreat were so fabulous that Kelly was inspired to immediately queue the Mesa by Yumiko Alexander. It is a versatile garment that can be worn as a cape or as a shawl or as a poncho. She is also planning to make the Cancun by Erin Kate Archer. This boxy sweater is essentially a lace sampler. The version at the retreat was tunic length and very flattering!

Marsha was inspired by the colors at the retreat. California knitters seem to use more colorful yarns than knitters in the Pacific Northwest. One item in particular caught her eye. It was a beautiful version of the Stephen West shawl Exploration Station. She was also inspired to one day take a trip with Kelly to Rhinebeck, aka New York State Sheep and Wool Festival.

All that inspiration has led to some big plans! Kelly plans to make the Edie Tee since Marsha's finished project looked so fantastic on her. Kelly bought yarn that would be suitable while visiting the Continental Stitch in Morgan Hill just before the retreat to take advantage of the discount that they were offering NoCKRs participants. Marsha has plans to make Ricky for All Seasons by Vera Sanon

Both of the Two Ewes purchased the custom dyed retreat yarn from Duren Dye Works. Kelly is thinking of making the two-color shawl Sjø by Katja Löffler. Marsha is considering the Daydreamer Shawl by Janina Kallio.

Marsha and Kelly enjoyed the de-stash room at the retreat and came home with lots of Spirit Yarn. These are yarns that have been loved at one time, but now need good homes. They contain such spirit and potential that just looking at them provides so much inspiration for projects to come.

Going to the Black Sheep Gathering? If so, we have a meet-up planned for the afternoon/evening of Saturday, June 25. We hope you can join us. Listen to the show for more details.

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

What's new with the Two Ewes? Well, not much knitting, but lots of other things have been going on. Both Kelly and Marsha are participating in the"Leave It" Division of the Caithness Craft Un-Knit-Along (UnKAL). There is also a chat thread for this UnKAL in the Twinset Designs Ravelry Group. Marsha has put her Striped Study Shawl in the closet and Kelly has sent her Playground Shawl out to recess. :-)

Meanwhile Kelly continues crocheting on the Starwars amigurumi. She has four done, Jabba on the hook and is planning at least ten more for the May the Fourth Be With You deadline! The designer's (Lucy Collin) Flickr page has even more ideas than the book that came with the kit!

The Easter Bunny came out so cute and was so fun, Kelly decided to make a toy for both the "grands." The Purple Bunny was a free Drops Designs pattern with a few modifications that can be found in my project page. The purple mohair brushed up really nicely to make a slightly furry bunny. The companion toy was Marshall from Paw Patrol, a pattern by Melissa's Crochet Patterns.

Bee-sides the toys, Kelly has created a nucleus hive. See this blog post for more information. She has seen the queen bee for the first time. Very exciting! Here is a photo of a queen bee from the Bee Informed website. Maybe someday Kelly will be able to take photos of her own bees.

Marsha continues to work on her Edie Tee by Isabell Kraemer. She has about another 5" to knit and then will begin short rows to shape the bottom edge.

Marsha has stalled out on her Fairfield Cardigan by Michele Wang because she doesn't understand a specific stitch. She plans to contact the designer for help because she wants to work on it while visiting Kelly in April.

In January Marsha set the goal of spinning the Shetland and Merino fleeces she purchased last June at the Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene, Oregon. She plans to attend again this year and promised herself she could not buy anymore fleeces until she spun what she already has! She's spun about half of the Shetland so far. Here is a link to information about cabled and crepe yarn. Kelly and Marsha discuss this variation of plying.

Enzo is now a little over three months old and weighs 29 pounds. Kelly and Marsha had a good chuckle over some the the crazy looks for poodles that are on the internet. (Photos from Drue Johnson's Pinterest Board, Ridiculous Poodle Cuts.) Some of these looks seem borderline animal cruelty and Marsha promises she will never do this to sweet Enzo (unless he is a very naughty dog). ;-)

We're having another contest with prizes! 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. Contest ends at midnight on May 4th.

For photos, go to the Two Ewes Fiber Adventures blog.

Marsha and Kelly start off talking about Kelly's beautiful commute down the Salinas Valley (aka John Steinbeck's Long Valley). She hasn't stopped to take photos, but here is an example of what she sees two days a week.

As she commutes, she has been listening to podcasts--many of them non-knitting related. One that she discovered and just had to try because it sounded so unusual is the Chameleon Breeder Podcast . The topic of raising chameleons led to the topic of raising bugs and this week's episode is about stick and leaf insects.

Even more fascinating is the discovery that there is such a thing as the Ovogram insect egg swap service. Insect breeders use it the same way knitters use a mini-skein swap!

The guest on this week's Chameleon episode owns the Full Throttle Feeders bug supply company. Kelly is now addicted to this informational podcast! On her commute today she also listened to True Crime Garage. Another fun (but totally irreverent) true crime podcast is White Wine, True Crime.

Marsha fills us in on the The Seattle explosion that leveled businesses across the street from the Fiber Gallery.

Marsha finished spinning our Two Ewes premium CVM and mohair that Kelly sent her to test. It's beautiful and the mohair reflects the light to give the yarn a luster. Marsha has about 200 yards.

Marsha continues to work on her Edie T-shirt by Isabell Kraemer in Hempathy. She's making good progress in spite of the puppy responsibilities. ;-)

Kelly has finished Darth Vader in her Star Wars Amigurumi project. She also finished the Bourbon Socks. Sweet Georgia yarn is scrumptious! She has finished about half of the yarn for her mom and has more ready to ply.

Not much else has been touched in terms of projects. However, she is looking forward to participating in the Division One, Leave It Un-KAL that is being hosted on Ravelry by the Caithness Craft Podcast and the Twinset Designs Podcast. Marsha may have to join in, too!

Marsha's puppy, Enzo, is doing well and getting BIG...over 24 pounds! Marsha talks about puppy class and Enzo's progress. If you want to see more pictures of Enzo check out his Instagram feed @enzo_fuesel or Marsha's @mfuesel.

The Two Ewes are excited to offer batts, as well as the handspun mini-skeins made from them, as premiums for any listeners who would like to support the podcast! There is a limited amount of CVM and mohair still available for premiums of either batts or mini-skeins. There is also the gray fleece from Charlotte (that Kelly is using for the Funky Grandpa) that has also been blended with mohair. Any contribution of $15 or more will qualify for the premiums. Kelly will contact you to determine whether to send fiber (two approximately 1-ounce batts) or mini-skeins (two approximately 80-yard minis). If you are interested, please click the donate button at the show notes!

In this episode Kelly and Marsha give updates on projects and the goals we set for ourselves that was suppose to be two weeks but ended up being a month. Kelly has been walking but Marsha hasn't, but she has a great excuse! :-) It has been raining like crazy in Seattle and she is on puppy duty. Enzo is now almost twelve weeks old and can be crated for 2-3 hours, so Marsha has no more excuses!

Kelly finished a Storm Trooper and is now waiting for more safety eyes in order to continue with other characters. First on the list is Darth Vader! The pattern designer, Lucy Collin, has a great Flickr page with photos of all her Star Wars creations (including some that aren't in the pattern book). She also has a blog post where she talks about the pattern book project and another where she lists all the yarn colors she used.

Kelly has been spinning like crazy on her mother's Pebble Substitute. The Bourbon Socks got some work over the Stitches West weekend and are close to finished. (Got finished between recording and publishing the podcast!) The stitch pattern is something I made up in order to show off the variegation. See my project notes to get the stitch pattern for your own variegated socks! Progress on the I Love My Husband (#ILMH) scarf is steady but slow.

Marsha has not been knitting very much, but did start the Edie T-shirt by Isabell Kraemer. She is using Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy in a light blue called Ionic Blue.

Marsha tells about finding at the Goodwill twenty balls (100 yards each) of 100% mercerized cotton fingering weight yarn. Marsha got to wondering what "mercerized" means and tells what she found out on Wikipedia. Here is the article. Kelly and Marsha discussed having a dye-a-thon with the cotton during Marsha's visit in April.

At the end of the episode, Kelly podcasts from the trail during her 12-mile training walk the day before she went to Stitches West. She shares distance training strategy and some of the ways she tricks herself into putting in the mileage. Trails in her area are beautiful, the one below included a view of Moss Landing and the Monterey Bay (if you look closely in the photo, you can see the Moss Landing towers). Here is a link to some walking training schedules that she has used.

Kelly and Marsha talk about Kelly's recent weekend at Stitches West! One of the year's biggest West Coast yarn events was more than a shopping trip, it was a chance to meet listeners, podcasters, and other yarny friends. The conversation ranges from the items on the sales floor to tattoos, from purchases to civil war era yarn, and from starstruck silliness to the appeal of the collaborative business model. No show notes for this special episode. Links and photos will be included in show notes for our next regular episode, due out soon. http://twoewesfiber.com

Marsha and Kelly catch you up on all the things that have been going on with them over that last month. New projects, new goals, new items in the Ravelry queue, new excuses pets family members, and new realizations about time management! Press play and listen as we talk about our fiber adventures!

Kelly has one newly finished project, Toddler hats that she made for Robert's co-worker's daughter. One is plain stockinette with some embroidered flowers and the other has a texture pattern. Neither was made using a pattern, but information about them is on Kelly's Ravelry page.

She also has a newly started project. She made Yoda from the Star Wars Crochet kit. The designer is Lucy Collin and between her blog and the Flickr account she has with all the different Star Wars figures (some not in the kit) there are enough ideas for an entire galaxy of figures!

Two other projects got significant activity over the last month. The Sheep to sweater project and the Big Sur Bourbon Socks

Speaking of Big Sur, Kelly met her two-week goals with respect to walking. She repeated the same goal for the next two weeks and will check in again. The training for the Big Sur 21 Miler is going well. The other two-week goal, finishing three skeins of the yarn for her mom, was not so successful. She has finished one skein.

The Two Ewes blog can now be found using the url http://twoewesfiber.com or http://twoewesfiberadventures.com Also, you can now find Two Ewes Fiber Adventures on facebook. The new episodes will be published there in addition to this blog, iTunes, and Stitcher. If you enjoy listening, please join us at our Two Ewes Fiber Adventures Ravelry Group.

Marsha and Kelly discuss spinning the batts of California variegated mutant (CVM) that Kelly has made and is sharing with listeners. The breed is often available at the Monterey County wool auction, but is classified as critical by the Livestock Conservancy. The wool and mohair blend is spinning up easily, but does have some vegetable matter. It makes a nice, lofty, woolen-spun yarn, but has some sheen due to the mohair.

Marsha finished her Mystery Wool Cardigan made from coned wool she found at the Goodwill. The pattern is #241 Neck Down V-Neck Shaped Cardigan by Diane Soucy from Knitting Pure & Simple. She loves the fit! Marsha talks about the process of washing the finished cardigan.

She continues to work on her Striped Study Shawl by Veera Valimaki. She is worried she won't have enough yarn to finish the pumpkin stripes.

Marsha's BIG news is she got a standard poodle puppy named Sovereign's Formula One or "Enzo". He was born December 5, 2015 and joined our family January 29, 2016. Marsha is looking forward to long walks with Enzo. A new puppy is a huge undertaking so Marsha has not met her goal of walking three times a week.

Kelly recommended the dog training book by the Monks of New Skete. A terrific book!

The Two Ewes are excited to offer CVM and mohair blend batts, as well as the handspun mini-skeins made from them, as premiums for any listeners who would like to support the podcast! Visit our blog at http://twoewesfiber.com and click the donate button to contribute.

Knitting, some spinning, lots of yarn project planning, and some fiber processing are the highlights of this episode. Kelly and Marsha do some goal setting with two-week goals and discussion of long-term projects.

Kelly happily finished two projects that have been on the needles 9 months or more. First, the Hoarfrost sock pattern by Louise Tillbrook was used to make the Frosty Mint Julep socks.

Second, Kelly finished the Niebling Doily Herbert Niebling lace patterns have an Arts and Crafts era style that is very distinctive. The Doily Head blog has a great collection of Niebling eye candy for your enjoyment! Kelly started her doily on Christmas day 2014 and finished it just over a year later. It was a fun and challenging project and there will definitely be another Niebling on the needles at some point.

Most of Marsha's projects have not seen much progress since she has been working almost exclusively on her Mystery Wool Cardigan (#241 Neck Down V Neck Shaped Cardigan) by Diane Soucy. The body is almost finished.

She is also considering three T-shirt patterns for her next project. Edie by Isabell Kraemer, Brandilyn Top by Quenna Lee, and Ricky for All Seasons by Veera Sanon.

Marsha made two goals between now and the next Two Ewes episode. She will walk three times a week and add her training schedule to her calendar. Big Sur 21-Miler, here we come!

Her long term project goal is to complete the Garter Squish afghan by Stephen West. This means unraveling the sweater she made for her father years ago to use as the main color. She has been collecting various colors of worsted yarn, plus some blank yarn to dye, to use for the second color.

Kelly has two new projects on the needles. She is making a stockinette scarf for her husband. It is being made with a LUSCIOUS merino and silk laceweight yarn from Bumblebirch. Good thing the yarn is nice, because the project is on size 3 needles!

She also started a sweater using deep stash handspun! The Funky Grandpa cardigan, by Maison Rililie Designs, will be a perfect pattern for this handspun yarn in both natural gray and overdyed colors.

Kelly's two week goal is to walk the correct mileage during the next two weeks. No cheating on the training schedule. She will also finish spinning 3 skeins of the Corriedale yarn that she is making for her Mom as a substitute for Shibui Pebble. Long-term, Kelly will be working on putting together the quilt that she started in high school over 30 years ago!

Join our Two Ewes Ravelry Group to become part of the wonderful and supportive Two Ewes community and participate in knit or crochet alongs. Contribute to the continued running of the podcast and get batts or mini skeins by clicking the donate button on the right side bar of the Two Ewes Fiber Adventures blog and making a contribution of $15 or more.

Marsha and Kelly celebrate New Year's Eve with some finished projects, some newly started projects and by announcing the winners of the Two Ewes Crochet Along!

Due to the quick turnaround of this episode, there are few show notes. However, there are two important items:

Information and and links for Syllabub can be found at Kelly's old blog.

The Johnny Cash song that Marsha was thinking of can be found on YouTube here. And the song that Kelly was talking about was Hurt.

Have a Happy 2016 everyone!

In this episode Kelly takes over the beginning of the podcast to throw Marsha a surprise virtual birthday party! After some fiber adventuring friends send along Birthday wishes, the episode resumes with our knitting, spinning and yarny adventures, including finished objects, current projects, and a fun trip to Portland for Marsha.

Additional show notes and pictures will follow soon at our show notes blog

This week Kelly has two finished projects! She finished her Crochet-Along project, the Happy Hippopotamus by Heidi Bears. This was an excellent pattern and the finished hippo is soooooooo darling!

Also finished (but not yet blocked or worn) is the Color Affection, a shawl designed by Veera Valimaki. Kelly had a skein of heavy fingering and 4 skeins of DK and used them all, creating a shawl that is ENORMOUS! It will be a challenge to figure out how to wear it or where to put it once out of the cold :-) The colors are great together and it used some 5+ year old stash, so it is a clear win!

Kelly's current projects all require some knitting repair, so let's not talk about those. ;-)

Marsha isn't finished with her Lanata Cardigan, but she is close. Once sleeve cuffs are on, it's done. She is very happy with the sweater's design (by Amy Christoffers) and with the fabric she got from the German yarn that she used. She also continues to work on her brother Mark's Crazy Scarf from the Stonehedge Crazy yarn.

She is also close to finishing her Stripe Study Shawl, another one of the designs from Veera Valimaki.

In the spinning arena, Kelly is carding a lot! She has challenged herself to make significant progress in processing fleeces that are 5 or more years old. Since this is the last month of the challenge, she has put on the speed! No finished weight estimates yet, but her fiber stash was over 50 lbs at the start of this quarter.

Marsha has been on a learning curve for spinning Lincoln. As a long wool, it is different from what she has spun before. Also, she is hand processing it and spinning from the lock. She is thinking of using it for a blanket, but will wait until the yarn is finished to determine a use. Lincoln is an excellent fleece for rugs, bags and other high wear uses that don't require "next-to-skin softness," but do require a stable and "unbouncy" yarn. Here are examples of some (pre-Ravelry) projects that Kelly has made with Lincoln and Lincoln crosses over the years. Leftovers from these projects are destined to be used in a punch-needle rug hooking project one day soon.

Marsha was a finisher in the frigid Seattle Marathon the weekend after Thanksgiving. Despite the cold and some challenges to her training in the month before the event she finished! Hurray!!!

Kelly talks a little about the Locke family eggnog recipe and the revised version that can be made in a kitchen bowl rather than a bathtub!

Welcome new listeners from the Shorty's Sutures and Libsyn Feed podcasts! Welcome also to our listeners from outside the US (including Brazil, Mexico, Sweden, and Norway)!

Marsha and Kelly announce the winners in the Front Range Bags giveaway. Thanks again to Nancy for offering one of her bags for a prize! If you aren't the winner, don't despair. She has generously offered a coupon code for 15% off to Two Ewes listeners! Listen to the podcast or visit our Ravelry Group for details. Then go shop for a Front Range Bag!

Marsha had quite a bit of knitting time while at the hospital with her son. Ben had a bad bicycle accident, but is now doing much better. While at the trauma center she made lots of progress on the Mark's Crazy Scarf out of Stonehedge Crazy (mill ends). She has also been working on the Stripe Study Shawl by Veera Valimaki. She is using the yarn she created at Yarnia in Portland. Despite all the knitting time, she has no finished projects this time.

Kelly is still working on her Color Affection (also by Veera Valimaki). She has used most of two skeins of the peacock blue, most of the large skein of spring green, and has just started on the second skein of brown yarn. She made some modifications to the color pattern so that she could see more color interactions and use more yarn. All that is left is a large band of solid brown at the bottom of the shawl, but it has become so large that each row takes soooooo loooooong.

During a Veteran's Day camping trip in The Clubhouse, Kelly also made progress on the Hippo (pattern by Heidi Bears). Alas, not enough progress to be able to claim a finished project! She also brought the drum carder so she could continue her fleece processing obsession. The most recent batts are natural colored California Variegated Mutant blended with hand-dyed mohair locks. Both are from very deep stash.

The Indie Designer Gift-Along starts on Thursday, November 19. Over 5,000 independent designers have their patterns available for 25% off. Knitters and crocheters who have purchased these patterns can participate in a 6-week Gift-Along between November 19 and December 31. See the Indie Gift Along group on Ravelry to check out the pattern bundles and the GAL threads.

A few crochet patterns that Kelly is considering are:

Etheria cowl by Julia Trice

True Love shawl and Latticework Cardigan by Michele DuNaier

Geisha's Finest stole by Tanja Osswald

Both our CAL and the GAL end on New Year's Eve so there is definitely some double dipping potential here!