Episode 28: Knitting Chicken (Or Ben Levisay Fights for Your Right to Party)

KnottyGirls Knitcast

Today’s episode is sponsored by the New and Improved Dizzy Blonde Studios. New and Improved because we now have our own website. Visit our new home at DizzyBlondeStudios.com

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Catching Up: (1:15)

Laura had family visiting, Her sister-in-law was visiting. And her brother and his family are doing the amusement park tour of California, including Disneyland (and she will be able to play in the park with them). It's Tony's birthday soon, so that's happy. And she's been doing a lot of dying, especially the custom colors for both of the shops that carry custom colors of Dizzy Blonde Studios yarn. And she's been catching up on Doctor Who. She loved "Blink." (Don't we all?)

Jen made strawberry basil lemonade. She has a blog post up with her strawberry basil lemonade recipe. She also saw both The Grand Budapest Hotel and Godzilla and thinks they are both worth seeing. She and Ron are working out some new songs, "Amie" by Pure Prairie League and a mashup of two songs "Little Talks" by Of Monsters and Men and "Home" by Ed Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. And she's been paying some old video games by Tim Schafer, including Day of the Tentacle.

We mention yarn shops Colors and Alamitos Bay Yarn Company, the Cradle Will Rock Shawlette, and Canon Hand Dyes.

In the Knitting Bag: (12:44)

Laura is on the last color of her Leftie by Martina Behm out of a Miss Babs Yummy kit in slate and reds. She has finally actually started her Down the Garden Path Shawl by Michele DuNaeir in Lambie Toes in Special Hell. And she started her Yggdrasil Afghan by Lisa Jacobs out of reclaimed Berroco Vintage Chunky in Chocolate.

Jen is working on her Leah’s Lovely Cardigan from More Last Minute Knitted Gifts out of Malabrigo sock in Eggplant. She is almost done with the sleeves. She is also working on her second Sunshine Sock by Cookie A in Dream in Color Smooshy in Butterpeeps and her Lauriel Cardigan (by Ysolda Teague from Little Red in the City) out of Wollmeise DK in Pesto for Camp Loopy. She has trouble casting on, as usual.

We mention the Citron Grande and Endless Rainbow.

Finished Objects: (20:21)

Laura finished her Men's Vintage Socks in Dizzy Blonde Studios Lambie Toes in No Touching Guns (grey). She may want to take different pictures than the ones she initially took. She is still deciding on a name, but she probably going to name it for Sectumsempra, a spell that Snape used in Harry Potter.

Jen finished her Hitchhiker by Martina Behm out of a Zauberball in the colorway 2079 Durche die Blume (pink and green and white). She only got 40 teeth and she had about 6 inches of yarn left after binding off.

Devil's Tower: (23:00)

The UFOs are quiet.

Frog Pond: (23:10)

Laura had some trouble with the Down the Garden Path Shawl. She didn't read the pattern, because she thinks she can read the designer's mind.

Jen has frogged her entire Chickadee (which is by Ysolda Teague and she was working it in Quince and Co. Chickadee). It's a top down yoke sweater with stranded colorwork worked flat, and she's not happy with how it looks. So she's going to start over, because she wants to be happy with it.

On Deck: (26:11)

Laura wants to make a Dreambird by Nadita Swings out of either Dizzy Blonde Sock or Lambie Toes (or maybe both) for a booth sample. She wants to make Knitted Scale Mail Gloves by CraftyMutt, the Effortless Cardigan by Hannah Fettig out of Dizzy Blonde DK in an undecided color, and the Motoring Madness Mittens by Audrey Nicklin from Lit Knits out of brown alpaca.

Jen will be re-starting her Chickadee. She'll be making a Ginny's Cardigan by Mari Chiba from the Unofficial Harry Potter Knits out of Wollmeise Pure in Chim Chim Chimney. And she wants to make Water for the Elephants socks by Rose Hiver in some Knitpicks Stroll in a bare (natural) and Summer Blooms (pink) and the Citron Grand out of Desert Vista Dyeworks Voir in Cherry Icee.

Knit Culture: (30:28)

We play the promo for the Once Upon a Time Podcast.

We do the drawing for the May Stashdown Challenge. Congratulations to knitallthestuff! You win a digital copy of Subversive Socks edited by Tabetha Hendrick, courtesy of Cooperative Press. June’s theme will be Matriculation, so post your finished objects in the June thread. July's theme will be music; projects that remind you of your favorite song or musician or album cover or what-have-you.

Steve Malcolm of It Takes Balls to Knit has launched an indiegogo campaign.

And we interview Benjamin Levisay of XRX Books, the Stitches Shows, and the Fiber Hooligan Podcast. We talk about his background, his podcast (including the origin of its name), his work with Halos of Hope, his new software venture, Hopscotch, and some general geek stuff.

Geek Culture: (1:14:23)

We talk some more about some upcoming blockbusters including How to Train Your Dragon 2, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Jupiter Ascending, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Expendables 3, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, and Sex Tape.

We mention Interstellar (which is the Matthew Mcconaughey astronaut film that Jen couldn't think of the title of.

Events: (1:19:44)

Jen will be at the Retzlaff Winery Fleeces, Food, and Fun event on June 7th.

We are doing an event for World Wide Knit In Public Day. We are partnering with Colors 91711 (address 248 Harvard Avenue, Claremont CA 91711). On Sunday June 22, we will be at the park across Harvard Ave having a knitting picnic from 11am to 2pm. Bring a chair, some shade, some snacks to share, water, sunscreen, your knitting. Colors opens at 12 noon for your shopping pleasure.

We are both going to the CogKNITive retreat run by Dr. Gemma of the CogKNITive Podcast on July 25.

KnitDizzney will be Sunday, September 7, 2014. Save the date. There will be exclusive colorways and T-shirts for purchase and we will have a meetup at the picnic spiral.