Author Archives: downcellarstudio@gmail.com

Episode 217: HATS!

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Thank you for tuning in to Episode 217 of the Down Cellar Studio Podcast. This week’s segments included:

  • Off the Needles, Hook or Bobbins
  • On the Needles, Hook or Bobbins
  • Brainstorming
  • From the Armchair
  • Knitting in Passing
  • In my Travels
  • KAL News
  • Events
  • Contest, News & Notes
  • Life in Focus
  • On a Happy Note
  • Quote of the Week


Thank you to this episode’s sponsors: Fibernymph Dye Works, Love in Stitches, Charming Ewe

Off the Needles, Hook or Bobbins

Snap Hat #5 & #6

  • Pattern: Snap by Tin Can Knits ($6 pattern available on their website or on Ravelry)
  • Needles: US 7 & US 10.5 (4.5 & 6.5 mm) needles
  • Yarn: fingering weight scraps- 4 strands of fingering held together.
  • Ravelry Project Pages: Hat 5, Hat 6
  • I had hoped to donate these Snap Hats to Hats for Sailors Project but they are requesting 100% wool (ideally superwash wool) for its flame resistant quality.


Without a Paddle Hat

On the Needles, Hook or Bobbins

Three Waters Farm Superfine Merino

Pink Moon Sweater

  • Pattern: Pink Moon by This.Bird.Knits. $8 US Pattern available on Ravelry and on the This.Bird.Knits Site.
  • Needles: US 5 & 7 (3.75 & 4.5 mm)
  • Yarn:
    • Sweitzer Fiber Mill unknown (gray)- Rhinebeck 2019
    • Lisa Daschinger Wools (mustard)- Farm Fiber Day’s Russell’s Market January 2020
    • mur yarn merino cashmere fingering (pink)- Barcelona 2019
    • Rowan Alpaca Classic (pink) Staci’s Stitches- LYS
    • Maroon handspun
  • Ravelry Project Page

Love Letters Socks

  • Yarn: Fibernymph Dye Works Mountain Tweed BFL Fingering in the Love Letters Colorway
  • Needles: US 1 (2.25 mm)
  • Pattern: OMG Heel by Megan Williams
  • Ravelry Project Page
  • Yarn: Fibernymph Dye Works– Pro Shop Sponsor- 40 points
  • Bag: Anne Beady Designs– Pro Shop Sponsor- Pigskin ’21 Exclusive- 60 points
  • Yarn Cozy: Cookie & Bees– Snack Shack Sponsor- 20 points
  • Pattern: OMG Heel- Pro Shop – 40
  • 160 points

Mermaid Socks

  • Yarn: agirlandherwool BFL sock in the August 2020 Club Colorway
  • Needles: US 1.5 (2.5 mm)
  • Pattern: OMG Heel by Megan Williams
  • Ravelry Project Page

Brainstorming

I want to knit all the hats, a crochet stocking and some DK socks for myself.  

From the Armchair


Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. Amazon Affiliate Link. Bookshop Affiliate Link.

Note: Some links are listed as Amazon Affiliate Links. If you click those, please know that I am an Amazon Associate and I earn money from qualifying purchases.

Knitting in Passing

I shared a story about chatting with my friend’s uncles about hand knits they received as kids.

In My Travels

Tune in to hear a bit about my visit to 6 stores during the Cape & South Shore Yarn Haul. Check out my YouTube Channel for an upcoming video.

KAL News


Pigskin Party ’21: Official Hashtag: #DCSPigskinParty21

Important Links:

September Skills Building Interception: hosted by Irocknits Designs. Find the details in this Google Doc or in this Ravelry Thread. Runs September 15-October 1, 2021. Thank you, Cori, for hosting. Find her patterns on her website & on Ravelry.

October Interception: INCREASE Your Score: hosted by Wendy of Knitters Brewing Company.
Details will posted before this opens on 10/5. Prize: $30 gift certificate to the Knitters Brewing Co Etsy Shop

Events

Contest, News & Notes

Check out new vides on the Down Cellar Studio YouTube Channel

  • Berkshire Vacation Vlog
  • Crafty Chat #11 with Mary Hull/Kino Knits will go up on my YouTube Channel on Friday 10/1 at 12p Eastern. 
  • Cape & South Shore Yarn Haul Video (including Yarny Show & Tell) coming soon.

Life in Focus

Two thumbs up for the Maintenance Phase Podcast

On a Happy Note

  • Fall decorations
  • Cooler mornings and evenings!
  • Flannel shirts!
  • Mushrooms growing everywhere.
  • The mosquitos aren’t bothering me on morning walks anymore.
  • Outdoor yoga
  • Facetime with Hattie- “let me see the tractor… I miss you tractor!”
  • Getting to one of Garret’s baseball games. Checking out renovations at my. brother’s house.
  • Rewatching Scrubs.  

Quote of the Week

“Humor is what happens when we’re told the truth quicker and more directly than we’re used to.” – George Saunders

Thank you for tuning in!
Contact Information:

Episode 216: Vacation Knitting

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Thank you for tuning in to Episode 216 of the Down Cellar Studio Podcast. This week’s segments included:

  • Off the Needles, Hook or Bobbins
  • On the Needles, Hook or Bobbins
  • From the Armchair
  • Crafty Adventures
  • Knitting in Passing
  • In my Travels
  • KAL News
  • Events
  • Contest, News & Notes
  • Life in Focus
  • On a Happy Note
  • Quote of the Week


Thank you to this episode’s sponsors: Imagined Landscapes, Anne Beady Designs & Good Noodle Yarn Company

Off the Needles, Hook or Bobbins

4 Snap Hats

  • Pattern: Snap by Tin Can Knits ($6 pattern available on their website or on Ravelry)
  • Needles: US 7 & US 10.5 (4.5 & 6.5 mm) needles
  • Yarn: fingering weight scraps
  • Used anywhere from 62-72g of yarn
  • #3 used 1 strand of DK and 2 strands of fingering. All others used 4 strands of fingering held together.
  • Ravelry Project Pages: Hat 1 (darker greens), Hat 2 (lighter greens), Hat 3 (cream with green/orange), Hat 4 (purples)

On the Needles, Hook or Bobbins

Three Waters Farm Superfine Merino 

Pink Moon Sweater

  • Pattern: Pink Moon by This.Bird.Knits. $8 US Pattern available on Ravelry and on the This.Bird.Knits Site.
  • Needles: US 5 & 7 (3.75 & 4.5 mm)
  • Yarn: 
    • Sweitzer Fiber Mill unknown (gray)- Rhinebeck 2019
    • Lisa Daschinger Wools (mustard)- Farm Fiber Day’s Russell’s Market January 2020
    • mur yarn merino cashmere fingering (pink)- Barcelona 2019
    • Rowan Alpaca Classic (pink) Staci’s Stitches- LYS
    • Handspun BFL (maroon)
  • Ravelry Project Page

Whatits Galore Socks

Fall is My Favorite Socks

  • Yarn: Woolens & Nosh sock in the Fall is my Favorite Colorway
  • Needles: US 1.5 (2.5 mm)
  • Pattern: OMG Heel by Megan Williams
  • Ravelry Project Page
  • Pigskin Bonus Point Breakdown:
    • Yarn: Woolens and Nosh is a Pro Shop Sponsor- 40 points
    • Pattern: OMG Heel- Pro Shop Sponsor- 40 points
    • Project Bag: Cookie & Bees– Snack Shack Sponsor- 20 points
    • Total: 100 points + yardage points

Love Letters Socks

  • Yarn: Fibernymph Dye Works Mountain Tweed BFL Fingering in the Love Letters Colorway
  • Needles: US 1 (2.25 mm)
  • Pattern: OMG Heel by Megan Williams
  • Ravelry Project Page
  • Pigskin Bonus Point Breakdown:
    • Yarn: Fibernymph Dye Works– Pro Shop Sponsor- 40 points
    • Bag: Anne Beady Designs– Pro Shop Sponsor- Pigskin ’21 Exclusive- 60 points
    • Yarn Cozy: Cookie & Bees– Snack Shack Sponsor- 20 points
    • Pattern: OMG Heel- Pro Shop Sponsor – 40 points
    • 160 points + yardage points

From the Armchair

Woodswoman by Anne LaBastille. Amazon Affiliate Link. Bookshop Affiliate Link. 

Note: Some links are listed as Amazon Affiliate Links. If you click those, please know that I am an Amazon Associate and I earn money from qualifying purchases.

Crafty Adventures

Punch Needle

Knitting in Passing

Recent trip to the Berkshires, chatted with a lovely couple from CT around the fire outside the lodge. The husband talked about how he learned to crochet when he was young, much to his father’s dismay. His family lived on a campground in the summer and his mother, grandmother and aunts all crocheted so they taught him and he really enjoyed it. He said he also had a cross stitch kit he bought ages ago and he’s looking forward to diving into that during retirement and longing for that meditative space of the repetition of the thread and the needle!

In My Travels

Stay Tuned for Vacation Video on the Down Cellar Studio YouTube Channel. Mom and I recorded a chat about our week towards the end of our stay. Will pop in videos and photos we took turn the vacation! 

KAL News


Pigskin Party ’21: Official Hashtag: #DCSPigskinParty21

Important Links:

Not familiar? It’s a ridiculously fun make-a-long that runs all through the NFL football season. We typically have a couple hundred participants each year. For each FO you finish, you earn touchdown & field goal points. You also earn points for using sponsor products & fulfilling other challenges. For every 100 points earned, you get an entry into our Grand Prize drawing. We also have lots of prizes reserved for participation on Ravelry and Instagram to keep it fun and light.

Kick off was so much fun! Staying in one Zoom room each day was great. I saved the Saturday afternoon chat after a participant mentioned it. Click here to find all of the links shared Saturday. 

30 Day Tailgate Talk Challenge. Begins 9/10/21. Find all of the details in this Google Doc or in this Ravelry Thread. Not too late to start now. 

  • Starting Friday September 10th, answer one question a day in Your Team’s thread on Ravelry (not in the Huddle Thread unless you want to share in there as a bonus) and/or on Instagram using #DCSPigskinTailgate21.  If you share your answers to all 30 questions, enter the Points Tally Form and you’ll get 150 points for playing. Note- you cannot enter for these points until 10/8/21.

September Interception: hosted by Cori of Irockknits Designs. Check out her patterns on Ravelry. Check out the Interception details on Ravelry or in this Google Doc.

Events

Contest, News & Notes

  • Sagamore Flyover Hat coming soon! Sign up for my email newsletter to be the first to find out when it drops. Bulky weight, textured hat. Written for beanie and slouchy options. Baby sizes through adults. Some of my testers had so much fun they knit up 2 in less time than I had allotted for them to make 1!

Life in Focus

  • Getting back into routine after vacation feels great.

On a Happy Note

  • Vacation Yarn Shopping- Webs in Northampton, MA & Spin Off Yarn Shop in North Adams, MA. Mom went to Colorful Stitches in Lenox, MA
  • Seeing our niece Emelyn and meeting her roommate.  Ramen & vintage clothing store shopping! 
  • Antiquing – got 4 fiber crafty items. One is embroidery. The other is, I believe, Crewel Embroidery. I also got antique wooden spools and a set of vintage wooden sock blockers
  • Spa day with Mom. Have you heard of a Lash Lift & Tints? We tried it! 
  • Hiking at Mt. Greylock with Mom and Dad. Highest point in MA. 
  • Seeing the Natural Bridge in North Adams, MA. The only White Marble Dam in North America. 
  • Even though our hike was canceled we still got to see Peck’s Falls.
  • Kayaking with Dan and Claire 
  • 2 weeks off!!!

Quote of the Week

If you invest in beauty, it will remain with you all the days of your life.
Frank Lloyd Wright

Thank you for tuning in!
Contact Information:

Episode 215: 9 FOs & Even More Fun!

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Thank you for tuning in to Episode 215 of the Down Cellar Studio Podcast.This week’s segments included:

  • Off the Needles, Hook or Bobbins
  • Brainstorming
  • From the Armchair
  • In my Travels
  • KAL News
  • Events
  • Contest, News & Notes
  • On a Happy Note
  • Quote of the Week

Thank you to this episode’s sponsors: AdoreKnit

Shout out to Ultimate Insider Patrons: Charlie, Candy, Theresa, Luanne and Beth!

Off the Needles, Hook or Bobbins

Chubby Elephant

  • Pattern: Chubby Elephant by Spin a Yarn Crochet (free option or $2.50 US)
  • Yarn: Bernat Velvet in Misty Gray & Bernat Crushed Velvet in Toasted Plums
  • Hook: D (3.25 mm)
  • Ravelry Project Page
  • 168.5 meters

Solid Granny Square Blanket 2021 Edition

  • Yarn: fingering weight scraps
  • Hook: D (3.25mm)
  • Pattern: Solid Granny Square by Lullaby Melodia- Find this pattern on Ravelry or directly on the Lullaby Lodge website
  • My Ravelry Project Page
  • I ripped out the color squares I could salvage from last summer’s blanket and made some new ones too.
  • Single crocheted the squares together and added border with Knit Picks Stroll in gray. 
  • 1816 meters

Imaginarium Socks

  • Yarn: Legacy Fiber Artz Steel Toes in the Imaginarium Colorway
  • Needles: US 1.5 (2.5 mm)
  • Pattern: Non-Euclidian Heel by Sarah Jordan
  • My Ravelry Project Page
  • 253.8 meters

Candy Color Socks

  • Yarn: Regia 4 ply in Colorway 01160
  • Needles: US 1 (2.25 mm)
  • Pattern: OMG Heel by Megan Williams
  • Ravelry Project Page
  • Self striping/self patterning Christmas colors. CO 60 sts. 2×2 rib. down to 56 after heel.
  • 210 meters

Magic Stripes Socks

  • Yarn: Patons Kroy Stripes in the Magic Stripes colorway & Patons Kroy in the Coal colorway (black)
  • Needles: US 1.5 (2.5 mm)
  • Pattern: OMG Heel by Megan Williams
  • Ravelry Project Page
  • 267 meters

Scrappy Shawl (design prototype: will share more details in the months to come)- 710 meters of sock yarn scraps.

Wild Plum Merino Spin

  • Fiber Addict Designs: 100% Merino, Commercial Combed Roving, 4 oz. Wild Plum Colorway
  • Spinning on my Kromski Minstrel Spinning Wheel
  • My Ravelry Page
  • 3 ply 252 yards /230 meters. 100g. Not as thick as I had hoped I could do, but its more like a DK than a sport, so I was at least moderately successful. Plumped up beautifully in washing. 
  • 924.2 meters for Stash Dash

Granny Stripe Blanket

  • Pattern: Granny Stripe by Lucy of Attic 24. Click here for Ravelry Link or Click here for Website. Free crochet pattern. 
  • Hook L (8.0 mm)
  • Yarn: Lion Brand Nature’s Choice Organic Cotton in Almond, Macadamia, Pistachio, Dusty Blue and Blueberry.
  • Ravelry Project Page
  • Foundation row- 56 chains. 
  • Edging- first round done using granny cluster on long edges as described in pattern. hdc around in Macadamia & then a sc round in blue and a picot edge in brown.
  • 7.56 skeins- 710.2 meters

V Stitch Baby Blanket

  • Pattern: Baby Blanket by Annemarie Benthem (free pattern on LoveCrafts). 
  • Hooks: L (8.0 mm) to chain/set-up and J (6.0 mm) for body. 
  • Yarn: Lion Brand Nature’s Choice Organic Cotton in Almond, Macadamia, Pistachio, Dusty Blue and Blueberry.
  • My Ravelry Project Page
  • Chained 79. 25 Vs. 
  • Edge= 2 rounds sc. 
  • 642.9 meters

Stash Dash Total as of 8/30/21: 15,392 meters.

Brainstorming

  • Pink Moon by This.Bird.Knits. Check out the pattern using this Ravelry Link or Website link. ($8 knitting pattern).
  • I pulled out Pigskin ’21 sponsor products. 2 WoolensandNosh self striping plus some from FIbernymph Dye Works, Mint Rain and agirlandherwool. And lots of bags too of course.
  • Pigskin ’21 Sponsor Patterns Bundle on Ravelry– 1005 patterns to choose from!

From the Armchair

In My Travels

  • Checked out a brewery up in NH- Hobb’s Brewing Tap Room on Rt 16 in Ossippi, NH
  • Played dice game: Quixx- Amazon Associate Link
  • We did taste tests of whoopie pies (vanilla versus chocolate filling) and Jax cheese puffs vs. Cheese Doodles cheese curls – helped me get a second bingo for the Craft, Cook, Read Repeat Podcast Summer Bingo event. 
  • We helped move some things out of Gayle’s Camp as she closes up to move. I was thrilled to take this beautiful embroidery piece that Gayle made home with me.

KAL News

Pigskin Party ’21: Official Hashtag: #DCSPigskinParty21

Important Links:

Virtual Kick Off Schedule

Events

Contest, News & Notes

On a Happy Note

  • Running is going really well! 
  • I saw not one but 2 bucks in a nearby yard!
  • Dan and I did a big basement clean out and Savers donation run.
  • My friend Laura came for her first visit since Covid. Antiquing overload!
  • Getting texts from my SIL with cute photos of our niece Gabriella playing with the teddy I made for her birthday and the Baby Yoda I made her for Christmas.
  • Seeing all of the handmade stuffies my nephew took to Ireland when he moved!
  • August Zoom with Patrons! So much fun. 
  • Pool night at my parents with my brother’s kids and my mom’s friend Trish. Silliness with Snapchat filters.
  • Dan and I had a blast at Camp. A great kick off to my vacation.

Quote of the Week

“Make your heart like a lake with a calm, still surface and great depths of kindness.”- Lao Tzu

Contact Information: