Ep. 36: Baby It'S Cold Outside // Knitting With Cat Hair Podcast

Hello and welcome to the knitting with cat hair podcast. My name is nikki, i'm also known as knitting with cat hair on instagram and cat hair knitting on ravelry. We are coming to you from sudbury ontario canada, which lies atop the traditional lands of the tiga machine and astronomic people where i live with my partner, our two daughters and our five cats, and today i have a special guest, my mom hi. This is laurie she's, been on the podcast a few times um. She is here for december, so we're very lucky to have her with us again, so she gets to show off all her beautiful knits too all right, so i think we'll just jump right into it. We'Re filming outside obviously, and it's a little chillier than expected. I don't know a little chilly. You know what i know it's red. Yet my hands are frozen. Um. I don't know what the temperature is. I think it's like minus something 18 or something maybe not anyways. Whatever it's cold we're here, but we're warm we're, we're wearing our woollens. So up here we're warm. I think we need some woolen pants knitting, those long johns. Yes, yes, that would be good, actually trap door in the back. Please do you have wool and socks on as well? I do i do too. My feet are warm okay, so we'll jump right into it. We'Ll start with um. I guess what we're wearing you go first. Well, you've waited a long time for those of you who may have seen me before and this sweater in various stages. It'S, oh, my goodness. I want to say it's done, but it's not done. I'M still weaving in ends laboriously, but it for all intents and purposes it is done. It is made out of let lopey and the pattern is called yord yard yard and it's from a probably obsolete book um but yeah. Oh, my goodness, toasty warm, really nice enjoy wearing it and so from 1990 till now it's it's finished. Well, it's beautiful! It was worth the wait. I think it's gorgeous yeah, it's good, that it's toasty warm, because it is chilly yeah and what are you wearing nikki um? I am wearing my newly finished um wild posey, which is my second one. This time i did the flora version with the um, the lace. I haven't washed and blocked this, so full disclosure, it's yeah and there's some ends to weave in which you can't tell um yeah. So this is my second wild posey like i said it is a pattern by b mandarins or melody hoffman, and i knit this out of plotulopi. I held two strands together. This is the i think it's just called white color. I don't know it's kind of like a creamy creamy color very pretty. This is my. This is my christmas sweater, so yeah um it was a super quick knit. I i was still working when i knit it, and i think it took me like about three weeks. Um so evenings and weekends kind of thing and yeah super quick, knit highly recommend it. I love it and it's warm yes yeah all right. So do you have any other finished objects. I do all right, oh yeah, what else but working on socks. So these are um hilda's did i forget the name hilda's basic website, yes, and it's just a three by one rib and it's a present for my son-in-law who doesn't watch so it's all good and his favorite color is green. So those are for him. He will very much appreciate those. Do you want to know what they're made of they're? Do you yeah? Do you know i'm out of practice they're made of uh wool nylon mix. Um nikki gave this to me and apparently it's pretty economical to buy yeah. It was very affordable. I just got it at michael's. I think i bought it last year or the year before, yeah quite a few colors, because my husband also has a pair of socks out of this same yarn, but different color way. So it's loops and threads. I think is the name loops and threads snuggly stripes wool yeah yeah, but look at the colors they're beautiful they're kind of a fady color. Instead of really uh de-marked stripes. I prefer yeah they're very pretty. I hope he prefers. Oh he'll he'll wear them. He loves he's very knitworthy. He loves handknit socks for sure. That'S very nice. Do you have a finished object? That'S it for me! Okay! I do oh where'd, it go almost lost it. So i finished a little acorn. Look how cute that is! It'S so cute! It'S uh yeah, just knit with leftover sock yarn. I think it was um. It'S one of the. I think it's susan b anderson's fall harvest charms. I had started this back in october. I don't know i jumped on the autumn bandwagon. So i'd started this acorn. I kind of want to do the whole set, so there's like a leaf and a pumpkin and uh pine cone, yeah i'll pop in a picture. So you can see what i'm talking about it's just really cute and um, and i thought oh that'd be quick to whip up and then i realized how fiddly they are and i'm not used to working on dpn's anymore uh. So yeah really small dpn's and it was it was quite fiddly. There may have been some some bad words dropped time or two while trying to finish it off. But it's done and it's cute. We are a house of bad words. Yeah wait, especially while knitting. What did you stuff it with? Oh, yes, thank you for bringing this up so um. I didn't have any polyfill, because it's not something i normally would carry, because i don't usually make toys or things like that. So i had been saving up some of my ends from my sweaters when i was like weaving the ends in and then cutting the cutting the little bits, and i just chopped them up into like little tiny bits and made them all floofy and - and i used That so i'm i'm gon na keep saving on my ends. I think that's a great idea, especially if i'm planning on making more so yeah. That'S what i did thank you and i think that's it for finished objects we're not making much progress. Oh yeah and things there's been some things. Okay, we can get into that all right. Um do you want to go? First, okay, it's starting to snow yeah, really lightly yeah. We have almost no snow here. It'S crazy, like i don't know it just, doesn't feel like christmas without snow. For me, i'll start with my work in progress. Sorry for the wrinkling um the work in progress that i am actually enjoying. This is the start of my skillgra, we'll put the name in yeah, i'm so sorry i you know. Maybe i should learn to knit something that is. I can pronounce. That would be good uh, it's made by albina mclaughlin, and this is it starting. So it's top down. It'S a lace pattern! Sorry, do you want to spread it out with me nikki? Maybe it'll show up, but just okay, you stretch it yeah, i'm not sure you can see that but nikki i'll put a picture in i'm sure yeah. It'S knit from small bird workshop yarn, this colorway is called sumac and i love the color. It'S this beautiful. Oh i'm, sorry, it's a merino silk and it's just this beautiful got a bit of a shine to it. I just i'm loving it. So i just have a little bit more to knit and then i'm ready to separate for the sleeves and at the body and obviously the sleeves and carry on so i am enjoying that that's um now now yeah i've been tearing out a lot of stuff. Lately, oh my goodness yeah so yeah she'll tell you it's because i didn't squash and swatch and block and get naughty knitter. I'Ve never knit lace. So i don't like. I can't judge, because i've never met lace before well. The lace isn't the problem. I think the lace is fine. The problem is my choice of size. I believe, okay. Well, it's beautiful! Thank you! It'S very lovely! So that's my enjoyable knit, which i will carry on here's my not so enjoyable that, but it's got a really good story. You'Ll you'll, like this story. Okay, should we start with story? Why not eh? So my sister is getting married in um june and we come from a french canadian family and there is a french canadian tradition that if you're a younger sister - and you have older sisters or brothers who are not married before you get married, they have to dance In their socks or their rubber boots, so in that tradition i am making two pairs of uh lady socks for my two elder sisters, huh and nikki's, going to be making the men's socks for the one gentleman who is um, also older than the groom so um. I chose this pattern because i want them to show up so it's a half stranded socks by anna zilborg and once again, it's out of this sock knitting master class book for you, for you guys. You saw last time i knit out of this book, good god and it wasn't it's okay. So once again it's not going great, not going great at all. I am struggling with tension and i'm telling you and i'm on on my tension. So i got exactly what the gauge called for. So here's what it looks like so it's knit um i'm doing black and white so that they would really really definitely show up on the dance floor. No, no doubt there so um, i'm doing black and white. Yes and so i'm on tension, this is a 2.75 millimeter needles. I don't know what that is in us and um it's going along great and then i go because it's knit flat and then you turn it around and you attach it's very, very interesting construction, because what you do is you do the whole soil in one. So should you ever get holes in the back or anything you can just rip out the soil repair it and put it back in so yeah interesting construction um. So i start to do the bottom of it and for those of you who don't who don't realize how valuable your notes are on ravelry when you do a project, nikki looked this sock up and someone was having the same trouble. I was the back, was so huge and so long as i was picking it up and i even put markers to divide the stitches evenly make sure i was picking everything up correctly and it was just huge. So this one woman - i'm sorry, i don't know her name, but she uh. She did a ribbing on the back to pull it all in and pull it down and it worked. But, alas, it it didn't work. When i got to the gusset, it was still too small. So then what i did god this goes on forever. What i did was i uh. I went up two needle sizes and i decided i'm gon na knit them in the round top down. So i did that and um nikki took a picture of what that resulted in i'll pop it in and oh my goodness, my gauge was huge huge, so i ripped that all back out and now what i'm doing is i'm going to the needle size between the 2.75 and the 3.25, which is a three and i'm going to try again on the um on in the round top down, because this pattern is not uh. It'S not working for me at all. So wish me luck, we'll see, but i have till june to get them done so good thing. Good thing you started early, oh my goodness, and that next talk is going to be or the next next set of socks is going to be a breeze yeah. So what i'm doing is this one is obviously the white in the background and the white on the back um sole and it's color work up the back leg as well, but i'm going to do the reverse for the second pair. So the background will be black and the white will be the pattern it's going to be so pretty yeah. I hope they turn out at some point, which would be really nice yeah. So if you want to give that pattern, a whirl have at it. So with that, are you keeping good notes in your ravelry page? I don't even remember my ravelry password, so i would say no, i don't! Oh, you know what, though i someone told me that you can't knit and talk at the same time is that true, what's this retaliation, it's true, i can't knit and talk so when you go to a stitch and what what part do you do? Um, mostly bitching? Some knitting, when i listen to other people, you know i can i can knit and listen. I just can't knit and talk terrible at it thanks for bringing that up, no, no problem! So uh! Oh, you know what i just had an idea. Okay, i'm thinking. If i never get these done, and i end up with one sock, you know all those people that have second sock syndrome. This might be good. What about people? Who only have one foot like seriously and they can't afford a prostitute or a prosthesis or or aren't getting one, or maybe you could donate your one sock, maybe something to look into yeah, never thought of it. I think that's a great idea. I don't have that problem at the moment, but i may have that problem. Let'S see anyways, okay! What'S next, are you done? Do you have any other works in progress? No, okay. Do you want to keep your little page um all right, i'll go into my works in progress, um i'll start with? Oh, i don't have that many. What am i happy? Oh yeah, okay, i'll start with the old one um. So since my mom has been here, she's crazy, kindly woven in all the ends on on john's sweater, the sweater i'm making for john this is the westerly pullover i'll pop in a picture um so yeah. She thank you again. Are you welcome weaving in all those ends? I hate weaving in ends um, so i've managed to do the three needle bind off and attach the shoulders, and i still need to uh wash and block and then i think, pick up the collar and do the collar in the hood. So not too much of an update there, but it's getting there! It'S not going to be ready for christmas, sadly, but to make up for that sorry and i'm knitting that out of will of the andes tweed by nitpicks um. I'Ve cast on a hat for john another one because he wears his other one. So much and it's nothing exciting it's just. It'S called the man hat. I think, and it's just a one by one rib um. He loves the other two i made for him. So yeah and this one's knit out of wool of the andes tweet as well, so it's going to match his his sweater um and i held it double to give it this nice cushy fabric and it's yeah. It'S just really pretty really cozy and i should be able to get that done for christmas. How are those christmas socks coming nikki? You know the ones from last year. Yep, no, you mean the ones: oh yeah, no, not the stockings, no yeah, yeah yeah. I know where you're going with this okay, so you may have noticed. On my last episode, i talked about a pair of chrysalis slacks. I was trying to admit for my daughter, our youngest for christmas, so the whole idea is, i had enough, hopefully have enough yarn to knit all four of us matching stripy christmas socks um. So for those of you and correct me if i'm wrong, if i'm wrong on this, but i was doing a a three by one rib and i was knitting top down and i was gon na throw in an afterthought heel. I'Ve only done one afterthought, two one. One afterthought heel sock before so i'm not super experienced with it, but when i started experimenting thinking, okay, where am i going to place this heel? I realized what a pain in the butt it is to pick up. Ribbing, it's like it's. I don't know if it's impossible, but it did not work, so i just ripped it all out and in frustration. There were some more curse words, so those are on hiatus um. I will do them eventually, but i'll probably just do instead of doing an afterthought heel. I'Ll just knit them normally and um, throw in a heel, flap and gusset, so that looks really pretty outside mm-hmm, so how's, my little uh blue rabbit house bag spores the polar bear i've started cast on a new project, which is, i think, it's called uncle's christmas Stocking i'll pop in a picture of what it looks like, i can't i'm sorry i can't remember the designer i'll put it down below um. So yeah i've started this christmas stocking, which is the nice size this one. So there it's knit uh bottom up. I guess toe up the correct word and uh yeah. This one has like, i guess, they're, like kind of like poinsettia, or do you call those norwegian stars? I can't remember both yeah, it's really pretty. So that's going to be the well that's the front of the stocking and then the back is equally pretty puree border. I like that uh yeah, they're, really cute, and this is going to be for my daughter, so it's kind of like a replacement for the socks. I didn't make it this won't be ready for christmas, either whatever it's ready when it's ready - and i have three other stockings in in mind, so this one is being knit out of. Actually all four of them will be knit out of briggs and little sport. I think it's called so i have this cream and this kind of i think it's called maroon is the color. It'S really pretty so i'll do two stockings out of this these colorways and then i got a green as well. This one is called green heather. Oh here briggs little sport yeah, it's a one ply um, but this one i don't know if it's showing up, but it's kind of got like different colors in it. Yeah. It'S really pretty. Really beautiful and i'll. Do the other two stockings out of green and cream, and that is the plan, but i decided on a pattern. Finally, that was the big hold up, because that's the struggle it is for me. I'M have this like indus, indecision, paralysis, where i can't decide on stuff, and then i just do nothing so at least i'm doing something so yeah. The problem is there's so much choice. Oh too much choice. You know if there was like okay, here's six patterns choose four. Yes in the whole world, exactly then it would be easier. People are too creative, never never created. I appreciate all the creativity me too. Okay, so i think that's wow. That was quick. I think because it's so cold out um 20 minutes. Oh, we still got some stuff yeah. What we have more to talk about my mohammed, oh yeah, sorry, go! I'M excited about this future plans. I don't have a plan for it. Oh, i don't have a pattern for it. Let me find it where'd. You get your uh project bag, mom, my project bag bed, bath and beyond. It'S housed in my twin double sized sheepshead. You know what don't knock it it works. It does. I use all sorts of eggs, it keeps the moths away and everything okay. This is a beautiful yarn. I picked up. I was in oakville, which is in southern ontario um for uh almost a month, visiting friends and cat sitting, and i went to this really cute little yarn shop called spun fiber, where i got nikki's christmas present and i picked myself up some yarn uh. This is called patagonia, it's by juniper moon and it's a organic merino and um. I love it so far. It'S very beautiful and this is from tanis fiber arts and it's a mohair called grapefruit. Now this is not really me and if you look at these two together separately, i mean um they're, okay, but they're not fabulous, but look what happens when i put them together. Look how beautiful that is! Yeah! It'S like a pinky! Isn'T that just super gorgeous i'm in love with it? So that's my swatch, oh see i did swatch did i. I don't have a gauge so now i have to find a sweater that fits this watch. Have you guys done that? Do you swatch and go? I really like how that looks and then find a pattern, or do you find a pattern and then go i'm going to make that and get the yarn correctly. I bet you a lot of people. Do that. Oh did you show the cable? No so i loved it and i thought oh wouldn't it be really pretty if i put a cable in the sweater, but you can't see that - and i can't see it so, i'm foregoing the cable and i'm just gon na do something really basic just to showcase The wool instead of um, trying to do a pattern or a lace or anything like that because it it doesn't do the the pattern justice. So i will be perusing through nikki's, um, liner magazines and see what i can find and that's going to be. One of my winter projects - um you have winter products or do you want me to carry on? I have any. Do i? No. Oh, nothing planned. I think our neighbors, a couple doors down are doing some construction. I also have a project bag. I will. I also have another, should i show it before i yeah dig it out so pretty. I have a girlfriend surprise and her name is barb and she is a beyond fabulous, um, quilter and as a gift. She made me this beautiful quilting uh project bag, which is you can see, it's stuffed and she put a zipper in the top and it's got a metal band in it to hold it together, and if i open it, i will show you. Maybe i'm not sure you can see that, but that's the lining no got little critters inside as well, which is adorable. So this is my next project. Well, my next, after that other project nikki has a christmas present, gave me a pattern by tatty lou zach called between petals, i'm sure she'll pop a picture and use left hand over here. No use right hand. Are you talking about my little card? I never know she'll pop a picture over your face, so this is what i chose. I'Ve had this for a while, and i i really really really love it. Uh it is called its brand is americo. Can you see that americo and it is alpaca, merino and viscose, so it's a super wash my nose is real. I think this is the one. That'S just continued. Now right, yeah yeah, it's made in peru and it's a beautiful tweed. So i'm going to pair the two of those together um it's coming out kind of orange, but it's actually a really pretty rust. Yeah like a brick color almost so i'm very, very excited about that for the between petals, yes, yeah, that's gon na! I think it's gon na look really really beautiful so and i think what did we decide you had to hold that double leg: yeah, i'm gon na hold it double very nice. What was that purple thing in there? Oh, that's some yard that i was given that it's bamboo wool that i don't know what to do with yet so no okay, not showing it it's stash. But what i do want to show you is this bag, so we spent a winter in ecuador uh a few years ago, a while ago and um my friend's a weaver hi lucy, if you're watching and uh, i brought her back, which i probably wasn't supposed to Do but i did, i brought her back some um fleece from uh baby marino, sheep and it was their first sheer. So i packed all this stuff in my suitcase and brought it back and it was during the beginning of covid and they probably didn't check. Okay, i'm not i'm not going to get myself in trouble here, but i brought it back in return. She may be this big, so it's a it's pretty awesome bag. What'S so special about it, though, is the fact that it's made out of garbage bags. You know those plastic, not garbage bags grocery bags. You know those plastic bags. You get in the grocery store that you really shouldn't buy or use so she's woven it out of all of these different colors of bags, and then she does it on her loom and then she sewed it together and she lined the inside in this beautiful botanical Pattern - oh it's pretty! For me, i'm not sure you can see that oh, no, no and the little nubs on it are actually the here. Let me see the little nubs are actually little nubs of that merino lamb's wool. I brought her back, so it's absolutely adorable. It'S so useful. I use it all the time it's holding one of nikki's christmas presents at the moment. Oh, but no and uh yeah. I use it a lot. So thank you lucy. It was a great gift. Yeah, that's beautiful yeah. So how did she get the different colors? She just used different colored bags yeah. So you know when you go to like well we're canadian. So if you went to it used to be like fresco, i think was yellow or a giant tiger was yellow. So she would do yeah and then, wherever that other i don't know, i think this is a canadian tire bag, they're, the brown and the red, oh yeah, yeah, so yeah. Oh, that's so cool, very cool, very cool she's, so talented. I keep meaning to take nicki over there, so she can have a look at the stuff that she makes. Yeah beautiful that'd be awesome, so future knits for you, i don't have any. I don't know what i'm making i might really. I just want to get a few things done for christmas and then turned my attention back to my marie wallin and my tatty loot sack um that i'm working on my florarium. Oh right, we haven't seen that yet have we yeah i've shown it a couple? Okay, but yeah yeah, so that's it. I think, for the knitting chat. What are you looking at all this snow on the table? I know your book is getting covered. I don't know if you guys can see the snow coming down. Can you see us like blizzard, crazy, that's podcast outside she says, okay. That was your idea. I know okay. So what's on the plan for today, oh, what are we planning to do today? Are we still going? Oh yes, um nikki's, dug out her sewing machine that my mother, her grandmother, gave her a long time ago very long time and she wants to get into making her own project bags or we're going to do some cushions for her lovely pergola. She has and things like that, whatever we have time to do - or at least i can show her some basics. Yes, i need basic training. I don't know i like it's funny, because i spent all those summers with grandma at her store, so my grandmother had like a fabric store and she was like a seamstress and i was surrounded by by sewing all the time and you used to sew, and i Just never picked it up, never really picked it up and grandma showed me. I just i forget so it'll be good to recap and then put those skills to use so start with something simple. I think a project like a really simple project bag would be perfect. No zipper just drawstring to start yeah, we'll make it basic, yeah and then hopefully move on to making my own clothes. Eventually that's the goal. I want a completely me made wardrobe me made you made that's good, yeah yeah. So that's the plan for today got the turkey the fam's now eating meat, no we're eating poultry tall trees, which is not neat anyways. It was a slippery slope. I knew that would happen. We opened the doors to thanksgiving and then it's just been poultry ever since, but anyways um yeah, so we've got our turkey. We haven't done any baking, though, are we gon na i've baked a few times? Oh, that's true. I don't know where it went. She bakes things and they disappear. I don't know what happens yeah, okay. Well, i need to do some baking yeah make some sharp bread cookies for sure. Yeah gifts are all bought. Yes, just have to wrap them trees. Up no mishaps yeah! Last year our tree fell on our kids twice this year. It didn't fall over once and i got the second last tree this year. I thought i was going earlier than last year and there were only two trees left, so i just got this scraggly little thing and it turned out really cute. It'S actually really cute yeah. It'S perfect. We have a very, very, very small, living room, so we can only fit a very small tree which was perfect because this tree was small. Cats are enjoying it yep, so yeah there goes audrey. Sorry they are the cutest dog next door, she's out she's adorable poodle. What is she poodle, border, collie, she's, so cute? Sorry, all right, so anything else um! No, we do. We want to wish people a merry christmas. Yeah. Are we done? Are we done? Okay, we're done chatting it's getting cold. I just for i got snot, i'm wearing a little baby, blanket on my knees, because i'm i stupidly wore ripped jeans and i'm freezing on my legs, so we'll say goodbye. So next time mom comes up with an idea. Maybe someone should guy wash it? No! It'S nice, it's nice being outside. I prefer it to being in the basement for sure yeah, true, very nice, anyways, okay, so yeah we'll wish you all a very merry christmas and a joyo noel. If you celebrate and if not happy holidays and um yeah wishing you all the best for the in the new year, yeah enjoy time with your loved ones, they're special yeah for sure all right see you in 2022 bye