Two Ewes Fiber Adventures: A Podcast About Knitting, Spinning, Weaving, Crochet, Dyeing-- All The Ways To Play With Yarn And

The Two Ewes want to shine a spotlight on Front Range Bags by Nancy Totten. Nancy has generously offered a project bag from her shop to a lucky Two Ewes listener. Kelly has one of her bags in SF Giants fabric and it's great! High quality, nice and roomy, and lots of handy features. It was the perfect bag for the Crackerjack Cowl project during baseball season. To enter, take a look in the Front Range Bags shop and report back to the contest thread in the Ravelry group. Tell us which bag you like best (exclusive of the custom orders) and let us know about your favorite features in the project bags you use. A winner will randomly selected during our podcast episode 30. Thank you Nancy! We appreciate the opportunity to spotlight your bags and your shop! Marsha finished her Antarktis Shawl by Janina Kallio. The color is brighter than any photo can show! Marsha continues to work on her Lanata Cardigan by Amy Christoffers and her Virus Shawl for the Two Ewes Crochet Along. Kelly is continuing her crochet along pro

In this bonus episode Marsha and Kelly talk about fleece washing.  Kelly runs through the steps she uses and does a little myth busting about the delicacy of wool fleece and fabric. Here are some links that you may find useful; Spinderella's Fiber Mill washing instructions U.S. GSA Technical Procedures for Historic Preservation:  Types of Cleaning Detergents A method that doesn't use the washing machine

In this episode Kelly and Marsha have lots to talk about! So much, in fact, that part of it won't be heard here, but will be released as a bonus episode about fiber myth busting later this week. The Two Ewes Crochet-a-Long started October 1st and ends December 31st. To view the rules, check out our Ravelry Group thread. We are thrilled that our listener Wendy of Knitty Kitty Bags has donated a project bag as a prize. Check out her shop to see her beautiful stock. Contact us if you would also like to add to the prize list! Kelly talks about her crochet project, Happypotamus by Heidi Bears. Marsha reports on her beginning crochet class and her project, Virus Shawl. Both Kelly and Marsha finished their Crackerjack Cowls by Stacy Simpson Duke.  Kelly has also started a Color Affection that she is calling A Bigger Affection since she is modifying it (of course!) to use DK yarn and be as big as possible to use up some very old stash. The peacock blue and the acid green have been waiting in stash to be used together

Kelly and Marsha are knitters and spinners who are celebrating the first anniversary of the podcast! To celebrate they first talk about all their knitting, spinning, and crochet projects and plans. Then they have a conversation about the podcast and the past year. Kelly finished her Cotton/Linen Featherweight making a few modifications to the beloved pattern by Hannah Fettig.  This is her fourth completed sweater from coned yarns from the rescued weaving stash!  Last year she made the Acorn Trail cardigan and the Gala Tunic from coned wool yarns. This year she made the Featherweight and Cherry Vanilla cardigans. Work continues on the Mielie Vest, a pattern by Hillary Smith Callis. This one will be finished soon and has some modifications that can be found on the project page. Marsha continues to work on the Lanata cardigan by Amy Christoffers. Since she returned home from California, she caught up on her Mariner Crackerjack Cowl, and has continued working on the bright green Antarktis. During the last year of

In Episode 25 we discuss the purpose of Marsha's visit to Kelly....The Monterey County Fair Wool Auction!  This is a great destination for all knitters, spinners, and wool lovers!     Kelly discusses attending the judging that occurred the week prior to the auction. She explains the history of the wool auction, the judging categories and the criteria that the judge used. She also talks about how the wool is classified-the Bradford (or spinning count) system, the American blood system, and micron measurement.   Marsha and Kelly discuss what they were looking for in fleeces, how they decided what to bid on, and the stress and strategies of a live auction!   If you are interested in an upcoming wool judging, Lambtown in Dixon, California will have their judging at 10:00 on Saturday, October 3, 2015.  Mark Eidman is the judge there, too.   Don't forget about the Crochet-Along that starts on October 1.  Information is in the Ravelry group.  

We don't always record together, but when we do, we prefer giggles.  Please listen responsibly. Marsha visited Kelly over the Labor Day Weekend, and the Two Ewes have so much to discuss that this episode comes to you in two parts. This episode is ready for listening and Part 2 (Episode 25) will be uploaded in a few days. In Part 1 we announce our first ever Crochet-A-Long! The CAL starts October 1st and ends December 31st. Projects can be of any size or number. Kelly is planning to make Happypotamus the Happy Hippo by Heidi Bears that she has had in her queue for awhile now. Marsha is planning to make Virus Shawl by Julia Marquardt. Marsha has never crocheted before so is planning to take a class at her LYS to get started. During their visit Marsha completed her Pebble Beach Shawl by Helen Stewart using Stonehedge Fiber Mill Crazy. Thank you to our listener and Ravelry group member "kimbuktu7" for the recommendation. This is the first shawl Marsha has made that is crescent shaped and she loves the way th

Lot's of knitting happening here!   Kelly was away in the wilderness camping for two weeks and finished the Dorthelia tank by Corrina Ferguson (from her book Warm Days, Cool Knits).  She also made great progress on the endless cotton/linen Featherweight Cardigan and the Niebling lace doily. Marsha finished her Wispy Willow Cardigan by Cheryl Beckerich made with HiKoo CoBaSi. This is Marsha's first project with this yarn and the ewes talk about the differences and challenges in knitting with non-animal yarns. Marsha continues work on her Lanata cardigan by Amy Christoffers and has completed about 10" of the body. Plus progress is being made each game day on Marsha's Crackerjack Cowl. Go Mariners! Marsha is planning her next projects. She has sweater quantities of two yarns and is looking for suggestion of cardigans to make. The first is Imperial Yarn Tracie Too in Autumn Rust. This is a sport weight yarn and Marsha has 1,580 yards. The other yarn is from Thirteen Mile Lamb and Wool Company. It is worsted weigh

 Kelly is camping in her newly painted trailer known as "The Clubhouse." It is a 10.5 foot, 1967 trailer that has been decorated in a San Francisco Giants theme.  They have camped in The Clubhouse for 3 summers, but this is the first trip after it got the new paint job, had some water damage repaired, and had the interior re-paneled. This episode includes an audio field trip to the Mt. Madonna Campground in the Santa Cruz Mountains between Watsonville and Gilroy. It is a beautiful "on location" recording studio!     In the background you may hear Steller's Jays and Acorn Woodpeckers. The Acorn Woodpeckers make holes in trees and store their acorns in them like a winter pantry. They often take one tree and completely cover it with holes. On the visit here last November all the holes in the trees near the restroom were filled with acorns from the Tan Bark Oaks. On this trip all the holes were empty.     While on the camping trip, Kelly is knitting on two projects: the Dorthelia tank by Corrina Ferguson from the

Marsha and Kelly both finished knitting their sweaters and both are big wins!  (At recording time we both had a little left to go, but now that the episode is published we are finished).  Marsha's Blue Juno sweater fits even better than she thought it would. Kelly's Purple Cherry Vanilla sweater is the perfect sweatshirt alternative and used yarn from her extensive stash of rescued weaving cones.  Double win! Marsha is planning to finish her son's tricolor socks before the month of July is over.  Inspired by others in the Warmth of Summer KAL, Marsha has started a Wispy Willow Cardigan using a spring green CoBaSi yarn from Hi-Koo.  She has also been busy spinning some of the CVM fleece that Kelly gave her to try, and is making plans to wash and card the fleece that she got from The Black Sheep Gathering. Kelly has also been spinning a bit since returning from her trip and has some plans for Tour de Fleece. But mostly she has been finishing up current projects that she brought with her--a Rikke hat, for exampl

In the episode Marsha  contributes the B side, or flip side, to Kelly's A side of our podcast. So much has been going on that Marsha feels her brain is a shaken snow globe with all her information, stories, and ideas spinning around. Marsha gives an update on her current projects and reports on her two recent advent-ewes. The first was a weekend in Bellingham, WA where she visited local yarn shops. The second was her fabulous weekend at the annual Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene, Oregon.  HEAVEN for a new spinner (or any spinner, really)!  There is knitting, spinning, fleece, yarn and all kinds of fibery goodness.  it's enough to swirl your brain! As with the 20a series this episode is unedited, due to Kelly's Washington, DC travel constraints. We recommend listening to the 20a series first and then this episode 20b. Also, new listeners might want to start with one of our more typical episodes.  Happy listening! Don't forget to visit our blog at http://twoewesdyeing.blogspot.com/

This is the third of three parts detailing Kelly's fiber adventures while she is in DC as an E. Kika de la Garza Fellow with the USDA.  She talks about what she is knitting during her travels, and she reviews the the current exhibit at the Textile Museum associated with The George Washington University.  She also talks about textiles at the Smithsonian Museum of American History.  Due to length restrictions of Garageband for iPad, her portion of the episode is broken into three parts--20a1, 20a2, and 20a3.  Marsha was also traveling for fiber adventures this week and the Two Ewes hope to be able to post "the B side" of episode 20 as well!   This series is brought to you raw and uneditied because we couldn't wait until we got home to share our adventures with you!  So if you are a new listener, first of all, welcome!  But also you may want to start with a more typical episode. Also, be sure to listen to these segments in order, starting with 20a1.  Don't forget to visit our blog at http://twoewesdyeing.blogspo

This is the second of three parts detailing Kelly's fiber adventures while she is in DC as an E. Kika de la Garza Fellow with the USDA.  She talks about what she is knitting during her travels, and she reviews the the current exhibit at the Textile Museum associated with The George Washington University.  She also talks about textiles at the Smithsonian Museum of American History.  Due to length restrictions of Garageband for iPad, her portion of the episode is broken into three parts--20a1, 20a2, and 20a3.  Marsha was also traveling for fiber adventures this week and the Two Ewes hope to be able to post "the B side" of episode 20 as well!   This series is brought to you raw and uneditied because we couldn't wait until we got home to share our adventures with you!  So if you are a new listener, first of all, welcome!  But also you may want to start with a more typical episode. Also, be sure to listen to these segments in order, starting with 20a1.  Don't forget to visit our blog at http://twoewesdyeing.blogsp

This is the first of three parts detailing Kelly's fiber adventures while she is in DC as an E. Kika de la Garza Fellow with the USDA.  She talks about what she is knitting during her travels, and she reviews the the current exhibit at the Textile Museum associated with The George Washington University.  She also talks about textiles at the Smithsonian Museum of American History.  Due to length restrictions of Garageband for iPad, her portion of the episode is broken into three parts--20a1, 20a2, and 20a3.  Marsha was also traveling for fiber adventures this week and the Two Ewes hope to be able to post "the B side" of episode 20 as well!   This series is brought to you raw and uneditied because we couldn't wait until we got home to share our adventures with you!  So if you are a new listener, first of all, welcome!  But also you may want to start with a more typical episode. Also, be sure to listen to these segments in order, starting with 20a1.  Don't forget to visit our blog at http://twoewesdyeing.blogspo

In this episode Kelly and Marsha give updates on finished knitting projects, ongoing knitting projects, and other fiber projects that are in the the planning stages. They also talk about Marsha's spinning class, crochet, Kelly's new beekeeping adventure, and her upcoming fellowship in Washington DC. Kelly has one sleeve done and the other moving along on the purple sweater she is making.  The project uses the Cherry Vanilla pattern by Thea Colman.  She battled the sleeve slog by starting a new project!  The Ava Tunic by Jade Fletcher is a chevron striped dress or top for a little girl, size 18 mos. to toddler.  She is knitting it in Spud and Chloe Sweater in teal and yellow.  Marsha finished her Neskowin Shell by Kay Hopkins that she made as part of our Warmth of Summer KAL.  She finished the body of her Juno Cardigan by yellowcosmo and started the first sleeve. Marsha is concerned the sweater may not have as much positive ease as she had hoped, but she was limited by the amount of yarn she had. Blocking will

Marsha participated in the large Pacific Northwest LYS Tour 2015 .  The tour was five days and 26 yarn shops from Bellingham to Kent.  Marsha had limited time so picked four shops she had never visited. Her first day she visited Tolt Yarn and Wool in Carnation. This shop specializes in local yarns. Marsha bought Tracie Too in Autumn Rust from Imperial Yarn and a worsted yarn in sage green from Thirteen Mile Lamb and Wool Co.  She also went to Quintessential Knits in Duvall.  The second day she went to The Knittery in Renton and Maker's Mercantile in Kent. Kelly is continuing her work on her Grape Vanilla sweater (using the Cherry Vanilla pattern by Thea Coleman .  There are also a couple of pairs of socks that get an occasional row.  Speaking of occasional rows, her SF Giants cowl, I Don't Care if I Never Get Back, is looking great!  Two rows get added after each game so this is a fun way to commemorate the season.  This project uses the Crackerjack cowl recipe by Stacey Simpson Duke. Kelly's bees have been i

Subscribe on iTunes here, on Stitcher Radio here.   In this episode we give an update on the projects we are working on, or in Kelly's case, projects she is not working on. Keep reading to learn why. We also review the new pattern book Wanderlust: 46 Modern Knits for Bohemian Style  by Tanis Gray, published in March 2015 by Interweave Press.  The book retails for $18.99 US and $20.99 Canadian.  Kelly's Aunt Betty (efisher930 on Ravelry) joins us for the review discussion.  Check out the Ravelry group for information about a giveaway!  The Two Ewes will be giving away an e-copy of the book thanks to Interweave Press. Kelly has been very busy at work and caring for her new chicks who are now teenagers and have been moved to the garden and into their new home "The Egg Plant."  She has also been busy with her latest project--bees! She is "1hundredprojects" after all. :-)  Kelly's ongoing projects have been languishing due to grading exams, moving the chicks, and starting the bees.  However, there was the urge to

In this episode Marsha and Kelly talk about the the Northern California Knitters Retreat (#NoCKRs on Instagram for more photos). The FABULOUS and FUN retreat was held at the St. Francis Retreat Center.  We had such a great time!  Thanks to the organizers and to Duren Dyeworks and Kicks and Giggles for donating the door prizes that we won.  Thanks also to Dizzy Blonde Studios, Miss Babs, Alana Dakos of Never Not Knitting, Buffy Ann Designs, and Gnome Acres for all the goodies in our NoCKRs bags. We had fun knitting and meeting new friends. We also found treasures in the destash room and made some stitch markers. The charity for the retreat was Knitted Knockers.  Participants donated over 90 of them for women who have had mastectomies. There was a show and tell of knitwear that led us to yet another discussion of fit!  We know we said we wouldn't discuss it again for awhile, but we learned some interesting things by looking at all those sweaters.  After the retreat we enjoyed fabulous burgers at JJ's in San Jua

In this episode Marsha and Kelly have a phone conversation about Marsha's finished knitting projects, both of their current knitting projects,  Marsha's new interest in baseball, and the ever-perplexing topic of the fit of a knit garment.  The Custom Fit patterns are a huge breakthrough and are teaching knitters a lot, but there are other components of how a sweater fits.  For example, the texture of the yarn and what the wearer is comfortable with.

Join Marsha and Kelly as the Two Ewes Ravelry group has its first Knit Along!  We will be knitting summery items between April 1 and July 1, 2015.  More details can be found in the Ravelry Group, http://www.ravelry.com/groups/two-ewes-fiber-adventures Meanwhile, the two talk together about their recently finished and recently started projects and Kelly provides information about wet finishing for weaving that just might help when you knit with linen or cotton. It also might be helpful for knitters who have just started weaving with a rigid heddle loom.

Kelly and Marsha met up in Portland, Oregon for the Rose City Yarn Crawl from March 5-8. Can you believe there are fifteen yarn shops in the Portland area? We didn't have time to visit each shop but sure gave it a try. In this episode we discuss our experience of the yarn crawl, talk about Marsha's woolen spinning in the hotel room, and share information about three indie dyers we met during the crawl.  We hold off discussing project updates until the next episode. It was so much fun to put this podcast together while we were actually in the same room!