As it gets chilly outside, Liz & Zontee discuss ways to keep cozy at home and save on your heating bill.
Staying warm isn’t just about turning up your heat–it wastes energy and money. Keep warm with cowls, wristers, sweater, and blankets. Liz & Zontee also talk about keeping the heat in with rugs and draft stoppers. But first, Liz & Zontee talk about what’s on your hooks and needles (like the Anna Ripple Afghan) and answer some of your questions.
Projects discussed include:
For Your Hands
Cowls
Sweaters for Women
Sweaters for the Rest of the Family
Shawls
Home Decor
- Glowing Colors Afghan
- Painterly Stripe Afghan
- Shaker-Inspired Rug
- Loom-Knit Summer Shag Rug with Fringe
- Pom-Pom Rug
- Draft Stopper
Stash This: Ideas for Your Crafting Life — In today’s segment, Liz & Zontee discuss project journals and all of the wonderful benefits of keeping track of projects, patterns, and inspiration.
To share your comments and thoughts, post a message on the blog, email to yarncraft [at] lionbrand [dot] com! You can also call in at 774-452-YARN–that’s 774-452-9276.
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Theme music is “Boy with a Coin” by Iron and Wine, from the PodSafe Music Network.
Show Notes:
00:10 Intro & welcome
01:26 Tips from Listeners
09:58 Keeping Warm without Cranking Up the Heat
25:41 Stash This: Ideas for Your Crafting Life
32:21 Thanks to our guests
October 20th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Liz, you mentioned a simpler cowl/neck warmer pattern…would you be able to direct me to it? I’m a fairly new knitter and would appreciate a more simple, quick project. Thanks!
YarnCraft says: Hi Thekla, try this simple cowl/hood pattern.
October 26th, 2009 at 11:09 pm
This comment isn’t in reference to the latest podcast episode, sorry, I’m a little behind
A few episodes back you were giving tips for knitters and crocheters on frequently asked questions. One tip I would give to crocheters (I don’t knit, so I don’t know if knitting needles have this issue) would be to check the actual size in mm on the hook. I didn’t realize that these letters/numbers are not standardized, and can be as much as .5 mm difference between brands of hooks with the same letter/number. Too often I’ve picked up one of my hooks in the letter size recommended by the pattern, only to find that the size in mm is off. I guess the better learning is that you should always check your gauge, but starting off with the correct measured size hook is probably a closer approximation of what you should be using.
If you have given this tip out before, still think it is worth mentioning again. Even knowing this, I still sometimes forget!
October 30th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Hello LB,
How can I find the pattern for your sweater-blanket on the Lion Brand website?
It was discussed on the Yarncraft podcast last week, but there was no link to it on the podcast page.
When I used the Pattern Finder and searched on “sweater-blanket,” I got 60 pages with 900 choices.
Any more specific search term I could use?
Thanks,
E. Lahn
YarnCraft says: Hi there, sorry about that. Here are links to both the knit & crochet versions of the sweater blanket:
http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/60542AD.html?noImages=
http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/60544AD.html?noImages=
October 30th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
Liz & Zontee,
I have spent the past month listening to ALL the Yarncraft podcasts and it has put my into quite the crafting mood.
I printed the free patern for the crocheted Holiday Throw using the Holiday Homespun and the S-hook, and finished it in three evenings! I can’t wait to buy more yarn to make more as gifts. As a variation on the yarns, I may make one using just red and white, or an all white throw as well.
Keep up the amazing work with the podcasts. I look forward to listening to the next one.
November 3rd, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Hi Liz and Zontee,
In the last episode, you spoke of making the sweater blanket pattern on the Lion Brand site to save money on heating bills (and the unmentionable controversial product out there that was probably inspired by it).
Well, I think I’m a little ahead of my time (by accident). Years ago, I attempted to knit a huge, square, blue, poncho with a turtle neck. It was my first attempt at knitting. Since it’s sooo long in length and technically unattractive, I can’t really wear it out in public, but since it’s square (leaving my hands free to yarncraft) and very warm it works very well as an alternative to turning up the heat. I’ve also designed my own knitted (with crocheted accents) hand warmers that keep my blue hands warm in the office.
I’ll post a picture of the poncho (and handwarmers soon) on my Ravelry site…so you can see what I mean. Incidentally, I also answered your call for pictures of pets wearing Yarn Crafts. Check out my dog Arty on Ravelry. He’s wearing a knitted pattern that I designed called “Arty’s Lion Costume/Every Day Sweater.” It’s in the recently shared projects for the Yarncraft Ravelry site.
Love this show buckets,
Linnel1
YarnCraft says: Hi Linnel! Arty looks AMAZING. Thanks for sharing the pictures of him! Awesome job — I love that it’s an everyday sweater AND costume.
November 5th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
Hi! I also wanted to mention I wear a Homespun Coming Home poncho around the house to keep warm. It’s like wearing an afghan that stays put and I can still move my arms and hands. I have a picture of it (plus a smaller one I made my daughter) on my ravelry projects page–I’m knitcentral on ravelry. Oh–my ravetar is my cat wearing the sweater I made him from left over yarn from the ponchos!
November 6th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Hey all!
My name is Susanna, and I am an online YarnCraft listener, as, unfortunately, I have not yet joined the IPod revolution J. I’m currently listening to Episode 52 from October 20th, and I just heard Alex’s question about yarn dyeing.
I subscribe to Crochet World magazine, and the September issue had an article called “Dye-ing to Crochet.” This article explains 3 different dyeing methods, and this issue includes projects that use the yarns that were dyed.
Just thought I’d share something I found helpful. Hope it helps you as much as it helped me! Keep up the great work! Thanks for all the ideas!
Susanna