Kelley talks about one of her favorite things – sock knitting! Listen along as Kelley shares all of the reasons why socks make the perfect travel companion. Kelley also offers words of advice and encouragement for those new to sock knitting. Next, Kelley follows up her chat on socks with three wonderful book reviews – The Knitter’s Book of Socks by Clara Parks, Sock Knitting Master Class by Ann Budd, and Socks a la Carte Colorwork by Jonelle Raffino and Katherine Cade. Finally, Kelley catches you up on how her works in progress are coming along.

Kelley shares the story of Knit Picks and how the company first began through the evolution of product development from selecting the first yarn lines to developing new needles and tools to enhance your fiber craft. Continuing with the theme of product development, Alison chats with Teri about the newest Knit Picks yarn, Brava! Teri has wool allergies that make it impossible for her to enjoy all of the lovely natural fibers available at Knit Picks, which is exactly why she was so excited throughout the entire development for Brava. And finally, Kelley shares her enthusiam for the new year along with her plans and goals for getting her work and fiber life organized.

This week, Alison gets a chance to chat with Alasdair Post Quinn, author of the new book, Extreme Double Knitting! Know for his innovative spin on double knitting, Alasdair's patterns show off color and double knitting in unique and creative ways. Hear all about how Alasdair first got into knitting, what drew him to double knitting, and the chain of events brought about the idea for a book on double knitting. After working on his book for the last few years, Alasdair is currently focusing his creative energies on designing single patterns and experimenting with even more extreme forms of double knitting.

This week, Kelley talks about the other half of her fiber life - creating handspun yarn with a spinning wheel! Hear all about Kelley's advice for those new to spinning with a spindle or a wheel in addition to all of the possibilities you can create by making your own yarn! Kelley also reviews the books, Learn to Spin by Anne Field, and Color in Spinning, by Deb Menz. Next, Kelley talks about all of the wonderful fiber options you have for spinning and reviews several Knit Picks roving blends. Finally, Kelley catches you up on what kinds of projects are on her needles and spinning wheel.

This week, Kelley chats with Kim about her newfound love of colorwork knitting and all fo the fun projects she has been creating using this technique. Next up, Kelley reviews the books, Exploring Color in Knitting by Sarah Hazell and Emma King as well as Mastering Color Knitting by Melissa Leapman, both of which are helpful resources for any colorwork knitting project. Kelley also shares a helpful tool for colorwork knitting that you can take with you no matter where you go - Color Snap! This is an app available for iphones, blackberry, and android phones that allows you to take pictures and translate them into a color palette. Finally, Kelley catches you up on her roadtrip down to Mexico as well as the progress on her strash re-organization project.

This week, Kelley catches up with Hannah Fettig of Knitbot and Alana Dakos of Never Not Knitting, authors of the new book Coastal Knits! A collaboration between two good friends who just happen to live on opposite sides of the country, Hannah and Alana created a collection of patterns that are inspired by the coasts that they reside on. Hear all about the long-distance teamwork of these two designers and how they made Coastal Knits a reality in just under one years time.

This week is all about weaving with a rigid heddle loom! Hear all about Kelley's adventures in weaving as she chats with Jenny about rigid heddle looms. Kelley also shares great advice for new weavers and why is it great for using up both larger and smaller amounts of yarns that you might have hiding in your stash. Kelley also reviews two of her most loved weaving books along with her favorite tool for planning out projects, the Ultimate 3-in-1 Color Tool. Finally, Kelley catches you up on the projects she is planning out for her road trip.

During the last weekend in September, the Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival took place here in Canby, Oregon! OFFF is one of Alison's favorite fiber festivals and this year, she was able to get Kelley, who has never attended OFFF before, to join along! Hear all about the different fibers, yarns, animals, and other treats Alison and Kelley discovered at OFFF. Next, Kelley talks about about reworking a pair of socks currently on her needles and shares her own stitch pattern that she created for the socks (see pattern below). Lastly, if you have too much fiber or undyed yarn that you have spun up, Kelley reviews two books on natural dyeing and how you can use what you find in your backyard or kitchen to create unique yarns.

Books Reviewed:

Harvesting Color by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts
Dyes from Kitchen Produce by Setsuko Ishii

Kelley's Sock Stitch Pattern:

Row 1: slip 1, knit 1
Row 2: knit
Row 3: k1, slip 1
Row 4: knit
Row 5: purl
Row 6: knit

It seems that this year, there has been a resurgence of popular and much-loved knitting books that are finally back in print! Kelley shares how learning to spin led her down the path of knitting and the books that passed on endless amounts of techniques and knowledge. Kelley then reviews four of her favorite books that are finally back in print and ready to be enjoyed by a new generation of knitters: Aran Knitting, The Book of Fair Isle Knitting, and Charts for Color Knitting, all of which are by Alice Starmore as well as Knitting Around the Word by Lela Nargi. Finally, Kelley catches up with all of the “distractions” that have been making her such a productive knitter.

Books Mentioned:

Knitting in the Old Way by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts
Knitter's Almanac, The Commemorative Edition by Elizabeth Zimmerman
Aran Knitting by Alice Starmore
Book of Fair Isle Knitting by Alice Starmore
Charts for Color Knitting by Alice Starmore
Knitting Around the Word by Lela Nargi

Kelley and Alison chat about all of the new and exciting things that have been happening at Knit Picks! Not only did lots of new yarns get new colors (Swish, Wool of the Andes, and Stroll), but there are also a few brand new things as well. First, Kelley and Alison catch up with the new releases for the September catalog, Wool of the Andes Tweed and Wool of the Andes Roving. Next up, Biggo is introduced! Alison shares just how durable this new bulky weight, superwash and nylon yarn really is! Finally, Kelley and Alison annouce the arrival of the Special Reserve line, where extra-special fibers get picked for a limited edition yarn. The first in the Special Reserve line is Sugarbunny, a delightful merino and angora blend that both Kelley and Alison love!