I'm Drea. I'm Meg. I'm Tina. And I'm Jess. And this is Pardon My Stash.
Hey there ho there friends. Welcome to Pardon My Stash, a podcast about knitting within the
Fabri arts and how awesome it is. Woo! Thank you. No problem. Before we get into today's topic,
what are we working on? Tina? I started another Southwood sweater for my younger daughter. I was
going to work on that, but I reminded myself that I've been putting off frogging my tea cozy make
along. I don't have to frog it all the way. I just have to frog the body because I forgot the whole
part of like making holes for like the spout and stuff. Very good. So like, yeah, so it's okay
though, because I really, really like the pattern and it goes super fast. So I'm okay with frogging
this. Did you do the thing that I do where, you know, you read through the pattern and you're
like, I got this. Yes. Nice. And then I got to the section after the first section and I went,
oh, I was supposed to go back and forth on one side. I went all the way around. Okay.
I love it when that happens. Yep. Who needs to read the full pattern anyway? Can I share a funny
story? Absolutely. So years and years ago when I got my MA, I wanted to make my graduation dress
because I had a very specific idea in mind of what I wanted to wear. And I can't sew. I'm really bad
at it. Jess was like, I'll help you. So I've got the pattern pieces all cut out because I can do
that. And I lay it, she's laughing because she knows exactly what I'm going to say. And I thought
of this when you said you didn't do the holes and I lay the pattern pieces out and I'm like, okay,
so you're going to, we're going to sew them together like this. And she's like, well, you forgot the
arm holes. And I'm like, yeah, but I have no sleeves. So I don't need them. And she's like,
well, you need to put your arms somewhere. And I was like, oh yeah, that's a thing. Right. I just
want to just wear a sack. I just want to reiterate that I was making this dress because I had earned
an advanced degree. Oh yeah. I just want to say that. Very good. Very good. Everyone's got their strengths.
You're an intellectual. I'm an intellectual who forgot that I don't, I meant to do this.
I'm an intellectual who forgot I needed arm holes. I need to put my arms somewhere. But when you said
you're like, oh, I forgot, I forgot the hole for the spout and the handle. I'm like, oh, I have also
done that. Yes, I have. The good thing is I had Jess right there to be like, where are you going
to put your arms? Genius. I know it's sleeveless. The arms have to go somewhere. There are still
kind of sleeves. So my pattern is tea in the tropics, tea cozy, and I am using less traveled
yarn and amber and critical hit dyes in bless. Nice. Both in DK. What are your leaves going to be?
Melon ball. Melon ball. I got you. From critical hit dyes. Meg, what you got? So I finally started
my tea cozy make along item. It is called lovely stripes by Leah Michelle designs. I've knit this
before. I actually knit this pattern as a shawl for Jess for her birthday. I don't, I think it was
two years ago. It was either two years ago or last year. I can't even remember at this point how long
ago it was. But this time I'm knitting a little bit of a
this time I'm knitting it out of a single colorway instead of two. I wanted something a little more
subtle. And I'm knitting it in critical hit dyes, barred in the discontinued colorway,
sapphire dragon. Yeah, it's fun. I really, I've, I've talked about Leah Michelle designs before.
I've done one test knit for her. I've knit at least three of her patterns. I love her stuff.
It's super readable, super easy to follow. And they always come out looking really nice. So I
really like her stuff. I should also preface that tea in the tropics tea cozy pattern is very well
written. I am a poor reader. That is the reason why this happened. I just want it because I heard
you said that about the pattern. My pattern's fine. It's, it's the problem is me. Well, we knew that
too. Jess, what you working on? I'm making a Phoenix as you do. All right. Um, I mean,
I'm still working on the tea cozy, but I didn't like the way the flowers are done. So I'm going
to come in and do that a different way. So until then I'm making a Phoenix. You could just put the
Phoenix on top of the tea. I could, and it could be making the tea. That may happen. And then I don't
have to make flowers and then it all goes together. And then I have a fantasy tea cozy. That sounds
fantastic. Do that. That does sound, you don't remember patterns or suggestions, you know,
the pattern for this I'm using it's, um, I'm pretty sure it is just called Phoenix,
but it's by crafty intentions or Megan lap. Uh, either one. I do a lot of, like I did a lot of
her dragons. Um, if you're into like making, like doing crochet creatures and whatnot, she's got a
great fantasy line. So, um, she's also does really cute fish, which I also got the pattern for,
and you buy like five patterns. I got three because there was a sale. So I got fish and I got the
Phoenix and I forgot what the last one was, but it was something that I was like, Oh yeah, I need
it. Um, Oh, it was a bird. It was a songbird. Um, I am plugging away on this, uh, a chemishaw by
Isabelle Kramer. I'm using faded jeans and, uh, silver moon fiber arts fingering waves.
Lovely. It's looks like faded jeans. And I finally finished the, uh, lace section. Hey, sweet. So
it's just, thank you. Thank you. I'm proud of myself. No, it's a, it's a big shawl. Yes,
it is a little bit big, but I think the person that I'm going to be giving this to will appreciate
the extra, um, width to it. So I think it was a good choice. Good. Nobody's ever complained about
a big shawl. No, a small shawl is awkward, but a big shawl is, is fine. There's so much that you
can do with a, with a larger shawl. So right. Exactly. So many different styling options. Be
sure to check out our website, part of my stash.com for more information, as well as pictures
regarding our current projects, patterns and yarns. So for this week's topic, um, a couple of weeks
ago, we put out a little poll on our Instagram to find out what you guys wanted us to talk about.
And, um, we had a lot of feedback about, uh, revisiting notions, notions, bags, needles.
So I feel like we're it's, it's been some time and I think that it's time to do a little bit more of
a deep dive into, um, not only what you should have in your bag, but the brands we recommend.
Yeah. I feel like, um, our, our older episode right now, there's probably some outdated references
in there at the, at this point. Yeah. Um, I know the bags I recommended, she's no longer in business.
Pour one out. I know. I'm so sad I only ever got one. Well, I wouldn't say like,
outdated so much as, um, well, some of it's outdated, but our preferences have changed
and we found new things along the way. New stuff. So what do we got? What do we got right now?
Where do you want to start? I'm sorry, bags. Yeah, we can start with bags. Um, so since your bag is
out of, out of the picture, what do you, what are you using now? So I used to use paisley and gold.
They are no longer in business. Um, yeah, I miss I missed out on getting one of those. You know what?
Honestly, you could probably buy one for me because I bought way too many. I know you did. I really did.
And I'm trying not to have 15 whips at a time. So yeah, I have, I have a lot of like the same size.
So I, you know, I don't mind selling one off. Um, but yeah, um, they are out of business now. Um,
they made beautiful leather or it wasn't leather, it was vegan leather. Um, just impeccable, like,
uh, craftsmanship, just really well done. Um, so because they are out of business, I have joined
the stitched by Jessalou team. Yes. Um, I mean, like it, it's just so reasonable. The, one of the
good things about stitched by Jessalou is that she does custom orders. So say you like a fab,
a specific fabric, you can ask her if she still has some of the fabric to make bigger or smaller
bags, which I really like. Um, she had this, uh, D and D fabric, um, that I really liked, but I,
I wanted it in a giant bag size for like sweaters and, uh, she made it super fast. It got to me,
probably, I don't know, I don't remember it taking longer than like maybe a week and a half,
like when I ordered it and I ordered from a show, it was the new England fiber fest. I ordered from
her. Um, and, uh, it's very high quality. I haven't had any tears, holes, zippers, been fine.
I want to say I own about five or six of her bags now.
And you know what the other thing I like about her bags that I hear sometimes people, um,
at least maybe she's made a reel or something about people complaining about it is that it doesn't
have an inner pocket because for me, the, the inner pocket, like the smaller little pocket, um,
because for me, I find in my, um, uh, paisley and gold bags, those, that little pocket will
catch my needles sometimes and pull my stitches off. So I like the fact that there's nothing
because you know what, if I want, um, something small in there, like a pattern or something like
that, I find that, um, I can either fold it and put it in and it's fine. Or if I need to put an
accessory, I put a smaller bag in it. Yeah, that's what I do. Things get lost in your pockets. Yeah.
I keep my notion bag in my, in my current knitting bag or my project bag. And I find that to be fine.
Um, but if I have too many pockets, then what's in them? No, there's a pocket. I will fill it.
Yeah. And I don't want to find things to fill the pockets with. But yeah, I also like that there's
no pockets on the inside. Yeah. It's, it's just straightforward and, um, she has them lined too.
So they have a, they usually have a different lining on the inside. Um, yeah. And I really,
I look like I have nothing ill to say about those bags. Like they're just really high quality, good,
affordable, reasonable bags, like for all your projects. Also, I have like the, oh, and they're
machine washable because I had to, I had to wash my sweater one because it was like a hot mess.
Right. I threw that thing all over the place. Um, I would put it on the floor. Like I was really bad
with it actually. And, um, when I took my sweater out of it, um, so just for everybody's note,
my Engel sweater did go to one of my followers. Um, and she, she did try it on and it fit her
perfectly. So I'm very happy that it went to somebody that's going to actually be able to
wear the sweater properly. Um, so when I took that out, I was like, oh, wow, this bag, like the
bottom of it was just like so dirty. And I was like, okay, maybe I'll do like a gentle cycle or
something like that. And then I forgot about saying that to myself. And then I put it on a
normal cycle and it was fine. Everything was fine. Yeah. But that says a lot about the craftsmanship
and the quality that you can just toss it in the wash if you need to. I do, I do use cold though,
just so everybody knows, like I don't, I don't ever, hardly ever put it on a hot. So I don't know how
it would do in heat. Um, but it, uh, or at least hot water, but I can tell you, uh, at least for a
cold wash, it's fine. So, and it was fine in the dryer too. So I just grabbed one from, um, uh,
one of our local yarn stores, stars hollow. Um, Oh, their bags are nice. It's have a couple of
beautiful, uh, Jessalou bags, but they're all small. They're all accessory bags. I, I haven't
gotten a sweater size one yet. And the sweater I'm working on was getting too big for my little
bags. So I bought one. Um, they're not available on the website right now, but, um, stars hollow
is also on vacation from now until, uh, August 1st. So they may be getting more of them in stock.
I know they said that they were running out, um, but it's beautiful. It's an eco-friendly canvas.
Um, it has their, their logo on it, but it is big enough for a good size sweater. So I really like
it. And it has a couple of pockets, which is nice. Nice. Jess, what do you got for bags? Diaper bags.
Very good. They're waterproof. Stick into the old episodes. Diaper bags. I still use a couple.
I do too. I mean, I have a couple like, well, like, um, I think I got one from, um, a hundred Ravens,
but I don't think she actually makes them. I don't know who made them, but it was super cute. So I
have that, um, and that one's just a small basic drawstring, um, and it's a little bit of a
drawstring. Um, and then I only had, like I said, I've got like three diaper bags. I have like a
couple nicer ones that I kind of got random. We're talking about wet bags. Yeah. Well, like when you
say diaper bags, sometimes people think of like the actual bag. Like, no, it's not the hard
coordinator. Like the wet bags you keep, you keep diapers in until you can toss them. Um,
um, yeah, for, or for we, we did not use these ones as diaper bags. Um, I got the idea using
an old diaper bag that I washed and then I'm like, and I remember something spilling in my bag and
the project was fine. And I was like, Oh, perfect. Well, this is a bonus I hadn't considered. It's
great if you have cats or kids that knock stuff over. Yup. And they have a good front zippered
pocket to put your notions in. Are they waterproof? They are absolutely. Yeah. So like you could go
in the pool. Yes, probably. Ooh, that's a good idea. You, you probably could. I mean, if you put
not, I'm not saying dunk it in the pool, but if you put it on like a float and it falls in,
Oh no, if it got splashed, no problem. I mean, I don't know if I would like immerse it, but,
yeah, I mean, if you don't close the zipper all the way, but if you were like, yeah, if it, if
you had it on like a floaty or something and you got splashed, nothing is going to happen to it.
That's that, that's really the biggest benefit to the, and they're cheap. Yeah. You can get like a
three pack for like 15 bucks, 20 bucks at most. Not bad. Yeah. And you can get bigger ones and
smaller ones. So I mean, in a pinch, those are great. Um, and then I have a couple of like the
smaller notions bags that again, I got at random, like stalls at Reinbeck. I don't even remember.
Well, one was a gift and then I have my eight big gamer one, which is super cute. And the eight big
gamer one stores all my extra needles and then the other one stores everything else. And I just have
to remember to swap them out between bags. I think that's the hardest thing. And at this point,
I just try to keep all of my bags together because, well, no, like I do feel like it really sucks.
If you have your bag and you, you grab your project, but realize that you left your notions
bag in different project pack, your princesses and another castle. So I've actually been accumulating
smaller notions bags and making new ones for each of the individual bags. And one of the, um, bag
makers that, and I'm pretty sure I've mentioned it in the last episode that we talked about notions,
but, um, June price fiber arts, they do really good bags too. Um, they usually are tall drawstring
bags and they have like a, um, a, a sturdy base with the drawstring, but they all come with these
little notions bags with it. So it's like, you're getting two bags for the price of one.
So I load all those up with notion stuff so that at least when I have those bags, I always,
I always have a notions bag with it. Nice. Yeah. I have, I have one per bag at this point. I've,
and I only have two projects going right now, but I don't have like all of the things in each notions
bag, but you know, you at least have like the crochet hook, the pair of scissors, you know,
things like that, the tapestry needle, as long as you got the basics, which is why, like instead of
doing that, I just had the knit kit. Oh, tell me about that. Well, well, I think it was last New
England fiber fest. Um, I ushered you all to, to a booth. I saw her on Instagram, uh, advertising
her wares. Um, I actually, the first time I saw her was she was interviewing one of Kate, which
is somebody I follow. And, uh, she has really cute patterns and she was doing a live with her. And I
was like, who is this lady? And then I saw that the username was the knit kit. And I'm like,
what is that? So obviously intriguing minds need to know. And I clicked into it and she has all
these different like crochet and knit kits that you can get with like literally it's like an
emergency kit. It has everything that you should have in your kit. But if you forget, like it has
stitch markers and scissors. It has a measuring tape. It has a place that you can like cut yarn.
Like it has a little razor. If you need to cut something, it has like, um, uh, bro counter,
uh, stitch counter has like, it had a bunch of stuff on it. And I was like, oh, this is so cool,
but I didn't buy it outright. Cause I was trying to be good. And then when we were at New England
fiber fest, I, she had a booth there and I was like, Whoa, you know, this is my tat. I remember
checking those out with you. Yeah. And I, we ended up, did we all get, did you get one? I did not get
one. We each did. Yeah. Megan just did. Um, and I, that I take that thing everywhere. It has to be
in my big bag with all the other projects. So that then, and a lot of times too, I like taking that
in my purse. If I can't take my project bag with me. Yeah. Um, so like if I'm stuffing like a small
beanie or something like that inside a really tiny bag inside my purse, that, which hasn't happened
recently because I changed my purse to like a satchel, like a, this small little, like,
I don't know what they're called. What's the word for it? The clutch clutch. Thank you. Um, I
switched my main purse to a clutch, so I haven't really needed to put anything into it recently.
Um, but it stays in my big project bag. And, um, I can see how it's very convenient. Yeah. I mean,
it's not perfect, but it definitely has, it has saved me a bunch of times already. Um, just for
the kind of stuff it has in it. Hold on. Let me see. It has here, cause I only talked about a
couple of things. It's a, it says crochet hook, cable needle, collapsible scissors, tape measure,
knitting and crochet needle gauge, uh, row counter, thread cutter, point protectors, darning needle,
and round and locking stitch markers. And the one that I got is, has like a, has like an octopus on
it with like a tartan. Yeah. I thought those were really cute. Yeah. And then it has like, um, the,
actually the thing that made me get it was it looks like the, the, um, locking stitch marker that it
had looks like a pineapple. And that's why I ended up showing me. It does. It looks like, hold on.
It's, I don't think it is. It looks more like grapes or something, but when I first saw it,
I was like, Oh my God, it's a pineapple. It's like a little, I think it's grapes. I think it's grapes
too, but I would have been excited. Right. I would have been like, Ooh, I was all into it. Grapes or
maybe a pine cone. Yeah. I just, I don't know. I liked it. It was cute. I think one of the things
I liked about that thing the most is that it has a triple digit row counter or stitch
corner or whatever. Like it is, um, that is so great, especially because most of the ones you
find in the stores only go up to two digits. And especially if you're making a bigger garment,
like a sweater or a shawl, um, you need that three digit. So it's nice. Does it, and it locks,
it doesn't lock. Yeah. I don't think it locks, but it's also not, it's backwards though. Yeah.
It doesn't, it doesn't roll. Like you're, you're never going to throw that in your bag and then
pick it up and it's all messed up. Yep. So yeah, the, the biggest issue that I've had with it is,
um, the back closing mechanism that will pop open a lot, um, on me if I push up against it. So I have
to make sure it's like really closed. Like if it's closed closed, I'm good, but as Dreya plays with
the tape measure, it's a button I gotta press. But it's calling to me. Well, maybe she'll be
at New England Fiber Fest this year and then you can grab one. Yeah, I might because I like that.
I like yours. Yeah. Like all, all of you guys, you, you guys all have one. Yeah. Yeah. I've used it
quite a lot. It's, uh, it's a really good little tool and it's nice because you're just randomly
like, Oh, need a crochet hook. There it is. Need a darning needle. There it is. Yeah. Like especially
for those quick things that you don't need for the project or something. Yeah. It's, it's really nice.
I've actually swatched, swatched out, switched out, um, the stitch markers. I've put in more
stitch markers because of course I use them and then I forget to replace them. Um, so I've put
more stitch markers in mine, but other than that, it's a really good tool. Um, I have a notion to,
what do you got? What have I got? What's your favorite? Honestly, so a couple of months ago,
uh, Jess and I were at webs and I picked up a set of Fox and Pine Stitch, Stitches, Stitch Stoppers.
Um, they are little stitch are shaped like animals. They have them in a bunch of different,
uh, animal shapes. I think you have some too. Don't you have like llamas? I do have alpacas
that Tina got me, but I don't know where she got them from. I got mine from Etsy. They're not the
same make, but they look close. Um, they're made of rubber. Um, I got owls because I like owl
everything. And what did you got? I got goats. I love goats. Um, but they're very nice. They're
really cheap. They're under $15. Um, and there, I have found with stitch, uh, point protectors
the same way with stitch markers that, um, they, if the cuter they are, the less likely I am to lose
them. Yes. So, um, I have lost so many point protectors over the years, the random cone shaped
ones that you just, you know, drop places. Um, I have not lost those. And when I did drop one and
I couldn't find it, I got real upset and I tore apart the room looking for it. So, um, well,
there is something to be said about enjoying looking at the things that you get for yourself.
Yeah. If you, if you get cute things, you don't want to lose them and you're more inclined to
keep them. Whereas if you buy just the regular like circular stitch markers, they're going all
over the place. It's true. And I buy, I still buy the, um, the little green and purple ones.
Of course. Well, they're cheap. You know, very easy. You can always get them. And I don't care
if I lose them, but I have like these little metal, uh, pineapple stitch markers.
You don't want to lose those. Yeah. So freaking cute. Yeah. Did I give you those? You did. I think
I did. I don't remember buying these, but I don't remember where they came from. Yes. Now that you
say it. Um, and I don't know who made them, but, um, they're so freaking cute. You know what? That
was probably, you know what? I'm looking at my Etsy hoarder history right now, because I feel like
all of this stuff was from Etsy at some point. Um, but, um, on that same vein of, uh, stoppers,
um, knitting cords, that's the name of the Etsy shop. They have the cords to put in so that you
can take your work off of the needles to try it on. And it includes the stoppers that you can put on
the end. So, um, so that you don't like it, it doesn't budge. Like you can actually try on your
sweater. Yeah. And you can actually try it on. And then the llamas came from wish wishful knitting
shop and that's on Etsy. And the other Etsy thing I wanted to point out, because if you've seen my
reels and stuff, I've essentially switched over to Portuguese knitting, which is when you throw the
yarn over your neck. Um, but sometimes, um, I'm sweating like a pig and I don't want to put it
over my neck. So to avoid that, I, um, have, uh, essentially there are Portuguese knitting
necklaces and the place I got mine from, because they were very hard to find. It was hard to find
like a nice, a lot of people do the pins. I don't like the pins because I pull too hard because I
do have to shimmy it just, then it just goes right off. So the necklace is, I found these,
you can pull as hard as you want. They really don't come off. They're really well made. Um,
and the shop is called 220 Penny Lane. And I got, I was able to get a single, uh, thread
necklace and a double thread necklace. So I've been able to do like my cozy, which is two
different colors and do the color work with it. And it's been, I really, really liked them a lot.
They are, they weren't, and they weren't that expensive either. Um, I think I paid for the two
necklaces for less than $40, which is very cheap. That's pretty affordable. Yeah. And not like,
not only are they affordable, but they're really freaking cute. Oh yeah. No, I, uh, the thing I
like the most about them is that if I'm, if I need to take a break and I'm like, if I'm at
church or something like that, it just looks like a necklace. It just looks like jewelry. Yeah. So
yeah. So nobody like quite, well, I mean, now isn't what a turtle one is. Yeah. One is a turtle
with like a blue stone in the middle. And the other one is like a floral with a black stone in
the middle. The black stone floral is my double. Um, I think I have it in here. Yeah. They're both
really cute. I don't unless I took it out. Nope. It's right there. Yeah. This is my, oh no, it's
not a floral. It's a, yeah, it's kind of floral. It's a more of like a medallion. Oh yeah. And it
has the two hooks so that you can hook onto it. Um, yeah, it looks like a broach kind of, no,
it's pretty. And then it looks like jewelry. The bat, the, no, I'm like going through all the stuff
that we talked about now. The notions bag that I got Jess, the one that she's using right now,
um, is from a shop called Becca Ron and that's on Etsy. And then I think I, did you get all of our
notions bags from the ones with the funny sayings? Yeah. She had all the funny saying ones, like Jess
says double agent and it has the crochet. Yeah. Mine says swatches are for wimps.
Accurate. Mine says critical knit. Yeah. Which I liked cause it was like, like the, um, D and D.
Yeah. Yeah. Uh, and they're actually really good bags too. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. They're sturdy.
Very much so. And they're lined. To be continued next week on Pardon My Stash.