I'm Drea. I'm Meg. I'm Tina. And I'm Jess. And this is Pardon My Stash.
Welcome to Pardon My Stash, a podcast about knitting within the fiber arts and how awesome
it is. Before we get into today's topics, let's talk about what we're working on this week, Jess.
Um, I am still plugging away on my I Am Dragon 2 Cowl by Alexandra Davidoff Studios in the Colorway
Morgan from Critical Hit Dyes. Meg? I am working on Selbu Modern by Kate Gagnon Osborne. It's a
colorwork beret, kind of more like a slouchy beanie. And I'm making it out of Critical Hit Dyes Rogue
in the main Colorway charm. And then I'm using the Wither and Bloom gradient for the colorwork.
And I am about maybe a third of the way done with it. I'm liking it. That's gonna be great
when it's done. I'm very excited for it. I've wanted to knit this hat for a very long time and
could never settle on colors. So. Oh, it's a hat? I don't know why I thought when she said
Selbu Modern that it was a shawl. No. It's a hat. Just ignore me. Tina, what are you making?
I can't tell you. Fine. That's it. No, I am working with, I'm still working with a mystery
project. I can't even tell you, I really can't tell you anything about it. But I am working.
What yarn are you using? Yeah, I'm gonna tell you about my yarn. Hold on. It is
Lena Grossa Cool Wool Hand Dye, limited edition. And what do you call it? I call it Vanilla Ice
Cream Cone with Rainbow Sprinkles. And that's what it looks like. It is a DK weight. Well,
whatever you're making, I'm sure it's gonna be great. Yeah, luckily. I can tell you that.
What about you, J? I am still plugging away on this Akemi shawl by Isabel Kramer. Zelda is really
winning out lately. Much like last week and the week before. And probably the week before that,
because I'm powering through that game, instead of powering through my project.
Hey, whatever, whatever brings you joy. You've been extremely dedicated. You don't
want to make trash TV nights. It's just... I do both. Surprisingly though, like you'll just be like,
ah, I can't believe that guy did that in the TV show. And then you'll be like, ah, I can't believe
that guy did that in the video game at the same time. Yeah. Works well. I can split my attention
when I need to. It stops working after a while, but it's okay. I can do both. Both is good. Both's
good. Be sure to check out our website, pardonmystache.com for more information as
well as pictures regarding our current projects, patterns, and yarns. So this week we're going to
talk about the benefits of participating in make-alongs and how great they are and how much fun we
have with them. We do have a lot of fun with them. Well, speaking of make-alongs, Jess, why don't you
tell us about our new make-along that we're going to be doing soon? We are going to be starting
a make-along soon and it's going to be the Tea Time Cozy make-along where we... Well, one of the
main focuses is tea time and this is your chance if you've ever really wanted to make a tea cozy.
Now you get to see some cool tea cozies and maybe choose one to make. What's a tea cozy?
It's a hat for your teapot. Well, I like that. But if a tea cozy isn't your thing, we're also accepting
anything tea related. Like if you can explain how it relates to a tea time, we'll accept that as
part of the make-along. Like it could either have tea in the name or tea in the yarn brand or you
could be like, hey, I like wearing these gloves because they keep my hands cozy when I'm holding
a hot mug of tea or I'll make an analysis in Wonderland thing because tea happens in that and
then we'll accept those. Those are all acceptables. The idea is just a cozy tea time. There's a really
cool pattern that you can make like a tea bag holder and it has like sleeves in it.
I actually have one of those but it's sewn. Yeah, I wouldn't mind like a knit one. I want to say
it's knit. I don't think it's crochet. We've included some knit patterns and crochet patterns
for people who do those. They're free for people that don't want to purchase but if you can go
off and find your own own pattern as well. I already know which one I want to make. Is it the
snail? It's the snail. I had a couple ideas but I found one the other day that was a basket that
was kind of cute. I think that is so pretty. That I might do and that's knit so it'll be a bit
different but I like it so I might do that one. Meg, have you decided what tea cozy you're going
to make? We actually discussed this today and I'm actually not going to do a tea cozy because we
only have one teapot and we don't use it very often and we figured that it only needed one sweater.
Outfit changing. Seasonal. No, I'm good. Instead of a tea cozy, what are you going to make?
Honestly, it's really funny because the time that you came over to play Zelda with Jess,
Frank was actually perusing my yarn collection and he pulled out this one really wild skein that
I bought from Dragon Horde and was like, you know, this one's really cool and I said, yeah,
I have no idea what I want to make with that. It's just so wild. He was like, you should make
mitts with this and I was like, yes, Frank, I will make mitts with that. So I was looking yesterday
for mitt patterns that I thought might not get lost in the fabric and I think I found one and
so I'm going to knit a pair of fingerless mitts. That is my plan. Then you can do that photo where
your hands are like cupping a cup of tea and you have the fingerless mitts. Yeah, it's very artful.
It's super artful. I love that. That's the plan. That's the plan.
Well, it could be like a cozy, right? Yeah. Does it have to be tea?
Like, could it be a cozy for my dog? AKA a dog sweater. You're going to make a dog sweater for
the makeover? I already like halfway started. I mean, if you can take a picture of him at a tea
party with it, then sure. Oh my God. Yes. We can set up a tea party set for Marlo. Oh my God. That
would be adorable. In his little dapper sweater. You have a teapot that's thing. Oh, I do have a
teapot. Well, that's like the kid teapot though. It's super small. He's a dog. Oh, no, I thought
you meant make it cozy for the teapot, the kid teapot. Oh, no, no, no. Oh, yeah. I would never
want to do that. I feel like that's a little too finicky. Yeah. I could definitely, well, we could
actually make a reel of him like sadly sitting at it because that's what he would be doing. He would
be sadly sitting in front of a tea party with his new knitted sweater while like we make the teapot
thing. And he's just sitting there going, he's just going to be mad the whole time. Yeah, that'll be
mine. I like it. So if you take anything away from this, it's that this is a very flexible make-along.
Yeah, you just have to come up with some way it relates to tea. And honestly, I'm just kind of
interested in how some of y'all might come up with a reason why something relates to tea. Like that's
kind of exciting. What is what is your interpretation? So it'll be fun to see what people come up with.
You could do yarn that is a tea dye. You could do that. I actually have a friend that used to do
that. It's really pretty. You could crochet a giant tea. I don't know why, but you could.
Like the letter T? Yeah, like the letter T. Again, I don't know why you would, but you could.
It's tea. You could crochet like little snacks that go with tea. Yeah. Oh, that'd be cute.
Guys, if somebody wants to make Mr. Tea related, somebody make something Mr. Tea related, please.
Yes, I will accept that. I will accept Mr. Tea related. Even more if it's Mr. Tea attending a tea
party. Signups will be available at partinmystash.com slash get involved. So since we're talking about
make-alongs, what's your what's your favorite thing about make-alongs? I was actually thinking about
this the other day because I was really having trouble staying motivated with anything that I'm
knitting right now. And I think I found it with this hat that I'm working on. But I don't know
about you guys. I definitely get this at the beginning of the year where I get a lot of
staritis where I want to cast on all the things and I get very like bored very easily with everything
that I'm working on. And so the make-along, it's not only is it like kind of the deadline of like,
okay, I have to do this by this time, which sometimes I really do like deadlines, but also
just having the motivation of other people doing it with me. And, you know, we're all kind of in
this together and we're all going to have similar items, although in this case, probably not.
Sounds like we're all going to have different items. But still the shared experience.
I think you get to share where you're at.
Yeah, I like the opportunity to try a project that I probably wouldn't have otherwise
picked for myself. That too.
Like, I don't think that I ever would have gone out of my way and said, yeah,
let's make this snail tea go deep. Are you sure?
Yeah. I mean, to be fair, I didn't know that tea cozies were a thing until Jess brought it up.
Oh, really? Oh, yeah.
I've never seen them before.
Yes, you had.
I've seen sewn ones. I haven't seen knitted.
When we used to go, yeah, when we used to go to tea at that place up in Woodstock,
they're not quite as...
Yeah, they were like quilted tea cozies.
Oh, yeah. Yeah. I don't know. Maybe I just didn't consider that we could have made a knitted one.
No, I don't think I've ever seen a knitted one in person. See, honestly, one of the things that
I've always liked about being a test knitter is that like, I know, like, you know, we talk
about deadlines as being a negative, but I'm terrible with getting like a new yarn or a new
pattern and it kind of, you know, I want to throw away what I'm working on and go run off and start
something else. So make-alongs actually really do help me stick with a project. And so do test knits,
honestly.
No, I've never excelled at deadlines. So usually when I decide that I'm going to participate in a
make-along, usually our own make-along, I cast on right away and get as much done as humanly possible,
as quickly as possible. And then I don't have to worry about a deadline because it's already done.
And that's fair. Well, that's another thing too, is having a nice long make-along timing.
It gives you, if you're not exactly ready the second that it begins, it does give you enough
time to feasibly still participate. Even if you don't cast on immediately, you've got the time.
So I've always liked that we do the longer make-alongs. I can't, I cannot do make-alongs
that are like one to two weeks. That is not a thing I can do.
Nah, I can't do test knits that short.
No.
I have done test knits that short and they give me agita. Like, I've done them, I've only done them
when I've been like, okay, it's a quick accessory and that's not going to take me that long, but it
still does. It's still like, oh, jeezum, this is not, this is not very long at all.
Yeah, I want to enjoy the make.
I also really like getting prizes out of make-alongs.
Oh, we're doing prizes.
Yeah, but like some of like, I like our prizes for sure because...
The pins are designed by Dreah.
Oh yeah, they are.
But besides, besides those, like there's, you could also get like, if it's being sponsored by like a,
a specific yarn dire, you could get yarn or you can get coupons. And then if it's like
done by a specific shop, sometimes they'll do like a code for their shop or like, it's just like,
usually there's some benefit, like they incur, they want to encourage you to finish.
So there's some kind of benefit at the end to finish.
I also like the sense of community with doing make-alongs. Like I like connecting with other
crafters and makers that, that I probably wouldn't have talked to otherwise or connected with
otherwise if we weren't participating in the same project.
Yeah. And meeting other people too, like just kind of expanding your, your circle.
Kind of in that vein, I also, and I have, like, we're not doing this, but I've also,
you know, with other make-alongs, when they, the idea is to use a certain type of yarn that
maybe you have never used before, kind of get more familiar with the different, different
product that you've never used. Some of us tend to fall into ruts with our yarn. I know I do.
I haven't used Malibu Rego in a really long time. It's been, it's been like a good six, seven months.
I mean, you made a couple squares with them, but.
I'm in and out in cycles. I think that's, I think that's normal. I fall in and out of love with,
with yarns all the time. And then I put them away for a little bit. And then I read them.
And I think it's gorgeous. And then they're new yarns. Yeah. Because I'm actually really interested
to find out what kind of techniques go into making a snail cover for my tea pot.
I have a feeling that there's probably like something similar to making like a knitted bag
is going to be similar to making a knitted cozy. Cause like, you have to give it like a bottom,
right? Of some, maybe. I don't know. But. I don't know. Or even just. I haven't actually looked at
the pattern yet. Yeah. I'm like, no, not obviously. Usually they are, they're like hats. They slide
over it. Cause that will be pretty hot. I like that. So it's like a hat with a ponytail hole.
There's a couple of them. Cause you gotta have the, the opening for the top and the handle and the,
and the spout. So like, it is like a sweater pretty much if you think about it. A little bit.
A little sweater for your teapot. I like that even. It'll burn your hand when you pick it up.
Well, it helps keep it hot too. Yeah. It's, it's multifunctional.
Well, cause a lot of times too, your, your kettle and your pot, tea pot are two different things
and you like pour one inside the other and. Yeah. You don't want to put a hot kettle on the kitchen
table. You could put a kettle on the kitchen table. You could put a kettle on the kitchen table.
You could make a trivet. My God, I made one for my mom when I was like eight. She still has it.
It's awful. Those things last. It does. It did. It's a trivet like, uh, essentially a potholder.
It's like, it's like a, what you put under the hot thing. So it doesn't scorch your table.
Oh, so yeah. A potholder. Well, while we're talking about make-alongs, um, what about make-alongs that
we've enjoyed making? So I actually have a very limited experience in doing make-alongs. Um,
as I've said before, and I've said many times, and I probably will keep saying it, um, I'm terrible
with deadlines. Um, so the only time that I've actually done and completed a make-along is when
we have done them here with the podcast, but I, I've enjoyed all of them.
I liked doing the, the, the cowl one. I did too. Like, yeah, that looks fun. Oh, I stretched myself
on that one. You harvested the dead yarn from my hand. I mean, that's half of its appeal. Yeah.
Okay. That yarn is still sitting over in my cupboard, just sadly crying.
What about, what about you guys? Um, honestly, this was an informal one, I guess, but I will
like forever. I don't know if we can call it a make-along, cause it was just the two of us, but
I will forever have a soft spot for the, uh, football socks that we take. Mainly because
that was like the first time that, um, well, first time I ever did any sort of project, like
along in tandem with somebody, but also because we bought the yarn at the same time and you picked
the pattern. And I remember when you picked it out and I looked at it and I'm like, yeah, I'm never
going to finish that because I had only finished like two pairs of patterned socks in my whole life
and neither of them were as complicated as that. Um, but I really, really wanted those socks.
And that was the start of like, once I finished those socks, it was a start of me pushing myself
to go outside of my comfort zone and start knitting things that I really wanted to learn how to knit.
So, um, I will forever have a very soft spot for that very informal. What? I helped you with that.
You really did. And I'm really glad that you picked that pattern because I would never have
picked that pattern. I'm so glad that you picked that pattern. I'm so glad that you picked that
pattern because I would never have picked that pattern. It was a cookie a pattern. It was monkeys
by cookie a and, uh, and unfortunately, because of my amazing Kitchener skills, um, the toe of one
of mine has opened. Um, so I don't wear the socks, but I still have them. Oh, you should fix it.
I'm really, really bad at Kitchener. Every time I Kitchener, I, I, I screw it up somehow. Oh,
do it. All right. Next time I see you, I'll give it to you and you can graph the toe.
It's like my jam. Oh, good. Cause I hate it. I'd say if I ever knit socks again, you can do the
toes, but I don't ever want to knit socks again. So I'm glad I got you for your last pair of,
this will be a last. You did. You did. I really have no desire to ever knit socks again. So,
um, you, you were my, my last socks. So, yay. What about you Jess? Um, well, I don't really,
the only make-alongs I've done has also been from here, although I kind of laughed because there's
been like two or three projects that I have done. And then I've seen a make-along for it, like a
month or two after I finished. Yeah. You really do have that. Like my, I am dragon three shawl that,
that happened. It was like, there was make-along like a month and a half after I finished mine.
They're like make-along and I'm like, oh, but I'm done. And then there was a hat that I did at one
point and later on they're like, yeah, here's a make-along. I'm like, again, I've already done
this. So I kind of miss it. I miss the boat on that. Just call yourself a trendsetter. I'm a
trendsetter. No, I like, nobody even, nobody knows about it, but I am, I am setting the trends that
I'm too realizing. So you're welcome. No. Um, I mean, there's one in June that I kind of want to
do. That's like, just do something D and D related. I'm like, yes. Yeah. What? Yeah. What? It's,
Oh yeah. That one. It's like, you know about it. You saw it first.
But actually it's not D and D. It's basically they're, they're doing like have something that's
related to tabletop RPG and, and it's a make-along. And I was like, oh, that's fun. So I may do
something with that. It starts in June, but other than that, like most of the ones we've done were
the ones I like, were the ones that were part of my stash. And I really liked the hood and the Celtic
myths Shaw was really hard because there was a lot of, um, stockinette that went on forever. And if I
knew that I, you know, I probably would steer clear or something like that again, just because
I feel like I've done it now. So if I saw another make-along that was like, this is a lot of stockinette
I'd be like, maybe, maybe not. Um, but yeah, no, I, it's, and I think I prefer make-alongs too,
where you have a little bit more, um, leeway with, but at the same time, like, you know, agreeing with
the points we brought up earlier, like having something like, maybe I wouldn't have even seen
or tried before would be kind of neat. So, so I think it depends. Does our simple line shawl
count as a make-along if we all did them at? Yeah. Well, yeah, it was, it was an extended, um,
deadline. Cause like I did mine first. Yeah. And then, um, I don't remember what prompted everyone
else to make a simple line shawl. What was the prompt for that? I, I wanted to make it. Oh, I
made it second. And then I made it with you. No, you didn't. I, you made it with my second one.
Oh, that was your second one? Yeah. Cause I made one in early spring and then I wanted to make a
second one for my aunt and you guys both bought the yarn when I was making my second one. That's
right. So extended make-along. Yeah. We all wanted to be matchy. Yeah. But now we all have simple line
shawls. And we all did seed dot beanies at the same time too. Yes. And we all did cocoa beans
at the same time too, except for Jen. The cocoa beans. Jess did not do the cocoa beans. I did not.
The seed dot beanie was fun though. Cause that was like technically my first pattern and no,
no, it was my first pattern. And it was like my first time like doing like test knitting and.
Well, I got the pattern for the Alaska hat and I know you wanted to do that with me. So that'll be
a make-along. Yes. Yeah. Jess bought that pattern like, I don't know, sometime last year. And we
said, we're going to do it. I just don't know when. Yeah. I've got a seed and everything for it. I
just haven't gotten to it yet. And then I did the normal. I think that was not that's on my list in
my head, but I didn't put it anywhere that I would remember. So until someone brings it up, I go,
Oh, that one. Yeah. I thought I was going to make it last year and then I just didn't do it.
Well, maybe we should plan that for later this year. Future project. I like that. So yeah,
if you're interested in doing a make-along, if you've never done one before, like I said,
we are going to be starting that up. Get your feet wet. Like take a little dip in the make-along pool.
The water's nice. I just have this vision of like just a whole bunch of people in like
a really comfortable pool. Being like, ah, we're leaving. Yeah. That's us. Come knit the dog.
It's our pool. They're all on floaties too. That's us. Cause you have to float with the yard. You
don't want to get the yard wet. It's like a lazy river. Oh, that'd be nice. Do it.
I was going to think if we make that happen.
At the end, maybe one day at the end of the make-along, we'll all find a lazy river and be
like, we made this and just go down the river once with our finished object. May is a little.
Yeah, that's true. I also don't know a lazy river that is central to everybody that's going to be
in this make-along considering most will be international folks. Well, that's it for this
week's topic for additional content and opportunities to connect with the cast. Check
out our Patreon or our website at part of my stash.com. Be sure to tune in next week for more
laughs, love and llamas at pardon my.