The Beginning of a New Era (and new favorite knitting podcasts)

I'm knitting on my Corbel sweater which is a pattern designed by Claire of Flossi Knits.

It's been a busy and eventful couple of weeks here at the Woldenburn HQ.

Our little baby boy has made his arrival and we are absolutely thrilled to finally have him here. I had a lovely home birth which was very intense and probably the hardest and most painful but also most beautiful and amazing experience of my life. I am planning to film a Knit + Chat video in the next few weeks talking about my pregnancy and home birth experience so if you are interested in hearing about that stay tuned!

We're keeping the name of our son private so for the time being he will be going by the code name of Baby Tam after two of my favorite Redwall characters: Rakkety Tam MacBurl from Rakkety Tam and Tamello De Fformelo Tussock or Tammo as he is known from The Long Patrol. He is a dainty little fellow, much smaller than any of my family expected, but he is rapidly making up for that by eating voraciously at every opportunity. He is doing splendidly and I am recovering quite well, better than I expected!

I've been able to sneak in bits of knitting here and there but it's been rather a whirlwind with Baby Tam making his debut, having family in town, lack of sleep, and overall just adjusting to having this wonderful little person as part of our family. I've been finding it is sometimes difficult to choose between knitting or soaking up all the amazing baby snuggles. 🥰 I'm hoping I'll feel a bit more settled soon and able to do much more crafting because I've really missed it!

I've been watching lots of knitting podcasts in the wee hours of the morning during the several nighttime feeding sessions. (Since Tam was so small, I have to make sure he eats about every 2 hours.) I've found a few new favorites that I thought I'd share. I've found myself so inspired to do all the knitting while watching each episode. It's a little dangerous because I have found so many new patterns I really want to knit. My Ravelry favorites and wishlist has rapidly expanded over the last 2ish weeks... 😳 So I highly recommend these podcasts, but be forewarned that you may be tempted to do some pattern shopping!

The Crafting Sparrow - Amanda:

https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCraftingSparrow

A Lovely Yarn - Amber:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJwb5qgsflw76Ma0RbEx7UA

Carslee Handmade - Carslee:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8WGZkWrXiBUCxBExPuY9Kw

Willow Cove Crafts Knitting and Sewing - Emily:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdBllC4Dr8Kstl-tQBfYDYg

Wool Make This Work - Linda:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC34B9C26EPhcbTydunrAw-Q/featured

Sewing the Deer and Doe Myosotis Dress | Version 1 | Sewing Pattern Review

I'm writing blog posts about this pattern all out of order! I've posted about the second version of the Myosotis dress already, and today I'm going to talk about the first version I made. Then I'll need to write up something about the third variation I've just recently finished! If you hadn't guessed, I am a big fan of this pattern. I am already considering making a fourth one.

Knitting the Stria Hat Part 2 - A finished hat

I finished my Stria hat in plenty of time for the Spring challenge knitalong. I managed to finish it in three days which was amazing!! The only annoying thing is that now it must be tucked away until autumn and cooler weather returns. I don't know what the weather is like where you are, but Tennessee is in full on summer mode. We've had a heat wave over the last couple of weeks with temperatures in the 90+ F. Definitely not the weather for hand knit wool hats. 😳

Here are the knitty details:

Pattern: Stria Hat by Andrea Mowry

Size: Small

Yarn: Navy - *Cloudborn Highland Superwash Sock Twist | Mustard & Pink - my hand dyed yarn from stash

Needle: US size 1/2.25mm clover bamboo circular

Woldenburn Podcast Episode 19 Show Notes

 

Woldenburn - A Sewing and Knitting Podcast Filmed Thursday, June 2, 2022 🌼 🌼 TIME STAMPS 🌼 🌼 Intro/Chatting Knitting: 00:01:20 Knitting Inspiration: 00:26:09 Sewing: 00:35:36 Books and More: 00:52:37

Knitting the Stria Hat Part 1

I've been wanting to knit the Stria cardigan by Andrea Mowry of Drea Renee Knits for some time. Pretty much since the moment the pattern was released. It just looks like such a cozy, wearable garment.

This weekend Andrea is hosting the Spring Knitting Challenge which is a knitalong with the goal being to knit the newly released Stria Hat in 5 days starting Thursday the 26th.

Woldenburn Podcast Episode 18 Show Notes

 

Woldenburn - A Sewing and Knitting Podcast 🌼 🌼 TIME STAMPS 🌼 🌼 Intro/Chatting Knitting: 00:02:24 Sewing: 00:08:05 Books and More: 00:32:52 Life Chat: 00:44:30

Sewing the Deer and Doe Myosotis Dress | Version 2 | Sewing Pattern Review

Once I found out I was pregnant I knew I needed to think about and possibly do some research on what sewing patterns I had in my stash would work for maternity wear. The Deer and Doe Myosotis dress is one that popped up quite a bit when I started doing some looking. 

I originally wasn't too keen on the Myosotis dress when it was released. It was too loose and blousy for my style at the time. I was very much into quite fitted, heavily vintage inspired styles. However, in the years between then and now, my style has changed and while I still love all things dresses and vintage, comfort has become a much bigger factor in my wardrobe. 

My job changed from a coffee shop barista where I was on my feet 90% of the day to a receptionist in an insurance office and I was sitting down most of the time. Weirdly enough, I discovered that many of my lovely fitted dresses were suddenly very uncomfortable after a few hours of work because they would start cutting into my waist as it expanded throughout the day with eating/drinking and whatnot