admin, Author at Marly Bird

Friendly Chat and 30 Day Sweater Challenge

October 18, 2013 By admin 2 Comments

Thursday’s podcast: A Friendly Chat and 30 Day Sweater Challenge

A rather impromptu conversation between Marly and Me (Julie) and Johnny Vasquez co-creator of the 30 Day Sweater Challenge!

Marly and Julie discuss a variety of random topics including knitting, crocheting, contract work, books, audio books, and education.

Johnny Vasquez, founder of the New Stitch a Day website, talks about how he got into knitting, making a website, and the 30 Day Sweater Challenge. New Stitch a Day provides step-by-step tutorial videos on knitting and crochet techniques as well as classes on various knitting and crochet topics. A new stitch/technique video is added every weekday, Monday through Friday. Check out all of their videos on their website and become a subscriber for VIP status and access to specials!

As a spin-off of New Stitch a Day, Johnny came up with the 3o Day Sweater Challenge. The Challenge is based on a project that aimed to break down the process of knitting a sweater into simple and easy to follow steps and to get people through knitting an entire garment. Johnny and Co. took their knitting know-how from New Stitch a Day and developed a course for making a custom top-down seamless raglan sweater. The course includes a 30 schedule, video tutorials, a sweater calculator, downloadable worksheets, and more! Check it out here. If you like written instructions, you can buy the companion book 30 Day Sweater eWorkbook! There is still time so join the Challenge today! If you are using the 30 Day Sweater Framework (the custom top-down raglan), you can be a part of the 30 Day Sweater Competition with your custom sweater design and maybe win their awesome prize package and be part of the 3o Day Sweater Book!

The prize package includes:

5 sets of Signature Needle Arts Convertibles needles
A sweaters worth of yarn from Malibrigo
$200 gift card to Stitch Sprouts design services
A Stitches “The Works” package to any 1 Stitches event in 2014
Have their pattern featured in the 2014 Stitches West fashion show
and $1000 in cash!

Also, let Marly know what you are doing for the challenge by leaving a comment below and also give us your opinion on making crafting literature a regular part of the podcast!

Next week on the Yarn Thing Podcast, Kristen TenDyke and Finish Free Knits!!

Let’s give some love to our sponsors!
XRX Books, Knitter’s Magazine, STITCHES Expos

Craftsy.com/yarnthing

Indian Lake Artisans
Fiesta Yarns
Drew Emborsky
Love of Knitting and Love of Crochet
Bijou Basin Ranch

Green Mountain Spinnery

October 18, 2013 By admin 13 Comments

Tuesday on the Yarn Thing podcast: the Green Mountain Spinnery!

Today’s guest was Eric from the Green Mountain Spinnery, located in Putney, Vermont. Green Mountain Spinnery was founded in 1981 and several years ago became a worker-owned cooperative when several employees became part owners. The Spinnery was founded as an environmentally friendly mill that supports sustainable, regional sheep farming and produces high quality yarns, all of which they still do today. Visitors to the New England area can take a tour of the mill on the first and third Tuesday of every month (or you just might convince someone to take you around if they aren’t too busy on any other day!). There, you can learn all about the process of making our favorite material yarn!

All of their lovely yarns are spun from fibers gown in the USA and include:

Mountain Mohair;

Sylvan Spirit;

Green Mountain Green;

These are just three of their many yarns, several of which are completely organic! (An important note Green Mountain is a certified organic mill!) Check out their complete selection here!

In addition to their yarns, Green Mountain has a large pattern selection, many of which are designed by their own employees (Eric included!). They also have several books, the first of which was The Green Moutain Spinnery Knitting Book which was followed by 99 Yarns and Counting. Their newest is an e-book called Green Mountain Weekend with designs from their weekend retreat instructors including Barbara Walker, Nancy Bush, Fiona Ellis, Gudrun Johnston, Alison Green, and Kate Gilbert.

Green Mountain regularly hosts weekend retreats that connect instructors with fiber enthusiasts in an enjoyable weekend in New England. For up-to-date information on their retreats and other events at the Spinnery sign up for their newsletter on the right hand side of their main page and check out their events list and blog.

Last but not least, the weekly giveaway! Leave a comment in the podcast notes using Eric’s keyword to be entered to win your own copy of the Green Mountain Weekend e-book!

You can find Green Mountain Spinnery on: their website, Facebook, and Ravelry and at the Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival!

Let’s give some love to our sponsors!
XRX Books, Knitter’s Magazine, STITCHES Expos
Craftsy.com/yarnthing

Indian Lake Artisans

Fiesta Yarns
Drew Emborsky
Love of Knitting and Love of Crochet
Bijou Basin Ranch

Diana Gabaldon

October 3, 2013 By admin 74 Comments

Diana Gabaldon joined Marly on the podcast to share what it has been like writing the 8 books in the Outlander series (7 published and one to come in March 2014), along with the excitement regarding the tv series based on the first book that Starz is producing and is expected to hit the cable airways in 2014. Click to Listen

The show began with the big SPOILER ALERT disclaimer so that all of the listeners knew Marly and Diana were going to talk about all things Outlander and nothing was going to be left out of the discussion. For me, that made the interview that much better because Marly was able to ask about specific scenes without having to tip toe around the topic.

Here is an excerpt from Diana’s bio on her wonderful website https://www.dianagabaldon.com/ :

“Diana Gabaldon is the author of the award-winning, #1 NYT-bestselling OUTLANDER novels, described by Salon magazine as “the smartest historical sci-fi adventure-romance story ever written by a science Ph.D. with a background in scripting “Scrooge McDuck” comics.”

The adventure began in 1991 with the classic OUTLANDER (“historical fiction with a Moebius twist”), has continued through six more New York Times-bestselling novels— DRAGONFLY IN AMBER, VOYAGER, DRUMS OF AUTUMN, THE FIERY CROSS, A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES, and AN ECHO IN THE BONE, with more than twenty million copies in print worldwide.”

So what’s in store if you give the podcast a listen? You will find out the answers to the following:

Does Diana knit or crochet herself?
What kind of writing process does she use when writing the pages of her books?
Who was the inspiration for Highlander Jamie Fraser?
How long did it take for Outlander to find a publisher?
Will book 8 (My Own Heart’s Blood) be the final book in the series?
How does Diana react to feedback regarding certain scenes in her book?
How long has Diana be a presence on social media?
How does Diana feel about the casting for the main roles for the Starz series?

Join Marly and Diana as they talk about why Jamie and Claire have entranced so many readers for the past 22 years, and why the idea of “What makes people stay married for 50 years” has had such an impact on the development of the series.

Besides Diana Gabaldon’s website, you can also follow her on Twitter @Writer_DG or her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDianaGabaldon .

*Giveaway* – leave a comment here with Diana’s secret word, and you could win a booklet containing the first 7 chapters of My Own Heart’s Blood. Winner will be chosen the week of Oct. 14^th!

Discover Hobbies Internet Radio with MarlyBird on BlogTalkRadio

Marly Updates:

Join Marly at STITCHES East in Hartford, Ct. Nov. 7-10th

New pattern available exclusively at www.KnitCrate.com

No podcast week of Oct. 6th as Marly is traveling to Detroit to film the next season of the Knit and Crochet Now TV show!

Let’s give some love to our sponsors!
XRX Books, Knitter’s Magazine, STITCHES Expos
Craftsy.com/yarnthing

Indian Lake Artisans

Fiesta Yarns
Drew Emborsky
Love of Knitting and Love of Crochet
Bijou Basin Ranch

Hunter Hammersen

October 1, 2013 By admin 22 Comments

On Tuesday’s podcast: Hunter Hammersen!!

Hunter comes to the podcast today to enlighten us all about her adventures in the world of self publishing and what is about to his the shelves!

Hunter started out going the “traditional” route of publishing, and teamed up with a publishing house and had a good time, however decided that the route of self publishing was more her cup of tea. She discussed the ins and outs of photography, charts, editing, pattern writing, printing, all the little ins and outs of getting your designs out “in the wild”.

Hunter had some super fun news, as her new book (Ne’er Do Well Knits) was finished printing early, and she was anxiously awaiting the arrival of the UPS guy while on the show with Marly, and warned Marly that if she saw him, she was going to drop the phone and run for the door!

Hunter later blogged on her own page the pictures of the boxes and books that arrived at her house, and she was SO excited to get them opened, it looks like it was a bit like Christmas at her house!

Hunter has self published 5 books/mini books now,

Knitter’s Curiosity Cabinet (Volume 1)
Knitter’s Curiosity Cabinet (Volume 2)
Ne’er Do Well Knits
Rabble Rousers
Silk Road Socks

You can order each of them through her website, OR you can enter in the giveaway below, and be entered to win Knitter’s Curiosity Cabinet Volumes 1 and 2 as well as Ne’er Do Well Knits!

So, that brings us to the giveaway this week! As always, leave a comment with Hunter’s keyword, and you can be entered to win!!

You can find Hunter on: her website/blog, Twitter, and Ravelry (where you can also purchase Hunter’s individual patterns).

Let’s give some love to our sponsors!
XRX Books, Knitter’s Magazine, STITCHES Expos
Craftsy.com/yarnthing

Indian Lake Artisans

Fiesta Yarns
Drew Emborsky
Love of Knitting and Love of Crochet
Bijou Basin Ranch

Clara Parkes – The Yarn Whisperer

September 27, 2013 By admin 43 Comments

Thursday’s Podcast Guest: Clara Parkes!

Clara came on the show to promote her new super fun book “The Yarn Whisperer“! (Also, she came on to try to get Marly to laugh so hard she’d snort.)

From Clara’s website:

The book was born from a simple notion: We are what we knit. I’m not suggesting you’re a pullover or a pair of socks. But over the years I’ve realized just how deeply knitting itself—our stitches, materials, techniques—is a metaphor for who we are and the lives we live.

It began while I was sitting at a table for two, waiting for a friend to show up and suspecting that I’d been stood up yet again. I wondered: Is this how a dropped stitch feels? Or consider the traveling stitch, that blundering Winnebago swerving from lane to lane without so much as a how-do-you-do. Or garter stitch, the robust and wholesome friend who’s always overlooked in favor of the slender homecoming queen, stockinette?

The stories became more personal as my mind turned to my grandma, terribly self-conscious of the skintags that peppered her neck yet obsessed with adding bobbles to everything she knit. Or my parents’ divorce, a poorly worked steek that caused my young self to unravel.

The Yarn Whisperer is about my own life in knitting, both literally and figuratively. But it also explores our collectivelives in knitting. I’ve left many blanks for you to fill in. My hope is that it may help you see your own story, and your knitting, in a new, more meaningful light.

If you’ve listened you heard Clara’s wonderful chapter on bobbles, and is it just me, or who else wants to see her book turned into an audiobook??

Clara’s other books can be found here! Other places you can find Clara: her blog, Knitter’s Review, Facebook, Twitter, Ravelry, and of course, on her BOOK TOUR! Make sure you check to see if she’s coming to a town near you, and go check it out! 🙂

*Giveaway* – leave a comment here with Clara’s keyword, and be entered to win a copy of her super awesome fun book!!

Let’s give some love to our sponsors!
XRX Books, Knitter’s Magazine, STITCHES Expos
Craftsy.com/yarnthing
Fiesta Yarns
Drew Emborsky
Love of Knitting and Love of Crochet
Bijou Basin Ranch

Crochetville – Amy Shelton

September 24, 2013 By admin 16 Comments

Hi Everyone!

Thursday’s podcast guest was Amy Shelton, from Crochetville!

Amy was one of our most enthusiastic guests ever, and Marly was SO excited to have her on the show!

Amy Shelton comes from a family of crocheters. Although she learned the basics of crochet from her third-grade teacher, Amy’s mother and grandmother, longtime crocheters themselves, helped Amy expand her skills. She has been happily crocheting, left-handed, for over 30 years. Her right-handed daughter also crochets. She taught herself how to knit.

In 2006, when Donna Hulka and Amy Shelton took over running Crochetville as a two-woman team, plans and goals for the future of the community started to come together. Although Crochetville has always taken countless hours to maintain, they began working at it from a new perspective: as a serious business rather than a hobby.

Visitors can simply browse or search to access the wealth of information on Crochetville. Additionally, those who become members by registering (which is free) can post messages, share photos, and participate in activities such as crochet-alongs, swaps, secret pals, and charity crochet. For a modest per-class fee, registered members can also take advantage of online crochet classes in Crochetville’s unique and interactive forum-based class format.
Donna and Amy say, “We hope you enjoy your time at Crochetville, and that you will find it to be well-moderated and family-friendly. We are committed to maintaining a site that is clean and easy-to-use with an atmosphere that is welcoming and encouraging to crocheters of all levels.” The only information needed to sign up is your email and your date of birth, (so that Crochetville can comply with internet child safety laws), your information is kept private, and is never shared with other people/companies.

You can sign up to take classes on Crochetville, get help with a tricky technique, ask questions, find crochet events, as well as share and purchase patters, and have that great sense of community of crocheters!! (How cool is that?? It’s a plethora of resources!)

Crochetville has partnered with Red Heart Yarn, and travels to the different shows around the country. In their booth, they are constantly introducing Red Heart’s new yarns, have lots of great patterns and books, hooks and all kinds of other fun hooking things! Make sure you look for them at upcoming trade shows in your area!

You can find Crochetville on Facebook, Twitter, their website, and their Ravelry group.

*Giveaway!!* Use Amy’s keyword in your comments below to be entered to win a copy of Amy’s shawl pattern and 2 skeins of yarn to make it!

Let’s give some love to our sponsors!
XRX Books, Knitter’s Magazine, STITCHES Expos
Craftsy.com/yarnthing
Fiesta Yarns
Drew Emborsky
Love of Knitting and Love of Crochet
Bijou Basin Ranch

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