Yellowbird Yarn Room

My crafty little entrepreneurs

The Yellowbird and I are just a few months shy of our three-year anniversary, and one thing that has remained a constant wish has come true at last:  my boys finally found something they can make to sell for themselves!

From the moment Judy showed me my original space at River City (a room, in fact), those two have racked their little brains trying to come up with something they can do to earn themselves a little extra pocket money - you know, for all those things mom and dad say "no" to (how many Lego sets do two boys need, anyway???). 

Many ideas have been thrown out over the years.  Now, I love my oldest son's origami figures and boxes out of notebook paper, and my youngest son's drawings and mixed media collages, but I was not overly confident there was a market for such things. 

Even at the suggested retail price of a quarter.

The few ideas I came up with were, of course, a bit too involved to hold their interest for any great length of time. 

I just don't do simple.  Simple is too complicated for me.

But as we sat waiting in the doctor's office last Monday morning to have the 9 yo's ears and throat checked (good times) we came up with the perfect plan! 

A couple of days to kick the cold and a few quick errands to acquire the necessary supplies, and those boys were ready to work!

Finally!  You can't see the smiles on their faces, but trust me - these boys are sooo excited!

I'll be bringing their tiny terrariums in with me to Open Knit first thing in the morning.  They only have five done so far, but I guarantee there will be more to come!

Good things come to those who wait.

Like a pair of earrings that I love.

A chunky ring, made of cutlery, that actually looks decent on my stubby little fingers.

A non-frosted, easily-applied tinted lip balm.

Real.  Denim.  Jeans.  For women.  Boot cut, mid-rise, 100% cotton (not a single fraction of a percent of stretch of any kind), reasonably-priced, old-school jeans.

Now.  If only someone would make a big, deep, feed-sack of a purse with two long straps that will stay on my right shoulder (even over my heavy winter coat) after I throw it on effortlessly with my right hand (because my left if busy grabbing my travel mug) and is made out of ultra-soft and supple chocolate brown leather.

Well, I can't make that myself.  But I can make this.

Someday.  But I am still in the midst of several different projects at the moment so I will have to wait.  Patiently. 

But that's ok.  Apparently, it works for me.

I do loves me a good dichotomy!

Oh, Joan, you lovely lady, you!

I walked into Judy's Ice Cream for Open Knit last Thursday to find a happy little pressie waiting for me at my usual spot:

All sweet, no sour.

Peeking out of the top of the tissue were two very different sets of needles - one set square and sophistocated, one set round and rustic.

Both sets the epitome of all I adore!

Set #1:  Square and Sophisticated

Size 11 in Ebony with funky silver beads at the end.

Set #2:  Round and Rustic

Size 8 in an unnamed wood with a small amount of bark left on the end.  (No, they don't glow - they were just really difficult to photograph.)

The contrast between these two styles just make me so happy, and I can't wait to use them!  They were made by hand, inspired by materials available to the crafter, and gifted to a highly appreciative recipient.

It doesn't get much better than that. 

Now, I have made one small error in telling you about these needles.  I called them "needles".  Joan calls them "sticks", and here is her description of why as it appears on each tag:

I don't label these "needles" because they are individually made and each is unique.  They are hand shaped, hand sanded, then hand buffed with beeswax for smoothness.  I use hardwood scraps from woodworkers and repurposed fabric for the cases.  Four sided needles are based on the perimeter, and labeled as the closest size to standard round needles...

You can find more of Joan's work at River City, and each set is priced very closely to what you would pay for a factory-made set at a box store.  Given the thought and time and effort that goes into them, these would be my go-to needles (I mean, sticks!) every time.

All I need now is a project to go with them!   

Just one week left to support a wonderful program!

Maybe you're new around here and don't know about my annual blanket project.

Maybe you've been around a while but figured you had plenty of time to act.

Either way, I'm here to tell you that I need your help and time is running out!

Brief synopsis:  Every school year I teach an after school knitting program to kids in 2nd-4th grades.  They learn to knit and finish squares that are pieced together into blankets, which I then raffle off and give all proceeds to a local program that provides Christmas presents for families in need.

Now, last year some really cool things happened to shake up my annual routine that I must tell you about!

First of all, instead of my usual year-long club-type approach to the after school program, I taught 7 or 8 shorter sessions in two different schools.  This not only allowed me to teach more kids than usual, but it also really inspired those kids to keep the needles moving...even at home!  I was absolutely blown away by the number of squares they whipped up for me every week.

My average during the previous three years had been around 50-60 squares by the end of the school year, enough to put together one large blanket.  Last year, between the two schools, all those programs, and a small stack of squares I had leftover from the previous year, I found myself with around 120 squares come May!

Wow.  Way to go, guys!!!

Such big work out of kids who could still count their age on their fingers called for a bigger charitable gesture.  So I thought about it, and talked to the kids in the last few classes, and came up with a plan.

We decided that the usual big blanket was really just too big and heavy, and the number of squares I was getting was coincidentally just the right amount for four smaller blankets.  Lap blankets, if you will.  And since I had two schools, and had kept track of which squares were from which school, I would put together two blankets for each school.

At one school, the blankets were donated to the Summit County Children's Services.  A wonderful lady came to accept the blankets and talk to the kids about how Children's Services helps kids who need it, and she talked to them about how they wanted the blankets to be used.  They decided the blankets should be used in the visitation rooms so that the blankets could bring comfort to one child after another, year after year.

Still with me?  Good!  Because here's were I need your help!

The two blankets from the other school are at River City, ready to support the Share-a-Christmas program once again, and time is almost up!  Tickets are available at the register at $1 for one or 6 for $5, and the drawing will be held next Thursday, December 8th!  Two blankets means two winners, and both winners will have a new option.

You see, the winner(s) this year may be able to help two causes!  Obviously, the winners may choose to keep their prizes - they are so fun and comfy and warm, after all!  But maybe they have plenty of blankets of their own and really just wanted an excuse to help out the cause, and that's okay, too.  If that is the case, I will glady donate their prize(s) to Children's Services on their behalf.

And one more way you can help:  share this post in any way you can before the deadline!!!  Be it mass email, Facebook sharing, or Twitter feed...the more people who know about this raffle, the more chances there are for families in need to have a joyous holiday.

Thank you!!!

By golly, I did it!

Do you see it up there, on the right, at the top of the page?  It's a link.  A link to a pattern.  A pattern for my hat that I designed all by my little self.

yay!

And it has a new name, too.  I was calling it just the ponytail hat, or the convertible ponytail hat, but a while back I was showing it to someone who said "it's like a little cardigan for your head!".

And thus we have the "Cardigan Ponytail Hat"!!!

So the pattern is now available to all, for your knitting pleasure (personal and non-profit use only, please).  If you knit one  I would love to hear about it!  You may leave a comment here, if you like, or drop me an email...or post on Facebook...

But I do have another option for you if you happen to be tooling around on Ravelry...

I have a page officially all set up right here, so people can either admire the versions others have come up with or post pics of their own for others to admire.  I, myself, have recently finished knitting my fourth version (two of which are available for purchase at River City as of this writing) and hope to have pictures of all of them on the Ravelry page soon.

I'm really excited about this and I can't wait to see where it goes (48 hours after creating the Ravelry page and it's already in 15 queues and I've gotten 4 comments...so cool!).  Hope you enjoy it, too!

Official Open Knit changes and bonus events

Alright, it's official.  Time for an Open Knit shake-up, and here's how the lint is settling:

• Tomorrow, Tuesday the 6th, I will be in as usual from 10:00 until noon
• I will not be in Thursday the 8th due to PTA duties
• Next week starts my new schedule of Monday/Thursday from 10:00 until noon

But wait, there's more!

This Friday and Saturday, September 9th and 10th, you can visit the River City booth at the Copley Community Center for the "Craft Fair and Picker Days" presented by the Copley Veterans Post.

(Did you catch all that?)

I will be there the better part of both days, and the hours are Friday from 10-6 and Friday from 10-5.  I'm hearing talk of crafts and candles, flea market finds and fair food.

Mmmm...funnel cake....

And what's more, the following weekend is the Fall Craft Show at River City!  I'm sad to say that I may not be able to be there myself, but I'm working on it because this has been my favorite River City event since my Grand Opening there two years ago. 

It's a sentimental thing, you know?

So the actual Craft Show will be Saturday the 17th from 10-5, but the Kiwanis will be there the 16th-18th from 8am until 8pm selling mums and cider.  It's the perfect kind of event for putting you in that Fall kind of mood, inciting visions of leaf piles and cozy sweaters and wool socks...

Ahh, my beloved Fall...I have missed you so. 

On the Yarn Tasting

It's been a while since I mentioned the Yarn Tasting.  Do you know about this?

In my booth at River City I have an ongoing Yarn Tasting in a bowl, and there is a notebook on the table right next to it.  The current "flavor" of yarn is all set up on the needles, just waiting for you to come along and see how it knits up.  You can knit and purl to your little heart's content, increasing or decreasing as you see fit, even working a pattern if you like. 

All I ask is that you write your name in the notebook, along with how much and what you did.  It's a sort of physical guest book that grows longer all the time.

And you know what?  I am really excited about the current flavor because it is not just about the yarn...it's about the needles, too!

Now, the yarn itself is a treasure.  I had been looking for a linen to carry for two years when I saw Blue Ridge Yarns' Luxury Linen so, of course, when I saw it...I had to have it!!!  The weight and drape of linen, combined with the liquid loveliness of handpainted yarn... 

Oh, happy day! 

The joyous rarity of the yarn, then, called for an equally rare needle, and what needle could fill the bill better than a handmade set of square needles by Joan? 

If you've been curious at all about how it would feel to knit with square needles, now's the time to come in and try it for yourself because I won't keep them on the tasting for long.  Each set of needles by Joan is one-of-a-kind because she makes them from repurposed wood, going with her instinct to make the size that seems right at the time. 

That makes each set available on a first-come-first-served basis, so I'll make sure and post on Facebook when she brings more in.  Make sure to "Like" my page for the most updated information!   

See a game, save on yarn!

About a month ago, I posted about my love of classic pastimes.  I wrote about a rumor I had heard that someone had organized a Stitch N' Pitch event at an Akron Aeros game, but that I didn't know when it was.  That it was, perhaps, sometime in August.

Did you know that it is now, as of today, officially August?  Where did that come from?

As it happens, someone did organize such an event and this event is happening this Friday, August 5th.  You can get your tickets right here on the Aeros site, and I have reason to believe that there may be two ticket options available (with or without food).  There's no guarantee that you will be seated with other yarn enthusiasts when you order your tickets this way, so if your looking to meet n' greet just let me know and we can investigate further. 

Or bring your binoculars in your knitting bag so you can scan the crowd for the tell-tale signs of fiber fans and go work the crowd.  They might think you're a little quirky, but hey...you're working with yarn at a baseball game.  Comes with the territory.

Now, here's the bonus:  if you go, don't lose your ticket!!!  Bring your ticket stub from this Friday's Aeros game to River City throughout the entire month of August and receive 20% off everything in my booth...including clearance items!!!

I'm sorry to say that I, myself, will be unable to go.  Very sorry, in fact, to say it.  So if you happen to come to River City on a Tuesday or Thursday morning, please come around the corner into Judy's Ice Cream and tell me all about it.  I'll be cheering from a distance!  

It was fate. Fate, I tell you.

 

I saw Tahki's new yarn, Boulder, for the first time back in April and fell in love, laughing all the way.  This is one giant ball of yarn!  I've seen smaller pillows!  It is fantastic and fluffy and fun, and everyone who sees it has the same initial reaction as myself.

It is just so irresistible!

Now, upon consulting the label you will find that the recommended needle size is 35.  Yes, that's right.  35.  This is not a size that I have been able to acquire, in wood, through my usual sources.

Enter Joan Braun.

Joan came into River City several weeks ago during Open Knit to talk to me about some needles she had seen online.  They were square, and the site boasted about the benefits of square needles over round for easing strain.   

She was intrigued.  She said she knows her way around a woodworking shop (her sons make beautiful pens, by the way) and we had a very interesting discussion on the technicalities involved in acquiring proper gauge.  As the discussion evolved, I found that Joan was interested in making needles for the shop.   Including the size 35 that I would need in stock as soon as Boulder became available. 

I also found that she knew my husband and his family.  Oh, those six degrees... 

Another visit later, Joan showed me what she'd been working on and I was giddy!  I officially had my own set of size 35 straights, we had another very interesting discussion about proper gauge, and we compared a few more notes.  

 
Joan's square needles.  I love 'em!

Last week, just a day after the nice UPS man left a box of Boulder on my doorstep, Joan sent me an email saying she'd be at Open Knit with a whole assortment of goodies.  And, boy, had she been busy!

She made straights in standard sizes, a few sets of square needles, some size 35 circulars (pictured at the top of this post), and a cute little tool for fixing dropped stitches.  She even made the bags to store them out of repurposed material!

I could go on all day, but then it would take that long for this page to load.  If you would like to know more, contact me or come on in during Open Knit where you may just find me working on my Boulder scarf (which will be on display at River City between times).

 

And the Yellowbird was happy.

What have you been full of?

My weeks have been very full.

Full of working on long-stagnant household projects thanks to parents visiting here.

 
It took a few years, but I love my bathroom!

Full of holiday events while visiting parents there.

 
Did you see this guy in your parade?

And full of propping up the bum foot everywhere.

 
I might want to hold on to this boot.  Knowing me, I'll probably need it again someday.

I have been working diligently all the while on my Clapotis, and it's almost done!  I should be able to block it out Monday so that it will be ready just in time for my annual fancy-date-night with the husband.  Yay!

Now, I will be honest and admit that Clapotis was not my ideal pattern for this yarn.  My ideal pattern would have been a more delicate lace.  Something more complicated and feminine (don't those two words go hand in hand?). 

But that by no means diminishes my love for this project.  It is still lovely and airy (a simple femininity?) and I cannot wait to see how blocking finishes the final fabric! 

And, having never worked with anything finer than a sport weight yarn for an entire project, I would absolutely recommend this pattern as the perfect primer for working with a lace weight.  (I never once felt like throwing it across the room!)  Just remember that if it's mohair you will need a very delicate hand and a great deal of patience with the dropped stitches.

So there you have it.  That's what I've been full of.  How 'bout you?