Yellowbird Yarn Room

My new (can't remember when) slouchy hat

Last year, on New Year's Eve, I started myself a beret.  Finished it in a couple of days, then realized that the beret was not a good look for me.  So I frogged the whole thing and started over, going slouchy this time and just wingin' it.  Found an old lace pattern somewhere (can't remember where) and did a little math...

Got about halfway done before I had to set it aside for something else (can't remember what), and picked it up again earlier this year.  Luckily, I wrote down the lace pattern I picked or I would have had to start over again! 

Finally, I got my hat! Yay!  Would you like to see it?  Great!  Just gimme a sec to teach the DH which button makes the camera turn on and which takes the picture...

     What, can't see the hat?  Sorry, let me tell my husband to get a better shot.

Alright, that's a better angle, but just a little far away...

Ok, nevermind.  Shall I just show the other way to wear it now?

Hang on, I'm not ready!

Got one?  A real nice lose-up of the hat and the lace pattern I used so everyone can see?  And you didn't really get my face, right, just the hat?  Oh, good, 'cause I have no make up on and I'm feelin' quite silly and sure would hate to have to try to take these pictures myself.  Thank you, dear.

I'm sorry to say that the only thing I have written down is the lace pattern I found, I believe I could figure it out (as opposed to trying to remember it) if someone were interested. 

Yay, slouchy!

Pardon the interruption

Words have failed me as of late.  And the creative juices have definitely not been flowin'. 

You know you've stretched yourself a bit too thin when you feel incapable, even, of finding relief in the hobby that is your passion. 

But I am in the process of re-thinking and re-building.  Of re-inspiring myself to re-approach my business, and to re-arrange the management of my time.

It's a re-processing process, and may come in stages.

I will be keeping you updated, both here and on my FB page, of any changes I decide to make that may affect my Yellowbird friends.  In the meantime, I've had a project or two hidden up my sleeve that I've been saving for the right posting moment...and I imagine that moment will be soon!

A word can be worth a thousand pictures

Forgive the fiber-free post but I've had this thought in my head for several weeks now.  Does that ever happen to you? 

It's a bit like having a song stuck in your head, and sometimes the only way to free your mind is to sing it out loud and find solace in getting it stuck in someone else's head.  Then it's up to them to keep singing or pass it on.

It can start as a word or a phrase, but it can grow if it takes hold...and even bloom if it's lovely.  It can remain just a favorite phrase to visit when the mood fits, or it can turn into an entire one-sided philosophical argument that bubbles up and alters your mood despite your best efforts to contain it.

But I do have a reason for my thought, and that reason is social media.

After countless months of ignoring the growing internet buzz, I'm finally enjoying the fruits of Pinterest.  For someone like myself, who processes information best in visual ways, this is a virtual Eden that allows me to pick and choose what I like best and organize it into manageable plots.   

Niiiiice...

I've been on Pinterest for a number of weeks now (I couldn't tell you how many...time has altered itself quite a bit ever since) and have been enveloped by thoughts and ideas and pretty pictures, but I'm thinking today of one particular thought.

Have you noticed that words have become very popular?

They're pinned in snippets.  Funny little thoughts.  Inspirational quotes.

They're used in decorating.  Painted on pillows.  Decaled on walls.

They're used in fashion.  Worn on fingers...and nails.

They're everywhere.

I've heard arguments about how texting and the internet are killing language, but from what I've seen language is alive and well. 

Just more succinct.

It's Super Bowl Sunday...

...and I live in a house full of boys.

Unfortunately, I've never really understood the appeal of football.  I'm much more of a baseball kinda gal.  I don't think I'd mind watching soccer.  Or tennis when my kids are playing.  And golf is okay when I'm knitting lace or something that requires my full attention.  But football's just not my thing.  The rules hold no sense for me.

My husband still holds out hope, though.  Not his breath...just hope.  He's a wise man.

Now, my sons have never been overly interested in watching sports.  Not even baseball (with the exception of actually being at a game because...well...that's just a good time!).  Sports on TV always just seemed to bore them, and they never showed any strong allegiance with any particular team.  

But something changed over the last year.  I don't know what happened.  Perhaps their father's enthusiasm just finally won them over.  Perhaps the oldest has simply reached an age when he enjoys the comaraderie and banter with his friends, and the youngest has followed suit in the way that younger brothers do.

It's a mystery.

But there's one thing I do know:  my house has exploded in black and gold.

Yes, my husband is a Steelers fan.  The only thing he has ever asked me to knit for him was a stocking cap that came clear down his back, had Steelers stripes, and the Steelers logo positioned on the back of his head.  And I hadn't done much colorwork by that time.

I've done even less since.

No evil 'round here...

For Christmas this year my boys each got a fleece Steelers blanket and a Steelers quilt made by my mom, and my husband got a Steelers rice pillow (aka bed-warmer), also made by mom.  Since then my oldest has made a couple of ball caps out of Duck tape in Steelers colors, and both boys decided that they had to have arm warmers with Steelers stripes.

Well.  I may not get football, but I do get knitting for team spirit.

It's just a shame their team's not in the Super Bowl.

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.

Losing my grip

I returned to Cranford today, and it was a lovely day for it.  Gray and rainy outside, and my most important task being that of finishing a special order.  So as soon as I saw the kids off to school, I took my cup of coffee and my knitting and curled up in front of the dvr.

My only regret is that I had coffee.  It really should have been tea.

A few years ago, such marathon knitting as these hands have seen over this past month would not have been possible.  I had a pretty tight grip on those needles, particularly with my left (and non-dominant) hand.  A pain would eventually develop behind my left thumb that would linger for days, and I would be forced to set all projects aside.

And, yes, this did make we question the sagacity of starting my own knitting-based business, but what can I say.  The sacrifices we make to follow our passions, eh?

But something surreal has happened lately.  All of a sudden, I've loosened up!

Now, yes, I have my high-strung moments, but much fewer than I used to (a change I frequently attribute to knitting, though the good nature of my husband and the unpredictability of kids have played no small role).  It's simply in my nature to hold tight so that nothing goes astray.

Particularly when knitting in the round, which I have been doing all week long.  I pull tight on the yarn for the first stitch or two...or three...of each dpn to minimize the ladder-effect.

But around a month ago I decided to take on my first large-scale project in a very long time (a project to be discussed in more detail after it has been gifted), and it was a project I wanted to finish quickly.  It called for a bulky yarn on size 11 needles, which appears to have been the perfect combination to force a change in my grip.

Suddenly, I could almost feel my left hand relaxing.  It seemed to start guiding the needle instead of controling it and trying to force it to do what I wanted.  It was as if a switch had been flipped, causing me to get a grip that was both more effective and less painful.

Huh.

Well, I can't explain it, and I certainly won't question it, but I do share this development with you in order to express my one deep thought of the day:  sometimes the best way to gain control is by letting go.

Isn't it marvelous when a hobby serves as the perfect philosophical analogy?

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!!!

Thoughts on the Drop

The drop of the spindle, that is.

A couple weeks ago I attempted to spin a bit of fluff for the first time.  I'd watched this video that made it look so easy...

Well, it wasn't too bad, but it was significantly trickier than anticipated.

I've never been the most coordinated of souls, and using a drop spindle does require that the right hand know what the left hand is doing (not too mention the legs!).  Then there's knowing how thick the fiber needs to be before drafting, then how much you can draft without the fiber pulling apart, then getting the spindle to spin well and the twist to work it's way up properly and how to stop the spindle from spinning and when to stop and wind the new yarn around the shaft...

phew.

I like to think of my finished product as a thick-and-thin (though mostly thick) art yarn. 

I definitely intend to try again at some point (there is far too much lovely fluff out there to play with!).  I can't say that I personally felt the same passionate obsession that I felt when I first learned to form a stitch, but it is certainly a challenge that I cannot ignore. 

After all, those lovely and stormy-looking Dyeabolical braids do taunt me so very much every time I go into River City.

The thing is, I started with the drop spindle because...well...it's a vastly more economical way of testing my spinning skills than the wheel and I'm really quite glad I did.  I do see the potential.  But I also see the potential for a spinning wheel to be much easier to use.

Some day.

In the meantime, I will do the drop again.  Occassionally.  It's a nice change of pace.

(The results of my first spinning efforts may be seen as knit into the Yarn Tasting.  I used about a third to a half of the fiber that comes in the basic drop spindle kit from Spinner's Choice.) 

Has anyone seen my Toast?

It's been driving me crazy all day because I just can't seem to find it!  I mean, seriously, come on!  How may places could it possibly be?

Today is the first day of Fall, which makes me happy.  It started off as a gray and rainy fall kinda morning, and I was headed out the door for my one outing of the day and thought to myself, "Hey!  Today would be the perfect day to break out my warm and toasty Toast armwarmers!"

I can remember where they used to be.  They used to be laying on my kitchen table with my favorite earwarmer/headband thingy.  But spring had pretty well come and gone and my mother was coming for a visit, sooooo... 

I put them away.  Somewhere safe.  Somewhere that I would remember when the time came because it made sense.

Hmmm...

I have officially checked every place that makes sense to me now.  If only I could figure out what made sense to me then.

Because I need a new hobby, right?

Ever had an idea nag at you? Had something you've always wanted to do, but felt you needed to finish everything on your To Do to do it?

I have.  Many times.  And it's usually when I finally forget the To Do and give in to the nag that I have the most fun...and do my best work. 

So I find myself inching my way closer to learning something new.  Something that has been taunting me with it's creative potential for quite some time now.

Spinning.  (Not the excerise class.)

I happened across this video today, and she just makes it look too easy!

 

I did see a tip somewhere on starting with just a few ounces of fiber...

And I do have those bits of fiber from Dyeabolical that would be the perfect gateway fiber...

Ok, so I need a spindle.  I'm on a quest for spindles to stock at Yellowbird (I do wish Laurel Hill made some, wouldn't they be lovely?!).  And I'm going to learn by the end of October.  Even if I have to make my own spindle out of old cd's. 

I'm only sorry I won't be doing it in time for World Wide Spin in Public Day.  That's only about two and a half weeks away, and I do have some things on the To Do that I have to do. 

They're overdue.

I'll let you all know when I'm ready, though, and you are welcome to come in and watch and laugh as you see fit!