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!

Mama needs a new crochet hook

Who knew a metal table could be so rough on a metal crochet hook?  So glad I wasn't using my beloved Laurel Hill!

And after sewing in ends on a table, the thought of sewing in ends on a nice little project that sits comfortably on your lap seems significantly less daunting.

I was quite sad to have to miss Open Knit this week, but it was definitely a day to wear the Mom hat and I did so with gusto!  In fact, during our not-so-pleasant visit to the doctor (really, who doesn't dread the throat swab?) my little man and I came up with a crafty plan. 

And, ooooooh, it's a good one!  

But, alas, I cannot tell you now.  If all goes well, I should be able to tell you all about it within the week.  Suffice it to say that the nearly three year quest for something the boys can make themselves to earn a little extra pocket money may finally have come to an end!

In the meantime, I have my new metal crochet hook and I can't wait to get back at that table come Monday morning - hope to see you then!

Can you still call it a "yarn bombing"...

...if it happens over the course of weeks and with prior approval?

Yup, this could take a while.

Inspiration: found.

My creative side has hungered for a spontaneous outlet for months now, with little time or inspiration to feed it.   But a couple of things occurred last week, seeds were planted, and I am so ready to tackle a new and fun and interesting "just-cuz-I-feel-like-it-and-I-can" kind of project!!!

Ahhhhh, yarn-y experiments.....I've missed you so...

Is your curiosity piqued?

Excellent.

I'll be there in the morning, bright and early, yarn and crochet hook in hand, ready to sit at (or stand over?) the small round table with the mesh top...

Oops.  I may have said too much.

Anyway.  I'll be there, and I hope to see you, too!

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!!!

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.) 

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.