yarn - Mixed Martial Arts and Crafts

WIP Wednesday: Roosevelt the Monster

Posted by Vanessa on April 17, 2013 at 10:25 am

Apr 172013

I’ve been a member of the FreshStitches kit club for some time now.

yarn

This month’s creature is Roosevelt the Monster! The added bonus (every package comes with a bonus!) is that skein of specialty yarn. It’s Shepard’s Wool Crazy yarn by Stonehedge Fiber Mill and Stacey made sure that we got a skein in our favorite colors. I like how mine is red, white and blue (with a bit of green thrown in as well) making my Roosevelt a very patriotic monster. There is another bonus but I’m going to keep mum on that until the big reveal day (May 10th) when everyone has their own kit.

Sign ups for the next round of the club begin in August and she’s unveiled a new monthly payment plan instead of paying it all up front.

For more WIPs, check out Tami’s blog.

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Stitches South Recap Part 2

Posted by Vanessa on April 16, 2013 at 10:36 am

Apr 162013

I had a lot of fun talking to people and making new friends at Stitches South but I did more than just schmooze.

This skein of yarn is Skinny Bugga! by Cephalopod Yarns.

skinny_bugga

This colorway is Maxima Clam. Most of their yarn is named after sea creatures, which warms the cockles of my nerdy heart. When I gave tours at the American Museum of Natural History, I loved the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life. Where else can you see a true to life sized model of a blue whale? This yarn reminds me of that hall, it’s a little darker and lots of blue surrounds you. I’ve always found it to be calming.

I continued with a nautical theme in my yarn purchases. I bought some Dragonfly Fibers Dragon Sock yarn.

dragonfly_fiber

This is an “oops” colorway, it’s called Conch Shell with spots. If you look at the right side of the photo, you can see there are some black streaks. It doesn’t seem like there are a lot of those streaks so it doesn’t bother me. I actually like it, I think it makes it a bit more rock and roll.

Urban Gypz had a big basket of mini skeins for sale and I couldn’t resist.

mini_skeins

I broke out of my normal “let me buy all the blues!” phase. The pure pink and the blue skeins are called Twinkle Toes, it’s a blend of merino wool and silver fiber. The other two skeins are a blend of merino and sea cell.

Apparently, the pervading theme of my purchases was ocean related. I must say, I do miss going to the Jersey shore over the summer. Tennessee has tons of lakes and rivers but it’s landlocked which is a first for me.

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Stitches South recap, part one

Posted by Vanessa on April 15, 2013 at 11:20 am

Apr 152013

Yes, this will be a post in two parts about Stitches South! Part one featuring the goodies I picked up will be up tomorrow. I had the pleasure of splitting a room with Stacey from FreshStitches (check out her blog post about our weekend over here) and she is a hoot! And a great roommate, too.

We had a delicious Southern home-style lunch at Folks‘. When I saw the giant rooster in front, I had to get a photo of us in front of it.

Vanessa and Stacey having fun

As you can probably guess, we were up to no good for most of the weekend. The food was amazing! And tasted so fresh and from scratch. For example, the gravy that came with my mashed potatoes had a strong beef flavor and not like it came from a packet. That taste only comes from making gravy from beef drippings.

I also had the pleasure of meeting (and purchasing from) the fine folks at Cephalopod Yarns.

Left to Right: Lisa, Sarah and Sam

As some of you may know, they were the Sanguine Gryphon and now operate as Cephalopod Yarns. They were hilarious and delightful to talk to along with (not pictured) Shannon Okey from Cooperative Press.

I found that I’m not the only knitter slash art journaler out there! Stacey Budge-Kamison, the owner of Urban Gypz was there with her art journal on display.

Stacey Budge-Kamison and her luscious yarns

Her yarns are super textured while still being soft. I like working with art yarns so I treated myself to some of her mini skeins, but more on that tomorrow.

I had a blast this year at Stitches South (I did last year too!) and I was pleased to see that there were more vendors this year. I still don’t quite fit into the ‘target’ market (I saw a lot more women who are older than I am by quite a bit) I’m glad to see that XRX is trying to lure in more young and independent shops.

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Knitting Haikus for a Rainy April

Posted by Vanessa on April 2, 2013 at 11:57 am

Apr 022013

April is National Poetry Month here in the USA. I’m not really much of a poet, aside from some terribly morose ones I penned in high school, I prefer to write in prose. However, I do love writing a haiku. I even wrote a few last year!

So once more, I take up my fountain pen and I present for your reading pleasure some more knitting haikus:

1. Yarn and coffee make

a rainy day full of light

soft warm things for home.

2. Wool passes through loops

fabric is created and

a sweater is born.

3. Knitting is magic

from sheep to shawl the soul filled

with song and merriment.

4. My crochet hook

feels like an old friend well worn

it was made for me.

Perhaps I’ll try my hand at a sonnet (this one is my favorite, can you believe he’s only 9?) or a limerick. What sort of poems do you like?

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WIP Wednesday: Amy March Slippers

Posted by Vanessa on January 9, 2013 at 11:05 am

Jan 092013

I’ve been sitting on this hank of Candy Skein yarn for about a year now. I wasn’t quite sure what to make with it until I found the Amy March Slippers pattern from Tiny Owl Knits.

I’ve got one done and now I’m working on the other. I made a few modifications from the original. Namely, I have no ribbon and no lace to use as ties so I picked up 9 stitches on either side and knitted for three rounds before binding off. Instead of using Jenny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off, I used a regular bind off. My reasoning is that since a regular bind off is tighter, it will keep the slipper from falling off my feet.

Right now, just one one of my tootsies is warm and the other is quite jealous. I’ve promised the unshod foot and this slipper will be done by Friday.

For more WIPs, check out Tami’s Amis.

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WIP Wednesday: Lydia Bennet Secret Stockings

Posted by Vanessa on January 2, 2013 at 12:34 pm

Jan 022013

Welcome 2013, and Happy New Year! I rang in the new year by working on a new pair of socks for me. I want to knit through as much of my stash and queue as possible this year. The pairing of yarn and pattern this time was really obvious:
Lydia Bennet Secret Stockings

The pattern comes from the 2011 issue of Jane Austen Knits. I love Pride and Prejudice and I wanted to try knitting a picot hem.

The yarn was a gift from my friend Kate. It’s from her company, A Hundred Ravens. The base is Iachos in the color way “I do!”. It’s 100% merino super wash and comes in at a generous 400 yards. The yarn is two ply and rather tightly spun so it should hold up well even with out nylon in it.

The story behind the pattern supposes that Lydia Bennet knew her sister was going to elope and was quietly telegraphing this secret in the sock she was knitting. I love the deeper pink/red flecks in the yarn. They’re spaced apart quite randomly making their appearance like another surprise.

The horseshoe lace is easy to memorize and these socks are working up rather quickly. This is going to be the most feminine socks I’ll most likely ever knit. I can’t wait!

For more WIPs, check out Tami’s blog.

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Yarns of the World

Posted by Vanessa on December 28, 2012 at 11:57 am

Dec 282012

This Christmas saw more items added to my newest collection: Yarns of the World. I now have examples of American (spun and dyed in the USA) yarn, Brazilian yarn, Italian yarn, English yarn and German yarn. I probably have other countries represented but I’ll need to stash dive to find out. Next time I go yarn shopping, I’m going to pay careful attention to the “Made in” tag.

Here are my newest yarns:

The blue/purple skein is Catskills Saxon Merino Yarn in Superbulky. This was a gift from my niece Olivia. This yarn is normally sold at the farmer’s market in Union Square, New York, which is pretty nifty. This yarn is begging to become a cowl. Ravelry page on this yarn is over here.

Next is a souvenir from my friend Leticia’s recent trip to Brazil. It’s Ecola hand painted. The yarn is hand painted by several artists, which is pretty neat. The company is also deeply invested in sustainable farming and shepherding. This yarn is already earmarked to become a tea cozy.

Thirdly, are a bunch of miniskeins. There’s some Lorna’s Laces and MadTosh and a few others in there. I’ve already dipped in to make hexipuffs out of these.

Lastly, is Lang Yarns’s Jawoll Magic from Switzerland. They’re a bigger company than the other two I’ve listed here but they’ve been in business since 1867 and generation number 6 is running the show. I’m always impressed when I find out that a company has been around for over 100 years and still owned by the same family.

I’m really looking forward to stash diving and really researching the companies I buy from. I’m really interested in seeing just where my yarn is coming from.

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Jiro Dreams of Sushi and Knitting

Posted by Vanessa on December 10, 2012 at 3:32 pm

Dec 102012

This weekend I finally watched the documentary “Jiro Dreams of Sushi“. While there’s no knitting in it, I found a lot of similarities between sushi and the fiber arts.

The Story

This documentary is about 86 year old Jiro Ono, a three Michelin star sushi chef. His restaurant seats 10 people and the sushi there starts at $300 US a plate. He serves no appetizers, no dessert, and no sake. Oh and it’s located in a subway stop in Tokyo. His sushi is praised for being simple, elegant, and delicious. Jiro talks about the secrets of his success both in the business and in preparing his sons to follow in his footsteps.

Jiro’s Secret

Mr Ono humbly attributes his success in sushi to practice. While he may be the world’s best sushi chef, he says he’s always pushing himself to improve. He also says that while practicing he also pays attention to all the details, no matter how small. He says, “I do the same thing over and over, improving bit by bit. There is always a yearning to achieve more. I’ll continue to climb, trying to reach the top, but no one knows where the top is.”

So what does that mean for us, the humble maker? It means that our craft only improves the more we work at it. The stitches in your swatch don’t become even over night, it takes practice. I hear people say, “Oh I can’t do that. It’s t

oo hard.” Of course it’s difficult to knit up an Alice Starmore Fair Isle sweater the first time but you still need to try.

Buy the best you can afford and buy it from the experts

Secret number two is having the best materials. For Mr Ono and his sons, it’s buying the best quality fish from people they trust. The price of wool and cotton is rising seemingly every year. For me, I derive greater pleasure when I’m using quality yarns that I can afford. I’ve also noticed that my finished objects look and feel better too.

Mr Ono buys from the same fish mongers because they know what quality he’s looking for. In many cases, he’s now purchasing from the sons and grandsons of his original suppliers. Our experts would be our local yarn stores and their owners. Find a store you like with staff you love. By building a relationship with them, not only are we helping them to grow, they’ll be able to guide us in finding the best materials for the right project within our budget. Fresh Stitches has a great post on patronizing your local yarn store.

So go out there and elevate your craft. There’s an 85 year old out there in the world doing the same.

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WIP Wednesday: I’d tell you but then I’d have to kill you…

Posted by Vanessa on December 5, 2012 at 4:24 pm

Dec 052012

…because it’s a super secret classified test knit. However, I am at liberty to talk about the yarn I’m using!

Kollabora is putting out their own line of yarn. I am working with their Chunky Hunk line which is 50% superfine alpaca and 50% Peruvian Highland wool. It’s been a dream to work with, even if it sheds. The yarn is thick and thin which makes for an interesting nubbly texture.

Here’s a swatch done in garter stitch with US 8 needles. The downside about thick and thin yarn is that reading your gauge is next to impossible. I have a hard time counting stitches per inch with evenly spun yarn as it is, having it marled on me makes it more difficult.

It does grow a bit but not as much as I thought it would. The wool gives it more memory than just alpaca alone and the thick/thin texture keeps it from blooming too much. I’ve had fun seeing how the different thicknesses stack up in the garment itself.

For more WIPs, check out Tami’s blog.

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Got Wool?

Posted by Vanessa on November 29, 2012 at 3:42 pm

Nov 292012

Have you heard about Wovember? I found out yesterday! (I know, I’m always late to the party.) It was started by Kate Davies and Felicity Ford in 2011.

“The idea is to show our collective appreciation of WOOL by wearing as much of this fabulous fibre as possible, and celebrating WOOL and its unique qualities in stories and pictures throughout the month of November. We hope that through our enthusiasm and creativity we can raise awareness of WHAT MAKES WOOL DIFFERENT, and jointly create a force for WOOL APPRECIATION strong enough to effect changes in how garments and textiles are described and marketed.”

Wool is an amazing fiber. It’s warm, even when wet, moisture wicking and it’s durable! All wonderful properties for warm winter clothing. It’s been an exercise in frustration for me to go clothes shopping for a warm winter coat or sweaters just to see very little actual wool used! It’s mostly acrylic fibers which don’t trap heat as well and they leave you a big sweaty mess.

I remember the first time I used real 100% wool yarn. It was Cascade 220 and I was crocheting a star blanket. Up until that point, 2008, I had been crocheting using my mom’s stash of Red Heart yarn. I had bought some nicer acrylic yarn from AC Moore, specifically Caron Simply Soft. It was nicer to work with than the squeaky Red Heart and it was in my budget. I had ran out of yarn on the blanket but I wanted to keep going since I was at a Stitch n Bitch meeting. I bought the Cascade because it was in the right shade of red to be complimentary.

I never looked back at acrylic after that. The yarn was smooth and had a better feel to it. It didn’t feel like it was coated in plastic. It moved and breathed and just felt so natural and correct in my hand and around my hook. I was transported. This was yarn that was begging to be used right there and then. And to be used in better ways than my sloppy first attempts at crochet. I didn’t get that visceral feeling from acrylic yarn, I still don’t.

Most of my stash is wool. There’s some alpaca in there and wool/nylon blends for sock yarn but I love pure 100% wool yarn.

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