My Yarn Stash (and why it’s not crazy)

I’ve taken a lot of ridicule for my yarn stash, as I’m sure many of my readers have too. I’m not a hoarder, and I’m not crazy.

This morning, I stumbled upon a beautifully written piece entitled “Deconstructing the Yarn Stash” by Mary Moody of The Oregonian.  In her article, she describes the purpose of all the pieces in her stash, and likens it to the necessity of a squirrel storing nuts for the winter.  While it’s “true, our assorted loved ones might not get it…  the squirrels understand.”

To read the full story, click HERE

Yarnbombing Hangover

This year, the North Vancouver city council spent $7500 to distribute yarnbombing kits containing instructions and knitting supplies.  One hundred and thirty people met in the parks around North Vancouver to decorate trees, poles, and even dress a bear statue.  While the installation was fabulous, this is a temporary art form, so it begged the question:  What’s next?

Volunteers from the North Shore recently unwrapped the parks along Lonsdale Avenue.  After a good laundering the squares were stitched together to create scarves for homeless people in the neighborhood, whereby giving new life to these yarn-bomb creations. 

David Newberry is the community liaison worker at the Lookout Shelter, and he expects these scarves to disappear quickly.  “In the winter, we have warm clothes readily available in the lobby,” he says.  “Donations that keep people warm, like these scarves, are in high demand at this time of the year.”

A Call for Granny Squares

Wouldn’t it be amazing to see a whole museum covered in granny squares?  Get your hooks out, YARN-A-HOLICS:  you can help!

The group known as Yarn Bombing Los Angeles  has put out a call for granny squares. From now until March, they are collecting 5×5 inch crocheted squares in orange, green, cyan, and white.  These squares will be used to yarn bomb the Craft & Folk Art Museum on Wilshire Boulevard for a May exhibit opening.

According to their website, the Craft & Folk Art Museum (CAFAM) has been a longtime sponsor of Yarn Bombing Los Angeles, hosting monthly stitch ‘n bitches, showcasing work in their window, and serving as the site of several yarnbombings. The group wanted to give back by creating an installation that would draw attention to the museum. CAFAM is located on Museum Row in the heart of Los Angeles, but the building is dwarfed by the gigantic structures nearby. They want to comment on this idea of scale in a museum by installing large scale patterns, visually making CAFAM into a dollhouse and thus “shrinking” it even more, while raising its public profile.

If you’d like to get involved, you can find more information on making granny squares and shipping locations by visiting the Yarn Bombing Los Angeles Call for Entry page.

A Wool Christmas Tree

It wasn’t pine needles, but aluminum needles that have helped create this Christmas tree.  Everything (from the knitted triangle leaves to the tinsel and decorations) was made through crocheted and knitted wool.  Members of the Thwaites Craft Club have been busy for the past five months making all the small segments from 50 balls of yarn.

It’s the first year the team has done this, and 69 year-old club member Hazel Eady was the one who stitched all of the pieces to a lining to go on the framework.  According to her, “It cost us £48 in total to do.”  They plan to use it for their holiday celebrations, and then donate to a local hospital the week before Christmas.

Beautiful work, ladies!  Happy Wooly-days to all.

Knit to Quit

Today I stumbled upon this lovely print ad and had to learn more…

After some investigation, I found that it was for “Knit to Quit” sessions at a yarn store in Australia.  Craft enthusiast Kris Howard urgess smokers to forget acupuncture, hypnotism and patches, and take up knitting.   She says that once you get into a rhythm of knitting, your brain will forget the cravings, and focus on what your yarn project. Knit and Quit classes run for four weeks and offer an AA-style support group that allows smokers to learn a new skill.  

Personally, I have no idea if this works.  I do love knitting, though, and would absolutely register for the class if the gentlemen in the ad was going to make an appearance.  😉

The Rocking Chair that Knits

Students from Swiss University ECAL wanted to find a way to use all of the wasted kinetic energy from a rocking chair. Their solution? A chair that knits a hat while you rock.

A spool of yarn attaches to the back, and there is a circular loom on the top. A hanging counter weight moves back and forth as the person rocks, which in turn sets gears in motion rotating the loom and knitting a hat.  Click HERE to see a video demonstration.

No word yet on when this item might be for sale, or what it might cost. I will be asking Santa Claus for one, though.

Honoring Veterans

November 11 is Veterans Day, and a time-honored symbol of rememberance is the poppy.  One blogger calls this red flower “the most noble and notable fundraising totem anywhere in the world.  It was the pink ribbon before the pink ribbon. It is the Livestrong bracelet minus the disgraced spokesman.”

This year, YARN-A-HOLICS all over the world are putting a spin on this time-honored tradition.  Knitting and crochet groups are crafting poppies from wool.  More durable than the old paper ones, these sell for $5 each, with proceeds going to veterans organizations.  In fact, these are so popular that knitting shops in Scotland are running out of red yarn, the Daily Record reports.

For those of you looking to get in on the craze, here are a couple of free patterns:

Knit Poppy from Lion Brand Yarn website

Crochet Poppy from Coffee Crochet blog

 

Round the Clock Knitting

Designer Siren Elise Wilhelmsen has created the perfect clock for YARN-A-HOLICS. Instead of the traditional hands and numbers, “365” holds a ball of yarn and knits around the face of the clock.  At the end of a year, the owner will have a tube scarf measuring approximately two meters.

To see a time-lapse photo exhibit, click HERE

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

She said I think I remember the film…

We all love Audrey Hepburn in this timeless classic. Now, Urban Outfitters is giving away a pattern to knit your own iconic Holly Golightly doll.  Here’s a link

For those YARN-A-HOLICS who try knitting one, we’d love to see how she turns out.