Yarn Stories

2016 was the year of the Stash Yarn Story Collection. As the consumer it was a really fun project, with each month building to the release of an exclusive colorway with an indie dyer or spinner. Some I had already heard of and loved (hello Spincycle Yarns) and some were new to me. Either way, it was a special colorway, and an accompanying interview with the artisan to get a little peek into their process.

I can't even remember which social media connection brought Sonia Ruyts, owner of Stash Local in Corvallis, to my attention but I'm oh-so-glad that it did. Her genuine enthusiasm for not only fiber artists, but people pursuing their passions in general, is evidenced in her writing and via her podcast.

Once the last selection of the year was announced, I waited eagerly to see if she planned to continue the project into 2017, but she had something else up her sleeve. On May 15th, you'll be able to purchase the Yarn Story Collection eBook, as well as kits made up of a selection of the limited release yarns featured in the book. The book is a gorgeous collection of photographs, accompanied by interviews with the artists, and insight into Sonia's passion for the craft. I was actually able to purchase almost all of the yarns, and was surprised when I looked through Instagram, how many of them I had already incorporated into projects. If you search the hashtags #StashYarnStory and #YarnStoryCollection you'll be rewarded with a gallery of gorgeous projects.

My Prairie Glass Mitts from Huckleberry Knits and the Whitefish Ripples cowl I made with my skein of Bumblebirch Quill in the colorway Trailhead are two projects just waiting for the blocking mat. I'll be sure to share them when they're done!

But perhaps my favorite project from my Yarn Story Collection was Shannon Cook's Feyre Shawl. It had held steady in my queue from it's publish date, but I hadn't found the yarn I wanted to use for it, or the time to knit it. Then came the last two selections for the Yarn Story, and I knew I'd found my combo. Lomo Love by Sweet Georgia is a super deep, jammy purple, tonal in nature with some highlights of an almost bright pink. I wasn't positive they'd be the right fit when the Fiber Seed color was revealed, but I took a chance and was so happy when I opened the package and put the two skeins together. Serendipity is part moody grey, part creamy base with a riot of speckles and together they made the most beautiful shawl.

It took awhile to knock out my list of projects that were queued ahead, but she's off the needles now and all blocked, and I love the result. Shannon's patterns just don't disappoint. Ever. And the combination of color and texture made this crescent shawl such a fun knit that can be styled in a number of ways. (and I love the horn shawl pin!)

Bradway MiniKAL

She's done it again. Shannon Cook of Very Shannon published another pattern that I loved knitting. A couple weeks before she published the Bradway Shawl she put out a couple of teasers with yarn requirements and a mini knit-along that would be launched on the day the pattern went live. I saw the call for Brooklyn Tweed and I was sold.

I had been itching for a chance to try Brooklyn Tweed yarns since I learned they were moving back to the PNW. Aside from having loved his patterns for some time, it's fun to have a local connection.  Jared Flood is a Portland native who started Brooklyn Tweed as a blog in 2005 when he was a newer knitwear designer and had just moved to, wait for it, Brooklyn. Brooklyn Tweed yarns are the result of a passion for American wool from sheep to skein and is a targhee-columbia blend from ranches in Wyoming. I love to use really soft and luxurious yarns, but I was so incredibly impressed with the experience of knitting with Shelter. It's a rustic wool yarn, minimally processed so you do have to pick out the occasional piece of 'salad' (bits of hay, grass and other flora) from the finished yarn as you knit, but it knits up into a fabric that is both sturdy and soft and the color options are absolutely gorgeous.

Sap, Fossil and Nest make up the trifecta of color for my Bradway shawl

The textural changes throughout Bradway serve only to enhance the hand-feel of this yarn and I can't wait to cast on another. One thing that I love about Shannon's patterns is that they're very accessible. From the graphic lace of Schwimmen to the chunky texture of Bradway the results are stunning, but the instructions are clear and concise and I think that advanced beginners could knit any one of her patterns. I started on Monday morning and bound off Sunday at lunchtime. I even took it with me to knit poolside when it was 112 degrees out, and I am the sweatiest of sweaty girls, so you know it was an addictive knit!

texture for days...

I'm waiting on blocking wires to get the final result, but even without a soak to make the fibers bloom and blocking to define the stitches, I love, love this shawl. I can't wait for these 100+ degree temps to drop so that I can wrap up in it! What are you working on right now that makes you dream of cooler days?

Still Sally

I'm just going to pretend like there hasn't been a four month break in posting and pick up where I am today.

Miss Stella June just one week old. Photo by Gigi Hickman Photography

The fam just before Stella joined the ranks. Photo by Gigi Hickman Photography

Adding baby girl on November 30th made me mom to four, she is a fantastic baby but I had a much harder time with my recovery this time around both emotionally and physically (especially in hindsight).

After that first six whirlwind weeks, I slipped back into my old shoes pretty comfortably; feeding my brood, driving a monster SUV, wearing uggs and leggings (and not just in the privacy of my own home), reading a great book here and there, working on shedding those pesky lbs once and forever, pretending like there'll be a day when I run long distances again, knitting some really fun new things...and finally drinking wine again. Oh vino, how I missed you.

My first day as the mama of a baby girl.

One of my favorite projects was this Pine Bough Cowl knit with Pepperberry Cashmere and Spincycle Dyed in the Wool which was a KAL that started the day after Christmas and was my first real colorwork project. You already know I'm a huge fan of Heidi's cashmere, but it was even more beautiful when worked with the changing colors of the spincycle. That vibrant green just popped as the background to the motif worked in rusted rainbow. After being super intimidated by it for too long, I am now a huge fan of stranded color work! You can bet I've added quite a few projects to my queue.

Last month, I was chosen by Melanie Berg as one of the test knitters for her new shawl pattern The Joker and the Thief using a gradient of our choice. The pattern was knit with Sunshine Yarns, so we had the chance to work with Dani of Sunshine Yarns to pick our own. I love Melanie's aesthetic. I never thought I'd be a shawl knitter, but she has absolutely changed that for me.

This yarn was so wonderful to work with and it was dyed just for me! I said I wanted the finished piece to feel like a day at the beach and she worked her magic-it's gorgeous.

All of Melanie's patterns have great lines, are clean, and can be styled in a number of ways with a million color combinations that somehow all end up looking absolutely stunning. Now that I've knit one, I want to knit them all. She recently released a knew set of patterns, Five Shawls, which are all knit in Owl by Quince & Co.

I finished The Joker and the Thief late last night. The two things I like least about knitting are seaming and weaving in ends but, alas, they are necessary evils if you want pieces that are actually finished. So for the next hour or so, I'll be tangled up in blue, and then it's off to soak and block and I'll photograph the finished shawl.

Speaking of tangles, my mom came two weeks ago and helped me corral my crazy yarn hoard stash once and for all (or for now). I can't wait to show you my bonus room because it's gone from the dumping grounds of which we did not speak to an organized guest room/office/crafting wonderland. All of my yarn is now sorted, labeled and contained so that it's easily accessible and I can actually see what I have. Which is a lot. And that is a very good thing. Have you tackled any big projects in your organizational life lately?

The weekend of March 6-8 I'm headed to the Rose City Yarn Crawl with a girlfriend and I'm trying to go with a short list of projects for which I can buy yarn so I don't succumb to the swoon-worthy displays and buy all of the things. Stay tuned...

Oh Captain, My Captain

The perfect pool-side project to while away the swim lesson hours.

I had so much fun creating a nursery for Jack, that I couldn't just let the new babe slide into the room I'd created for him (which they'll be sharing) that would be way to efficient and practical. Since it's the first girl, I wanted it to inject some femininity, while still being conscious of the fact that it was a boy/girl shared room.

I love the combination of navy and coral and it's a color scheme that seems to be in vogue right now because Pinterest is full of ideas. Since I wanted it to have some nautical undertones, I've found several fun things to add to the gallery wall that's already there for Jack's room, I'll be repainting his 'J' navy and ditching the aqua and yellow that are currently in the room.

 I finally properly framed the ABC sampler that I embroidered when I was pregnant with Jack, so it'll go up on the wall as well after I paint the frame with my favorite satin spray paint; Rustoleum's Heirloom White.

I had a lot of fun stitching that up, so I searched on etsy for other embroidery patterns and found several that I'll be adding to the wall. Some simple, some with a ton of detail, but still easy for a beginner, like this one from Cozy Blue. At just around four inches in diameter, I stitched on this for about a week in my down time and it was done.

In order to get the most detail possible in the transfer from PDF to fabric, I invested in Sulky's Sticky Fabri-Solvy stabilizer that comes on printable 8.5x11 sheets. After running it through your home printer, you just peel off the backing and stick it on your fabric. I am terrible at applying any of those static cling stickers to phone fronts and I had no problem getting this onto my fabric wrinkle-free.  After you're done stitching, you just peel up the corners and snip off the excess and then soak your whole piece and the extra dissolves. It's not inexpensive, but it was worth it for the amount of detail you get. I would use for sure if I do the alphabet sampler again.

You can see the bumpy texture of the stabilizer. I love how crisply all of the detail prints onto it.

Now to decide between a traditional frame and an embroidery hoop.

Anyhow, this is just a sneak peek of a few of the projects going into the new nursery. I'm forcing myself to get our bonus room in order first because it will be a painful project as it serves the triple duty of office, guest and craft room and none of them very well right now, then I can move onto the fun of the nursery, so stay tuned!

Jimmy Crack Corn

The Fourth of July is definitely my favorite holiday. There are no gifts or cards or other stressful obligations involved (other than those who cash in their 401k's to buy an armory's worth of commercial fireworks for their backyard show), just blissful relaxation and all the summer food you can handle, with the Fourth of July cable music station setting the mood...who knew there were so many songs about the good ole USA? I seriously have a nerdly obsession with all things marching band, so this was seen as a plus by me. For my niece who wore her iPod earbuds like armor, not so much.

This summer, I called dibbs on hosting this day well in advance this year, so my family made the trip over the mountains and through the woods. In exchange, we greeted them with fat cheeseburgers with all the fixins including hamburger buns by Dave's Killer Bread (yum!).

On the dessert front, I had planned to make the Corn on the Cob Cupcakes featured on Woman's Day this month, but spaced getting yellow jelly beans, so they'll have to wait for my friend's visit with her kiddos next weekend. When I was searching for the image of these, I found there were several recipes, including this one, but like that the other one has cornmeal in it and utilizes browned butter in the frosting to make it a more savory cupcake. (note to self: Add Hello, Cupcake! to Amazon wishlist)

(Photo: Moica Buck/Woman's Day)

We did, however, get to enjoy the deliciousness of my new favorite way to have real corn on the cob; Drop the husked ears in a pot of boiling water for just long enough that they're warmed through (about 2-3 minutes). Slather them in butter; I used the French butter La Baratte des Gourmets, which has salt crystals embedded throughout and can be found locally at Salumiere Cesario. It's so good, it's been dubbed 'crack butter' by some customers. After thoroughly slathering each ear, sprinkle with a mix of spices (mine had chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper). Devour. Wipe Chin. Floss.

Our Aunt Jackie's potato salad is one of those things that it just doesn't feel like a summer barbeque without. Thoroughly boiled potatoes, lots of hard-boiled eggs and even more seasoned mayo; Made just before you're ready to serve it, it's warm and creamy perfection.

For a little festive flair, I made white chocolate-covered strawberries with blue-sugared tips and printed star shapes out on colored paper to cut and string on a garland, as suggested by Our Humble A(Bowe)d  (I love this blog!).

To all this food, you just add some blissful vitamin D soakage, water-play fun for a bunch of giggling kids, and a heaping helping of patriotism by capping the day with a plateful of stars and stripes (read: star-shaped pbj and string cheese) for the kiddos.

Charlie was woken up by the abundance of large-scale fireworks visible from our back-yard at 10pm so we sat outside with his face peeking from the blanket, eyes wide in wonder. I couldn't help but wonder if he'll remember them.

And, yes, I finished painting the room the night before they came to town (and hadn't moved the furniture back when I snapped this photo with my phone). It's Goldilicious! I promise to take a crisp photo when all the decor is in.

Next up, the first all family tent-camping experience; should be good for a few laughs.

Life's a Beach BLT Pasta

This weekend we traipsed across the state in our swagger wagon to spend some time with my husband's family, and celebrate our Uncle's installation as Commander of the Oregon VFW, at the coast. In order to shore up the costs, we all signed up for a meal and we ate at the beach house instead of ordering out or going to restaurants. I was going to make my old stand-by of Inside Out Manicotti when I ran across a recipe for BLT Pasta. I can't find the original one that sparked my interest, but I found several others online and they were all pretty much the same. How much easier can you get? Boil a pound (or two in our case of feeding a lot of people) rigatoni or another curly or ridged pasta so the bacon drippings have something to stick to, drain and rinse with cold water then place in a large bowl.

In a skillet cook 12 slices of bacon until crispy, then remove the bacon to drain and spoon all of the drippings save for one tablespoon into a small bowl and set aside. Even though I doubled the amount of pasta, greens and tomatoes, I kept the amount of bacon the same.

In that same skillet, place two heaping handfuls of chopped arugula, chard or another crisp and sturdy green and wilt it. Some have suggested spinach, but spinach has such a distinct flavor that's not a pepper green that I think it would make it a whole other dish and not the same as a BLT.

Remove greens from skillet and add to the pasta bowl. Then, reusing the same skillet, add one to two pints of cherry or grape tomatoes (it said to quarter them, but I left them whole and cooked them until they burst a little bit) along with a tablespoon of the reserved drippings. Toss the heated tomatoes into the pasta bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper, adding enough of the bacon drippings that the pasta isn't dry. In my case, with two pounds of pasta, I used almost all of the rendered fat.

For the first time making it, it was fine. I think next time I'd use more pepper, maybe a little bit of fresh basil, and definitely would crumble some feta or chevre over the top, or you could even add in some little pearls of mozzarella, but I think the salty creaminess of feta or chevre would be better.

For an easy, summer evening dinner that's a classic with a twist, you should give this a shot. It's definitely one of those that you make to recipe the first time, then tweak it to make it your own. I just wanted to keep it as close to the simplicity of a BLT as possible, but without the creaminess of mayo on you bread, the cheese may just be the ticket to making it closer to the flavor and texture balance.

Check out my review of the last installment of the Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay, over at Knitty Reviews.

Swamplandia! by Karen Russell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


There is so much to say about this book, but I'll try to limit it to non-spoiler comments. The first 50-60 pages really suck you in, and then there's a slight lull in the middle. After finishing, though, I feel like the majority of what was in those pages was necessary for plot and character-development. A coming-of-age tale that spins in some magical realism (or does it?) and also provides a great social commentary, this is a great book club pick because I felt like it was after discussion that I realized how much I liked it.

It may be one that I read again, but not for awhile. There's a lot to think about and digest, but it's wonderfully written, and there are so many places that give the reader pause. Will you get sucked into Ava's voice and naivete, or will you remain skeptical with all of your adult knowledge? I definitely found that I'm a cynic (but only because I've seen the worst too many times). Travel deep into the swamp to be introduced to a world that will seem magical, if only because it's foreign, Swamplandia! is sure to make you start googling alligator parks you can visit in real life!



View all my reviews

Sarcasm Will Get You Nowhere...

if you use it on stupid people.

I love reading Jennsylvania, and own all of Jen Lancaster's books (er, memoirs). I think that what I love most about her is that she just puts it all out there, but in a brilliantly funny way that only endears her to you more, even if she can sometimes be (she said it first!) an a-hole.

K.I.T. (Knitty-in-training, of course!)

From the time we lived in Massachusetts, H loved to sit next to me and 'knit a stitch' of whatever I was working on. He was usually content to put his hands in the general vicinity while I manipulated the yarn and needles to create the sense of accomplishment while I maintained my own tension and gauge. I know, I'm a complete freak. Well, the jig is up, folks and H wants me to 'help his hands' no more!

Last night, as I was knitting java jackets, I handed him a skein of wool and two needles and gave him my blessing to do with it as he wished (after he was moving the needles in and out of the afghan on our bed). I looked over and to my horror found a pile of yarn that was more mangled than a plate of spaghetti that had been put in the spin cycle. 'What are you doing?!' I shrieked. He dropped the yarn and offending needles and looked a little hurt by my lack of appreciation for his fiber genius and replied 'You said I could do whatever I wanted with it.' Right. You've got me. 

All he really wanted to do was create something and I acted like a total freak when what he created was a fat lot of work for me to wind the ball back up. But, it was my own fault, a fact of which I quickly assured him. Clearly, we were going to have to start back a few steps. I remembered when I was attending a training for work and there were several knitters in the room. My friend was knitting on one of those plastic looms and is just one of those people who would unabashedly say 'Yeah, they're actually for little kids.' Good thing she did, because today H and I took a little trip to Jo-Ann's where he picked out a skein of bulky technicolor yarn and a plastic loom so that he could create a neck-warmer for himself; or a moo-whoo as we're calling it, since Cowls are obviously a combination of cows and owls. 

He actually got the hang of it really quickly and this has been the most fantastic quiet time ever. I have to do the loops on each turn to make it go more smoothly for him, and so it won't keep unraveling; it's a nice balance of a project to work on together but that still allows him some autonomy.  He's a young five, and I got one for Charlie also, but I think I'll be returning that loom. For my kiddos, I think five is plenty young. If you're blessed with quiet, sit-still girls who listen to you, have at it a little younger!

The only thing is, I realized after I'd opened the package that the loop we got is for baby hats, so hopefully it fits over his melon when he's done. I told him that on the off-chance it doesn't, I'll buy him another skein of the yarn and make one myself so he and his dolly can be matchers. If we wanted to do a scarf with the loom as my friend did, the ends would just need to be seamed. However, I'm thinking I'd have a couple calls from his teacher if he went to school with a scarf, so I'm not even going there. 

The torch is being passed, my friends.

Update: I bound off after he got bored, and it's literally an arm-cuff. If you want to replicate this crafty endeavor, get the largest size you can!

A Touch of Pink...

As hoped, I finished a pair of SKYP (slip, knit, yarn over, pass slipped stitch over both knitted and YO) socks. It was the first time I've attempted a patterned leg (other than ribbing) and it was so simple, but makes them that much more finished in appearance. Now, I'm just wondering what pattern to do next. I've found a few I really like, so some people may be finding socks in their stockings this Christmas!

Two nights ago, I sat down and wound one of my two skeins of Pepperberry cashmere into a ball so that I could cast on the band for the Josie Newsboy. Wow, this is shaping up to be a super quick project. I finished the band in less than an hour and then took a break for two days of wine-soaked loveliness while my sisters-in-law came to town so we could go wine tasting.

As I have the goal of finishing it before heading East on Tuesday, I had to get cracking so I picked up the stitches for the hat section from the brim (which eliminates seaming, hallelujah!) this afternoon while I watched the dvr'd Oprah special of the Sound of Music cast reunion/interview and the boys got some of their crazies out in the back yard.

We're back from trick-or-treating and I've settled in to (hopefully) hand out the rest of our candy and work on the hat while I watch some mindless TV. Or Sex and the City 2, again, some more, since I obviously bought it stat. I read a review of it, and loved that they were just honest. It's kind of a hot mess, but it gives you a chance to reunite with the girls. What more do we want? Not much. 

I love knitting with this yarn! It's 100% cashmere, and hand spun in Idaho. Northwest represent.