Yarn of the Week for 16 - 22 February

Here is the latest flyer for our Yarn of the Week at Lori's.  We are thinking spring colors this week!

Yarn of the Week Flyer

Afternoon Delight Event

We had a wonderful turn out for our 'Afternoon Delight' event.  People snapped up the savings on Red, White and Pink yarns.  Everyone who attended 'The Love Triangle' shawl class got a great start on their project and from what I could see the finished products will be beautiful.

Check out this Smilebox Photo Creation of the event.  It takes a few moments to load but worth it!

We are in the planning stages for another event so stay tuned by signing up for e-mail notifications of new postings or become a follower of this blog.  Either option is available on the right side of the page.  

Have a great day and don't forget your fiber!

Cascade Sport and Superwash Sport Yarn of the Week!

Read about this week's Yarn of the Week and our special Valentine's event today - Afternoon Delight!  

Here is the link.....

Have a great day!

These cute gems are crafted using the pattern 'Felted Heart Milagos' by Mags Kandis  from her book 'Gifted - Lovely Little Things to Knit and Crochet'.  A free version is found at Knitting Daily
Embellishments assisted by wonderful embroidery tutorials from Mary Corbet's Needle'nThread

Another Month of Sundays

The Valentine's Cloth is complete and now it is on to March's selection from KrisKnits.  I plan to knit up several large cloths and smaller cloths.  Lovely patterns and easy too!

As each month progresses, I will be updating this post.  So stay tuned!

Anyone interested in knitting these cloths is welcome to stop by Sunday afternoon at the shop and get started!

Shamrock Cloth Progress

The Shamrocks are starting to magically appear!

Shamrock complete despite some Leprechaun Mischief!
Another Kris Knits charmed pattern!

Now it's on to an Easter themed cloth!

A beautiful lace egg washcloth pattern by Obsidian Kitten

Oh such Hippity, Hoppity Fun!  Enjoyed this lacy knit so much I've made two in short order.  There is plenty of yarn left to make a set of four. Learned some interesting new stitches - a 4 stitch decrease, a 3 stitch cluster and a new way to knit an M1 (make one - a 1 stitch increase).  

After completing this set, it will be on to April's selection in a nod to Arbor Day -  Twining Trees by Sarah Bradberry.  Cables will be the lesson here. As soon as I select the yarn, I will post a picture of the start.

The Easter Set is complete so there was still time to make some more Shamrocks!  I used KrisKnits St. Patrick's Day pattern in the smaller cloth size and they make excellent coasters.  A very quick knit and I should have a set of four ready to use on the big green day!

Enjoyed a wonderful St. Patty's Feast of Corned Beef Brisket and the fixings and still had time to start one last cloth for March.  I chose a spring theme - a butterfly floating over a field of lacy eyelet.  This pattern is by Rachel van Schie and this and other lovely patterns can be found HERE.  You can just see my butterfly starting to take flight - she should be ready to set free at the end of the next 'therapy' session!


My completed Butterfly took flight in the garden!

I will be continuing this monthly series but not on this blog.  You can follow my Month of Sundays on Lori's Frames, Fibers & Frills Forum under the discussion thread titled 'A Month of Sundays (Wash Cloth Therapy).

Too Much Yarn?

Thoughts on Yarn and Life by Siouxsi

I often hear knitters say things like, “The last thing I need is more yarn, right?” and “oh, I have way too much yarn right now… I really shouldn’t buy anymore until I have used up what I have.”

To be frank, I’ve never been able to fathom such thoughts. In that instance, if you substitute the word ‘yarn’ for ‘canned foods’ I could see the sense in it. However, I don’t look at yarn as a disposable consumable on a weekly grocery list. Rather, it is a medium between our soul and our creativity.

Take for example, Mr. Vincent Van Gough. Imagine walking into his studio. Do you think you would find ONE paint brush, ONE set of paints, ONE canvas, and ONE easel? No….. his studio would have been brimming with canvases containing both finished and unfinished works alike. Dozens of paint brushes and other utensils; paints galore in all the shades he could get his hands on, and any other object of beauty that would have given him much needed inspiration.

THAT, my fellow fiber artists, is how I look at yarn, patterns, and notions. Knitting is a journey; a process, and every now and then, we actually complete a project that takes our breath away. I used to feel guilty about all the UFOs (unfinished objects) I had. However, I have rid myself of that negative line of thinking and now choose to look at them as works of inspiration. I remember the excitement I felt when I purchased a particular pattern and the yarn to go with it. How awesome it was to cast on those first few rows on a brand new set of needles, freshly out of their plastic package…. And even the questions and comments from knitting friends who might ask what I am working on; where did I get the pattern; what kind of yarn am I using, and maybe they will make one also.

Some knitters refer to this phenomenon as ‘starter-itis’… people who get excited about starting a project but never finish it. While I can admit that this condition exists, I don’t see a problem with it. Periodically, I will go back to my UFOs and decide whether or not I will one day finish them, or, if I have lost interest completely, I will ‘frog’ the yarn (unravel what I have already knitted) and either use the yarn for something else, put it to the side for a future project, or donate the yarn to a friend or charity. I fail to the see the harm in any of this.

Another way I look at yarn is how I look at fashion trends. Each year, new designers come out with beautiful creations. Each year we buy clothes. Some pieces change each year and are simply out of style within a season or two (kind of like the whole Fun Fur thing), while other pieces remain timeless classics (like a beautiful Aran sweater). I don’t know about you, but every now and then, I will go through my closet and weed out clothes that no longer fit; I no longer want; or ‘what was I thinking when I bought that?’ and I donate them all. Does this mean that I stop buying new clothes? Not at all. This same process is used with my yarn. 

Finally, I want to touch on the subject of ‘guilt’ when it comes to buying yarn. As women, we have been groomed over the centuries to feel guilty about just about everything; wanting to be considered equals; voting rights; wanting to work; choosing not to marry and/or have children; and even the remote possibility that we may actually enjoy and initiate sex, outside of procreating. (Yes, I went there….) We chide ourselves about not being skinny enough; pretty enough; young enough; smart enough; not as good a parent as so –and-so’s mother; or … we eat too much; drink too much; weigh too much; work too much, and the list goes on.

I have spent a lifetime feeling guilty over just about everything on that list, and I have even engaged in far worse ‘addictions’ than knitting and buying yarn. For the remainder of this oh so short journey I have left here on earth, I refuse to apologize for my yarn ‘collection’. I make no apologies when it comes to admiring and coveting the beautiful works of other knitters, crocheters, weavers, and spinners. And I definitely make no apologies for the amounts of yarn, fabric, roving, needles, books, and patterns, I have acquired over the years.

I may have made messes in my life as far as certain relationships, career decisions, and even raising kids, are all concerned…. (one can only live, learn, and move on). But as far as my love for and my relationship with, all things fiber is concerned… there are no mistakes; no regrets; and definitely no apologies. There is only the freedom to create; the desire to commune with other fiber artists, and the overwhelming consumption of every ‘fiber’ (pardon the pun) of my being to be a part of such an amazingly creative and gifted community.

A Month of Sundays

One month into the New Year I’ve finally decided on a knitting resolution for this year -  knit up at least one themed washcloth a month knitting at Lori’s on Sunday from 2 PM to 4 PM.  So in a month of Sundays, one washcloth is certainly plausible.  I find this kind of knit very relaxing and I love to watch the pattern develop so quickly plus there are so many cute and fun FREE patterns available.  

Kristen Knits is a site I found through Ravelry that is extremely creative.  She offers free patterns and sells some wonderful assortments of cloth set patterns at very reasonable prices.   I will be knitting several of her designs including a mystery Halloween cloth.

Here is my Month of Sundays Schedule and the completed projects pictured which illustrates that anybody can do this!

February: A KrisKnits Valentine Surpise Cloth 

March St. Patrick’s Day (a KrisKnits shamrock pattern) Washcloth & Coaster

KrisKnits Small Shamrock Cloth/Coaster

'Coasting' until the Big Day!

March Easter (a lacy creation by ObsidianKitten)

March Bonus Pattern: Lacy Butterfly Dishcloth by Rachel van Schie 

Butterfly beginning to take flight!

April Arbor Day (a beautiful twining tree pattern)
May (A Field of Flowers KrisKnits Cloth)
June (A Father’s Day KrisKnits)
July 4 (A patriotic knit not yet selected)
August (A Dog Days of Summer Dog Day Print Cloth)
September (An Autumn Equinox Moon & Star Illusion Cloth)
October (KrisKnits Mystery Cloth)
November (Happy Turkey Day Cloth)
December  (A KrisKnits selection)

I welcome company and will keep you posted on each cloth -

Happy Knitting and Crocheting!

Ellen

February Newsletter & Yarn of the Week

The Latest Yarn of the Week Announcement and our February Newsletter!  Be sure and read about 'The Love Triangle' shawlette class in the newsletter.

Yarn of the Week

February Newsletter