Before I say anything else, I want to tell you how excited I am! The SpaceMonster Club closed on Sunday and I was so filled with delight because we had such an amazing response and so many new joiners. Welcome to all of you, new and renewing — we’re going to have a great season! If you haven’t already, please come over to our Welcome thread and say hello. I’d love to get to know you!
Speaking of getting to know you, we’re going to two new-to-us shows this autumn that I’m super excited about too: Shanendoah Valley Fiber Festival (SVFF) in September and Indie Untangled (near Rhinebeck) in October. I find the most daunting thing about going to a new show is knowing how to plan the booth sight unseen (or in this case, site unseen) — especially for SVFF because it’s our first outdoor booth. So I have a special favour to ask: if you’ve been to SVFF before and have any photos on your phone of the outdoor booths that you’d be happy to share, please could you email them to me? It’d be so handy to have a visual for guidence. And if you’re planning to go to either of those shows this autumn, let me know — I’d love to see you there!
Ok, but enough of that — the weather is perfect, I’m going to drink my tea on the porch and watch the day get started, and let’s share this week’s fiber news! Ready? Here we go…
In a recent issue of Yarn Market News (the yarn industry magazine), there was an article asking if Millennials are more attracted crochet than knitting (I admit I never got a chance to read it… must go back and do that). And then I spotted this article in Forbes magazine asking if the crafting industries are ready for the wave of Millennial crafters. It’s all quite intriguing, and I’d love some feedback. If you’re a Millennial, what crafts do you gravitate toward? And do you feel like your generation is welcome in the crafting community? Hit “reply” and let me know.
This video brought tears to my eyes. The Magic Yarn Project creates stunning yarn wigs for children undergoing chemotherapy that are designed to draw them back into the world of play and imagination. Every wig costs $50 to make but is entirely free to the family who receives it and the Magic Yarn Project works with at-risk youth and their local women’s correctional facility to make the wigs. It’s a truly inspirational use of fiber arts skills.
Yarn bombing on a tiny scale looks… well, amazing. Artist Ester Traugot crochets textile “skins” (on what appears to be an incredibly tiny hook) to wrap around seed pods, tree trunks, eggs, and other natural objects. The result is beautiful… somehow so calming… but also a little odd. What do you think?
The owner of an LYS was once meeting me in a Pittsburgh coffee shop to discuss a collaboration when she got hopelessly lost. And, when I realised where she was, I couldn’t think of any good way to explain how to get where she wanted to go. This city’s layout is so complicated that if you ask for directions, it’s not uncommon to hear the reply, “Yinz can’t there from here,” and this awesome print of Pittsburgh’s intersections makes it clear why — and made me laugh out loud! With three rivers and more bridges than any other city in the world, it’s really not for the faint of heart. Is your city listed?
Break Out Your Mini-Skeins!
I just have to share these photos of April, May, and June’s Ombre & Gradient Mini-Skeins! The thing is, I know our minis look adorable in their bundles, all perfectly twisted and tied together, but you just don’t know how fabulous they are until they come out of their sets and get to really shine. And even better, breaking them out of their bundles lets them show off how fantastic they look with the Ombre & Gradient bundles that came before and after them. Look what I mean…
Aren’t they sweet?!? You can see why I couldn’t stop taking photos! And look how amazing these three months look when they’re broken out of their bundles and allowed to mingle. It’s so inspirational!
Each month for our Mini-Skein Club, we dye an Ombre & Gradient Mix that flows from last month’s colours into the next month’s colours and into the next, to create a Never Ending Gradient. And I’m so excited about where the colour is going in the coming months — I’ll be sure to share more photos!
Novel-T by Laura Nelkin
I spotted this pattern one afternoon sitting on my porch in the summer heat and my first thought was, “Hey, Laura designed a top with air conditioning!” But more seriously, those lace panels add such punch of style to a simple tee and the side-to-side construction lends interest. Looks like a fun summer knit!
winterbird by Emily Connell
Speaking of air conditioning, this great crocheted shawl lets a little breeze flow through with those sweet circles and openwork sections. Work it in a super light fingering, like Celeste or Maia, to keep it feeling summery.
Sleepy Sheep Socks by The Chilly Dog
Did you smile as soon as you saw these sweet socks? Ellen and I met at TNNA (trying to get coffee from a Starbucks that closed at noon! What?!?) and she was such a pleasure to chat with that I just had to check out her designs. These socks put a grin on my face as soon as I saw them. Try them in SpaceCadet Oriana — it’s a great sock yarn — in Sliver and Dark Skies.
images © the respective designers, used with permission
Ok, it’s time for me to head down to the studio — we did some super fun dyeing yesterday and I can’t wait to see how it looks once it’s spun out and starting to dry. I hope you’ve got something exciting planned too and, until next time, all my best!