On my recent journey to Paris, I looked up the local yarn shops. What would a trip to any foreign country be without a stop at the yarn store? I follow this particular one on Facebook and decided to find them in person. The store is called Le Comptoir (meaning the counter). I wrote down the address, set out with my trusty girlfriend, and hopped on the Metro.
Finally, when we located the store, we immediately noticed some differences in American and French style yarn shopping. This shop was very narrow and long. There appeared to be very limited quantities of yarn, but upon asking I found that there is one representative ball of each color on hand. Most of the yarns were also out of my reach. The lowest level of yarns shown in the photo above was just about eye level. Imagine shoe shopping instead of yarn shopping.
Another difference was there is no room for social knitting in the store. It just isn’t done. The biggest difference I noticed was that they had not one single skein of hand dyed yarn in the entire store. None. I was maybe hoping for some German yarns like Wollmeise or anything we lust for that are in short supply on our side of the ocean. But, alas there were none. The girl told me it was few and far between to have hand dyes. Also, pattern books are tough to come by unless they are books for the yarn in the store. No individual patterns. Boo!
Next time you walk into The Yarn Club, imagine if the experience I described is the one you are about to receive. No touching the yarns, no pilfering in the bins of delicious colors and fibers, no place to sit and get a bit of help, no hand dyed delights. I couldn’t wait to come home to my yarn bliss in our own store. I feel bad for the yarn shoppers of Paris not having this fun.
At the first Men's Knitting (and Crochet) Night, we discovered a mutual hatred of one of the most evil occurrences in yarn crafts:
If you're like me, any time this happens to the yarn being fed into your hands, some small part of you dies a little each time. If it continues on, it's like being forced to listen to “Yellow Submarine” for hours and hours and hours on end. (Don't get me wrong; I love the Beatles. However, Yellow Submarine is the most annoying song ever written. If this analogy falls flat because somehow you just love the song, feel free to substitute your least favorite song, and imagine it playing inside your house with no off button available for days.) Hyperbole aside, twisty yarn is pretty annoying.
Would you believe that toilet paper offers a solution for this problem?
Take a look at the following two pictures:
Anytime you pull yarn off of a winder-wound yarn ball, whether it be from the inside or outside, the picture above is the most accurate portrayal of what is happening to the yarn. This process adds or subtracts twist. For those who like technical jargon, if the ball does not flip or roll around or anything like that, one full revolution of twist is added or subtracted for each full circumference of the ball. For the outside of the ball, it is pretty insignificant; one twist is added to roughly 6 inches of yarn, which can be knit into the garment without hardly noticing. However, near the center of the ball, the twist is added to smaller and smaller portions of yarn – one twist for every 1 or 2 inches of yarn. For center-pullers, you actually begin at this part of the ball.
Here are the solutions:
Hand-wind your balls.
Done in the usual way, the revolutions of yarn on the ball go in several different directions. Whenever you pull off of a hand-wound ball, it is likely that sometimes twist will be added, while other times it is subtracted. You have a good chance of reaching a net of zero added twist. Pros: There is a “getting-to-know-you” experience for you and your yarn. It is easy-to-learn. You get the satisfaction of watching a spherical ball roll around on the floor. Cons: It takes a lot of time (Lace anyone?). Cats enjoy spherical balls rolling around on the floor.
Flip the Ball Over Periodically.
As you notice your yarn getting a little twisty, flip the ball over so that the yarn is being affected by a twist in the other direction. Pros: This is a very easy solution to implement. You can continue to use balls that are wound quickly on a ball-winder. Cons: It involves guess work regarding when to turn over the ball. This solution is not available to those wishing to pull from the center!
*Allow the Ball to Revolve like a Toilet Paper Roll*
This is my favorite solution. There are a couple of ways to accomplish this. In the past, I have been known to place my thumb and forefinger lightly on the “axis” of the ball of yarn, and allowing the yarn ball to spin as I pull yarn off, so that the motion is similar to the usual way of obtaining toilet paper from a roll. The better way, though, is to use a Yarn Buddy.
The axis of the ball (the hole in the middle where the ball-winder was), slips over the point of the Yarn Buddy, and the ball bearings on it allow the ball to spin freely. This mimics the way toilet paper is usually placed on one of those nifty springy stick things. You'll want one Yarn Buddy for each ball of yarn you are actively working with. For those who enjoy color work, they come in twin format two! Pros: The yarn ball stays in one place – less cat interference. Ease of use – The yarn flows smoothly off the ball. The Yarn Buddies come in awesome wood types like “Zebra” and “Really Old Barn Wood.”Also, it's just so darn cool and mesmerizing. Cons: I can't really think of any.
Now, if you love the Beatles, you can play some in the background while you knit to your hearts delight without having to worry about twisted yarn spaghetti flowing into your hands. As much as I enjoy the Beatles, I think I'll choose Gustav Mahler or Nate Ruess.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Spring Knitting Fever
This year, I've been struck by a serious case of Spring Fever. It seems all I can think about is the warmer weather, the singing birds, the yellow pollen and sneezing, and finally spending time outside again. The shorts are unpacked, and the long sleeves are gone.
It might be counter-intuitive, but I've also been struck by a desire to spend as much time as possible knitting. It might be because I am really attached to the outdoors, and would much rather find a park bench to knit on than sit on my couch at home in front of the TV – not to mention I've canceled cable, so it's a little tough to watch TV these days.
But what in the world do you knit this time of year?
The store has been struck with another viral project: All the Shades of Truth by Laura Aylor. I must admit that I am easily affected by peer pressure, and the popularity of this pattern is soaring.
All the Shades of Truth by Laura Aylor
Playing with colors
The yarn suggested for the pattern is Madelinetosh Merino Light, which is a perfect yarn to work with this time of year (Anytime of year?). It's truly one of my favorites to work with. It is a thinner yarn, and very smooth and soft, which makes it easier to work with in warmer weather. It also is a lightly spun single ply, which complements the merino's strength, giving it a soft elasticity.
I've also recently been introduced to Dragonfly, which I am itching to knit. It is spun similarly enough to Tosh that it could be safely knit alongside it. It also comes in colors that I would venture to say are even more eye-catching. There are also some gorgeous new colors made just for TYC themed after Game of Thrones: Winterfill, High Garden, Weir Wood, Kingslayer, Summer, Mormont, Ghost, Grey Wind, Danaerys, Arya, Knight of the Flowers, Godswood, Sunspear, Nymeria, Jojen, and Lady.
Table full of Dragonfly Fibers' Pixie
A finished "Shades" by Lori
I am always so mesmerized by hand-dyed yarns. The only word I can use to describe the way the colors work together is “life.” Both Madelinetosh and Dragonfly have such a life of their own that they perform rather well in a simple, modern, and elegant pattern, such as Shades of Truth.
All of her patterns work very well for those addicted to hand-dyed yarns. My personal favorites when I looked through her Ravelry patterns were: City Block Shawl, Westport Wrap, Litchfield Shawl, and Babycakes. Andrea likes her newest cardigan, Pebble.
Now is a perfect time to start one of her patterns because she will be coming to The Yarn Club April 26th through 28th. There will be a reception on Friday, April 26th at 4 P.M, and there will be cheese and wine. Check out the Classes/Events page for more details. I hope to see you there! http://www.yarnclubknits.com/Classes_Events_Yarn_Club.html
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
An Introduction...
“Now, let us all take a deep breath and forge on into the future; knitting at the ready.” -Elisabeth Zimmermann
This is the time of year when everyone seems to experience change. The weather is changing, people start doing new activities, and we finally seem to have the energy to devote to making new decisions.
One such change is a new “I” and “me” behind the first person contributing to this blog. My name is Thomas, and I am literally brand new to The Yarn Club.
I moved to the area less than 3 weeks ago from Georgia, and of course one of the first things any good knitter must do when moving is locate the best Local Yarn Shop. One step inside The Yarn Club, and I knew I would fit right in. I can already tell that Andrea and I have extremely similar tastes in knits and yarns, and her yarn inventory drew me in with many of my old favorites, plus some new yarns that I can't wait to knit (Dragonfly anyone?). I'm in serious need of new knitting inspiration, and now I feel like putting up a diving board and performing some sort of triple forward pike dive into the yarns.
I'll be hanging around the shop as well, and I look forward to getting to know everyone. I am a walking knitting encyclopedia, so I really enjoy answering technical questions about knitting.
I will also be leading a new addition to The Yarn Club: Men's Knitting night, on the first Monday night of each month – starting Monday, May 6th.
Hi,
Andrea, here. It's been a very long time since I have blogged. Thomas is helping me out with this and other fun changes around the Club. Watch our website for new Featured Patterns, Featured Yarn and a host of new ideas. WELCOME, Thomas. We are so glad to have you and all that knitting knowledge.
Long time, no blog.Sorry folks!LYS life has been really great but really busy.As many of you have seen, the store is doing wonderfully well and we are all having a ton of fun running it.However, all that has not left much time for personal knitting or blogging.That’s okay.I wanted to let everyone know that I have not fallen off the planet.My UFOs are slowly progressing, the store looks great (thanks to the fabulous TYC family), dinners have been on the table each night and all is right with the world. Speaking of food (my second favorite subject), last night I made a Plum Cake.I forget how much I love these sinful little treasures.Italian plums are the main ingredient and are only out for a short time in August. I found a big package of them at BJ's. Oh, we can forget about the diet for just a minute. You see, the recipe uses a bit of butter, sugar, four, eggs... but none of it goes to the hips. Right? The recipe has been passed down through my family and will soon be in the hands of my daughter, who is also addicted to the cake.So, as my little August treat to my most appreciated customers, here is “THE” Plum cake Recipe:
Plum Cake/Torte
Pre-heat oven to Bake at 350.
Cream together 1 cup sugar with ½ cup softened butter.Add 1 cup flour, 1 tsp baking powder, a dash of salt, 2 eggs (beaten), and 1 to 1-1/2 tsp Almond Extract.
Blend well with a fork.Pour into 9” spring form pan that has been well greased with butter.Cut 12 Italian plums in half and remove pits.Place plums skin side up about 1/4 into dough. (place them in the batter, but do not submerge.) Sprinkle with sugar and Saigon Cinnamon.(If plums are tart, add an extra pinch of sugar to the topping.)
Bake at 350 for 1 hour.Cool and serve.
Plum Cake makes an amazing breakfast dish to compliment my favorite Trader Joe’s Morning Blend Coffee.
The Yarn Club is so fortunate to have Chuck teaching his amazing classes here!Each class has its own set of unique skills and goes far beyond the class itself.Each class comes with a notebook of instructions and helpful hints.Some classes even contain a video.WOW!So I asked, “Where do you find all these great tid-bits?”The answer, “several websites and blogs including, www.knitfreedom.com”.So I began to explore….. and click…. and… a few hours escaped me and my head was spinning.
Now, let’s get to the meat!Chuck’s Toe-Up Sock Class is packed with information.He starts with Judy’s Magic Cast On,http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=19jVjIay5Lk. What a perfect start to any closed top project in the round.Think about a hat from the top down or a pi shawl from the center out.No ugly bump in the center or seam at your toes.I was glad to have this video for my second sock.I cast on late at night, like so many of us do.No Chuck, no yarn store, just me, my laptop and knitfreedom.com.
As I ended the class, far smarter than I began, it came time to bind off. Typically, I would bind off using a larger needle if I needed a bit more stretch to the end of the project.Oh, but now I know better.http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fjynMuSPX4Yis a great tutorial on “Jenny’s Super Stretchy Bind-Off”.There are eight different bind-offs shown on this site with pdf graphics to help you out.
I found videos on how to fix mistakes, how to knit more evenly, directions on rarely used stitches, such as, TBL (through back loop) and so much more.Follow this link, http://knitfreedom.com/knitting-videos, to endless knitting knowledge.Join Chuck’s classes for in-depth instruction, understanding, and tons of fun!May brings us a Brioche Knitting Class.I’m so excited!
I finished the Casu Cowl using Dragonfly Fibers Traveller in Winter Woods.This cowl is made up of lace and moss stitch.It is started with a provisional cast on and ended by grafting the cast on edge to the last row of knitting or what would be the bind off edge.The live stitches are grafted together using the Ketchener Stitch.As many of us know from grafting the toes of our socks, Ketchener Stitch is traditionally stockinette.So, how do you graft two pieces together that are NOT stockinet?The answer was found on www.tricksyknitter.com.Here, the Ketchner stitch was explained in detail including how to use it with ribbing and with seed stitch.Simply following her instructions lead to a perfect and invisible seam.
Pam introduced me to Tricksyknitter recently.I particularly like the link to “Cool Knitting Tricks”.Here I found a wonderful description on how to start a top down shawl.Those first three stitches that are knit for six or seven rows, and then picked up, turned, picked up again, etc.I have done this maneuver many times, yet it all clicked once I read this link.
Tricksy offers us a nice selection of patterns, too.I just love the Sweet Oak Shall on her accessories page and the Maple Ripple Pullover on her Cardigan page.Both of which can be purchased in our store via Ravelry.Every time I go to this site I learn a little more.Please visit http://www.tricksyknitter.com/.I bookmarked it for future reference and more knitting education.
Come see the Casu Cowl in person and try to find the mysterious seam. The Yarn Club, Inc. www.yarnclubknits.com
