A Couple of Mother's Day Ideas + Some Finished Projects

May 09, 2023

Whether you are the fiber-loving mom or know a fiber-loving mom you'd like to treat this Sunday, I wanted to highlight a few ideas:

We have very limited quantities of the Lemonwood laser cut Yarn Boxes (2) and Tablet Stands (1) in the very charming Wool Story design produced especially for LYS Day this year. These are such a clever use of laser-cutting technology.

We also have some of the Lumos Knitting Lights. This time of year, these are great for camping or spending an evening outside on the porch or patio stitching. They are especially great in social situations, since you can aim the light downward (unlike headlamps, you won't be inadvertently blinding anyone!)

If you tried the small candy lotion scrub in the Yarn Folk 10th Anniversary gift bags, we have cannisters of mixed scents (30 scrubs) and smaller single-scent packs (12 scrubs) from Bonblissity. Because it is an exfoliating scrub, this is a wonderful product for anyone trying to combine spring gardening with yarn adventures.

The Cocoknits Kraft Caddy (with optional leather handles) is made from a washable kraft paper fabric (and while it was a different product, I have tested the washability of this paper fabric, and it actually does hold up when washed as directed). With a flat bottom, stiff sides, and lots of pockets, the caddies are useful containers for everything you might need while working on a project!

And last but not least, we have gift certificates available in the store, and virtual gift cards online. For fiber-lovers, a gift card or gift certificate isn't just a cash equivalent—it's the gift of planning a special projects, choosing the perfect colors, and taking some time to dream.

…mark your calendars

Social Stitching

Every Saturday, 2-4pm

Join us around the big table for a couple of hours of convivial stitching.

Knit or Crochet Every Day in May

May 1-31

Our month-long challenge to commit to a few stitches a day to enter for prizes at the end is in progress! If you share what you're working on online, please use the hashtags #KnitOrCrochetEveryDayInMay, #KnitOrCrochetEveryDayInMay2023, #KOCEDM, or #KOCEDM2023

Mad May Party

May 20

We'll be celebrating Madelinetosh on May 20th! We're planning for trunk show garments, we'll have free pattern postcards to share with purchase, and there will be a giveaway for a Bubble Wrap Cowl kit, along with a couple of one of a kind skeins of Tosh Merino Light.

Olive Knits 4-Day KAL Zoom Event with Marie Greene

June 9, 1-2pm

We'll be sharing more details on May 18th! Mark your calendars, and stay tuned.

Worldwide Knit in Public Day

June 10, 2-4pm

Weather permitting, we'll be moving Social Stitching out onto the sidewalk. Crocheting in public is also entirely welcome.

...new in the shop

There are several wonderful new yarns to share over the next couple of weeks; today let's highlight Chaski, from Amano Yarns. We've chosen a palette of bright pastels, coupled with two wearable neutrals: a medium-toned ochre (Golden Hour) and a darker grey (Last Moment of Winter). Chaski is a blend of 60% superwash Merino wool / 30% Pima cotton / 10% linen, and it's 383 yard put-up lands it in the heavy fingering / sport weight range. It's a genuine utility player—great for summer tees and tanks, socks, or shawls. And just as appropriate for crochet as it is for knitting!

…to inspire

On Sunday, I tagged along with the runner in my household and walked Bloomsday while he ran it. And I have a bit of inspiration to share that's not fiber-specific.

The hotel chain we stayed at was one that offers a complete hot and cold breakfast, and when I came back from picking up our race bibs, I stopped to grab a bagel. There were three women in the breakfast room—two hotel guests, and the person in charge of minding the spread. The two guests were an amazing hype team for the woman managing the waffles and the baked goods, the sausage links and the eggs. To each other, "Isn't this just amazing?" (said in several different ways), and to the breakfast queen, "I think this is the best breakfast yet!" and "You are doing a really great job!" It made me feel good just to witness this—people taking the time to express their appreciation, and really pump up the spirits of someone working very hard very early on a Sunday morning.

Once the race was underway, there was a similar culture of encouragement: Bloomsday has hundreds of volunteers staffing water stations, providing medical aid, providing entertainment on the course, and distributing t-shirts at the end—all the stuff that keeps a huge race in motion. There were also hundreds of townspeople who set up along the course to cheer on the "Bloomies" for hours.

I stopped to take a photo of participants starting to snake their way up Doomsday Hill—an almost 3/4 mile stretch of the course that has an average grade of 6.5%. Lots of the participants do the course in groups, so you overhear plenty of personal encouragement along the way, but at minimum, there are people at the bottom of the hill, offering water and a "you can do it!" and another group of people at the top (including the Doomsday Hill Vulture)--with more water, and cheering you on because you did.

Next time you have the urge to point out something you did less than perfectly? Take that energy and turn it around to boost up someone. If the error bugs you, and you can fix it, by all means, do! But if not, let it be a little reminder to cheer someone on—because you did it, whether it was absolutely perfect or not. 🥳

...currently stitching

I finished two projects this week, and they are similar shades of orange, but in my defense, one was started in February 2022 (oof) and the other was started in April 2023. GG's influence?? Maybe! 🤷🏻

Kitation was Casapinka's 2023 LYS Day pattern, and it is a generous kite-shaped shawl. I was working from the tester draft, so mine differs slightly from the final version of the pattern. Nothing major: just some modifications to where the decreases start to build in some additional buffer for knitters using 400 yard skeins. We still have some kits listed on the website, plus a few of the Dream in Color Two-Skein bundles. It's a fun and relatively fast knit.

My other finish was the Photography Shawl, by Kristina Vilimaite. I used five skeins of Loch Lomond in Copper, and made the medium size with a bit more than half a skein left. This was the rare pattern where I often preferred the written instructions to the charts (but both were clear). It's such a fun, sculptural fabric--I'm glad I finally got this finished!