More crochet lace rock doilies:
…and what the undersides look like:
These are fun and a good, healthy way for me to relieve stress. These are all freehanded – I don’t work from a pattern, just improvise motifs and then close the doily around the rocks with crocheted loops and decreases, using triple crochet, double crochet, and single crochet stitches. Margaret Oomen’s crochet covered sea stones have been a huge inspiration for these; you can find a free pattern for Little Urchin Crochet Covered Sea Stones on the Purl Bee blog and photos of Margaret’s work on her blog, Resurrection Fern. She also sells some through her Etsy shop (knitalatte, scheduled to re-open in early 2012).
I also have some plans to sell pieces from the Kokua Market Yarnstorming and other similar pieces (rock doilies and crochet jellyfish, primarily) to help raise funds for future yarnstorms. Now that I’ve told you, I should get on that!
We have a little tropical yarnstorm going on in Honolulu over at the Kokua Market Natural Foods Cooperative – more details on the Aloha Knitters blog.
A few photos from my weekend stop at YarnStory:
Locally dyed yarn – Nadezhda’s Crayon Box
Zauberball Crazy sock yarns
Malabrigo Cotton
As I put my yarn stash into storage (again), I am reminded that I have plenty of yarn to work with and don’t need to acquire much more. Mom, on the other hand, has been knitting and crocheting much of what I’ve destashed at high speed. Last week I handed her a bag of oddballs of Karabella Aurora 8 that had been sitting in a box since 2007 (because it had turned into two complete balls and a small heap of small balls of only a couple of yards each) and this week she showed me the hat she knit up from the full balls and then topped with a dense, squooshy, carefully hand-snipped pom-pon made out of the small balls.
Well, that kind of productivity ought to be encouraged, especially when it means I can help support YarnStory, a brand-new yarn shop that opened just a few weeks ago in Honolulu. The shop hasn’t had a Grand Opening yet (the owner is waiting on several boxes of yarn), so I’m holding off on a full review, but here’s what I picked up today for Mom:
Brown Sheep Co. Kaleidescope, 80% cotton, 20% wool. Pink/red dominant is color KAL-20 ANAHEIM, Paintlot 0310, and Blue/purple dominant is KAL-10 BELIZE, Paintlot 179.
Yarn spun from recycled silk sari fabric
I have been slowly plugging away at revising the Matilda & Tillie hat patterns, working out a new approach to the brim (so it is easier to get it to flare out more) and making new samples for photographing. This is sample number one, in Peace Fleece worsted Anna’s Grasshopper (it’s much lighter than my photo). I’m really liking the way it’s working up – and I’m going to have to knit another one for myself, because this one is too big. I chose to knit a large to make sure there was enough yarn to do the entire hat, trim and all, with one skein.
It was really nice to go to a Windward-side meeting of the Aloha Knitters at the ChadLou’s coffeeshop, where I had one of their house-made ice cream sandwiches (chocolate chip) and a lavender green tea latte. Both were delicious. The space is really nice and open, with comfy seating and a very laid-back atmosphere. The current schedule is Thursday nights, 6 – 8 pm.
looking out over Hanalei, Kaua'i
I spent a recent weekend on Kaua’i and did a little yarn shopping while I was there. First stop was Hanalei Strings & Things, a little shop in the Ching Young Village Shopping Center in the middle of downtown Hanalei. It’s a very touristy area with lots of shops and restaurants, and parking can be a little challenging during lunchtime on a weekend. Strings & Things combines yarn and ukuleles – Amy Singer would plotz.
Entrance to Hanalei Strings & Things
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So the yarn-tasting at the Hawai’i State Library downtown this past Saturday went well – but I didn’t take any pictures, and when I realized that, immediately thought “great, now nobody is going to believe me.” I had capped attendance at 25, figured we’d be lucky to get 20, and then 30 people signed up (and I think a couple more showed up).
Fortunately for me, Nadine Kam from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin was there, took photos, and blogged about it (thanks Nadine!)
Yarn ‘Tasting’ at the library (Fashion Tribe)
There were a couple of things I wish I’d managed to do differently – I’d wanted to talk more about knitting/crocheting for charity, and I also wanted to chat more with the attendees! I did get to talk briefly with a few people, but I wanted to hang out with *everyone* who attended – I hope I’ll get to see some of them at an Aloha Knitters meeting, ’cause like I said at the tasting, you people are the ones I need to talk to – you don’t need to be listening to me. Seriously, you should have seen some of the gorgeousness being kipped/cipped in that crowd! Thanks to all who attended, and for reals, I want to hang out with you all.
Most of the yarns in the tasting came from Isle Knit. The Maui Yarns came direct from Sara, and the Peaches & Creme came from Wal-Mart (and as I mentioned at the event, Wal-Marts nationwide are closing their craft departments – Ben Franklin has Sugar ‘n Cream; if they don’t have Peaches & Creme you might want to ask them about carrying it).
Oh, and someone had asked about a knit clothes hanger cover pattern in a book – I knew I’d seen at least one.
Twinkle’s Weekend Knits by Twinkle Chia, and Glamour Knits at Home by Erika Knight both have a pattern. However, the library doesn’t have those books at this time. There’s a free online pattern by Sara Golder (Easy Coat Hanger Covers), though!
A bit last minute, but just in case anyone has been wondering and didn’t get the updates on Ravelry, Twitter, and the Aloha Knitters Yahoo! Group:
Worldwide Knit In Public Day: June 13 2009 (today!)
Aloha Knitters will be meeting in the center courtyard of the Aloha Tower Marketplace from 2 – 5 pm. I’ve added the marketplace to the map below in case anyone needs directions (the red marker sitting in Honolulu Harbor). If you plan to drive, I recommend finding street parking downtown and walking over – the Aloha Tower Marketplace does have a pay parking lot, and it gets very full rather quickly. Also, the Kamehameha Day Parade is today – it starts in downtown and goes to Waikiki; by 2 pm I’m thinking downtown will have cleared up but just in case, you may want to allow a little extra time for traffic.
View Larger Map
My current plan is to have a short talk on the library collection of knit/crochet books and specific books particularly applicable for our climate, and then a quick review of the yarns. I haven’t chosen and acquired all the yarns yet; Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton and Skinny Cotton, Cascade Eco Wool, Lana Knits Hemp for Knitting, and a seacell/silk blend are on the for-sure list, though.
Quick update:
“Come to the library for quick reviews of knitting and crocheting books in the library collection and a yarn-tasting! Sample bags will include mini-skeins of yarns good for tropical-weather garments as well as yarns good for use in felting and making warm garments and accessories for cold-climate friends, relatives, and charitable organizations. Feel free to bring a project to work on during the presentation, or to show off afterwards if you like. There will be a brief Q&A session if you have any questions about knitting/crocheting in Hawai’i. No how-to knit/crochet/spin lessons will be given at this event; reviews of instructional books, videos, and DVDs will be included in the presentation, though, and a handout of yarn shops and where you can take lessons will also be available.”
