A Scarf, Pooh & LYS Love

I don't normally enjoy knitting a pattern more than once but I might for this one.

The pattern is called "Gathered Scarf" on Ravelry. There are several so here is the link; it's the one by Kelly Judson.

 It calls for dk weight; 30 stitches on size 5's. But I discovered some unusual yarn in my stash that I thought might be interesting - Berroco's Origami. It's very firm with sort of an exterior fiber encasing a cord of fibers, if that makes sense.

This is not necessarily yarn that you would want to snuggle into unless a miracle of softening comes when I block it. So I decided a longer, thinner scarf was better with a more open look to appreciate the variation in color.

I'm using 18 stitches on a 6 and I like it much better.

This is another great pattern for a beginner - the gathers are created by a full row of k2tog's and the wide part by a full row of kfb with stockinette inbetween.

I think this pattern would be great with a really interesting handspun yarn. I might just try that next.

If I did try it again, I'd surely head to our new LYS, Apples to Oranges.

We are so thankful in our town to have a lys. Last Spring, after doing everything possible to try to stay open, our really wonderful yarn shop in town closed. I felt connected to that store; it's where my children and I learned to knit and I was surprised how much it affected me when it closed.

There was a big round, red table in the window which was usually full of knitters. The owner, and several of those ladies, were adored by my little girls. I loved watching them sitting around the table mixed into the group of older ladies silent as a mouse; watching and listening to everything.

And then it closed. Sure, there are great yarn websites but that's not nearly the same. There's no community to that. So, we'd trek an hour away to Portland to shop for fiber. Thankfully, Apples to Oranges opened a few months later. I say it's a Portland quality shop in a small town full of beautiful yarn and an extensive offering of local, hand-dyed. 

I know all knitters agree that local yarn shops are little treasures. And they all seem to be struggling. On the other side, because they are small and quaint, they don't always have what you are looking for or enough skeins in a needed color. So here's my question?

What would happen if each week, I posted a link to a local yarn shop that also sells yarn through their website? You could do it too leaving the name & link in the comments.

Imagine what the positive financial impact that could be for an lys if they could infuse their sales with knitters from all over the country? 

Could we possibly positively impact those stores while finding new fiber treasures for ourselves? I think it's worth a try. It's been something I've been thinking about for a long time.


So, here it goes. I'll call it "LYS Love" and I'll start with mine - feel free to add yours in the comments but please be sure that they have online shopping capabilities through their website.


LYS LOVE - Apples to Oranges in Silverton, Oregon. http://www.applestooranges.net/

They have some gorgeous, local, hand-dyed yarn available through their website, as well as other great yarn.

As for reading, you can't ever go wrong with Winnie the Pooh. It was A.A. Milne's birthday a few weeks ago, so we pulled Winnie off the shelf. He was a favorite of mine as a child but I realized that my kids don't really know much about the series. I am happy they are enjoying it so much.

As for my reading, I had received a long awaited email that it was my turn for The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd reserved through the digital library loan. But when I logged on last night, I discovered that they had offered it to the next in queue because I didn't respond within 3 days. Ugh. It was a busy weekend and I thought I would be able to wait. Lesson learned. Just another reason why I like paper books the best ;)

I'm linking up with Ginny for the weekly Yarn Along at Small Things. Click on the link to see many more beautiful projects.

 

Another Hat & Another Newberry

I guess I'm in a rut, but it's a good one. Nothing wrong with a lot of sweet, knitted hats.

This is a pattern I saw on Ginny Sheller's yarn along two weeks ago. It is fun to knit and not difficult at all. In fact, making the butterflies every 10 rows is a good incentive to knit just one more row. 

The pattern is called : The Butterfly Hat on Ravelry. 

I used MadelineTosh's Molly Ringwold color way. So beautiful - truly a pretty pink; not saccharin at all. 

As for books, we're still sticking to our Newberry Award winners and have been surprised to love "The Family Under The Bridge." 

We live in a very small town but we've been spending a lot of time in Portland. Questions gave been arising about the people on the streets with signs asking for help. We are not the type of family to say "get a job!" More like the kind that is trying to help but how? 

A friend brought our attention to a wonderful project at the holidays. They made a great flyer showing a kit of essentials that could be made for $5 using items from a Dollar Store.

Here's the flyer:

On Christmas morning, a group of very generous people set up under a bridge and distributed the kits (35 of them, I believe) and hot breakfast burritos. It was wonderful to participate in this in our humble way of assembling & donating a few kits and we hope to do it again. 

So the book we are reading is "The Family Under The Bridge" by Natalie Savage Carlson published in 1958 and winner of the Newberry Award.

It's the story of an old, Parisian, homeless man, Armand, and a family of newly homeless children. It sounds awful writing that. But somehow, when reading, the focus is on all things positive such as the affection the old curudgeon is developing for the children and the lengths to which he goes to help them. 

My children, ages 5-10, love it and beg me to read more. It's set in Paris, a long time ago, so maybe that helps it be a bit more surreal and not scary or maybe it's the excellent writing. 

Either way, it's giving them a chance to ask questions and discuss a subject that I previously never quite got very far with. 

I would recommend both the hat and the book. 

This post is part if Ginny Sheller's Yarn Along. Click the link to see more great knitted projects and book recommendations.

Great Summer Read Aloud: The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall

My girls LOVED this book! They would actually beg me to keep reading.

A sweet story about the adventures of 4 sisters and a well-off boy over the course of a summer when the girls' father rents a cottage on the property of the boy's family.

It is funny and sweet and one of those books that you really don't mind reading to the kids because you're enjoying it as well.

There are 2 more stories in the series and I am sure we'll be picking them up at the library soon. Perfect summer read aloud!

Can't wait for your library? Here's a link to it on Amazon: