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The Knitsville Yarn Barn

Visiting Knitsville – The Yarn Barn

There is a lovely place in Knitsville called The Yarn Barn. It is filled with fiber. Mostly acrylic but every once in a while there is a lovely wool blend, even some silk and camel’s hair. But mostly acrylic. It used to be quite organized but it no longer is. Marie Kondo would jump for joy at the sight of this room in our house.

I have more yarn than I can use in a year. I think I could go a couple or three years using one ball a day before I would run out. Even so, I still have to pull myself back from buying more.

I love the stuff. I like looking at and thinking of the possibilities. But even I know I have too much of a good thing. I have sold some of it and there is an idea running inside my head of doing a KonMari on the lot and bagging some of it up to sell at a craft show. I believe this is the year I will make that idea into a real thing. The craft show is already in the planning stages in my head.

Having this much fiber has also changed the way I will run my business. I am going to concentrate a great deal more on my Ready to Ship section so I will be buying only the fiber I need for those custom and made to order fibers. Right now, most of the shop is made to order and this year, I hope to make at least 25% of it Ready to Ship.

That satisfies on several levels: I won’t be buried in made to order orders and I will be able to use some of the yarn that has been looking at me from their cages. They will fulfill their destiny and become objects of art and usefulness. Isn’t that what we all want from life?

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MLK

The Courage to Dream for Myself

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. day and I can remember when it wasn’t an observance or a holiday. History has done to King what is had done to most of history – it has turned him into a romantic notion. 

We think of the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech as the ultimate King. He gave a rousing speech to an almost endless sea of people and the next day, racism died in America.

Except it didn’t. 

As much as I love the speech from the March on Washington, my favorite MLK speech isn’t a speech at all. It’s A Letter from Birmingham jail.

 

MLK – Martin Luther King, Jr being arrested 1958

Knitsville is snow covered and peaceful tonight but there is a single light in the town square as a reminder that a single light can cast away far shadows. I did not and do not have the courage at my age today that MLK had at 39. I don’t know that I will ever have that much courage. But as I enter this last phase of life, I find I have, at long last, The Courage to Dream for Myself. There are things I want and can now think about getting which is a step towards getting them.

That is a good thing. Knitsville is not more reality than dream but there’s more to go with it than where it is right now. I believe I will get us there.

I have no doubt MLK was not thinking about knitting when he wrote that letter but he was thinking about life and the right to create the life we wanted without being encumbered by other folk’s notion of who and what a black person could be. So he wasn’t thinking about knitting but he was thinking about me and I think about knitting and the spiritual blessing it is and the joy it brings to my life and it is part of that dream I have of what a perfect day in a perfect life would look like.

If you haven’t read past the typical observances of Dr. King, I encourage you to read about the last few years of his life when he was vilified by blacks and whites alike, Republicans and Democrats too. He had begun a new focus on poverty and war and he wasn’t appreciated because he didn’t ‘stay in his lane.’

I have a greater appreciation of what he did and how he did it. I may not be as brave but I am just a little braver than I was yesterday and not as brave as I will be tomorrow. I have dreams for myself and that includes making the entire world better.

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Knitsville – A Real Place in My Imagination

I love going to Knitsville. In my head, it’s a place that’s kinda like Stars Hollow but without all the Stars Hollowness. It’s quaint but still manages to have some hustle and bustle. Everyone knits or crochets and a few of us do both. We love to laugh and dance. There’s a church on the corner – the only one in the whole town. But it has two drug stores.

Knitsville is the place I go everyday to work, play, pray and join with the spirit. Knitting is a spiritual thing here. It comforts and soothes and it can also excite. It is a source of learning and a source of pride. Crochet also belongs here and most of the time when knitting is said; it means both. 

It would be hard to explain what knitting means to me as a way to keep my mental health at its peak. It is an important aspect of my life – more than I ever knew it would be. And at the end of it, there are pretty things.

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Ready to Ship from designbcb

 Items ship in 1-2 business days. Shop now.

Naturally when one knits (crochets) for hours at a time, one ends up with…something. A hat, or a scarf or blanket or something. And if one knits (crochets) for hours at a time every day; you get a lot of somethings.

When one has a lot of somethings and one has an Etsy shop, then one needs to create a section called ready to ship so those somethings can go to new homes and be used and loved.

The Wedding Day Bridal Shawl $65

There are several items which can and should go to new places and meet new people. There are hats and scarves and shawls.

The Man Knit Scarf in Mosaic $25

I make pretty things. I make useful things. So, I guess I make pretty useful things as well. That’s the blessing within the blessing. It’s the act of knitting I love and it’s an additional blessing that things turn out so well.

But it does make for a house filled with finished projects and there are just so many that can be given away. I do give some away. My search serves as a station for people between housing and I give some items there. I have given each of my brothers and sisters an afghan. Various other places, too. Yet there is enough for a section in the shop.

The Stocking Cap $45

I suppose I would feel differently about knitting and crochet if there weren’t such lovely things at the end of it. I would not be content doing what I did when I first learned, which was ripping out my knitting and starting again. I did because I didn’t have any more yarn. I now have room filled to overflowing so I can knit to my heart’s content. 

All of it works together, I suppose, though it is still the doing and not the having done that brings me the most joy. But that’s symbiotic. I get to do the knitting. You get to do the wearing of it.  

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DIY Knitting – The Joy and Bliss of Making it by Hand.

“Why do you have a cigarette lighter in your glove compartment?” her husband asked her. “I’m bored with knitting. I’ve taken up arson.” – Her Fearful Symmetry

DIY Knitting – The Joy of Doing it Yourself

I don’t know that I was bored when I first learned to knit. I know I was fascinated by it and really took to it. But I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t know to change colors on the same side and gauge was a term unfamiliar to me. My fascination quickly died because I only had one lesson, learning to knit with pencils. I didn’t even know about the purl stitch. There was no YouTube so I’m not certain how I figured it out. 

Crochet, too, for that matter. Don’t remember when I learned it. I liked knitting better but I went without both, off and on, for almost thirty years after I learned in grade school.

The Eden Cap – Pattern available at designbcb

I picked it up almost fifteen years ago and it has let me go. We haven’t let go of each other . I knit or crochet at a career choice and I’ve gotten into designing pieces for beginner and advanced beginner knitters and crocheters. 

Opening the shop on Etsy was a necessity because there were too many items clogging up the house. Opening the shop did not solve the problem as there are still finished objects in the house. They are now joined by more than 800 skeins of yarn. Most of it in a 10×10 room of the house that also holds two desks, two bookcases, two computers and a laptop. Yarn is in every room of our house – including the garage and I’ve never knit in there.

There is something magical about all things made by hand. I admire people who can paint and draw. Those who have the gift of words and can pull together narratives and images in ink. I see some of the work of my fellow needle arts artisans and I am in awe.

The yarns are different that when I first learned and now they can do a great deal of the work by being self striping, having texture or mixing plies. There are some knitters who won’t work with acrylic yarn but I am not one to forego it. It is economical and has come a long way from the stiff, rough yarn that used to be commonplace. Today’s acrylics have softness, texture and beautiful colors.

Along with a huge stash of yarn, I have a collection of knitting needles and crochet hooks. Some come from the legacy left from my mother-in-law who crocheted and knit. None of her kids or grandkids have the knitting gene. Her needles are in the office in a couple of mugs. I don’t use them. They are part of the atmosphere.

I never would have imagined this would be my living and now I cannot imagine being without it. Knitting and crochet are cornerstones of my life and faith. Being able to do it as my work and as a way of connecting with the world is a bonus and a blessing. I am grateful every day.

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The Wearable Embrace – Cozy Knit Accessories

The Wearable Embrace – Cozy Knit Accessories

Millions and millions of years would still not give me half enough time to describe that tiny instant of all eternity when you put your arms around me and I put my arms around you. – Jacques Prevert

One of the best feelings I get is when I go to bed and first snuggle under the covers. I feel warm and safe and embraced and shortly after that moment, I feel my husband’s body next to mine and everything is right with the world. 

Since I can’t carry my comforter with me all day, I’ve created a very nice substitute in the knit accessories that can be worn to provide that coziness and safety.  The Wearable Embrace collection are those hats, scarves and wraps that are meant to be pulled close to the body or are cozy and warm because they are made with bulkier yarns that invite the snuggles.

They are cozy knit accessories that hug you.

 Fingerless mitts go where full on gloves can’t. They keep your hands warm and your finger free in offices where you can’t always control the temperature.

Headbands, along with messy bun bands, snuggles next to the skin to provide protection and warmth without needing a full sized hat

.

The Wedding  Day shawl makes a wonderful keepsake for the bridal party, including the mothers of the bride and groom. They can be made in theme colors or to match in law dresses. 

 There are a variety of cowls and scarves that can wrap around your neck, head and shoulders to keep out the cold while complementing your fashion style and sense.

And, of course, a comforter that can be used on the sofa or the bed to snuggle under with someone you love – and there’s nothing wrong with loving yourself and not sharing with anyone.

Wearable Embrace items are already in designbcband range from $21.00 to $215.00.
 

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Wearing White Knit Accessories after Labor Day. Make your own choice.

White Knit Accessories – Fall/Winter 2018

“He wanted just to stand close to her, touch her hair that was white as glacier milk.” – Oleander

 

It almost makes no sense: white in the winter. You can almost see why there was the rule not to wear it after Labor Day – if that was the reason instead of the snobby way it was meant. Wearing white, or not wearing it in this case, was a way for the old money snobby people to distinguish themselves from the new money snobby people. As if the new money snobs couldn’t pick up on the trend and just stop wearing white after Labor Day.

In any case, Memorial Day the white clothes came out; Labor Day they went back in. Labor Day no less. A way of old and new money snobby people to distinguish themselves from folk who do the 9-5 errday. 

But fashion rules were meant to be broken. Some laws are needed to keep us safe and to provide justice for all. But when it comes to clothing, sometimes fashion rules are just plain silly.

There’s no reason not to have some tactile, soft and cozy white knits to see us through the cooler days of fall and the frigid days of winter. Temperature notwithstanding, wearing white in winter can be hot. Pair it as an offset to a coat with a bold color, and cause your very own stormfront.

One great thing in have a color as the focal point, is that I get to play with design and texture. I can see a man knit beanie, an african inspired scarf that has bold color accents, a wearable embrace cowl, a thick and textured throw to cuddle under while watching the t and v.
So far, the white cowl has made it to the needles but it won’t take long for some other white knit accessories to come along and help smash the fashion rules. Look for them in the

shop

starting this fall.

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Africa Inspired Fashions and Decor

Africa Inspired Accessories and Decor

 

“I have loved no part of the world like this and I have loved no women as I love you. You’re my human Africa. I love your smell as I love these smells. I love your dark bush as I love the bush here, you change with the light as this place does, so that one all the time is loving something different and yet the same. I want to spill myself out into you as I want to die here.”
Graham Greene – The End of the Affair

I have always been a little obssessed with Africa. Though I have no desire to get on a plane for more than 3 hours at a time – and that’s pushing my limits – I might do it to see Africa.
Until that moment comes, I am making do with creating Africa inspired accessories for body and home. I did a little research on Kente cloth and pulled the colors from there and have kept them in mind as I began work.
The first item that will come out is an afghan. It’s a beautiful geometric with blocks of bold color.  I made one years ago and gave it as a wedding present. I don’t  have a photo of it but this version is new and improved because I am knitting it to be reversible!
The colors I’ve chosen for this one: black, gold, cranberry, olive green, medium blue and deep purple. Each color has a meaning in Kente cloth colors:
Blue: Big spaces
Gold: preciousness
Green: they symbol of life
Red: Sacrifice
Purple: Women
Black: spiritual energy
I am enjoying it immensely. It will take about 6 weeks to make as a custom piece but I believe it to be worth the wait for such a bold piece.

The africa inspired knits will be available at designbcbin the fall of 2018.

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The Color Purple – Date With Royalty

The Color Purple

“I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere an don’t notice it.” Alice Walker

it should make the supreme being upset. Who does not notice purple when it is in the room or in a field? It’s not even demanding – it’s commanding. You just see it.

They say purple is the color of royalty and i can certainly understand why someone of regal stature would claim it as their own.

It was Elizabeth Tudor, Liz the first, who claimed it for royal wear. The dye to make the color was quite expensive and that would put it out of reach to those who were not rich already so why not make it even more exclusive?

Luckily, the dye is more readily available and even us everyday folk can indulge and wear it whenever we want. It is a bold and beautiful color. When I knew I was going to work with specific colors, there was no doubt purple was going to be one. In seventh or eigth grade all my clothes were purple. While I have expanded my wardrobe colors, purple remains firmly in place.

Other than the textured scarves shown here, I have several other purple items completed or in the works.

Expect to see purple in hats, afghans and other scarves. I may even do a purple hooded scarf. I can’t believe I haven’t done one so far. There’s a purple cowl on one of my crochet hooks. I look forward to showing it along with the long scarf.

There is a way to wear purple and a way not to. You can use it as a main color and pair it with something white or black. You can even go Viking and wear it with gold but use reason.

You want to be careful about wearing head to toe purple. Unless you’re Prince – and no one is.

  

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Man Knits – Get it for him; Then Borrow It

Man Knits – Fall 2018

I, with a deeper instinct, choose a man who compels my strength, who makes enormous demands on me, who does not doubt my courage or my toughness, who does not believe me naive or innocent, who has the courage to treat me like a woman. – Anais Nin

Knitting for men can sometimes be a thing. You have to get the color right. You have to get the texture right. And there has to be a certain amount of function and form. Unless he’s really into the fashion part of being dressed, practical goes a long way down the success road.

You also have to get past the whole ‘boyfriend sweater’ thing where you never knit a sweater for your boyfriend because that dooms the relationship. I never knit a sweater for any boyfriend and the relationships ended anyway but I’ve also never knit a sweater for Mr. Honey and it’s been more than 20 years with him….so

I know I am often asked if I have hats, scarves, etc. made for men so it’s about time I fulfilled that request.

Here’s a sneak peek at one of the scarves coming for the new Man Knits section in the shop. It has texture, color, form and function – and you can get it for him but keep it for yourself.

There will be more than a dozen choice of the Textured scarf available ranging from $21 – $32 from acrylic to acrylic/wool blends. Available fall 2018.

Also in the works are two Man Knit hats and at least one other scarf option. Of course, women should feel free to don any of them and have them in their own wardrobe. I suspect that might be the case anyhow. Men have been known to buy for themselves. I just created a scarf for a guy who’s jetting off to England. So maybe he should buy it and resign himself to handing it over to her.