Stories in the Making

The Yarn Club theme for March is the high-tech crafter, and to that end we've been exploring Ravelry, and talking yarn-related gadgets.  One of my favourite things to come up in my on- and off-line discussions this month has been this, sent to me by Sandy (and I had it all cued up to play at the meeting and got distracted, as I do): I am not a "gamer" by any stretch of the stuffily air-quoted word.  As I understand it, I need to get ahold of a PS4, or an Xbox... neither of which I have because my boys are...

At the core of the Yarn Club, of course, is the yarn.  It's what brings everyone together every month, that fibre love - the possibility in each new skein, the discovery of a different blend, the seduction of colour.  I thought it only fitting that we make sure our deep appreciation of yarn is supported by a deeper understanding of it. Therefore, this month, we are going to totally geek out. Anatomy of a Yarn - why it matters It wasn't until I began spinning my own yarn that I really started thinking about this at all.  I still remember...

At February's Yarn Club meeting, members brought in some beautiful finished projects, two of which happened to be by the same designer - Beth Graham! Chained! crocheted scarf by Beth Graham   It's a Trap! by Beth Graham YC Member Alison's "It's a Trap!" shawl has several modifications, detailed in her Ravelry project page.  Meisi Gloves by Julia Mueller Larch Cardigan by Amy Christoffers

For January's meeting, I asked people to bring in some inspiring ways to use variegated yarn.  Here are some of the great ideas from the membership: Updated February 1st to include Roxann's "scarflace".  Thanks so much for the photos, Roxann! Roxann's "scarflace" Roxann says, "Here is my 'scarflace' that I made from one skein of Alpaca Tracks T(h)read Lightly yarn. I braided the entire skein on my dual lucet then finger braided the resultant cord. By joining the 2 ends, I created a double wrap infinity 'scarflace'. The black band holding the 2 strands together is a crocheted bracelet made...

This month we had a skill-sharing session at Yarn Club and added a few new tricks to our knitting bags. Here I've rounded up the best tutorials I could find for the cast-ons and bind-offs we discussed, and links to the books I referenced.  In the fullness of time, I will add my own video clips demonstrating the techniques that were more difficult to find online. First off, there are two really fantastic books that cover this topic: Cast On Bind, Bind Off: 54 Step-by-Step Methods by Leslie Ann Bestor Leslie Ann Bestor's book arranges things by function - i.e....