Last year I made mini mince pies for my grandfather, Pa, for the last time and topped a pumpkin pie with prancing moose from our trip to the Okanagan. In retrospect, I think I needed to go all out in order not to let Pa’s last mince pie stand out like a sore thumb in time. Since I had just gone all epic on his ass a month before, in my 80 hour Day of the Dead filet crochet memorial pieces, going all out might just be how I deal with emotions. Ya think? This year a nice engrossing challenge was in order. And then that dough just called to be spun into yarn. (more…)
I wanted to share one of the things Jill and I worked on lately. We have an EPIC project going up next week, but in the mean time I’ve managed to squeeze in another fun job.
Downtown San Mateo’s local yarn shop, Nine Rubies, is wonderfully supportive of local crafters and yarnbombing, so it’s no surprise they recruited us to spruce up the huge front window for the holidays.
If you’re in the Bay Area, Nine Rubies just might convince you to get out of the house on Black Friday: they’re offering 40% off everything! Check out the details on their Facebook page here. (more…)
I’m excited for this second installment of my new blog post series, “Meet the Pattern.” This series reveals the stories behind knitting and crochet patterns. Each story will differ a little, but the goal is to:
introduce you to a new pattern
show you what’s involved in making it
hear some of the designer’s thoughts
follow my finished object on its first adventures.
Introducing #squidtree, the latest transformative yarnbomb from @TheDapperToad and @KnitsForLife. Time and again the story goes: we love our idea, then halfway through we fear it’s going to be crap, but end up falling in love all over again when the result exceeds our expectations. (more…)
I’m excited to announce my new blog post series, “Meet the Pattern.” This series reveals the stories behind knitting and crochet patterns. “Meet the Pattern” fills the gap in the blogosphere between bland knitting and crochet “pattern round-ups” and “finished object on my oak dinner table” buzz-kills. Each story will differ a little, but the goal is to:
introduce you to a new pattern
show you what’s involved in making it
hear some of the designer’s thoughts
follow my finished object on its first adventures.
Now, with much fanfare, let’s Meet the Pattern! (more…)
Just a quick note about two new great opportunities for you to learn fresh, modern craft skills. They both start August 6, one in person and one online, so you can take both! (more…)
Hope you American guys had a great holiday weekend full of “oooh’s and aaah’s” at sparkly fireworks. We took the opportunity to get some yarnbombs up around the sleepy lagoon town, Foster City. You may remember that we threatened to publish the patterns for these. Jill demanded more photos for the pattern layouts, so more installs were in order. Cycling the shores on our PUBLIC bike and Schwinn, we found an amazing spot for a future yarnbomb. Sign up to get notified when the patterns come out here. (more…)
If you’ve never yarn bombed before, this is a perfect way to start! And if you’re a pro, it’s a great chance do something epic because we have permission to yarn bomb almost anything! When the local Public Works department saw an article about my pay phone yarn bomb, they invited me to help beautify the city on clean up day with more yarn bombs. Now I’m inviting you to yarn bomb with me, either in person or by mail. (more…)
Earlier this year a new study found that we’d been underestimating by billions the number of birds and small mammals our cute little kitties ravenously kill every year. Oh noes! Bad bad kitties! Fortunately, the country is also full of wildlife rescue centers. These are the places where sensitive nature-lovers like you and me deliver injured birds and other animals in the hopes that they’ll be nurtured back to health and released back into the wild. (more…)
Update: Check out our new even bigger peg board yarn wall here.
Your yarn storage is a mess because of this conflict:
Yarn companies want you to buy the yarn. You want to use the yarn. The ideal ball of yarn for each goal is different. You will buy a ball of yarn that is soft, squishy, and that looks big for the price. Plus, small-batch hank producers want to invest in less equipment and reduce labor. But, when it comes to using the yarn, you need to find the end, create good tension, and–let’s face it–store it with the ungodly amount of yarn they’ve already suckered you into taking home. You want to use a ball of yarn that has a conspicuous end hanging out of the middle of a compact center-pull ball.
So, while you’d love to be like Vanna White and have a pretty pedestal bowl for your five skeins of yarn, well… seriously? Do you KNOW how much YARN I have, Vanna? Do you KNOW how fast MY cat (who isn’t a designer Bengal cat, but a fluffy rescue cat that’s way cuter than yours!) would POUNCE on that bowl of yours, DESTROYING those pretty skeins?
Yeah, thanks, Vanna, but no. I don’t even know where you’d get a fancy pedestal bowl like that.
Right now you’re using drawers, baskets, and zip-lock bags. All good ideas, but kind of a pain in the ass to access, and starting to fill every crevice you can find. Plus, they’re missing one big thing. If you have a yarn problem, you probably love gorgeous things. Why keep your best treasures in the dark?
The result: you need to upgrade your yarn storage solution.
But you’re in luck! Google “yarn storage” and take your pick from over 21 million ideas. Uh… OK, you have standards. Let’s refine that and Google “yarn organization”. Good, now you just have 13 million options. Sigh.
OK let’s look at Pinterest. That’s the better way to look for things like this anyway. (type type type, enter). Woah, that looks awesome! Oh my god, I like that one. Ooooo, so pretty. What else is on that board? OMG I have to repin that now. Squee! Oreos baked inside chocolate chip cookies!? Genius! I’m craving cupcakes now. Isn’t it perfect weather for baking? Oh shit, my cat is eating my yarn!
Oh, internet, you’re as mischievously useful as Aladdin’s Genie, aren’t you?
Try another angle. Jill at The Dapper Toad made a list of her needs: “For me, the ideal yarn storage solution has 3 qualities. It must be: easily accessible, out of the way, and nicely displayed. There are countless ways to store yarn that meets 1 or 2 of these ideals, but never all three! It’s the elusive yarn lover’s trifecta!”
She took a page from makers (those people us crafters date and marry), for storage ideas. Yarn, hooks, and needles are our materials and tools. How do makers store materials and tools?
Now that’s crafty! Jill even put the peg board behind the door, turning and unused space into a useful one.
Sold! I’m always rearranging my apartment. I have this little nook that wasn’t working as an office, but would work perfectly as a yarn studio. Plus, think of all that closet space I’d get back! I rearranged (again) and enlisted Jill for help. Let me show you what we did.
What you need to make a peg board yarn storage wall
Back to our initial conflict. You have lots of skeins and hanks that are hard to work with and bulky to store. The first thing you need is like a little eight pound six ounce baby Jesus: a yarn winder.This one is a good balance of quality and price.
Winding is fast, easy, and fun! I recommend holding the strand as you wind to give it some tension. It will wind better and create a more compact ball. Winding alone reduced my yarn storage by a third: from 15 ANTONIUS IKEA drawers to just 10!
Peg board and hooks are cheap and sold at most hardware stores. Boards come in 2×4-foot sections: combine or tailor cut them to your space. For each board, be sure to pick up a set of the spacers and screws that hold the peg board away from the wall a little, where the hooks poke through and anchor. They’re usually with the hooks, not the boards. Hooks come in all shapes and sizes: I recommend two- and four-inch straight hooks. Check the combo packs to get the best deal.
Once you screw in your wall and wind your yarn, the fun part starts! I spent hours meticulously color-matching my enormous stash. It was interesting to discover what colors I have and wonder whether that means I don’t use them or like to buy them.
So many peg board attachments exist, that you’ll start rethinking all your storage systems. I created rails by laying dowels across peg board hooks and hung some IKEA storage cups from them. I also hung some IKEA cloth baskets. You can even lay your long knitting needles across peg board hooks.
With a cozy chair and a good lamp nearby, you can even knit or crochet off the wall!
Installing my yarn wall only took an afternoon and was super gratifying. I can’t stop taking pictures with it. Knitting and crocheting in my little nook is so invigorating now. Everything is instantly accessible and a cinch to put away. When people come over they’re in awe. Personally, I’m in awe of all my empty closet space!
What yarn storage ideas do you currently use? I’d love to see and swap ideas! Tag your Instagram pics with #knitsforlife to show me or tweet them to me @knitsforlife.
All this knitting and crocheting in my new studio nook has been productive. Coming up I’m posting a free leg warmer pattern for those of you still weathering out the cold, and for the lucky ones enjoying spring, a geometric crochet bracelet photo tutorial (in neon colors!) using embroidery floss. Catch them by adding me to your Feedly or Bloglovin’ RSS feed, or following me on Facebook.
Yeah, thanks, Vanna, but no. I don’t even know where you’d get a fancy pedestal bowl like that.
KNITS FOR LIFE 
You must be logged in to post a comment.