I have a
confession to make: The reason that I haven’t posted in almost two months is because
I haven’t been knitting. At all! It was
one of the many ways I had been boycotting the long, endless winter. Seriously,
who ever heard of a snowstorm that dumped 6+ inches of snow in Virginia after daylight savings time? Anyway, it
is all over now, and I am happy to say that I have gotten back into my knitting
groove, at least with socks. It seemed like a good place to begin again.
I only
needed a few weeks to hit the reset button and start enjoying spring. During
this time I found myself relaxing with crochet. With several colorful balls of Lily
Sugar ‘n Cream cotton yarn, I settled into the breezy, carefree process that is
crochet. It is faster and more forgiving than knitting, but that doesn’t take
away from all of its creative and artistic possibilities. My mainstays are amigurumi
animals and granny squares, but during the very last snow storm I made my own
variation of this pattern from Purl Soho.
Since I’m
still fairly new to the world of crochet, I could not resist the novelty of
crocheting a perfect sphere. I thought they could come in handy for juggling,
make nice paper weights or serve as entertainment for my ridiculously energetic
cat. So far it has worked out all too well for said cat…
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| Take a nap! |
I also keep
a few on my desk at work, and when I feel stressed I just grab one and give it
a squeeze. I find it does the trick every time.
But what I
really wanted to blog about today is my newest discovery, which are yarn bowls.
I used to view them as unnecessary, indulgent luxuries. What was the point? I
could manage to keep my yarn from rolling away…most of the time. These mishaps were
a fact of a knitter’s life. Or so I thought.
A few months
ago I found myself unable to resist the temptation any longer. While browsing
Etsy, I stumbled upon a lovely shop called spinningstarstudio. The owner is
Jennifer of Colorado Springs, and she specializes in functional pottery and raku
beads. I was immediately drawn to one of her several bowls which was such a shade
of green/blue that I can only describe it as “lake” colored. The two holes she cut
into the side were large enough to fit up to size 14 needles, and it had a
spiral design where the yarn is pulled through the bowl. I so admired the skill
and craftsmanship, and decided that I had to give it a whirl.
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| Skills! |
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| Gorgeous! |
Several weeks
later my custom made bowl arrived in the most secure and meticulous packaging I
had ever seen. That night I got to knitting with my yarn in the bowl, and I
realized that I had been cheating myself for years by not having one! The yarn
spins securely in the bowl with no threat of jumping out and rolling away. I
never realized until that moment how conscious I was of my yarn staying in
place as I worked. Now with my fabulous bowl, I just focus on my knitting or
crochet. The bowl is so sturdy and well-made that it feels stable and secure on
any table, chair, couch, floor, etc. where I may be working.
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| With some of the mult-use spheres. |
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| Security. |
If you don’t
have one yet, the time to get one is now. It will completely change the pace of
your work. No more getting up to chase runaway yarn. When you need to put your
work down and get up for a moment, everything can go into the bowl and be
safely set aside. Needles and all!
Yes. Everything
in one safe, concave place. I highly recommend that you begin your search at
spinningstarstudio!
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| Each piece is marked with a star. |
