Yarn Tasting

knitting_repair  

A recent study found that 81% of subjects suffering from depression reported feeling happier after knitting, while more than half said they felt "very happy."

I've been knitting my life back together since I was a teenager. Things unravel, I pick up my needles. Stitches drop, I figure out how to get on track and reknit. It's my M.O. when life goes haywire. The perfect therapy -- a rhythmically, repetitive mediation that calms. And you end up with something beautiful and useful!

Can you get all that from a therapist? Well, I guess you can, but it may not be as relaxing.

Since knitting is my first emotional line of defense -- and calm and happy are always welcome -- as the seasons transition, I can almost taste the yarn.

Without further adieu...

Here are my latest knitting crushes:

What's on your knitting menu?

Dreaming In Color: A Free Knitted Hat Pattern

Jordyn_hat3“I never felt daunted by difficulties or blocked alleys. Somehow, I knew the path I was on was right, and my trust in that sense was stronger than the limitation of my own personal comforts or desires.” ~ artist and knitting designer, Kaffe Fassett

My daughter presented me with the autobiography of Kaffe Fassett, Dreaming In Color. The luscious multi-layered book has been feeding my post-holiday soul. In the afterglow of holiday overload, extended family dinners and massive clean ups, I pause each evening and curl up with this book. The inspirational words and opalescent photographs of Kaffe’s lifelong creative journey have encapsulated me from the harsh reality of the last few weeks.

Kaffe Fassett's art, Dreaming In Color

From Kaffe’s bohemian beginnings in Big Sur to his royal rambles in England, his life unfolds to touch the hearts of painters, mosaic and fabric artists. But the book reaches deep into the souls of knitters who cannot resist replicating his colorful and whimsically patterned designs.

I took a workshop with Kaffe in Lenox, MA in the ‘80’s when his book, Glorious Color landed in the U.S. Following Kaffe's visionary career has influenced my use of color and my knitting ethic. It blew away my neutrally classic ideas about color. What...me use such revolutionary colors? What...me leave my unwoven yarn ends dangling? It was a lawless approach that I wholly embraced. All very freeing and bursting with wonder!

Kaffe Fassett knitted design.

Dreaming In Color reads like a visual pattern. The book is gorgeously designed, which is no surprise given publisher and friend, Melanie Falick’s expert eye for both editing and design.

It is the perfect book to top off the holiday and sustain a knitter throughout the long winter months.

Earlier this season, I thought about Kaffe Fassett when I chose the colors for my knitted gifts. I designed a simple hat (above) that stitched up quickly, and I’m glad a riot of colors landed in my knitting bag — orange, turquoise, chartreuse, ochre -- knitted with a thick, nubby, soft merino yarn.

 

In the openness of the New Year, let’s remember the best things in life are handmade – from our precious children to the coziest of hats.

Chunky Hat (free knitting pattern)

Materials 2 skeins Malabrigo Merino yarn Size 11 circular 11" needles Size 11 double pointed needles Tapestry needle

Directions Cast on 56 sts on circular needle. Place marker and join.

K2, P2 for approximately 6"

Begin decrease rows as follows (change to double pointed needles when it becomes too tight on the circular needles):

Row 1: k4, k2 tog, repeat around row Row 2: k around row Row 3: K3, k2 tog, repeat around row Row 4: k around row Row 5: K2, k2 tog, repeat around row Row 6: k around row Row 7: K1, K2 tog, repeat around row Row 8: K2 tog repeat until 6 sts remain.

Cut yarn, leaving 6” tail and thread tapestry needle, draw needle thru remaining 6 sts. Pull tightly, weave in ends.

Main photo: Ben Fink, model: Jordyn Cormier

Last Minute Holiday DIY

Did you think I was going to go all Scrooge on you and not extend my deep well of holiday DIY projects this year? Maybe you thought the holiday’s predictability with its earlier and earlier seasonal creep, and obsessive waste had taken over my good will and peace towards the blogosphere? Or, could it be you remember last year's A-Z Holiday DIY Gift-Guide burnout?

The truth is I've been collecting and squirreling away these three project ideas.

One of my greatest pleasures is gift-giving. While I may have ditched the mall and mostly shopped local with some online purchases sprinkled in, the bottom line on the greenest holiday gifts and decorations are still the ones that don't consume our planet's resources. They contribute in ways that bring beauty, sustainability and meaning...and they can't hold a candle to those that roll off assembly the line.

So, you have a choice: grab your keys and make that last mad dash to the mall, or make meaning.

Favorite Hanukkah Project of the Season

Twig Menorah: For a Hanukkah centerpiece, you just can't go wrong with a twig and a candle...or 8.

Favorite Christmas DIY Project of the Season

Crystal Chandelier Ornament (main image): I have a box of mix-matched crystals that my father-in-law gave me years ago. Just attach Christmas tree hooks to the crystals for a sparkling holiday reuse.

Favorite Food Project of the Season

After teaching young kids...and raising a few, I thought I was over playing with food, but sappiness took over and these Black Olive Penguins (cute, huh?) almost got the better of me. But I'll spare you such silliness and instead share these Good For You Whoopie Pies. Apparently, I've been living under a Whoopie Pie rock because I never had one of these compact morsels of sweet goodness until this past Thanksgiving. My daughter's college roommate visited and brought pumpkin Whoopie Pies from the Whoopie Pie capital of NY...Brooklyn. Enjoy!

Photo credits: HomeShoppingSpy, Shelterness, Eating Well

DIY Eco-Gifts For The Yoga Enthusiast On Your Holiday List

A regular yoga practice can be a welcome stress reliever. Yoga provides an opportunity for relaxation and quiet reflection that calms anxious holiday bodies and minds.

Whether the yoga enthusiast on your list practices slow-paced Hatha Yoga, or hot, hot Bikram Yoga, I bet they would love these 3 handmade yoga items:

1. The complementary practices of knitting and yoga make this Knitted Yoga Mat Bag an inspired gift.

2. Your yoga enthusiast will love these supportive, softly-sanded handmade Wooden Yoga Blocks.

3. I just love these Yoga Pose Cookies (hint, hint). Here's a healthy gingerbread cookie recipe that is sure to have a heart opening effect on your yogini.

For 8 more yoga gifts CLICK HERE.

Namaste.

Photos: Baked Ideas, Canadian Living, Yoga Direct