Yarns at Yin Hoo - A Podcast About the Fiber Arts and Other Post Apocalyptic Skills

Episode 221

DISTELFINK, my new design for a colorwork beanie in fingering weight yarn, will be available on Ravelry April 15th. I adore Meghan of Distelfink Fiber,

April 14, 20191 Min Reading

Episode 220

This episode is a primer for getaway participants, and includes an overview of the retreat, information about lodging, dining and activities, plus tips for packing.

March 31, 20191 Min Reading

Episode 219

News & Announcements I’m in need of a few test knitters for my new design — a colorwork beanie. Please get in touch via Ravelry

March 24, 2019May 5, 20192 Min Reading

Episode 218

This week I talk about knitting and sewing projects, recipes, and a recent purchase of leggings and a sports bra from Girlfriend Collective. If you’d

March 10, 2019March 11, 20191 Min Reading

Episode 217

In this episode, I work on cultivating a contemporary warrior princess vibe with a completed Nimue sweater, plus, new cast-ons and and my discovery of

February 24, 2019February 24, 20191 Min Reading

Episode 216

In this episode I share the details of my newest sock design, Venus & Cupid, as well as completed and just-begun knitting projects. As I

February 9, 20193 Min Reading

Episode 215

News & Announcements contact me via PM on Ravelry if you’d like to enter the lottery for the Knit Local Getaway the winter session of

January 19, 20192 Min Reading

Episode 214

Happy New Year! In this episode, I share an update on recent projects, and respond to prairiepoet’s question about the tubular cast on and bind

January 13, 2019January 13, 20192 Min Reading

Arrows and Doorways

The design for this super-cozy cowl was inspired by textiles in a hotel lobby. Concentric geometric shapes kept playing in my mind until finally I was able to chart the pattern and get it onto my needles. The interplay of this chevron-like patterning has a mesmerizing effect–while you’re knitting and when you wear the finished accessory.

Knit up a cowl with yarn from your stash, adding some magical new mini-skeins from your advent calendar, or exchange leftover yarn with a friend. The design invites frequent color changes, and makes an ideal knit for the advent season. It could be just as striking knit with two high-contrast colors.

While most cowls of this type are seamed within a band of a single color, this pattern incorporates a technique called stranded donut grafting, an incredibly clever and completely seamless graft that allows you to maintain colorwork patterning so that your starting and ending rounds are undetectable. Really! With many possibilities for color play and a new technique to add to your skill set, this cowl pattern is really an opportunity for knitters to level-up!

NEW PATTERN DESIGN!

ONE DARK BLUE NIGHT

This hat is the third in a series of patterns inspired by teachings in Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ Women Who Run with the Wolves. This time, I drew inspiration from Estés’ retelling of a Japanese tale, Tsukina Waguma or “The Crescent Moon Bear,” in which a young woman travels to the cave of an incredibly intimidating and ferocious bear. She makes several journeys to the cave, leaving food and quickly retreating, until “one dark blue night,” she musters the courage to stand her ground and ask for what she seeks--one hair from a moon-shaped patch on the bear’s chest--which she is granted. The young woman returns, triumphant, to the old healer who has sent her on this quest. She believes this single hair is the magic ingredient in solving the problem that plagues her. She holds it forth, but the healer tosses the hair into the flames. The young woman is in despair until she realizes the true lesson of her quest: that using her determination, courage, and patience, as she did with the crescent moon bear, will help her to confront the challenge at hand.

The moon phase motif of this colorwork hat is meant to capture the magic of a dark blue night--when the moon shines brightly overhead, the frosty air sparkles with possibility, and we succeed in summoning accumulated wisdom from deep within ourselves so that we can apply it to our own healing. Choose colors to conjure a wintery night sky, or select a palette of your signature colors.

Available on Ravelry December 20th.