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Episode 20

December 22, 2013April 14, 2017 by Sara

This episode includes segments titled: The Back Porch, The Front Porch, Off the Shelf, Ever-expanding Skill Set, and Double Happiness. One of my discoveries this week is the Danish word hyyge (hYOO-guh). Although the rough translation to English is “cozy,” that term does not begin to address the concept of well-being and happiness embraced by Danes, and especially during the holiday season. Cultivating a warm and inviting atmosphere in my home during the holidays is one skill that I continue to improve. Decorating, organizing, building a fire, and cooking up tasty new recipes are just some of the ways I practice the art of hygge during the Christmas season.

The Back Porch

Soon to be finished is my advent scarf. I’ve been working on this scarf since December 1, but haven’t managed to complete the ideal one-chart-per-day. Most of the charts are 15 rows, plus a 3-row divider section. The gorgeous snowflakes are 27 rows, and take several days for me to complete. The other complication is that I’m using a bit more yarn than I anticipated. So, I think I’ll end up with 20 designs in my advent scarf, and I’ll add a ribbed band to each end of the scarf. The pattern is by Tricia Weatherston (zemy on Ravelry). This should be finished in time to give to my mother on Christmas day.

The Front Porch

On of my unanticipated purchases at Rhinebeck was a set of 100 sew-on labels from It’s Mine. These arrived shortly before Thanksgiving. I really like the simple styling. Now, I need to sew these onto each of my knitted gifts before giving. Sewing the labels is more time-consuming than I anticipated, but I think I’m getting better with each try.

Off the Shelf

Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting edited by Ann Hood

Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing by Anya von Bremzen

Double-Happiness

I first enjoyed avocado toast at Cafe Gitane in New York City. Simple and delicious, this toast looks festive enough to serve for Christmas breakfast or brunch. Mash together a ripe avocado, add salt and lemon juice, then spread over a piece of hearty whole-grain bread. Drizzle with a high-quality olive oil and sprinkle with roughly-cracked pink peppercorns. Serve with freshly-brewed espresso and watch the birds flying busily about the feeders on a lazy winter morning.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM YARNS AT YIN HOO

2 thoughts on “Episode 20”

Jaime MacDonough says:

December 23, 2013 at 2:29 pm

A nice listen and enjoy seeing the photos of the beanie on a rock post. Scarf looks amazing. As does the toast. Something I’ll pass on to Sarah to create.
Lara Moody says:

December 22, 2013 at 5:32 pm

My tiny tip for surviving the holiday bustle is to begin my days (as many as possible) with a hot soak in the tub. I gather all the holiday scented candles I can find, pick a soothing bath salt, and make some time for my inner mermaid. Listmaking is something that also soothes me (creating order feels good), so I take a small pad and pen with me. Once my list is made, I’m free to forget it and enjoy the quiet meditative time before I spend my day accomplishing (most of) the items on that list. In the evening, I may even indulge in a second soak!

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.

Yarns at Yin Hoo

Episode 20

2 thoughts on “Episode 20”

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