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

Episode 156

This episode contains the following segments: The Back Porch, The Front Porch, Ever-expanding Skill Set, and Off the Shelf. Resources for Healthy Relationships February is

February 16, 2017February 16, 20172 Min Reading

Episode 155

This episode includes the following segments: The Back Porch, Ever-expanding Skill Set, and Off the Shelf. The Back Porch Ever-expanding Skill Set Curried Purple Cabbage

February 5, 2017February 5, 20171 Min Reading

Episode 154

This episode contains a personal narrative about my participation in the DC Women’s March on January 21st. Thank you to everyone who marched or supported

January 29, 2017January 29, 20172 Min Reading

Episode 153

This episode includes the following segments: Ever-expanding Skill Set, Yarn Lover at Large, and Off the Shelf. If you entered the lottery for the Knit

January 29, 20172 Min Reading

Episode 152

I’ve been thinking about how many small steps build to a momentous journey. The Back Porch Ever-expanding Skill Set Off the Shelf Lucille Clifton

January 15, 20172 Min Reading

Episode 151

The Front Porch I’m working on a recipe for my socks. I think I have the details worked out, and I’ve knit the cuff for

January 8, 20171 Min Reading

Episode 150

Knit Local Getaway Listen to Episode 149 for more information. For links and pricing, visit the getaway page. The lottery opened on January 1 and

January 2, 20173 Min Reading

Episode 149

In this brief episode, I provide details about upcoming Knit Local Getaway in Washington County, New York. You can find additional information on the Getaway

December 30, 2016December 30, 20161 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.