Yarn Soup

Summer Knitting (and Crocheting) Made Simple

You may be tempted to slow down on projects during the summer; but there are plenty of reasons to continue practicing your craft year-round!

As with any skill or knowledge, the more you practice, the better the results!
It's a great time to work ahead on gifts for the holidays and other occasions.
Knit and crochet projects are portable! They can go anywhere you go.
You can keep your hands busy while enjoying other leisure activities, such as sporting events, outdoor music, and audiobooks.

Of course, not every type of project is summer worthy. What you need is something lightweight, portable, and engaging but not overly challenging. Here are some suggestions:

Bags and Décor

Summer and bags just go together, especially in durable cotton or linen blends. They are fun to make, lighten the look of any outfit or display, and are endlessly practical. I just finished a market bag in beautiful Noro Asaginu, and I’m looking forward to tackling some household décor with the chunky Cotton Puff.

Mittens and hats

Small and portable, mittens and hats are a fun, low-risk way to practice skills or add new ones to your repertoire. They are also perfect as gifts, whether for yourself, someone you love, or a local charitable organization. I recommend Huasco Aran Kettle Dyes for beautiful cables (such as in the Carolina Hat and Fingerless Mitts) or Colorato Nodo for a simple hat with visual impact.

Socks

Not only are socks extremely portable, but they are also fairly meditative to make. Plus, you’ll appreciate having them when sandal weather is over. Cotton sock blends are easier than ever to find and work for more than just socks—consider CoBaSi for solid colors or Bamboo Pop Sock for variegated.

Garments

Summer is the perfect time to make lightweight tops and cardigans to layer and enjoy throughout the year. My latest project is the Staple Linen Top in Zooey; but I’m already looking ahead to Lacinia in Eco Organic Cotton Hand Paints.

Can't decide? Try Yarn Soup to Go!

Need a quick, no-brainer project to keep your hands occupied during a holiday weekend? Dish cloths are a great go-to when you're between projects. The perfect showcase for new skills or fun designs, dish cloths are quick, practical and they make great gifts. That's why we've assembled three of our softest, best-selling 100% cottons into one bag, coordinated by color, so you can easily grab and go. Only $25! Each assortment will make up to 7 dish cloths.

Want to Change the World? Try Knitting

Hello, my yarnie friends. How are you? I hope and pray you are doing well. I know this has been a tough year, in so many ways. I personally have faced different challenges and hardships; but I have also been uplifted and gifted with many blessings that are too great to ignore. This has led to feelings of joy and hope despite what seems like a never-ending barrage of bad news.

One case in point is this beautiful reflection from the recently deceased Cat Bordhi, the infamous knitwear designer, teacher and author responsible for promulgating such techniques as the Sweet Tomato Heel and the Möbius Cast-On:

My greatest joy IS being able to help my students discover that they are capable of so much more than they dreamed. They realize that they can make changes and handle the outcome, can be creative, and can trust themselves both in knitting and beyond. Knitting has the most marvelous ability to free up the knitter as a human being, while masquerading as innocent knitting. It is actually the best personal trainer you will ever find, offering spiritual guidance all along the way. I am so glad this is what shall carry me Home over the next week or so. That and the arms and love of my daughter Jenny, grandson Charlie, and small circle of devoted friends and family, and vast circle of knitters—like you. I thank you for your love and patience and goodness. May we all go Home with needles and yarn in our arms. (Excerpted from Modern Daily Knitting: "A Note from Cat Bordhi")

Her final words of love and encouragement for her devoted fans perfectly sum up my own feelings and aspirations—for the needle arts, for myself, and for you. The reason Yarn Soup exists is not simply to supply the world with beautiful yarn—it is to transform the world through the power of the needle arts and the relationships formed with other makers on the journey. Knitting and crochet have been a part of my ongoing personal renaissance, and I want them to be a part of yours too.

I want you to experience the satisfaction of overcoming your own anxieties, doubts, fears, and self-defeating actions and attitudes as you create something new, which truthfully WOULD NOT EXIST without your initiative, sacrifice, and striving. Are there other scarves in the world? Of course. But there is none exactly like yours. The quality of the outcome does not matter—by working with your hands to make something out of yarn, you are participating in a Creative Act, and the world becomes different. You become different. You grow in confidence; your generosity, love and creativity find a new outlet; your mind quiets down; and the imperfections of life are taken in stride.

I know that the needle arts are what we need right now. In a way, they are what the world needs right now. The world needs people who will allow beauty and goodness to lure them into a new way of thinking, feeling and acting. It needs people whose undaunted exercise of creativity opens a path for them to be courageous in other parts of their lives. It needs a community of people who find each other because of a common love of yarn, and are thus bonded to others with whom they might not otherwise connect.

Cat Bordhi knew and believed in these principles, these truths, so deeply, she not only focused her professional and creative life around them, she allowed them to become the final wisdom she would impart to us in this life. The world is different and better because of Cat Bordhi. It can also be different and better because of you.

So how has yarn changed your life? What has knitting or crochet (or name your favorite fiber art form) meant to you personally? What have you learned about yourself? How can knitting or crocheting help you fulfill your commitment to growing and changing as a person?

Crafting a New Normal

Hello everyone . . .

How are you doing?

I'm hanging in there, as I hope all of you are. Life is certainly very surreal right now, but I am attempting to maintain as much normality (if not better-than-normal activity) as possible. I’m getting outside for walks as much as I can, taking time to do more deep cleaning and organizing than I’ve tackled in a while, and trying to elevate in my mind and heart any joys or reasons to be grateful. Here are a few I’ve identified:

1. I am mostly an introvert, so having an opportunity to be at home or work on projects alone and uninterrupted is somewhat exciting for me! I have time and space to let my thoughts meander while I keep my hands productive doing the things I love: knitting, cooking, writing, creating.

2. As a small business owner, I feel like I am never caught up. There never seems to be enough time to meet the demands of my business or needs of my customers and still watch out for my own needs and that of my family and friends. I’m viewing this lull in normal life as an opportunity to catch up on some (but admittedly not all) aspects of life, if not reset my current path and establish better routines. I find this healthy and healing.

3. Given #1 and #2, I have no excuse not to finish those WIPs or sew up/weave in ends on projects that have been piled up and ignored for months. And what a feeling of accomplishment to finally cross these items off my list!

4. Being home more and a little more isolated has given me more time to spend with my husband, to think and talk about future plans, and to focus on what is really important to us. Yes, there are irritations, and yes, I miss the variety of having other people around; but I am grateful for this opportunity to strengthen and grow the most important relationship in my life.

5. I am grateful for the technology that enables us to “gather” in virtual ways, to participate in faith activities, to reach out to friends and family, not to mention continue business operations! Although nothing can replace in-person contact, I have found myself surprised and delighted by the opportunity to host a virtual birthday party with family spread far and wide, or to meet up with other knitters from the comfort of my own home. Other victims of pandemics throughout history were far more isolated than I am now, thanks to technological advances; and I am grateful that, for the most part, we can still be "together" now, even when we must be apart.

Thanks to that same technology, many of you have contacted me about shipping products to you, and I am so grateful that you think of Yarn Soup to meet your crafting needs! Please continue to let me know how I can help you during this time.

New Year, New Website, New Resolutions!

Do you ever start a new year feeling uneasy about all you left undone in the last year? I’m sure some of you do, or at least, I suspect this is a fairly common and natural thing to feel. Except for the most ethereal of us, I would say most people derive a great deal of satisfaction from the completion of tasks begun; or if not that, we feel more at peace when there is nothing we perceive to be hanging over our heads. I can leave any number of creative works in progress hanging out there in the “someday” pile, but I dislike the feeling of long-standing administrative tasks hanging over my head. Shiver! Escaping that feeling is probably why I have so many WIPs . . .

This revised and updated website is one of those things I’ve felt hanging over my head. While I’m sure it is technically straightforward to set up a beautiful, functional website these days, this task is out of my wheelhouse (I would spend infinitely more time repairing mistakes in lace) and therefore seems to require too much time and energy for me to justify withdrawing from my other responsibilities for anything more than brief moments at a time. But here it is, at last! Many thanks to the team at Rain Retail for their patience and persistence in making this happen! I hope you will enjoy checking back here often for happenings at Yarn Soup.

If your outstanding tasks include your UFOs (unfinished objects) and WIPs (works in progress), let Yarn Soup be the Rain Retail to your yarn-related projects. We love yarn, we love helping you solve problems, we LOVE celebrating your successes! We are here to help you move past those feelings of dread and get you back on the road to completion. Join us in 2020 for any and all of the following gatherings—let’s make this your best yarn year yet!

Happy Hour! | Every Tuesday and Thursday from 3–5 p.m.

Open Craft Night | Second Thursday of the Month from 5–8 p.m.

Charity Crafting | Second Saturday of the Month from 1–3 p.m.