Marly Bird's Blog, page 199

ANNOUNCING: The Crochet Awards

Marly has just received a  message that she’s been chosen to judge the new Crochet Awards formally known as The Flammies! 

The website says:

The Flamies are the Flaming Hook of Justice Awards, also known as The Crochet Awards. Created by Founder and Fearless Leader of the Crochet Liberation Front, Laurie Wheeler, the awards are a celebration of the best of what the crochet universe has to offer.

Congratulations Marly!

More details are coming soon.

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Lindsey Martin of Erin.Lane bags and New YARN THING Sponsor

Lindsey Martin of Erin.Lane Bags and New YARN THING Sponsor made room in her busy production time to visit the Yarn Thing Podcast with Marly Bird and share what’s new for 2015.

Lindsey and her Mom, Lisa, learned to knit with her aunt one Christmas. After losing needles and not finding needles cases ‘cute enough’, Lindsey convince Lisa to make on for her. She took it to her local knit night and everyone fell in love with it. At first they made them out of the kindness of their hearts but the demand made them realize very quickly that they had a business! In fact the knit group became market research.

In 2006, dad had to retire with disability, so Lisa and Lindsey began to work on the bags as a wholesale business. The aunt convinced them and supported their adventure to Stitches South in Atlanta to sale retail the first time. Marly was a first customer there! (I love that they had a rule that only one of them could freak out at-a-time, because that first time is a giant step.) They went to Stitches Midwest, Stitches East and then Stitches West, getting feedback from people they meet at these events and others.

Lindsey says her mom was really good at matching fabrics. They often shopped at their local big box store, but they would sometimes have to venture off the beaten path, maybe all over town, to find things that looked good together. Now, she spends a lot of time online looking at several different distributors to match fabrics.

Last year, Lindsey broadened their fabrics available by working with designers. The first was Kristin Omdahl, and they were very popular at Stitches East this past October. Working with Spoonflower, she has also created bags for Marly Bird (!), Buffalo Wool Co., Bar-maids and Knitting Rose.

Marly’s favorite bags are the Two-fer, the Sock Bag and the XL project bags. Lindsey explained how the trial and error process for these designs, and the e-tablet cases made with adjust able magnets the same as the needle cases.  Check out the Erin.Lane Bags website, follow her on Facebook and Twitter and of course Etsy.

I found the iTunes link from when Lindsey was on the podcast in November 2013. CLICK HERE if you’d like to hear that too!

If you missed getting to hear this episode live, it is archived where it aired originally: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/yarnthing/2015/01/27/lindsey-martin-erinlane-bags-and-new-yarn-thing-sponsor or at iTunes

OFF TOPIC: go and vote at Craftsy for your favorite bloggers!

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Nicole Snow, A Darn Good Yarn

Nicole Snow, A Darn Good Yarn founder, made for the perfect FRIDAY guest on the Yarn Thing Podcast with Marly Bird.

Nicole shared with us that her company, begun 2008, was a way for her to get her own hands on great fibers to create with, while learning to knit! A Darn Good Yarn gathers recycled fibers and offers about 90% reclaimed through their various products. Many of the fibers are collected by about 300 families and contains silk, saving it from landfills. Thus taking care of families in India, saving waste and filing regular taxes as a business all of which contribute to global economy.

Nicole began knitting with a scarf of recycled yarn. Her mother-in-law taught her and she found help to better her skill with online videos. She has kept her craft fun and whimsical for herself and others. also knitting on a simple level, because she needs the creativity, the colorful textures in her life but without the complicated, time consuming challenges that knitting can become. She found her first materials ‘didn’t mean anything to her’ and had another business (she refers to it as her “Fisher-Price” business) where she imported rugs and things from India. Through that she found responsibly sourced materials and followed through to A Darn Good Yarn! The Website: http://www.darngoodyarn.com/

Anamika Silk Yarn (It’s from silk waste! and fairly traded)

The yarns are of three categories: Ribbon, Hand-spun and Fabric Strips. Ribbon is created by torn silk saris with the edges are sewn together. Some is kept in the orignal colors, some of the colors can be stripped and overdyed to acheive another brilliant, multitonal yarn. Hand-spun might be silk remnants including banana fiber, hemp, newspaper which is hand-spun generally by drop spindle and the Fabric Strips are mechanically spun but hand-dyed.

A Darn Good Yarn was operated out her house from it’s founding. When she and her husband moved to Schenectady, NY, get made the big leap to a brick and mortar store there, opening in December, that has been warmly received by the community. They are supporting those women and their families in Nepal, so they offer ready-made articles as well. The items include clothing and accessories, home decor. A Darn Good Yarn also supplies to local yarn stores through wholesale, which is a large portion of the company’s income.

Finding that through business, she can change the world, Nicole hopes to continue offering items to an admittedly mostly women audience supporting mostly women in impoverished circumstances. For instance, on her most recent trip to India, she met a 17-year-old girl who spins the banana fibers, who says she’s saving to go to medical school. That yarn may become a wonderful scarf or shawl to adorn a knitter in a warm climate like the fine piece of knitted jewelry that it really is!

If you are not able to travel to New York, A Darn Good Yarn is excited to be coming to Stitches West next month follow them to hear about their special promotion that they are putting together at either the Facebook page or the Ravelry group. Marly has made Nicole promise to come to the Pajama Party!

If you didn’t get to hear this live, it is archived where it aired originally: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/yarnthing/2015/01/23/nicole-snow-a-darn-good-yarn or at iTunes:

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Yarn Thing Sponsor Buffalo Wool Co

Yarn Thing Sponsor, Buffalo Wool Co, owners Ron and Theresa Miskin were the guests today on our unique-because-it’s-MONDAY espisode of the Yarn Thing Podcast with Marly Bird. But that didn’t seem to throw them off a bit!

The Year 2014 was how for Buffalo Wool Co, they were nominated for Martha Stewart’s American Made competion. Ron says that one of the nice things about that is that Buffalo Wool Co received an invitation to be part of the next Quentin Tarantino movie (about bounty hunters in Colorado wilderness ~ sounds like they really NEEDED some bison warmth!).

They also have been welcomed to Paris Fashion. This Thursday on the runway of the MEN’S Paris Fashion week, Buffalo Wool Company is part a line of men’s sweaters for Louis Vuitton. Such exciting news! (Ron says it’s not what they imagined when they started picking up bison fluff in the pasture!) They won’t be in Paris, they will be at the National Bison Association in Denver later this week.

In fact, this spring sounds like it’s adventure packed for Betsy, their newly converted delivery van. After this week at the National Bison Association, they will be at Great American Outdoor Show, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in February. Also: they will be at Madison Knitters Guild in Madison, Wisconsin, in February. Dallas Fiber Fest or DFW in March is great fun for them. In April, they will be back in Colorado for the Interweave Yarn Fest, Stitches South in Nashville, Tennesse then back to Maryland Sheep and Wool.

For those of us that can’t be in those places when they are, they have been part of Knit Crate shipment recently. (You may remember when Andrea of Knit Crate was on Yarn Thing last month, she shared the shipment with Buffalo Wool Co.)They created a fabric that is was used in an Erin.Lane Bag, and that’s been included in their Holiday knit club with Signature Needles. Year of Making is a current work in project.

Buffalo Wool Co. have named Lynette Meek as their official designer, in fact they consider her a design dynamo. She submitted a design for the Stevie Nicks ‘Rhiannon’ contest last year and the will be featuring the design later this year. She’s created 18 designs in the last year or so. They have also had to bring on a Judy Ellis as a design and tech editor. Really the growth from the kitchen table to warehouse, now, wows them as it does us, their fans.

Marly and Tammy: Tammy is wearing the Buffalo Wool Co Derby, look for that when you see them, or find it at their website (click on the picture)

Their website is http://thebuffalowoolco.com/ and you can find ready-to-wear items as well as their wonderful yarns. Lately their Mystery Yarn has been popular as it gives someone a chance to try some bison without having to figure out what to order. It may contain some Heaven which is 100% bison down fiber, or Sexy which is bison and silk or possibly Tracks which is bison and merino blend.

They have a Ravelry Group! http://www.ravelry.com/groups/the-herd and are very active on Facebook.

If you missed getting to hear the episode live, it is still archived at the original location http://www.blogtalkradio.com/yarnthing/2015/01/19/yarn-thing-sponsor-buffalo-wool-co or you can listen in iTunes.

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Craftsy, CEO John Levisay

Craftsy, CEO John Levisay, was invited to join us today because they are a wonderful sponsor of the Yarn Thing podcast with Marly Bird, which also proves how smart they are with their wonderful product (interactive online classes!) but to help us spread the joy of creativity!

John Levisay, CEO of Craftsy

John declares himself a wanna-be musician, interested in cooking (the cake decorating course has been a big hit with him and his daughter, almost 7 years old!) and being with Craftsy has reminded him of learning to build models with his father as a child. He finds he’s interested in the process of starting with nothing and creating an end project to be proud of.

Craftsy began with the idea that an online class could be a little more that just a power-point learning opportunity, with high quality video and learning content, to be able to interact with instructors. It began with quilting and knitting and has expanded to cooking (including cake decorating!), photography, metal-smithing & woodworking, gardening, beadwork and other fiber arts, like weaving and spinning.

Americans spend more than $29 billion a year on crafting, according to the Craft & Hobby Association. Seizing upon this is Craftsy, a Colorado-based tech company that offers interactive online video classes, now watched by around 3 million viewers. Launched in 2010, the booming online school pulled in revenue of $23 million in 2013, pushing it into the number 19 spot on Forbes America’s Most Promising Companies. The website is: http://www.craftsy.com/

The company has grown so much in that short time, employing a staff of 30 to now over 200. John says they are very creative people! Class listing when John appeared on Yarn Thing last time was about 200 hundred options, now about 600. The cost to students ranges from FREE to between $20 and $40, which is very affordable, especially when considering the class once purchased is yours forever, so you can retake and perfect your skills. The length of time ranges up to 6 hours, so the ability to come back to it enables you to stop and come back to it with ease.

Now that technology is improving, students are able to watch their courses with any device, including watching on the living room big screen television! Craftsy is constantly improving it’s video for clarity to these devices, intuitive and easy to use. They have also begun to offer supplies to the students, which fulfills a need to the student who may not be in an area where materials used in the class are offered. You can pick up items ala carte, or in a kit! John also feels that when a student takes their new skill to a local craft store it benefits the whole craft community. Offering patterns as another platform helps the designers.

In 2015, John says Craftsy is working to offer classes through Joanns and Michaels. Craftsy was featured recently in an in-flight magazine on Southwest Airlines, and in other places, the word is getting out. You can follow them on Facebook and they have a wonderful blog.

Marly has three classes through Craftsy, you can use these links to purchase them at a great discount. Her most popular is the Mittens & Gloves, which gives a variety of options so you never have to make the same hand-gear twice! The other two are to help create garments that fit, Curvy Knits and Curvy Crochet!

Just for fun, I found the link to the earlier episode with Craftsy, from 2013. If you missed hearing all TODAY’S the fun, it’s still available in the archive where it aired: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/yarnthing/2015/01/15/craftsy-inc-ceo-john-levisay or iTunes.

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Kisment Andrews, of Bar-Maids, NEW Yarn Thing SPONSOR

Kismet Andrews, of Bar-Maids today’s guest so we can introduce her NEW SPONSOR on the Yarn Thing Podcast with Marly Bird. SO exciting! She says she creates ‘remarkable eco-luscious skin-care for everyone who has Skin in the game.’

This was the profile description she sent when we were setting up her show:  Kismet Andrews is a moon-gazing, nature loving, modern day nomad in relentless pursuit of creating balance between the constant flow of creative ideas of her right brain and practical left brained matters like numbers. The love child of a stud muffin and a princess, it was her Grandmother who taught her at a young age how to stir the pot. After studying midwifery in her thirty’s, she spent many years in a conventional healthcare setting providing mediation/conflict resolution, executive support, and developing campus wide projects. She ditched all that a few years ago, returned to the garden, grabbed her bowl and spoon, and gave birth to Bar-Maids. 

Kismet says her other Grandmother, (father’s mother) taught her to knit and crochet at a young age. Her Mother’s mother always made this “goop” and was always being thanked for her wonderful product. It was a cream color and included lanolin, caster-oil, petroleum jelly… Kismet heard the stories of what grandma’s product had done and when she became older developed an appreciation for it, although some of the elements were not something she would put on her face. 

At first, her desire was to create something simple, organic and not wasteful. The moisturizing bar’s name was given it by a high-school football player who had initially sneered at the thought of skin-care but when it was pointed out that girls will like to hold the softer hands of other players, he changed his mind and encouraged others to try this ‘lo-lo’ bar and the Bar-Maids was born. (If you click on that link, please take a moment to check out the list of scents!)

She had worked in a hospital and at some point reached a crossroads where she had to decide, did she need to continue there or devote herself to full-time crafting of this product that gave comfort to so many. When she looked at it that way, it became obvious. By listening to her her customer support base about their concerns is where many of her products come from. From Lo-lo moisturizing bars, which completely absorbs and you can wash your hands several times without re-applying. Also Lo-lo for Lips balm in several ‘flavors’, O’ For Feet-Sake which contains tea-tree and hemp seed oils, Southern Comfort, Lo-lo for Cuticles (I’m using and find I don’t have the little skin jags that snag in my knitting yarns!) Face Pudding, Squeaky Clean Soaps, and working on creamy moisturizing soaps as well as deodorants.

Brand-new to Bar-Maids is a subscription box, (the first one, with the OUTLANDER theme has sold out, sadly…) where in periodic cycles another themed box of wonderful scented products is delivered to your mailbox. Some of the kit packages are bundled with a Namaste bag (The Almost Everything) or Erin.Lane Bags. (Coincidentally, Erin.Lane Bags is the other Brand-New Yarn Thing Podcast Sponsor, will be on next week!)

Bar-maids items have an extensive list of fragrances. Kismet says ‘some scents just lift you off your feet of the ground and sort of float, does something wonderful for your spirit.’ She has also some items for baby, which demonstrates her concern for truly helpful products for everyone. Your local yarn shop can offer Bar-Maids products, too, the information is found on the website: https://bar-maids.com/ at the top left ‘Retailers’.

We’re looking forward to seeing Kismet at Stitches West in February, as will Marly be teaching and rockin’ the Pajama Party!

If you missed getting to hear this LIVE it is still available in the archives where it aired originally http://www.blogtalkradio.com/yarnthing/2015/01/13/kismet-andrews-of-bar-maids-new-yarn-thing-sponsor and also in iTunes!

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Free Crochet Cowl Pattern Effortless

Effortless Free Crochet Cowl Pattern!  Made with one skein of super bulky yarn in each color and a large crochet hook it is a quick, fun and fast project. From the moment I finished this project I’ve wanted to wear it 24/7. As a matter of fact, I did wear it out the same day I finished it and received a TON of compliments.

If you are looking for a quick project, with lovely yarn and a little direction along the way you don’t have to look any further. Trust me, you can’t go wrong with the written instructions and the HD YouTube Tutorial for the Long Double Crochet Linen Stitch.

The yarn used in this free crochet pattern is Yarn Bee, “Effortless Super Bulky” which comes in very fashionable colors. It is also 80% acrylic and 20% alpaca which makes it super soft. Choose two that are complimentary and right for you. This particular sample is for ME! As I mentioned in the introduction, I’ve been wearing this piece since I finished it! I love it so much. Are you ready to make your own?

Gentle reminder:  It has just come to my attention that many people are unaware that free patterns still have copyrights and it is not legal to distribute. I ask that if you like the pattern and want to tell your friends that you share the link to the pattern. By doing so you are allowing me to make a little money via advertising which in turn makes it possible for me to keep designing fun and free patterns.

Thanks so much!

*Disclaimer: this post includes affiliate links**

Effortless Cowl
PATTERN DETAILS
Measurements

Body of piece: 26″ long (folded in half) and 8 1/2″ wide.

YarnMarly Bird.

Sivia Harding, Knitting Designer Teacher

Sivia Harding, Knitting Designer and Teacher was our guest today on the Yarn Thing podcast with Marly Bird.

Sivia says that she learned to crochet and learned at a very young age, but wanted to learn to knit and tried on her own but didn’t learn till much later when she moved to Canada after she had left all her other crafts behind. Her husband sent her to the library, where she borrowed a video and was ON HER WAY, almost immediately designing. She was greatly attracted to knitting lace when she met a friend in person from Knit List and saw her finished UNBLOCKED knitted piece. Sivia owned one of Barbara Walker’s stitch treasuries and understood charting with admiration. A one point she picked up a box of weaving singles through her knitting guild and with it she designed a few pieces that are still in existence.

When Sivia first started offering her patterns, she printed them and offered them through Local Yarn Stores but things have certainly changed for her with the internet and with Ravelry. Her Ravelry Designer page has many beautiful designs, many include beads: http://www.ravelry.com/designers/sivia-harding

Beading came naturally and her designs also changed from garment adornment to jeweled embellishments. At the time, people strung the beads before creating their projects, and often became discouraged with the starting and stopping of using beads in there areas. She finds for her the method of using a crochet hook worked for her in a more spontaneous way.

Sivia is working with Knitting Boutique with sweaters and accessories. She’s really inspired by their yarns, from their sources and milling methods. She enjoys teaching at the smaller events like the upcoming Madrona event for the intimate settings.  Teaching what she loves about designing in this way is very enjoyable to her. Sivia’s website: http://www.siviaharding.com/ where she lists her upcoming events.

Sivia Harding is a participant in the Visionary Authors Group founded by Cat Bordhi. From this has come Sivia’s collections and digital books, and the upcoming Harmonia’s Rings  Collections.

 

 

 

If you missed getting to hear this live, it’s still available in the archive: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/yarnthing/2015/01/08/sivia-harding-knitting-designer-teacher or in iTunes

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