Not a lot of time to post this week, as I’ve been diving into the wonderful winter show hosted by The National Needlearts Association. It’s been an amazing experience. This time the role is the buyer and not a vendor. Big first for me!
Absolutely thrilled to have my knitting with me on the plane. Mr Twisted and myself flew out at about 5:00 central time and chased the sun almost all the way to California. I’m still working on the blanket above for my new niece and hope to finish before we head home!
“Treat yourself!” This beauty is my car for the week. It’s my dream car and was only $10 more to rent so why the heck not?!
Here are just a few of the new items I want to bring home for you.
What do you think? I’ll post more as soon as I stop ooooing and ahhhing and touching EVERYTHING!
So flipping excited. I’m going to the TNNA show starting tomorrow!! It’s so refreshing to attend a show and not have to work it. I’m going to shop and see all the things to see and learn all the things!
Most excited about seeing the new yarn…but it’s going to be super hard to be disciplined and not buy all the things. I’m going to set a budget and STICK TO IT!
Yeah yeah…I hear what you are all thinking “Cyndi stick to a yarn budget? Yeah right!” But for real y’all, I’m going to try.
What is TNNA? It’s The National Needlearts Association. These are the people who set the standards for all the yarny things we love and adore. I’ve been a member for awhile, and am excited to finally have the opportunity to attend one of their shows.
We’ve all heard the common superstitions of black cats crossing our paths, not walking under those ladders, and to be oh so careful with the mirror. What about the less common ones?
Today is Friday the 13th and we have a Spinning Class this afternoon. It made me think, “uh oh….that might be bad luck.” Goofy girl, I know!
What about the other strange, lesser known superstitions. Are there any involving yarn? After a quick google search and quite a few snort laughs after reading Franklin Habit’s post about the Lesser Known Yarn Superstitions. I dove a bit deeper into the web.
Most folks have heard about the Boyfriend Sweater Superstition. If you knit your boyfriend a sweater he’ll break up with you. Jerky! Now statistically, it takes awhile to knit a dang sweater, so yeah…the odds are not in your favor if you haven’t been with the dude long. Also, don’t knit him socks…apparently he’ll walk away. Oh and if you drop your scissors it means your lover is seeing someone behind your back. My advice is if you drop your scissors while knitting a sweater or socks just frog it and put yourself back on that dating site.
Anyone do any spinning during Christmas? You’d best take that yarn and make a sweater. Any yarn spun during the 12 Days of Christmas and then turned into a sweater is good for many things. Huh? That one isn’t super specific enough I mean isn’t ANY sweater knit from handspun yarn good for all things? Also, those who spin on Saturday nights won’t rest in their graves. Yikes! Guess I’m in for a restless afterlife.
As for the darling fiber critters we all love I found a few funny old superstitions. Goats are pretty cool for mowing down grass and mohair’s pretty dang sweet to work with, but did you know one of their feet can drive off evil spirits? No worries, if you can’t get your hands on a goat hoof, go for a hair off their beard, those spirits will run for the hills. Got a kid with whooping cough? Just let a sheep breath on them, they’ll be fixed right up. Strangely enough, it’s good luck to see a lamb but bad luck to see a pig. My mom collects pigs so it’s a darn good thing I collect sheep! They counteract each other right?
Speaking of hair, if you knit one of yours into a project and then give it to someone, it binds you together for life. But, but, what if you knit hair into that sweater or socks for the boyfriend? Hummmm… just don’t drop the scissors.
Next time you need to frog a project, just think of a person you don’t like. Ripping out your knitting while thinking of that annoying person will hex them. Does the cheating jerk who doesn’t appreciate hand knit items come to mind? Rip!
Unfinished projects will give the intended recipient bad luck. Holy crow…I have so many UFO’s! I’ve probably started something for just about all my close friends and family. D’oh! Next time your car breaks down or your house won’t sell, my bad!
If you hand a friend a pair of knitting needles it stabs the friendship. Most of my friends crochet so I’m pretty safe, but next time I’ll slide those needles across the table. Also, don’t stick your needles right into a ball of yarn! Bad juju.
I swear this last one was made up by a yarn store owner: Always cast on your next project immediately after finishing. It’s bad luck for your needles to be empty. It’s also bad luck to not support your local yarn shop! Hehe
What is the silliest superstition you know? I had quite a good time looking into these, would love to hear yours!!!
Not sure if it’s the new year, or is it a full moon, or maybe just this wacky weather but the crazies are out in full! I’m not talking about peeps in the shop…well not entirely. I love, LOVE, my eccentric crafty people, but have learned being in a shop full of yarn might make some folks loose their minds a bit. Oh I’ve had those moments too!
Recently, I went to Vogue Knitting Live in Minneapolis and while there took the opportunity to visit Stephen B’s. Yup, I lost my mind. Good thing I was with a friend who loves me and all my strangeness. I believe I gasped (A LOT), petted things, and might have even drooled a bit. The place has a fiber loft people…a whole freaking loft for all the spinning pretties.
Speaking of petting things… There was also the time I met Vicki Howell and just petted her while standing there. Yup like a crazy yarn lady whom might just knit up a coat using strands of her fallen hair. I was bonkers.
Knitters and crocheters do crazy things…make crazy things…and yes say a lot of crazy!
Speaking of fun, our next class is Saturday and it’s crochet! Woot woot! Our in house crochet diva, Hilary, says to come and take it easy! Don’t be uptight about it, be loose (I mean you are learning to become a hooker right). When you learn something new, it’s a journey. No one sits down and crochets the absolute perfect thing. Don’t be hard on yourself and allow yourself the freedom to learn and the flexibility to allow your freak flag to fly a little. We are surrounded by padded walls after all. Join us at
What has happened in the past two years? Life. Most definitely. Lots of crazy, funny events have happened in the shop and in my life. Why on earth have I not been sharing with you?
I came to an epiphany yesterday. As I was driving to work, it was super eerie. The wind was blowing, hard. The sky was gray. There were no cars. It was like the start of any oh crap moment in a bad movie. Debris mixed with leaves blew across my path. As I saw the wind swaying in the tress, I noticed all the squirrel nests. Being winter, the trees are stripped of their leaves and the nests are all exposed.
It made me think of my journey. I used to love to post and share all of my stories…then I opened the yarn store. Then I stopped posting. Why? That’s a really darn good question. Honestly, I got stuck thinking I wasn’t allowed to be all personal with you. I wasn’t allowed to share the ins and outs of daily life because I now had a Brick and Mortar business. I must be more professional. If I post, my grammar must be spot on…oh and it has to be super enlightening, and of course I must only talk about things I have in the shop and things I want to sell. Boring!!!! Who the heck wants to write all that much less read it!?!
What was my epiphany? The Twisted Purl is ME. It’s my company, my heart, my soul…ME! So why can’t I share me? I CAN! I’m giving myself permission to blog about things I want. I’m giving myself permission to post without a photograph, post about the lady who came in and told me about her 57 cats and how she loves them but is allergic to them (YES! That happened), post about the yarn I love, the yarn I’m making, or the patterns…the 900 patterns I see and want to start and sometimes start but rarely finish.
The squirrel nests made me realize sometimes our outsides need to be stripped away so we can focus on what is important. If you read my blog, thanks! I apologize for the lack of posting. Apologize for the inconsistency. Apologize for my all around sucking in sharing what all has been happening. I’m stripping it down. I’m not giving myself rules. It’s the outback of posting…no rules just right! I will be posting more! Thank you for joining me on my journey. It’s been an crazy ride and there are quite a few things I’ll catch you up on. Stay tuned!
Not sure if it’s the new year, or is it a full moon, or maybe just this wacky weather but the crazies are out in full! I’m not talking about peeps in the shop…well not entirely. I love, LOVE, my eccentric crafty people, but have learned being in a shop full of yarn might make some folks loose their minds a bit. Oh I’ve had those moments too!