Yarn – Page 2 – The Oaxacaborn Blog

(Remember a few months back when I talked briefly about a yarn company which produces yarn made from unusual fibers like recycled saris, bananas, and nettles? Well, today Nicole, the director of Darn Good Yarn, is with us to tell us more!)
Guest blog - Nicole of Darn Good Yarn - Recycled Sari Ribbon

My mom thinks it’s cool that I have my internet friends because I never leave my office long enough to make the real-in-the-flesh kind. It’s not that I’m anti-social, I just own my own business, Darn Good Yarn. And like a child it consumes me day and night. So, when Gina “@”‘d me on Twitter to guest blog about my child…errr business I was all about it!

At the start of 2008, I wanted to make a difference and I needed to be stimulated creatively since I didn’t have that in my “past life” (I was active duty Air Force). So, I merged these ideals and Darn Good Yarn was born.

Darn Good Yarn - recycled silk yarn, recycled silk ribbon, exotic craft supplies, recycled sari

Continue reading “DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT :: Guest Blog: Recycled Silk Ribbon from Nicole of ‘Darn Good Yarn’” →

Handmade

a solution for all those leftover skeins of yarn: the granny stripe blanket

January 13, 2011October 12, 2011 Gina @ Oaxacaborn

you know those odd lengths of yarn that are left over after you finish a knit or crochet project? the 1/8ths of a skein which aren’t quite big enough to make anything out of? i’ve got a whole basket of those.

so, i’ve started a crochet project that will probably take the rest of my life to finish. i blame ali from snipsnaphappy and michelle from scissor quirk for this new obsession: creating a giant (and i do mean giant) blanket from all those yarn remnants. this blanket is over 60 inches wide, and when complete, will cover an entire full-size mattress.

there’s just one problem. it’s way too addicting! i couldn’t put it down yesterday.

Handmade, Little Style

box of knitted baby goodies from a dear friend

December 30, 2010March 21, 2014 Gina @ Oaxacaborn

if we’re connected on twitter, you’ve already had a sneak peek into the box of hand-knitted goodies my dear friend lauren sent for the baby. lauren has been my kindred spirit for years now, and she was one of my bridesmaids when i got married two years ago. we’ve never lived in the same state, ever, and often don’t even live in the same country — but that’s no matter. when we’re together it’s like no time has passed and we catch up right where we left off. everyone needs a friend like lauren.

Conversations with Designers

products i love: yarn made from unusual fibers like recycled saris, bananas, and nettles

November 20, 2010March 21, 2014 Gina @ Oaxacaborn

isn’t this gorgeous? it’s made from the remnants of silk saris left over during the manufacturing process. you can purchase it over at Darn Good Yarn. they also sell recycled sari ribbon and yarn made from banana fibers, as well as hemp and nettle yarn. who would have thought?

image via Darn Good Yarn

Handmade

baby taylor models the striped flower hat (and shows off her cute cheeks)

November 16, 2010March 21, 2014 Gina @ Oaxacaborn

just yesterday i wrote that i haven’t been able to see many of the little people wearing that hats i’ve crocheted. and then my sweet friend christi (alas, she has no blog!) sent me this precious photo of her little taylor wearing the striped flower hat i made for her.

but it’s not that hat that is making my heart stop. it’s those cheeks! is she not the cutest thing?!

Handmade

NaBloPoMo (bless you!), vintage rickrack, and yarn

November 5, 2010October 13, 2011 Gina @ Oaxacaborn

this month, i’m joining a lot of other bloggers in national blog post month — that is, trying to blog at least once a day throughout november. apparently, the cringe-worthy abbreviation for this event is NaBloPoMo. this is not to be confused with NaNoWriMo, the novel-writing event. let’s just say…i hope the folks who came up with that are better at crafting sentences than they are at inventing acronyms.

speaking of crafting, here’s a little snapshot of a current project involving yarn scraps and vintage rickrack.

Handmade, Life in Photos

crocheted vintage sweater dress for baby [and weekly photo roundup]

October 22, 2010March 21, 2014 Gina @ Oaxacaborn

i was recently given a bunch of yarn scraps which originally belonged to my husband’s great-grandma. during her life, she crocheted countless items for my husband and his siblings, so i wanted to make something for our baby — who would have been her first great great grandchild — out of these bits of yarn.

> crocheted sweater dress for baby girl - made from scraps of vintage yarn which originally belonged to baby's great great grandma

also, a few photographic snapshots from around the house this week:

las vegas glass and red and turquoise damask tile

roll of brown vintage yarn

green floral hoodie tossed over back of chair, hardwood floor

jolene the tabby cat

Poetry & Words

“leaves gathering in the corners, lichen greening the high grey rocks”

October 18, 2010October 13, 2011 Gina @ Oaxacaborn

What scene would I want to be enveloped in
more than this one,
an ordinary night at the kitchen table,
floral wallpaper pressing in,
white cabinets full of glass,
the telephone silent,
a pen tilted back in my hand?

It gives me time to think
about all that is going on outside–
leaves gathering in corners,
lichen greening the high grey rocks,
while over the dunes the world sails on,
huge, ocean-going, history bubbling in its wake.

But beyond this table
there is nothing that I need,
not even a job that would allow me to row to work,
or a coffee-colored Aston Martin DB4
with cracked green leather seats.

No, it’s all here,
the clear ovals of a glass of water,
a small crate of oranges, a book on Stalin,
not to mention the odd snarling fish
in a frame on the wall,
and the way these three candles–
each a different height–
are singing in perfect harmony.

So forgive me
if I lower my head now and listen
to the short bass candle as he takes a solo
while my heart
thrums under my shirt–
frog at the edge of a pond–
and my thoughts fly off to a province
made of one enormous sky
and about a million empty branches. -Billy Collins