On a cold, dark night, in a city that never sleeps, a group of brave knitters and crocheters will gather to begin their mission. To some, the Yellowstone Art Museum is beautiful and to others, it could use a soft touch of, oh…say, knitting and crochet!

Guerilla Knitting is known as the kindest form of graffiti and we have been given the job of covering the front pillars in knitted swatches.

April 1st is the opening of the installation of fiber artist, Polly Apfelbaum.

You are all invited to attend the opening and view this fabulous, fiber installation. It is sure to take all of us out of our proverbial “fiber boxes.”

Come join the fun to ready the YAM for fiber on the outside and soon on the inside, on Friday, March 26th from 5 to 8pm when we will be Guerilla Knitting at the museum. And who said knitting is boring?!? Jump on board and join the fun!

 

In every knitters life, things don’t always turn out exactly as planned. Gauge can cause us to wonder why we are knitting for an adult whose head is 10″ in circumference or whose sweater back measures 55″. The first measurement conjures up thoughts of alien life forms

while the second would be loose on most sumo wrestlers in their prime.

Stitches can be dropped and cause us no end of wonder. Patterns or colors can suddenly change course as if the project were taken over by the *nasty knitting fairies to become discordant, as they say in the music world.

So, what’s a knitter to do. Throw the knitting in a corner only to be retrieved years later when small rodents have taken up residence in the warm, woolen home. Return to the yarn shop demanding, a refund for yarn purchased on sale months earlier and wound into lovely balls, all because you can’t get gauge. (This really has happened!) Or calmly venture on and employ the humor of knitters… **”Frog” it or ***”Tink” it.

Over the course of my knitting life, I have picked up many dropped stitches, frogged more projects than I care to admit, and I tink on such a regular basis it’s any wonder that heads or hands ever get covered when the temperatures drop. Every day I am asked for advice about knitting and some days I worry that the truth of knitting will cause everyone to give up for good.
Knitting is a human activity and perfection can suck the joy out of most projects. This is not to say that mistakes should never be corrected, projects started once again or glaring errors redone. We must, from time to time, ask ourselves to what degree of perfection are you willing to go in pursuit of the perfect (insert project here) for that lucky recipient.

The truth is this knitting thing takes time and effort and will bring about joy, even if you don’t believe it today. I know this to be especially true today. I am finishing a 30 day challenge at my yoga studio, Perfect Balance. When I began, I never would have believed I could sit crossed legged for more than a few minutes and yesterday, day 29, I sat that way for almost 3 minutes, without fidgeting too much. Today, I reach day 30 and before you ask me the question, “So what do you get if you reach 30 days in this challenge?” just watch me balance on one foot for a few seconds before falling head first into the pile of unfinished sweaters, socks and hats waiting for my return.

*Nasty knitting fairies - those otherwise adorable creatures who appear during the darkest hours of the night and knit where purls must go. They are also known to change direction on complicated patterns. At the current time, there is no known cure for these otherwise adorable creatures although much discussion concerning trapping is taking place in Canada.
**Frog - Where the knitter must, “rip it, rip it.”
***Tink - to knit backwards.

 

Thursday night rolled around and holiday cheer could be felt throughout the shop. We had those praying for others to knit for them

and those who knew they’d best get their needles ready for action.

We had designers in our midst

and friends meeting to compare notes.

Our events make this yarn shop such fun for all who come in the door.

The shop is full of new yarns, lots of ideas for holiday projects and of course the inspiration to get things done.

 

We have been far too quiet lately. Not due to lack of activities and new arrivals but indeed due to many activities and new arrivals. The cold snap has brought many of you into the shop which has been a real treat.

The last few weeks a new activity began called “Yarn Tasting.” We guaranteed no yarn would be eaten but rather, many of the new yarns brought into the shop this fall could be tried, by knitting little bits of these luscious new yarns. The first tasting was held at Wild Purls which started with an elegant table, a beautiful menu

and twelve anxious knitters. The sock yarns were our first course and the size 2 needles madly began swatching.

The next course of DK yarns pleased the entire table. This was followed by a luscious main course of worsted weight superwash that continues to fly off the shelf especially now that we have sock patterns that call for one skein of Lornas Laces Shepherds worsted. And the evening finished with the dessert course of beautiful bulky weights.

Our neighbors in Red Lodge wanted to taste a little yarn of their own. Not wanting to leave a stitch unknit or a yarn untried, the Wild Purls crew jumped in our cars and headed to Laurel and took a sharp left toward Red Lodge. We arrived on a crisp, September evening to be greeted by Betsey Brighton the evenings host, who was kind enough to open her home. Hungry knitters arrived with needles in hand ready to try just about anything we handed them. The oohhhs and aahhhhs filled the room while new friends introduced themselves.

Now, if that isn’t enough, another group wanted to have a nibble as well. The Lavina knitters set aside an evening at their regular knitting group to join the previous tasters.

Each group had some of the same yarns and a few selected for only them.
We must say that each evening was delightful.

We love those who are willing to try a night out with other knitters. An adventurous group in all three locals made us as anxious to figure out patterns and projects with all the new yarns.
If you weren’t in attendance, don’t despair, the yarn is in the shop and we have leftovers that we are willing to share. Hurry in to get a taste.

 

There’s a back-to-school feeling in the air…

This week at my house, the back packs are filling up with paper, binders, pencils and pens. The anticipation of what is to come is thick in the air. My youngest is off to Middle School and my oldest is starting her Senior Year of High School. This will be our last year all together. Ahh, the anticipation is wonderful.

I don’t know about you but I always feel that a new school year is the true beginning of the year. Whoever decided the year begins on January 1st certainly did not attend school in North America.

Here at Wild Purls we are filled with anticipation too. The Fall/Early Winter newsletter is out and is chock full of that New Year feel. New classes, new activities and visitors are awaiting us. We connect to that “back-to-school” feeling in the strongest way!

Many of you are wandering in with the urge to make something. Try out one of our classes, peruse the many patterns and look over the samples. New things are arriving daily and we are certain you’ll find more than you ever dreamed possible to knit or crochet.

The new year, although unofficial according to the calendar, is here. Come enjoy with all of us.