This spells Trouble (note the capital “T”) and now we have to thin the ranks of our rad stuff so that we can enjoy our home without ending up on an episode of Hoarders. Hyperbole? Probably but what is for sure is that our yard sales tend to completely kick ass.

Our latest yard sale is being held just outside the doors of STASH on may 25th, from 9 am to 5 pm, rain or shine! We have LP’s, vintage kitchenwares, housewares, books, magazines, curios, and craft supplies.  What else? Electronics, radios, lamps, chairs, and any other poor object that our gaze falls upon and doesn’t make the cut.  And then some other great stuff too, that we simply haven’t even thought of yet.

Our yard sale is a part of the Inglewood Parade of Garage Sales happening on the same day, and we will be giving out free maps to all of the other treasure troves in the hood! So pop by STASH, check out our sale, and then keep on hunting for more finds throughout Inglewood!

We hope to see you there.

Janine Vangool, publisher, editor, and designer of UPPERCASE Magazine buy kamagra online, has paired her passion for publishing with a keen eye for all that is creative and clever. This magazine is so obviously crafted with love (which is certainly STASH-approved) that it simply drips with delicious detail. From the vintage page tabs with typewritten labels to the careful selection of paper on which the publication is

printed, the magazine is a work of art in itself.

Each issue has a theme and this issue, #16, hits particularly close to home for STASH. Focusing on the art of the traditional and handmade, issue #16 features interviews with modern artists who are creatively exploring traditional crafts in a modern world. Fibre artists, sign makers, ceramicists, traditional workwear manufacturers, broom makers, rug hookers, knitters, illustrators… Be still my beating heart!

Studio tours of creative spaces abound in each issue, and this issue will whisk you away to a former hospital/current art institution in Stockholm, a former cannery/current hub of creative businesses in Brooklyn, and even a tour of the home of Victoria Smith, AKA San Francisco Girl by the Bay. The gorgeous photography lets you explore these creative space as if you were there, and provie an initmate portrait of the people that each space reflects.

If you haven't had a chance to look through a copy of UPPERCASE Magazine, STASH does have the latest issue available and I can almost guarantee that it will be love at first sight.

I'll stop gushing now.

It's the strangest sensation to be so attached to something that does not even exist in reality. My boards are not real boards, yet I rearrange them and curate them as if they were on my living room wall! Starting a new board is a decision not to be taken lightly, nor is deleting one (can you even delete a b

oard? I've never been so insane as to consider it – hours of “work” would just go down the drain!).

The most appealing thing to me is that I can follow the thought patterns and taste preferences of a total stranger in a totally awesome place and get a glimpse at ideas that I never would have found myself. While I do not have the luxury of walking down the streets of Copenhagen or New York to browse mind-blowingly adorable shops, some wicked designer there does, and I thank her from the bottom of my heart for taking pictures while doing it.

I also like that I can share these finds and gems with you, because inspiration is contagious, and Pinterest is one of those rare things that help spread yummy goodness like the flu.  So keep on pinning on!

So here is STASH’s guide to gifts to give knitters!

Pick # 4- Give knitting experiences. Normally I don’t advocate giving gift certificates and the only reason that this is on the list is because when a knitter gets a gift certificate for a yarn shop, they are also essentially getting permission to treat themselves to yarns, classes, and other goodies without any worry about cost. They might pick out something to knit for themselves and not give it away!  They might learn how to knit a mitten! That, my friends, is a gift of love.

Pick # 3 – Super nice, squishy yarns. Too vague? If you ever have the chance, take a look at what your knitting friend is working on, and take note of how thick or thin it is, what colour, or any other interesting aspect. if you really want to Nancy Drew it up, dig into their knitting bag when they are not looking and take a pic of the label! Bring your sleuthy info with you to a yarn shop and the staff can then help you really crack the case of “The Knitter who needs More Wool”.

Pick # 2 – Woolygig. Also known as yarn holder, ball holder, or other succinct but bland names, the woolygig is a lovely hand made item to keep a knitter’s yarn from whipping around the floor, under the couch, around chair legs, or other bizarre, tangled configurations while knitting. All that they do is place their ball of wool on the spindle and then the spindle of wool turns as the knitter pulls on it. A newer knitting accessory, many knitters have yet to even discover this gem and you will truly surprise them!

Pick # 1 – Swift & ball winder. This is number one for personal reasons. I got my first ball winder and swift as a Christmas gift and they are cherished tools in my knitting life. Swifts and ball winders are used to transform a skein of yarn into a knit-able ball in mere minutes. They are ridiculously fun to use, they save so much time, yet knitters rarely buy them for themselves. However, when a knitter gets a swift and winder they sort of loose their minds with joy.

Whatever the reason,  it is great to have a trusty pair of leg warmers!

Now a true modern woman does not always have time to knit up a sweet set of legwarmers right when she needs them. Sometimes a lady doesn’t feel like knitting a pair.  Sometimes it can even be a legwarmer emergency! In such a case, what’s a gal to do?

Here is what you do:

1. Go to your closet and find one sweater that you have rejected. There is one there, I guarantee it! Stop living in clothing denial and accept that you may never find the spare button you lost, or that you never quite liked that colour. Take that rejected sweater out of the closet and give it a new life! Avoid baggy sweaters, cause they usually lead to baggy leg warmers (unless that’s the look you’re goin’ fo’).
2. You can even try wiggling your foot into the wrist end of the sleeve of your potential sacrificial sweater to get an idea of how it will look when cut.
3. Get your rotary cutter and chop off the sleeves. Give’r! Butcher that sweater. Make that sweater earn it’s keep! Your sweater sleeves will thank you for their new found freedom from their torso oppressors! Scissors can be used for this part instead of a rotary cutter but they don’t do as nice a job.
4. Bam! That’s it! Put on those leg warmers.

If you are rotary cutter-less, you are welcome to visit STASH and use our’s for free to make your leg warmers! Heck, bring a few sweaters and make a bunch.

Simply put, needle felted sushi is about the funnest thing evah. Our felting instructor Hillary (who is obviously a genius) whipped these up for our STASH Dreams of Sushi class and I have been pretending to eat it with chopsticks all afternoon!

I don’t know what I love more – the technicolour wasabi on the side (with ginger, of course!), or the fun details on each piece.

Wanna get yer maki-on? STASH Dreams of Sushi is a fun needle felting class that requires no previous needle felting skills and provides you with all of the supplies to make three pieces of wee, flurfy sushi.

Right now STASH is dreaming of a Christmas tree decorated with sushi. Cause that’s how we roll.

Why fingerless mittens rock in the fall:

1. They are smartphone friendly! Need to check your messages? Not a prob! Pinning your location on Foursquare? It’s a cinch!
2. You can take a photo quickly! Cameras in every shape and form rely on our digits to adjust settings and to even simply snap a shot
3. You can flip the bird! Bicycling down the road and getting nearly run over by a goon who doesn’t know how to share the road sometimes calls for extreme actions that we do not discuss with our mother. Nuff said.
4. Tie that shoelace! While it is romantic to have your man bend down on one knee and tie it for you, sometimes he’s not around – and asking a stranger to do it is just plain ole’ weird.
5. Eating jellybeans is a snap. Or almonds. Or chocolate covered grasshoppers. Whatever floats your boat, it’s easier with fingerless mittens!

Need I say more? Pop by STASH and we will give you a free pattern for you to knit your own fingerless mittens with Noro yarn (shown in picture) or any other yummy DK weight yarn! Keep on craftin’ on!

Believe me, I looked, because I can be one of those geeky fans who replicates knitwear from my favourite sci-fi movies (it’s amazing how revealing this post is quickly becoming). My first obsession was with the original Doctor Who scarf . There is an entire book of Harry Potter knitwear patterns available. Approximately three minutes after Hunger Games was published there were knitted Mockingjay pin patterns flooding fanblogs across the land.

Before anyone emails me, I need to let you know that I get it. I get it! The Stark family and all of the big players in the series are power people who are warriors, and warriors are also hunters (or hang around with hunters or can order others to hunt for them) and these  tough as nails ruthless survivors are not going to debase their elevated life position by modelling some wimpy knits made from sad little sheep who spend their entire lives being led by others. Jon Snow is not a sheep. He is a warrior. He also looks mighty cold whenever he leans over the wall for a glimpse at the horrors below.

But people, Winter is Coming. Isn’t that all about being prepared? Wool is a harvestable crop like anything else and if they want to survive years of winter then shouldn’t they be stockpiling yarn to swath their pitiful winter-borm babies so that they will get though this strange dysfunctional season schedule? It takes a lot less energy to knit a sweater by the fire than it does to trudge through thee third year of winter to hunt a starving. mangy animal for its fur coat.

Jon needs a toque for his pretty little head, so I recommend this awesome freee pattern from Sweet Fiber Designs, but in black. Of course.

Besides, who has ever heard of fur socks? 

]]> http://www.stashlounge.com/winter-is-coming/feed/ 0 http://www.stashlounge.com/bling-baubles-bubbly/ http://www.stashlounge.com/bling-baubles-bubbly/#comments Mon, 17 Sep 2012 03:49:54 +0000 Veronica http://www.stashlounge.com/?p=638 Continue reading → ]]> Like a magpie, I am drawn to shiny, clever things. Whether it’s chrome on a vintage car or a cute Christmas ornament, there’s nothing like a little bling in your life.

So STASH is having a Stella & Dot Trunk Show! To complement the bling of their pretty baubles, we are going to serve up a bit of bubbly champagne, yummy morsels of chocolate, and have a few wicked awesome door prizes to boot.

Why should you pop by this fun event?  Aside from the the fact that Stella & Dot  rocks, anyone who comes to our Trunk Show can enter to win a STASH Class Gift Certificate!  Also, if you RSVP and bring a friend who is new to STASH or Stella then you will both be entered to win a piece of Stella & Dot jewelry.

Because we love the contrast of a great set of earrings against the texture of yarn, if you bring your knitting or crochet project you will also get  to choose a ball of yummy yarn from our  Party Pile for FREE.

If you are tempted by all of this awesome party goodness then feel free to RSVP on our Facebook event page, or even just show up if you are in the neighbourhood. We would love to see you there!

STASH picks from Stella: On the Geneve Lace ring, Garbo Link bracelet

What:       STASH’s Stella & Dot Trunk Party, a free event with nibbles, prizes, & free yarn!

When:      Friday, September 21st, from 7 to 10 pm

How:        Show up, or, if possible, please RSVP on Facebook!

The way you pierce my eyes when I look at you makes me burn with love.

So intense, yet sensitive, you are a breath of fresh, cold, crisp air in my lungs.

At first glance I thought you were ultramarine, but oh, I was young, foolish, and naive in the ways of colour.

And such a modern, improved blue! So scientific, you would wear those lovely nerdy hipster glasses if you had a nose…

You have swept me off my feet.

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