Sheryl Decterow

To clear up the post title, LYS = local yarn store.

I’ve pretty much been on a cantaloupe orange kick since I moved to MN, and am still looking for a kickass opalescent-opaque nail polish in the shade.

I just spent enough time wandering through a yarn store I frequent not quite frequently enough to make the sales clerk sweat, which is what I do; at least, another byproduct of moving to MN has been very very carefully weighing each purchase I am considering making. I was really feeling rather bored with the selection, and thus hopeless, and confused about my priorities of buying yarn at all, and hey it’s getting kind of warm in here, here comes some sweat, and then I just start over touching things and suddenly oh my god there’s this delectably delicate snow bunny white lace-knitted sweater in my hands and I need to know ala what child, what yarn is this?

And so eventually I’m walking around the store again with this little orange ball that feels like a baby bunny rabbit in my hands, knowing not what to do with it but only that it must become mine. And I’m struck by thoughts of something I read recently about the unsustainability of modern America’s “I want it therefore I deserve it” attitude but I don’t really care. I think this is a little different when the magic of creation is looming. And I wander over to the Schaefer yarns because well they are awesome especially this here cotton with a slub of rayon through it that I have been fixating on this entire visit. And I’m holding baby bunny orange up against various colourways and it just about kicks me in the teat – the harmony! The colourway is called “Elizabeth Blackwell” and it’s going to sound cheesy you just have to see it touch it but it’s grey blues and grey purples and grey oranges. And they want to get married, this subduedly colourful cotton-rayon and my little baby bunny orange and my check card is their minister. And is it ever! But it is so worth it because they’re going to make beautiful babies together.

I had gone to this yarn store because they carry some (some.) of the yarns I know I like, but as usual, I end up with something totally new and different and awesome. So that fulfills the second post title’s prophesy: finding new yarns is the real use of a brick-and-mortar LYS.

Oh, and apparently badminton kicks my ass now because I can barely walk today and I cry out in pain when I sit on a toilet. (it must be very interesting to be waiting for public bathrooms I’m in) Granted, there was a bike ride too, but it wasn’t that intense…

Yesterday I was hired by Andrew Kopplin of Kopplin’s Coffee and today I begin training!

This is very exciting. These people are so passionate about coffee and a slower, more cherishing and absorbent lifestyle, and learning. So am I. Things seem to finally be settling into place. I have been here working on that for a year and a half.

I am trying out Misti Alpaca’s laceweight yarn and spanking myself for avoiding it for so long just because it is two-ply. Well, I have since learned the secret follies of seemingly elegant one-ply (it half-felts!). I have this stuff in a baby grey-blue colour that just screams “lace!!” to me. It’s the same colour I first saw lace crochet work in.

I also picked up some flesh-coloured Louet Kidlin (“doeskin” I guess) and a ball of Noro’s new psychedelic “Hotaru” yarn in the red-purple-orange colourway. I have NO idea what to do with that yet but I know it knows exactly what it wants to be!

I also need to get to work on a commission, but this alpaca is just too fun! Well, I will tire of it eventually.

For my birthday I am going to treat myself to some birch syrup and do such things as:

• make bison jerky with it
• make cheesecake and scones other oven goodies with it
• make ice cream with it
• sweeten cold-press coffee with it
• can you say baked birch butternut squash?

I have also read about creating apple syrup by boiling down apple juice and that sounds intriguing. It would be grand to harvest fresh fall apples, juice them at home, and immediately make apple syrup.

You know, these little discoveries can mean totally sourcing my own income someday… investing in real estate would not be so bad if I could have a yard of apple trees that I can harvest for the cost of their maintenance :)
a loft downtown, though, which is my inherited real estate investment… not really my idea of home, despite downtown being my ‘hood. (That is about contrast)

I also want to have mulberry trees for my silkworms to dine on, and harvest their silk peacefully and spin it into yarn to make wedding dresses with. I originally wanted to spin and crochet my own silk wedding dress but didn’t know how to do either yet so it wasn’t worth the investment/learning stress. It would be interesting to do one of these each year, over the years I would maybe garnish enough reputation to be able to coordinate specific commission…
just an idea :)
This reminds me that I had a dream about drop-spindle spinning.