Darn Good Yarn » funky knitting

Lashell and the Sari Ribbon

nicole — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:42:29 +0000

Let me tell you a tale of a woman and our recycled silk sari ribbon… My dear Lashell is an amazing artist and you can read about here here: http://www.darngoodyarn.com/2010/07/what-is-lashell-up-to/

But what you need to know, is that what I’m about to show you will knock your socks off and you must check our Lashell’s Etsy store to fall in love some more: http://www.etsy.com/shop/designtalentedone

Check out this hat that was made with our very own Desert Caravan Recycled Silk Sari Ribbon Click to check it out

Make a tassel already!

nicole — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 02:27:59 +0000

Have you noticed that here at Darn Good Yarn we’ve become a little nuts about our sari ribbon. And oh the varieties! Check them out here!

But, this one I love! I was futzing around thinking about making a nice tassel. So, I did! I also beaded up a little strand of lime green seed beads and tied them around for extra embellishment. It was the perfect finishing touch. Use these to tie back curtains tie around a pillow. Make a smaller one and use it as a pull on a light or a fan. Or you can make a mini one with a long tail and turn it into a bookmark. What a great gift?!

No Knit, No Crochet Free Recycled Silk Sari Ribbon Inside Scarf

nicole — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 02:05:50 +0000

When I’m on my way to yoga sometimes I like a little extra something for my outfit aside from my pants and shirt. I was staring at a pile of samples this afternoon and I started playing with our fantastic Recycled Silk Sari Ribbon.

I came up with a super quick no knit, no crochet Cowl/Scarf. This quick craft project is also easy and fun to do with a child as it requires just the skill of braiding and having fun with the textures. I find there is such beauty in yarns that it’s sometimes nice to just display that fact on it’s own and that’s where the inspiration came from for this scarf. All you need are three lengths of about 5 feet of Recycled Silk Sari Ribbon . I used my arms length to measure this. You may want more or less depending on how many loops you’d like around your neck or how long you’d like it to drape.

I first knotted the three ends together. I then loosely braided the Recycled Silk Sari Ribbon together for about 7 inches, then knotted it off. I then jumped about 4 inches and put another knot in the ribbon, braided the remainder and tied to the end to make a loop. You don’t have to loop it. You can just knot both ends and where it as a long slinky scarf that’s perfect for summer. And that’s it! This yarn is so darn rustic and funky and artsy, I wanted to make a simple items that shows it off and I think this does a lovely job doing it.

A variation I did with the ribbon was cut my favorite sections from the Recycled Silk Sari Ribbon and then tie them back together so that way I could make sure I got all of my favorite colors in the piece. I can’t wait to wear it out! you Buy the Sari Ribbon By Clicking HERE!

What do you think?

Darn Good Yarn’s Return Policy

nicole — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 22:49:43 +0000

Please note this fantastic return policy is for the yarn purchased on my site darngoodyarn.com, not ebay (Ebay is a 14 days in original condition–sorry it’s more strict, their fees make it very restrictive, feel free to order through this site and get a better deal anyway!).

Q: What’s your return policy?
A: Did you ever hear that commercial that talks about happy cheese comes from happy cows? Well, happy crafts come from happy Darn Good Yarn-ers. I (Nicole, the owner of Darn Good Yarn) know that shopping online can suck sometimes. When it comes to yarn, it’s a tactile experience… mmm to run your fingers over the yarn. So, shopping for these jewels online takes a wind out of the sales a little (but luckily I charge a lot less than your LYS, you’re still supporting one very small business and you can shop in your PJ’s at my store).

But, this is why Darn Good Yarn is so, well, Darn Good. Try it, Feel it, Love it, Hate it, Use it, Stare at it. If you’re not pleased with it (even if you’ve started crafting with it), send it all back in 30 and I’ll refund you your purchase price (minus shipping). If you’ve started using it and you’re not delighted, just stop, take it off the needles, put it in the box and send it back to me. You have 30 days from placing the order, International orders have 40 days from placing the order. Prior to returning any yarn, please contact us at info@darngoodyarn.com with the reason and what exactly you’re returning.

FREE BALL OR SKEIN OF YARN!

nicole — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:45:53 +0000

You read right! We all have the need to capture and craft with the brilliant premium recycled silk sari yarn. Well, now when you purchase chosen yarns at www.darngoodyarn.come you have the opportunity to get an extra ball free. Just poke around. The first line of the item description will describe the promotion for that yarn.

You can pick any hue or color you’d like (as long as it’s in stock) within that yarn group. Normally, if you order say 5 Mixed Berry, that 6th ball will be Mixed Berry unless you tell me otherwise. If you get 2 of, say, Brushstrokes of Teal and 2 Classic I’ll make a judgment call. Sorry, you can’t mix the offer between yarn types (like sari ribbon and recycled sari silk yarn).

What to pick the color of that extra ball or skein of yarn? When you check out, there is an are where you can leave a notes/instructions. Go ahead and click on that and just write in the hue that you desire! Or you can always email me (Nicole, the owner) at info@darngoodyarn.com

Recycled Silk Sari Yarn

I’m making a cute sweater

nicole — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 19:51:37 +0000

Do you know how diet people tell you that when you want to lose weight you should tell everyone around you so that you are held accountable? Well, I’m hoping that same idea works for me; that is, showing you what I’m making will help me get to my finish line of making this super cute shruggy sweater out of my own recipe of Banana Fiber (which you can get by clicking here). I just started it and aside from knowing it’s my own “brew” of banana silk fiber yarn, I am so in love with the lush shiny nature of this it. I also love the little bit of lumpiness that comes with working with the banana silk fiber yarn. It just reminds me that there was a person at the other side of the creation of it not a big ol’ machine. It’s so soft too! And since I’m incredibly tough on my clothes, I know the banana fiber will hold up to my test and my washer!

Buy Unique Homemade Gifts!

nicole — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 02:08:45 +0000

Fantastic Feats of Yarn

Wow!

Sometimes, you run across fiber artists that blow your socks off and I have the privilege of supplying yarn to this type of artist, meet Nancy of Nancyyule.com! Please take a moment and poke around (and buy!) http://www.nancyyule.com

It will inspire and amaze you. I bet you never thought fiber could loop and turn and suspend the way Nancy makes it. I didn’t either until I saw the pictures! Feel free to click on any of the pictures below and it will take you over to her site!

Thank you for inspiring all of us Nancy!

Nancy in Action

Glorious Purses Made by Nancy

Write your dreams in this fiber laced notebook!

Darn Good Yarners Projects!

nicole — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 23:31:53 +0000

This part of the site is simply a collection of your awesomeness! Check out all of the amazing things people just like you are doing with Darn Good Yarn!
You see, I told you dogs love Darn Good Yarn! Didn’t Laura do a fantastic job on this headband? You can get a free pattern for it by clicking here.

Maggie the Dog Loves Headbands made from Darn Good Yarn

Wow the colors of the recycled silk sari yarn are amazing don’t you think?! Michele W is going to make a couple of these triangles and attach them to make a shawl. Yum!

Check out what Debbie made! Aren’t these colors divine?!

Made with Silk Sari Ribbon

Made With Silk Sari Ribbon

Check out what Fay did:

Click to get the yarn

and now the inside...

Have you checked out this awesome etsy shop yet? Feride is a Darn Good Yarn wiz! Check out a few of her awesome craftiness!

Click here to get the yarn

Winter 2010 Newsletter!

nicole — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 19:33:36 +0000

How are you today? I hope everyone had a great holiday!

In today’s newsletter, I’m going to talk about a couple of fun things we’re doing here at Darn Good Yarn (DGY), some charity work you can help with, and of course some of our newer items! Worth the read!

Nurture. Empower. Promote A Life!

In case you haven’t noticed, my goal with Darn Good Yarn is to help others while bringing you some fun and funky yarns from around the globe. Well, one day I reached out to this AMAZING group in Nepal, EWN. You can read about them here: http://www.3sistersadventure.com/EWN/

We have come together and I had these bracelets made by women in the western part of Nepal.

I asked them to bead into the bracelets “N.E.P.A.L.” this stands for Nurture. Empower. Promote A Life. (tm DGY 2010)It’s a great reminder when you wear this bracelet that you have truly made a difference in someone’s life. Click the pictures to read more about the bracelets. This first picture is of one of the instructors with EWN!

Darn Good Yarn and the American Red Cross:

The earthquake in Haiti is horrendous. In an effort to help, 5% of every sale of our premium recycled silk yarn will go to the the American Red Cross until the end of February. It’s as simple as that!

Other BIG news that you can help with:

I often get emails from individuals and groups for donations. They all do very special charity work for their

communities. So, starting this weekend, we will have a special section of our website dedicated to a person or group once a quarter. In this section of the site you can donate to Darn Good Yarn wherein 100% of that money goes to these organizations by means of yarns that we carry at our cost. If you would like to read more about this great program, please CLICK HERE

This quarter, we will be accepting donations for Jake S. He crochets hats and hangs them around his town for those in need. You should read about his story HERE.

Want to win $25 to spend at Darn Good Yarn?

Have you come up with a simple, easy pattern for our yarn? If so, you could enter it to us here at info@darngoodyarn.com. If we use it as one of our free patterns on the site you’ll get a $25 gift certificate for the site! It can be knitted, crocheted or something else!!! (Hmmmm…) What are you going to submit?

Have you seen Chris’s Crochet Corner?

You’ve seen her awesome patterns, now she has a little home here on Darn Good Yarn too! Click on any photo to go to her crochet corner to get inspired! And if you have time visit her Etsy store by clicking on this address: www.chrisssmith22.etsy.com

What’s New at Darn Good Yarn?

Guess what we have back in stock…finally… Our Sari Ribbon! Click on the items below to check ‘em out!

If you have questions about anything you saw in this newsletter, feel free to contact Darn Good Yarn at info@darngoodyarn.com

Have a great day!

Namaste,

Nicole, Mike & Squeakers

KNIT: Recycled Silk Pattern Wine Bottle Bag

nicole — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:56:43 +0000

Check out this video and please give it a second to load!

MMMMM it's wine time!

How to make the Darn Good Yarn Wine Bottle Bag

Get a pair of size 15 needles,
get 2- 100g balls of the yarn we call the blender

Click here to get me! The Blender

You can get a little bit of ribbon too (or you can use left over yarn) This will be used in the finished product.. I’ll explain in a little bit

So, this one is easy: Cast on 39 sts and work in moss stitch (k1, p1) until your rectangle measures 6.25 inches long. Now stitch up the side. Ok now measure 3 inches down. Remember that ribbon? Yes? Well weave it in and out of your project. When you slip the bottle of wine in, you’ll use this to tighten the bag around the neck of the bottle.

Don’t like wine? Find some olive oil and use the same mechanics to give a stunning gift!

Not only is the inside goodies great but this bag totally has a chance of being re-used and will make your present look like the best one under the tree or on the table!

close up!