Super Ball Sunday!

One of my favorite yarn shops is "Knit N Stitch" in Riverside, California. It's been there a long time. In fact, rumor has it that it's been in business (with various owners) for over 50 years. I keep meaning to ask and confirm that but whenever I go there I have so much fun and get so inspired by yarn projects that I forget to ask. I remember going there with my mom when I was in high school! It's a 25-30 minute drive but it's worth it. I often find new and exciting yarns and I'm often very inspired. One of those inspirational visits happened last year when I saw this....




Sue had started knitting this sweater, using various yarns. I love the color and texture combinations. It's so pretty and fun!


Around that same time, I saw a ball of yarn someone had bought that was made up of various yarns. And, another local yarn shop was selling skeins of yarn made up of various yarns of different textures, sheens, and colors. They were gorgeous but way out of my price range...around $50 each!

Those things inspired me to come up with the idea of making "magic yarn balls" with stash yarn. A group of ladies that I was knitting with regularly liked the idea and we got together, swapped yarns, started cutting and tying and came up with beautiful balls of yarn on our own. It was a great way to breathe new life into old stash and get gorgeous new yarns without spending more money. It was a lot of fun!

Several of us knitted our new "magic yarn balls" into shawls. I blogged mine HERE last year and put it on Ravelry. Someone saw it and the next thing I knew it was featured on the "America's Knitting" website along with other projects made by knitters in California. What a fun surprise!

A couple of months ago I took my shawl to Knit n Stitch to show Sue, the lady that sparked the inspiration. She and others that were in the shop that day fell in love with it and and quickly arranged a workshop.

We had the "Magic Yarn Ball and Shawl" workshop today, on Superbowl...now Super Ball...Sunday! It was so much fun! There were about 14 ladies that came. They were so excited and we quickly got started...


Right from the start I heard "this is fun!" and I kept hearing that throughout the day. That was like music to my ears.


There was a little trading going on, a little shopping to find yarn to finish off what they had brought, and the store had some bags of yarn that they had coordinated ahead of time and were selling for 35% off.


One of the great things about this project is that there really aren't any rules. It's all about color, texture and creativity. So, not only was it fun to see the yarn combinations, but also to see the various ways that the ladies assembled their yarn balls.


The combinations of colors and textures were gorgeous! Just as beautiful as those $50 skeins that I've seen.


I think the magic yarn balls are special because each one is unique and personal to the person who creates it.


Some of the ladies had so much fun making the yarn balls that they just spent their time working on that...sometimes making two! Others were anxious to dive in and get started...


Just as there are no rules to making the magic yarn balls, there are no rules on how to use them. Some of the ladies are making triangular shawls...


Some are making scarves. She's making her's lengthwise and it's going to match a lot of the clothes in her wardrobe...


We're all getting together again in about a month for a little show and tell, fashion show. I can't wait to see the magic that each lady creates. It's always so much fun to see how different each project turns out. I know they are all going to be gorgeous!

One of the things I love about this store is the unique and beautiful projects they have on display that use various kinds of yarn. This is one of my favorites...


I love the textures and the colors! It's so pretty! I just might have to try this one...after I finish my vest. Which, by the way, is coming along nicely. :-)