Eleven Artful Ways to Handle a Snowstorm

photo by the fabulous Frances Phillips

How To Keep Creatively Cool

There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes.

With that in mind, facing a snowstorm is just another opportunity to put together Wow! winter wear.  The city looks absolutely magical in the first hours of snowfall, why shouldn’t you?  As the storm picks up, you kick it up.

Here are some tips to keep your cool while the world is freezing:

1.  Knit something. My very awesome knitting circle friends from the Grantmakers in the Arts Conference in Chicago this past fall knit up some beautiful baby booties together and will be sending them to a charity to keep some little feet warm.  Here’s the secret to our success.

2. Bake something. Nothing keeps you cozier than a house that is filled with the scent of homemade cookies.  Nothing goes better with that nice big mug of hot chocolate.

3. Call your mother. She is probably walking around in her fuzzy slippers and would love to hear from you.

4.  Adopt a snowball. Go outside, make a nice big crunchy snowball and put it in your freezer.  It will make you smile when you see it in July.

5.  Light a candle. I cannot think of a more poetic or romantic image than watching snow fall by candlelight.   Makes your eyes glow.

6.  Soak in the bathtub.  Go ahead and light up some more candles before you step into a hot bubble bath.  Snow days are perfect spa days at home.

7. Make a playlist. We remember special times in our lives by the music of the day.  Find all of the songs that make you want to twist and shout and create a playlist that you can remember this snow day by.

8. Call a friend or two.  Or three. Go ahead.  Get comfortable with that cup of hot chocolate and get in touch with a friend.  What is better than a little gossip to keep you nice and warm?

9. Check out the spring collections. Me, I start with shoes.  Here’s a funky little shoeblog to tickle your toes.

10.  Go outside. That’s right.  Bundle yourself up and take a brisk walk in the snow.  Enjoy this wintry experience!

11.  OK, that’s enough. Brrrrr…. come back home and start from the top.

I adore winter and always pray for snow days, just like every kid in school.  Have fun with this snowstorm!

Get more Wow!

If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:

Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good

Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit

Style Notes from me, your artspy

Hoong Yee

– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day

– Forward the link to someone you think would be interested

– Link to a post on Twitter (follow me @hylkrakauer)

– Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update

Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.

Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?

Hooked: Rockaway Beach Booties

The next time someone tells you they are expecting a baby, here’s something fabulous for you to knit that will keep little feet warm.  These baby booties are done in a simple garter stitch with a ribbed cuff to keep the booties on snugly.  Snugly?  Is that a word?  You know what I mean.

The best part about this project is that it has been designed for all of you busy people who would love to make beautiful handmade gifts quickly and easily.   And the funny thing about  these booties is that once you know how to make them, suddenly everyone is having babies!

Tip: I like knitting on circular needles because I usually find myself knitting while I’m waiting for a meeting, sitting on a plane or taking a break between doing everything else I’m supposed to be doing. You can tie up the needles quickly and never drop a stitch. If you are planning to knit on a plane make sure your needles don’t set off the metal detectors. Indulge yourself and get yourself some bamboo or polished wooden needles.

Can’t wait to get started?    There are baby feet to be bootied.  Grab those knitting needles and get going!

Here’s the pattern in a power point presentation.

Get more Wow!

If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:

Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good

Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit

Style Notes from me, your artspy

Hoong Yee

– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day

– Forward the link to someone you think would be interested

– Link to a post on Twitter (follow me @hylkrakauer)

– Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update

Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.

Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?

Wow Now Brown Cow

You have to pick your moment.  And there is a time for everything.

If you want to create a moment, a Wow moment – what, is there another kind of moment? – you will need to create time to make that happen.

Here is something that gets me to Wow every time I wear it.  My golden bronze mohair scarf.  It pours over my shoulders like afternoon sun.

Love it around my neck on cool spring mornings and late summer evenings.

Here’s the secret sauce:

You will need-

One skein of fabulous Italian baby mohair in any color you desire (500 yards)

One skein of equally fabulous bronze, gold or silver silk (500 yards)

One pair of size 12 wooden knitting needles

Directions:

Cast on 15″ worth of stitches using both yarns.  You will need to knit a swatch to find out how many stitches equal one inch.

Knit first row. Then knit every row.  Every few rows, double wrap the yarn as you knit the row and drop the loops on the next row.

Cast off when you get to the length you need to to drape it luxuriously across your shoulders.

This is well worth stopping time for and making for yourself or someone you want to wrap your love around.  I suggest you get used to people stopping for a second look.

Get more Wow!

If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:

Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good

Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit

Style Notes from me, your artspy

Hoong Yee

– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day

– Forward the link to someone you think would be interested

– Link to a post on Twitter (follow me @hylkrakauer)

– Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update

Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.

Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?

Steal the Show in Steel Wool

What should I knit at my next conference?

As I continue on my journey getting to Wow! I look forward to seeing good friends and new friends whenever I travel to conferences.  I like the energy of gathered thinkers and gamechangers who are passionate about the arts in our lives.

OK, so I’m registered, I booked my hotel, I know what sessions I am going to, who I want to see.

I just don’t know what I want to knit.

Daughter of an Engineer

You would have liked my father.  He had a thing about camping in Maine, Chopin mazurkas and figuring stuff out, like pigtail bridges and cooling systems for nuclear power plants, usually on the back of envelopes in blue ink.  But what he loved best was coming up with an unusual solution to a problem:  “Why, we can hang those plants up with some fishing hooks!”  or  “Those file cabinets will make terrific dressers!”

Function, not form.  I silently pinky swore to myself that I would never live an unexpected, undesigned or unWow! life.

DNA,  more powerful than my pinky promise, coupled with a stack of DIY magazines  overcame me in a yarn shop.  Without a second glance at the pretty cottons and cashmeres, my eyes found a delicate blend of wool and steel and I fell in love.   “This will look fei cheong (Cantonese for totally) fabelhaft (German for fabulous) knit up like a loose neck sculpture thing!”

You could get a little crazy like I did and string a few clear crystal beads before you start knitting and space them here and there, to look like morning dew suspended in a spider web.

Beads on steel wool.  I am my father’s daughter.

How to make it

Here’s what you do if you want to create a stunning scarf that can stand on its own:

Get some of this steel wool stuff

Get some beautiful glass or crystal beads

Get a pair of  #5 knitting needles

Directions:

1. String 30 beads on the wool before knitting.
2. Cast on 28 stitches.
3. Knit one row, purl one row.
4. Knit in a bead here and there.  Think of what a spider web looks like in the morning.
5. Repeat until desired length.
6. Bind off loosely.  Weave in ends.
7. Expect second looks

Can’t wait to get started?

Grab your needles and get more Wow!

If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:

Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good

Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit

Style Notes from

Hoong Yee

me, your artspy

The Whisper Wrap

As dusk fell, my eyes followed the last boat from Ibiza disappearing into the distance with, at the time, all of my worldly possessions.  Thankfully, that was the only inconvenience of the day.  I considered my situation and the Cap Ferrar sent over from the mysterious gentleman at the bar.

Things could be worse.

Well, what do I need to survive, to live, really?  Or, to really live?  I wondered.

Being much more intrigued with living, I knew the answer immediately.

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My Whisper Wrap.

Inspired by an elegant lady from Shanghai who told me, “You were born to wear beautiful things,  custom silk dresses.  Revel in your destiny and find something fabulous to wrap around your shoulders.”

Something like a breathless summer stole, perfect for cool evenings in the casino, buying pomegranate tea in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, and sipping my second Cap Ferrar in a seaplane to the mainland.

This wrap was mean to be hand knit on large needles, preferably bamboo or some dark exotic wood, in a lace mohair using a simple open stitch that offers a glimpse of a tanned bare shoulder.  Long enough to skim the hem of my silk cheongsam, it is pure romance, pure rapture to wear.  Sensuous, and simply gorgeous.

Take your time and knit something that enchants the eye and caresses the skin like a lover’s eye – The Whisper Wrap.

Everything else, like my luggage, can wait.

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How to Knit the Whisper Wrap

What you need: 500 yards lace mohair in a startling color.  One pair of size 15 bamboo/wood knitting needles

Pattern: Garter stitch Knit every row.

Directions: Cast on 70 stitches.  Knit first row.  Continue to knit all rows (garter stitch) until you have reached      the desired length.  Cast off loosely.  Weave in loose ends.  Fling magnificently around your shoulders.  Follow with a smile.

Need help?

For those of you who are beginners, I have included a link to a video of basic knitting stitches.

Get more hooked

If you want more style notes for people who change the world,  please check out:

Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good

Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit

Style Notes from me, your artspy

Hoong Yee