December 1st is World AIDS Day.  It comes and goes each year and I remember how good it felt years ago to be involved in HIV/AIDS education and outreach.  Today, I am proud to be certified as an HIV test counselor and to be working with UCSF AIDS Health Project.  One of the reasons I moved to San Francisco in 2010 was to make a difference and work in HIV/AIDS outreach. 

This morning I met with my coworkers in downtown San Francisco.  We gave away around 500 little red ribbons with our cards outlining the hours for our free HIV testing.  It felt really good to do this outreach - and one stranger actually came up and gave each of us a hug; telling us he was on his way to the Grove to spend some time remembering those he had lost to AIDS. 

Years ago I did outreach like this; participating in AIDS walks, passing out condoms and participating in performances focused on HIV education.  Today connected that past with the present and it feels really good.  I found this newspaper clipping from 1991 from when I participated in the 4th annual Walk For Life in downtown Phoenix.  If you look at the clipping date (1991) and follow the building in the photo down to the participants, you'll see a young Kyle (with a head full of dark hair!) carrying the end of a banner!

During my high school years, I was involved in the Positive Force Players; a teen peer education theater troupe sponsored by Planned Parenthood of Central and Northern Arizona.  We spent the summer learning about around 20 different issues affecting teens: drinking and driving, suicide, teen pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, date rape and prejudice to name a few.  After we learned from experts in each field as well as from those who had first-hand experience of whatever topic we were studying, we got in groups and, using our own stories, began to develop skits. 

Those skits were revised and developed into scenes that we performed for schools, youth groups, community organizations and conferences.  We performed all over Arizona and, in my senior year, I believe I was in over 100 different shows.  We worked to make a difference as kids; doing our best to share education and be available to those who might have questions. 

We created a longer show called "It's About Time" focusing on HIV/AIDS - and featuring the stories of three different characters.  The photo above is from one of the performances of that show, and shows our version of the NAMES Project quilt.  The performances allowed us to work as a group to make a difference, and many of the friendships we cultivated during those years are going strong all these years later.

Back then, I knew that helping to raise awareness about social issues was important to me.  I did my best to learn what I could and took advantage of each opportunity that came my way, including the chance to receive a panel into the Names Project AIDS Quilt when it was on display in Phoenix, AZ.  These memories are what led me to the work I do today and are what seeded my love of HIV/AIDS outreach and education.

I ran the 2010 Los Angeles Marathon with the National AIDS Marathon Training Program and, with the help of my friends and family (and YOU), raised over $4,500.00 for AIDS Project Los Angeles.  That took about 6 months of training and a lot of mental effort to accomplish but once I crossed that finish line I realized we really CAN do anything we want if we want it bad enough!  OK - time to talk a little about knitting...

In preparation for World AIDS Day, I knit my CAUSE hat in red and dark gray to wear during our outreach.  People asked to have/purchase/comission one of these hats so I decided to raffle this hat to raise money for AIDS Health Project.  Those who work there have the opportunity to make a donation and from those donations we will draw a name.  That person will win the hat while we gather some money for a worthy cause.

As you probably know, I have 2 knitting patterns that are connected to HIV/AIDS awareness.  CURE is a hat featuring a "virus" on it and one red ribbon - and the proceeds from that hat go to Project Open Hand.  They are an amazing group that helps to feed folks living with HIV/AIDS, Breast Cancer and the elderly.  CAUSE is a hat encirled with ribbons and was designed to raise awareness about Breast Cancer.  Changing the color of the ribbons changes the focus of the project.  Proceeds from this pattern benefit Living Beyond Breast Cancer; a nonprofit based out of Pennsylvania.  The pattern is featured on their Shop to Support page. 

Want to make a difference?  Even something as simple as purchasing one of these patterns and knitting a hat could have an incredible impact on someone.  It's just a hat... just a knitting pattern... but sometimes the smallest actions have the greatest rewards. 

Interested in purchasing the CURE or CAUSE pattern?  Visit the SHOP.  For all you do to help raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and the other issues that are important to you, today is a day to reflect on how much impact even one person can have.  YOU have the ability to make a difference in this world; one tiny step at a time.

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November is here which means in the United States it's the month of our Thanksgiving holiday that, for me, evokes memories of big dinners (complete with pumpkin & pecan pie, banana salad, turkey, ham, oyster dressing for dad (and plain dressing for the rest of us), and usually sweet tea depending where we were celebrating.  It also reminds me of dressing like early Americans (complete with construction paper pilgrim hat or paper feather headdress for the Native Americans) and of course, that this holiday marks the "real" start of our traditional holiday season. 

Retail brings Christmas to us earlier and earlier every year; it's now happening a few weeks before Halloween in mid-October, but November 1st seems to be the indicator for me... With the start of this season, I am taking the opportunity to say thank you to those who make my world so amazing.  This year, in addition to my personal reflecting time, I decided to put pen to paper and write notes to some of those who have really made a difference in my life. 

I spent some time searching for an appropriate image (which, of course, I found at the Graphics Fairy) and created thank you cards.  Cut, folded, and ready to go, I spent an afternoon writing a few of those who have greatly impacted my life.  It makes sense to me; "thank you" cards for "Thanks"giving... right?

If you'd like to make the same card, I have attached the file for you to download.  Print it on heavy card stock, purchase some A1 sized envelopes and you'll be ready to be "Thankful" with this card featuring a vintage sheep graphic.

Simply print the cards on 8.5" x 11" white cardstock.  Carefully cut them out, fold, then fill them up with words of gratitude for those that deserve it.  The cards fit in A1 size envelopes.  (Envelopes and cardstock can be found at most office supply stores.  To cut the cards out (if you're not good with a sharp pair of scissors,) a paper cutter will do or rotary paper cutters can be used at copy/print places like FedEx/Kinkos.

No time to make these cards?  No printer?  A purchased "thank you" card would be a lovely subsitute, and of course, a simple, hand written note is always welcome in the mail or taped to a co-worker's keyboard or monitor!  This doesn't have to be fancy; take the time to tell those around you how they impact your life.  A few sentences can make such a difference.

Who could get a thank you note?  The list could go on and on for years.  Pick one (or a dozen, or two) and write.  It feels good to send love (especially when it's unexpected!)

Your LYS (local yarn shop)
Fiber company
Family (distant or not, biological or not)
Neighbors
Co-worker
Favorite place to eat
Mail carrier
Nurse/Doctor/Pharmacist
Those who volunteer in your area (food banks, homeless shelters, etc.) - wherever someone is working to make your community a better place
Police or Firemen - address the card to the entire crew
The person who taught you to knit
Childhood friends
Teachers
(and many, many more...)

It feels good to put on paper a gesture of gratitude... an unexpected note of kindness can brighten a day and possibly change a life.  Do some good.  Be thankful.  Print, write & share.

There's more knitting, weaving and creating going on here than I can talk about... but in time, I PROMISE to share all of it with you... every last stitch.  OH - one more thing.  Thank YOU for reading.  I know that there are lots of blogs out there to read and I appreciate your reading this one... and while not everyone comments on the posts, I know you're looking and that fuels m.  Having an online presence is a really fun thing - it affords me a place to sort out and organize my projects and thoughts and it has the added benefit of helping me stay connected to many of my online friends.  For that, I'm thankful.  Consider this post my "thank you" to you - for reading, being supportive of me (and other designers, knitters, artists), and for being the amazing person you are!!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Knitting is my "go-to" activity whenever I have a few free minutes.  I knit on my lunch break at work, I knit during down time when volunteering, I knit when riding with friends places... at the beach, at the movies... it's the first thing I do when I wake up in the morning (after checking email and ravelry) and the last thing I do usually before going to bed every night. 

Recently, I have been doing some design work for publication and it has taken a lot of my time away from some of the other things I like to do (like my goal of posting more frequently on the blog about knitting).

Those who have designed for publication know what it's like... coming up with an idea, swatching, swatching, swatching and then swatching some more... figuring out what the stitch pattern wants to be, then spending hours and hours knitting, ripping, knitting, ripping and knitting some more until a knitted item is born.  LOTS of notes are made and revised, and once the piece is complete, knitting becomes a sort of math "word problem" where the goal is to calculate the various sizing requirements for the project.

All of this takes so much time, and the publication process takes  a few months more... so in the end, there's LOTS of knitting that becomes secret and takes up time and can't be talked about... what that means is sometimes I am working like crazy on projects and while I want to post about them I can't. 

I have also been working on a commission project that I prefer not to talk about until it's complete... (It's a fun knitting project and I can't wait to share the finished item with you!)

In addition to those projects, I'm working on the upcoming newsletter which will include a tutorial for a great holiday gift idea (yes, the holidays are approaching!) - sign up for the newsletter on the contact page of the website so that you don't miss out on that great project!  (Those who sign up for the newsletter never know what additional goodies they might get- including secret special pricing on product and gifts!  Sign up today!)

I have to get back to knitting - but that's what's going on right now.  Thanks for reading, subscribing to the newsletter, adding my blog to your blog reader of choice, and for sharing my website and link on your blog!

Have a fantastic week!

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The Rialta scarf is an easy-to-knit, fun project that takes full advantage of the gorgeous color changes in Noro Silk Garden.  Download the pattern and get a headstart on Holiday knitting!  Based on the ripple or wave stitch seen in many, many stitch libraries, this scarf is easy to make with one row of pattern followed by 3 rows of plain knitting heaven!  Alternating between two skeins of delicious color-changing Noro makes for an unexpected treat.  You'll find yourself knitting on projects like this for hours on end; working to see what color combination will be next to appear.

Click the "buy now" button to download your FREE copy of the RIALTA Scarf pattern!

Here's a helpful hint: 

When knitting projects such as this using various colors of yarn that changes color, I am careful to alternate the joins in yarn.  While working, continue alternating between the two skeins until approximately ½ of each of the skeins are used.  Break the yarn of Color A and spit splice a new skein to the yarn tail, reserving the remaining yarn.  Continue knitting until the end of your project, adding skeins of yarn as needed.  When finishing the project, as you come to the end of Color A's yarn, spit splice the remaining ½ skein previously removed.  Using this trick will make the joins almost impossible to detect.  If the yarn ends that are spliced are similarly colored, the join will be invisible.  I used this technique when making Technicolor (the sweater pictured below) - and used 12 different colors of Noro Kureyon for that project.

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I wanted to share this photo of Willow and Wink taking an afternoon nap and tell you there's a LOT of great stuff coming here at www.kylewilliam.com!  While the blog may seem a bit quiet, rest assured that I'm hard at work behind the scenes preparing all kinds of goodies!

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Working with Kate, I never know what she's going to come up with next!  The most recent surprise was this presentation folder that holds the Kyle William pin-back buttons!  I love to give out these little buttons to my friends and students to remind them of the Kyle William website.  Fiber enthusiasts love to put them on their knitting bags to show support of the shops, websites, and podcasts they love.  Kate went above and beyond and designed this folder which I'll be using when giving out the buttons where I lead workshops.  This is my new favorite way to present my button and contact information!

A big "THANK YOU!" to Kate for her tireless creativity. I am excited about presenting the first of these folders to my students today at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles!

I know it's not possible to meet everyone who visits my blog to give them one of these buttons... so, to make sure you get a little something too, here's an online button you can use to put on your blog or website!  Copy and insert the HTML code below onto your site and share the love:

<a href="http://kylewilliam.com/"
><img border="0" src="http://www.kylewilliam.com/uploads/7/0/0/7/700708/4094967.jpg?127"
/></a>

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I'm honored to be a guest on the latest issue of Fiber Beat!  Having the opportunity to share my love of knitting with the listeners on Michael's podcast means a lot to me; I hope that the interviews he did with me and Deborah Corsini; the curator at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles will pique your interest to learn more about knitting as art and, if you're in the San Jose area, visit the exhibits and, if interested, take one of the workshops I'm offering. 

To hear the podcast, click on the image:

Be sure to subscribe to Fiber Beat; you never know who will be interviewed next!  The podcast is professionally produced, concise, entertaining, informative and inspiring! Fiber Beat has interviewed such fiber celebrities as Kaffe Fassett, Anna Zilboorg, and Franklin Habit, among others!  If you have yet to discover this great program, my suggestion would be to listen to each and every episode!

Like what you're reading?  Click the "like" button for twitter or facebook below to share this post with your friends!  Have a question for me?  Please send an EMAIL. 

This is a short post but an important one... announcing a new feature on the Kyle William website:  the VIDEO channel!  Videos will be added over time, focusing on knitting techniques, hints & tips, and should be helpful when attempting a new technique or taking the first steps to learn how to knit.  Techniques featured in this series are based on the right-handed English (or throwing) style knitting, where for the most part the working yarn is held in the right hand. 

Click the VIDEO link at the top of the site to be directed to the page showing the various videos.

Have a particular technique you'd like demonstrated?  Send an EMAIL.  Like what you see?  click the "like" facebook button or share this post on twitter with your friends.  Thanks!

I knit for many reasons.  I knit because it's creative, relaxing, fun, inspiring... I have discovered through my knitting that it is also a great way to start conversations.  When I knit in public, people seem curious about what I'm making; they ask about the techniques, the patterns, the yarn... This is part of the reasoning behind my series of patterns that are designed to raise awareness of different issues.  This pattern, CURE, features a "virus" motif, one red ribbon, and was created to encourage HIV/AIDS awareness.  Beyond the knitter gaining access to the included information sheets about the virus, transmission, testing and various online resources, I hope this information is shared with others while the project is being knit, or perhaps the fact sheets are included with the hat as a gift to someone.  Being able to share facts and resources is one of the greatest gifts we can offer our communities!

In addition to these wonderful benefits, 100% of the net proceeds from the sale of this pattern are donated to Project Open Hand;  a non-profit organization offering “meals with love” to people living with HIV/AIDS and other serious illnesses and to seniors in San Francisco and Alameda Counties since 1985.  Learn more at www.openhand.org.

Following this pattern, it’s easy to create a custom hat supporting HIV/AIDS awareness!  Knit one for yourself, make another for a friend or charity!  Share the knowledge you gain with those you love to help raise awareness about the virus and how it is transmitted, and feel good about your purchase; knowing that you're helping Project Open Hand do the wonderful work they've been doing for over 25 years!

If you're interested in knitting the hat, click the "buy now" button below and complete your purchase for an instant download.  Another way to show support?  Click the buttons at the bottom of this post to share this post with your friends on facebook or twitter.  Encourage your knitting group to each purchase a copy of the pattern and do a knit-a-long.  Thank you for your support!!

As an additional note, the other pattern designed to raise awareness, CAUSE, benefits Living Beyond Breast Cancer. 100% of the net proceeds from the sale of this pattern go to an amazing nonprofit in PA.  Founded in 1991, Living Beyond Breast Cancer offers specialized programs and services for the newly diagnosed, young women, women with advanced breast cancer, women at high risk for developing the disease, African-American and Latina women as well as programs for caregivers and healthcare professionals to help them better meet the needs of women affected by breast cancer.  Learn more at www.LBBC.org.


To purchase this pattern, click the "buy now" button.  Thanks for helping to spread awareness of these important issues while helping me to raise money for these worthwhile organizations.

What fun this project is!  With a few simple household ingredients, you can dye yarn a beautiful color!  The first time I heard of this technique was scribbled in the margines of an old natural dyeing book another artist had left
in one of my classrooms.  Intrigued, I jotted down the notes and went hunting and gathering in my neighborhood for the required materials.  Download a complete tutorial on the process by clicking the link at the bottom of this post.
You'll notice that it doesn't take much to do this experiment!  It also doesn't require fancy yarn... any 100% wool yarn should work quite well.  The first part of the project is to gather the materials necessary to make the solution.

Why pre-1981 copper pennies?  It has to do with the copper content.  According to Wickipedia, (which is always accurate, right??) the copper content of pennies before 1981 is around 5%, and from the varous websites I researched for the recipe, they all specify pre-1982 or pre-1981 pennies. 

Years                   Material
1793–1857         100% copper
1857–1864         88% copper, 12% nickel (also known as NS-12)
1864–1942         bronze (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc)
1946–1962         bronze (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc)
1943                   zinc-coated steel (also known as steel  penny)
1944–1946         brass (95% copper, 5% zinc)
1962–1981         brass (95% copper, 5% zinc)
1974                   Experimental aluminum variety (test strikes only, not circulated)
1982–present*   97.5% zinc core, 2.5% copper plating
 

Where do you get 100 pre-1981 pennies?  The bank, of course!  (First I went through my change piles and sorted the pennies... I found almost enough for the experiment there.)  I visited the teller at my local bank and got $4 worth of rolled pennies.  in the first 2 rolls I found a total of 11 pre-1981 pennies which was enough to complete my first experiment, and after opening the other 2 rolls (and finding a few additional ones lying around) I have 51 more pennies saved up for the next time I want to try this!

Of course, after all the preparation, I got a bit ahead of myself in the experiment and used tap water instead of the distilled water that my recipe calls for.  Tap water includes iron which might change the way the solution develops.  The metals and minerals in tap water affects dyeing, so if an attempt at controlling the color is desired, then distilled water is the way to go.  I'm going to proceed anyway with this version (I could pour out the liquid and re-start it since it was such an immediate realization) to see how it looks.  I'll then repeat the experiment with distilled water to see how that compares.

I put the sealed jar on the roof of my building with a note, letting the other tenants know what wacky experiment I was doing, and then followed it up with a quick email to let them all know, just to be sure everyone is aware.  It was mixed around 11:30am on Monday, May 9, 2011.  The liquid almost immediately started to change color.  Even on the silver paint of my rooftop it is noticeable!

The above photo was taken after 48 hours, and the liquid is even more blue.  (The sky was very cloudy when I took this photo; the blue is actually more brilliant than it looks).  I am checking the liquid daily to see how it looks, and I shake up the jar each time to mix around the pennies. 

...and here it is one week later - in brighter light... it doesn't seem that much more intense when I compare the photos.  (It actually seems lighter/brighter).  That being said, my guess is the solution is probably not harmed by leaving the copper in for longer than recommended.

The next step is to soak your wool.  I used Patons Classic Wool (100% wool) in the color "Aran" for this experiment.  It comes in skeins that weigh approximately 3.5 ounces.  I wound 2.25 ounces onto my niddy noddy, and loosely tied the skein using scrap bits of yarn in a "figure 8" through the yarn to keep it secure in 4 different places.  Here's my skein of yarn bundled up for a "before" photo:

Then, fill a large bowl or pan with cool water.  Open up the skein and submerse the yarn so that it's all able to soak up water:

Some of the yarn sits on the top of the water and is exposed to the air... it's not getting wet!  In order to fix this, I put a plate on top of the yarn and allowed the water to submerge the plate:

Let the yarn soak for about an hour in the water so that it is fully wet.  Next, take the pennies out of your blue solution, being careful not to breathe in the vapors.  Rinse the pennies in water.  I don't know for sure if you would want to re-use the pennies for dyeing again or not (anyone have thoughts?)... The next steps require a few additional items:  rubber gloves, a strainer of some sort to easily drain the liquid and keep the pennies in the jar, and a container of some sort in which to soak the yarn.  Hooray for the dollar store; $3.00 plus tax for these additional items!  Note: even though we are using simple household ingredients, I really suggest not using food preparation items that might come into contact with the blue ammonia solution.  It's best to have dedicated supplies and materials for your dyeing and experimenting.  When in doubt, don't use something that you use for food preparation.

Carefully wring out the yarn from the bowl of water, and put the wetted yarn into the blue solution.  BE CAREFUL not to get the solution on you.  (If you do get it on your skin, wash immediately with soap and water.)  When I did this, the yarn turned a strange beige-gray color.  I put the plastic wrap on top of the yarn to try to be sure that the liquid was in contact with all of the yarn.  After 30-45 minutes, there was no more blue in the solution.

Once this happens, remove the yarn and rinse in a soution of vinegar to set the color.  Note that this color is considered fugitive, meaning the color might/will fade over time.  Be aware of this when you do the technique, knowing that if you combine it with other colors that this one may fade.

The photo above was taken after the yarn had been rinsed and vinegar was added to the rinse bath.  There's a distinct but subtle change of color when the yarn is put in this "afterbath" - it got lighter and more green.  The photo below shows an attempt at illustrating this difference.  Click on the photo to enlarge.

At this point, there's not much more to do.  Rinse the yarn well, remove the excess water, and hang it to dry.  In the end, I ended up with a green/gray yarn that I'm pleased with. Note that this dye is fugitive, meaning the color will fade over time, much like many other dyes.  It's worth noting, however, and keeping in mind when pairing with other yarns.

One more photo to compare the colors.  If you do try out this fun technique, be sure to send me a note to let me know how it goes!  Ready to try?  Click the link below to download the tutorial for copper yarn dyeing!

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