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I was reading my blog list last Thursday, as I am wont to do, when I stumbled over Creativeadoration’s post on yarn bowls. This was an entirely new concept to me, so much so that I’ve been doing research on it since I read the post. Oh, and? I bought two that day. Because I have a problem.

One, which will be the main focus of this review, was from Fred Parker Pottery, in my old Georgian stomping grounds. The other is from LAS, and while I’ll be discussing it, it will mostly be a foil for the other bowl.

Fred Parker Pottery Bowl

LAS Designs Bowl

The bowls have two distinct ways of feeding the yarn. The FPP bowl has the distinct (and distinctly cute) J or pig-tail shaped feeder, as well as offering a bottom feed hole. The LAS bowl has only the side feed hole, with no connecting line to the outer rim. Holes that don’t have an escape route are problematic for people with multiple projects (or who have habitual WIP disease like me). To get your yarn from the bowl, you have to cut the string, or suffer through and finish the project. The J-shape lets the crafter remove the yarn easily.

So, that’s one win for the FPP bowl. This particular bowl, unlike his others, also has a bottom feed hole – an experiment. While it is fun and mostly functional, I have to say I don’t think it’s all that practical. As I got to the end of my ball of yarn, it shrunk to the size of the hole and -whoops!- my ball was free. I solved this with the J-shaped feeder, using it the more conventional way until my yarn was gone. This could be solved with a smaller hole.

One thing that is entirely my fault is the size of these bowls. I can never quite visualize with inches, and I thought both would be significantly bigger. At least big enough to fit an entire skein of yarn wrapped into a bowl. But, as I said, that is my fault. 

Using these bowls, I attempted both center-pull and pulling the yarn from the outside. The balls were large (medium in my head but large for the bowls), so I had to re-size them to get them small enough to pull smoothly from the outside. Both bowls were immediately workable from a center-pull perspective.

I liked using either method, though the center-pull does have that advantage. It has a disadvantage in that the point where there is resistance from the yarn going around the interior loops can cause the bowl to reel dangerously and in a few cases fall over. I could fix this with a hand or using my feet to steady the bowl. Weighting the bottom or attaching felt to make a bit more friction might fix this.

Using the outside-pull method, there was no resistance, and everything went very smoothly. Of course, I had less yarn to work with, but there was also a certain charm in the way the ball rolled around, and it made a nice soothing noise.

Overall, I am pretty happy with my purchases. I don’t think I’ll be using the bottom hole on the FPP bowl just because of the small ball issue, and having no escape route. And both look gorgeous on my shelf with a ball nestled in them.

Pictures taken from the respective etsy shops of the sellers of these items. I claim no ownership

Edit: This review was done both for my own fun, and to help the maker of the FPP bowl. After posting, he had additional questions:

Would it be too much trouble for you to get out a tape measure and “guesstimate” dimensions of an ideal yarn bowl? Specifically I need height and diameter of mouth and bowl (if they are different). whether you like or don’t like the way I “collar in” the neck of the bowl to produce a slight narrowing to contain the ball would also be helpful. The alternative is to have a straight side more like the other bowl you tried.

As for the size, I measured a few and came up with about 5 by 4 inches as the average size of the ball (the difference was about a quarter of an inch either way). I would guess than an ideal bowl would have a mouth about the same size as the one I received (yarn balls are squishy and upon measuring it appears to be about 4 and a half on the inside) and then 6 inches for the ball to roll about in. Currently, I am measuring 5 and a half on the outside. Also, maybe make it taller so that the inside has a bit more of a rounded shape to it. While I measured the (outside) of the width to be 5.5, the height of the bowl was just shy of 3 and a half. I imagine this working out with a bowl with these dimensions:

Diameter of opening (inside): 4.5 inches
Diameter of the width (from the outside, top view): 6 to 6.5 inches
Height of the bowl: 4 or 4.5 inches

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the way you collared in the neck. That way I was able to squish the ball in and it would be fairly secure, it also helped to curb the rolling ball’s enthusiasm as it got to be a smaller diameter. The straight sided one did have one or two jump outs that enticed my puppy to come play. Plus it just looks so much more elegant.

Maybe it’s silly of me, but whenever I am driving (which is a lot), I always expect more of the people who sport stickers with my chosen candidate on them. I also watch the people with the other candidates’ stickers more closely to look for idiotic behavior. Honestly, the only thing I can come up with from my observations is that everyone is a shitty, selfish driver.

I am proud to say that Erica, the recipient of Lumpy Bird, has posted some beautiful pictures of him in her blog. I look forward to making more, with the added bonus of magnets in their bellies so that they stay perched at work! I’m also working on a pattern for a heart-shaped face sort of bird. Well… my mom is helping. Because that’s what moms do.

Speaking of work, I have a shelf, and soon plants! They are sitting downstairs and awaiting transport. Maybe tomorrow I will borrow the Canon and get a shot or two in. When I’m not shooting myself in the head.

So I’ve had my Amazon wishlist link in the right nav for a while now, mostly as a lark, and more frequently as an easy way to get the link that others can access, versus the link that I get as the owner of the list (I am logged in 24/7 because sometimes I NEED something at 3 am and dammit my password is long.)

One thing that’s always gotten to me around Christmas and my birthday and other gifting occasions was that it was much simpler to give someone the Amazon list, even though it might not have EVERYTHING I may want, than to give them a billion links to a billion places.

Now, Amazon has answered that need. Last night, as I added some books to my list, they offered me the option to use their Universal Gift List. It works by giving you a link that can be dragged to your bookmarks bar and allows you to add whatever page you are viewing to your universal gift list. No more emails full of links, just a one-stop place where someone can fulfill your wildest dreams… /hyperbole

The only thing I haven’t tried yet is from the gift giver’s side. Does Amazon help fulfill the order (doubtful) or just link you out to the other product’s page?

I just tried it, and it links out to the page, with a nice little graphic. You can input the price when you add it, and flip through the various picture offerings so that the purchaser can see the item before they buy it and see if it fits in their price range.

In short, and I am so not getting paid or reimbursed to say this, the Amazon Universal Wishlist ROCKS.

Remember when I said I don’t carry purses? That’s all changed now. Putting things in pockets is just not cool when you’re presenting and have a big-ass wallet in your pocket or your pants start ringing. So, I bought this purse, and I LOVE it. It’s the perfect size and slouch. 

So now that I am a purse-carrying adult, I need to live up to that adultness. One thing is being on time and making my own appointments. I bought this Filofax a while ago (after 27 Dresses… cough) But now it lives with me in my purse.

Of course, the next thing marked in it is: Sept 19th- Talk Like a Pirate Day… so maybe not so adult.

It’s no secret I am a huge slob who spills. And adults look well put together. So in addition to sunglasses, wallets, phones and iPods, this is the next item to permanently live in my purse:

After I buy it, of course…

I just ordered a My Beating Heart in the hopes that it will help me sleep. All in all, I think it’s an interesting idea anyway. Plus they are cute, and we all know I’m a sucker for cute things. I’ll probably review it when I get it.

An amazing thing about My Beating Heart is that everytime you turn it on, an entirely uniqure heartbeat rhythm is created. In fact, every rhythm itself gradually changes and subtly dances, algorithically modelling the heartbeat in a deep meditative state. This isn’t a pre-recorded rhythm and this isn’t a “heartbeat sound.” This is a physical heartbeat that realistically changes over time.

As you hug My Beating Heart you may notice subtle changes to the heartbeat. Our “secret sauce” technology is at work inside algorithmically modeling the human heart in a deep meditative state. Your own heart would only beat as slow as My Beating Heart’s if you were in a very deep sleep or in a very deep meditation. The changes are slight but we think they are powerful in helping people relax and become more aware of themselves and their surroundings. Each Beating Heart rhythm is entirely unique and we truly hope you enjoy yours.

Speaking of my health/not sleeping, I’ve been going to the chiropractor. I swear, he’s trying to kill me. When he massages my back I can’t breathe, that’s how badly it hurts. And then he tells me to relax! But today (visit 3 since Saturday, two more before this upcoming Saturday) it didn’t hurt as badly. That’s got to be a good sign, right? My head has been hurting a lot, and he says it’s because the way I am aligned is cutting off arterial blood supply to my brain. My head still hurts, but it’s not leaving me in tears, so I think that’s also a good sign.

I got an email today to my home email from someone at work. Who told me that on my first day, when I got my first assignment, that I should have asked for something. I have no idea how I was supposed to know this, but now I feel like I’m in deep shit. I had no idea! Anyway, I know this person’s not really mad at me, but I HATE messing up. I just hate it. Now I feel like a failure and I want to crawl into a hole and die.

Obviously I have some hyperbolic issues.

Off to ice my back and sleep.