Lydia Likes It

Loopy Mango, the world's puffiest yarn

Nothing is more satisfying than knitting a super-warm, super-puffy scarf, and donating it to a shelter or to someone who is living outdoors in the winter. This season I've been having fun with a new-to-me yarn called Loopy Mango and a circular size 17 knitting needle. Loopy Mango makes cotton yarn in bulky weights and soothing colors, and wool yarn in bulky and super-bulky weights in two dozen colors from hot to cool. I'm partial to Merino No. 5, super-bulky weight wool. Three skeins make a long scarf, with only 5-6 hours of work. The "pattern" I use is quick and easy: cast on 16 stitches, K every row, cast off. If you're in the Boston area, check out Gather Here in Inman Square, Cambridge, where I buy my yarn, and watch for my scarf bombing on Boston Common. Shop online, if you're not in Boston: https://loopymango.com/collections/merino-no-5-diy.

Exploratory sketchbook

From the time I was a little girl, I dreamed of becoming an artist, though I exhibited absolutely no talent for painting or drawing. Now, in retirement, I have time to revisit and experiment. Could my childhood dream come true for the adult price of only $18.99? Domestika might be able to help. In their online course (pay once, access it forever), Exploratory Sketchbook: Find Your Drawing Style, you'll discover fun methods to develop your ideas and draw from observation using gouache, watercolor and colored pencils. There are 16 two-and-a-half-hour sessions, to complete at your own pace, in the privacy of your own home. Look out, art world -- here I come!

Perfect reading chairs

Have you seen these chairs? We have, at the Lower Mills Branch of the Boston Public Library. We've seen them, and tried them on, and they are absolutely perfect reading chairs -- and we want them. The backs are high enough to lean your head on, while you're pretending to be reading but you're really taking a nap, and the seats are wide enough for real comfort. Other than at the library, though, I haven't been able to find them anywhere, online or in person. The tag on the bottom (yes, the librarian helped my husband Ted turn them over to check) says Levenger, but the chairs are nowhere on their web site. Or on eBay, or Etsy, or Chairish, or any other site. Help me find a pair of these chairs, please. We're going to offer the library a pair of new leather reading chairs in trade for these, but we're not optimistic about our success. So, if you have any ideas -- or if you happen to have a pair of these chairs in your basement, and you'd be willing to sell them -- please let me know. I'll be your best friend.

The IKEA Poäng chair

My husband Ted and I bought our first Poäng chair at least 25 years ago, and a few weeks ago we bought this one, which I believe is at least the fifth Poäng we've owned. (Our decor changed over the years, but the chairs would have lasted forever, except for the two we left on the porch at the log house through several brutally snowy winters.) In 1976, Japanese designer Noboru Nakamura collaborated with IKEA's product manager, Lars Engman, on the beechwood-frame chair that initially was named "Poem," and to date, IKEA has sold more than 30 million Poäng chairs in various colors and fabrics. The chair comes flat-packed, and it's easy to assemble with the included Allen wrench. Poäng is an insanely comfortable chair at a very affordable price, and if you don't live near an IKEA, you can now buy the chair and matching footstool online. 

Poufs

The casual style of poufs -- also called ottomans, hassocks, or footstools -- livens up any decor, and I plan to mix and match several in the small living room space in our new Boston digs. The perfect pouf is firm enough to serve as extra seating, but not so heavy that it can't be moved easily around the room. The pouf in the top left photo is the traditional Moroccan style; my favorites are the Indian-style ones with tassels, though the tassels might prove too tempting for my cats. I found all of the poufs in the photo on Etsy, a wonderful site featuring handmade and vintage items. If you were going to pick two or three, which ones would you choose?