Saturday, March 19, 2011

The Mystery Thing Revealed: It's a Ya-Ya!!!

No, not the kind of ya-ya that Patti LaBelle made famous.  Perhaps I should explain...

For this week's Mystery Thing challenge, I whipped up some cute fabric yo-yos:



Very easy to make from any fabric round.  (Yo-yo tutorial here.)  However, I believe that these particular ones should actually be called ya-yas.  Why?  Because I made them out of these:


Vintage yarmulkes!

I came into possession of a huge trove of vintage kippahs, or yarmulkes.  They are Jewish skullcaps, and can come in a fascinating variety of styles and fabric.


They're always the same shape, though (top-of-the-head round), making them perfect for yo-yo-ing.  Many are stamped with celebratory events:



Some, not quite so celebratory...


News to me: they come in hat sizes!


Aren't they lovely?  I am having so much fun finding uses for my ya-yas.



I just love how the ornamental border on this handknit one forms a decorative center:


I also made some folded wrist cuffs, a bit of Victorian cuteness:



And now, the winners!  Congrats to the first and only correct guesser: Clanger.  You are one smart cookie, Clanger, and this week you take first prize - your choice of any of these yarmulkelicious creations.  I had my mom choose the random number winner, and hooray, it's Elischa!  And then I just had to give one extra prize to the one who made me laugh longest: andhisband, who said, "My god, woman, you've killed an old priest and stolen his Lenten vestments!"*  You shall all receive an email from me anon.

Thanks ten million for guessing, everybody!  There were some hysterical guesses.  (We all need to start making things from bra cups and hot water bottles.  And anyone have a source for bloomers?   Because I want to craft with them.)

Another Mystery Thing is coming up soon, so be sure to come back and play again!


*Note: no priests, rabbis or religious persons of any faith were harmed in the making of this blog post.

14 comments:

  1. I may have guessed right but I showed my total ignorance of all things Jewish by SPELLING IT INCORRECTLY. I am so embarrassed at my lack of effort to google the correct spelling that I insist you give my prize to someone else.
    Sincerely,
    A very shamed Clanger

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  2. Oh my gosh this is awesome! What a lucky find :) I love the idea of calling them yayas, too! I've been making accessories with yoyos too, but mine are from cotton and thifted wool and silk -- I wish i had found something cool like your materials!

    Stitching in Circles

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  3. I never would have guessed this in a million years! Great idea!

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  4. Congrats, girls! Nice one :) Bleeding heck, they come personalized? That's so cool!
    And I vote for Clanger to claim her prize- spelling, schmelling!

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  5. HAHAHAHAHA! I never ever ever would have guessed n a bazillion years. Wow. And I even have a couple of those around the house.... but they are from weddings w boring colors like black and cream. Why don't I get invited to weddings with GREEN VELVET? That is crazy! Love it.

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  6. Congratulations to the WINNERS!!!! Good guess, even with the misspelling, doesn't matter, you take the top! As for the rest of us, we did our best and made you laugh, which is just what the doctor ordered and Mich helped us get there.

    Thanks for the mystery...and we never know what you will do next. But, we LOVE what you make out of it. They are always BEAUTIFUL!!!!

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  7. ohh I lost the challenge!!!
    I love them, specially that one, white handknitted, is so beautiful!!!:-D

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  8. I can't believe someone actually guessed the answer to this!!
    Great work !

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  9. alrighty! okay then! i'm kinda proud of my losing guess anyway... i was close... no cigar, true, but close!

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  10. Now I'm curious to see what the hint was! Love those embroidered floral ones! thanks for sharing on craft schooling Sunday and all the best!

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  11. Hey dear..you know i guess this mystery,i swear i guess this,but i didnt write because it looks odd to write 2nd time..isnt it..?so thats why i didnt write,otherwise i guess it after writing comment.Muslims men also cover their heads daily during 5 times prayers..so it was not new for me..believe me..:)

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  12. Your imagination has no limit...I go from a surprise to an other one browsing your blog.

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