The Ravellenics have long ago packed up and I am still working on my cardigan. I feel pretty good that I got as much of it done as I did. This magnum opus of a sweater is on track to go to Rhinebeck in October. It has not been without problems though. Luckily I am in the mood to sort them out rather than act a child and throw it in the corner with my pout face on. Sometimes it is all about timing.
Read MoreAs a mom, I am always looking for a way to translate my crafty abilities to something useful for the kids. My daughters lose things a lot (seriously, a LOT). If I were to give them a pouch to hold their earbuds they might keep a closer eye on them. If I made a pouch in their favorite colors, it might take longer to lose them. This week I give you notes on how to knit bottom-up earbud pouches
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Just as one crazy fiber event ends, another takes its place. Fresh off my victory of Tour de Fleece, Ravellenics loomed and I wondered if I could pull off plying and dyeing in time to start knitting a sweater for the upcoming event on Friday. Turns out that my ability to do the work far outweighs my ability to make pattern decisions this time.
After I was done celebrating that all of my fiber had been spun into singles, I kicked my weary feet up and basked in the glory of a job well done. I didn't rest for long though as I was so excited to see the yarn plyed. I took about a week and a half to finish plying all of the yarn and it started to look like I could cast on a sweater for Ravellenics (Go Team Sasquatch).
The yarn has been dyed a lovely sage green that I have been dreaming about for weeks now. I have been seeing myself snuggled in fuzzy cables come winter. I can feel the softness of this cardigan as the snow flies outside my window as I huddle over my tea cup for warmth, but for the life of me I can't get a good look at the sweater of my dreams. I know what it feels like, but the style of cables, the detail on the edging is so vauge.
I wanted a raglan sleeve, open front cardigan with a cable detail down the back and maybe some detail on the edging. I wanted to work it top down and I wanted someone to bring me lemon shortbread cookies and tea as I knit it. Apparently that was asking too much!
Currently the plan is to knit the Elda Cardigan by Vera Sanon. This cardi doesn't have a cabled back detail, but I decided that it could be easily inserted. Little did I know just how picky I am about cable selection. (eyeroll)
My trusted pattern partner in crime, Susie, brought me all of her cable resource books. I felt like James Bond picking out his weapons for the mission. "This one is too bulky. That one is not powerful enough. This one is too complicated." I decided on a cable stitch pattern, but (in typical Danie style) wanted to change it. Let's make it bigger and get rid of some detail that would only get lost in my yarn. I stayed up until midnight rewritting a larger pattern and finally decided that I should just find a pattern I liked on another project and transfer the cable pattern.
On previous trips down the rabbit hole of Ravelry, I came across the perfect cable detail. I was sure I had saved it...but I was wrong. I spent over an hour this morning searching through 44 pattern search pages looking for that needle in the haystack, but couldn't find it. Perhaps it was a project page I was looking at and not the original pattern.
Feeling defeated, I picked up the pattern book and took another look. I had new ideas about what I wanted and saw the patterns in a new perspective. I have hopefully decided on a cable pattern. I will spend today swatching the cable to be sure it is the "right choice". At this point, I either need to solidify my cable needs or just go with what I've got.
On the last day of Tour de Fleece I had three ounces left. My husband took the kids to visit their cousins so I had the ability to spin without interruption or guilt. I broke down and paid for the second season of Grantchester to pull me through the last big push to the finish line. It proved to be the spinning equivalent to playing Eye of the Tiger.
Read MoreThis is the last week of Tour de Fleece. The madness continues through Sunday and then it is over. Then I am left with the odd feeling that I am forgetting something. What did I do before I spent every waking moment thinking about spinning? Something with sticks....
Read MoreThe first week of Tour de Fleece was rocky. I don't know why the family continues to look at me every night when asking the "What's for supper?" question. Far as I am concerned you can all have cereal for supper. Cereal: the official supper of Tour de Fleece!
Read MoreThe last week has been a huge upheaval in my crafting schedule. While my knitting has been moved to car knitting and social visits, I did manage to get to the cuff of my first sleeve before needle switching held me up. However, with the start of Tour de Fleece, my spinning has really taken off (and taken over the house).
Read MoreThe summer is starting to zoom now. How do I know? I'm scrambling to decide what to do for Tour de Fleece again. It is fast approaching and I haven't even started to strategize. Why am I never able to look ahead in knitting? At least this year I am planning before the starting day when I see everyone post their amazing fibers on Instagram.
Read MoreHere I find myself again. I knew it would come to this. I told myself that I was up to the task. As my cardigan gets longer and I near the bottom hem, the realization starts to sink in that I will eventually have to knit these sleeves if I want to wear my "finished" cardigan to Rhinebeck this fall. But what does "finished" really mean anyway. Doesn't it just mean that I'm done with it? There are certainly objects that haven't been completed that I would consider "finished". Can I come around to the idea of knitting sleeves?
Read MoreI have recently started sewing myself knit dresses. They are casual and easy to wear, yet you look put together. The problem quickly became that of time. I am a busy gal living in a tiny house (well it wasn't this tiny until my yarn business started taking over the house). I don't have lots of time to devote to sewing and I certainly don't have the space to leave sewing projects out for long periods of time. Imagine my excitement when I stumbled upon SproutPatterns.com!
Read MoreLately I've felt a little guilty talking about anything but knitting and the occasional spinning on this blog, but NO MORE! I plan to leave this blog open to my creative pursuits, whatever art they might be in because at the end of the day we are all crafters. We are all seeking an outlet for our mind's need to bring something to life. We are all in need of a quiet moment of the mind (whether we know it or not). We are all in want of something to hold up and say, "Look! I made this."
Read MoreMy podcast co-host and I started a Mother"s Day Cast On where everyone, not just mothers, are invited to cast on something for themselves. This year I'm casting on a sweater, a very special sweater. This is to be a (insert awesome music here of your choosing (trumpets or sports themed music is good here, but I personally prefer action movie soundtracks)) Rhinebeck Sweater!
Read MoreI have been getting cabin fever bad lately. Perhaps I'm lonely working away alone in the house for long hours or maybe I've just had it with being indoors at all when the spring starts to call. It is too soon here to start work planting my tiny little garden. It's not quite warm enough yet to sit in the sky chair and soak up the heat of the sun. What is a girl to do? Rebel. Rebel with every fiber of my being...
Read MoreA usual knitter with no space to sew and who hasn't sewn a garment for myself in years, what business did I have saying that I would sew a dress to attend an upcoming wedding? Turns out, I had ALL the business in the world to say it. Customization isn't new to us knitters, but should we think about it in other forms to? Absolutely!
Read MoreI have a great sweater on the needles. It is practical, flattering, and an interesting construction. Trouble is, I haven't picked it up since....maybe November. Why would I let a sweater I was so excited about slip through my fingers into Neverland (not the one where boys never grow up, but the Knitting Neverland where WIPs never get finished)?
Read MoreMy beautiful cousin got married and at her wedding she had collected vintage handkerchiefs for the guests "for happy tears." She worked hard to wash and press these vintage swatches and they were beautiful. Holding it in my hand was like a connection of the past and the present.
Read MoreHaving online friends is the modern day version of pen pals. You can share information and pictures with people across the world and never meet, or you can find a great excuse like a fiber retreat to meet up. Just because we met online through our common love of knitting doesn't mean our friendship remain tethered to that fact. It is just a jumping off point to what can be a very deep and meaningful friendship.
Read MoreOver the last few weeks I've been refreshing myself on some skills I haven't used in about a decade. (Has it really been that long? Surely my math is off somewhere...) And over the last 15 years, the way I learn has changed so much.
Read MoreAlways knit a swatch for a garment. ALWAYS. Always sew a muslin for a dress. Always????
Read MoreMy kids are on spring break this week. They are disrupting my normal routine which is both a nice change of pace and at the same time a curse as I have so much work to do. With them home it is easier to just lean into the chaos. Not only do I plan to take the kids to some fun places, but I also plan to do some creative stuff myself.
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