July, as it were

How are we doing today? Today it is July, next week it will be August. This time of year is hardest for me typically: I’ve experienced all the best that summer has to offer (cool water on a hot day, fresh tomatoes, fireflies, a getaway, a celebration or two) and my heart starts to wonder when the heat will subside and the cool relief of the fall will arrive. The days where the hottest it will get is 85 degrees are over and we are in heat indexes nearing 100 which makes it hard to feel good about doing anything out of doors.

And yet! There is gratitude in each day. I’m home after a week with family, the first week I’ve spent with them all since November, and it filled my heart so full. It was a lot of travel and way more levels of stress than any of us were thinking with the virus still rearing its ugly head in the areas where I was destined, but it was also 100% worth it. For a long time I think I expected to get into more of a rhythm with living far from home but honestly, each year is still a bit of a heartache. My nieces and nephew are the most special little people I know and photos are not the same as being with them. (How far away are the holidays now?)

The highlights of my week this week are the ten pounds of heirloom tomatoes that Nash insists on munching whenever he gets the chance that will turn into the best tomato sauce and my weekly bouquet from Bluebird Meadows Farm. I’ll get a photo soon, because everyone needs to know how amazing these flowers are. Having a pitcher of happiness in my dining room never meant so much to me as it does this year. I’d take celosia and zinnias and black-eyed susan over most things.

The Paeonia Shawl testing is also complete and will be launching this week! Check out my Instagram for more information and photos today. I’m so so excited to share this with you all. Wishing you joy (and air-conditioning) in the meantime.

Coming Soon: Paeonia Shawl

I took a break from posting last week in solidarity with amplifying Black voices in our community and focusing my feed on sharing resources for white folks interested in educating themselves on systemic oppression, police reform and the validity of protests. In the wake of no arrests still for the murder of Breonna Taylor, and hearing of how the families of former victims called the family of George Floyd saying, “Don’t expect much to change,” and the complete misuse of force across the country and straight from our president towards peaceful protestors, it really didn’t even seem like I should post about anything else for a long time.

I saw a post the other day that reminded me, however, that the work that we are in is a marathon, not a sprint. I continued to knit all last week after reading the morning paper, and while watching movies safe at home, and listening to podcasts. This was good, but just because I am back to talking about knitting today, know that the work is still very much ongoing with me and my community.

What was I knitting all last week? I was knitting what I’m calling the Paeonia Shawl, my first ever knit design. This idea has been rolling around in my mind and heart for years and was sparked into being the first time I saw this yarn in my local yarn store a few months ago. In the wake of those who are putting their actual lives on the line and demonstrating incredible courage in the world, it seems so trite and trivial to call the work of this design as an act of hope or belief in moving past fear, but in me for many ways it was and it has been. I am so excited to share this design with you, reader, and the world.

From my call for testers on IG this morning I think I have all of the folks that I need to test this design, but be on the lookout for the official pattern’s release next month and for more information on this design the closer we get. Thank you to everyone who has responded to this design in such a positive way and for all of the love I’ve felt today, it truly means the world to me.

New Favorites; Stone Knits Colorwork Socks

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I love knitting socks for so many reasons. They are often made in fingering weight (my favorite), they are portable, they are the ultimate example of custom fitting a garment to your unique body, they are cozy, and they are endless opportunities for inspiration and just plain fun. I will knit a pair of socks I would never make a sweater out of, either because the pattern or color is really busy or bright, or if I’m not sure how it would fit. They also make great gifts, because the recipient will always be endlessly impressed with how you made those socks?!

I discovered Stone Knits within the past year, and she makes some truly amazing colorwork socks. I haven’t actually dove into much colorwork in my socks beyond the world of contrast heels and toes, but I am very excited to get into it. I find that colorwork stays a bit tighter because of the floats that you carry behind the knitting, and even the best knit socks have a tendency to stretch a little from their perfect fit between washings. I imagine it is also a great way to try out different kinds of colorwork and color combinations before committing to something similar in a larger garment. Her designs are whimsical and fresh and always really fun to look at in my Ravelry favorites. Highly recommend if you’re looking for something extra botanical for your feet this summer.

What I listen to while I craft

Part of the funny thing about sharing your crafts online is the focus on the finished object being created, rather than the process of creating it. On some level, this makes sense - would we create if we weren’t excited about what was coming at the end of our making? But it is fun to get peeks into people’s process, too. This is where the magic is so often found. I thought it would be fun to share a brief round-up of the things I like to watch and listen to when I’m in the zone of creating something new.

A lot of my knitting is done on our sofa, at the end of the workday when B and I unwind. Our go-to shows are The Office, Parks and Rec, old re-runs of Jeopardy on Netflix, Saturday Night Live, and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. If B is doing something else or I’m by myself in the evenings, I LOVE The Crown, Law & Order: SVU, the Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise (definitely a “guilty” pleasure), Gilmore Girls, or pretty much any food documentary. And, I love knitting podcasts. Recently I was introduced to Fruity Knitting which is so great, and I’ve watched Melody Hoffman, the Woolly Mammoth Fibre podcast, Drunk Knitter, Kammebornia, and the Gentle Knitter podcast for a long time. I have a local group of friends who like together and knit, but during the week and in times such as this, it’s really fun to hear from other crafters about what they’re working on.

When I sew, if I’m winding yarn for a big project, or otherwise working in my office, I really enjoy listening to podcasts to keep me entertained while My iPad is being used to display a digital sewing pattern. I really enjoy the new A Beautiful Mess podcast, Crime Junkie, Fair Folk, and any good personal finance podcasts! I also love listening to old episodes of the Woolful podcast from several years ago, although she’s not making them any more, as well as the old Knit.FM podcast. My two current favorite knitting related podcasts are the Proverbial podcast from A Verb for Keeping Warm, and the Local Wool podcast.

Sometimes, I really just need music to get in the zone, and when that’s the case I bop around between a lot of different things. My recent favorites are the Soft Focus playlist on Spotify, Chance the Rapper, Father John Misty, Sylvan Esso, and a couple of indie playlists on my own Spotify account. I have a record player in my office, and when I’m in the mood it’s really fun to listen to Illinois and Michigan by Sufjan Stevens, and a couple of Copeland albums from when I was in high school.

I always love hearing from others about how they craft and what keeps them company while they make, and I’d love to hear from you as well.

Knitting Plans: May 2020

Since it’s already May 7, I figured it was high time to share my knitting works in progress for the month of May! I am trying to keep a good variety of different knitting projects going right now to keep things different and interesting. The summer time is always a fun time for me to cast on many small projects to pick up or put down for all of the different ways that I want to knit, whether that be outside, or while hanging out with friends, or in the evenings, or at the movie theatre (speaking from past, not current experience, obviously. But I am hopeful!).

Still in progress from April is my Terrace Wrap, above. I’ve only knit a few rows on this in the past month but as the weather warms I believe I’ll continue to make progress and I do really look forward to wearing it. Every time I look at the finished photos of this wrap I get so inspired.

New to my needles is my next V-Neck Boxy sweater by Joji Locatelli. I knit my first one of these sweaters in 2018 and I LOVE wearing it. It’s super cozy and easy to wear. The construction is really interesting to start, casting on for the whole back of the sweater, and then picking up each side of the “v” and knitting down until you join the two fronts together with the back in the round. Because you cast on so many stitches, it has a drop-sleeve effect and so the sleeves are really quick to knit, and then the whole rest of the body is just mindless stockinette. Swoon. I so wish that I could go to the movie theatre with this knit, it would be perfect to work on while seeing the newest Marvel movies with B. Maybe someday. I’ve just gotten through the v-neck portion and joined for the round, so it’s just stockinette for miles and miles here on out. I’m knitting this sweater with Linen Quill by Purl Soho, which is a blend of wool, alpaca, and linen and is really light and has this beautiful texture that I love seeing form before my eyes. I love that slubby, neppy, texture in wool and think this will be an instant favorite, even if it is completely impossible to photograph.

Watchers of my recent Instagram stories will know that last week I pulled this sock yarn out of my stash and was chatting about how I was reallly excited to cast on a pair of socks with this yarn, Mondim by Rosa Pomar. I purchased it last October when I was in the Seattle area and am really excited to work with more natural sock yarns this year (this one is next on my list to start a pair of socks!). I went back and forth on several pattern ideas but in the end I just cast on a vanilla sock in my preferred measurements: US 0 needles and 56 stitches. The marled and speckled texture of the yarn made it difficult to make out any definite patterns but I plan to knit other pairs with this in the future in one fo the solid colors offered by Rosa. These are already maximum cozy and make me want to drink a giant pot of hot cinnamon spice tea.

Beyond these three projects, I have SO many ideas and things that I am excited to cast on, but I’m trying to pace myself just a little bit. I figured out this week that I have the yarn in my stash to knit several projects that were on my wishlist, but that I didn’t think I had the right yarn to complete, including the Grandma shawl, and a short-sleeved version of the Ranunculus sweater. These, of course, in addition to the short-sleeved sweater I have some gorgeous Echoview yarn set aside for, and my Icelandic wool sweater, and some other Rose City Roller socks...it’s going to be a very woolly summer and I can’t wait. :)

FO: Wool & Honey Sweater

Yay! It is done!

I have had this sweater on my “to-make” list pretty much ever since it came out a few years ago. It’s the perfect combination of being cozy, but polished, and comfortable to wear. While some there are really amazing patterns coming out all of the time these days, I especially loved working on this one because I knew I had loved this pattern for a long time and would love wearing it for a long time, too. I prefer a narrow sleeve and love the combination of a boxy sweater with slimmer sleeves and this sweater really delivers. And unbelievably, it’s also my first sweater knit in BT Loft (it won’t be my last). This yarn is definitely an investment, and I actually just collected these skeins, in the Fossil colorway, over a couple of years. It was intended originally for a lacy shawl design also by Brooklyn Tweed, but when I realized that I was just one skein short of being able to knit this sweater, I went over to Hillsborough Yarn Shop, used some store credit I had saved, and cast on.

Despite this color looking very natural and undyed, it did actually have some color variation in the lots that I had collected, and so I alternated skeins while knitting in the body and no one would be able to tell. The honeycombs are created using this really clever technique that at first, looks a little floppy and weird but when blocked, becomes really striking.

I knit the size S because with the generous ease built into the body, I was in between sizes but my gauge was coming out a bit bigger than what the pattern calls for. I think it worked out, because it’s definitely still boxy but I don’t feel like I’m drowning in it either. The only modification I made otherwise was to lengthen the body by about an inch and literally used all but one yard of all five skeins (including ripping out the swatch to use as yarn in the sweater). There was some nerve-wracking yarn chicken at the end there! The body of this sweater would have been really excellent movie theatre knitting had we been able to go to the movies over the past month, as it’s just really long rows of knitting and purling.

You can see my full project page and the pattern on Ravelry here. 10/10 would recommend and I know I will be wearing this one so much when the weather cools down again (and also today, with the AC on).

Earth Day

Today is the 50th celebration of Earth Day. It’s a reminder for all of us, every single one of us, that our job is to take care of the Earth, to keep it, conserve it, and steward it for future generations.

We only get one earth, and so many of the things I think about each day come back to it: Is this a sustainable action? Will this go on to stay in a landfill after I use it? What kind of world am I creating by purchasing this product, or choosing these materials to craft with, or picking this project? It’s all so important and complex and it can feel very overwhelming at times to think about being a maker, consumer, and person living on this earth and trying to keep it healthy.

One of my favorite things from the past few weeks of quarantine has been seeing how the earth is absolutely rebounding without the negative influence of human activity: smog is clearing in large cities, wildlife is returning to old habitats, waterways are no longer being actively polluted. This is all so good! While we need to be able to exist in the world, run businesses, interact with each other, and I, like so many, can’t wait for the world to continue to turn, there are lessons to be learned here, and I hope that many of us have the space here to reflect on those.

Fashion is a HUGE source of pollutants and carbon emissions globally, so when I take the time to knit a sweater or hat, sew a dress, or mend a pair of jeans, I am choosing sustainability, slow and mindful work, and to opt out of oppressive systems that affect people and the planet in ways we can’t begin to predict yet. There is so much hope in being able to make a choice for myself and for my family that is not only beneficial for us, but for our planet.

I have learned so much from other makers who are also working to make the world more beautiful with their creations and with the processes they use to create them. While choosing natural fibers over synthetics is a great way to make a more sustainable choice with crafting overall, here are a few of the companies and resources that I love who are doing wonderful work with crafts and sustainability.

• Brooklyn Tweed’s American grown yarns, particularly their breed specific collections
• Echoview Fiber Mill, who creates yarn and fiber from farms primarily in the Southeast and has the COOLEST recycled fiber yarn.
• A Verb For Keeping Warm’s podcast, highlighting their process of creating yarns and working with designers rooted in sustainability. Their yarns are also absolutely incredible.
• Mending resources by Katrina Rodabaugh to extend the life of our clothes and make our clothes into art
• Needles by Indian Lake Artisans (swoon).
• Natural Dyeing books: The Modern Natural Dyer, The Wild Dyer, and Natural Dyes and Home Dyeing are three of my favorites
• Quince and Company’s affordable American wool yarns, including mohair from Texas and their own “cleaner cotton”
• So many good posts by The Craft Sessions
• The work of building regenerative fiber systems across America through Fibershed and all of its affiliate groups
• Favorite fiber farms: Wing and a Prayer Farm, Sawkill Farm, Bovidae Farm, and Rising Meadow Farm
• An oldie, but a goodie: the Woolful podcast. Also love the Local Wool podcast these days.

Gosh, this doesn’t even scratch the surface. I’m sure I will come back and add additional info here in the future, but for today, I invite you to peruse these awesome businesses, authors, and farms, and to take JOY in the earth! When we live in harmony with the earth, there is so much joy to be found.

Off the Needles: Baby Nephew Blanket

When I knit a project, be it a sweater, hat, scarf, or blanket, I definitely do so with a little bit of motivation coming from the fact that I want it to be high quality, and last a long time. Not very often do I really think about my finished knits as heirlooms, though, which is why baby blankets are so incredibly special. My brother and sister-in-law are expecting their first, a baby boy, joining our family next month, and I sincerely hope that this will be a blanket he has forever. I hope he snuggles it, loves it, drools all over it, washes it a hundred times, falls asleep with it, and knows how much love went into it from his auntie. I want it to be an heirloom, yes, a “my aunt made this for me by hand” kind of special thing, but I am also so excited for it to be used by him and his parents until it maybe someday just falls apart.

The pattern is the Llyr Baby Blanket by Nat Raedwulf, knit in O-Wool O-Wash Worsted in the “Cuckoo Flower” colorway. The colors in the photos above are a bit wonky but I would say the top photo is actually most accurate. I knit the pattern exactly as written, only making it a little bit longer than intended, but no wider. I LOVE O-Wash for baby knits because it is soft, natural wool that has been made washable using an organic process, rather than conventional superwash chemicals, and it has a really nice bounciness to it that I think other superwash yarns can lack. It is really lovely and I can attest to its quality having used it for both of my niece’s baby blankets as well, one of which is now three years old and still looking and washing very lovely. (You can see those blankets here and here.) This pattern was chosen with my sister-in-law and was interesting but easy to memorize, and I would highly recommend it for anyone looking for a classic baby blanket pattern.

I can’t wait to meet you and snuggle you, baby boy!