I don't care if I ever get back...

Those of you who follow me on Instagram will have noticed a lot of blue yarn singles getting spun up in the last couple weeks and babbling about the Cubs. Well, the season is over for the Cubs as of last night and I have some great yarn with which to knit Crackerjack by Stacey Simpson Duke for next year. I just need a white and a grey to go along with it and I have some red in stash, for sure. This BFL/Silk from Rain's Obsessive Stitchery in the Cardiff colorway is going to be beautifully tonal and a delight to wear. 

I've joined the sleeves on the sweater now and though it kind of looks like a lump, it's more of a sweater-shaped lump than two sleeve-shaped lumps and a tube. With a little work, it could conceivably be done by the end of the month.

The carrot dye test is underway now and sitting on my deck just hanging out for a little while, absorbing dye. Chemistry tells me that carotenes should be pretty stable as dyes go, but it's looking more toward the pale yellow end than the muted orange end - and that's fine. It's a test, right? I want to see if I can get any color at all. 

No new kid pics today, so here are a couple from about this time last year. 

There's a lot more going on in my world, of course, and I had one of those days that I wanted to do so many things that not very much got done. Eventually, I settled down and made a list and hopefully soon, some of those things that I've started or wanted to start will get underway and chugging along. Sewing, embroidery, and quilting all need attention, but at least dyeing, gardening, cooking, and spinning have seen some progress.

Now to make applesauce unless I get distracted again.

Wise Friendship, plus tiny socks

I finished a wee little pair of socks this week, Bu's Short Socks in some leftover Crystal Palace Maizy Print. They were only a wee squidge over a hundred yards and it's likely she'll grow out of them before the month is out, but she loves them in other capacities as well. Here she demonstrates that they make superb mittens, but they might also serve as a hat for a monkey. She's a happy customer and really, that's about all I can hope for.

Nothing sweeter than a little hugging a sock

I've shifted from sewing back to knitting, mostly because it's recital week and my afternoons are occupied with hauling kids around and practices and whatnot. That leaves precious little sewing time, but I'm hoping I can pick it up again when the recital is done. 

The Apollo test is still underway, but I have discovered that I'd been knitting a ruffle instead of a neat dodecagon. The increases were too rapid. I suppose it would help if I'd ever knit a circular shawl before, but I'm going to put the learning in my pocket to use later and then move along to the next stage of design: rip the darn thing and start over. It wasn't very big to start with and I already have more, new, better ideas about how to shape it, so it's not really a loss at all. It's part of the process.

I am not sorry about any of this

I've been spinning, too, and I've finished half the black alpaca singles, which is a good thing because the Middle TN Fiber festival was last weekend and I may have come home with a pound of polworth that I intend to dye and a couple other things as well. The best part, though, was hanging with my friends from near and far and discovering that they are awesomer in person than they are online. The whole weekend was delightful and I really wish the far friends weren't so far.

After the black alpaca gets spun up and plied, my next two spinning projects are this:

And this:

The first one is 100% silk from Rain's Obsessive Stitchery, which I've never spun before, but it's a gorgeous coppery color that doesn't quite come through in pictures. The batt is a lovely gradient from Lunabud Knits and I have two similar in purple, turquoise, and black. The above two beauties aren't even mine (honest!), but I am afforded the joy of spinning them for my very dear Koren, who won a "spin some fiber for me" prize during our last round of stashdown. She picked out the fiber this weekend and it came home with me and my polworth (&etc.). 

This is what it looks like when I run

I've also been running and I'm stuck on week 5 of couch to 5k, but I'm hoping to conquer it this week. It's only a matter of time. I shall wear week 5 down with persistence and determination and then proceed to give week 6 the hairy eyeball. I'm comin' for you, week 6. You're next.

I do love a good flow chart

I decided to make a skill tree so that I can figure out some specific things to do toward my Project Make goals, namely "Produce excellence" and "Become skilled." Those goals are pretty vague, but learning to warp a loom is a specific skill I can acquire and/or improve. I've since added to this particular chart and will probably need separate charts for each craft, but this has been a good exercise in turning vague goals into specific actions. I can't remember why I wrote "wise friendship," but I feel like I've had a lot of that going on this week and that it's not irrelevant to achieving my Project Make goals, so it's timely and appropriate. Good friends are certainly supportive of your crazy ideas in ways that help you be better. 

No techniques this week. There's been a lot of switching back and forth between current projects, which I hope results in some more FOs during Stash Dash. I'm participating in a completely unofficial capacity, but there's a spreadsheet nonetheless. Dress rehearsal is today (Thursday) and the recitals are Friday and Saturday, so I'm hoping I can get some FOs by blogtime next week when things have calmed down a bit. 

A Passel of FOs

Gratuitous photo of spring flowers. 

I had almost forgotten what day it was and nearly put myself to bed without posting. It's been that kind of week and it's not been a bad week, just a busy and productive one. You see, it's spring break and I told Miss Fluffalo that I'd help her paint/organize/clean her room. This has been a long time coming and there has been a fair bit more angst about it than I really want to get into just now. When we got down to it, the actual painting and cleaning hasn't been that bad as far as cooperating with a teenager goes. Fluffalo has been diligent and hard-working, so she's been rewarded with frozen yogurt and will be with a trip to Goodwill later-- both to drop off stuff she no longer wants or needs and to look at fancy dresses just because.

I'm painting her sulking corner. I swear it was her idea.
(If I am very still, no one will see me.)

Her room still looks like a mess, but it's the mess of an organization project that's still underway. We'll get there and hopefully by the end of the day after this posts tomorrow (Thursday). Disney songs and a fair bit of mindfulness are the only thing getting me through this. I'll get to that in a little bit.

Last week, I had some FOs that I didn't post, so here they are:

This is Summer's Hanky, a commission work. I still need to pack it up and mail it out, but it's been washed and pressed and is now pretty much ready to go. This is hand-embroidered with various cotton and metallic threads on what was once one of my husband's work shirts. The 1/4" seams are also hand-sewn.
What I could have improved upon: I would have liked to have used a different stitch for the middle of the wing because the double herringbone made me go cross-eyed. I'd also liked to have done both wings at once instead of one and then the other. If I had to do it again, I'd try to make it more symmetrical.
What I did well: The hems are very neat and I'm very pleased with the color choices and the stitch choices overall. I like that the color isn't flat and how pairing different threads gave each layer of feathers a different look. Also, Miss Summer is happy with what she's seen so far and that's the biggest thing that matters to me. Overall, I like it and I'm pleased with how it turned out.

I've also finished a Paisley Fabulous Project Bag for Project Make that matches the DPN roll from late February. I'm very happy with this one, though I want to add a line of stitching through the middle of the casing at the top so that it looks nicer and closes more neatly.

It's actually reversible, but there's a big wide pocket that will just do better as an inside pocket than an outside pocket.

I loved using every single scrap of stash fabrics and I am absolutely in love with the red drawstrings and how they pick up on the red in the paisley. Because the green twill has a nap, the patchwork picks up light in different ways, depending on the direction of the fabric and which way you're looking at it. You can't really see that in the photo, but it really is very cool.

For this bag, I looked at some tote bags I really loved and figured out how the bottom was constructed. The lining tucks all the seams neatly away so that nothing is visible and the bottom of the bag is such that it will stand up with a couple skeins of yarn in it, though not completely on its own. This project was more about refining skills I already have than about learning new ones, but this particular construction is not one I've tried before.

And the Sheep of Unknown Provenance is finally finished! The left was dyed with privet berries and a few leaves and twigs. That's 4 skeins and 7.7oz of fingering weight, fractal spun using the natural colors of the fleece and then dyed. In person, the color is a rich bronze with a bit more warmth than the photo can convey. The right is 4 skeins and 8 oz of fingering weight, gradient spun. This one was too pretty to dye and so I've left it the color the Gods made it.

Because this one is also for Project Make, the making of it has taught me quite a bit: mordanting, dyeing, gradient spinning, fractal spinning, using a drum carder, patience, and persistence.

I'm also working on:

• Leto in Knit Picks' Shadow and Misti Alpaca Lace
• Genevieve's Tube Socks in Crystal Palace Maizy Print
• Iris' rainbow quilt
• A little something in TARDIS blue silk

Before I go, I want to leave you with This Week's Technique:

• Mindfulness of emotions.
  It's really hard for me to manage my emotions around cleaning and organization. There have been occasions, this week actually, where I have a complete and total meltdown about something that isn't clean or organized, particularly when it's a recurring or very large mess that I am not in control of. I have OCD and this is how it shows its face. I'm not "a little bit OCD" in the colloquial sense where I'm really neat and organized (I'm not, actually). I have to be very careful how I clean so that I don't binge-clean until I cause myself physical harm.
  
  That's a long set-up to say that anxiety feeds the compulsion and if I can manage the anxiety, I can manage the compulsions. The audio that follows is part of an introduction to meditation series from Audio Dharma and it's over an hour long, but this sort of thing has been very helpful to me and is worth a listen. This is the way I've been able to re-wire my brain so that I can keep my cool and prevent myself from tumbling into a full-on binge clean or meltdown. I don't always do a great job of it, but my emotions are no longer the boss of me 90% of the time and I've been able to keep the OCD under control. The proof, as they say, is in the pudding. 

In the Spirit of Excellence

That right there, ladies and gents, is my brand new actually functional garage door. I'm really very pleased with the outcome, especially the part where I can open and close it without assistance and the part where it's insulated and has windows. The real test of the insulation is going to be in the middle of the summer, but I can go in there now and see pretty well during the day. We still have a lighting issue in there, but at least now we have the sun. 

I bring this up because in the second picture, just behind and to the left of sweet Miss Bu, is my floor loom. It's a 36" Leclerc Mira 4-shaft 4-harness that I got for far less than she was worth to me. After a little repair and cleaning up, I got her working and managed some rudimentary fabric, but I really hadn't learned to weave as such. My learning style tends to be to jump in with both feet and see what I can figure out before going back and actually asking someone how to do it or seeking out classes. 

One of the more involved parts of Project Make has been that I'm determined to learn how to weave. That's why I'm getting the garage in shape and, if I were to tell the absolute truth, why we got a house with a garage in the first place.

Like Bekah, I don't really talk about my religion much here, though I may have done in the past when I wasn't really sure what I wanted this blog to be. Generally, I now blog about religion elsewhere and like to keep this space primarily for crafting. And then there's when those two things are actually the same thing.

My experience with my Gods has been that They expect excellence from me. If I'm doing well, They push me to be better. I sort of figured out how to weave, now I need to learn how to weave. I may think I know how to sew, but now I need to see if I can't do some more complicated things and hone those basic skills. I can spin, but I can learn more about spinning and make better yarn. 

It's not just about making a better product, either. This is about making a better me. The most useful techniques I'm learning are things like:

• Slowing down
• Letting go of pride
• Concentration
• Silence and stillness
• Equanimity

In the spirit of excellence, I don't have any FOs to show you this week. What I do have needs to be pressed and photographed in good lighting. I'm plugging away at Leto, I'm still on a quilting jag, and I'll have some spinning, sewing, and Summer's hanky to show next week. Right very now, the SoUP* is steeping in the pot and I'm going to leave it there for as long as I can stand in the hopes of more or deeper color. Lots of crafting is happening and I've got spring fever something bad. 

*Sheep of Unknown Provenance, not actual soup. Do not eat the privet berry soup.

The Finishing Has Begun!

First, I have a couple FOs to report:

 This is the younger, more attractive brother to the first blue silk hanky: 100% silk, upcycled from a skirt, with hand-rolled hems and hand embroidered sashiko style in circular Gallifreyan that reads "Bad Wolf." More about this little gem when I talk about this week's technique.

I believe my French knots turned out better on this one than on the first one and I like the outer circle rather better in the running stitch than in chain stitch. I have yet more of this fabric and I may do a little bag or something out of the scraps that are the wrong shape and size for hankies. How fancy would a little blue silk bag be?

These have been sitting around, waiting for me to learn about afterthought heels. I absolutely love how they look, but I'm not a hundred percent happy with the fit of this particular heel. I want to try some different ones before I give them up, but I have learned that this one isn't my favorite.

These are Maryvillian Blue Heelers in Studio Avenue Six Self Striping Yarn (discontinued), colorways Just for Jess (she dyed it for me!) and 2 Lt. Blue, 2 Dk. Blue. The pattern is a modified Chevron out of Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch.

Other than the afterthought heel shenanigans, I loved this pattern and it was perfect for this yarn. It's really too bad that the yarn is discontinued because my other socks, OSU socks, have worn really well in the time I've had them with little to no felting in the heels and no fading through many washings.

I haven't picked up Ms. Summer's hanky this week, but I did make significant progress on my proto-neice's sweater. It needs sleeves, a button band, and a collar, which should all go pretty quickly, barring any knitting disasters. It's such a quick, satisfying knit. I love everything about it. I've started the sleeves, so it should be done by next week.


I've also been working on the privet dyeing experiment with the SoUP batts. They're out of the dye bath and currently drying in my bedroom. I'm not really convinced about the color, though. I'll have to see it in daylight when it's dry, but from what I can tell, the color is very subtle and in shades of blue to green to yellow.

They're still wet here and have since been washed. 

This has been a really good learning experience, if nothing else. Dyeing batts is a pain in the rear end and I'm still a little worried I've felted it, so I'm going to be dyeing either fiber still in locks or already spun into yarn. I've also learned that I could really use bigger pots and more than one pot. Stainless steel should be non-reactive and I should be able to pick a couple big ones up for not very much at a place like Big Lots. More plans for dyeing are in the works and it's going to be a lot of fun playing with colors. I was daydreaming about lichens and oak galls the other day and thinking about planting a dyer's garden.

Most of my other daydreams lately have been about garage doors, more gardening, and what life would be like if I lived on Sesame Street.

This week's Technique is:

Sashiko.

The link will take you to a very good tutorial on how to do traditional sashiko. Because it is my way, I only sort of followed some of the instructions and ended up not really doing what you might call traditional sashiko on the silk hanky at the top of the page. It's sashiko-ish. Instead of the fat thread usually used, I used a single strand of regular embroidery cotton. Rather than a geometric all-over design, I did something in circular Gallifreyan. I did pay close attention to how the threads met at corners and sharp turns, however, because I wanted it to look tidy and professional. Over all, I'm very pleased with how the second hanky came out and I may do more sashiko in the future.

And in honor of February is for Finishing, the Airing of the WIPs (a few days late):

1. Fork in the Garbage Disposal socks: One sock knit to just past the heel
2. Baby Ruth's Classy Sweater: See above
3. Louise, a seamless saddle shoulder pullover: Part of the body knit. Still love the Dickens out of it.
4. Besties 4-eva: One link "done," but really needs a couple more repeats, at least. 
5. Meditations on the Holy Mother: A "process" knit rather than a "product" knit. I'm not overly worried about finishing this one in February. 
6. Mr. Rippley, my coffee friend: Actually pretty close to finishing this one. Maybe a couple stripes of each color to go.

I won't finish everything this February, but it's nice that all the projects are things I love working on and I'm sure I'll finish quite a bit before it's all said and done. Nothing got frogged or flung this year. It's a nice knitting place to be, but I think it might be nicer if I lived on Sesame Street.