To be honest, I'm not sure what all went into this skein. There are bits of cashmere, a fair bit of unknown wool, some llama, a bit of merino, and probably a smidge of silk up in there. Beyond that, there could be unicorn fuzz for all I know. These batts had a bit of everything.
I've been reading up on the mechanics of spinning (of which there are many) and trying some different things with my wheel, so I wanted to use some fiber that wouldn't make me cry too much if I messed it up. Turns out I prefer double drive to Scotch tension, but my bobbins were backwards. I think I've got it sorted now.
So here's 3.6 ounces of about sport weight: A bit of this, a bit of that. I'm not sure of the yardage yet, but it's probably somewhere on the order of 250ish yards.
As you have likely noticed, I've finished a whole whack of neglected projects in the past few days. February is for Finishing is a fine tradition here at House of M and something I've done with my two dearest friends, Bekah and Koren, for some years. Usually, it's knitted things, but this year, I wanted to look very honestly at all my soft arts projects and see if I couldn't get some things out of my sizable pile of projects in progress.
The first thing to do is to tidy up.
To the left and below are what my crafting areas looked like a couple of weeks ago. I don't generally like to show my messes, but these are the result of rampant creativity.
I have lots of ideas, lots of inspiration, and it all just kind of physically accumulates in these two spots.
Before February began, I made a concerted effort, not only to clean up, but to list every project in these piles so that I know what, exactly, I have going on.
I found my end table.
I've also discovered that I can actually put my coffee there and I can put my computer there when I want to use my sewing machine (off camera to the right is my desk where both computer and sewing machine sit).
My other desk is a fold-up number, which is super handy for a small space, but not when it's so full of stuff that you can't actually fold it up.
Once that was done, I had a complete list of every project I'd started or gathered the materials for and ended up with thirty-one. The greater majority of those are only in the planning stage, but I'd gotten as far as collecting the materials for the job. One or two were only in the idea stage.
Four, as you've likely seen, have been finished since the beginning of the month and two pairs of socks have been frogged to reclaim the needles and to start again at a later date. That leaves me with twenty-five total projects on the pile, approximately half of which are in progress. Following the tradition of the Annual Airing of the WiPs, they are as follows:
A 9-patch pastel quilt that has several blocks sewn, but not enough.
Stjarna, by Karolina Eckerdal. My goal is an even dozen stars for purposes of Yule ornaments and I have two finished.
Laurelhurstby NW Foraged. This is the second hat in this pattern that I've made, the first was for 25000 tuques and this one is for me. I'm just to the bottom of the color work pattern.
The art jeans. You've seen me work on these off and on. I don't expect to finish any time soon.
Ballet Bear's steeked cardi. This is an experiment that is no skin off my nose if it fails. It might take a couple of days to finish. I haven't steeked before and a tiny cardigan for a bear seems like the way to go for experimentation. It isn't wool, though, and may be doomed to failure.
Crocheted Bed Scarf, inspired by the architecture of Chicago. I've done a goodly stack of blocks, but have a fair amount of yarn that I want to put into still yet to go. I might make some progress this month, but don't plan to finish.
TARDIS bag, which is a lot of fiddly stitching, but will probably look awesome if I ever finish it. I probably won't get to it this month.
Blackwork Bird Pillow that I started last month during the Month of Mending. I'm well into the snowflake border and the center is sketched out
Two small blackwork samplers, which were started at the same time as the pillow. One is nearly done, the other sketched out.
White silk spinning. All but about an ounce has been spun up into singles. This has a high likelihood of getting finished since I like to spin a little just before bed if I have time.
That's not too bad of a list, really, and some of that is certainly to be worked on this month. I may even finish a couple of those things, but there is one final project that will be the focus of my efforts:
11. Iris' quilt. "I'll finish before she goes to college" is less funny when the child in question is in high school. As it stands, I have 16/81 blocks quilted, which works out to about 20%.
It was deeply satisfying to knock off several FOs early in the month, but now that I've started back on this behemoth, that's going to slow down considerably. It's harder to take this one to work on during dance class, though, so several of the smaller projects have hope of getting finished before the month is out.
Good luck in your finishing endeavors this month, my fellow makers. By next week, I hope to have whittled down the list of WiPs even more and I'll share some pictoral updates on my progress.
"We Own It"
4oz yak/silk/merino blend roving purchased at SAFF 2015, Z-spun and S-plied into a 2-ply, approximately fingering weight. Two balls, 97yds, 1.98oz and 101 yds, 2.01oz.
This year has been wild ride and I'm really rather pleased with the amount of making that's happened in a mere 365 days.
I got some big projects done from start to finish. The Sheep of Unknown Provenance was one of my biggest spinning projects to date and I learned a lot about how to process fleece, dye wool, and spin with color.
Some projects were abandoned entirely and I'm not a hundred percent sure why. It could be that they were too fiddly or that I was distracted by something shiny or that it just wasn't what I wanted to be doing.
Simple, but well-made seems to make me happy. I loved the challenge of learning new things like matching plaids and incorporating that knowledge into something I could share.
I knit or crocheted over 7,600 yards this year, which is the most I've done since I started keeping track. I couldn't tell you how much I've spun, but I'd wager it's more than I've spun in the past. I feel productive... and warm.
My baby has gone from a toddler...
...to a little girl. (Cue sentimental Mama sobbing).
And my big one...
A beautiful young woman. (Cue more sentimental Mama sobbing).
I've learned a lot, made a lot, been lots of places, worked hard, hung out with friends, and generally have had a lovely time of it. Parts of this year were difficult, but I'm surrounded by a lot of love.
I've changed my mind and moved toward more compassion and more love. Just when you think there couldn't possibly be more room for that, more room is just there.
Thank you for making me better.
In 2016, I look forward to more challenges, more beauty, more making, more love, more focus. I look forward to the new shape of Project Make and to learning more about what I can do and what I can be: Faster, higher, more betterer.
It's gonna be great. See you in 2016.
P.S. The Etsy shop is open now, if you want to take a look.
P.P.S. Just a reminder that January will be the Month of Mending for the new and improved Project Make: a year long -along of -alongs.
So, in the car on the way to SAFF, I finished my sweater just as we got to Asheville. I immediately put it on and wore it about the delightfully Southern/hippie/artist town. I felt very much at home. We stopped at the awesome Tupelo Honey Cafe when we got there and afterward I got to toodle around town in my new, though unblocked digs. Here it is in it's washed and blocked glory.
I love the saddle shoulders and though it's a bit shortish, I think I will keep it that way. This is the Seamless Saddle Shoulder Pullover by the legendary EZ. I used Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Superwash in the Garnet Heather color, about 754yds.
The first batch of Delphi & Delos is done and I love how it turned out. The picture doesn't really do it justice. There's a richness to how the two colorways blend together that I can't quite capture.
In other news, we have a new family member. This is Rufus, a sweet, chill, little pug. His former owner, Randy, was the person who introduced me to John. Randy passed away this week and this little snerfledog needed to go to a family who would love him and be his forever home.
It's a big adjustment for me, but the kids fell instantly in love and he seems to be settling in pretty well.
We also had a Nutcracker Tea this week. Bu dressed up for the occasion.
And so did Iris. (The lady to the right of Iris with the fascinator on is Bu's dance teacher.)
A good time was had by all. There were nutcracker-appropriate snacks and an abbreviated version of the ballet for the little dancers to watch. Iris did such a great job and Bu was totally into it once the dancing started.
My hair is askew, but I don't care. (that's a lie. I care a little). So, the besties and I went to SAFF this weekend and it was awesome. So. Much. Yarn. & Fiber. I came home with quite a bit, most of which will add to my spinning queue. I tended to focus mainly on fiber over yarn, but I brought home a little bit of yarn, too.
Mom kept Bu for the weekend and all reports are that they both had a fantastic time. The big one went to a friend's so that they could have too much candy and stay up too late. Poor Dear Husband was working, but other than that, most of us ended up doing the thing that made us the most happy and the weekend was a rousing success all around.
That's the majority of what I picked up, including the red/orange that was so dubbed "Flaming Bison" by me and approved by the gentleman at the booth. I loved the Brickless I finished back in June, I think, or else late May, one of those, and it had been done in a lovely blue bison yarn. The red/orange is of the same type, but a much more "call the police and the fireman" color.
Not pictured are two bumps of Huacaya alpaca, one in white and one in cream that are going to look awesome plied together in a subtle-paca sort of way.
My current active project is 8oz of Elizabeth (mixed light and dark BFL) by Rain's Obsessive Stitchery, four ounces in Delphi and four in Delos to be plied together. I am so compelled by the colors that they went to the front of the queue as soon as I got them.
They share some colors and were dyed as "siblings" meant to be together, but would be gorgeous on their own, too. Delphi and Delos are sacred to Artemis and Apollo and I wanted to make some yarn that represented their relationship.
Part of me gets the feeling that the reason Artemis never married is because she was the midwife to her brother and she was so awed by the beauty of him (which, if you've ever been in a delivery room - that feeling. You know that feeling) that no man, mortal or immortal, would ever be someone she could love that much.
So, yeah, yarn.
And these lovelies, another braid from Rain in her Edward base in the Cardiff colorway, are going to be knit up into Crackerjack for the 2016 Chicago Cubs season. I have some silk (white), some merino/yak/silk (grey), and some cashmere (red) that shall accompany it.
Next year looks good.
I'd be showing you a sweater, but I have to block it. My mother* told me to.
*And by "my mother," I mean the lady in the art store who saw it mere minutes after it was finished.
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.
So, I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth, I just got distracted. I'll give you a quick recap:
The sashiko patch I've been working on is done, but I have a little bit of embroidery yet to go before this pair of jeans is wearable. Without even meaning to, I'm participating in the Slow Fashion movement and have been since high school. The idea is that clothes should last because it's more sustainable and ethical, so that includes thrifting, mending, and saving for more expensive, quality items. It's also cheaper to mend than to buy new, especially when you're hard to fit. The #visiblemending tag on Instagram makes it feel more like hipster activist art, which is kinda nice. If you're on Instagram, I suggest perusing that one.
Finished sashiko patch
One hole has been darned and then couched and bordered in chain stitch. I did a blanket stitch on the hem, over which I'm laying down some chain stitch.
Darn it!
In case that didn't make any sense, here's a diagram or three:
These are my actual jeans
I must admit that drawing those was kinda fun. In reality, the stitches are much, much smaller, but if I'd drawn them actual size, you couldn't see how to do them.
Other shenanigans have been happening, some of which include spinning while listening to Cubs games. Bu helped the other day with her very own fiber and my drop spindle.
And Iris is muddling through High School okay. She's hit a bump in the road, but she's got good support both at home and at school, so things should be smoothing out soon.
I promised some costumes, but Iris didn't need my help and Bu wanted to be Spider-Man, so I may do something for myself in the next week or so. I have a couple ideas tumbling around, but I haven't bought fabric yet, so we'll see. I'm thinking some sort of superhero costume may be in order.
And here's Husband's birthday cake (now entirely devoured). This year is spice cake with basic cream cheese icing.
Stay on target... (We're too close!) Stay on target!
Happy October!
I'm having a busy month already and it's only the first. In fact, I'm a little late in posting today because I've been busy doing important parenting things, important household things, and important things that are not blogging. It's the start of Aegletia, and if you've never heard of it, no one will blame you. Apollo is going on vacation at the end of the month and there are a few of us who send him off over nine days with a candle-lighting ritual. We've only been calling it Aegletia since last year and I'm strongly considering some small, appropriate gifts and/or special Aegletia foods that may or may not include underwear and/or eggplant, respectively.
This is close on the heels of the Fall Equinox Annual Perennial Exchange Party (Happy Fall!), which was low-key and delightful. The darling eldest made some labels for the seed bar, which was kinda fun, and we traded flower bulbs, too. Some time when it's not raining, there's going to be a great planting of things and I may or may not plant the crocuses in random spots around the yard.
There have also been computer-related shenanigans and my nerd-based confidence was boosted this week when I took a useless paperweight of a netbook and turned it into a learning machine that both children want to use. It's still a little slow, but it's actually functional and has lots of great programs for anyone of any age who might want to learn things. Bu even learned how to use a track pad. I may or may not be a little proud. maybe a little
There's also been a great deal of spinning going on. I finished all the singles for the fiber Koren gave me to spin up for her as one of her stashdown prizes and I've been working on it when I can during Cubs games.
It seems to help. I'll have to be sure to have the wheel out when they play the Pirates for the wildcard spot.
The plying on the copper is done now, so it just needs to be washed, measured, weighed, and given the stern pinky.
Two pairs of jeans need patches, too, so that and a couple rounds of sweater sleeve also got worked on today. The sleeve is less interesting. It looks like a sleeve.
Anyhow, the sashiko patches are holding up well. They seem to do better than other kinds of patching techniques I've tried.
This was going to be a nice photo of the nice things to eat at the Fall Annual Perennial, but some goofball photobombed. We had noshes. It was yummy.
It's the Month of Cosplay, so I hope to have some costumes in progress very very soon. Happy Cosplay Month!
