Knitting, Fiber Art, and Lofty Thoughts
You probably can’t tell from this photo, but on the edges of this border, I’ve been making a mistake: purling when I was supposed to be knitting and vice versa.
But since I’ve been making the mistake consistently, I’ve decided I like the way it looks and I’m calling it a “design element”.
We were supposed to go boating today but our lake excursion was canceled. What ever will we do today?
I do not like summer. I have never liked summer. I don’t like the heat. I don’t like the break in routine. Summer makes me grumpy. Summertime is when I like to stay indoors in the AC and read and knit. Down with Summer.
Bob and I walked to the library yesterday and I browsed the knitting books, while also picking up more Tudor books. I can’t seem to get enough of the Tudors — fiction, nonfiction, audiobook, proper book, well written, badly written… it really does not matter. And what’s fascinating is every author has a different take on the subject!
Anyway, I enjoyed browsing the knitting books and bringing a few home, noncommittally. In the past, I would only check out the knitting books if I thought I could learn something from them or if there was a pattern inside that I wanted to knit. I was in my same old rut — looking through knitting books that I thought were pretty but would never knit anything out of — when I realized it was okay. It is totally fine to check out a knitting book, flip through it and enjoy the eye candy, and then return it. It’s even okay to do it intentionally! Down with self-limiting arbitrary rules!
“Protest Knits” has a very enjoyable Trump Pincushion crochet pattern, but I will never make it. Maybe I will make the Down with Bad Stuff water bottle holder!
I have a HUUUGE water bottle (see what I did there?) and I never take it hiking because it’s too darn big! But this would solve that problem and be fun, albeit rather vague.
I started my Blue Ribbon Beanie. It is a beautiful shade of deep cerulean Malabrigo DK. It’s 2X2 rib. I’m not sure how I will decrease at the top yet. Ribbing can be tricky to decrease.
Honestly, I started the beanie because I’ve lost the verve for my FIVE sweaters I have on the needles, and even Celtic Myths feels a little fussy right now. So I’ve fallen back on hat knitting just to try to stick with it.
I had to give up a few things this Summer. I gave up the herb business. It needed more than I could give. I gave up some of my blog subscriptions. I couldn’t keep up. But I only gave up on the ones where I felt there wasn’t a connection. I have had to give up pleasure eating and drinking wine and margaritas. I gained a lot of weight last year and even exercise couldn’t help me keep it off, so I signed up for Noom and am counting every calorie and even steps! I had to give up sewing for a while, until I no longer needed to use my studio as an office.
But I got my office back, which means I also got my studio back. I got to participate in an art show. I got my teeth cleaned today, which included a new toothbrush, floss, and props for excellent hygiene. I’ve lost 2 pounds in 5 days. My garden is producing scrumptious tomatoes. Up with good stuff, amiright?!
The felting part of the process is also the fastest part of the process.
I still have needle felting to do, and then framing.
I blogged before bed last night, and I deleted it in the wee hours due to a 1am panic attack. Don’t ask me to try to make logical sense out of it. There isn’t any.
Selfie a Day
5.26.19 Studio
A friend of mine posted a selfie on Instagram the other day. She looked great. Another friend has been taking daily selfies for years, although I don’t think she posts them all. She said it’s educational to watch how you change over the years.
I was taking photos of Bob, and he said his kids say there are more photos of him on my social media than there are of me. It’s true. It’s because no one ever takes my photo.
So I decided to start the selfie a day, though I’ll spare you from a daily post. I’ll pick the best one from the week to post.
Great Lakes Fiber Show
I purchased one pound of Shetland roving, some handmade birch dpns, and this wonderful orange basket from Ghana. All my baskets are orange. I just realized.
There were hanks and hanks of gorgeous yarn, of course. But I was controlled with my spending. I needed the roving for my art piece. I needed the dpns because I’m going to start knitting with wire again. And I didn’t technically need the basket, but I will put it to good use as my studio transport.
The Photo of Bob
Snapchat has the best stickers.
They sent a swatch book! 😍
I went to the studio today and made a linen tee.
I found this fabric rather challenging to work with. It’s a tissue linen knit. Since it’s almost transparent I doubled the fabric on the body. I didn’t have enough to make them the same size so I went with the fluttery look by making the top layer a little shorter.
I left the edges unfinished. I accidentally sewed the neck binding on backwards, but you can’t really tell. Especially now that I’ve washed it.
I bought this fabric to make pj pants, but now I’m thinking of making the Lily top with it. What do you think?
I’m designing the perfect beanie with this Malabrigo.
I re-cast-on my lilac heather cumulus blouse. I tried to fix the messed up raglan shoulder, but wasn’t able to make it work. So I frogged it. All shoulders are looking good now!
What are you working on this weekend?
A Q and A from Kathy:
Q. Have you been to a baby or wedding shower where no gifts were opened during the gathering?
A. No. I think that would make me feel a little sad. I did go to a baby shower where you were supposed to bring something used. That was fun.
Q. Do you have an amazon echo dot or the like?
A. Absolutely not. I don’t talk to my phone either.
Q. Did you watch the Kentucky Derby? Did you agree with the ruling on the race winner?
A. I did not watch the Kentucky Derby.
Q. When are you most hungry during our 24 hour days?
A. I am most hungry in the late afternoon.
and
Q. Do you use margarine anymore?
A. We use Earth Balance, so yes. I prefer butter but I am allergic to dairy.
This is a reblog about the process of turning flax into linen fiber. I meant to post this months ago but forgot about it lingering in my drafts.
Yep, it’s a shriveled up sweater, AKA lace. Cricket Hitofude is coming along. I hope to have it finished by this Saturday so I can wear it when I meet the Mayor of Indianapolis.
Yep, it’s a garden. We put in new beds and went to the heirloom plant sale today. They are a little wilty from being transplanted. So glad to have something of a garden, even though it’s smaller than I’m used to. I’m too busy to take care of a proper garden.
Yep, it’s some flick carded Romeldale CVM. I’m able to keep the natural colors more distinct this way. I won’t start felting it until next week.
More travel this week. Homestretch!
I started my Emerson Pants, mini-swatched the new sweater, and carded some wool.
I am wondering if I have the wherewithal to make my own jeans. Wouldn’t it be great to have jeans that fit perfectly? I think so too. I will have to think about that.
I did a little research and you can wet felt raw wool if you want to, but Highland Heffalump made a great point about not wanting dirt etc up in there. So I washed about a third of the fleece in a bucket with Eucalan and rinsed it.
Isn’t it pretty? I’ve realized I’m going to need to card it, although I don’t want to overprocess it because I want to keep the colors as separate as possible. Maybe I should flick card it.
I brought my box of combs and cards up from the basement, and look what was in the box! Fiber from my old angora bunnies, Ziggy and Tiger! And a hank of merino and silk top! Surprise!
I’ve never been much for blending and spinning my own fibers. I did enough back in the day to make sure I knew what I was doing should I ever need or want to do it again. But I might play around with this fiber since I have it. I wonder if rabbit fur will felt with wool? It might be a fun experiment.
I finished my mod tie dye dress. I went all out with gathers in the front and a popped up collar. I struggled some with this as I didn’t have enough fabric for the casings. I cut bits along the bias and pieced them together. I wanted to finish it all off perfectly (inside and out) but ended up using the serger around the neckline and armholes. I did find a beautiful green button that was my Grandmother’s to use for the back closure. I think it’s pretty cute overall, and I don’t think anyone else will notice the flubs. Then I tried it on.
I love the colors. I was going for the Twiggy look because, hey, I have the haircut.
Then I put on a sweater.
It’s ok. It’s a bit tenty. I don’t look like Twiggy, that’s for sure! 😂
