Tag: yop10

2020-2021 Year of Projects Completed List

Posted on Posted in art, design, dyeing, finished objects, knitting, sewing, Year of ProjectsTagged , , , , 24 Comments

Fiber Art

  1. I have a solo show in September 2021, and I need to make a body of work for this show. My goal is 10 pieces. 8/10 finished.
  2. I dyed most of my own wool for this work.

Finished Fiber Art

Haze Over Maize: Granville 2020 for Mother Artists at Work Show

Litmus Cowl in Moondrake Advent yarn

Finished Knitting

  1. Spring Socklings in Bone and Birch Honeybees and Violets Please
  2. Anker’s Summer Shirt in Serpentine Blacker Lyonesse
  3. Water Shawl KAL
  4. Malabrigo Anniversario Rikke Hat
  5. Getting Warmer in Handdyed Red Kenyan Merino (silent auction prize)
  6. Kenora Toque
  7. Moondrake Advent Litmus Cowl (Ravelry project link)
  8. Blue Turtledove
  9. Franca
  10. Pride Socks
  11. Purple emPower Bandaner
  12. Shetland Tweed Throw
  13. Arachne Sweater
  14. Four Square Cowl
  15. Mistletoe Kisses Socks
  16. Pumpkin Spice Latte socks
  17. Broom Riding Cowl
  18. Halloween Socks
  19. Trans Pride Socks
  20. Accidental Autumn Barley Light Hat
  21. Rikkemas Hat
  22. Meep the Christmas Mouse

Finished Sewing

  1. Birdies summer top
  2. Knitting alpacas PJs
  3. Raglan Dress in blue shirting
  4. Ophelia Overalls in brown twill
  5. Water Shawl KAL project bags
  6. Raglan Dress in plaid flannel
  7. Poudre linen curtains.
  8. Coffee filters
  9. Knitting Sheep flannel PJ pants
  10. Halloween Rachel blouse
  11. Winter Solstice project bag
  12. Manatee tote bag

I’m going to try to continue to post music with my YOP updates, as a way to keep up with listening to music intentionally. Here’s an old favorite.

This has been a Year of Projects Update. This is my final list for 2020-2021. I’m pleased with how much I accomplished this year. You can find out more about the group here (Rav link).

Alissa’s Brag Book: A YOP Update

Posted on Posted in gardening, knitting, sewing, Works in Progress (WIPs), Year of ProjectsTagged 29 Comments

When I was little, my Grandmother had a photo album with “Grandma’s Brag Book” written on the cover. It was for photos of her grandkids, of course. Sometimes I feel like my blog is my version of the brag book, but for things I make. I would be posting pics of our kids, but most of them don’t like that. I have to ask for explicit permission including where it will be posted. I should draft some release forms for them to sign. 😘

Knitting

I’m very excited about my hand dyed Cormo lace yarn. It’s still damp, but I can’t wait to cake it up and swatch.

Sewing

I made a summer top from this fabric that’s been in my stash for a few years. The pattern silhouette is nice, but it calls for bias tape. Not my favorite way to go. Maybe I can make facings next time.

I cut out my next overalls in this amazing linen fabric with yarn balls all over it! You can’t tell, but the copper ones are metallic.

Garden

It’s been a long time since I’ve grown Borage.
My winter squash is still alive.
English Peas!
We’ll have zucchini soon!
My flax garden is super lush.

This has been a Year of Projects Update. You can read my updated list here. You can find out more about the group here.

Sunday YOP Update

Posted on Posted in art, gardening, knitting, sewing, Year of ProjectsTagged , , , 27 Comments

I updated my list today. I think June is when the Year of Projects (YOP) group starts over, but as I update my list as I go, there won’t be much to change.

Fiber Art

I’m excited to say I have seven completed wool felt pieces for my show. I hope to finish three more before the opening in September. Bob and I visited the gallery yesterday, and we chatted with the owner. I will send him my current list of pieces tomorrow. This is my first solo show in nine years, and my first solo gallery show, although in 2010 I had a combined gallery show with another artist. I’m really happy I asked for this opportunity.

Knitting

I’m focusing on my Milkshake Cardigan, but there’s not much progress since yesterday. Here are two photos of yarn I purchased for projects not yet added to my YOP list. 😁

Shilasdair for the Undulation Shawl
Tukuwool DK for the Straw cardigan.

Sewing

This morning I started working on my Emerson shorts in natural linen I cut out two years ago. It will be good to get those finished, and it will be nice to be able to wear them. I can tell it’s going to be a hot summer.

Gardening

Herb and Bee garden with a Strawberry Border

I think I’ve finally got the garden about where I want it. I planted some cosmos, tansy, oregano, lavender, and creeping thyme this morning. I am trying some short and dirty wool clippings around the transplants. I found slugs all over the baby kale this morning.

My one and only New Year’s Resolution was to listen to more music with intention. Bob and I watched The Leftovers, and Iris Dement’s “Let the Mystery Be” was used for the intro at various times. I’m an Iris Dement fan, but I hadn’t listened to her music in a long time. So I spent a week or two just listening to her music, singing along in the car.

This has been a Year of Projects Update. You can read my updated list here. You can find out more about the group here (Rav link).

Mostly Gardening with a Side of Sock Knitting and Podcasting: A YOP Update

Posted on Posted in fiber love, field trips, gardening, knitting, socks, Works in Progress (WIPs), Year of ProjectsTagged , , , , 22 Comments

I’ve started a new pair of socks for myself. I’m in love with this yarn, which is Honeybees and Violets Please from Bone and Birch. Other than the socks, I’m knitting on my Hansel Hap. I’ve just about talked myself into focusing on the Arrowhead Cardigan instead of casting on a new one, so that I can wear it in the fall.

My garden is exploding. This is the middle, where there’s a lot going on. I accidentally broke off a pea shoot yesterday while weeding, so I ate it. It was delicious!

Full length of the garden. Elderberries in front. I’m not sure how well they’ll do here, but we’ll give it a try. The sunflower transplants are struggling in the back. I found out what happened to all my seedlings back there. Slugs!

For Mother’s Day and my birthday, Bob put together a flower bed for me out of some old wood he found in the barn. We went to the local garden center yesterday, and while I did get the foxgloves and coral bells I wanted to attract hummingbirds, the bed is looking a little sparse. We’ll see how these do. The smaller two are ground cover, so maybe they’ll spread out.

I did get the lilac bush I wanted, and a rose bush too! I didn’t really want yellow roses, but these had the best scent so I couldn’t resist. I also got hollyhocks, coneflowers, and a Joe Pye Weed for under the bird feeders.

I’m trying out wool pellets in the lilac and rose bush plantings to condition the soil, along with some compost. I’d like to add the wool pellets to the vegetable garden, but I’m going to wait until it needs a feed.

These lilacs smell so good! I have a small bouquet by my bedside.

My new podcast episode is up for The Just Craft! I had a wonderful visit at Tarheelbilly Farm, and am releasing the episode in two parts. I am so grateful to Charis and her husband Ben for spending time with me. It was a lovely day.

The sheep in front is Hollis, whose fleece I knit my Paris Toujours Shawl with. I met Hollis! And a few other shweeties as well.

This is Charis’s hand knit sweater she made with her Tunis yarn. She spun the contrasting gray herself. It’s so squishy and lovely!

And I got a sweater quantity of yarn! I had already purchased two skeins of Clancy’s fleece, and the eight new skeins are from Julie. They are close enough that I think I could use them together if needed. Because I don’t want to dye the yarn and loose the sheep smell, I’ve decided to knit it au naturel into a cabled cardigan. And because I was so pleased with the Franca I knit for my Mom, I’ve decided to knit Kiki by Cocoknits.

This has been a Year of Projects Update. You can read my updated list here. You can find out more about the group here.

Virtual Travel and a YOP Update

Posted on Posted in finished objects, gardening, knitting, shawls and haps, Works in Progress (WIPs), yarnTagged , , , 16 Comments

I’ve started signing up for virtual travel events. I guess cabin fever is finally getting to me. Last night I attended a Barn Chat with Wing and a Prayer Farm that featured Gudrun Johnson and MJ Mucklestone sharing information on their knitting trips to Shetland. I missed this at Knit City Virtual, so was glad to get a second chance.

Today I attended a Spring Skye Woolly Meander. This was a warm and welcoming group that gathered for a virtual trip of the Isle of Skye. I was very unsocial, which I felt bad about, but I didn’t expect to be on camera as I was still in my pjs! But it was a beautiful event and Bob and I are looking forward to visiting Scotland in real life someday. I also learned about Shilasdair Yarns, so that’s on my yarn wishlist now.

Speaking of yarn, I purchased new yarn from Wing and a Prayer Farm for my Vintersoll (Rav link). My gauge swatch worked out. This yarn is a treat to knit with. It’s called Thelma and Louise and is naturally dyed and toothy but soft. I can’t wait to cast on. I love this golden color called Dawn achieved with onion skins and madder root,which will be the main color of the sweater.

But first I want to finish my Anker’s Summer Shirt (Rav link) in Blacker Lyonesse, which is also a very nice yarn to work with in wool and linen. The color is Serpentine.

I finished knitting my Water shawl (Rav link). It’s a lovely pattern and an enjoyable knit once you get the rhythm of it. Yarn is Quince and Co Finch in Bird’s Egg.

Gardening news: the peas are up!

Sunday Year of Projects Update

Posted on Posted in finished objects, knitting, sewing, The Just Craft, Works in Progress (WIPs), Year of ProjectsTagged , , , , 17 Comments

I haven’t been keeping up on my YOP updates. Since it’s been a while, I thought I should do that today.

Sewing

I finished sewing my Ophelia Overalls, and I love them. I’m going to sew a pair for each season. These are my spring overalls. I’ll sew a linen pair in summer, a corduroy pair in fall, and a wool flannel pair in winter. Pattern is by Decades of Style. Fabric is organic cotton twill from Koshtex.

Next I’ll sew another Raglan Dress in blue cotton shirting.

Knitting

Water is coming along. I get frustrated with the lace sections, so it’s in time out a fair bit. It’s not that it’s difficult. I think I’ve got it, so I stop paying close attention and then make a mistake. It’s not great TV knitting.

I’ve knit a gauge swatch for an Anker’s Summer Shirt (Rav link). AJ is knitting one, and it was in my queue, so I thought, why not? Impromptu KAL. My gauge is spot on in this Blacker Lyonesse linen and wool, so time to cast on!

I also knit a gauge swatch for Kate Davies’ new long sleeved Treit in Foxglove. I’m having trouble getting gauge so I think I’ll sit on it a bit.

I’m going to let Bob pick out some yarn from my stash, and then cast on a new pair of socks for him. He really likes his Valentine’s Day socks and wears them a lot.

Felting

I have a new piece finished for March, and meant to lay out my April piece today. But I’m tired after all the sewing, so I guess I’ll do that next weekend. I checked my wool colors, and I should be good to go. No colors to dye for the next one.

Design

My cotton and linen slub tee is coming along.

Podcast

My new episode “Grow Your Clothes: Rust Belt Fibershed” is available! I had a great time on this interview and ended up having to cut quite a bit, but may have enough left over for another episode. If you would like to give it a listen, look for The Just Craft on Stitcher, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Google Podcasts, or you can listen at thejustcraft.com.

Baking

I made some banana bread today! I like walnuts in my banana bread, but can’t have them (tree nut allergy) so I added pumpkin seeds instead.

This has been a Year of Projects Update. You can read my updated list here. You can find out more about the group here.

Shout out to Kelley of Ramen Needles / Dye Mad for adjusting my yarn club subscription when I asked her not to send me superwash if possible. She sent me this gorgeous silk and linen this month. 💙

Gardening and a YOP Update

Posted on Posted in art, gardening, knitting, life, sewing, Works in Progress (WIPs), Year of ProjectsTagged , , , 20 Comments

This pretty yellow flowering shrub is not Forsythia! I thought it was, but I was told it’s Spice Bush, a native understory shrub, Lindera benzoin. (Someone commented on my Instagram photo and corrected me, thankfully.) We do seem to have a Forsythia on the other side of our property, though. Once everything is in full bloom I’ll do some pruning and take a photo so we can compare them.

This may not look like much, but I spent several hours digging up the weeds in the garden so I could plant the peas and cabbage and kale. Unfortunately, there’s a layer of clay under the top soil, and we haven’t had any new garden soil delivered yet. So even though I went ahead and planted them, we may not have any peas, cabbage, and kale this year. I’m really proud of myself for digging this up on my own and I only had a little help from Bob, who worked for 10-15 minutes to dig up a huge root system of some old ground cover. It looked like tree roots, it was so big! He broke the pitchfork handle trying to wrest it from its iron tentacle grip. Once he got it up, he shouted at it, “I beat you, you ol’ stump!” Which is a reference to my favorite scene in “Drag Me to Hell.” I haven’t laughed so hard in ages.

Fiber Art

I felted a new piece today. This is a peek at some unfelted fiber since I’m not showing the work until the show starts.

Knitting

When I started getting excited about knitting again, in 2018 I went to A Wool Gathering with my friend Sara. While we were there I picked up two hanks of this linen and cotton slubby yarn with the intention of making a simple drapey top to throw over tank tops in the summer. I finally cast on yesterday. I’m counting this toward design since I knit a gauge swatch, calculated the width I want, and cast on the number of stitches — even though it’s literally two squares of stockinette seamed at the sides and shoulders. The most basic design ever. Gotta start somewhere, right?

Other than that, I’m knitting away on Water and my Malabrigo Rikke hat.

Sewing

I don’t have any new sewing to show, but I’ve got Water KAL bags to make and I want to cut out my overalls this week.

This has been a Year of Projects Update. You can read my updated list here. You can find out more about the group here.

Yesterday we met one of our neighbors. He mentioned our lot might have been a cemetery at one time? Which explains the limestone pillars. It’s just a rumor, but hopefully we won’t dig up any old bones! No, our house isn’t haunted. I also got bitten by one of his dogs. This was not his fault, as she was on a leash and I stupidly reached down to pet her. His other dog, though, a bulldog named Hammy, was off leash but friendly and adorable. Have you ever been bitten by a dog? It was my first time. I have a small tooth shaped hole in my arm. I will be more cautious about dogs now!

YOPing on a Sunday

Posted on Posted in art, knitting, recipes, sewing, Works in Progress (WIPs), Year of ProjectsTagged , , 18 Comments

I updated my Year of Projects (YOP) list today, and it felt good — a reminder of why I should keep doing Year of Projects.

Fiber Art

I reached out to the gallery owner to share my work so far, and make sure the show was still on in September. And it is! So yesterday I looked through my photos for inspiration. I think I will spend some time sketching today. I have four pieces completed, although the fourth is in the still-hemming-and-hawing-and-stitching phase.

Knitting

I’ve been working on my Water shawl since I finished Turtledove. I’m almost to the short row panes.

I also need to cast on the Getting Warmer cowl (Rav link) for the silent auction winner for our fundraiser at work This will be a nice mindless knit for when Water is too challenging for my evening brain.

Sewing

📸 The Avid Seamstress

This is the raglan dress I’m making in the plaid flannel, although I think I will make the sleeves elbow length and a little more fitted than these.

📸 The Avid Seamstress

Here’s the short sleeved version which I will make in a blue cotton shirting. They have a tutorial on their website if you would like more information about this dress. Today my plan is to piece the pattern together.

This has been a Year of Projects Update. You can read my updated list here. You can find out more about the group here.

Bonus content: I am trying my hand at making vanilla extract. At work we are developing a partnership with a Fair Trade vanilla bean farm. Extract is super easy to make. I split the beans and dropped them in vodka. They have only been in there 2 days and it already smells amazing!

📢 Sunday Sunday Sunday Year! Of! PROJECTS!!! (projects projects projects)

Posted on Posted in art, knitting, scarves and cowls, sewing, sweaters, Works in Progress (WIPs), Year of ProjectsTagged 29 Comments

Sewing

I finally finished sewing all the curtains. Adding these to the living room allowed us to rearrange the furniture, which Bob likes to do fairly regularly to rewire our brains. I was glad not have to make panels for these, although in hindsight, panels look nicer. These block out more light, though, which is nice for TV viewing.

Knitting

I’m plodding away on my Lucky Number Cowl and Turtledove. And my list keeps growing. 😳

Fiber Art

Sneakapeekaloo

I hope to finish stitching on piece number 3 today. Then next week I can frame it and lay out piece number 4.

This has been a Year of Projects Update. You can read my updated list here. You can find out more about the group here.

Today is our Blogville Knitters Virtual Knit at 1PM Eastern. If you are new and would like to join us by Skype, please DM your Skype ID to me on Instagram or Ravelry. You might also leave a comment for me to remind me to go check my messages.

🤓 Nerd Alert! 🐑 Sunday Year of Projects Update 🧶

Posted on Posted in fiber love, knitting, scarves and cowls, Works in Progress (WIPs), yarn, Year of ProjectsTagged 21 Comments

I took a wonderful Breed Specific Knitting workshop from Longway Homestead yesterday. It was a gift from Bob for Christmas. I learned about breeds and wool and crimp and staple length and microns. Conclusion: I want to raise Shetland sheep.

Knitting

I’ve updated my YOP list. I also rearranged the order to try to reflect a chronology. I will probably continue to do that as I make my way through the list. There’s not much else to say other than look at my beautiful Moondrake Advent Litmus Cowl! It’s knitting up fast. Knitting stripes is fun!

I bundled yarn by colors and am making my way through the rainbow, with stripes of the big skein in between hues. I numbered the bundles so I wouldn’t forget the order. 🤓

Fiber Art

It’s a long weekend so I’m going to frame “Hay for Days,” start “Blue Moon,” and dye some fiber.

This has been a Year of Projects Update. You can read my updated list here. You can find out more about the group here.

Noodle Club

I received my first Noodle Club subscription yarn from Ramen Needles. It’s super fun. It also glows under a black light. Now I’m looking for a black light. I’m not sure what to do with it, so I will stash it away and percolate on it. It’s single ply merino and silk. Might make a nice Pembroke Scarf (Ravelry link).

Today is our Blogville Knitters Virtual Knit at 1PM Eastern. If you are new and would like to join us by Skype, please DM your Skype ID to me on Instagram or Ravelry.