2015: Don't blink or you might miss it...

Back again.  Perhaps this will become a habit?

Last post we spent some time catching up, but didn't really get a chance to chat too much about what's on deck for 2015.  I've blown through the Gregorian calendar new year, Chinese new year, and now we're halfway through March, so... no time like the present.

As you know, last year was about Stash Appreciation, i.e., using what I have, and solving problems with creativity over credit cards.  This year will be about Construction, i.e., building on what I have.  So what do I mean by that?  Well, it's about using stash in a broader sense.  For instance, there is my "educational stash."  I have built up quite the collection of fiber arts resources, such as general how-to knitting, spinning, crocheting and weaving books and DVDs, stitch pattern dictionaries, region specific traditions (such as Shetland and Estonian lace traditions), color work for knitting and color blending for spinning, and so on.  Like my yarn and fiber, a lot of these resources were purchased in anticipation of that ever elusive "one day" when I would learn all of the tips and techniques that lurk therein.

Then there is my "tools and materials" stash, such as the buttons, buttons, buttons I purchased last year, but haven't used much because I haven't mastered making buttonholes; the fabric that intends to be lining in the various knitted fashions that whirl unrealized in my brain, but hasn't been used yet because I haven't really learned how to work my sewing machine; the spindles and carders and combs and hackle for processing fleece and fiber, which I've used (of course), but could get so much more out of; the "Sample-It" loom--stained, but unassembled--meant for trying out and learning weaving patterns beyond simple plain weave.  I could go on, but I'm sure you see where I'm going.

And as always, there's the yarn and fiber stash:  the fleece that I bought to process so that I could  understand working with fiber at a fundamental level; the pre-processed fiber that is waiting to be dyed and/or spun in myriad ways; the yarn that is waiting to be used in patterns yet to be discovered and techniques I have yet to try--old familiar friends that have been with us through the past year and will be with us for years to come.  (Have I mentioned that I have A LOT of yarn and fiber?  Yes, still.) 

Wise folks in my cold sheeping support group have mentioned more than once that one of the illusions we create for ourselves by buying stash is that we are also buying the TIME to do the things we imagine doing with our purchases.  The reality is, you can't buy time, you must MAKE it.  I say again, no time like the present.

Projects

This year will be a little different from last year as far as goals and events.  I will still be doing the occasional Ravelry activity (go Team Chesire Cat!) and you can see if you look to the right that I do have year-long goals in progress, i.e., knitting 100 skeins and spinning 15 miles.  But rather than being driven by imposed themes, I believe I will be best served by focusing on a few specific projects that will require some of the skills I want to work on.  You know me well enough to know these projects won't be the only things I work on, but hopefully they will be the constants.

Here they are, in the order of my interest:

Cormo/cashmere/silk cardigan

I once mentioned that we would talk about Cormo.  In a nutshell, the Cormo sheep breed resulted from crossing Corriedale sheep with Merino sheep.  Cormo wool is usually next-to-skin soft and has a lot of crimp, which makes it quite springy.  It is a lot of fun to play with.  Here is a picture of the Cormo fleece I have, which was the last fiber purchase I made before I started cold sheeping:*

This is pre-washed fleece (you can do that sometimes), which is stored in an old pillow case. 

For years now, I have been fantasizing about a Cormo, cashmere, and silk fiber blend.  I have yet to find the blend available for purchase.  You can occasionally find Cormo with silk or Cormo with cashmere, but not all three together.  I have mentioned time and again that I want it to a few vendors I know, but so far no one has come through for me.  Well, I have Cormo, I have cashmere, I have silk, and I refuse to be thwarted, so I will have my blend.**

Here are the cashmere and silk, so you will have truly seen this project from the beginning:

The skills/experience I expect from this project include blending different types of fiber in a sweater quantity; dyeing and color blending; utilizing a new stitch pattern, practicing set-in sleeves, improving buttonhole construction and other finishing techniques.

Merino cardigan

I have two fleeces from Merino sheep that I've had in my stash for a few years.  The first is a "white" fleece:

You can see why I put "white" in parentheses.  This fleece has not been washed yet, but when it is clean it really is white.  As I mentioned, I've had this fleece awhile, and I have washed handfuls now and again to play with, but I still have a good amount left.

The second fleece is a natural light brown color:

It also needs washing.  The brown fleece is a lovely color, but not particularly flattering for my skin tone, so my plan is to blend the two fleeces to create an oatmeal colored yarn that I think will work quite nicely for me.  This will give me the opportunity to work on cleaning and processing fleece, blending, another new-to-me stitch pattern, more set-in sleeve, buttonhole, and finishing practice (because you can never get enough of that).


The Coat

The last project is actually the continuation of an on-going project that I've mentioned before.  Remember that Shetland yarn I was spinning last year?  Well, I think it's time to start knitting the coat.  Here is a picture of the pile of Shetland yarn, waiting to be wound into balls:

The big skill I'll be getting from this one, besides the standard sleeve and finishing techniques, is learning how to add a lining.  So I will have to stop dragging my feet and actually make friends with my sewing machine, which could open up whole new worlds.  Stay tuned.

Remnants

I can't believe I forgot to tell you last post that I finished that Sleeping Beauty wrap I was working on for that Folklore and Fairytales challenge:

I attended Stitches West a few weeks ago.  Yes, I behaved myself and didn't buy anything.  The set-in sleeve class was inspiring, which is why I have so much set-in sleeve practice lined up for the coming year :).

That's all for now.  Be back with you soon! 
  

















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*Not to be confused with my last yarn purchase, which was the Courchevel from MinkYarn.com.

**I originally hoped to buy the blend because 1) blending fiber by hand is a lot of work and 2) I thought I might want to use each of the fibers separately for other things (which obviously hasn't happened yet). 

Anyone Still Here?

Greetings, gentle readers.  Well, that was a long pause.  We have some catching up to do.  Let's see how much we can get done today.

First and foremost, I've managed to "stay on the sheep," so to speak.  In fact, in January I reached an important milestone:

[As always, thanks to K.K. Batts for allowing me to share her lovely badges.]

I'm happy to report that I did NOT celebrate by running out and buying a bunch of yarn or fiber.  In fact, I still haven't bought any, given that I still have enough to keep me busy for over a decade.  But I did recently make the mistake of visiting the websites of all the yarn shops I used to buy from.  Let's just say that while I don't quite have the "shakes," I probably shouldn't do that again any time soon.  I haven't officially committed to another year of no yarn shopping, mostly because I don't know what will happen when I get to Stitches West next weekend or what I'll get into at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival in May, but I'm still making an effort to avoid as much impulse shopping and general grazing as I can.  We'll see how it goes.

A break from blogging has not translated into a break from general fiber artistry, so allow me to share what I've accomplished since I last typed at you.

Tops

Remember all of the tops I was working on last year?  Yeah, I haven't finished any of those.  But I have made some others.  To explain why that isn't actually as silly as that sounds, I should mention that I switched construction techniques.  Previously, I was constructing my tops in flat pieces and sewing them together.  Recently I've been constructing them in the round.  For non-knitters, I've been knitting the tops from the bottom up as a tube until I get to where the armholes should start, and then I put half the stitches on one set of needles, and the other half on another set of needles, and work the front and back separately to create the holes for my arms.  Finally, I sew it together at the top, leaving room for my head.  It's a really convenient way to construct because you are working on the public side of the garment for most of it.  For example, if the top is primarily knit, I don't have to purl the back side until I reach the part where I split for the armholes.  I just keep knitting round and round :).  So now you are wondering why everyone doesn't always make tops this way.  Well, there are legitimate reasons for working in pieces.  One reason is that seams add structure to a garment, so depending on how you want the top to fit the body, it may better suit your needs to construct in pieces.  Sometimes the pattern is so complicated that it is easier to work in pieces.  For the most part, though, working in the round is working for me :).

Anyway, here are some of the tops I've made:

The top above was made from holding together a strand of laceweight alpaca/silk yarn with a strand of laceweight linen/silk yarn.  At the time I made it, it was my favorite thing I've ever made.  I've been visualizing making that neckline for a very long time and it was very exciting when my vision worked.  It was also my favorite thing to wear, until I began to realize that I am allergic to alpaca.  That was a heartbreaking revelation. (I have quite a lot of alpaca in my stash.  Eventually such stash will need to find a (or several) good home (or homes--I really have a lot), but I'm still in denial that I'm allergic to it so I'm having trouble letting go.)  I confess that I've worn the top a few times and just taken an allergy pill to lessen the symptoms, but sooner rather than later I will need to make another similar top and let this one go.  Sigh.

This next top is a special case, and yes, at the time I finished it, it was my favorite thing I have ever made.*  Remember last post when I mentioned getting my "knitting mojo" back?  This is the top that did it.  The yarn is the most luxurious blend of cashmere/silk that I have ever encountered (so of course the yarn has been discontinued).  Seriously, if you could transform whipped cream into yarn form, this would be the yarn.  Knitting it was amazing.  Wearing it is beyond words, although unfortunately it sheds like the dickens, so I don't get to wear it much.  But I hug it every chance I get.

I loved, loved, loved making this peach top.  It is literally a tube that I sewed some decorative straps to and was ready to go.  The yarn is a cotton/seacell blend (seacell is made from kelp) and it is super comfortable.  It is another discontinued yarn unfortunately.**  If I had more of it, I would make a nightgown out of it.

The top above is my new favorite top.  In fact, I'm wearing it right now as I'm writing this blog entry.  The yarn is a blend of cotton, bamboo, linen, and nylon.  This yarn is not as soft and comfortable as the other yarns I've used for tops (so of course I have lots and lots of it, lol) but I really like the drape of it and from a construction perspective, it's one of my most successful tops.

Other projects

I also recently finished another Swirl, my fourth.  This one was comissioned by a friend, and this is how it looked before I mailed it off to her:

It is made from 100% mink from my old pal MinkYarn.com.  It's super soft and I'm sure it will be very cozy to wear.  I didn't get to try it on because it's not my size, but I'm definitely tempted to start another mink sweater for me after making it :).  The mink is always so pleasant to knit with because it feels nice on your hands.

Speaking of sweaters for me, I do have another cardigan in progress.  I'm going to call it the "semi-precious" cardigan, because I used some of the precious yak/merino/silk that I had plied with a yak/merino blend so as to stretch my remaining stash of both.  Here it is so far:

I plan to add sleeves, but I am waiting until after Stitches West next weekend, because I have signed up for a class on set-in sleeves and thought I should wait until after the class when I hopefully will be better at it.  I've done set-in sleeves on my other garments, but there is room for improvement.

You are probably wondering about the Precious Hoodie.  I haven't made further progress on that, but I do plan to finish it one day.  It still needs the hood, and I'm still debating whether or not it will need sleeves.  One issue is that the yarn I'm using to make it is thick, and the garment is turning out to be rather heavy (in weight, not just thickness).  I think it will still be pleasant to wear, but I was inspired to start the Semi-Precious Cardi because that yarn is closer to a laceweight and that garment is turning out to be lightweight, but still warm because yak is such a warm/soft fiber. 

As usual, there is still more catching up to do, but we'll have to wait for another post.  I don't plan to make you wait so long this time (although we know how plans go), but today is day one of the Mad Dash 2015 (Team Cheshire Cat this year!) and though I've already done some spinning this morning, I should get back to work.  Wish me luck next weekend at Stitches.  Hopefully I'll be able to report that I behaved myself :).


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*I'm sure you've picked up on the pattern--pretty much the last thing I've made at any given time is my favorite thing I've ever made.  Which makes making things a very pleasant experience.  Obviously :).

**As I think I've mentioned before, I've bought a lot of my yarn on closeout at great discounts, so by the time I get around to knitting with it and realize how much I love it, it's long gone.