Thoughts & Finishes

I often wonder if I moved my knitting upstairs, if it would seem like less of a separate activity, I’m not sure why I look at my creative work as studio work (upstairs) and my leisure time as knitting time (downstairs). Maybe it should be blurred, maybe I just need a cozy seat in the studio?

I think it’s been 7 months or so in the bag, it’s traveled around with me, side eyed me when I plunked it in the corner to take on other projects, snuggled in my lap on cold winter nights and made me endlessly happy looking a its muted hues and plumpy ridges.

I found along the way, sometimes just pulling yarn or arranging supplies for another project was enough of a switch up in my day to get me back on shawl task, other times it was a day or two at the sewing machine and another pretty thing made. (This yarn combo never became anything, but I loved putting it together, oh and pink bags for days 💕)

I kept it on a 32″ circular for its entire life, not realizing I was creating a mammoth shawl, some slight worries on where to block it, but I’m more excited about getting to wear it, than worried about wrangling the 90″ wet wool beast!

A finally finished Powder and Dust shawl and it’s exactly what I was hoping for, the mellowest strawberry fade, with so much excessive plush gartery nonsense and if not for days spent upstairs (not knitting) in the studio I wouldn’t have a beautifully drab gingham dress to pair it with.

It wasn’t until it was blocked and dry that I realized I preferred the wrong side of this one. Well it’s all garter so there isn’t really a rs/ws, but the color transition is so much more subtle on the ws, a true fade, whereas on the right side you can see defined stripes.

Up next, maybe some tiny creature knitting, there is a new Little Cotton Rabbits Small Rabbit pattern out (eeep!) and The Tearoom Cat has been calling me, wouldnt a little kiki to dress in tiny sweaters, cardigans and shorty pants just be the sweetest thing!?! 💕

January Quiet

The January studio is tidy and cold, the light is sometimes so harsh and other times barely there. I really don’t mind at all. Trying to remember to always look close and appreciate what makes me happy, and force myself to take the time to trim away the things that don’t. That industrial tape dispenser makes me happy, so does that glowing milk carton.

There is always room to improve, there is a major stamp pad situation that might need handling. I don’t even know how that happens (wait I do ..does anyone remember Archiver’s stores? I loved those stores so much!) I trimmed my stock back a bit last year, only keeping the weird ones, like the destressing inks, glitter inks, glue inks, glow inks, and all the scented pads, yes in my world the green ink is spearmint scented and the pink, bubblegum! I can’t remember the last time I reached for some of these though, so maybe it’s time for another go through? Look at Jason and I, we were babies. 💕

I think I will always love little fiddly knits, using the small scraps from past projects for cute new stuff, making wool endlessly have my heart. Especially ones that look like Lex. 💕

Still not a fan of the wintering plants and I’m torn about the antique dresser, mostly because it’s a hiding place, currently holding overflow bric-a-brac that at the time of the big clean out I couldn’t let go of. It’s been easier since then to pick away at the layers, I still find things that seemed important then, that I’m now willing to part with. Starting to understand that I don’t need to pad myself with stuff, taking notes on the difference between useful and useless in terms of things I hope, plan, wish to use and useless things I hang onto because of the emotion or money I put into them.

Just appreicating current favorites and when they aren’t favorites, being ok with letting them go.

I do love capturing the moody and mundane, sometimes with just the right amount of merk and muck (my winter wasteland), I don’t want to ever overlook or forget the simple everyday, pull over, this is fucking beautiful.

💕

Ending like I began or beginning like I ended.

When I first taught myself to crochet most of my hooks, patterns and yarns were found second hand, so a lot of what I made had a modern granny feel, studying the patterns, memorizing the terms and learning the delicate movements of thread crochet gave me such an appreciation for the tools, the dedication of time and most of all the makers. The only sad thing with second hand is you rarely know the history of what you have, how much love was poured through it or how many hours of joy it gave, still to this day I have a hard time leaving any vintage hook, or booklet behind.

I can only hope 100 years from now someone finds my crochet hook collection as endearingly sweet as I find these old tools. 💕

Getting better and better, and lightbulbs when you realize you’ve been working round 8 wrong the whole time, and now you’re not.

They’re basically crocheting themselves ..as long as it’s winter I can keep making these right?

Ending a decade like I began it, and heading into a fresh new one the same, with a deep love for handmade and history and crocheting snowflakes. 💕

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Pattern: Inscribed Snowflake by Julia Hart

I’ve updated my starching method from homemade sugar slurry to a ready made spray bottle hard starch specifically for thread, yarn and fabric. Stiffy and Stiffen Quick are the ones I’ve used. (They smell like pva “Elmer’s” glue, and that has me curious if I could just water down regular glue and make my own?!?)