Seems like you can never have too much snow, make too many project bags or covet too grellow of a yarn. 💛
P.S I bought this fabric ages ago to recover the porch cushions, but it never happened and now I chopped into it, so it never will!
I’ve loved sewing as far back as I can remember, I was 13 when I asked for my first machine, mom bought me a brown & cream Kenmore portable that I could barely lift. It had a hard plastic case, front load bobbin and a habit of breaking needles. (I actually had to have surgery on my foot as a kid because I had lost a needle in the carpet and that tender space between my littlest toes found it ..still makes me cringe!)
It wasn’t until I was in my late 20’s that I upgraded from that old kenmore to a blue and white lightweight, top loading bobbin, adjustable speed, automatic button hole Husqvarna, with its 1st generation (kinda shitty but kinda cool) built in needle threader and this feature that allowed you to start/stop with the needle in the down position (I still love that!). No hard case, instead a soft plastic cover, that the cats liked to chew on.
Over the years, I’ve managed to collect vintage machines (mostly from estate auctions and people not knowing what to do with grandmas old machine ..I can’t seem to turn them down or leave them behind for the landfill). Some have treadles and ornate wood cases, others exposed gears and hand cranks. Weighty highly decorated all cast bodies, silky threads, and gold leaf. There is so much history, durability, style and grace built into these utilitarian beauties and I was missing that in the newer machine I was using.
Granted I don’t want to pack my body into a little victorian sewing desk OR possibly run the risk of sewing over my finger (I think I saw this in a movie once as a kid and it has since become a valid fear!) and I’m far to lazy to want to treadle my own speed, plus the one time I tried, the leather belt must have been gummy and the treadle was stuck, so I gave it a good firm press and snapped the metal pedal right in half, slicing the bottom of my foot ..ugh more cringes! (anyone else sew barefoot?)
Instead this joined my life, the perfect combination of old & new. A surprise from Jason when the reverse went out on my machine and I was frustrated with getting it fixed and flustered with using it broke. You wouldn’t think going back to manually adjusting stitch length at the beginning and end of a run would be such a big deal, but it was, it totally sucked.
I’ve come to understand I don’t use fancy stitches, my sewing needs are pretty basic: I want easy, I want uniform straight stitches, I want strong and sturdy (this came with a Teflon foot and leather needles just to prove it’s industrial AF!), I want a high presser foot for jamming in bulky layers and the power to sew through it all with zero attitude. It doesn’t hurt that this has a much better built in needle threader, big tool bin, metal body and slip on hard cover. It even came with cute vintage decals ..WHAT!? 😍
I didn’t even realize my old sewing heart was craving such a sweet little workhorse 💕
Even though we live on the mostly flat prairie, we do have some really beautiful limestone bluffs and driving through the winding carved out roads is so lovely this time of year.
I never did get around to having a candy cane before the holidays were over, and now that the tree is down and the cheer is all packed up, the mood has completely passed. They’ll lay in a pile on the table until I’m sick of looking at them. I always think next year I’m not buying them, I’m NOT ..but then I fall for their nostalgic cuteness and dollar a box lure as soon as the seasonal aisle starts taking shape in late September. The grandma thrift in me has even tried to store the leftover canes till next year ..don’t ever do that.
Besides being kinder, gentler and more understanding in 2018, my goal is still one of working through & loving my yarn stash. I’m not setting limits or pre-building in guilt (because let’s face it I’m gonna buy yarn) but instead I’m trying to be less impulsive when making purchases and only bring in things that I truly adore. I’m also trying to change how I think of my big beautiful stash, fingering is not only fingering, but when doubled can be a light worsted, weaving my ideal length of scarf roughly uses 800 yards of fingering or 500 yards of worsted. I can mix and match weights and colors to create new weights and new colors, I am only limited by my own limits 💕
Starting off first things first, holding double strands of worsted to make a chunky cable knit hat and sipping on a cold creamy chai (even though we haven’t been out of single digit temps, I always prefer my drinks iced, my already overly hot bod can’t handle hot drinks in any season :)
..exactly kiki..
I can’t even remember the last time I knit this big, it mostly goes back to that hot body thing and the practicality of wearing fire. It’s also been a while since I’ve had a hat pattern smack me so hard I dropped everything and cast on for it right away (I hoard patterns too!) ..but the idea of using 2x the amount of stash yarn has this girl who can barely stand a jacket, contemplating all the double stranded woolies!
(On a side note, does this pom-pom make my hat look too commercial? Lex said she loved the hat, but didn’t love the pom-pom because it made it look like something you could buy in a retail store …what?!? I know memade is “on trend” and fast fashion is jumping all over the handmade look with bulky knits and leather tags on brims, but never did I think their mimicking of slow fashion style would make me question the commercialization of a flipping faux fur pom that I ACTUALLY MADE!)
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Project Bag: Field Bag by Fringe Supply Co.
Hat Pattern: Braided Cable Beanie by PremKnits
Stash Yarn circa 2014: Hollywood by Cascade Yarns. Sadly this super washwool with holo sparkle carded right into the wool is discontinued :(
chalklegs.com 