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delayed start

January happened, but did it tho? It’s now February so let’s begin.

I have to go through this space every few months just to reacquaint myself, organizing in here is part irregular shapes tetris and part reckoning what I have, with what will actually get used.

In a completely unlike me move, I finally opened my precious Beam Paints Good Dreams Gouache Set, it’s the cutest birch wood cookie palette ever!

Underappreciated little things corner.

Over the weekend we did it again, we sorted all afternoon, I found the real missing box of patterns (the one with the apron patterns I talked about in this post). I donated a dress form I had since my early 20s, it was one of my first big adult sewing purchases and hadn’t been out of storage in 20+ years. It was a weird moment for me, realizing whatever emotional tie it held was finally gone, because every other time we’ve sifted down the artroom stuff, it was never a question, it stayed and this time, it was one of the first things I knew I was ready to let go of. It makes me smile at the thought of another fat maker flipping out at the thrift store when they come across it!

More crochet hooks, why not, these are a (now retired) special edition clear glitter hook that I bought back in 2022.

I don’t often buy full sets and even when I want to I manage to not.. somehow I have two L’s and no N ..lol, sighs.

I’m such a chump for anything glittery.

My life at the moment is artificially pink. I jumped in on a test knit (it’s been years) and the morning was spent winding yarn and listening to my spotify daylist titled soft cinnamon twee.

..I had to look up twee..

twee • \TWEE\ • adjective. : (chiefly British) affectedly or excessively dainty, delicate, cute, sentimental or quaint.

..I guess that’s pretty accurate.. 💕

Accidental milk inspired colors – vanilla, strawberry and coffee. Yes, my coffee is mostly milk, well heavy cream to be exact and I know I’ve added enough when it reaches that exact beige color, it’s almost a science.

So that’s the yarn, that’s the test, it’s my first time doing modular knitting and I’m making it work with stash. I wasn’t a sweater knittter when I began knitting and buying yarn, so I have a lot of singles and doubles to use up, and modular knitting seems perfect for that.

Last days of 2023

Years into working on my beekeeper’s quilt and I’m beginning to doubt I will ever finish, it still gets pulled out from time to time and I will occasionally make a puff or two, but mostly I just sit and think of it fondly.

Knitting the last something or other of the year with two cherished (deep stash) skeins.

One skein for increases, and the other for decreases. I want this to be that simple, but I have to use a row counter to keep track of them, it’s the worst part.

We’ve packed away the holidays and put the house back together, all of which poops little mae mae out ..and me too I guess.

That time I knit a cult scarf in like 2 days, look at me heading out of 2023 like a wrapped piece of candy.

p.s “that time” was literally yesterday and today.

Pattern: Sophie Scarf by PetiteKnit.

Yarn: Koigu Kersti Merino Crepe (dye code k718 / circa 2012).

A little year end wrap up of just enough.

I’m nothing if not consistent, at least when it comes to wool, bags and badges in my sad girl soft palette. I don’t mind really, at least you always know what you’re getting with me.

♡

meet cute holiday edition

Mae Mae Christmas, our little garbage heap, she’s such a good bad girl, both frustrating and sweet, she really tries.

We sorted through our holiday totes earlier in the year, clearing out so much. The rules were if it was something we didn’t love or if it never made it out of the tote year after year, it got donated. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be, and I maybe only regret saying goodbye to one or two things and those irrational choices were made several hours in, when I was hot, covered in glitter and absolutely over the task. But it’s ok.

I didn’t think I was going to make anything this year, no handmade gifts were on my list, I just wasn’t into it. Then one day I was like I think I want to knit a giant stocking and felt it, so I did, and in fact it was so satisfying that I ended up making two. One for me (on the left) and one for Lex (on the right) you can’t really tell but hers is marled with cream and pink and while I made them exactly the same, the wool in hers shrunk up into a wide stubby baby sock, it made us laugh, we love it so much! I offered to knit Jason a green grouch colored one, but he said he really loves the granny square one I crocheted him years ago ..ok good, because my body struggled to comfortably knit with that thick yarn, but goodness the finished stocking is so wonderfully big and sturdy, it’s the most perfect thing I’ve knit in a while.

It took roughly 330yds, I shortened the leg and the foot just a smidge because I knew I didn’t have “extra” yarn and didn’t want to run out. It was big and sloppy straight off the needles and measured 27″ × 10″, it went into the washing machine on a small load/normal cycle, on hot with soap and a towel, it felted up so nicely. I laid it flat on a foam blocking mat and while still damp I pulled and tugged it into shape (there is zero stretch, but damp wool felt has some give) and put it in the basement by the heater, flipped it occasionally and once I was sure it wouldn’t distort, I hung it from the rafters, puffed it open a bit to allows for better air circulation. It took DAYS to dry. After felting it measures 18¾” x 7¾” and is ½” thick!

Stocking Pattern: Fritidsgarn felted stocking (Ravelry link)

A few pattern notes: I didn’t leave a long tail for making the hang loop on my second sock, because when I did that on my first one it ended up on the front ..weird. So instead I picked up 4 stitches at the back and knit a 20 round i-cord and joined it back to the top. The heel as written leaves holes because it doesn’t use wrap and turns, they might have disappeared when felted but I wasn’t sure they would, so I took some thin scrap wool and closed them up, you could also w&t. When working the toe decreases, once I hit 36 stitches I started decreasing on every round until I reached 20 stitches for a rounder tip shape, then grafted the toe.

In my head I was going to do some cute embroidery on it, maybe chain stitch my initials, a pompom or something like that, but I didn’t, maybe leaving a fun craft for next year?

P.S I almost f’d up my badge maker by trying to turn the foil candy wrappers from Lex’s advent into pinback buttons, at the time it seemed worth it though. ♡

Ok so I’ve had this little weird santa head ornament in my collection forever, I don’t even remember who it came from or how I got it, but Jason and Lex know I adore it so much and they always put it on the tree facing me, right at eye level, so I can look over and see it looking back at me from my seat. ♡

This year I decided I wanted to learn how to make them, I found a 1994 Trim A Tree kit from Bucilla second hand and got lost in the moment. ♡

It’s more sequined than I’d like and the pieces are printed with dots showing their placement so there’s no skipping them. I couldn’t help but add a little holly berry to his beard. I’m planning on taking my favorite parts from both and making myself a pattern, so I can make a million little adorable Santa heads out of soft pastel colored wool felt.

Some of my favorite seasonal brooches, I’m alright with having them do most of the holidaying for me this year, especially the butts.

We went to Costco, and this clearance illuminated glitter snow lantern has been the bookshelf joy of our December. It’s water filled and has a little motor that keeps the glitter moving, reflecting off the walls like a disco ball, we are enchanted.