minimal

winter things

~ chalklegs ~ 8 Comments
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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 đź’•

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 YarnsSadly this super washwool with holo sparkle carded right into the wool is discontinued :(

The Half Of It

~ chalklegs ~ 5 Comments

I kept coming back to these, I couldn’t tell if was it the alpaca/linen/silk or just the color that got me. Maybe it was both and the idea that these two skeins of Walk Collection Linea needed to be an oversized bulked up Driftless Scarf.

 After a few sheddy rows, yeah, I’m gonna say it was the color.

Ok, the more I get into this the more I’m appreciating the fiber blend, it’s sturdy and structured yet limp and supple, it’s has a furry halo but is slick and glossy. It’s a strange gorgeous combination đź’• ..that just so happens to be the best powdered pink ever!

Second skein joined in, but it seems kinda short at the midway point ..crap :(

As I worked away and the pretty columns kept building, I was contemplating my ability to find a 3rd skein of this colorway, could I even, should I even, how could I justify it when I had more Linea in my stash, the only hangup, it was a completely different color, but it DID have some of the same colors, I should just use it.. yes, I’ll just use it.

Now I’m trying to still love it, trying visualize the shift, hoping it will still be the mega lacy scarf of my dreams and not look too patchwork.

Mood.

Well, that’s interesting, it kind of looks grubby, in a grimy that end drug on the ground kind of way. Notice how I tried to add cohesion by adding a scummy border abound the whole dang thing  …jeesh

Feeling all the love for HALF of it đź’•

All finished and I’ve had a moment to live with it. I really love the stitches, the drape, the length, and I love both colors independently,  but pieced together like this, I just don’t. I tried telling myself it works, but it doesn’t. I know I shouldn’t sweat the small stuff, but sometimes I still do and sometimes you can’t happily wear a scarf with one fancy end and one trashcan end.

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1100 yards / 10″ x 107″ R.I.P

(p.s I did try and source a 3rd skein (of course you already knew that I would!) but the German indie maker of Walk Collection produces very limited small batches, so it’s almost impossible to get your hands on :(

(p.p.s I couldn’t stand it, so I literally just frogged all 1100+ yards of toothy Linea, my table (and probably lungs) are covered in fiber dust, my finger tips are sore from picking at the stuck together stitches, I’m cranky …OMFG yarn you are in timeout right now for being a total grabby f’er)