Quick post from the sky!

Disclaimer! I wrote this post on the plane right before vacation.. And then lost wifi for a week (which was not a bad thing). Stay tuned for part 2, and a spinning update!

Two weeks ago, my husband asked me how I felt about taking a random vacation. We haven’t had one in quite a while, and it’s been a tough year emotionally. So, he picked it, planned it, and didn’t tell me until we were in the airport! All I knew was it would be warm and sunny..and that’s all I needed to know!

And right now, we are headed to Puerto Rico!!!!

I have to admit…and I know we all go through these times…my knitting mojo was on a break. I just started a new job (same organization but bigger job) which has been awesome and draining. My knitting-in-the-car time turned into catch-up-on-email time. I don’t know about you, but knitting does this zen-like relaxing thing for me and I’ve missed it!

So I grabbed my Arabella sweater for the trip. If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you’ll know I’m a serious airplane knitter. I have finished the back of the sweater, and now I’m on the front. It is a great knit, but with fine yarn and size 4 needles, I kinda got in a rut. But I’m back. Even this time on the plane has been so nice and grounding, and in a few hours I will be sitting at the beach…getting all my mojo back!

I wanted to do a progress pic…but my connection just got wonky. I’ll add it to Instagram…and I can pretty much promise some more awesome Instagram shots throughout the week!

Spin and knit on!

Blog Hop Around the World!

Ok, this is fun!! Valerie, from Intricate Knits was asked to post in a Blog Hop Around the World, and then she passed the baton to me.

The photo above is just one example of her beautiful work. I’ve been intrigued with her style and the beautiful complexity/original nature of her work. Needless to say, it’s pretty awesome to follow in this blog chain after her! Please take time to browse her site..it’s one to linger on and be inspired!
So here are the questions:
1. What are you working on?

At the moment, I am on a break between sweater designs and knitting the beautiful Arabella Sweater. I love Brooklyn Tweed yarn and designs, and I also enjoy picking up great knitting tips from designers who have been doing this long enough to come up with amazing new ways to do simple things. I’ve also got a scarf on the loom from yarn that I picked up from Jamie at Cooke Creek Sheep Company. She sells beautiful fleeces that are skirted and washed and are wonderful for spinning. I’m working with some yarn from her farm to create a scarf pattern for her to use..let me tell you, the yarn is amazing for weaving and would also make incredible socks. And.. I’m starting to design a cabled cotton sweater for my husband..we will see how that goes! The photo below is my inspiration for his sweater..warm, cozy grey.

2. How does my work differ from others?
In the sweater design area, I’m just getting my sea legs. One design is self published, my Alki Beach Sweater and the second will be published and launched any day now (stay tuned..squeeeee!) When it comes to spinning, I love, love, love spinning from a fleece I have washed. Sometimes carded, sometimes straight from the locks. It’s like free form art to me..and I am highly inspired by nature. While my work is unique, I think my motivation is also different from others. I work at a large non profit global relief and development organization, and I have a passion for organizations that take us beyond our own spaces…and into areas and lives that are so very different from our own. A few years ago I ran across an organization called Awamaki which is one of the best examples of sustainable development work in Peru..that happens to focus of women who are weavers, knitters, and spinners. All of the items I sell on my Etsy store go to support this organization. It’s one small way I can share my love for creating with my passion for helping others.
3. Why do I create what I do?
Like many fiber artists, I am very moved by the beauty of the world around me. I try to create based on the emotions and impressions that I’ve experienced through nature. That’s why so many of my blogging pictures involve hiking, camping, and kayaking. I see that, feel it, and want to bring it to life through another medium. I think that’s reflected more in the yarn I spin than anything else, but I’m starting to develop that ease of association with my designs.
4. How does my creative process work?
This depends on the medium. For spinning yarn, it’s often a burst of inspiration that comes from a scene outdoors. Walks in the forest, wild flowers, madrona trees, and unexpected bursts of color. For knitting, it’s a combination of trying to create a design that resonates with a place and then expresses that in a way that is unusual. In other words..I’m looking for something that I’ve never seen before..and then I add a twist. It doesn’t always work..I have a piled of designs that “seemed like a good idea at the time..!”
So now I get to pass the baton to a blog I love to read, Local and Bespoke. Here we go from Seattle to South Australia! Here’s a clip from her “about” page: “I live in Adelaide, South Australia. This blog is about making useful, one-of-a-kind things, mostly from local and recycled materials. It’s about growing plants, natural dyeing, spinning, knitting, sewing… and anything else that takes my fancy as the story unfolds.”
Come with me to check out Local and Bespoke as we blog hop around the world!

Spin and knit on!

Arabella Update (and a pro tip!)

I wish I could show you a better progress pic of my Arabella Sweater but I can’t because I am camping and didn’t pack it all. I’ve finished the back piece and it is truly lovely..and a very enjoyable knit.
So here I am, in a tent again..enjoying the beautiful Pacific Northwest, and today is pouring with rain. Which is totally good..a nice relaxing day in the tent, even for Oliver.

So, while this is a great knit, there’s also some serious row tracking going on. I thought I would use that opportunity to share with you one of my favorite digital tools: Stitchminder.

It’s an iPhone app that has saved me tons of scrap paper and probably some sanity. In fact, because I travel so much it helps me stay on track on a project without too much hassle. A guy on a plane asked me one time what I was using because he had accidentally thrown away his girlfriend’s notes on a project, and he thought if he gifted her the app he might get out if the doghouse!!
Here’s how I used the example photo above.
The top row represents the 35 row garter ridge repeat.
The next row represents the 6 row cable repeat.
The 3rd row represents the amount of decrease rows completed.
The 4th row represents the row count for the decrease pattern.

Game changing stitch tracker, I tell ya! What are different ways you keep track of your stitches?

Spin and knit on!

August Break: Finished Object Friday

A photo a day. My own design!

Product or Process?

Before I start with this string of thoughts..I have to say I am convinced there is no right or wrong answer.  In fact, labels in general make me nervous when it comes to creative work.  

But recently, I have been thinking a lot about the creative process and what my reason is for doing what I do. I think I fall more on the process side, but let me explain how I got there.

“Product” knitting, spinning, or weaving is motivated by the finished item more than the time or journey it takes to get there. I am very much a product weaver..I don’t love warping the loom, and I enjoy the weaving part but I love, love, love the moment of unwinding a piece from the loom and looking at the fabric I made.

For spinning I am mixed. If it’s art yarn, I love the process. More utility yarn becomes a zen like process, but I still want to get to the final yarn so I can make something from it. On the other hand, I love washing and preparing a fleece to spin..and there’s nothing efficient or quick about that.

Knitting is a mix as well, but I am more of a process knitter. For a long drive, flight or TV show I have to have knitting in my hands. I like detailed patterns..I would rather have an interesting challenge than a fast knit. In fact, my channel cardigan took several weeks, but as I wrote earlier, it carried me through a difficult time.

I’ve been spending a lot of time recently on designing sweaters. During that experience I have realized how much of a process knitter I am. I like details, and I like changes. If it begins to feel routine, I don’t enjoy it as much.

When I took Josh Bennet’s design class at Vogue Knitting Live, we had 1:1’s with him at the end, and he have me a piece of advice that was probably the best I will ever get when it comes to design. I was debating between two techniques for the front of my sweater. One idea involved a lot of weaving in ends and I was concerned people would consider that tedious. He said “Don’t ever dumb down your designs to make them easier..it doesn’t honor you or the people you are designing for.” Simple advice, but golden.

So how about you? Are you a product or process maker?

Weekend Knitting, Camping, Kayaking and SUPPing Adventures (in pictures)

Knitting on the beach…

Bump on a log…

Bump on a log part 2..

Knitting + Kayak + Dog + Hubs fishing off the back of the kayak = peace 🙂

A little SUP and yoga..(yoga is sooo good for knitting and sore wrists!!)

And a nap. Nice weekend!

Spin and knit on!

Knitting in Pieces

Okay, this is a strange thing to admit. For YEARs, I thought I didn’t like seaming. I avoided patterns that weren’t knit in the round. Big flat cardigan pieces were okay too..especially if the sleeves were drop shoulder, picked up stitches and knit in the round to to cuff.
Then I took a design class at Vogue Knitting Live, and we focused on based set-in sleeve (gasp) crew neck sweaters. I have avoided set-in sleeve patterns like no one’s business. Then I tried it and realized there are many cool advantages I have been missing.

1. Smaller knitted pieces fit better in knitting purses/bags for travel. (Like my “knitting on the ferry on my way to camping” picture above!
2. Smaller knitted pieces give a faster sense of accomplishment..
3. Seams are not hard. 😳😳😳 Check out this great tutorial
4. You can weave ends into the seams. I really liked that trick.
5. Seams provide a little more structure to the finished garment.

So there you have it..I’m converted! Still like my top down raglans, but this opens a whole new world of knitting fun!! How about you? Do you prefer knitting in the round or seaming?

Spin and knit on!

Channel Cardigan: Done!

This might be my favorite knit of all time. Seriously. The knitting was an endurance race, not a sprint, but that’s totally ok! I shared with you a few posts back about knitting by my mom’s bedside before she passed away, and as I thought..this is like a cozy hug reminding me of some beautiful moments.

The fit is amazing and I loved working with Shelter yarn. The yarn is a bit fragile to work with..if you pull it at all it breaks..but it does splice back together beautifully, which makes for fewer ends to weave in.

One of the tough things was finding a complimentary colored yarn to do the seaming. Once I found it the seams looked great..especially since the sewing yarn doesn’t really show..but a close match is still important.

I loved the pattern. Very engaging..and I didn’t feel the need (or distraction) to start another project. I think I finally got to the “ready to be done” stage when I was doing the collar.

I wore it to work today (I know, it’s June..) and was told it looked like an Anthroplogie sweater, but with a custom fit. Sweet compliment!

If you like a detailed project for a sweater that will be a heirloom type garment, this is a great pattern for you. Here’s the link on Ravelry.

Enjoy! Spin and knit on!

Tools of the Trade

Have you ever debated for way too long about adding a tool to your supplies? You know, one of those things that seems like it might be awesome but you just don’t want to spend the money on it? For me, it was the skein winder. I can’t begin to tell you the countless hours I’ve spent winding yarn. Countless. And now I’m thinking differently about it because my kids are grown and I can’t coerce them into helping me…I love thinking about the hours they spent with their arms the width of the skein, squirming and trying to be patient.  Quality bonding time..that’s what it was.   It was this picture that pushed me over the edge. I wanted to warp my loom but couldn’t get motivated to wind the yarn. There are just so many other enjoyable things to do with that time. So, I bit the bullet and got the winder. Oh. My. Gosh. Game changer. Why did I wait so long?? Skeins wound in less than five minutes! In fact, I was so tickled, I texted this video to my (now grown) kids. Their response? Daughter: I see how it is….. Son: First giving my room to the dog and now this…. I feel replaced…. I love it. Seriously. Money well spent! Spin on!

Are you a monogamous knitter?

I think I’m getting my groove back..and it feels good. One of the consistent things I’ve had to help me process my recent loss has been my Channel Cardigan . (I’ve just got to attach the collar and front band now. Full report when it’s a real FO). During the past several weeks I’ve realized I am much more of a one project knitter than a “mix it up” sort of girl. In fact, having several projects on the needles stresses me out, and I usually end up not liking one of them.

I do have a running wish list in my head though..of what to do next, and that choice is a constant battle! I’m really smitten with Arabella from Brooklyn Tweed’s Wool People 7. What’s not to love?

I am, however…NOT a monogamous fiber artist. Here’s the list of what’s going on in that world..Yoinks!
1. Two fleeces a-washing..
2. Spinning said fleeces…
3. A pattern in my head that needs to get out..
4. Warping the loom for a special project…

How about you? Are you monogamous in your creative pursuits or do you thrive with more projects going on?

Spin on!