Slow Fashion October ~ Known

My mind has been on overload lately, but this isn't a complaint as much as an acknowledgement. #Slowfashionoctober has inspired a lot of thinking and planning, and I don't see this ending just because I'll be turning a page in my calendar. But here we are at the final week, and I've given a lot of thought to the last prompt: Known, as in knowing the source of my materials. While I wish that I had built a stash of only local and/or sustainable yarn sources, I haven't. My stash has grown from global and domestic travels, fiber festivals, and gifts. On occasion, I've had the thrill of procuring a skein or two directly from a farm or spinner or dyer, and there is something incredibly satisfying about that. But on many more occasions, I've order yarn online or stopped in at a local yarn shop with no thought to where my new goodies have come from.

But here's the thing: over the last few years, I've been dedicated to knitting from my stash and when I started my blog, it was with this idea in mind. I love my stash and can remember how each skein got there. So, in many ways, that's my known and I'm okay with that. Do I want to be more intentional going forward? You betcha! I love the idea of committing to learning more about where my yarn comes from and how it's been processed. I also love the idea of putting my money toward sources that sustain communities and/or makers in concrete ways. So, as the saying goes, it's never too late to try harder and learn more.

As you can see from my photo, I've been busy knitting from my stash. A while back, I designed a fingerless mitt pattern that I'm just returning to and writing up. I've been personally test knitting the pattern and it's almost there so I hope to release it soon. Now I just have to think about who should get all these mitts!