Slow Fashion October ~ My Constant

I'm often surprised when I come across articles or posts about how to save money by limiting one's quarterly or sometimes monthly clothing budget.  Um, ... what?  People have a regular budget included in their monthly allowance to actually buy new clothes?  Maybe it's because I grew up in a very modest and frugal home with parents (okay, mainly my mother) who recycled, added length to hems when necessary, and made whatever we had work until threadbare.  Now, don't get me wrong:  I indulge when I fall in love with a certain style of pant, or shoe, or coat.  But, in general, I don't spend a lot of time shopping or replacing my clothes for the next trend, or adding to my wardrobe just because I can.

This week's #slowfashionoctober theme is WORN (i.e. heirlooms / second-hand / mending / caring for things / laundering for longevity / design for longevity (bucking trends, quality materials …). I have a lot of pieces in my wardrobe that I've had for many years, love, and wear season after season, but I couldn't zero in on one thing that fit this concept.  And then I looked down at my one constant.

You see those gold bangles on my wrist?  There are six delicate bracelets there but in the beginning, I was given seven, one for each day of the week.  In an old Chinese custom, mothers give daughters these seven bracelets when they reach puberty, and I've had these bracelets on my right wrist since I was 13 years old.  Once they were placed on my wrist, I never took them off.  Yes, you read that correctly ~ I'm now 52 years old and I've had these bangles on my wrist, non-stop, for the past 39 years. These have seen me through adolescence, college, graduate school, marriage, pregnancies, births, and now perimenopause.  They go with anything and everything that I wear, and I know that I would feel absolutely naked without them.  So, yes, these are my most worn objects, and I'll never tire of them. Oh, and the colorful enamel bracelet is from a recent, magical trip to Barcelona (and I never take this one off now either!).

An Ode to the Stitch

There are times when I can't wait ... Typically, I'm a patient person and if given the chance to have two marshmallows if I can wait ten minutes rather than one marshmallow right this very second, I'll opt for the two marshmallows.  But earlier today, when this gorgeous scarf jumped on my screen while tootling around Ravelry, I literally had to put everything down and pick up my needles. 

Within minutes, I had this and I was in love.  This beautiful stitch pattern got me thinking about how certain types of stitches get me excited ... every time.  So, what is it about this design that I love so much?  Well, basically, it's a pretty simple drop stitch and whenever I come across a drop stitch pattern, I'm smitten. I love the openness of it, the architecture of it, and let's be honest, I also love the slightly daring aspect of dropping a stitch.  C'mon, we knitters know that dropping stitches is a huge no no and one of our biggest fears but when you are required to do it on purpose ... it's kind of fun!

I've been thinking about this scarf now for the past hour, and I think my other projects are going to be put aside while I rummage around for some fluffy yarn to cast this one on.  So much for the two marshmallows ... 

Up and Down Mitts

Over the weekend, I had an image in my mind of convertible mittens.  You know, the kind that have little covers that can be flipped up over your fingers or down behind the back of your hand. I imagined them knit in a worsted weight, with a little bit of ribbing, and only a covered thumb.

There are times when I have ideas like this one, but I don't have the skills or patience to turn them into reality.  With this mitten idea, I just knew that I could figure out a way to transfer this image onto my needles.  I rummaged through my stash, cast on some Patons Classic Wool, and had at it.  I ribbed, increased, put the thumb on hold, finished the hand, and bound off.

I then took a break to think about how best to create the finger cover, had a cup of coffee, (and a cinnamon danish) and cast on again.  I know, the thumb is a bit too fat so I'll have to redo those numbers when I write this pattern out.

I first tried to pick up some stitches on the back of the hand and cast on a set of additional stitches but it all got a bit too fiddly so I thought some more and decided to knit the cover separately.

That worked beautifully but it took a few different attempts to attach it before I figured out the best way to add the cover.  I love how these mittens turned out, and I have a feeling that winter is not quite over so they'll come in handy for a little while yet. 

* Pattern to come so if you're interested, let me know!

Magical

Sometimes, I can't help but feel that knitting is like magic.  When you combine the right yarn with the right pattern, some type of fairy dust must hover over the project and create something like this.

This is the Riverton Cowl which needs only one skein, but I highly recommend that you pick a yarn that has a lot of loft as the stitch pattern really enhances a fiber such as alpaca or cashmere.  I knit mine in Juniper Moon's Herriot which is 100% alpaca and 100% scrumptious.  This is my first time knitting with any JM yarn and it certainly won't be my last.

Another project that seems to be made from magic dust is a 2x ribbed beanie which I cast on the other night for my girl.

I love that she still asks for knitted gifts and even though it's only days away from Christmas, I'm determined to finish this up over the weekend.  I'm totally improvising here ... I decided to go top-down and am winging the increases and ribbing as I go along.  It seems to be working (keep your fingers crossed), and I am absolutely loving knitting with Woolfolk's Tynd.  Talk about dreamy!

And if I don't seem to have enough on my needles, let's not forget my hubby's pullover that I'm desperately trying to finish by the 25th.  I'm knitting this in Malabrigo Rios ~ another dreamy yarn. Heck, I can't complain ~ all these yarns are such pleasures to knit with. Hope you're enjoying all your gift-knitting this year, too!

Stranded

I'm taking a page from my friend Michelle who is letting her gift knitting this year just happen.  I love that concept ~ you know, simply free to be inspired by whatever comes my way. I haven't made any solid plans for knitting gifts this season; rather, my thoughts about casting on presents for knitworthy loved ones hinges on feeling excited and letting the finished object tell me who it should go to.  Yes, I believe that my knitted objects sometimes tell me such things.

So, over the weekend, I came across the most adorable motif of a reindeer's head and as I've always wanted to try my hand at stranded knitting, I grabbed my circular needles and two balls of worsted weight yarn, and dove right in.

I posted my work-in-progress on Instagram and got the nicest feedback (thanks Gail, Libby, Bonnie, Kelly, and my sister Esther! Kelly asked if I was hooked, and I can't even describe how utterly obsessed I am now that I've conquered a technique that I've been thinking about for so long. You see, I've always been an English knitter although I've secretly wished to master continental knitting, too.  So, when I decided to give this hat design a try, I put the main color yarn on my right side and the contrasting color on my left and voila, I became an ambidextrous wiz!

Needless to say, my Saturday afternoon was completely eye-opening and I reveled in my new-found skill.  In fact, I seriously couldn't put my needles down and finished my hat in a record two hours (thanks to this podcast).

You probably can't tell but this hat is child-size being blocked on my hubby's adult-size head!  Now, I'm in search of a little person to gift this to....

Code Breaker

You're probably going to laugh at this post, but I just started watching season two of The Bletchley Circle and was suddenly struck by how much the current project I'm knitting is like reading code.  If you're a TBC fan, you may recall that in the opening scene of season one, Susan is reading a knitting pattern while clicking away on her needles.  Of course, that's a hint at her secret past of being a code breaker during WWII.  

As I'm trying really hard to knit down my stash, I pulled out my one skein of The Fibre Company's Road to China in the malachite colorway, my US3 dpns, and cast on for a pair of Nalu fingerless mitts. I'm in the mood for a small'ish project with some teeth to it ~ you know, a bit of chart reading, some simple stockinette, and a thumb turn to add interest.  I started this project at the same time that I began watching season two of TBC and when I got past the cuff ribbing and started on the cable chart, I couldn't help but notice the similarity of me and the Bletchley girls.  Okay, I admit it ... being a code breaker would be one of my dream jobs!  Yeah, I'm that kind of geek.

Hat Face

There are some people who have what I call hat faces.  You know what I mean ... stick a hat on their heads and voila, they look completely adorable.  I, for one, do not have a hat face.  Stick a hat on my head and my forehead disappears, my eyes shrink, and I do not look completely adorable (cue the sad face here).

But as a knitter, knitting a hat is one of those amazing pleasures.  The commitment is long enough to feel invested but short enough to get quick gratification. I've even designed a couple of hat patterns, and have really enjoyed creating Autumn in New York and Miranda. Last but not least, because I tend to only knit hats with animal fibers, I get a lot of happiness working with yarns I especially love.  

Both these hats are the Citadel pattern, and I just love how they turned out.  The oatmeal-colored one is in worsted weight knit in Patons Classic Wool and the other is a soft white in dk weight knit in LB superwash merino.  I don't know who I'll gift these to, but as you can guess, I'm really all about the process.  Hmm, I may be feeling a hat phase coming on. 

*My talented and very beautiful blogger friend, Michelle, has a wonderful giveaway over on her blog ~ a gorgeous shawl pattern by my other talented and very beautiful blogger friend, Libby.  Go and enter!!

Shawls All the Time

I titled this post Shawls All the Time because that's how it has been feeling here at P:Stash. Every now and then, I go through periods when my knitting seems to be all about fill in the blank.  Over the last couple of years, I've gone through a serious hat phase and then a sock phase and then a blanket phase and this fall, my needles have been happily occupied by shawl patterns. 

If you have been keeping up with my blog, you know that I did my darnedest to finish my Shaelyn in time to wear to my niece's wedding, but I fell short.  Still, it was a real joy to knit, and I'm definitely going to knit another one.  The design in this Madtosh colorway is gorgeous and I can imagine knitting another one in a plum.

I then cast on and have since finished my first Lonely Tree Shawl which was a great knit.  I started this pattern several times a few months ago and just kept getting frustrated because I couldn't figure out how to read the charts.  So, I sadly set this pattern aside and then a month ago, I watched Staci's video tutorial for knitting a cabled cowl and once I saw her explain how to read a chart, the biggest light bulb went on over my head.  I grabbed a skein of LB superwash merino dk and cast on immediately.  I'm now an expert chart reader (not really, but I definitely get it now!!).

So, after the happy success of my Lonely Tree, it was obvious that I had to cast on an Elder Tree Shawl, this time for a dear friend who has a big birthday coming up.  I've had trouble with this yarn in the past ~ I guess I'm not the most comfortable knitting with yarn that has a silk content ~ but it's working perfectly in this pattern.

I'm tempted to really challenge myself with a heavy-duty lace shawl pattern but then again, it just may be hat season again!

Small Things

The other night, while finishing the body of my Lonely Tree Shawl, I had a golden opportunity to sit with my 19-year old son and simply talk. He's home from college on a study break, and our conversation naturally flowed from light chit-chat at dinner to a more profound talk about career paths, relationships, and what it means to be a young adult in the 21st century. I know, heavy stuff but oh so good. He's my first and so I often feel like I'm learning how to be a good parent on him ... okay, maybe I should say with him .... and conversations like this one reminds me that I'm doing a good job. I don't typically write about such personal stuff, but I'm still feeling and thinking a lot about our talk so it feels natural to let it all continue to flow over here.

He's an artist, and I'd like to think of myself as someone who has a creative spirit and approach to life.  He would agree and is always incredibly positive and encouraging about my love of fiber, textiles, and yes, even my humble knitting.

Speaking of humble knitting, sometimes I get the urge to cast on something small and this lovely hat pattern jumped onto my needles over the weekend.  Like the Lonely Tree Shawl, I'm knitting this beanie in LB Collection Superwash Merino. I love knitting hats (talk about instant gratification) but I'm personally not a hat wearer myself.  As a knitter, it doesn't matter much as I'm really a process and not a product knitter.  Yeah, you should see the stash of finished goodies I have in my closet all waiting to be given away!

Palate Cleanser

I'm not very good about having a zillion (or even three or four) projects on the needles at once, but when I'm knitting something like a sweater, it really helps to have something small going at the same time.  Some of you can knit a cardigan and a pullover and a sock and a shawl and a tea cozy all while knitting a blanket~and the knitting world needs you~but once I have more than a couple of projects in my knitting basket, my mind goes all wonky.

But there's also a part of my brain that craves something new when it comes to monogamous knitting.  I'm being very faithful to Miranda's please knit list, but I know that I'll be a happier knitter if I get to cleanse my palate every now and then so I dug into my stash and pulled out a skein of DK just to feel a different weight in my hands.  

I've been wanting to knit a Lonely Tree Shawl for over a year, but the last time I attempted this pattern, I kept messing up.  I'm almost embarrassed to say why but I'll 'fess up here ~ I didn't realize that when reading a lace chart, repeats are meant to be done within the row and not after completing a whole row first.  Duh!  I got it now (can you see the huge lightbulb flashing over my head?), and I'm making nice progress on this beautiful shawl.  I'm loving this mustardy color yarn I'm knitting with, too ~ more photos to come!

Yes or No?

It's Friday which in my book means thinking about what I'll be knitting this weekend.  I'm really enjoying my Nangou shawl, but I'm feeling unsure about my contrasting color. If you recall, originally, I started this shawl in red and found the fabric ... blobby (isn't that a word?) and undefined.  I frogged it and decided to knit this in a white DK which I like a lot but what do you think about the contrasting red stripe?

When I first finished the red section, I almost frogged it again but then thought better ~ after all, I didn't want to be too hasty.  So, I knit a few more repeats of the pattern in white, and I have to say that I'm growing more fond of how the shawl is developing.

I'm ready to add another stripe but it'll have to wait until after the weekend because I've got sweaters on my mind.  I just came across two new-to-me patterns here and here which I just may have to cast on. As you can see, I'm all about the textured stitch right now. Oh, and I got a new armchair for the living room and love it.  Somehow, we're sporting a whole 1950's Mad Men vibe in our apartment and it's making me very, very happy! 

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Try, Try, Again

Remember the other day when I posted about a new shawl that I cast on over the weekend? The Nangou pattern is one I've admired for a while now, and I was excited to get it on the needles.  I already frogged it once because I wasn't very good about keeping track of my increases, but after almost getting to the end of the first section last night, I realized that I didn't like the fabric that was knitting up.  I was working with Cascade Heritage which is a really nice yarn, but I found that my garter stitch looked more messy than squishy. Hurumph!

So, like all good knitters, I went through my stash again and remembered how much I like Lion Brand's Superwash Merino especially in garter stitch.  It's a DK weight so I went up a needle size (US7, if you're interested), and I'm now humming along.  As the shawl is growing, I'm loving the edges that are developing.  It's got me thinking about how important edges are which I'll save for another post.  

I'm not sure what contrast color I'm going to add when I get to section B but my bento bag is sort of inspiring me.  Stay tuned!

When In Doubt

As I said I would, I made a much-too-long list on Saturday in anticipation of having a full day to do anything (and apparently everything) I wanted.  Sure, household chores like doing laundry, food shopping, service the car, and re-potting plants were at the top of my list, but I also added items like at-home manicure, research and order new armchair for the apartment, and play with yarn and patterns.  

In all honesty, I got a little overwhelmed with the play with yarn and patterns part of my day.  I've got a healthy stash but it's mostly made up of single skeins which I've been tackling since last spring when I set myself the one-skein challenge, but if you're like me, sometimes my one skeins get me down.  I know, what a ridiculous problem!

So, I packed all my lovelies back into their bins and decided that I needed a small(ish), portable project to cast on with one or two of those single skeins.  Fortunately, one of my favorite designers had recently offered one of my favorite designs at a discount so I had the perfect pattern and the perfect yarns to start knitting with.

I'm keeping my Nangou shawl project in my lovely bento bag from fringe supply which has me feeling very stylish whenever I whip it out.  Oh, and as you can see, I've added a Sansevieria trifasciata (aka snake plant) to my happily growing collection of houseplants.

(A) List

Thanks for all your sweet comments about my last post ~ every time a new photo pops up on my family's instagram or FB pages, we're all smiles again!  I think this feeling is going to last for months and months...

But now to this weekend ~ I'm a serious, die-hard, dedicated, and committed list maker, and I am chomping at the bit to tackle my Saturday to-do list.  Having worked the first two Saturdays in September followed by the wedding of the decade, this is the first weekend where I can devote an entire day to my crafting.

Now that I'm living split between two places, I don't have spontaneous access to my yarn stash any longer.  I know, I can feel your anxiety growing at the thought.  So, the first thing I plan to do tomorrow morning is sit with a big mug of coffee and get re-acquainted with my stash.  I already have two sweater quantities of yarn in one of my baskets assigned to two patterns: the Beaubourg pullover and the Reverb cardigan.  I'll see if I stay true to my original plan to knit the Beaubourg in Manos Maxima and the Reverb in Malabrigo Rios.  I'm really going to try and not get swayed by other patterns but you know how this works, right?  Some shiny new pattern pops up on my feed and I get fickle.

I think I have a few more sweater quantities of yarn in Rowan Calmer, Rowan Lima, and Rowan Kidsilk Haze,  but other than that, I'll be making lists of shawl, cowl, sock, and hat patterns for all the rest.  Can you tell that I'm trying to knit down my stash?  Share your favorite in any or all of these categories ~ I'm completely open to being inspired!

Happy weekend, everyone.

Wedding of the Decade

Okay, okay, I'm exaggerating, but my beautiful niece and nephew-in-law's wedding festivities this past weekend were simply wonderful.  There's no doubt that weddings are heart-warming affairs, but when the kids who are getting married are some of your favorite people in the world, ... well, life just takes on an extra rosy glow.

If you've been following me here recently, you'll know that I was furiously knitting to complete the Shaelyn shawl in time for the wedding.  Your encouragement, here and on Instagram, was so invigorating but sadly, I didn't make it (yes, the violins can begin now). I knit the night before, the morning of, and even while I was helping my sister (aka mother-of-the-bride) with last-minute wedding details mere hours before having to leave for the ceremony.  Needless to say, I was distracted and getting to wear my lovely new shawl to the wedding was not to be.

Regardless, the evening was summery, and after hitting the dance floor a few times, a shawl was the last thing I would have wanted! We cheered, smiled, cried, and laughed all night long.  So, cheers to the newlyweds!

The dining room

My two

Me and my guy

The Newlyweds

Ambitious ... or Unrealistic?

I've got a very special and important family event coming up this weekend, and I've cast on a project that I'm really, really hoping I can finish by Saturday.  My niece is getting married to her honey, and our family is bursting with excitement. I found a beautiful royal blue all-over lace dress to wear to the wedding but as our temperatures here in NY have shifted to autumn weather, I'll definitely need a little something over my shoulders for the evening. (As a side note, clearly, someone needs to teach me how to take selfies in a dressing room!).

I've long admired the Shaelyn Shawl pattern and pulled out my stash of Madeleinetosh in the Midnight in Manhattan colorway to see if it could be a good match.  What do you think? I think it's perfect!

So, wish me luck as I try to get this knit up in the next 48 hours ... I think I can, I think i can.  And here's a peek at a part of the bridal party.

Bridesmaid, Bride, and Matron of Honor (from years ago)

22 Little Clouds

A few weeks ago, when I embarked on my one-skein challenge, the first pattern that jumped onto my needles was Martina Behm's 22 Little Clouds. I hadn't knit a Behm design before and while I know she's designed a gazillion patterns, I thought I'd start off with one of her free patterns to get a sense of what she's like as a designer.  

I decided on one of my older skeins, one that I had in my stash since August 2012 (yikes!).  Bugga is wildly popular but like a Behm design, I had never knit with it before so this little project was going to enable me to cross off two items from my knitting bucket list.

The combination of yarn and pattern is a total win-win. The subtle but vibrant color changes are gorgeous and the simplicity of the pattern made the shawl practically knit itself.

I would say that my first one-skein challenge project was a huge success ~ just not sure if I should keep this beauty or gift it?

#Oneskeinchallenge

Ever since I rummaged through my stash and found a huge number of single skeins, I've been sort of obsessed with matching up my pretties with patterns that meet the challenge's criteria (which, of course, is simple ... limited yardage).  It's been a ton of fun thinking about the various cowls and shawls that will be filling my knitting basket in the coming months.

In fact, I was so inspired about my one-skein challenge that I started a hash tag on instagram (yes, #oneskeinchallenge), and a knitalong over at the Project: Stash Ravelry group. I'd love it if you joined along.

So, how am I doing with my challenge? I'm finishing up Martina Behm's 22 Little Clouds in the gorgeous skein pictured below and am still enjoying my original design that I'm knitting in Glissade.

Cephalopod Bugga

Ball and Skein Glissade

But I couldn't resist and cast on yet another one-skein project, a pattern that I've been wanting to knit for such a long time, and that has already been knit over 14,000 times (whoa, that's amazing!).

Dream in Color Smooshy in Lipstick Lava

Can you guess which pattern I've got on my needles?

One Skein Challenge

In my last post, I lamented about having a stash of one skeins and wondered about how to find the right projects for each of them. I thought a lot about this conundrum all weekend long with one particular skein in mind.  A couple of years ago ~ yes, I said a couple of years ago ~ I bought a skein of Ball and Skein's Glissade in a lovely blue-purple colorway at the Massachusetts Sheep & Wool Fair. It was hard to resist indulging in this beautiful mix of 50% merino and 50% silk, but what you should know is that I had never knit with such a blend before and I actually found the yarn ... well ... troublesome.  I cast on several projects in an attempt to find the right stitch pattern for the fabric it created but each time, I was disappointed. 

This skein was one of the first I came across last week and my immediate thought was to cast on the Elder Tree Shawl which I've admired for a long time.  I love the leafy lace details and the type of drape this shawl calls for fit the silkiness of this yarn perfectly.  But, try as I might, after knitting chart B the first time, I kept getting derailed in repeating it.  I don't easily give up and I swear I cast on and frogged this project at least five times before calling it a day.

In my search for a compatible pattern, I found nothing that really excited me so I turned to my trusty stitch dictionaries and knitting magazines and came up with an original design that is happily humming along.

I'm playing with this design as it evolves on the needles so only time will tell if this one skein has found its mission.  Stay tuned.

FYI  ~ I've called this post One Skein Challenge as I've decided to do my best to knit down my one skein stash this spring.  It should be interesting ...

Revisiting Shawls

I spent the winter knitting sweaters and socks, projects which were deeply satisfying and gave me the chance to knit down my stash.  But then there lies my new problem ... a stash of single skeins.  As I went stash diving the other day to get inspired for a new project, I couldn't help but feel a little frustrated ~ don't get me wrong, I love the yarns I've bought or been gifted over the years but it can be tough to find patterns for a mere 220 yards of this or 300 yards of that.

I came across this beautiful skein of Cephalopod Bugga in the Sharpshooter Leafhopper colorway, and I got all excited about its possibilities.  I've been thinking about knitting a Martina Behm design and have my eye on this little pretty thing.  Now that we're finally experiencing some spring-like weather, I think some shawl knitting is in order.  

If you have a favorite one-skein shawl pattern to suggest, I'd love to start firing up my queue!

P.S.  I just hopped down the instagram rabbit hole ... what an adventure!