My Making List 2015

I saw a little piece in a magazine called New Philospher the other day called "The freedom of limited choice". The jist of the article was that there can be freedom in having restricted options. The example they give is of a vegan in a supermarket. 

“These light eaters aren’t unwittingly led down the wrong aisle towards mayonnaise and salad dressing because they’ve established personal limitations that protect their health and wellbeing. No longer slaves to their whims or under the spell of clever packaging they stride through supermarkets with an air of confidence that few of us enjoy. ”

— New Philosopher - The End of Growth.

Makes sense, and is an useful idea….but then they got the really helpful stuff. That we have a preference for immediate rewards. 

“Oxford economics historian Avner Offer believes that we’re hopelessly myopic. When left to our own devices we’ll choose what’s nice for us today over what’s best for us tomorrow.””

— New Philosopher - The End of Growth

At this time, when many of us are thinking about our intentions for the year, I found this a really useful reminder. I often make based on a whim. Something I see, something I pick up, a pattern that has been released. And this often means that I don't get to make the things that I really want to create. Like the quilt for our bed - that has been sitting untouched since before Xmas. Instead I do what comes easy. What is accessible. The reminder contained in this article, that we often aren't playing the long game, or keeping our eyes on the prize, was very timely. 

The 15yo inside me wants to shout something like “oooohhhhh - too many ruuuulzzz!” but the grownup inside me wants to grow up, take responsibility, and live the life I really want to live. Which includes making the things I really want to make. Come onnnn!!

In the spirit of this idea, I wanted to outline my making goals for 2015 so I had a plan; setting down my “have to” and “really should” projects in a concrete way so I know where I am headed. 

A small clarification: it's not that I believe I will get every single one of them done - nor that I will stick to the list in a precise way.There will be the projects that get created randomly and I will make other things along the way following the inspiration of the day. But I know that most of the things on the list, like birthday presents, clothes for the kids, and quilts, need to be done this year, and I know when they need to be done by. By writing them all out (rather than holding them all in my head) I have some clarity about what I need to get done, and how much time I have to get it done it.

I really think this simple list will lead to me making better decisions and help me to make sure that when I am at a loose-end I know what to start. I could-even-maybe-like prioritise stuff, y'know? Like I could get some of the winter knitting done in March/April if I don't get distracted by my whims. 

Now that I've written it, I'm a little floored that I’ve never done this before!! 

My Making List for 2015

I have put the projects in the month that they are due. Realistically that is a lot of knitting to be done by June. But it is so so good to have a plan. 

This month
Sewing - Shorts x 2 for the boy child for school.
Knitting - Colourwork for gauge swatch for hat.
Knitting – Top-down v-neck cardy for middle girl child.

February/March
Knitting – Keel for me.
Sewing – A frock for me - maybe get to Anna finally or Lisa?
Sewing – A going out kinda top for me.

April
Knitting - New colourwork cardy for a pattern?

May
Knitting - Birthday jumper for boy – non stash!
Knitting - Winter jumper for middle girl – Cabled aline.
Knitting - Shawl/cowl for me.

June
Knitting - Winter jumper for the fella – Hugo by Brooklyn Tweed.
Knitting – Birthday cardy for my niece (and a hat ;))
Sewing - Winter elephant solstice pillowcases.

July
Knitting - Worsted weight jumper for me.

August
Sewing – Dress for me.
Sewing – Top for me. 
Knitting - 40th birthday Slade for my little brother– non stash!

September
Knitting - Clara for my other niece. 

October
Sewing – Dress for me.
Sewing – Top for me.
Sewing - Birthday dress for small girl.
Sewing – Summer shorts x 2 big girl. 
Quilting - My small boy's single bed quilt.

November/December
Sewing - Birthday dress for big girl.
Sewing/knitting – Christmas outfits for three kids.
Quilting - King sized quilt for our bed.

The sweater I need to replicate.

One of the most exciting things that I have got from writing this list out is that I can clearly see that practically all of it comes from stash. There are only two exceptions at this stage. The first is my boy kid's birthday jumper. He wants me to create an exact replica of the sweater from the post Freestyle Knitting. He may have accidentally lost it a few months after I finished it. Lucky for him he is pretty sweet, and keeps going on about how it was the perfect jumper. The downside is that I did freestyle it and didn't write anything down, so will have to figure out my numbers all over again. It was made of gorgeous Madeline Tosh Worsted. Sadly the budget doesn't stretch to that this year, but a great substitute will be some lovely Peacock coloured Lark by Quince And Co (similar to the Tosh and his favourite colour). The second exception is the 40th birthday sweater for my brother, which I want to make in the yarn it was designed for. Those two things combined gobble nearly my whole budget for the rest of my Stash Less year. Good to know.

I’m going to put my list up on instagram tomorrow after I've printed it out tagged #mymakinglist2015 so I can find it again easily next year. Do you want to join me in setting some intention? Yours might not be so project specific, or it might be more sensibly sized (I suspect mine is a little overambitious ;)). Or yours may be learning new skills? You might be a low volume crafter who has plans to make one or two things….. I’d love to see what you are up to!

Tag yours on instagram with #mymakinglist2015, or leave a comment with a link if you are putting them up on your blog. 

Felicia x

Stash Less - A habitual practice.

Stash Less is a series where we talk about having a thoughtful stash. Other posts in this series can be found here. 

Habits are changing

I thought it might be good to start the year with an update on Stash Less – about practicing new habits, the projects that are coming out of Stash Less, and of course the cash!

We are just over three months in and I’ve learnt many things about my purchasing habits, initially through examination, and then observation along the way. At the start of this project, when I looked through my stash and tried to figure out why I had what I had, I came up with four main reasons why I purchase (more about this examination in this blog post).

1. Time poverty - Getting the thrill of making, without having the time to actually do the making.

2. Fear of missing out - (FOMA) on special materials

3. Beauty - Wanting to own the pretty things.

4. Chasing perfection - Wanting the perfect materials rather than making do with what I have.

Changing a habit involves practice - yes? Now, whenever I am thinking of making a purchase, I use the list above as a critical lense through which I can examine my motivation. This then allows me to determine whether making that purchase involves engaging in a behavior I am happy with. So simple but this has totally changed things for me!

Due to the budget I have set myself I am having to consider carefully what I spend, and when. I can still spend but I need to spend consciously. Which is where the practicing my new habit is critical. I’m asking myself the following questions.

1.     Which one of the four reasons above is the trigger for the desire to purchase?

2.     Do I need XYZ or do I have something in stash I could use instead for the project? Would that material be good enough?

3.     When do I intend to use it? (If the answer isn’t “straight away” then I am generally saying “no for now”.)

4.     And again, do I need it?

The other key thing I have become super vigilant about is how I engage with inspiration online, and then the subsequent shopping carts I might flirt with. I’m trying not to shop at all. This applies to physical stores also. I’m trying to only head to an online shop when I have identified an actual need rather than “just having a look to see what they have and wistfully look at all the pretty”.

My making is changing

I’m finding my making is changing. No longer am I just putting things that have not quite worked into a corner. I am actively seeking out ways to reuse the materials, or fix them, rather than moving on to the next thing. I’m being much more conscious about looking at what I need to make – finding the gaps in my wardrobe – rather than following my latest whim. 

Although much making was done over the holidays, the stash isn’t decreasing at the rate you might expect. Most projects this summer have used materials that were either already in use in an unsuccessful project OR were leftovers from another project.

Recent Project 1
I made a Wiksten Tank – that I showed you yesterday – from my existing Scout Tee, the sack like one that didn’t really work. The tank is a total winner and I have worn it at least three times in the last week. Can’t argue with those statistics.

Recent Project 2
I began working on Keel by Bristol Ivy using yarn that I salvaged from the gorgeous but too small Stranger cardigan. Keel has been slow going – there were 266 stitches to begin with and now 12 inches in I am at 242 per row. Even writing this down is a little painful. That said, it is a helpful process given all the pondering I have been doing about stillness. This is a mindfulness exercise (disguised as a cardigan), keeping me in the present with it’s teeny tiny stitches. Reminding me that I can’t just zoom through to the end, so I can move on to something else. I need to stay right here with this cardigan and enjoy the process. It's a cardigan I really want and will love, that fits into the whole what do you really need mindset I am striving to have.

Recent Project 3
In a recent post I talked about how restrictions can rock your creativity – and I talked about wanting to start the cardy in the pictures. It is really my first project where I experimented to see if I could come up with something I liked from a restricted position. And I am pretty chuffed with how it is going so far. 

In short this project involves taking five different balls of leftover grey 5ply yarn and figuring out whether I can make a cardy for my middle kid. I started with a ball of Jo Sharp Alpaca Silk Georgette, a ball of Milla Mia, and a ball of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino – these yarns are all very similar weights, construction and composition. I also had a ball of Blue Sky Sportweight Alpaca and another ball and a half of Blue Sky Metalico leftover from my James. The greys however were all different. Some blue, some flat, some silver, a purple grey….

The idea came together when my girl-child saw a Norwegian sweater in a EZ book. “I love that mama” was all I needed to decide that the transitions from one grey to another could be managed via some kind of Norwegian-style colourwork. We are calling it a deconstructed Norwegian sweater.*

I was hooning through the knitting – due to my excitement – but in the last few days have hit a little snag. I had added the silver Metalico down the bottom after a gorgeous row of blue tree-like structures. The silver shimmered and shone and looked so pretty as a sweater bottom….

BUT the fella saw it and said “No”. Direct. Unyeilding. I knew the truth of the matter (that he was right!) but didn’t want to let the idea go - the idea I could use all of my 5ply greys. He stood firm and pointed out the glaring issues – “It is a different weight Felicia, it’s too light. You know it has to go, so just get it over with!” Harsh - but ultimately fair. It would have been pretty but would have sat funny and been jarringly different. Unravelling appears to be a key part of any experimental project for me.

So now I am down to three grey’s (as I can’t use either of the alpaca based yarns) and a mid blue. Not enough yarn for a cardy for a 7yo who is growing fast. I’m still at the beach but when I get home I know there is a few more balls of blue in the Cashmerino – a duck-egg and a navy. I’m going to have to rethink the design a bit. This new sweater by Kate Davies contains an inspiring solution that I could use somehow? Maybe it would work?

This kind of experimental project is relatively new to me. It involves stepping into the uncertainty of not knowing if a project will work out which is something I have only been able to consider in the last year or so. In the past I wouldn’t have wanted to waste my making time by making something where I couldn't be sure I would get the result I wanted. Now uncertainty is part of the joy of making. The fact that the project could be totally rubbish or total genius is so exciting!

Cash update.

Cost wise I was at $205 since October 1st but the holidays added $54. We arrived at my mum’s house for Xmas, after a 7 hour drive, only to find that we had left the stockings at home. Spotlight held the answer. Three metres of stocking fabric, some buttons and $54 dollars later and we were sorted. Truthfully, I’m a little sad to spend a month’s Stash Less budget on something I already had.  Ho hum….

So the budget is slightly exceeded at $259 three months in - but I’m totally OK with that. Every decision has been conscious and that is a good enough result. 

Love to hear how you are going and whether the Stash Less series has caused any changes in your habits over the last few months….?? 

Felicia x

Previously Stash Less - Selling Discontent

*I actually have no idea whether the patterns I'm using are really Norwegian. 

I Made This - Jennifer Mobilia

I Made This is a weekly blog series that features makers from around the world and aims to talk about the things we are proud of; of the objects we make that have meaning to us and the journey we take to make them.

This week's I Made This features my very good friend Jenn. She doesn't have an online crafty presence for you to check out, but she happens to be one of the most inspirational crafters I know. I'll let her speak first, but at the end of the post I'll tell you just why I find her so incredible. 

The lovely back of her head at The Craft Sessions 2014 wearing her freshly made Scout Tee!

It was the inaugural Craft Sessions Retreat in 2013 that finally shifted me from wanting to ‘make’ a garment to actually getting down and just doing it! Oh and the exceptionally kind and encouraging words of my mate, a seasoned ‘maker’ who said with gusto and a big cheeky smile ‘yes of course you can do it’.  So, I chose to believe her and thought why not just give it a go.

I chose this wonderfully comfy and simple to make garment for a relative beginner - The Made by Rae Washi Dress that I saw the spunky Georgie Hallam wondering around in at the first retreat.  It wasn’t long before I had my fabric, was fumbling around with the PDF pattern puzzle pieces with a girlfriend and getting busy with my not-so-sharp scissors. I couldn’t believe it even in the midst of making the dress that the bodice fit perfectly and it came together so quickly without assistance from anyone. I love that way the dress gives me a sense of wearing something fitted but also allows my lower half to be totally comfortable.

It is my favourite piece to date as it has given me the confidence to surge forward and make more and more. Yes it is bit of a hack job made with a wonky neck, fraying around the underarms and stiff crafting fabric, being the novice that I am - but there has been much joy from regular wear and positive comments from friends and family that reinforce the lovely feeling of having made something for myself.  

Being a mother of two young children in between careers without a crafting background this dress represents for me exploration, fun and creativity – a sense of achievement. Fearlessly learning to sew has given me an accessible outlet to connect with one of the things I love most – fashion and clothing = lots and lots of joy!

Jenn

---

Hi - Felicia here - so I wanted to postscript her post with a little bit about why I think she is so inspiring - and it comes down to her get-it-done attitude. She has been making clothing for not even two years and in that short space of time has made a full size men's jumper, herself a 5ply cardy, many small person carries and numerous frocks…..things many a crafter before her would not have attempted to make, without more experience. I wrote a post really early on on this blog called "Good technique is overrated - discuss" and she is the epitome of that. She didn't get stuck on doing it "right". She just made. And now with each project she gets more skilled and is doing beautiful work all over the place. Which is why I love the photo below so much  - it reminds me of her courage and her determination. She just did it. Didn't worry that it wasn't perfect, wore it proudly and then made another. The other post I wrote that makes me think of her is "The false economy of not making". She practices. She makes me want to be courageous in my craft! Thanks Jenn x

Stash Less - Selling Discontent

The series where we talk about having a thoughtful stash.

We were talking about stillness on this here blog last week and it seemed to be a post that resonated with quite a few of you. I'm sure this struggle is probably something that many of us face, especially in our society, at this time, and especially at this time of year. Your comments on that post got me to thinking about how I craft, why I craft and how much I make, and whether that crafting fulfills its purpose. See I think that mostly we craft to satisfy our souls. Creating feels good, and I truly believe it is one of the most deeply satisfying activities we can take part in as humans. 

BUT ….then we add all these very human layers on top of it. Layers of pressure about what we are making, how much we are making, and judgement about how well we are making it. About whether we can make what we see in our minds eye and practising in the gap. And it complicates what should be a simple and joyful process. It should simply be about getting into the flow of creating and taking that joy with us into the rest of our lives. 

Belinda's comment on the stillness post really hit the mark for me. 

“I have decided that, for me, the problem itself isn’t exactly that crafting is replacing stillness. Because I find that crafting, when set aside and done alone, allows me to enter a kind of meditative state and/or be alone with my thoughts, similarly to what yoga or running might do.

It’s about the compulsion to craft (that fills my mind when I’m not crafting and therefore takes over other parts of my life), the crafting multitasking (podcasts, etc), and the obsessive focus on creating the perfect end product that are the three core problems for me.”

The buzz we were talking about in last week's post; the idea of creating beautiful things, adds up to a lot of possibility roaming around in my head. Part of Stash Less for me is to be more conscious about how I make, what I make and hopefully calm the buzz down to a dull roar so I can be more mindful in the rest of my life. I really think Belinda is onto something. For me the sheer volume of ideas and things I want to make are the problem, and not the actual crafting.

And then last week I was reading the wonderful Dumbo Feather magazine and there was a feature on Seth Godin with another idea that I think adds to the mix. He said ;

“The average person 125 years ago in Australia and the United States owned two pairs of shoes and two pairs of pants. One of the challenges of the industrial revolution of the early 1900s was that the industrialists were petrified that the new machines they were installing would make stuff faster than people could buy it. They were really sure there was going to be a demand problem. Let’s say you can figure out how to make 500 pairs of shows a day, instead of five, you say, ‘But everyone already has shoes! If I make a hundred times as many shoes a day, who will buy them?’ What they had to do was sell us discontent; you are not happy if you don’t have as many shoes as someone else. You need another T-shirt, you need a new garden set, you need a better this, or a better that. This discontent fuels demand, and demand is met by industrialists. Discontent is not inherent - it is merely inherent in the Western world, with money to spend on stuff that’s getting advertised to you.”

— Dumbo Feather - Issue 40

And although the context is slightly different (Seth was asked a question about status anxiety), I've been thinking how discontent and the quest for more, impacts on my making. And how our culture definitely plays a part in creating that discontent, and from a very young age.  

I'm currently avoiding (boycotting!) one of Australia's two big supermarket chains. Their main marketing approach in the lead up to Christmas is all about marketing to kids. After you have paid for your goods they hand you cards with animals on them. The more you spend, the more cards you get. So the kids beg (yes beg!) us to go to Supermarket X rather than Supermarket Y, when we are buying our tinned tomatoes and toilet paper. And here is the hook. Not only are they giving out cards, but they are selling folders to put your cards into. The animal folder details ALL of the possible cards you can collect. So not only are they giving you something for free to collect, which kids love, they make it clear that there are many more to collect and you don't have them all. When you put the cards in the folder there are all these gaps. The folder (which could be fun if you looked at it from a particular point of view) makes it clear what you don't have!! The whole marketing plan is around telling you that you don't have enough. You need more! You aren't finished! You aren't complete until you have them ALL! And my kids fall for it hook, line and sinker. Chasing cards - not happy with the cards they do have, full of desire for the ones they don't have. And I hate it and have been actively seeking out Supermarket Y wherever possible.

We have been trained to respond to the "more is better" "bigger is better" song. Fear of missing out and wanting to own the pretty. Add the internet to mass marketing and it is no wonder people are leading lives filled with unnecessary desire. And even if one of our main family values is "stuff doesn't make you happy", I know I am affected by it and need to be conscious. I go through my pinterest page of pretty frocks it's like the idea part of my brain goes into overdrive. I would love to make this and this and this and this. I would love to wear. I would love to…..

I never feel like I have enough time to make all the things I want to make. I often feel dissatisfied with the amount I achieve. The sheer volume I expect to make is totally nuts. Totally unrealistic expectations and making that is filled with underlying pressure for more. A fine example is the picture at the top of the post. That is about half of my frock fabrics. I have ideas (and the fabric) for at least twelve frocks for myself. Twelve frocks. Really. Who needs twelve frocks? Why am I wasting time and energy thinking about that many frocks. Each one of them takes up some brainspace; a tiny corner filled with the niggle of desire. 

Reading Jared Flood of Brooklyn Tweed's blog post a few days ago I saw this;

“That touches on something I think about a lot—how handknitting (and home sewing, by the same token) is such a dramatic departure from the “fast fashion” of our consumer culture. I think once you slow down and start making garments with care, you really start to see some of the benefits of creating your own wardrobe pieces. And also, being more invested and passionate about them as a result.”

I am invested and I am definitely passionate about making my own, but I've been thinking that maybe my view of how much I want to make for myself is more akin to buying fast fashion. I want to make ALL the things, in the same way I could buy ALL the things. I don't just have one or two ideas, I have thousands of them, and I don't rein them in by consciously dumping those that are less worthy or unrealistic from a time perspective. So I am left wanting. It's almost like my craft can't fill me up the way it should or could, because my expectations are so out of whack with what is possible, and would make me happy. There will never be enough time to make all I want to make. BUT nor do I need all I want to make.

Maybe setting some realistic goals of what I could achieve next year and working hard to make those as beautifully as I can - getting them right? - will lead to less buzz and more satisfaction. It will mean letting go of some ideas but I'm game.  I feel excited that Stash Less is making me more conscious.

Any thoughts on this post my friends?

Felicia x

Previously Stash Less - Why Restrictions Rock!

Stash Less - Why restrictions rock!

The series where we talk about having a thoughtful stash.

There is this art theory that goes something along the lines that creativity can be enhanced by actually giving yourself or your project a set of restrictions or rules.

(To read more about this idea: Why placing limitations on yourself is the key to creativity.)

And although this isn't the purpose of Stash Less, in many ways that is what it is. A set of restrictions that I am growing to totally love. Last week I talked about some of the negatives, some of the realisations. This week I want to share one of the enormous benefits. And that is that I am looking at what I have with totally fresh eyes. 

Reading Tom of Hollands blog last week I had a "ping" moment when I read the words of Felicity Ford in this blog post. She said

“when developing guidelines for a creative process there is usually some tension around rules. Rules can be extremely helpful and supportive, offering a framework for creativity or a set of criteria to which a brief can be fitted; but they can also sometimes seem restrictive. This tension between rules and openness was important to explore……….”

— http://tomofholland.com/2014/11/28/knitsonik-blogtour-pt2/

In my crafting past I haven't had that many restrictions. I find a project and pick some materials. If I don't have what I need, I reassess or I purchase it. Restrictions aren't something I have thought about much, and as a consequence I have generally played it safe and not taken risks. 

This passage from Felicity lead me to think of all the projects I have come up with as a result of stash less. And what is interesting to me is that these ideas have come about because of Stash Less, rather than in spite of. Because of Stash Less I am looking around my existing stash to see what I can come up with that will make my heart sing.

To explain what I mean I'm going to list you a couple just to get your juices going. There are many more. 

1. The silver kid sweater. 

Among my stash I have found about 250g of 5ply in different silvers. There is a single ball of Jo Sharp Alpaca Silk Georgette, a single ball of Milla Mia, a single ball of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino and about 1.5 balls of Blue Sky Metallico. I also have a smidge of Blue Sky Sport Weight. All of these could be knit at a gauge of between 22 and 25 stitches. Without Stash Less I wouldn't have gone through my stash with such a critical eye and I would have used these one by one for small projects like for hats. Instead I have been figuring out how to best combine them for my almost 7yr old. 250g of 5ply is enough for a whole cardy. 

So what am I thinking of making? I'm thinking a top-down pattern so I can knit until I run out of yarn. Body first and sleeves second so that I can 3/4 the sleeves if I need to.

The questions yet to be answered are;
a. Do I use another colour with all the silver - either to use as a break between the transitions from one silver to another, or as an accent, or just to get full length sleeves in case I run out of silver. I have yellow, or charcoal or duck egg in stash….
b. Do I colour block the cardy with the silvers, or because they are so similar will that look stupid. Do I do a four row, four row, four row thing where I switch randomly. Do I include a textured stripe to transition between colours - like a garter stripe or maybe some moss…..

This project is fun and will be ace. I just know it. Requires a little more thought. And I have to wait until Xmas craft is over to begin.

2. The quilt.

I have started making my first king sized quilt. About 230 x 230cm. It's big which feels a little scary because what if I screw it up. That is a lot of fabric. Without Stash Less I would have been tempted to stay safe and use the dirty blue with the hatched cotton (like what you see in my mock up). And it would have been boring. BORING and safe!! Instead because I didn't have enough of the dirty blue, I had to use some denim along with the dirty blue, and I am so very very happy I did. You should see how pretty it is. I would show you but sadly I have had to put it down for a moment to get onto Christmas and birthday crafting. So I will show you in the New Year when I have basted it. Until then there is a small picture on instagram. 

3. Frocks. 

This is not one project but many. As I mentioned in a previous post I don't use scraps. A terribly wasteful fact I am not proud of. I don't use them because I haven't had to, because there is other pretty stuff in the cupboard. I want to change this and this dress on pinterest is part of my obsession with this idea. I see myself creating so many versions of this as a combination of yardage from my stash and my scrap basket. I feel like I will learn so much from trying this idea out; I will be practicing colour choice and bravery all at once. I see grownup frocks and kid frocks and shirts and tanks. I'm excited and I love the fact that this is not the easy option.

Also inspiring along the same lines are this and this and this and this.

So the point I want to make is that without this restriction I would choose safe over tricky. Safe to make sure I got something I like and didn't waste the materials by mucking it up. But safety doesn't necessarily achieve projects that sing. There is more risk in all of these three options. All of them could fail. All of them could look rubbish. But I have the feeling that all of them will sing louder and much prouder than if I chose the safe option. 

I'd love to hear about your projects that fit into this category. Do you ever restrict yourself creatively? 

Felicia x

Previously Stash Less: A Realisation!