In pursuit of stillness…..(or not?)

I was out with some lovely crafty women on Friday night for dinner, and one of the topics we covered was whether or not crafting makes you less able to sit with stillness. As I get older I become more and more convinced that ideas around stillness, have real relevance and usefulness in my pursuit of the most happy and content life I can have. Another of those ideas is of course mindfulness. And then there is the usefulness of meditation. For the purposes of this post I am kind of rolling them all into one. 

A few years ago I was on a train into the city and I clearly remember seeing that it was going to be a 22minute train ride. Once on the train I realised that I didn't have a single thing to do. No knitting. Of any kind. No paper, no book. I wasn't yet on instagram, and there wasn't even any advertisements to read in the carriage. I felt a small amount of panic. Actually the amount of panic I felt wasn't really small. It was kind of big and kind of shocking. And I felt a little bit horrified to realise just how unsettled I had let myself get. So unsettled that the idea of 22minutes of sitting on a train looking out the window made me feel stressed. I decided in that moment it wasn't that healthy, and booked myself into my first basic meditation course. After that I began to think about some of these concepts regularly. And  after my meditation course, I've have found a way to incorporate simple small moments of mindfulness into my days as a way of making me a better parent and better human. Super useful.

Lately however, I have noticed that small moments are not enough, and the hypothesis suggested to me on Friday is that my making is making it worse.  While I am incredibly grateful for the role a creative outlet has played on my general mental health and well-being during the intensity of early parenting, life has started to feel a little chaotic. I've been thinking about it since Friday's conversation and I think I might agree with my friend. I'm laying much of the blame squarely on my craft. 

These days when I sit down for a cup of tea I don't want to "waste" the time so I sit down like this. Materials or a project and a book and a tea and a notebook and a …. You get the picture. I sit down with a cacophony of ideas, possibilities, futures, fun. I sit down with the buzz of creativity. 

There is no stillness. 

The increase in my making over the last ten years has created a time pressure that I didn't have in my pre-craft life. As well conducting normal daily life with three kids, I'm trying to fit making in. As making is one of my great joys in life then I find I desire to do more and more of it. Which means multitasking wherever possible. I don't sit in the car or at the school gate or in the park, without a project. If I am knitting on a couch then I may also be blog surfing or listening to a podcast. I sometimes sew a dress with the background of a movie on my computer. Multitasking while crafting has become a bit of an art form.

So yes - making in my household isn't always the calm picture one might expect. Not all the time but a fair bit….

Of course, the thing that goes missing in this situation is clarity. Without stillness through meditation or yoga or something, there isn't the space to sort your thoughts and prioritise what is meaningful. The ideas come one on top of each other without the clarity created through the not-thinking of stillness. I recognise that maybe I need to look for stillness in other places and at other times, but I am finding that I almost don't want to. The time poverty of early parenting* means that I resist the idea of finding stillness knowing that the opportunity cost of stillness is less making. 

Part of this thought process for me includes the acceptance of the type of brain I have. I have an "ideas" brain, a "get it done" kinda brain that means that the stillness achieved by others may not necessarily be as achievable or even desirable for me. I am not a calm fella. I am an excitable fella and I'm totally OK with that as it has other benefits, like that I make a lot of stuff. Other personality types might not find it so hard to accept there isn't time to make every little thing they dream up. They might not engage in so much dreaming? …..

There is a way forward. I know that finding space for stillness somewhere in my life means life is better, for me and the rest of my family. Getting back to some kind of semi regular yoga practice and running regularly works well even if it isn't technically stillness. Any kind of activity where I'm not multitasking for me is a good halfway house to stillness. And maybe that is where it is at for now.

My other friend last Friday suggested a good initial challenge for me, to pull things back, might be just to sit and knit. No podcast. No tele. No book. Just knitting and sitting. A controversial suggestion if ever I've heard one. 

I guess I'm wondering if you guys had any thoughts about this topic and/or had achieved any kind of balance with your own making. Do you find that making and "going with the flow of creativity" is sometimes a negative in your life? Is stillness part of the process for you or do you find you don't need it? Does crafting make you crazy ;)?

This one is a total work in progress for me…. 

Felicia x

*Maybe the fact I am actually writing this post means that I am heading out of the early parenting stage. The baby just turned 4.

Stash Less - A Realisation

The series where we talk about having a thoughtful stash.

So I went shopping this week - a rare moment in the city without kids. My friend and I popped into Tessuti and L'uccello, as you do. So many pretty shiny sparkly things. And I may have purchased some more of the Liberty fabric that I used for the Scout tee (that looks a little like a pretty sack) and the gorgeous quilted star (that is sitting on my pinboard till i figure out what to do with it). In fact I may have just purchased every little bit they had left on the roll - all $67 dollars worth. A combination of time poverty, FOMA and wanting the pretty things…..all rolled up into a moment of purchasing joy. 

So let's go through the justification process. Now the thing is, it wasn't really impulse purchasing. Ever since I made the star I have been ruminating on how beautiful a queen sized quilt would be with that simple combination. Liberty print on denim coloured cotton linen. I've become a little obsessed with the idea even, the colours, the quilting, the slidyness of the Liberty combined with the rusticness of the slubby linen cotton blend. And I've been scared that I won't be able to find the print again. I purchased it in London and hadn't seen it here ever. Until…. L'uccello had a 1.45m piece sitting there (with my name on it?) for sale. 

But there is a problem - I know that there is no way I will get to it for at least six months, and if we are being totally truthful, probably for a year. But I also know that beautiful seasonal liberty is something that once it is gone it is gone. But then I also know that sometimes if you don't touch something for a year then the sparkle slides right off it. It looks flat and kinda just okish. But "loss-of-sparkle" isn't something that happens so much with Nani Iro or Liberty, as they aren't following worldwide trends so much as their own aesthetic. 

So the point of the post. Stash Less is hard. Stash Less requires behavioural change over time. That is what I signed up for. I know I just need to practice my new behaviour in light of knowing my triggers - but it is hard none the less. That said, knowing it is hard means I am more committed to the project as it means that I am attached to the idea of buying things, and having things - which I don't like.

Even with a budget I'm not sure whether I was right to purchase, or wrong to purchase, according to my own set of rules. I'm doing OK with not purchasing general fabric and yarn and patterns - but the special stuff?? I don't know what the rules should be. Should I only purchase if I know of the project in great detail. But isn't that kinda what got me into this in the first place? Too many special pieces that I can't use because I'm worried that I will use them up?

And I've had one more (somewhat heartbreaking) realisation on top of that. For day-to-day yarn and day-to-day kid clothes, and even quilts, I probably have enough stuff to last me at least two years of making, at my current rate of usage*. And the idea of not being able to purchase for that long just for fun, makes me twitchy. A fantastic realisation to have (to know how much I really have) but also truly horrifying (as being self-disciplined about it sounds like less fun). How I feel about it really depends on the day - sometimes excited, inspired, virtuous and self-disciplined AND other times grumbly and childish in an "I want" kinda way.** A realisation and not a nice one.

I'd love your thoughts wise women.

Tally - Eight weeks in I'm up to $205 - that is $105 over budget.
I was up to $130. 
I spent $8 on Brooklyn Tweed Wool People 8 Keel pattern that I began straight away.
I spent $67 on Liberty for a distant far off future project. 

Felicia x

Previously Stash Less - An Update

*By unravelling sweaters I am making the stash go up not down?
**Not an attractive look….

I Made This - Christine Chitnis

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.

Today's I Made This is by Christine Chitnis, a writer and photographer from Providence in the US. I was lucky enough to befriend this ace woman at Squam last year through my gorgeous friend Kellen. Sitting in our cabin in the evening, and watching the care and patience with which Christine knits, was truly inspiring. I often find myself trying to race through my knitting to get something finished - but she seemed to be content to quietly and carefully knit*. I learnt something in that moment. 

I suppose I am a long-time crafter.  My love of making dates back to my youth when I first learned to sew from my mom.  I would piece together wonky doll quilts and over-sized fleece pajama pants.  I hated measuring and cutting straight lines, but loved zipping along on the sewing machines.  I have the same habits today, and my imperfect quilts still make my mom laugh.  To me, they're perfectly imperfect, just the way I like it.  I decided in middle school that I wanted to learn to knit, and since my mother didn't know how, she signed me up for lessons at the knitting shop in our small town.  I spent hours there after school, knitting with and learning from a circle of older women.  Looking back, I can't help but wonder how they viewed the awkward pre-teen in their midst.

Once I reached high school, I was fully entrenched in sports, music and academics, and for the time being, my love of crafting took a backseat.  Busy high school years led into college, where I juggled nanny work with a full time student schedule and various clubs and activities.  After college I started working straight away, six days a week in the non-profit sector, as well as evenings waitressing.  I was busy. 

Until I wasn't.

At 24, I married and moved away from my friends, my beloved city of Chicago and my work to be with my husband at his new job.  As a newlywed in a brand new town, I didn't have a clue as to what to do with myself.  I have never been good at down time, but I felt it would be a mistake to rush into the next job, not knowing what I really wanted to do with my life.  Around that time, seven years ago, blogs were becoming a "thing" and I thought I would start one, and use it to improve my writing, if nothing else.  Little did I know it would completely change my life, give me a new career as an author and photographer, and reintroduce me to my love of crafting and making. 

Inspired by all the projects I saw out there in the blog world, I returned to my needles and relearned the art of knitting, sharing all my beginner project on my blog and feeding off the positive reinforcement.  I bought a used sewing machine and began quilting again, working my way up to garment making as my skills improved.  I had my first baby, then 20 months later, my second.  Knitting and sewing, photographing and writing became a life line, a way to infuse the daily drudgery with windows of creativity and joy.  I love my kids dearly, but life as a young mom can suck you dry.

My youngest is now 2, and my oldest started preschool this year.  Our lives are hitting a nice pace, and I continue carving out time for my craft, finding ways to fit it in between the endless loads of laundry and dinner preparations, the book deadlines and bedtime routines.  Now that I have relearned the necessary skills, I am shifting my focus to creating garments that I actually want to wear.  Garments that fit my life and style. 

That meant taking a hard look at my style, and what I like, and this is what I found: I am a tomboy at heart, most comfortable in a worn pair of jeans and t-shirt, or simple sweater.  I love a pop of color, and a fun detail, but ease is key.  I'm becoming better at gauge and fit, though I still have much to learn and I'm the laziest gauge-er you've ever met.  My favorite sweater thus far is my Antler.  It is perfection, it really is.  Well except for that small hole where I might have dropped a stitch, and the way it's a bit short under the arms.  Perfectly imperfect, just the way I like it, and just the way it'll always be.

* As evidenced in her lovely quilted vest.

How to knit a sweater that fits really well!

I just finished James II - after I shrunk James I in a tragic shrinking accident - and this time around it is a stonking success. The fit is better and the neckline (which in version one was a little bit wonky) is perfect. Which lead me to think about what is involved in getting your sweater to fit.

So today I really wanted to talk about fit, as for me, this jumper represents what I have learned over my ten years of knitting. I wrote about fit a little in my how to choose a sweater pattern post, and as part of that post I wrote about all my many (many) mistakes. But these days it's exciting to look back, as I don't make as many mistakes as I used to, and that's because I've learnt to knit sweaters that fit. I learnt the hard way to take the time to make sure it will fit, and rip things out if I can see there is a problem.

On my new James I redid the neckline four times to get it right, because I know that getting it right is the difference between loving-it-for-a-lifetime-and-wearing-it-everyday, or liking-it-and-wearing-it-sometimes. If I'm going to take the time to knit it, I'm going to take the extra hour or two to get it right.

I want to say something controversial from the outset. Achieving good fit isn't that hard - you just need to follow these simple rules. I've learnt these rules through making mistakes - but you don't need to. Follow them and I promise your project have a much greater chance of success!

1. Choose the right sweater pattern

I'll direct you back to my original post but the most important thing is that you choose a style you wear. Don't get suckered into knitting something styled by someone super-clever, who has made some random sweater that you would never wear in a zillion years, look a-maz-ing.  

James suits me and my daily uniform. I wear James with jeans and over tunics and over frocks and skirts and …. It's a true love kinda thing.

This style is perfect for me. Fits around the shoulders and boobs, skims over the midsection and has a lovely tapered arm.

2. Choose the right size

2a. Measure yourself right and understand the shape and size of your body. Your measurements are unique to you - you need to carefully analyse a pattern to choose the most appropriate size for your particular shape. This is so very important - the wrong size can make what would be a wonderful sweater a bit bleurgh. And it doesn't feel good to wear clothes that make you feel bleurgh. 

Enter Amy Herzog, who I heard two weeks ago on the knit.fm podcast. Amy wrote this book Fit to Flatter which she chatted about on the aforementioned podcast, and gives a totally different way of measuring your size. 

Amy's methodology states the bust circumference is used an approximation for fit in patterns. However instead of using this measurement, Amy suggests that you measure your chest right up under your underarms - she calls it your upper torso measurement - and use it as an alternative approximation that is more appropriate.  Amy says that this is better measurement than a bust measurement as it takes into account your size without the give-or-take of boobs. Then after studying the schematic you would choose the size up from your upper torso measurement - she calls this your base size. Then you can make adjustments for your boobs if you need to. 

This is a bit of a revolution in thinking for me and such a sensible way to measure yourself. 

I understood, as I mentioned in my post about the lovely Lila, that I really think the key to getting a good fit was having it fit well around your shoulders. And this is why James works so well for me. The shoulder fit is perfect as an off the rack pattern. But it is a rarity to have a pattern work so perfectly. Most patterns require some adjustment for shape for most people to get a good fit as we all have lumps and bumps in different places.  

The interesting thing for me - and probably part of the reason I have been able to choose the right size with relative success - is that my upper torso measurement and my bust measurement are the same! But I'm sure this is not the case for many people.

Amy goes into a more detail in that podcast and in her book, but this simple change when taking your measurements will help you choose a much more appropriate size for your shoulder area - which means you will get a better fit. 

2b. Figure out how much ease you like by measuring a similar style and weight garment in your own wardrobe. Do you love that particular style of sweater to be loose fitting or are you looking for negative ease. 

2c. Study the sketch and choose a size based on your measurements and the amount of ease you like compared to your upper torso measurement. Also take into account the amount of ease the pattern recommends. 

3. Prepare your yarn

3a. Choose an appropriate yarn for the pattern. Think about the qualities of the yarn. I touched on it in a recent post called Why Materials Matter - which details how the qualities your materials have direct affect on the success/longevity/wearability of your project. There is another great post on yarn substitution here by Kate of the Fibre Company. Look closely at the recommended yarn and it's qualities and think about what effect that might have on your project. This takes some practice and research!

3b. Swatch and make it a big one. This is not a time for lazy bones my friends.  There is great information on swatching here. 

3c. Make sure you are happy with the weight and feel of the fabric you make with that yarn on that needle size. This is one of the main reasons why my James works so well. The weight and drape of the fabric is perfect for the pattern.

I adore the super drape that you get with this yarn at this gauge. It is flowy and light.

Drapey with a wonderfully fitted shoulder.

3d. Measure your swatch as accurately as you can - to the half stitch or even the quarter stitch. Measure it in a few places - at the top of the swatch, in the middle and at the bottom. And write it down - I ALWAYS think I will remember and don't. So frustrating.  This is called your knitted gauge.

Change your needle size up or down to get the gauge as recommended by the pattern with the yarn you have chosen. The gauge is the important thing to achieve - you could end up using a needle size two sizes larger than the pattern - but this doesn't matter as long as you have achieved the required gauge.

3e. Once you have a swatch that achieves gauge AND you like the fabric of, block (so soak it in some water with a smidge of wool wash for ten minutes, then rinse, before squeezing the excess water out by squishing it in a towel, then lie it out flat on a towel to dry without excessively stretching it in any way), and measure your gauge again. This is really important as this is your blocked gauge. You need your blocked gauge to match the gauge of the pattern. THIS IS ESSENTIAL!! 

I'll give you a very simple example of why not being careful with this can really hurt. Say your pattern recommends a gauge of 18 stitches/4". You don't measure your swatch carefully, in fact you don't even swatch. You knit the sweater in a size 36" as you have a upper torso measurement of 35.5". You finish. Hurrah! You are a champion. You block it and you notice that it is now a sweater that has a gauge of 20 stitches/4". A tiny change you think. What is the issue? That tiny change means that you now have a sweater that has a bust measurement of 32.4". Not quite what you were after.

4. PLAN your alterations 

You have measured yourself in an earlier step and know your base size, the amount of ease you like, the length of your torso, where your waist falls in your torso, the length of your arms, the width of your hips etc. Next up you need to study the schematic and make plans for how to change your pattern before you start to knit. As you have more practice this will get easier but you can do some research on modifications that will help get you up to speed faster - and therefore hopefully make less mistakes.

Amy's Fit to Flatter book or a book like Ysolda's Little Red in the City are perfect resources for understanding fit. The modification podcast on knit.fm I mentioned is also a great start.  Ignore the patterns in both of these books if they aren't to your taste and look at these resources for their wealth of info about shape. You will learn things.

Another great resource is Karen's recent Fringe Association Amanda knit along #fringeandfriendsknitalong has some amazing blog posts on row gauge and how important it is in terms of getting the length of the yoke of your sweater right. You should have a look at the knitalong posts if you feel like being generally inspired. So much good stuff there.  

So put simply, know your measurements, know your pattern and do some research to really understand the types of modifications you need to make to achieve the result you want.

 

5. Knit but keep checking your gauge.

5a. Start knitting but check your gauge as you go, often. You need to be checking your knitting against your knitted gauge as opposed to your blocked gauge, as this is what is relevant while you are knitting. You need to know that your knitted gauge, once blocked, will give the gauge given on the pattern to ensure your knitted garment will end up the size you hoped for.

5b. And rip it out lovely women, if it isn't working. Don't keep knitting. You will regret it. Much of knitting as a pastime is about the joy of actually doing the knitting - keep that in mind when you come up against something that isn't working. It will help. 

Any other tips I haven't mentioned? Any questions? Do you think my contention that you can get fit right is crazy talk?

Felicia

Around the Traps - Baby Sweaters

It's baby season around here (not for me) which means baby knitting. Nothing more fun that that. So I thought I would do a little roundup of some of my favourite/new go-to patterns for baby knitting.

Starting with the sweater in the photos. It comes from the book Lullaby Knits. While I wouldn't say this book was for beginners (as the gauge information tends to be fairly confusing which could lead to some wacky results) I do think this sweater and others in the book are gorgeous! This sweater ranks as one of my favourite baby knits ever.

Cabled Cardy from Lullaby Knits

Other new/exciting to me baby patterns are:

The whole range from Paelas - which is a collaboration between three women in Norway. Check out their individual instagram feeds which you can find from their About page. So beautiful. I am particularly taken by the Flash top and know I need one for one of my girls.

The I've-never-made-it-but-always-meant-to Baby Fairisle Cardigan from Purl Soho. I saw a version of this a little while ago that I can't get out of my head. I was thinking that maybe I should make a version with the scraps of my colourwork cardy - just need to find a mother that doesn't mind semi-scratchy wool for her small person. 

The Pebble Vest by Nikol Lohr - possibly the most practically useful baby knit ever. I finally got around to putting the buttons on one I made ages ago and sent it along to a baby this week. 

Silver Fox by Lisa Chemery - I love the fit on this little cardy and the icord edging. I might take out a few of the details when I made it to make it a smidge simpler.

Another similar pattern is super sweet Eole by the lovely Nadia of IttyBitty. I saw one of these in real life of Amy of Sunspun's little girl recently. So gorgeous! 

I'm still totally obsessed by this bonnet here (which I have made a few times) and this cardy here. Classic knits that are super fun to knit - I will be making them again. 

And while I could keep going I'm going to stop soon - but what list would be complete without the Immie Tee by Carrie Bostick Hoge and Clara by Karin Vestergaard Methiesen

Alrighty….stopping now. Tell me your favourites. I would love some new ideas!

Felicia x