You guys convinced me!

So I'm going to try to make my wedding dress - you were all so damn positive in my last post that I almost feel like I don't have a choice. I mean how could I resist all that joy. That said, I'm being practical and making it easy on myself as I've never done anything like this before. But more about that in a minute. 

So in spite of all your enthusiasm, let's talk about the fears....

1. I have never worked with lace and I generally don't work with slippery fabrics. So frankly I'm expecting it to be a little annoying and unenjoyable. That said I'm excited about it. It feels creative and challenging, and we all know that creative and challenging is fun.

2. My other fear is how to make a dress without getting overwhelmed by choice OR by perfectionism. I don't need this to be perfect, I really don't. I do need it to be beautiful. But the overwhelming thing is that there are a million versions of what beautiful could be. How do you choose just one? Any help on this one would be appreciated. 

So here is my plan.

1. Go lace shopping at Tessuti in Sydney. Wait. Tick! I did this today for a couple of hours. Yay! So fun. I purchased a few things to play with.* 

2.  Make a muslin of the top part of the dress in an inexpensive fabric to see about fit and shape. I'm thinking of using the Elisalex bodice or maybe trying to make something a little bit less fitted ala Laure De Sagazan. I may be a little obsessed with her tag #lauredesagazan on instagram. That lace top and simple plain skirt thing, kills me.

2a. If I get stuck with the fit then go see a clever dressmaker. This was a suggestion in the wonderful comments on my last post. So helpful.

3. Make the bodice up in one of the pretty lace fabrics I purchased. I purchased two, and a few samples because I got stuck choosing. Have you ever been to Tessuti in Surrey Hills? Oh my it's pretty. 

4. Make the skirt part in a linen or chambray to test for shape. Base the pattern shape off one of my favourite skirts. Make a pattern.

5. Make the skirt out of a plain fabric (like Laure's frocks).

6. Make a lining for the lace? - or maybe don't and just purchase a featureless bustier type undergarment? I think this will depend on how the whole thing looks. 

7. If I hate what I have made by May then go and have something made, or purchase off the rack. This is called the get-out-clause and it makes me happy.

You guys were so helpful last time if you have an opinion about my process - that I need to add, rearrange or subtract a step - then step up and be opinionated in the comments! 

Gee this will be fun!

Felicia

*Someone asked me on the last post whether this process was going to fall under Stash Less and my answer is absolutely NOT! I have nothing that could be considered useful for wedding dress making so I get to give myself a free pass :). - Edited for clarity!!

You can totally make that!

So I was sitting at my desk with my lovely friend Jenn last week - working on some work work as opposed to craft work - and we got a little side tracked with some yarn, as you do. We were talking about how I had just finished the fella's Hugo, and how her fella thought it was a good-looking sweater. She told me that she then had to start saying things to him like "whoa now fella, don't get ahead of yourself. I'm not at that level yet".

My responseto her - "Piffle! You could totally make that!" because she totally could. After she got through a few statements of disbelief she said, "I do love it when you say that. It makes me think I could". She says that it fills her with confidence to know I have such confidence in her. And I do. I think she is totally capable.

And because I'd just got through telling her, it reminded me that I should remind you lot that "you can totally make X".....  You are capable if you simply remember that it's mainly about what you believe.

I believe that knitting is little more than knits and purls with the odd fancy skill thrown in. I believe that as she has been knitting for a couple of years, and Brooklyn Tweed patterns are really well written, that this is something she could tackle. I believe that she has the guts, and the experience now, to get it done. It might take her a while, but there is nothing stopping her, but self-belief, and emotional confidence.

There are various times in your craft career, when you have good confidence and some general oomph, that you should take a step up. Not when you are still a fragile newbie finding your feet, but when you have enough successes under your belt, you can take on the idea of something more emotionally challenging. Because the tricky bit about it isn't the knitting/sewing. It is the emotional rigmarole that you have to go through to make something more complicated.

You need to be able to work through the emotions that come up during a challenging project. I've written about this a few times :) but just in case you are a new reader then here are a few examples we have covered in the past;
Mistakes are how you learn.
Planning can only take you so far.
Getting stuck in the middle.
Perfection in imperfection.
Ripping with joy.

Because making really is an emotional game. It isn't a skills game. Making is about dealing with your head stuff as it comes up. As the wonderful Elizabeth Zimmermann reminded us many times with her wit and ongoing encouragement,

“Really all you need to become a good knitter are wool, needles, hands and slightly below-average intelligence. Of course superior intelligence, such as yours and mine, is an advantage.” ”

— Elizabeth Zimmermann, Knitting without Tears 1971.

You can make it! Just get stuck in, accept the detours it takes, and keep at it.

Do you think this is true? That it is mainly an emotions game rather than a skills game?

Felicia x

The joy of dreaming!

My brother reminded me that I was going to make him a sweater for his 40th birthday. Which was just over 6 months ago....whoops. Now I did buy him another (gorgeous) present but I haven't made him anything for years. The last thing I made him was the Jared Flood Noro Striped Scarf all those years ago - remember that old-school ravellers? Back at the beginning, when the world of possibility opening up for us knitters.

So I've spent the morning getting excited about embarking on a new big project. I'd forgotten how fun the dreaming was!

A man jumper feels pretty epic. Which is totally because I've only just finished working away on Hugo for my fella, and it took for-eva. That was one big sweater. All cables and really no more than a couple of stitches in a row of stockinette every few rows. It was a workout for the mind and fingers.

But the thrill of finishing such an epic jumper has me on a high. It's so gorgeous and something I know he will wear for years. And the Shelter makes it so light and lush - it is that classic combination of a great pattern and pretty yarn.

And so now a new project! - a big project! - and one whereby I need to purchase the wool! - feels like a whole new journey! Due to Stash Less I've been knitting from stash (which brings pleasures all of it's own), but the joy of trying to match pattern and yarn from scratch.....so so fun. The dreaming. 

A time when the project is full of possibility. A time when you get to dissect and examine and consider and peruse. A time when you get to imagine just how fabulous it will be.

My brother picked the pattern a year ago - Slade by Brooklyn Tweed - and now I'm wandering round the internet looking for yarn ideas. Obviously there is Shelter, but I'm really tempted by O-Wool Balance, especially after hearing so much about it from Karen over the years. I trust her judgement and her singing the praises of O-Wool makes me want to try it out. The other idea I had was Quince's Owl. The alpaca content will make it drapier though and possibly a little fuzzy which may not be so traditionally "manly"......?? Hmm. 

The dreaming......

So so fun. Do you love this part of a project? And if you have any other ideas for yarn choice I'd love to hear them.

Felicia x

Stash Less Challenge #2 - Make a Plan

In 2016 we invite you to join us in your own personal Stash Less project. Stash Less is a project whereby we work towards having a mindful stash. Each month we will be posting a challenge for you to use in your own journey of discovery and change. Please feel free to join in at any time. We can't wait to hear what you find out! Previous Stash Less posts can be found here.

Previous Stash Less Challenge - Challenge #1 Taking Stock

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So it's really important to make sure we don't get ahead of ourselves. Let's take our time and think it through. Stash Less (and changing our behaviour) is a process, not a single event. It takes time to create a mindful stash we can rejoice in, be inspired by and proud of. And time is something we have in abundance. We have the whole year!

A quick word of caution before we look at this month's challenge which is all about setting our baseline. We need to make sure that Stash Less doesn't feel like dieting, because we all know that diets aren't good for the soul, and nor do they achieve their aims. I've said it before - this challenge isn't about deprivation. It is about getting more conscious and thoughtful! 

To achieve what we are trying to achieve - a mindful stash - we need to make sure that whatever personal guidelines we come up with are sustainable. We are trying to achieve good, healthy, achievable, joyful, change. 

Without further ado this month's challenge is to write down the following;

1. Your aims. We need a goal. What do you want to get out of the challenge? What size stash do you want? What do you want it to contain? What do you want it not to contain? Set a level for your stash, and a feeling you want it to give you.

2. Your purchasing ground rules. Write down the ground rules for purchasing you want to give yourself for the next year. What purchases will you need to make? And what purchases will you allow just for joy? 

3. Set a budget. This step allows you to better track your habits. This step makes it real.

I'm really hoping you have read some of the earlier posts in this series. However just in case you haven't, I want to make a few points about why these steps are important and what they might look like. 

Notes about Step 1: Your Aims
Some goals might include getting rid of (to friends, charity or strangers) parts of your stash that you will never get around to using. I did a lot of this and it is a total joy. Other goals might be to use things that you had in stash that you don't love but don't hate. Or to use some of your "special" fabrics. You might like to set a stash size? 

Notes about Step 2: Purchasing Ground Rules
You must factor in some purchasing! Most people will do better if they know that some purchasing is allowed and sanctioned. I had two categories - needs-based purchasing and joy-based purchasing. For me my needs-based purchasing was things like wadding, zips, cotton thread, needles. And my joy-based purchasing was the yarn for a whole sweater for myself. You need to make sure that you set these and remember that this project is not about deprivation. It is about getting conscious. The feeling of deprivation often leads to rebellion - which we don't want. So make room for some joyful purchasing in there, and then be conscious about it.

Note about Step 3: Setting a Budget
I talk about why I found setting a budget critical in this post* but very briefly I want to say that you must do this. It really will make a difference to how you think about purchasing because you then have a hard limit on spending. It means that you can't just justify, rationalise and justify some more. 

I set my budget to $50 per month, which in retrospect wasn't enough as my needs-based purchasing was more than $600 for the year. I make a lot of things! However, in the end getting it wrong didn't matter, as it was a total guess. It was still very helpful as a limit to rationalise my purchasing against. I thought within my $600 per year I would have about $150 for my joy based purchasing which meant that I really had to weigh up my options. Did I want to save $60 from that $150 to spend on some Nani Iro or did I want to spend it all on yarn. I got better at evaluating what was a real "need" and then between those which were most important to me in the longer term. It also meant that I spent more time considering a purchase, weighing it up, so impulse purchasing was less of an issue.

Good luck and feel free to ask any questions! I'm around today. 

Felicia x

*I also talk in that post about why I felt incredibly resistant to setting a budget.

Stash Less Challl........ Sickness and Birthdays.

So my massive apologies but it is the night before Stash Less Challenge #2 and I have a kid throwing up and another kid packing to go away and it's my birthday tomorrow so I won't get computer time - which means Challenge #2 will have to wait till Saturday Feb 20th! I've never done a Saturday post before so I'm excited.

In the meantime I wanted to say two things;

1. Don't be in a hurry with the Stash Less thing. Behavioural change requires thought and time. It isn't an overnight thing. Sitting with your thoughts, your new knowledge about how you came by your stash and your desires for something different are an important part of the process.

2. Don't you just love the swatch I made?

Till tomorrow. And apologies.

Felicia x