Stash Less - Creating an Intentional wardrobe.

This blogging business has meant having to put words to the thoughts I'm having around my making. Over time that means I've got more conscious and that consciousness has brought such joy. Ideas are breeding more ideas, leading to change that's resulted in increased satisfaction with the products I'm making. I am creating the things I really want to make, rather than making things based on the whims of the day. By slowing down and getting thoughtful I'm spending the time getting it right rather than getting it done.

One area where this is most true is about my own wardrobe. A consciousness raising has occurred over the last two years when it comes to what I own and what I wear. It started with the why all crafters need a visual diary post - seeing that my clothes pinterest page (which clearly demonstrated the aesthetic I liked) looked nothing like my actual wardrobe (where I often got stuck thinking I had nothing to wear), set me on a path about changing that situation. I started consciously filling the gaps with things that fitted the aesthetic I liked. On top of that, being away for six months last year, and living out of a small bag, lead to the start of Stash Less. Stash Less has lead to me finally using the "special" fabrics I was hoarding because of their specialness - which has lead to that specialness being part of my everyday wardrobe rather than an unseen piece of fabric in my stash. Then late last year I spoke about some of these ideas on the Woolful podcast I took part in. And again the very act of putting words to my thoughts helped me to clarify what it is that is important to me. Trying to be conscious and intentional about my making but also about my handmade wardrobe.

Eighteen days in to Me Made May, and I want to say I've learnt more than I thought I would. The act of taking a photo everyday for MMM, and the fact that I've had to go through my handmade wardrobe in order to showcase it, has lead to me seeing my wardrobe differently. I've learnt that I have a lot of clothes I like, that make me feel good. Which is great. It wasn't the case a few years ago.  While I think I may only have a day or two of unseen handmade clothing left before I start to repeat pieces, but the fact that I have already had eighteen days worth of different handmade clothing leads me to believe that I have enough clothes.

Enough is a another concept I keep thinking about. Consciously consuming and consciously creating are my current focus, but what about enough? Creating for the sake of creating doesn't lead to happiness for me. It leads to excess, which in turn doesn't feel satisfying. And MMM has clearly shown me that I have enough already.

So given that I now understand my wardrobe better, and that I can clearly see I have enough, these days I'm trying not to make clothes on a whim. I try to look for gaps and consciously plan what I make; to really understand how something will fit in and make based on an a need*. Which leads me to the slight contradiction!

While MMM has shown me I have enough, it has also shown me that there are one or two gaps. I go to put together an outfit only to discover that I don't have anything to go with a top in cold weather. Or that I can see from my Pinterest page that my first love is frocks and yet I only have one or two. Or I am going out for dinner and have nothing but cardigans to wear with the going-out tops. 

One such gap is a garment that I mention in the original Visual Diary post (from nearly two years ago) that I haven't managed to fill yet.  A longish, simple, light-coloured, boyfriend style slouchy-ish cardy that means all my tops can be worn in winter. Many or most of my cardigans and jumpers are autumn/spring 3/4 sleeve numbers and while sleeves help solve it, they don't totally solve the problem when things get chilly in sunny Melbourne. Figuring this out through participating in MMM has changed the order of my knitting queue so that I've started it.  Knowing that I've wanted something like this for about two years, I have been able to hone my idea of what it should be. 

After two years I know exactly what it needs to be! - A warm plain Jane cardigan in a light neutral colour that I can wear with all the pretty tops. I'm using Uniform as a base as I love Carrie and know she won't steer me wrong, but I'm modifying it so that it is more like a this Primoeza cardy or this ace little number from my pinterest board. I didn't want white because I don't wear white. And although grey will always be my first love, enough can sometimes be enough. The endlessness that is my colour palette is doing my head in. I wanted something warmer in tone for the chilly depths of winter. I considered things like Beiroa and Bendigo Woolen Mills Linen Fleck but I wanted to truly fall in love with the yarn. Which I did, last week when I saw this Debbie Bliss Donegal Tweed.

I don't actually remember the last time I purchased a Debbie Bliss yarn. It was a long long time ago. Back when I had little babies and buying three balls of yarn for a kid garment felt like a lot. It totally feels like I'm going old-school early-Ravelry when we didn't put so much thought into our buying. But Jules gave this yarn her stamp of approval when she designed her Frankie hat so I knew I would like how it wore. And I am totally in love with the colourway and the feel - 90% wool and 10% alpaca with a multicoloured tweedy effect. I know I will love this for a long time to come.

Another gap I will fill soon is the Morris Blazer - since I saw in on Jen back in 2011 via social media I have known it was the perfect gap-filling going out jacket. Not too formal, but not a cardigan.

While an intentional approach to my wardrobe hasn't happened in a day - it's actually taken a couple of years - taking the time to get intentional has been the key to me feeling satisfied with my wardrobe for the first time in my life. 

Have you hit the "enough" point or are you just beginning? Are you happy with your wardrobe? How do you get intentional?

Felicia x

PS. You can see my MMM progress on instagram.

*Used in the a very loose way obviously.

Everyone needs sleeves!

In Around the Traps the other day I talked about Me Made May. Despite the fact that it feels super weird to try to take my own photo every day (and I'm often forgetting till late in the day) I've persevered and I'm really chuffed about it. I'm learning things about my wardrobe; what I have, what I need, what I like. 

One of the things this month has made clear to me is that my most worn garment has never been mentioned before on this here blog. Nor has it been mentioned on social media. I think I may have thought they were so simple they were not worth mentioning UNTIL Me Made May showed me the way. By making me really think about what I make and what I wear regularly I saw that I wear these nearly every day all winter long. These are simply my most worn, most practical, most indispensable garment. 

Why would you want sleeves?

So let's talk "sleeves" and why one would want some? Warm wrists = warm person. Not catchy I grant you but true. And warm! And who doesn't need some more warmth in the winter. They solve the 3/4 length sleeve sweater/cardigan problem, and more than that I've realised that I wear them with everything. I wear them with sweaters with full length sleeves as well. I wear them with my coat. Well you get the picture.

And this in they normal state. 

Why not just wear arm warmers?

Why wouldn't you just knit some arm warmers?  They are bulky. And they look wooly. I have a few pairs of arm warmers, and while I love them, I don't wear them anywhere near as often. The "sleeves" have the advantage of looking like I have a thin merino underlayer on beneath my sweater. They don't give the wool on wool on wool look* - although it might be hard for some of you to believe, I sometimes think too much wool can be too much wool. Sleeves are just a bit more elegant, refined, simple than knitted woollen arm warmers. 

What are Sleeves?

They are simply a light stretchy merino fabric sewn into tubes. I think I originally purchased from The Fabric Store. You cut two long rectangles and simply zigzagged together.

Mine are incredibly poorly made. And it doesn't even matter. Noone knows (except you lot!) and you can't tell from the outside unless you really get up close and personal with them. The appalling thing about these is that I didn't even match the cotton. You could definitely do a better job.

They do fall down slowly over the course of the day, but not so much, or so quickly that they are annoying. And also they don't look bad fallen down. In the iPhone photo at the top of the post you can see them fallen down. In the photo above this section you can see how they look normally. 

This shows the dodgy way they are made. I didn't even finish the ends (you don't need to) nor snip the seam allowance near the ends. You might want to do that. 

You don't need to finish the ends. 

Mine are now a little stretched. They are about 20" long.

And finished they are about 8" around.

 

How to make them.

The photos below show the dimensions that fit me. My forearm (the key measurement) measures about 9.5" around at its widest point. By making them slightly smaller they stay up. You also want them to be fairly long because as they slowly fall down they just get more wrinkly but don't show. I've never had them show. 

ut two long rectangles 20" by 8.5" - your width measurement may need to be wider/thinner.  Fold them in half lengthwise with right sides together. Sew them together with a zig zag with a 3/8" seam allowance. For me this gives two tubes that are roughly 8" in diameter. With stretch around the forearm as you see in the photo below they stay up. 

This blurry photo shows where they sit. 

Enjoy x

Felicia

* I often wear a hand knit sweater, beanie and cowl in the winter. To add arm warmers as well can sometimes take things a little bit too far. Feel free to disagree ;)

No need to be talented.

I'm trying to make a hat. A hat to make a pattern for a secret squirrel mini project that I'll announce very soon. But I need to finish the pattern. Need to. Not want to. 

And so I'm trying. Pick it up, put it down. Pick it up again. Rip and rip and rip. And any one of the versions I'd made would probably have looked lovely I'm sure, but they weren't what I had in my mind's eye and so I'm ripping. Cause I want it to be really good. 

As I was making this hat though I realised that I had a working demonstration of how practice, and trial and error, are the things that are getting me to the destination. Not some innate crafty magic. I've written quite a few blog posts talking around this topic like "I'm not creative" and "You're so talented - and other malignant myths" that talk about the fact that in order to create something beautiful you do not need to be talented. You just need to be making. Practice is key to how you get good at anything. And at the risk of stating the obvious, this hat is a case study around these ideas. I'm practicing and trialling and practicing and trialling getting my colour choices to where I want them to be. 

The other thing this hat is proving to me is the old "Planning only takes you so far" truth. That post shows you another version of this very same hat. 

So here it is. The story of a half-finished hat.

Version #1 was too contrasty - the navy too navy.

Version #2 - thought maybe the blue was too blue for the garter round so I tried the mushroom. This was too blah.

Version #3 - tried a grey garter row which was too soft - and again the navy was too navy.

Back we go again.....

Version #4 was closer but the mushroom and pink were too soft/light so the star motif was lost.

Version #5 was again too contrasty and had nothing to tie the pink/mushroomy colours in with the lower part of the hat.

Version #6. Still not sure the bright orange should be bright orange so am going to trial another colour. The pink in the star feels a little "little girl".....but we will see. 

Where it is at right now. 

I'm sure in five years time after doing a lot more colourwork and making many more choices about colour that I will be faster at it and it won't take so many versions to get it right. I hope so anyway. 

Practicing in the gap. 

Felicia x

Putting The Love In

Sentimentality is a quality I share with my eldest kid. He loves hearing stories about when he was little and really struggles with the idea that he would throw anything out. Which makes him a total joy to make things for. He loves the idea I am making them, loves receiving them and then wears them until they fall apart. And even then doesn't want to throw them out. He recently gave up a pair of shorts I made for him when he was three. He is now almost 9. They are the calico-coloured shorts you see below with little frogs all over them. I think the only reason he didn't get grief about them in school is he had been wearing them since they were all so small they didn't "see" them anymore. By the end they were a little on the short side of shorts which didn't seem to bother him at all. He tore a hole in the bum though, so it was time.

Last week I decided I'd better finally stop my procrastination and make his quilt to try to get it done by his birthday this weekend. I was planning on having it made by the end of the year but I realised that what I was really doing was avoiding starting it because I wanted it to be "special". The old "if you don't start it you can't muck it up" chestnut. Classic perfectionism bu*@sh*t.

I'd been happy with the design for a good few months so there was no reason not to start. I also downsized my (crazy) expectations that his quilt would be hand quilted, and decided machine quilting was probably best for a kid that will drag it around the house, make cubbies out of it, and take it camping. 

So I cut! And I began to make it and I really love it so far. It is better than I thought it would be. You can see it's progress best on my instagram feed.

Getting the quilt ready to trim the binding.

Anyway the love. I had this idea many years ago that when I made him a quilt it would include fabric scraps from many of the shorts and shirts I had made him over the years. But as I don't really like the "patch" element of patchwork I was trying to figure out how to do it. I was going to put them on the back but that felt a little sad. Instead I've come up with the (hopefully) genius idea of doing a strip binding with the scraps. I was planning on using the super worn short fabric alongside the unused scrap fabric but when it came time to cut up the super-torn well-loved shorts I found I couldn't do it. 

Sentimental much? Yes! But if it's not about that, what is it about?? I love love the fact that he will be able to find fabrics he knows and loves in a small way in this quilt. Fabrics that will slowly fade, as did the shorts and shirts he has worn over the last few years until they are now soft and pale. 

Some lovely person on instagram pointed out that it was a quilt that he could have into adulthood without it feeling kid-like. And without the binding that was totally true. I'm hoping however that with the binding it will actually be a bit of both. A piece of his childhood he can take into his adulthood - if he wants to obviously. But I think he just might!

If you feel like it, I'd love to hear about how you put "the love" in your projects....

Felicia x

Stash Less - Breaking the Habit

I'm finally running. After thinking about it for the last couple of years, I've been being consistent for four weeks. Now this might not sound that impressive but it has been about three years since I have consistently exersized for four weeks so I am calling it a win. 

Now the interesting thing about it is not the running per se, but rather how I finally got over the hump and got going. I watched this video a little while ago - Good Life Project: Charles Duhigg - Power of Habit - and for all those looking at changing/starting/creating a habit, it's information is great. I believe in the power of habit and the old "you need X numbers of days to create a habit" makes sense to me, but there seemed to be a something missing from everything I'd read previously ie. how does one get to the X number of days. The video has the answer!

To sum up the presentation - every habit needs to have a;

• Cue - The trigger for the behaviour. To put your brain into automatic mode where you do the activity without thinking about it.
• Behaviour - The action or activity. 
• Reward - The thing that encodes the behaviour into making into a habit.

Charles talks a little bit about what you need to do to set up the cue and then encode the behaviour through giving yourself the reward. The cue can be a time, a place, the presence of other people, an emotion or a certain preceding action. He goes on to say that the reward can be extrinsic to start with to get you going but eventually the behaviour itself can become the reward. For example you could reward yourself with chocolate to start for running at the beginning, and before very long the intrinsic joy of the activity itself takes over. 

So bloody useful! 

Now that wasn't what I did. I didn't use chocolate. I did use cues to create a ritual to get this thing started. 

The cues I'm using are fairly simple. I am putting my runners and running tights on first thing in the morning, not eating breakfast and leaving them on until I've gone running. If I have to wait until the kids are out the door that's fine. Some days I've worn them all day and gone at dinner time. The fact I have them on is the cue. And because I'm not really a fan of doing my life in gym tights then I want to get it done so I can get dressed. Clever hey!

The reward has very quickly become the thrill I get from being "a runner", and from knowing that I'm not just allowing my 41yr old body to crumble into decline without putting up a fight. But there is one big other reward which was unexpected but really fun. I've been making sure I have some super album on my phone ready to go. This last week I've been revisiting the early 90s. I did Beastie Boys Ill Communication early last week and then this morning moved on to Billy Bragg. I haven't listened to him in ye-ars. By the time I got back from my run I was ready to start a revolution! (Love you Billy x). I'm taking the joy of the music into my day.

Finally I also did a couple of other things. I removed some of the barriers that I often use to get out of doing what I know I should be doing.

For example

1. Knowing that perfectionism is often an issue for me I decided to go every second day rather than every day. That way I couldn't use the excuse that "I haven't done what I said I would do and so therefore the whole thing is ruined". Cue dramatic face. This way if I actually do miss a day I just do it the next. I don't need to be perfect.
2. Knowing that I often have kid stuff/life stuff/family stuff getting in the way at particular times I decided this time I wasn't going to try to do classes that involved an hour and a half and were only on at a particular time. With running it takes 30 minutes from start to finish and I could do it anytime by walking out the front door.
3. I've purchased a few things so that weather is not a barrier - it's heading towards winter here. I can run in the rain or the sleet. I just need my jacket. 

What in the hell does this have to do with craft Semple?

Excellent question! I've been thinking about my habits around purchasing as part of Stash Less. I've written in a previous Stash Less post about the triggers I am aware of. Of course my friend Charles in the video calls them cues - potatO, poTAto. This last week or two I've spent some more time considering what they are, what behaviour they create and what rewards I'm getting. I've realised that I actually have different cues for different types of buying.

For example I buy knitting patterns - that I don't necessarily need or use - when I am stuck in my current projects. I am so habitual about my crafting that when I don't have something easy to pick up I start dreaming about what else I could work on.  I surf patterns, I surf Ravelry, I surf Pinterest until I find something I can buy. It takes up time and energy and causes random purchasing. 

Another example of a cue for me would be hearing on social media that there is a "new" fabric collection, yarn release or pattern. I get curious and I want to go and have a look. Having "a look" causes me to wander around online shops and from there I can feel the unthinking behaviour taking over. I put things in my cart and I purchase, justifying it in the moment to get to the reward. Waiting for the post person is exciting. 

Knowing and understanding the habits means that I am able to change them. With that in mind, I recently went through my email and "unsubscribed" from nearly every shop mailing list and every instagram account that tempts me. I removed a cue!

Anyway this requires some more thought but the idea that you can replace one habit with another is fascinating to me and something that I know will help me get closer to having the type of buying habits I am ultimately proud of and comfortable with. I really want to be a conscious consumer. And I'm going to get there!

Anyone else have habitual buying patterns that they know of?

Felicia x

P.S. Here is Charles Duhigg's TED talk - It's terrific!