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Time is a slippery thing and gets away from me fast.
I meant to share this two weeks ago, the gatherings from the last farmer's market.
Turnips, cabbage, beets (cooked in preparation for salad) and bread.
There was one vegetable vendor; the rest were crafts, other food products. The line was 15-20 people long when I got there.
I've been thinking a lot about privilege and all the ways that can manifest...
Today started with a blanket of gray clouds but by midday the sun came out.
Playing with some digital collage as well as paper.
Today's collage.
A change of perspective.
Another change, another layer.
Third color added to the sweater I'm working on at home.
The yarns on the back create layers. The strands need to be managed like fishing lines...
One of the best things about knitting is that if you start with a big enough ball of yarn you can keep going for a long time...
Also it's usually easy to start over when needed. This is the second start. I understand the color chart now....
Assignment #5 is to make or mend each week, with the idea that a project is finished. It was not accomplished during the first full week of the month but if I hurry it will be for the second. Tomorrow I hope to finish the edges on this jumper (dyed in walnut) and attach pockets (maybe the original color?).
An update on the rest of the assignments...
Assignment #1
A collage is happening everyday.
Yesterday while looking at a photo of water lilies I was inspired to make my own. I've been thinking about how there is an essential shape to anything that the human eye identifies and labels.
Assignment #2: January's dye jar is brewing away happily. I occasionally tip it and wonder what color is being absorbed into the fabric. The water is a lovely golden tea color.
Assignment #3 I am on track to finish Wanderlust by Rebecca Solnit by the end of January. A friend (Nancy at pomegranate trail) recommended Silence by Earling Kagge which I checked out as an audio book and have been knitting to. There is much that I like about this book including the following definition: "Wonder is the engine of life."
Assignment #4 The sweaters.
Sweater number one is at about 8 or 9 inches. At 15ninches I'll start the sleeves. This will be a short cardigan intended to wear with dresses and tunics. The length is based on a favorite sweater.
A lot of the knitting on this one is happening on the bus or on lunch break. It's mindless knitting...knit one way and then purl the other.
Sweater number two is cast on and moving forward. Right now it is my "at home project," for when it is quiet and I can concentrate. There is another new skill with this one that was not considered...reading a chart for the color pattern (yes I had to start twice). Once the yoke is finished it will pretty much turn in to around and around we go and will take the place of sweater number one as the on the go project.
The colors of this one make me think of sunlight moving through the forest.
At first I thought the goal of 4 sweaters might be ambitious but it really seems doable. Part of this is choosing the right project for the right time of day. Which is really the truth for all of these assignments I've given myself...
sweet potato + shallot + swiss chard + miso + lima beans = lunch.
The farmer's market is once a month for the next three months. The menu will be a little less local, but there are still options. Items that were preserved or store well (potatoes, onions, carrots, beets). I'll buy a few things from California at the co-op to round things out.
Good enough.
Question: If you aim high is more accomplished? I suppose it depends on how you feel when the due date comes around...
Assignment #4 is ambitious and maybe slightly out of reach.
I want to start and finish 4 sweaters.
Mostly this is an effort to clean up the stash. The green yarn above is from sweater number three that I made. It was too small so I unraveled it. The pattern I am using is a yoked cardigan from Amy Herzog's Ultimate Sweater Book. I am loving this book. There are several patterns in this book I want to make plus advice on making patterns your own/making your own pattern.
The second sweater I want to make is with the intent of learning to steek and using stranded knitting for a sweater. I've only tried stranded knitting with socks. I bought yarn for this but the recommended yarn still falls in a price range for something that would be wearable without being too precious. Another goal is to make a collection of sweaters that I will wear to work and not consider too "precious." This is the sweater. It is knit on large needles so it should be a relatively fast project.
The third sweater will be knit on large needles as well. The yarn was gifted to me by a friend who found it at Goodwill. It's mostly wool so my intent is to knit and then dye. Not sure about pattern yet. I just might design my own....
Sweater number four will probably be the same pattern as the green one if I like how it fits. This is partly so that my assignment can be more easily accomplished as well cardigans are what work best with my wardrobe. The primary yarn for this sweater was found at a local thrift store and is almost enough for a sweater by itself (for less than $15.00!). I had a skein of yarn that will go along nicely and bought a couple more skeins to round out the difference.
The other sweater I am in love with is Kate Davies two-shade Strathendrick but will have to wait until next year...it's probably a year long project all by itself!
I am an unfaithful reader.
Sometimes dipping in to a book for a few chapters. Stopping and then starting another and then returning. Sometimes it takes me awhile to return.
This is no reflection on how much I like a book.
I've read parts of at least 6 of these books. My intent of this year is to read them all, to finish them all. They probably won't be the only books I read (or listen to, I've started listening to recorded books while knitting and sewing) but these are the books I want to finish.
A few posts back in the comments I mentioned the idea of gathering a collection from the garden and processing it in a jar (India Flint style, Stuff, Steep +Store) once a month for a year. Starting next January 2020, I'll open one jar a month. Maybe I'll even make it continuous...open one jar and then process another.
Another form of field note....
Here it goes:
January's collection: a fern, some yarrow, fennel, sorrel, black berry, a few lingering rose leaves, dandelion, vinca, the last of the loganberry leaves, sage, st. john's wort and two different types of ivy.
A few of these things aren't usually around this time of year. We've had a few hard frosts but not enough to have them die down.
The water in the jar is a soft tea color so something certainly has color.
..........
Another project under construction:
As part of one of India's classes I was able to take part in a challenge offered by Beautiful Silks. For the cost of postage we were sent about 5 yards of silk to play with.
This includes some of all the silks that were sent except one. The last one I don't want to dye as I like it just the way it is. I'll be making a cowl that could be worn with this to "dress it up."
Something I've been considering a lot is how to make a wardrobe that is everyday but that something small could be added to a few items that would make it "special occasion." Part of my goal to have a sustainable wardrobe.
A little closer look at the bottom. The bright green is dye from the top piece of fabric that ran, the rest eucalyptus and onion skins. The two light fabrics were first dyed in my fresh indigo vat. A little bit of that turquoise remains.
I love the random flow of colors in this, a collage of color.
I've set myself a few assignments for the year 2019 and a word for the year; wonder. Wonder to me is part curiosity and part joy. I want to approach these assignments from a place of wonder. To consider what if from a place of joy. To wonder how about how things connect.
The word wonder comes with a question.
One I haven't quite formulated yet.
Assignment #1 is to make a collage each day. It could be digital, paper or cloth. Or a combination. This is yesterday's collage.
Collage is something I love creating but it's also about zero waste. A good way to use up little bits.
Daily practices can be hard for me but they are good so I keep trying. To help keep the momentum up I decided to take Year of the Collage.