bee creative

assignment #4

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! 

assignment #2 plus another sewing/dye project under construction

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.

practical sewing: the sweatshirt + a little something less practical

I've now made two sweatshirts using 100 Acts of Sewing's Dress No.2.

I have fabric for a third and would love to get some cotton velveteen to make another dressier "winter" version.

Sweatshirt number two. 

I didn't bind the neckline on this one, just folded over and stitched down.

I also shortened the length. 

One important considering for using this pattern with a knit is to change the neckline so that it is much shallower.  I used the back neckline from my favorite tank top (altered enough at this point to be pretty much a self drafted pattern).

I lined up the shoulder seams on the two patterns so that they were even, cut the  neckline and then removed the tank top pattern so that I could cut the dress arm hole. 

My favorite patterns are on tag board now which makes using them much easier. 

On the little less practical side.  This is the tank top pattern cut out of silk and dyed with eucalyptus...

This is the first time that I've managed to get such good results with eucalyptus.  Something that India Flint said in the conscious clothing class clicked for me and I realized what I needed to do!

I learned a lot in the conscious clothing class and have plans to do a lot of experimenting this next year with dyeing and altering/drafting patterns. 

Here's a few more:

These having me thinking about the possibilities of mirrored images...

practical sewing

Sweatshirts aren't something I wear a lot but a friend of mine was wearing one that looked so cozy.

I looked at patterns but ended up using Dress No. 2 from 100 Acts of Sewing.

Not quite happy with the binding on the neckline yet but I know what I'm going to do next....

Overall very happy using this pattern with fleece (an organic cotton/hemp blend that is so soft!).

 

silence

I fell into silence again.

Maybe it's the darkness. The days are definitely shorter.  I am very aware this time round that we are in the dark of the moon. 

There is a small garbage can full of walnuts fermenting away on the back deck.  Lid tightly closed to keep the squirrels out. 

Silk shirt (purchased at thrift store for 5 dollars) dyed in sumac. 

I also found a pair of white jeans that promptly went into a not working so well indigo vat, followed by a dip in the walnuts, and then after drying out a bit; is now back in the walnut vat. 

On the left is a tank top that I made, dyed in the indigo vat (with better results but splotchy) that also took a dip in the walnuts.  It's still drying on the line and will be washed soon. 

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Several years ago I bought a copy of A Book of Silence by Sara Maitland.  I've dived in and out of it but haven't read the whole thing yet.  I think it's time to start.  A part that caught my attention...

"But the horizon line of the hills abided...  Whenever I sat to meditate, there was the clear, clean line that divides earth and sky and also unites them.  That line was constant.  It emerged out of the dark in the first dawn light and was swallowed back into the dark at nightfall.  Above the line, infinity, below the line, mortality.  But the line itself was both and held them both, and the wind blew along it, fresh and free like the passage of the spirit." 

This wasn't the quote that I went looking for this morning, but after seeing Jude's post today, seemed most appropriate. 

 

mending by making cloth

Today I sorted all my white fabric scraps by type and weight. 

There is enough linen to piece together a skirt. I'm sewing all the seams down with cotton thread one of my great-grandmothers crocheted lace with once upon a time.  It's old but certainly strong.

It's heading for a dye vat along with the tank top. 

I signed up for India Flint's class "Conscious Clothing." 

So many ideas....

 

fieldnotes #48

The weather has cooled considerably, back down to the low 70's (around 20 C).  I'm ready for the next "heat wave." Two pairs of Pants No. 1 by 100 Acts of Sewing are done. They are great with my tank tops, short and dress length and of course Dress No. 2. 

It would be safe to think that I didn't have a garden the way I fill a basket at the market. Today's purchases: zucchini, cucumber, cherry tomatoes (the first!), broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, cabbage, new potatoes, onions, cherries, strawberries and a rhubarb danish.  And basil plants.

In the garden there are all kinds of herbs to harvest, garlic, raspberries, the first of the blueberries, the occasional strawberry, lettuce, peas, Swiss chard and sour cherries.

In another month there should be zucchini and tomatoes.  One of the cucumbers is about to bloom. It's the difference of a green house and micro climates. 

Shopping at the farmer's market is really more about getting fruits and vegetables ahead of when they are ready in my garden, getting enough of something to preserve (cucumbers for pickles), or things that I don't have the room for or struggle to grow well (corn!).

First sighting of baby deer for the year on Friday...at the bus stop.  So sweet but worrisome too.  This is an area with a lot of traffic. 

A little further down the street two blue herons flew over.  It's wild out there... 

 

 

 

 

Finished sweater...just in time for 80 F weather

Pattern: Less is More

Adjustments made:  I followed the directions for long sleeves but stopped just past my elbows.

Yarn: Aviary by Abundant Earth Fiber

Not blocked yet (washed and shaped). 

Thoughts:  Very easy pattern to follow and I will definitely make it again.  It was, in fact, a tester to see if I would make this sweater with hand spun yarn. 

It's one size larger than needed because I like roomy sweaters but it really is too big. This sweater will mostly be a "wear at home, to cuddle in sweater." Next sweater will be exactly to the measurement.  

One part of the bottom wants to flip a bit. It's probably because I forgot to switch to smaller needles for the edges, but next time maybe the edge needs to be a bit deeper?  And maybe this will go away when the sweater is blocked. 

As for the yarn, it's so very lovely.  At it's current price, it wouldn't be a good choice for a sweater for me again.  This isn't a complaint about the cost of the yarn but rather what is realistic for my lifestyle. The roving is very tempting though...

feild trip: Portland Oregon

Last Thursday I hopped on the train heading to Portland to take a shoe making class (Laughingcrowe)!

I love my shoes so much and the class was fabulous!  So much so that I brought home tools with me so I can do it again.  I also have some other leather projects in mind. And well...thinking by the end of the week I'll use my pattern again to make wool slippers. 

Making shoes was the last piece of a goal I set for myself, to make every item of clothing that I am wearing.  More on this later. 

I didn't take many pictures of Portland, too busy looking, soaking in some sunshine and worrying about finding the train station. 

 

Sunset on the river:

 

A really cool fence on the way to class:

One of the very best parts of the trip was staying with a friend I've known since we were 10. Thank you Renee and Kevin for your hospitality and more good memories.

I did take quite a few pictures on the train...The trip was beautiful.

Almost to Portland.

Mt. Rainer

Sunset coming out of Seattle.

u

Uniform. Implies, predictable and sameness.  In some ways my wardrobe choices are moving towards a kind of uniform. My favorite is a cardigan, tank top and skirt.

Unmentionables. Usually code for underwear! Most preschoolers think underwear is hysterically funny for some reason. As part of my make everything I wear goal, I am sewing underwear.

Umbrellas. People in this area have a funny relationship with umbrellas. Once upon a time it might have been said you weren’t local if you used an umbrella. I think this is changing. Research at the bus stop concurs. What is more true is that umbrellas are only useful when there is no wind. Mostly when there is rain there is wind. Gusts of 33 MPH tonight.  Unfortunately, it might not be restful. 

inspired by "Under starry skies above," Cole Porter

Up. I love looking up at the sky. There is so much to see and dream about up there...the universe.