Have Yarn. Will Travel. And Try New Things.

I’m Eileen, and welcome to this weekly update on my projects, usually fiber-related. I have goals, but they are lofty and whythehellnot? We all have to shoot for something! Watch me try and fail learn a decent amount and probably make more mistakes, which will beget more learning. You get the picture. Why make all the mistakes if you can watch me do it and save yourself some time, and maybe have a laugh or two along with me?!

Life is too short for the intense and crazy-fast pace so many of us live. So, I’m slowing down, and trying new things. How can that be wrong?

FIBER STUFF– Weeks 3-4 (Feb 7, 2022)

First up: The Neifling Hat

I was so proud of this. I wanted to learn brioche. I also learned to fix a mistake or two at a time. I was chugging along so happily.

But then…three stitches in a row dropped. God, ya’ll. I tried for ages to save that. But i couldn’t. And ripping it back also wouldn’t have been salvageable in the end (I didn’t think), because the double knitted brim made it so hard to pick up appropriately. Please, view my sadness, and cry for me.

Next time I will throw lifelines in, because frankly, I can’t think of anything else that would save you if you make the same mistake. I recently got this GORGE set of Chiaogoo Interachangeable needles, and they have a built-in hole to run lifelines as you go. OMG. So amazing.

Next up: DRK Everyday Sweater

This one is chugging along beautifully. I might be in ribbing hell, but it’s nothing compared to brioche murder referenced above, or to sleeve island which I’m sure I’ll be on as well soon. But I love love love this yarn, the Purl Soho Good Wool. It’s sticky enough to know it’s going to bloom beautifully after blocking, but it’s nice to work with and not too smooth. I know it will soften, but it’s actually not a scratchy wool anyway. I’m glad I chose it for this sweater.

I love working with Andrea Mowry patterns, her notes help immensely and her videos save me hours of guessing. I do so love that helpful addition to more modern patterns. The cast on here is the tubular cast on, which is the same as the Italian Cast-on, and it really does give you a much more polished edge. I love it! You can see it at the collar here. I was aiming for a bit longer of a sweater because again, I’m Amazon sized, but looking at it makes me wonder if I should rip back and stockinette a bit longer before beginning the ribbing. But I’ll keep going first to see how long I actually like it, and then place some markers about where I think I’d like it to be instead. That way, it’s not totally ripping willy-nilly.

Next up: I will start The Satellite Shawl from Andrea Mowry. I am hoping I can master brioche in a bigger project when it just has panels of it, I think it will be good practice. I will be casting on this week! Stay tuned for updates on this one!

Also, I am all for taking out knitting books from the library, but there are some I know right away I want to buy. I love supporting these newer designers, and especially BIPOC designers. So, I got this beautify in the mail. I don’t knit with enough worsted weight, so I am challenging myself to try something from here to get more comfortable with the bulkier knits. It’s so worth your purchase, iif you can afford it, and our knitting community needs to be represented by all folks. There is so much room for diversity, and I look forward to supporting all of these designers! Also, I am likewise on a journey of radical self-care. This book spoke to me in many ways, even though our life experiences were different. We are all human, and we could all learn from each other.

Also, here is your local spotlight for the week! I stopped in at Persnickety Stitchers, Inc in Zionsville, IN recently. My husband is down the rabbit hole of embroidery lately, and I went to check this place out with my daughter, during our Girl Date. We stopped off at The Lemon Bar for the most amazing lattes and brunch, and then meandered down the old village streets. It’s such a beautiful, charming downtown!

This store was just amazing. It was quite large, had a ton of luxury threads/floss, a separate room for patterns, and then an amazing canvas section upstairs. They were super friendly, and even gave me a website they could order from if my husband wanted anything they didn’t have in stock. They showed us around and were super available for questions. I really enjoyed it!

What are your favorite local yarn/craft stores? How do you strike up conversations? Sometimes owners can be shy, but I have found that just asking them about their store, and what led them to open it, and what their favorite parts of their crafts are, you really get to know the owners and workers, and they get to share their wealth of knowledge, which is really why these people open these shops…it is usually a passion project. No one goes into owning a yarn shop for the money! But I say I’d rather give my money to them and keep it in our communities if I can.

So, anywho. Let me leave you with why I titled this post Coddiwomple. I saw this on facebook the other day. It spoke to me! THIS is what I am about right now. This is good. And it’s enough. Sometimes we feel pushed to be too productive, and honestly, I think I do my best writing work when I’m under pressure. But, the creativity/ideas/inspo doesn’t come from pressure. I have to be free to let my thoughts wander. That’s where I find my happy place, these days.

I hope you guys are finding some time to just be. It helps. It really does!

Happy Fibering!

Eileen