Beginning, Middle and End

I don’t know how spring has been acting where you live, but here in the mountains every single day has been something different. 80 degrees, 30 degrees, sun, snow… When the weather app says clear skies, it inevitably rains and when the days are sunny and perfect for gardening, the wind is strong enough to blow chairs off our deck and planter boxes off our railings. I always forget how incredibly windy it is here in the mountains when the seasons are shifting – a gentle breeze is funneled through the valleys, concentrating its power until it threatens to blow you right off your feet. Don’t get me wrong, I am thrilled that spring is here, but I am looking forward to the weather settling into a gentler, more predictable summer.

I won’t be needing this project anytime soon (fingers crossed), but I am making good progress on my hand spun sweater. I’ve finished the body and one sleeve, and now all that is left is to cruise on down the second sleeve to the cuff.

Under indoor lighting the color appears relatively consistent, and I am always surprised when I take it outside, or look at it near a window, to see all the jewel tones take center stage. I really love how this is knitting up so far and it fits exactly as I had hoped, though I’m still not sold on this collar. I wish the pattern had included more shaping around the neckline – it’s too high in the front and the collar is a bit small. I may still cut it off when the sweater is done and reknit it if it bothers me too much. (It does. I already know it does. I’m just trying to pretend to be cool, calm, and casual about it.) For the bottom hem and cuff I used a larger needle size than I had for the collar and I think that may help me achieve a looser neckline in the end.

I alternated skeins throughout the yoke and body of the sweater to better distribute the colors and break up any inconsistencies in yarn thickness from skein to skein. That worked really well, but I chose not to bother doing the same for the sleeves and instead knit the first sleeve with just one skein of yarn. The second sleeve is using a different, slubbier skein and I am curious to see if the resulting fabric will be noticeably different between the two. Stay tuned to see how it ends!

Speaking of endings, I finally finished sewing the shirt I had initially intended to wear to Minneapolis at the beginning of March.

I think, even in my last blog post, that I was still underestimating just how much work was actually left to do. Sewing on buttons always takes longer than I expect, as does just about every other step of shirtmaking, but I am pleased with the end result. This is the fifth or sixth shirt I have made using this pattern (Simplicity R10435) and with each rendition, I have adjusted the fit just a bit more to get it perfect. I feel like Goldilocks, but this shirt is allllmost perfect. Next time I may move the pocket up slightly (but I had to place it where I did on this shirt to line it up seamlessly with the pattern, thank you for noticing) and I might make the cuffs a little bit shorter. I lengthened them from the original pattern because they were too short, but now they may be too long. See? Goldilocks.

I was torn between which side of the fabric should be the “right” side, but ultimately decided to use the gray because most of the shirts already in my wardrobe are blue and I thought this would fill a gap nicely. I have plenty of fabric remaining and may make myself a more casual, short-sleeved shirt using the navy as the right side.

I really like the feel of this fabric. It is soft and not too crisp, with a nice drape and cozy feeling to it. I know it is 100% cotton as I try to only purchase fabric made with natural fibers, and I’m almost certain I bought it at Treadle Yard Goods a few years ago, but I cannot for the life of me remember anything more specific than that.

And lastly, because I am simply incapable of stopping myself when it comes to learning new textile crafts/techniques, I have embarked on my first cross-stitch project after years and years of saying that I have absolutely no desire to ever do or learn this craft.

My determination to stay away from this rabbit hole was thwarted by a Facebook ad for Avlea Folk Embroidery, which was simply too enticing with its use of traditional patterns and design. Sometimes these algorithms really do know what they’re doing. The pattern above is Rivne Rosettes and the kit came complete with the fabric and thread. With only two colors, I thought it would be a great place to start before jumping into the second kit that I purchased, Rhodora, which boasts four colors that were, in all transparency, too close together for this colorblind crafter to tell apart and separate from their bundle without help (thanks, Katie!)

If all goes well, I will have a finished sweater to share with you shortly, and I am feeling a return to the loom coming up soon. Hopefully I will have some new towels started before long. Fingers crossed!