Well, Hello There...

It's been a while, I realize. I don't think I've gone this long without posting in the whole time I've been blogging (which is practically a decade).

I'm right on the cusp of completing Phase 1 of my most professional professional experience to date. Let's put the emphasis on the fresh, which is the complete opposite of how I feel right now. Knowing that I'm going to have to return to this project again, reasonably soon, is somewhat deflating. But I'd be lying by omission if I didn't say that I've kicked some serious ass, by my own standards, and I've received some pleasing recognition.

I've always been the smart one. I'm comfortable with that label. I love critical thinking and learning and problem-solving and achieving outcomes. Lord, I do love the end result. I am grateful every minute of every day for my cognitive buoyancy. But, man, did I push the limits over the last 8 weeks. There was no part of my brain that wasn't stretched to the edge, all the time. I worked constantly. I'm not embarrassed to say that I struggled a fuck of a lot. And while my work isn't going to result in world peace, I can hope that it will serve my fellow citizens in future. Not to mention that it's taught me ever more about my own motivations.

Right now I'm considering that age-old adage that, just cuz you can do something, doesn't mean you should. I'm trying to reconcile the sort of work I do at work with the sort of work I do at life and the pieces don't cleanly intersect. No freakin' surprise, I realize. I'm only the zillionth modern woman who's engaged with this conundrum.

In case you're curious, my pain condition has remained largely dormant, indicating to me yet again that, while stress is a factor in everything in life, pain for me is mostly about hormones and myofascial neurochemistry.

Mind you, my sense of self has been really eroded by the omnipresence of cortisol and adrenaline. Crafts have largely fallen by the wayside (don't worry, that's about to change). Friends are more of a construct than a reality right now. I haven't even had time to drink adequate quantities of wine (I'm so over any kind of weekday ban) because really, when one gets home at 10 pm, one does not have time to drink before bed?!

I'm taking 2 weeks off starting Monday. Till then, I'm wrapping up loose ends (of all the varieties - to wit, see pics below). I have some nascent sewing ideas that I do intend to put into action soon. Stay tuned for more about that... And on the boring (but weighing on me front), I also have to mend a couple of pairs of handmade socks (they'll be garbage soon, if I don't) and hem another pair of absurdly expensive jeans. I swear, I've lost all sense of balance when it comes to how much I spend on denim.

But really, what I've missed is the mental space - the time to be creative on my own terms, the time to do a really good yoga practice (that isn't only about shoring me up for the stress), the time to freakin' walk to work and stop in at my coffee shop to talk with my friends for 5 minutes while I have an espresso. The time to plan for fun.

Of course, an impending reno is not filling me with the sense of adventure I generally seek out. It's, um, a little too close to home. (BTW, don't ask about it. We're 10 weeks behind schedule and nothing is anticipated to start before August, which means we're going to live through this fucking tear down during a Canadian winter, God help me.) Plus, I've got some potentially expensive and time consuming activities I must undertake over the next couple of weeks - bureaucratic, expat-American stupidity. Whatevs, I'm not engaging till Monday. I just can't bring myself to worry about another fucking thing.

I'll leave you with a couple of photos of knitting projects I've completed over the last few weeks. It ain't much, or particularly exciting, but these little projects are my tether to the things that matter:

Foolproof Take 2 - I love the colour combo...

And, made with the same purple (as shown in the Foolproof Cowl above), here's a new pair of socks.

BTW, I'm in the middle of making a pair of striped socks (3 diff skeins of yarn) and it's NOT simple. I intend to write a tutorial post about how I've kept my sanity while making a small-diameter project, having colourwork, and knitted in the round. Seriously, they make self-striping yarn for a reason. Alas, it doesn't help one to use up small quantities of fingering stash yarn...

More is Less

The key to staying on top of the yarn stash is in the planning. It doesn't pay to think one-project at a time. It also doesn't pay to be too spontaneous about one's next knit. Cuz it's only when you plan that you will have the ability to consider how to use up the entirety of your newly purchased yardage.

My fussiness just gained a new dimension. Now, not only must I love the yarn (and must the yarn be gorgeous to the feel and having the appropriate drape) but I've got to be able to apply it to at least 2 projects, lest I get stuck with half a skein I cannot easily repurpose.

For example: Usually, when I want to make a pair of socks, I go for the wackiest yarn I can find. Sock yarn tends to come in 425 yard skeins. I never use more than 275 yards (and generally I use 250) to make a pair. That means I'm stuck with half a sock worth of crazy-coloured, variegated yarn that will sit there till I come up with some sub-optimal, stash-bust hat or mitt project.

Here's what I've learned from looking at 15 or so of these skein remnants:

• I'm not interested in using the sock yarn for hats. It's a rare hat project that interests me, particularly in crazy colourways. 

• I can't find sock yarn in 250 yard skeins. I've tried. I can find 175 yard skeins (Koigu - and they come in gorgeous solid colours, see that purple below) but even as I love Koigu, I don't find that it wears particularly hard. 

• That's something that I'm going to have to try to get with because Koigu is awesome for other projects and - remember - I really don't want leftovers.

• Solid colours are much more practical than variegated yarns because you can mix and match them (particularly if you're using the same brand/yarn in an alternative colour). Stripes are endlessly chic and they keep a project interesting. Furthermore, choosing your own colours to stripe is engaging and you get to make it up.

•  Using 2 colours on a sock may be the way to go because it's easier to find 125 yard remnants than 250 - as long as the yarns coordinate.

• Yarn coordination really is the key. So, my goal in the future is to either buy 3 skeins of Koigu KPM (to get 2 pairs of socks) OR to buy enough fingering-weight yarn for one project (i.e., a sweater) so that there's enough left over for another project (namely, a pair of socks). That's tougher than it sounds because sock yarn is generally superwash (pref. with a bit of nylon for strength) and I don't want to make a sweater out of superwash yarn, ever again.

In the end, I landed on this combo to make, first, another version of the tremendously enjoyable Foolproof cowl. :

I do love the colour contrast going on.

That's madelinetosh Tosh Sock (in Antique Lace) and Koigu KPM (in 5414). It's a spectacular combo - each yarn is 2-ply twist with more or less the same feel. They're exactly equal in girth and spring. The only discernible diff is that the Tosh Sock has more slip (it's a bit drapier). Both are 100% merino - not superwash but also no nylon.

The remainder of yarn from the Foolproof should get me, more or less exactly, a pair of socks. And then I'll see how well this combo wears (nylon-free and non-superwash). I mean, they're both designed for socks, after all.

Seriously, isn't this yarn gorgeous??

I also want to make another Circular Vest. This garment is so versatile and so complimented! But I want to make it with a drapier yarn than Lett Lopi, per my last post on the subject. I was considering Quince Osprey (I've never yet worked with aran-weight Quince yarn) because I need drape, but recovery. Quince has that in spades, at least in its lighter-weight yarns, in part because it's not wash and dry. Though I love Quince, and use it often, it's just not luxe in the way some other yarns are - the kind I'm craving right now.

Here's where this story gets kind of bizarre. A couple of years ago I bought some madelinetosh Vintage to make Miranda this scarf:

I had 140 yards left over that's been sitting in my stash. See that grey-mauve ribbing? It's a pretty accurate representation of the colour - a Tosh Vintage, hand-dyed shade called Tern. Vintage is a highly-spun worsted-weight yarn but it feels more like aran because it's very plump with twist.

Below, you'll find a photo, taken yesterday, of the Tosh (again, Tern colourway = the centre ball and the skein at the left side of the photo). It's accompanied, on the right-hand side, by another yarn altogether - Biscotte & cie in Solid Gris, also heavy worsted-weight.

This photo gives a sense of the lush, plumpness of the yarn and the sheen. But it makes it look much more grey (and much less mauve-undertoned) than it is

Don't these yarns look exactly the same???

You might be wondering how is it that I now have an unwound ball of the Vintage, in addition to the remant and the Biscotte & cie. Well, turns out there was one skein left of the Tosh in the Tern colour at my LYS (Eweknit). I'm sure this stray-ball from 3 years ago was waiting for me. But, even with the second ball, I was 200 yards short to make the Circular Vest. That's where the Biscotte came in.

Here's a shot of the Biscotte label:

This Quebec-made yarn is gorgeous and tightly spun - much like Tosh Vintage. It's exactly the same shade of hand-dyed grey meets mauve as the Vintage. I've never actually seen two yarns from different brands match each other so perfectly. The only distinction is in the texture. Biscotte yarn has a bit of cashmere and nylon, and isn't superwash, while Vintage is. (Yeah, I know I'm against superwash for sweater-like garments but the Tosh doesn't grow like other superwash yarns and it truly is amazing. Not to mention that making the vest with it will provide me with a great way to use my remaining Tern stash in a much more exciting way than otherwise I would have been able to.) The Biscotte is a bit firmer - it's got less drape -and very slightly slimmer than the Vintage but, visually, this is imperceptible. I wasn't thrilled to find my 115g ball weighed only 111g, but c'est la vie.

I intend to stripe every 2 rows to ensure that the yarns integrate seamlessly. Happily, the Biscotte should tone down any potential drape-drag of the superwash Vintage. And, with this project, every yard of yarn should go!

So, for 125 bucks (given a frequent-buyer, 20-dollar discount) I've got 3 projects planned with no remnants to worry about: a totally wearable vest, a great cowl and a pair of 2-tone socks. That's a sweet deal given that I bought very good yarn (Tosh, Koigu, Biscotte).

Alas, this isn't all the spending on yarn I did yesterday. The rest is the subject of my next post, still in keeping with my stash-busting ethic. Till then...

Bust The Stash: Finished Object 11 - Foolproof Cowl

I am exceedingly pleased with my finished Foolproof Cowl:

Everyone should make one!

Here's one side:

And here's the other:

For what it's worth, this is by no means my best work, technically (there are a couple of small errors which I won't point out because, really, no one's going to notice them). I had to go off road with the Inspriation instruction directions. Note: There are 2 versions of directions for this cowl - Inspiration (which is essentially a pattern that tells you what to do) and Free Spirit (which gives guidelines and assumes you'll create your own striping pattern). I didn't have enough yarn to do the full-on Inspiration version so I mixed and matched. As a result, my striping pattern is pretty whack - but I finished up a maximum amount of yarn and gain a maximum amount of cowl length.

At 400ish yards of Loft yarn, this is just long enough to wrap around the neck twice. I'd definitely use 500-600 yards on my next version. Happily, the size is adjustable to suit what yarn you've got to work with.

I'm of two minds about using woolen-spun yarn, such as Brooklyn Tweed, for this project. It produces a more rustic end result, and that result is warmer than a worsted-spun one. It's less inclined to pill, it gains structure and strength in blocking. Furthermore, Brooklyn Tweed yarn, for all of its rusticness, is still very soft (and springy, and "kinky"). But... You need a light touch to knit with this stuff - it has basically no twist and it likes to break if you're even a smidge too tight. I've discovered that individual skeins can be radically different. Some contain yarn that's quite robust and even, others contain yarn that's brittle and uneven. I can knit with either because I'm a loose knitter with even tension, but I can see how this yarn won't work for everyone. Never have I seen more polarizing comments on Ravelry than when it comes to the quality of BT Loft. You either love it or hate it. I'd say more people hate it than love it, but the lovers are HARDCORE.

I don't think I'll run out soon to purchase BT yarn again, though I'd welcome an opportunity to use it in the future - particularly one of the weights I've not tried. As of now, I've only used Loft (the fingering weight).

I am totally enamoured of Brooklyn Tweed, the concept, and I think that many of the pattern designs are excellent, but I prefer a worsted-spun yarn - if one more rustic than my initial knitting tastes belied. Still, I urge everyone to give it a go (and Quince and Co, for that matter). Neither thrills me to the extent that Madeline Tosh does, but they're lovely, durable American-grown yarns that can be purchased online (or in store, in some instances) at a reasonable price.

What do you think of my Foolproof? Have you made this?

Bust The Stash: Project 11 In Process - Foolproof Cowl

This is a stash-buster that I'm actually psyched about:

Foolproof by Louise Zass-Bangham

Originally, it was the topic of a Mystery KAL (knit along) published in April 2013. I can assure you that I have NO interest in mystery knitting of any sort. What could be more meh than spending a bunch of time and yarn making something, the end look of which you can have little to no idea about when you begin? Not my scene.

But now that the mystery KAL is long ago complete, the cowl pattern comes with pictures and the full list of clues all in one place. Now it's just a regular pattern that anyone can knit and it's INGENIOUS. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, if you want to figure out anything - if you want to save the world - put a bunch of top-notch knit designers in a room and lock the door. The veritable secrets of the universe are in every swatch of hand-knit fabric and these people know it. Like deeply.

As promised, in this project, there's no need for casting on, purling, knitting in the round or binding off. Just knit stitch, increases and decreases. How can that be? It's actually pretty straightforward once you discover how it works.

Of course, I have less yarn than I should to make the most of this iteration of the cowl. No mind. I'll make it again. This time I am using a tone-on-tone duo of Brooklyn Tweed Loft in Barn Owl and Woodsmoke colours. They actually look lovely together (if perhaps too similar to each other. I did, after all, confuse one colour for the other when I ordered yarn a second time). I have a lot of thoughts about BT yarn which I'll get into shortly. In short, it's enigmatic.

So, has anyone made the Foolproof cowl? Did you do the Mystery KAL? Have you ever done a mystery KAL? Did it work out or did you end up knitting something you consider hideous. I'd love to know.