Creativity To Go

Clematis coming soon!

The yard is coming to life as April draws to a close. This is my fourth summer in this house, and I finally feel like I have my yard "established". Perennials have taken hold and are coming on with a vengeance. My front flower bed looks full and respectable, though of course it isn't finished.

And garden season is upon me. We made a 10' x 4' raised bed last year that was quite a success. I got lettuce planted and it is trying its best to grow. I had a surprise crop of seedlings pop up. I was hoping for tomatoes, but once the second leaves came on, I found this:

Volunteer Green Beans

Green beans! I wasn't planning on planting any this year, but how can I say no to this? One of my projects for the rest of the week is thinning these out. I'm hoping to get out today to buy plants for the weekend to avoid the mad rush on Saturday. Everyone is itching to plant!

Today's Projects: Knitting and Cross Stitch

Today is a major errand day. I knew I'd be stuck at the oil change place for an hour, so I decided to take my crafting on the road. I'm not afraid to knit in public, so I dragged my silk stocking along. I'm making great progress (though I remind myself this is only the first sock), and managed to turn the heel and start the foot while waiting for the car.

Knitting in Public

It's mostly men in the waiting room at that time of day. I got some looks, but no comments. However, one woman approached me, asking if I knit for myself or other people. That's not what people usually say. We chatted a bit and it turns out she has crocheted 150 shawls for people at an organ donor center. The center provides the yarn and looks to volunteers to knit or crochet. She gave me a contact card, and I might look into this when I'm ready to take on some charity knitting.

Not technically today's project, but yesterday on my lunch break I found the missing directions for the counted cross stitch peacock. I had a few spare minutes so I even started on it a bit.

My nemesis, the Peacock

See all that blank canvas around the peacock, from about 10 o'clock to about 4? Yes, that is what needs filled in. With teeny, tiny stitches, with practically every square being of a different color thread. Aiyiyi. I love it, and I want to finish it. It will be mine.

Podcasts du Jour

I didn't listen to podcasts at the oil change, but yesterday and today I've been working on the back catalog of:

• Prairie Girls Knit and Spin--they've got a great rapport, and complement each other's styles in many ways
• A Playful Day--she's still on the topic of blogging and creativity!

I guess there are going to be a lot of repeats on these, and I'm not sure how to handle it. I think I'll go ahead and post what I'm actually listening to for those who stumble on the blog. It will be new to someone.

Spinning is Like Coffee

I don't remember her name but she is a perennial beauty

Creativity has been on the back burner for a week. We are having a bathroom remodeled, and I agreed to do the painting. That has slurped up every bit of my free time of late.

Today's Project: Spinning and Sewing

I knew I had to get up this morning to craft something. Time alone, just puttering with whatever, seems essential to my mental health.

However, I am not a morning person. I know that. The coffee pot is my only friend at that hour. So I have found that I either need to prep what I am going to work on the night before, or, I can spin myself awake. There isn't much thought required for the spinning process, at least once you have the hang of it. There's very little movement even. In fact, I might've been asleep the whole time...

I finished that silk/merino bobbin last week and had the second one all laid out with the fiber. Easy peasy. I fell into a half hour of spinning. It was good to get the second bobbin started because now it feels like I'm on the downhill side of the project, and that always seems to go faster.

After a bit of spinning, I felt like doing something else. But what? No prepping last night. The tri-loom is staring at me, but half an hour isn't enough.

I spied a little pair of pants on top of my sewing books. Hemming? Meh. But it did need doing, and was about the right size project for my remaining time.  I took these little school uniform pants away from my daughter this winter. They fit her great around the waist but are too short to be considered pants and too long to be capris. Nerdy high-waters, yes indeed.

I started by guessing how much to trim off, leaving enough so the hem wouldn't go right up against that decorative stitching.  I pressed and pinned, then laid the two legs side-by-side, repinned where the lengths weren't the same. It's very scientific.  Then I hunted high and low for my brown thread.

Not in the thread bin, of course. I looked at every spool at least twice, willing it to turn brown. I settled on a nice dark maroon, and sat down to sew. I uncovered the machine and found...my brown thread! All bobbined up with brown and ready to go.

I decided to do a double line of stitching to match the rest of the pants. I think they came out nicely and are ready to wear to school this week.

It Looks Like Tuesdays Are For...Spinning?

Baby lettuce in my garden

So, I took sleeping pill last night. It helps me stay asleep, but makes me feel sluggish the next day.  I had a hard time dragging it out of bed this morning, and had no bandwidth to think of something new to craft.

Today's Project: Spinning and Planning

I went on autopilot and headed toward the spinning wheel. The end was in sight on that bit of merino silk, and I could almost smell a finished object. Well, half of a finished object. This bobbin is half of my fiber. Now, spin a second bobbin, ply the two together, and voila! We'll see how long that takes.

I'm already thinking of what I want to do with this yarn. I'm pretty sure it wants to be a nice shawl. I'm going to look over the designs of Romi Hill. I have a few of hers in my Ravelry queue. I'll have to see how many yards I get.

I want my next project to be something on my triangle loom. I have a Spriggs 7' adjustable tri-loom and I think I want to make a small shawl/scarf on it out of something soft and drapey. However, I need to set myself up for success by unearthing the loom tonight and getting it set up. Perhaps I could even find the yarn I want to use. Then tomorrow I can just start weaving. Another thing I want to do with my loom is use nail polish to mark every 10th nail. I saw that tip in a weaving forum and thought it was genius.

Podcasts du Jour

• Family Tree Magazine Podcast--host Lisa Louise Cooke has a voice that carries over any background noise. An excellent podcast both technically and for content for genealogists.

Knitting Corner

I finished hemming the Highland Bonnet. Just waiting to use my friend's washer to felt it. It feels good get something off the needles.  I have to say, this hour of creativity experiment just feels good all around. Finished items that have been languishing for months, sometimes years. Clearing out some clutter. Realizing limits. This is all good stuff.

It Looks Like Mondays Are For Spinning

Nothing spectacular yet, but we just planted these gladiolus bulbs about 10 days ago. They seem to have sprouted overnight!

I got back on track today with my early morning crafting.  I was on a roll from spinning at the festival, and since I started out last week with spinning on Monday, I thought I'd continue on that path.

Today's Project: Spinning

I had to unpack my wheel from the fiber event. Since I'm working on the same fiber as before, I thought I'd tell you about my wheel.

I use a Kromski Sonata. I think I purchased it in 2007 or 2008. In finding that link for you, I was interested to see the price. I am almost certain that when I bought my wheel, I paid about $400 and that included the carrying bag for free. I see that the cost has gone up considerably to $660.

My wheel in action

My first wheel was a Saxony style double-drive with a single treadle. It was difficult to transport to events and suffered some wear and tear in the car.

I knew I wanted my new wheel to be portable. I settled on the Sonata. It was a fairly new type of wheel at the time. It folds up quickly and neatly into a special backpack. It's pretty light and the bag fits easily anywhere in my car.

I wasn't sure about the double-treadle action. I'd only tried single before. I shouldn't have worried; I love it! It feels much more balanced to have both feet working, less tiresome on my knee and hip.

The other aspect that was different was the tensioning. The Kromski has a single drive band with Scotch tensioning. At first I had some difficulty adjusting it, but with time I find I like it better than my first wheel's system.

I also chose this wheel for its appearance. I wanted a wheel that I could pass off at a re-enactment. So far, no one has complained about it.

Podcasts du Jour

• The Knitmore Girls--best knitting podcast ever! I devour these as soon as they come out
• Prairie Girls Knit and Spin--I just discovered this one. They have 66 episodes out; I like them enough to start back with number 1

Knitting Corner

I finished the knitting on the Highland Bonnet I discussed last week. All that is left is sewing up the hem for the band and then felting it. Huzzah! I'll show before and after pics when I get there.

FIBER FEST! Or, The Fiber Event at Greencastle

Momma Goat and her two-week old twins

Last Friday I did not rise early to craft. Instead, I prepared myself to go to a fiber event in Greencastle, Indiana. I've been to this even several times and it is one I really like.  Bonus one: my daughter is in school so I got to fly solo.  Bonus two: a friend of mine was vending so I got to catch up and sit in his booth.

It was a perfect April day. Sunshine, light breeze. My favorite nut vendor, Yummy Nuts, was there. I might've accidentally bought three bags...

I did really well with my purchases. I'm always overcome with wool fumes at these events. I've tried nearly every aspect of fiber craft at one time or another. I know what I like and what I find tedious. But dammit, when I smell and feel a beautiful fleece I just want to buy it! Never mind that I will never get around to cleaning and processing. Must. Buy.

However, a recent bout of decluttering helped me on this front. I know I don't need a fleece. I love to spin, and I have learned it is much more valuable to me to buy processed fiber so I can get to the "good part", the spinning.  HOWEVER, I also know I have a few several pounds of processed fiber waiting for me to spin it. I refused permission to purchase fiber.

Same with yarn. My stash overfloweth. I have many beautiful yarns. I love touching them, I love the colors. I love knitting with them. But there is more than enough there, I do not need to be purchasing willy-nilly.

I went with two goals: a pretty shawl pin and a new spindle.  I have no shawl pins now. I loaned out my old spindle (which was cheap and I wasn't overly fond of anyway), and was looking to upgrade. I don't spin well this way at all, but it is a skill I want to cultivate for my re-enactment hobby. I'd like to be able to walk around spindling.

I ended up with these items:

Three Bags Full

Pretty Pin

My new spindle

I spent a lovely few hours spinning in my friend's booth, making some headway on the green merino/silk I showed you last week.

Me and my Kromski Sonata

I leave you with my favorite two sights of the day. 

The ingredients of my shake-up. So Pretty!

That just says it all.

If you get a chance to attend a fiber festival, I highly recommend it. It's a delight to all the senses.

Re-runs and Leftovers

My 25 cent petunias from the bargain bin at Lowe's last week:

Petunias after the rain

Today's Project: Sewing

Sewing is gratifying, compared to most of my hobbies. Spend an hour cross-stitching and you aren't even sure you did anything. An hour knitting, you might see and inch or so progress on your sock. An hour sewing? Half a blanket done! Another hour? Blanket! Bam!

So I decided to continue on with the cashmere blanket until it is done, hence you will have reruns for a few days. This morning I got all of the squares and rectangles assembled and it is as big as it is going to be. It's still a little too long, or not wide enough, but that's what you get when you don't plan ahead.

One more day on this, and I will have a finished object. I have to add a little edging and sew up a few holes that didn't get caught in the serger.  Also, I'm left with this much cashmere:

The Leftovers

I'll need to decide if i want to stitch these up for doll blankets or just let them go. Either way, it is time for my love affair with cashmere sweater recycling to be over.

Do you know what a serger is? I am a totally self-taught sewer, and I never even heard of one until I was in my late 20s. This fabulous machine sews the layers of fabric together, trims off the raw edge, and binds it all neatly up so there is no fraying. GENIUS.

Mine is an el cheapo from Hancock Fabrics, I think. I've had it for several years. If I ever get serious about sewing I might buy a better one, but this one suffices.

Podcast du Jour

• Once again, reruns: it's Caithness Craft Collective. I'd fallen a little behind on these; one more episode and I'll be all caught up.

Knitting Corner

I've pulled out an old project that needs finished up soon. I told you yesterday about my re-enacting group. I volunteered to make uniform bonnets for all the guys. This is a long-term project, as I'm doing it out of the goodness of my heart. I finish one or two a year. The guys all have bonnets, but these are upgrades as they are "properly" made, as in knitted large then felted down to size. The one on my needles is nearly done with the knitting, huzzah! I hope to make great strides today and tomorrow on this one.

Finished bonnet

Who Doesn't Need a Cashmere Blanket?

Today's gratuitous flower shot:

The last of my daffodils

Wednesday is my usual day off. I'll admit, I slept in just a bit past the craft alarm, but I still had plenty of creative time today. I got my hour in this morning, then another this afternoon.

Today's Project: Sewing

I have a big bag of cashmere scraps. Doesn't everyone? These came from a project I began, ashamedly, three years ago. (I just looked that up; I honestly thought it was about one year.)  As you may have gathered from my recycled silk stockings project, I used to haunt Goodwills for sweaters to use for their yarn. In learning about recycling sweaters, I read about cutting cashmere into squares to make blankets. I had to have one!

To make one, gather as many sweaters as you think you need. Wash and dry them. Yes, that's right. In your washer and dryer. This helps tighten up, or full, the fabric, then also makes your finished blanket machine washable and dryable.  Cut your sweaters into squares and rectangles. My largest ones were 12" x 12", down to maybe 4" x 6".

I sew mine together on my serger using black thread. The serger finishes off the edges nicely, and the black gives it a stained glass look.  I made one out of 12" x 12" squares for myself, but never put a border on it. Then I made a smaller one for my mom in her bedroom colors about 2 years ago. I still had a bag full of squares and a few sweaters sitting by my sewing area this morning, so off I went.

And that doesn't even show all of them!

I picked out all the blues and grays and set to work making long strips. This afternoon I serged the strips together and got this:

Long skinny blanket

Now, I've run out of a few colors so I can't continue in this pattern. I'm going to use the grays to make a fat strip on each edge I think. But that will be for my next sewing day.

It feels good to be making things again. But even better is seeing the progress on things that have been languishing for so long. These things become invisible (to me anyway) after sitting for so long, but now that I'm using it, I am aware of the space it has taken up, unused, and usuable in its current condition. Soon I'll have a soft throw for the couch, more floor space in my sewing room, and an empty project bag. Not to mention the feeling I'll get when I can tell people I made it, and yes, it's cashmere.

Podcasts du Jour

An eclectic mix today.

• Curious Handmade--knitting podcast out of Britain
• Still Untitled: The Adam Savage Project--Adam of Mythbusters fame and two of his friends jabber on about whatever catches their interest. I just found this one and I'm catching up on old episodes; very enjoyable.
• Genealogy Gems Podcast--a great free podcast concerning one of my favorite pastimes

Knitting Corner

I didn't get much knitting time yesterday; darn work got in the way. I did manage a little on my silk stockings that I showed you previously. I thought I might share more about my re-enacting hobby.

I belong to a Revolutionary War group, the 71st Regiment of Foot. You can read about the original Fraser's Highlanders on Wikipedia.   My particular unit has a very inactive Facebook presence here. We mainly do two events, Spirit of Vincennes Rendezvous and the Market Faire at Locust Grove. We fight for King George against the bloody colonists though we are from Scotland. 

The girl and me two seasons ago at Locust Grove

Here Be Dragons

I really enjoy photographing nature. I am a total photography novice but I hope you might like to see my offerings.

Weeping Cherry blossom from my backyard

I was able to roll out of bed when the alarm went off. I found I was actually looking forward to the morning's adventure.

My first instinct was to sit down at the spinning wheel and plug on with the merino/silk, but then I thought, "No, you need to spread the love around."

Today's Project: Counted Cross Stitch

I have two counted cross stitch projects that are my old and dear friends, the Peacock and the Dragon. I had spied them both on an upper shelf yesterday, so I pulled down the oldest, my dear peacock. I got him all set up, thread ready, and....where is the pattern? Drat. Instead of blowing my hour looking for this, I turned instead to the dragon.

THE DRAGON

This is a Teresa Wentzler design I purchased kitted up, lo, so many years ago. I think it is actually called The Guardian. I probably bought it at Michaels. You can see the unfinished area there, but there is also a rather elaborate Celtic knot border that has to be applied. Hoo boy.

Many things have changed since I started these projects. The main one is my eyesight. I used to be able to read a flea's tattoo. I had to have cataract surgery two years ago and now can't hardly even find the flea without reading glasses. The other is my ability to sit practically motionless for an hour. My neck says this is not a good idea at its age.

What hasn't changed is my love of detail. The pixelated nature of the craft, the colors, and just the subject himself all still thrill me.  By the time I got it all set up, I had about half an hour left. I might have gotten about 20 stitches done, in two colors. Mama mia. I know I still want to complete these, but I can only hope I live long enough to do it.

I certainly need to work on my ergonomics. I think switching to readers instead of bifocals will help the neck situation.

Podcast du Jour

• Caithness Craft Collective--a knitting/crafting podcast out of Scotland. She has a section called the Drams where she and her husband review whiskys. That man could read the dictionary and I would listen.

Welcome to An Hour of Creativity

"Not enough hours in the day."

How many times have you heard, or even said, those words? Work, children, relationships, home maintenance, and sometimes just plain survival take a toll on creativity. By the time I have accomplished all of those things, I'm ready to fall into bed so I can get up and do it again the next day.

I decided yesterday to take back my creativity. I have a wide variety of interests, each with its associated tools, books, and half-finished projects waiting for me to find "enough hours". My nebulous plan is to get up an hour earlier than I usually would, and spend that hour dedicated to one project. That's about as specific as I have gotten.  I didn't do any prep work last night; no to-do list, no laying out of materials. I wasn't even sure what I was going to do. This is not my usual modus operandi.

So, at 6 a.m. I got up, made my coffee, wandered into the laundry/office/craft/animal feeding station room and looked around. What to start with? The desk was piled high with binders of genealogical research, to the point I couldn't begin to work there. The sewing table was surprisingly clean. Bags of knitting projects hung expectantly from various hooks the previous homeowner probably intended for laundry.  Decades-old cross-stitch was tucked up so high I would need to fetch a ladder to reach them. Looms? Don't even see them here. Sigh.

My eyes rested on my spinning wheel. It was actually set up and had a half-full bobbin of some such I had been spinning. All I had to do was sit down and go. Bingo, we had a winner.

Today's Project: Spinning

I purchased this fiber at a local festival. It is a blend of 50% merino wool, 50% tussah silk. The color reads as a celery green but has bits of gray, white, and red in it. The silk gives it a wonderful shine and it is as soft as a pile of kittens.

I began spinning this last October at a re-enactment at Locust Grove in Louisville, Kentucky. Watching the shiny fibers slip through my fingers in the warm autumn sun was a treat.  I'm spinning this fairly fine with the goal of making a two-ply yarn for a cowl or scarf. This fiber definitely needs to make contact with skin.

Podcasts du Jour

I'm always listening to podcasts. I use the pay-for app Pocketcasts and the free app Stitcher. On today's playlist while crafting:

• A Playful Day--appropriately she was discussing blogging creativity today.
• CraftLit--I consider this my book club. We are currently reading/listening to Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility.

I make time to knit a little most days. Knitting is portable (at least most of my projects are) and I can take it to work with me. Because of this, it won't be the focus of my morning hour. However, I'd like to discuss what I'm working on, so each post may include information on my current project.

Knitting Corner

Today I'm working on a pair of stockings. I generally love knitting socks, but these are a bit of a slog. The pattern is Ladies Useful Stockings from Nancy Bush's book Knitting Vintage Socks. I highly recommend this book for its easy-to-follow patterns. The designs, though vintage, make great modern socks.

This particular pair, however, is for my re-enactment kit. I'm making them out of 100% silk that I harvested from a Goodwill sweater. Cost: $4. Recycled silk, as well as many other fibers, tends to not have any twist to it, so the yarn is very splitty. Working with size 00 needles, this has to be watched for quite closely. That's part of the slog; the other is the sheer length of these babies, being over-the-knee. I'm finally in the calf decreases and it's moving a little faster.

And that's it for today. My hyper-organized side it screaming at me to make a list! Set some goals!  At least set a schedule, for crying out loud.

My answer is no. For now, I'm going to let this just happen.