Picking Up the Needles

Knitting content has been few and far between over the last few years.  I still do pick up the needles every now and again, but not like I used to when I'd spend hours sitting in a comfy spot working on my latest project.  Now it's a bit hit or miss although  I am enjoying knitting much more than I did the previous couple of years when I didn't pick it up at all and had no desire to do so because every time I did it felt forced and like a chore.  Who needs a hobby that feels like a chore?  Certainly not me!

I'm a lot slower at knitting now then I used to be - I'm so out of practice, it doesn't seem as intuitive as it once did - but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.  Unless, let's say, you decide on a whim that you should knit something for your kids for Christmas and then you find out that whereas you used to be able to knit a hat in an evening or two it now takes you the better part of a week (or longer) and you run out of time to knit one kid something and you take until January to finally get it delivered to said kid and feel like a terrible mom...

Sorry.  I digress.

I won't show you all those projects.  I didn't take great photos of them.  Although I did a photo of the gnome ornaments I knit for each of them. 

Gnomes are magical and I can still knit those pretty quickly!  I even knit the "ADVENTure Gnome KAL" from Imagined Landscapes during December (Huh.  Maybe the gnomes were what was slowing my progress on hats and mitts... )

What I really want to show off is two projects I did for myself!  I'm so completely in love with both of them!

The first is the Midwestern Afternoon Shawl by Paper Daisy Creations.  I started knitting this way back in the summer - working on it through the boys' swimming lessons, then draping it across my lap (hello warmth! LOL) and working on it in the stands while they were on the ice during two weeks of hockey camp in August, then sporadically throughout the fall until it was done.  

It's knit from Indigo Dragonfly Fibres Filament o' Squid that I won in a knitalong years ago and a Little House in the Big Woods themed mini skein set, also from several years ago from Bluebird Yarns on Etsy.  I wear this shawl at least once a week!  It's my current favourite of all my shawls.  It's the perfect size and weight!

My other new selfish (uggh.  No.  Not selfish! *more on that in a moment*) selfcare knit is a brand new Myra hat from Knox Mountain Knitting Co. I knit their Laurel shawl for my mama for Christmas this year (unfortunately no great photos of that one either.) as well as other patterns in the past and have really enjoyed their pattern writing.   Part of what sold me on Myra is how darn good it looks with a big fluffy fur pompom.  

I fell down a rabbit hole of faux fur pompoms earlier in the fall, when I discovered Canadian Peony Lane Poms.  As a result I now have a healthy stash of poms at my disposal.  (Clearly I have no restraint.)  But, let's circle back to my Myra hat.  I do have a point to this meandering, I promise.  A few years ago I bought a skein of Malabrigo Rios in the Arco Iris colourway and tucked it away in my stash.  When I discovered Peony Lane Poms, I chose a pom in the peacock colourway and the rosehip colourway specifically to go with  my Arco Iris Rios.  Of course then I needed to find a pattern that would go with my pom purchases and as I said Myra looked amazing with a furry pom in the pattern photos, so that was that.

I couldn't actually decide which pom I liked best with Myra at first, but then decided that since the Peony Lane Poms attach with a snap, I could sew the snap on and interchange my pompoms whenever I wanted.  Some days felt like a peacock pom kind of day and others felt like a rosehip pom day.  Lately though I'm pretty much solidly in favour of the peacock pom.   Who knew pompoms could be a whole "thing" LOL!

I've worn my Myra hat so much since finishing it.  It's warm and just the right length that I can wear it slouchy on warmer days and on the freezing cold days I folded the brim up so that it gave me a little more warmth on my ears. (something that was definitely necessary walking in -40C windchills!!) 

Currently I'm working away slowly on my Garden Variety - it's another pattern from Paper Daisy Creations that I initially started during the KAL that Lisa was hosting for it back in the fall.  I fell behind pretty quickly and then put it aside to do my Christmas knitting and Adventure Gnome KAL.  Since picking it up again after finishing my Myra hat, I've finished Clue Two and have started Clue Three and I'm starting to feel excited about finishing it up!  It may take me a bit though given last night it took me an entire two hours to do one single row.  I kept knitting it, tinking it back, knitting it, tinking it back over and over.  I couldn't get past the center stitch because something kept not working out.  Eventually it dawned on me that I might not be knitting this particular row wrong, perhaps my stitch count was off.  Spoiler alert:  my stitch count was off.  Sigh...

It may be a little while before I'm showing off this particular project!  Along with knitting my Garden Variety, I've also been busily sewing - a few projects just for fun, a few for Minerva and most recently a test for Itch to Stitch*  I've also been bit by the "embroidery bug" and have been thoroughly enjoying that as a new crafty venture!  Needless to say, there's not enough hours in my day!

So all that being said, I'm off to go sit in front of the TV and watch a bit of Netflix and try valiantly to knit at least one more row on my Garden Variety!  I hope you are all staying healthy and happy and finding ways to get through these crazy days we're living in.

*PS: I just remembered I was going to revisit the selfish/selfcare thing.  I used to have no problem with the term "selfish" when talking about knitting and/or sewing for myself.  In fact, I took part in several knitalongs and sewalongs over the years called selfish{whatever} without batting an eyelash.  However, recently I started thinking about the term selfish and the connotations it evokes and I realized I didn't really like it being attached to my crafting. The idea that what I was doing as a means of a meditative and often healing process and other times just for the shear sake of the joy of doing it could be perceived as being selfish (and all that entails) could easily become a slippery slope leading to feelings akin to guilt that I was doing only for myself and not for others and therefore should be considered wrong or at the very least frowned upon.  By using the term selfish it devalued what was and continues to be, in reality, a very valuable process in taking care of myself.  In a time that I am trying to be mindful of being kinder and gentler to myself, clearly this was not going to work anymore. By using the term selfcare instead of selfish I'm choosing to reframe, if no where else that my own mind, what this process of crafting means for me.

Gnomes are Magical

I have a new obsession.  Well, not exactly new.  I've always been overly fond of the common garden gnome. The new part of it is the fact that I have started knitting gnomes.  I'm calling them my Indoor Garden Gnomes and I've got a healthy little collection started.

It all began back in February when, after months, maybe years, of seeing my friend knitting gnomes, I decided to take the plunge and do the Imagined Landscapes Mystery Gnome Knitalong.  I told you about that one in a previous post; how it actually brought a real joy of knitting back into my life.  I was actually excited to pick up the needles and it came naturally instead of feeling forced.

So Gnome Is Where You Hang Your Hat was my first gnome.  I love him and his sweet little pullover.  But once I finished I found that I'd enjoyed knitting him so much that I was a little sad it was over.   What's the best way to combat that?  Why, knit another gnome of course!  You just can't ignore the call of the gnome after all...

So I set to work on Here We Gnome Again, which I think is the cutest little cable-y gnome ever!  He knit up pretty quickly even with the cabled pattern.  He's a lovely little fella with a fancy beard and a bobble nose and I adore him!  Once finished he and his companion sat happily guarding my house plants.

But then every thing hit the fan in the world, and I was having trouble focusing on anything.  Impending school closures had been announced the Friday before, so work was absolute chaos on the Monday, then on Tuesday, both boys woke up in the morning sick with sore throats and colds. We had just had T at his ortho specialist appointment at the big hospital in the city two weeks earlier, so although I knew rationally that it was most likely just a run of the mill cold, I was incredibly stressed out.  It wasn't my finest moment of calm, rational thought, I can tell you that much!  I was in the end reassured by the fact that T spend countless times on the treadmill downstairs running for half an hour at a time as fast as he could because he set himself a goal that he "would become the fastest kid around" and within a day D's mild cold was gone and within three days there was no trace of sniffles, sore throat or cough from T either.

But on that Tuesday evening when I was slowly coming unglued over worry about the boys, stress about work that I wasn't at because I was home with the boys, but was trying to do as much from home as possible still and feeling guilty that I'd basically abandoned ship when things were so insane at the school, along with general anxiety about the pandemic, my husband had told me, "Go knit a gnome.  It'll help.  Gnomes fix all."

So I took his advice and cast on another.  While a gnome can't really fix all, they do offer a sense of order and calm to the mind and soul with their simple little patterns that can be done easily in small chunks of time.  This time I cast on Oh Gnome, You Didn't.

He's a fun little gnome that normally has a jester hat and a scarf, but the boys and I decided he need a beard instead of scarf.  And when I found the fiery yellow and orange ball of fun fur deep in my stash from sometime around 2003, I knew it was the perfect beard yarn for my St. Patrick's Day green gnome.  He might actually be my favourite... (Shhh.  Don't tell the others!) But would you look at how he has his little hands in his little pockets?  Love it.

My gnome collection was a good size, but I felt I still needed to knit another. Gnomes are also a bit like potato chips.  Once you start, you just don't want to stop,  once a Gnomemaker, always a Gnomemaker perhaps. So I cast on a fourth gnome in the span of a little over a month.  This time the chosen gnome was Gnome de Plume.

Funny thing with this one, is that I just assumed she would be the same size roughly as the others.  So as I was knitting her hat, I kept thinking it was one epically large hat for a little gnome.  Finally, I checked the finished measurements and realized she was not a little gnome at all.  She was so much bigger than I was anticipating.  So much so, that when I was in between stuffing and finishing her I had to find my tallest mug to rest her in because she was just a little too unwieldy to just set down in my lap.

Even though she's not a little gnome like the rest of the collection, she is perfect in my opinion with her leafy hat and leaf shaped beard. (Do all lady gnomes have beards?  I wasn't sure but her's is a delicate leaf shaped one, so I thought that it would be as feminine a beard as one could ask for...) I have decided she is to be crowned queen of the gnomes and she has joined her much smaller loyal subjects in guarding the plants!

I'm taking a break from gnomes for the moment and working on a different project right now, but the important thing is, thanks to these magical little gnomes, I have found the love of knitting again, and it has come at a time I need it the most.

If you're looking for something that doesn't take much yarn, doesn't take a whole lot of focus and doesn't take much time I suggest taking a look at Imagined Landscapes collection of patterns.  There's several gnomes to choose from (although there's not just gnomes!  There's plenty of other beautiful items to knit if gnomes aren't your thing of course).  The patterns I've done have all been very well written, and lovely to knit! If you're not up to knitting right now, you could always check out their podcast!  I've really enjoyed listening to the two sisters chatting. (plus they are fellow Manitobans and I'm always excited to support someone local to me!)

Until next time, I wish you all good health and a hope that you are still finding joy and happiness in the small, simple pleasures in life.

Victory Will be Mine!

I told you a few posts back that I wanted to come back soon to show off my latest knitting FO.  It's been ages since I've had a proper yarny finished object, which always seems just a bit funny given that way back in 2006 my blog started out as a place specifically to share my knitting projects.

Anyway, I'm really quite excited to be sharing this with you as if feels like the ultimate in knitting projects.  Not only did I knit the project, but I spun the yarn too, which is where the ultimate part comes in.  The only thing I suppose that would make it even better is if it was from sheep I raised and sheared myself.  However, realistically speaking, I have no hot clue how to properly raise sheep nor am I anywhere physically strong enough to learn how to shear a sheep.  That is serious business my friends.  I'm always amazed at how a sheep shearer can make it look so simple!

So I do the next best thing! I spin yarn from fibre that other people have sheared from flocks raised by those that know what they're doing.  The closest I'll get to being shepherdess in my lifetime is picking T's little stuffed "Lamby" up off the floor and putting it back on his bed.

Both of the fibres I used were purchased at the Manitoba Fibre Festival in 2018 from two of my favourite Manitoba fibre artists.  The grey-ish brown is Shetland from my "down the road" neighbour, Barb of Prairie's Edge Wool Farm.  If you are local to Manitoba you need to get your hands on fibre from Barb.  It's beautiful, so lovely to spin especially for a beginner like me.  I always make sure to get a good sized batt from her booth at the Fibre Festival.

The pink/yellow/brown is from another favourite Manjusha Fibre Arts.  I always make Tammy's booth a stop on my tour of the market at the Fibre Festival too.  (I should mention that the boys always love to pick up a souvenir yarn from the festival to give to Grandma.  I give them free reign to choose whatever they would like and they always, always browse for a bit and then make a bee line straight back for the Manjusha booth.  So it's kid approved as well! LOL)

I spun this yarn before Christmas of 2018 and I made a hat for my husband out of the Shetland, but didn't know what I wanted to do with the rest of it and I had no idea what to make with the other yarn - I always worry I'll "waste" my handspun by doing a poor pattern selection.  While I had a good amount of the Shetland I didn't have that much of the pink, so that was a concern too.  I'd been eyeing up the Victory Wrap on Ravelry for quite some time and kept thinking it might be the perfect project for my precious handspun, but since my desire to knit had all but vanished and I wasn't even sure if it was THE pattern I put it off for an entire year.  Finally I decided enough was enough and just before New Years I decided it was high time to cast on something fun that might keep my needles going.

It took me almost a month. I still obviously didn't have my knitting mojo back and it was still a bit of a struggle to pick up my needles, sometimes feeling forced instead of intuitive even though I was wanting to knit it and was loving the wool.  In the end I used up almost every bit of the pink yarn.  I had mere inches left to go when I cast off the last stitch.  (Yarn Chicken score one for Sarah!)

It took me just about another month to get around to blocking it, which was silly.  I finally dug out my blocking pins a few weekends ago and set my wrap in the sink for a bath.

Exactly one month after I cast off my wrap, it had been blocked and was finally dry. I took the pins out and proudly put it on and wore it to work that morning.  It's snuggly and soft, and squishy and cozy and best of all what started out as fluffy bits of fibre became a wrap all by my own hands.

Since I still had a nice sized ball of the Shetland yarn left I decided last week that I should knit a pair of fingerless gloves for spring.  I queued up the Lambing Mitts pattern from Tolt Yarn and Wool in Ravelry last year I think.  Maybe longer ago than that even? I've no idea. Anyway, I thought they'd be a nice quick knit and handy to have as we head into spring.  They definitely are quick.  I knit the first mitt in about three hours, which felt like a victory in it's own right!  I haven't had the chance to finish the other glove yet though because I've been busy with another project.

I've just finished my other little project on the needles now and I think I can safely say my will to knit is BACK!!!!  I just finished up the Mystery Gnome KAL from Imagined Landscapes and it's become really exciting to be picking up my needles and not wanting to put them down!  Here's the little guy who's made me really want to knit again.  Isn't he cute?  He even has his very own little sweater! (also note he is standing in front of my apparently confused about the seasons Christmas Cactus that, after having only bloomed once about two and a half years ago when I bought it, is now in full glorious bloom right now in March! A gnome, the return of my knitting mojo and flowers. So many things to be happy about all in one photo!)

Gnomes are apparently magical for mojo.  You might see some more consistent knitting content here on Prairie Girl Knits yet!