By Brienne

Knitting the Bellows Sweater

For most of January, I worked on this Bellows Sweater by Michele Wang of Brooklyn Tweed.

It hasn't turned out to be something that I reach for every day, mostly because I sort of went at the sizing blindly. I knew that I wanted something cozy and oversized but I didn't think very hard about where the oversizing should go... 

It turns out, that I like ease around the bust and middle. But I have narrow shoulders and I don't like it when the shoulders slide down my arms. Had I measured a bit more carefully, or compared the pattern schematic to something I already owned, I would have gotten a more wearable result. 

However, now that it's spring and I don't need to wear a down coat all of the time, I find myself reaching for it more and more on the way out the door. The stitch pattern is just beautiful and the yarn too. For more fetching versions of the sweater, check out Grainline Studio's and Fringe's. 

I don't feel bitter about it. I needed a compelling knit in January and I loved making this sweater. It's definitely not the first sweater that I've cast off happily but without plans to wear it...

I've been mulling over some thoughts on knitting and autonomy. It's so exciting to hear all kinds of women makers speaking confidently about what they're making. This kind of confidence is foreign to me. I've been hand making my wardrobe for, well, decades now on and off but it's always seemed a bit unwieldy to me. As though I didn't really have control over the end result. Like everything that I attempt to make is a great leap of faith primarily. But it's not! There are truth's, no? For example, if I study a garment that I love to wear - specifically, if I measure it and sketch the shape, I'll learn some truths about it. I can use those truths to help me to choose patterns that will suit my own personal style. And I can change patterns to better suit what I like. I know that all of this sounds obvious but it's been a revelation to me.

 

What are your tricks for making wearable garments?

Never Not Making

I have only had eyes for knitting the past eight weeks or so. Maybe it's been the wind whipping around outside or my fluid-filled lungs or the coziness of my first, finished patchwork quilt. But in my free time, I've wanted only to plant myself, firmly and for as long as possible with an audiobook in my ears and a pile of wool in my lap. 

When time DOESN'T allow for me to pretend that I'm on a lavish winter vacation, I sneak in stitching between reading aloud to the littlest and filling orders for the shop. 

 Awhile back I test knitted this lovely shawl for Andrea Mowry. She's on Ravelry as Dreareneeknits and this design is available for free through Monday night! My Ravelry notes are here. 

And this morning, with the kids away overnight, I woke up early with an itch to sew. I made the outsides for a tote or two and stitched up this notions pouch using some fresh Cotton and Steel. The pattern is Noodlehead's and goes with a larger tote designed with knitters in mind. 

My shop's shelves are empty after a little sale last week and something about clearing the shelves has me excited to get to work on the spring collection. More about that soon, I hope:) 

What's striking your fancy these days?

Joining Frontier Dreams readers over here today. 

 

          

Vital Knits

I've been knitting feverishly. And I mean that both literally and figuratively. I'd like not to dwell on it too much but sheesh we have been sick this winter. The fevers of mine and, more often, those of my young wards has meant lots of time to knit. 

In January, when we got home from the West Coast, I hopped on the Sunday Sweater Knitalong and stitched up a bulky, cabled number by Brooklyn Tweed in just three weeks. I finished a test knit in fingering weight, a sweater for my daughter and  a running beanie . It was an epic knitting month! 

Just before we left for our trip, I completed the Bough Hat, also by Brooklyn Tweed, which we've talked about. But I also finished this Magnolia Cardigan in December during a battle with the stomach flu. 

I heard the phrase "vital knit" from the intrepid knitter Karen Templer. And I could think of no better phrase to describe this particular sweater. I hesitated with it for months - the knitting is repetitious, the color plain. The fabric is a triumph, though, made from fingering weight wool:  Quince and Co's Finch . It has a beautiful bit of drape with just enough wooly life in it to give it a bit of rusticity (I'm pretty sure that I made that word up but you catch my drift, right?). This color and style suit my sense of fashion exactly. It is a wardrobe staple. 

I was ill and eager to finish in the end, so the button band is improvised and I didn't even add buttonholes. I just push the buttons through the fabric when it suits me. 

And yes, I've even slept in it. Which I'm hearing is odd - don't you sleep in your hand knits? This is probably as a result of my young adult life having been spent living in a tent with my boyfriend (now legal mate). Sleeping in wooly things was a neccessary antidote to the cold nights. 

I have more than a few knits in my closet that rest, unworn. And I'd like to explore this question of vital knits further. I love a stylish, textured knit but maybe I should save the wild techniques for accessories?

What are your vital knits? Do tell! And if you dig, share them on Instagram using Karen Templer's hashtag #vitalknits. 

Joining Frontier Dreams Readers today. 

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I'll be joining the Small Things Readers on Wednesday where knitters share both their works in progress and their books in progress. 

In terms of the written word, I just finished listening to Gone Girl (which I won't link to because it was the worst). I don't often read (or listen) to fiction so I was a little lost and chose this book because it was on the NY Times bestseller list. What a waste of time. It was violent, misogynistic and just plain awful. It made me feel sad to be a woman, sad to be raising a daughter in America. I'll leave it at that. 

On a lighter note, though, I cannot get enough of the Woolful Podcast. If you are a knitter and you're not listening, get on it! The interviews are distinct in their length and content. The guests are diverse and surprising. I always learn something new when I listen.

What are you reading or listening to?

Why I Sew (and Knit)

This post was originally featured on the Kids Clothes Week Blog last February:)

I spend as much time as I can making things. And even when I can’t, it consumes my thoughts. And kids things in particular. As I considered this post over the last few weeks, I couldn’t come up with exactly what it was that compels me to make. Compulsion is the nature of it, to be sure – but why?

There was a time when my marriage was new and my babies were both so little and unfamiliar that hand-making helped me to make sense of domesticity – a concept that I had always flailed hard against.

But that’s not why for me anymore.

As I worked on this leather-feathered vest (using this pattern), I finished listening to a novel, The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. About midway through, the book’s writer answered this question for me and much more eloquently than I could have.

“In the evenings, she lit a lamp and unfolded the fabric on the table. Following the pattern offered a kind of comfort, a quiet balance [to her day's work which was] coarse, exhausting [and unpredictable]. Sewing was different. She knew if she was patient and meticulous, if she carefully followed the lines, took each step as it came, and obeyed the rules, that in the end when it was turned right-side out, it would be just how it was meant to be (205-6).”

That passage about a woman sewing a coat for a child is one that I’ll be thinking about for a long time. Even though she’s musing there about stitching, the passage also contributes to the book’s persistent theme of impermanence. The stitching, it helps us to cope with the fleeting nature of things. Of kids and of youth and of thwarted meant-to-bes. And, I think, that’s why I do it.

 Joining Frontier Dreams readers today over here:) And the Small Things knitters over here:)

 

Embarking on a Year of Making

Committing to one whole year of making sounds like a lot. And in some ways, it is. But aren't we already doing it? I first heard about this campaign on Instagram from Meighan O'Toole. I realized that I'm already making every day, year-round. And comprehensive reflection doesn't come easily to me. I've been steadily working on my sewing and knitting. I loved the idea of having a concrete place to document it. On Instagram, I can share my progress with other makers, plus I'll have a visual record of everything that I made this year. It's going to be bananas. 

The pictures here are from the past week. They include some of what I made for my first stretch of the year of making. As you can see from the photos, some days may include finished objects but other days will include beginnings and techniques in progress.

Some of my year of making goals are lofty (like knitting a couple a sweaters and making a couple a quilts) and others are more pedestrian. For example, my daughter is way into having french braids in her hair but I never learned how to french braid - so I'm trying to learn now. That'll be part of my making. Below is the freshly made back for my Bellows-sweater-in-progress. If you'd like to see one of these beauties completed, do check out Jen from Grainline Studio's (AMAZING!!!).

 There are a lot of things that I'd like to try. I badly want to practice printing on fabric. I want to learn to do fair isle knitting. I want to make new designs for my Etsy shop. I want to make patterns for my clothing from ready-to-wear items. I want to make videos. And the list goes on... I hope that I can organize the list and make it more workable but I'm not holding my breath. As I've mentioned, I'm not much of a list-maker. Long terms planning doesn't come easily to me. But focusing my attention once daily on what I'm making, so far feels very good. I expect setbacks. I hope that there will be long summer days where my sewing machine, camera and Iphone are well out of reach. In the meantime, though, I'll be making. Some of it will be for fun, some of it will be for sale and it'll all be over here. 

Won't you join me? There's no hard and fast beginning and end date - that's up to. Make you something, throw the hastag #yearofmaking on it and join the party. It's never to late to begin:)

I'll be joining Frontier Dreams this week over here:)

Joining the Straight Grain Sewers for Sew and Show here:) 

Joining the Small Things readers here:)

Knitting the Bough Hat

We've just returned from our tour along the Northern California coast. We spent the holidays there. It was my favorite trip to date. 

I expected it to rain and to be chilly especially inside the redwood forest where these photos were taken. I casted this hat on sometime in early December upon realizing that in a house that is positively full of knitted caps there are very few that are sized for myself or my husband. 

When my daughter saw the hat she squealed and said that the pattern looked like branches! I feel the same way about the delicate little boughs on this hat. It has super slouch and would have had more, I casted off a bit early thinking that I wouldn't like it. But I do like it. I really, really do.

The super slouch looks totally adorbs on my daughter and keeps all of her wispy tresses tucked neatly away. 

I am going to try, though, to hang on to this one since she ultimately got the last one. 

I'm eager to share all of the beautiful photos and some of the more fiber-related experiences that I had on our trip. Plus I want to tell you about my making plans for the new year, about the handmade gifts that I gave and I had hoped to do a little reflecting too in this space about the projects that I made last year. I've been sharing a bit about all of the above over on my new, true love - Instagram. Meet me there if you dig. 

For now, though, you can find my Ravelry notes about this pretty hat here. I'll be joining the Frontier Dreams makers over here and Ginny's Knitters here.

I've missed hearing from you in this space while I've been gone. If you're out there, please do speak up! How is the new year treating you?

In the Making

This is the one remaining photo that I have of one of the first things that I ever made. 

These were a pair of jeans, distressed and worn, that my aunt and I repaired together the summer that I turned 20. They were snug in just the right way and stylishly cut.I just had to have them for the wedding weekend of my best high school friend.

We patched them by tracing the fronts of the pants and using those tracings to cut out panels from a batik print that I got locally. We (and I mean mostly she - thank you Aunt Steph)  stitched them in place with brown, button craft thread. We made teeny x's all the way up and down the long legs of the pants both repairing them and improving them. I felt beautiful when I wore them. 

I'm not certain about how these trousers relate to what I am making now except to say that I've always wanted to make things. I've wanted to make practical things but not just practical things, beautiful, functional things that would communicate something distinct and would elevate the spirit of the wearer.

More recently, I've been tinkering with these handbags in wool and leather. 

They were in the shop. 

And now they are on shoulders. 

I purchased a very limited quantity of this fabric - not knowing whether or not the bags would have appeal. And now, I wish that I had more of this textile plus more time to sew them!

I'm looking forward to making more after the holidays. If you'd like to know when new bags are available, you can follow me on Etsy  (where you can see both what's currently for sale and what I've sold in the past) and on Facebook. I'll be posting sneak peeks of new designs on Instagram. And always feel free to contact me by email (brienne.moody@gmail.com)  if you have questions. 

I'm feeling humbled and grateful for the enthusiastic response that I've gotten to these things that I'm making. Thank you. 

Joining the talented makers meeting up at Frontier Dreams today over here:)

 

Quick and Easy Knitting

I've had this sweet little set finished and waiting in the wings for some time. I finished the cowl last summer on our camping trip. And I finished most of the sweater too. For some reason, though, it's been languishing in my basket almost finished for months. 

 It's all that it's cracked up to be: warm, squishy and super quick to knit. If you're still thinking about knitting a wee person something for the holidays - this one could be accomplished with relative ease. The pattern comes with a cowl and a beret too. It'd be fun to add to over time. It's difficult for me not to just order up the yarn in every palette:) 

The dress she's wearing is her favorite to date. It stings to see how short it's gotten. I made it for her last year to wear to the Nutcracker, which she'll be attending again this year. I used my Mother's Day gift certificate to finally order my first Liberty fabric and if it arrives today I think that I just might have to make her another dress to commemorate the occasion. 

I'll be joining the knitters and readers today over at the Small Things blog and at Frontier Dreams to share this project. Part of the charge for the knitalong is to share what we've been reading. I have been sewing and knitting for sale quite a bit these days, taking a break only to work on these sweet little softies (squeal!). It makes reading the printed word difficult. I have been listening though, a lot. Most recently I finished The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert. And I'm loving the Woolful Podcast.

What are you working on and reading? Please do tell. I'm in the mood for some fresh books. 

Sewing with Leather

I've had my head down. I've had my ear to the radio. And my foot firmly planted on the presser's (foot). 

It turns out, that while I've been stitching madly, I've become confident about sewing with leather.

It's been a little more than a year now since I sewed my first of these totes and the one I made back then remains my constant daily companion. It has crossed the airways with me to Georgia and New Hampshire. It has cradled about a dozen knitting projects from conception to completion (or not) . It has languished in the dirt next to the ball field.

While I've had my head down, cutting and stitching and sewing, I've been listening to the While She Naps Podcasts. Abby Glassenberg, the podcast's host interviews creative entrepreneurs about all kinds of things including how they operate their creative businesses, what their favorite tricks and tools are and about how they became successful. I am totally hooked. 

It was thrilling to hear Ellen Luckett Baker on the program recently just as I was sewing with this pretty fabric that she designed! 

I'm excited to share some of the tricks and tips that I've learned about sewing with leather. So if you are interested, please stay tuned. For now I am blissfully busy filling up the shop where this tote is queued right now. 

While you're browsing the interwebs, do take a minute to look up Abby at While She Naps and Ellen at the Long Thread if you haven't already. Inspiration abounds! 

Joining Frontier Dreams today over here:)

 

These are a Few of my Favorite Things

I am in a sort of craft limbo while my sweater blocks, while I wait by the PO box for the hardware to finish bags and while I'm heading up a volunteer effort for an event at the school this week. In the meantime, I am shopping. And I thought I'd share a few of my favorite Etsy items. 

I love Two String Jane's tops. The wait time to get one of these babies is 4-6 weeks but they are damn cute!

These cashmere undies by Sartoria look so luxurious! They would make a fancy gift for someone in a northern climate.

Why I have yet to buy myself this Ships Weekender Tote from Jenna Rose Handmade, I have no idea. I have loved them and lusted after them for going on five years now. I've purchased her pouches as gifts for others and they are very well made. Plus the price is right. 

Finally, these Sheepskin Slippers by Happy Flying on Etsy. These look really cozy and cute too! I could do with three or four pairs of slippers...

What's caught your eye this season?