My Fall 2017 Making List

If you missed the concept and explanation of my Making List, you can check out my first post for more details. Essentially, it's a way for me to focus my energies on the projects that are most important to me and feel less scattered/overwhelmed about my making.

The following items from my original Making List have been completed or cast on:

1. Saturday Matinee Socks - finished
2. Rainbow Leyburn Socks - finished, but as a different pair of socks that I started!
3. Lopi Pullover - cast on
4. Fen Dress - finished
5. Watson Bra - finished
6. Wiksten Tank 2 - failed, but attempted before throwing in the towel!

I also practiced my spinning with some fiber from my stash.

Since my priorities are shifting with the seasonal change, along with my current break from design work, I've updated my Making List to reflect my focus for fall. 

WIPS

1. Lopi Pullover
2. Fibre Co Stripey Raglan - this is a carryover WIP from the first list
3. Charlemont Thermal - another carryover

Stripey Raglan vs Lopi Pullover

I am hibernating my Miss Babs Cardigan design WIP for now, since it's not grabbing my attention. But it's there when I want it!

CAST ON

1. Bonnie Banks Shawl for my mom, in Blue Moon BFL Sport
2. Speckled Space Socks, using one of my stash sock yarns
3. Impromptu - but only after finishing at least one garment from the WIP list!

SPIN

1. White British Wool - I destashed the yarn I was planning on using for the Brookdale Vest, which was originally in my last CO list. I'm hoping to spin this into a Brookdale-suitable yarn!
2. Spun Right Round Merino
3. Malabrigo Nube

SEW

1. 2nd Watson Bra
2. Flannel shirt for Mark
3. Serger projects, if I can get over my fears and teach myself how to use my serger!

In addition to my original Making List 'rules', I have added these two for fall:

1. Cast on for new items after finishing the previous object in that category. IE, finish a garment before casting on a new one; finish a portable accessory before casting on a new one. Same principle for starting spinning and sewing projects. 
2. Use stash for everything possible. In this case, I had to purchase a second skein of BFL Sport for my mom's shawl (to go with one from my stash), and I'll need to buy fabric for Mark's flannel shirt. But everything else I have stashed!

A Bevy of FOs

Here's a quick round-up of all my recent finished projects!

In August I made my first ever bra, a Watson Bra using a kit from Tailor Made Shop. I'm counting this as a Summer of Basics FO, and it's also an item ticked off my Making List--yahoo! I was intimidated by bra making but it turned out to be surprisingly easy, and my only gripe was struggling with my machine eating the small seam allowances whenever I started a new seam. I did a straight 32C with no alterations, except for the straps. They're supposed to be attached to the top of the cups with rings, but that would put the adjustable buckle on top of my traps and I prefer having the hardware on the back of my body. Next time I might experiment with taking a small amount of fabric out of the band, as it fits comfortably on the middle set of hooks but I prefer starting a new bra on the outermost set of hooks so I can wear it longer before it gets stretched out.

I finished my languishing pair of handdyed socks, also a Making List item! (I'm feeling very accomplished, dontcha know.) These are nothing crazy special, just colorful, vanilla shortie socks that will always be welcome in my wardrobe.

And last weekend, I jumped back into spinning after a long hiatus (almost a year!) To practice, I pulled this braid of Frabjous Fibers Merino Top in Scarecrow and I was pleased to discover my muscle memory hadn't faded. Yesterday I did another spin and will share photos once that yarn is dry. I have several spinning projects on my Making List, and I'd like to use up 90% of my fiber supply before I allow myself to purchase any new fiber.

I recently finished up all my design obligations, meaning I'm not contracted for any pieces and I'm not working on any self-published designs at the moment either. I'm really looking forward to taking this time to work on my Making List, sink my teeth into some longer-term sewing or spinning projects, and enjoy some selfish making time before I return to designing. Happy fall to me!

Two Unexpected FOs

In the midst of my crazy work schedule, I somehow managed to carve out the time to finish two entirely selfish projects!

First up is Laurus by Dianna Walla, a most excellent colorwork hat. I was tapped to do a Valley Yarns Colrain review video at work (well, I was asked what yarn I would want to review and I chose Colrain) and needed to have a Colrain project on the needles for it. I wanted something simple that I could bang out fast and that used 2 or more colors to show off a fun color pairing. I'm obsessed with this sienna, clay, orangey-red color. It's the same I used in my Kitsunetsuki Cardigan sample! A pop of blue gave it just the right contrast. I'm getting a New England collegiate preppy vibe from this, though don't ask me why! These colors will be right at home in my fall wardrobe though, and Colrain is always a pleasure to work with.

And I finally finished a stagnant spinning project! Two events dovetailed to inspire me to get back to my wheel. The first was that while shooting the Colrain video at my house, Lindsey was looking at my stash and well, made me feel a little bashful about all that I have, especially the often-forgotten fiber. The second was that last weekend was the annual Webs Tent Sale. Saturday is the one day everyone is required to work, and it's also the day that local farmers and artists sell their wares in the parking lot as part of the Fleece Market. Did I want to buy fiber at the Fleece Market? Yes. Have I spun the fleece or the batt I bought at last year's Fleece Market? .....No! Before I can start spinning that fleece, I needed to clear my bobbin and this was half-spun.

It's a Frabjous Fibers Three Feet of Sheep pack, 70% BFL/30% Tussah Silk in the limited edition colorway Autumn Leaves. Originally I split all the bumps in half planning to do a 2-ply gradient spin, but a) got lazy when I finished the first half and b) forgot what order I had spun them in. Oops. So I called it as-is, and I have about 732 yards of a fingering to laceweight yarn here (mostly thinner, but some parts are fingering weight thickness.) I've been enjoying knitting with singles yarn lately anyway, and I think I'll experiment with the second half the fiber. Maybe learn to Navajo ply or something! I'm really excited to see how this knits up, but I'm forcing myself to finish some existing projects first before I can cast on...

Spinzilla 2015

My spinning adventures continue! (AKA 2015: The Year of the Wheel.) While I didn't go crazy as some participants in Spinzilla did, I'm happy with my results. I spun more than I thought I was going to be able to and I wound up with two gorgeous, completely usable hanks of yarn. The goal of Spinzilla might be to spin as many yards as possible, but I wasn't about to spin ugly yarn and waste fiber just to get some extra points.

On the left is Frabjous Fibers: one ply is their BFL (4 oz), the other is BFL Sparkle (4 oz), both in the Purple People Eater colorway. I spun the plain BFL pre-Spinzilla, the BFL Sparkle during Spinzilla, and plied them together after Spinzilla ended. So I only got credit for the sparkle single, but it was a great tactic to finish up a yarn in-progress! I have about 300 yards of this and am hoping to design something with it.

On the right is Blue Sky Alpacas 'Handspin' fiber, which is 4 oz of 50% Alpaca/50% Wool. This was soooo smooth to spin and I really enjoyed it! I spun and plied this during Spinzilla week, it's about 250 yards.

Soon I'm going to have to start knitting from my slowly-growing handspun stash--my yarn storage capacities are kind of maxed as it is, and now I'm adding to it every time I spin something! I'm actually a little nervous to knit with my handspun, which sounds stupid to admit. I'm worried I'll mess up the yarn or that I'll have done something wrong in the process and it will look terrible once I try to knit with it. Did anyone else have those fears when they first started spinning?

Tour de Fleece Results

In the end, I spun ONE skein during last month's Tour de Fleece. Technically I only spun the singles during the tour and plied it afterwards. (So much for those goals, eh?) But...what a beauty it is!

• Company: Gynx Yarns
• Fiber: Falkland
• Colorway: Test Subject #1, a OOAK colorway
• Put Up: 4 oz, approx. 470 yards
• Spinning Method: Worsted, backwards short draw, 2-ply
• Wheel: Lendrum DT

This is my first real 'thin yarn' and my first 'useable' skein of handspun--as in, the yardage and size of the yarn is versatile and I see myself knitting this before any of my previous handspun. I'm so excited to dive into my fiber stash and pick out my next spinning project!

Tour de Fleece

As a relatively new spinner with an ahem, already growing fiber stash, I decided to participate in Tour de Fleece this month as a chance to get more comfortable with my spinning skills and maybe work through some of that stash. I joined Team Webs and set myself three goals for the event.

1. Spin from stash only, no new fiber purchases allowed.
2. Spin at least one woolen-spun yarn.
3. Spin at least one 3-ply yarn.

Unfortunately, my eyes were bigger than my stomach! There's only 4 days left and I have yet to finish my first skein. I had only spun thicker singles previously, so I didn't realize how much longer it takes to spin nice, even fine singles. I'm trying not to get discouraged seeing everyone else's massive accomplishments because I am having fun spinning my gorgeous Falkland fiber from Gynx.

So pretty! This is an experimental colorway and I wasn't sure if I would like how it turned out but my fears were for nothing--it's spinning up beautifully and I can't wait to work with it. The plan is to make a 2-ply and hopefully I'll have enough yardage for a September Circle or similar cowl.

I'm halfway into my second bobbin at this point, so it's a race to see if I can finish the second bobbin and ply it by Sunday!