Lost Motivation

After suffering from knitting A.D.D., as mentioned in the previous post, I am now suffering from L.K.M. or as I like to call it, “Lost Knitting Motivation”.

I am ashamed to say that I haven’t picked up any of my projects during the last two or three days other than to move them. I personally blame the manual labour I’ve been doing at work this week. Something about physical labour just makes you want to read rather than knit. This is problem when you don’t realize you’re almost to the end of one book, finish it, then realize you are still waiting for the next book in the series to come in for you on hold at the library. I might have had a mini panic attack.

[If any one wants to know what series this panic attack was over, it was The Song of Fire and Ice series, more commonly known as The Game of Thrones series. It’s highly addicting. Exhausting to read but soooooo good. I don’t suggest it, however, for people who have a hard time keeping track of lots of characters – i.e. Kyleman who has restricted himself to just watching the t.v. show adaptation]

 

This lost motivation has made me somewhat sad and I have somewhat resigned myself to the fact that I may not get some of the intended Christmas presents done. This lost motivation has given me extraordinary rationalizing skills to overcome this sadness.

1. Kyle is being spoiled this Christmas anyways, so if his scarf doesn’t make it off the needles until Valentine’s Day, well, at least it’s done before the big move.

2. At least I pumped out one of Pop’s slippers.

3. Blankets take a while anyways and they were for me in the first place. I can wait for gloriousness.

4. My Beatnik pullover would make a really good drive to Calgary project. Actually this is the project that has made me the most sad during this L.K.M phase. I had bought the yarn on a bit a whim with the project in mind [I’ve been wanting to knit this pattern for years!] and went exuberantly at the back piece, oohing and aahing over the pumpkin-y colour and my new found love for Cascade 220 [this is my second sweater in about 6 months using it]  and then I hit the armholes and BAM! “Ooooooh I should knit some mittens!!” I am pretty sure that is exactly what my brain said. Speaking of mittens….

 

 

5. My poor Totoro mitten who so far doesn’t have a mate. My poor mitten. I think it’s the dread of doing the long stranded passovers over the Totoro tummy that makes me hesitant. My goal is to have these done by my birthday.

Which is in 21 days.

Just in case any one wants to buy me a cupcake.

…I like cupcakes.

Knitting A.D.D

Since I’ve finished a healthy amount of knitted present (all except one. Hurrah!) I’ve been going through some knitting A.D.D. This means I’ve started Totoro mittens (and haven’t finished the second one), done two rows on my Beatnik sweater, started a Ten Stitch Blanket and debated working on my own version of the beekeeper’s quilt. (I think my brain is trying to subconsciously prepare myself for my impending winters in the frozen prairies by an intense craving to knit multitudes of blankets)

Not to mention all my crafty non-knitting dreams…..some of which I do want done before Christmas.

I feel like every knitter goes through this every once and a while; I know I have before. However the light at the end of the tunnel shines brightly with the thought of lots of potentially finished knitted, cozy things. Hurrah!

The Agony of Scarves

I love scarves. Adore them. I usually hate knitting them though.

The first project I was given by my grandmother was a scarf. She bought me three skeins of Patons Shetlad Chunky Tweed in a beautiful red, gave me the appropriate needles, taught me how to do a knit stitch and sent me on my way. Two weeks of insane knitting adrenalin later I had a ridiculously long scarf that I lovingly gave to the fiance-then-boyfriend. He dutifully wore it for one winter and for the last couple the scarf has had a home on a hook behind his bathroom door [why the bathroom, I have no idea].

Since then I have barely knit any scarves. One sock-weight lace scarf which was the bane of my existence. One length-wise linen stitch sock-weight scarf that I loved but is really too short for my liking. A couple inifinity scarves, which really I don’t mind knitting that much.

I think my problem with scarves is how long they are and how long I like them to be. I always prefer a longer scarf to wrap around the neck a couple times. The scarf in my collection I get the most compliments on is this lovely fair-isle fringed 2 foot scarf that I love in the winter-time; the only thing is I didn’t knit it. Neither did my great-aunt who gave it to me, she bought it. Oh the shame! I dream of one day completing a scarf of epic proportions in beautiful colours. If only my patience would let me.

This Christmas I decided to ask the fiance if he wanted anything knitted and his answer was a new scarf, preferably shorter. I kind of hummed and hawed about it, wondering if he really wanted a new scarf or if he was just giving me an answer. While shopping for yarn for other Christmas presents, I stopped at the Shetland Chunky Tweed. Truth be told, I’m a sucker for tweed. I grabbed two skeins for my grandfather’s slippers, hesitated, hummed and hawed some more, and grabbed two more for fiance’s scarf. What can I say? They were on sale.

Now I am just over a skein in on a fisherman’s rib scarf, which I believe is always a good option for scarves: squishy and warm. And I’m beginning to think scarves aren’t that bad to knit when they’re made in chunky yarn.

I’m still hoping for a final rush of adrenalin though.

Knitting and Weddings

Two of the biggest topics in my life right now are a) knitting and b) wedding plans. Surprisingly these only go so-so well together…well, for the dream wedding I have in mind at least. My heart is very sad that the elegant winter cocktail wedding we have in mind doesn’t seem to mesh well with yarn or the home-made. And so I have been compiling a list of ideas and pictures for fiber weddings that I personally love regardless of themes.

Note: Most of these pictures I had compiled on Pinterest because I am a typical girl/bride who likes obsessing over wedding ideas. All the pictures in this post are linked to the original sites they are from. Just FYI!

1.  Yarn Balls:

Utterly delicious and delightful, yarn balls offer a hint of whimsy and can be made in whatever colour scheme you like! They look awesome hung up, in a bowl, I’m sure you could even pile them up in some clear vases like that new trend of  upside down wine glasses with Christmas ornaments inside.

2. Engagement photo ops!

Because who doesn’t want to take engagement photos and knit at the same time?! This couple is super super adorable and have a few more awesomely quirky engagement photos on the linked website. I was already told by one of my non-knitting friends not to do this to “poor Kyle” . I only agreed because I have a deathly aversion to knitting extremely long scarves.

3. Covered candle-holders

In my mind I imagine these being used as candle-holders [the vases are a good idea too though]. Imagine how lovely candlelight would look through lacework or big loopy crocheted patterns! And if you’re feeling lazy, these are actually for sale on Etsy.

4. Not knitting but still a super awesome crafty idea for your boo

Something I love almost as much as knitting is embroidery. I mostly ever do embroidered typography – that’s actually how I asked all my bridesmaids: handkerchiefs with their names on one corner and their title on the opposite corner. They all loved it.

But back to the idea. If your groom is willing [which I know mine might take some convincing, he’s a bit of a fashionista when it comes to suits and that last time I asked him if I could follow through on this idea, he seemed to all of a sudden get very squeamish] this is a lovely and quick idea to make your man feel a little more special on your [and his!] big day.

5. Bridesmaids in Cardigans

I love, love, LOVE this idea. The last wedding I was a bridesmaid in was an October wedding and for anyone who lives in Ontario, you know that October can be your best friend for sunshine or a very chilly prelude to winter. Unfortunately for us, it was the second option this past October decided to take and we poor bridesmaids ended up freezing our fabulously dressed butts off. Cardigans would have been handy and I vowed then and there, so long as they worked with my bridesmaid dresses, my maids could don cardigans. I even decided to go a little further and gave myself permission to wear a cardigan if my dress looked good with one. Which makes sense as our wedding will be late December. Brr! For a brief while my mum attempted to talk my into knitting each one of my maids one, or a shawl, which is a very lovely, heartfelt idea if you have, let’s say, one or two. When you have six though, I had to decline. My maids will have to suffer with store-bought.

Either way, what a lovely way to keep warm while keeping classy!

6. Knitted bouquets

And last but definitely not least, knitted bouquets. I love the fuzziness of the one in the picture. These have the same emotion behind them as the yarn balls – a little bit of whimsy, rainbow diversity and a warmth that can only come from yarn.

Whether you’re having a winter, spring, fall, and perhaps even summer wedding, nothing says romance or sentimentality like the home-made. And even if you’re not crafty enough, don’t have time to bang out six cardigans for your bridesmaids, or can’t wrap your head around the simplicity of yarn I have an alternative for you that encompasses all the above plus some: lace. Lace fixes everything….except lace. Lace seems to be impermeable to being fixed.

And thus, I end with some pictures of awesome wedding lace:

A Mitten a Day

Somehow I managed to crank out my left Norwegian Totoro Mitten today between working a craft and bake sale (how strangely appropiate!) and watching My Neighbour Totoro. Ok, so it’s not that hard to knit during a movie, especially one I’ve seen enough times that I can see the scene in my head without actually looking. Does anybody else have movies like that? Because I have a few.

Anyways, so far I am in love with this mitten and so is Turbo, who is featured beside said mitten. Although she loves all my knitting; especially the needles! Maybe tomorrow, or quite possibly when I am done the right handed one, I will post a picture of the palm side. As of right now I’m trying to figure out WordPress mobile and it’s only somewhat working, me thinks.

Mad About Colour: Mustard.

When I was in high school, I wore a lot of black. One of my friends and I called ourselves ‘sophisticated goths’ and hit the more beatnik-y road. When university hit, black got pushed to the back as I explored through the multitude of deep, rich shades that oil paint implies. Black was saved for drawing classes that required thick black India ink lines and extended practices where I dove into typography and the look of black embroidery against snowy white handkerchiefs.

Now colours make me drool. There is almost nothing I love more than wandering through a yarn store, gazing longingly at the skeins and hanks of brightly coloured yarns, imagining which combinations would give me tingles next. And while I can never truly call one colour my absolute faaaaaaavourite there are a few that continually keep a place in my heart…..and then a few that just push all colours aside for a while yelling, “LOOK OUT WORLD! HERE I AM!”

Right now one of my continually favourite colours is mustard. Which is funny because I don’t like mustard the condiment.

yuuummmm

And what do I love more than mustard colours on their own? Mustard and white.

double yummmmm

This is the colour combination I’ve decided to make a pair of Norwegian Totoro Mittens by Brella in Berroco Vintage, one of my favourite yarns. It’s lovely and soft and one of the only yarn brands with a higher quantity of acrylic in it that I love putting next to my skin [Just as a side-note: while I might have just branded myself as a yarn snob, I’d like to say that I do sometimes prefer acrylic yarns for afghans, especially crocheted ones. For some reason they just seem to work well and are easy to wash and not worry about gift-receivers felting them by accident. More on this later].

For those of you who haven’t seen My Neighbour Totoro, watch it ASAP. It’s super cute and a good feel-good-while-drinking-some-tea-and-knitting movie. In fact watch any of the Studio Ghibli/Hayo Miyazaki movie – it’s good for your soul.

Now please enjoy some complimentary pictures of Totoros:

an amazing print from the society6 website

another amazing find on society6 that I desperately want in any form.

 

and hubs-to-be holding my version of a crocheted Totoro

A New Hope

Yes, I stole the title from Star Wars. Can you blame me? [Who doesn’t love Star Wars? Don’t answer that.]

This is my new blog to try and start up my new fretwork business, after much coercion from the future hubby and step-dad to move my love of fibre and craft past my own leisure time and into something that could potentially be my dream. Is it? We’ll see. 

And what is fretwork, you might be asking? Fretwork is a term I learned in my contemporary art class to describe what is considered traditional women’s work and can be calming to the nerves: knitting, sewing, crocheting, quilting, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Anybody who does any of those talents though will be quick to assure you that while overall they are thoroughly relaxing, at moments it can become a literal meaning of “fret” and “work”.

Apparently also fretwork is a type of woodworking. But I digress.

While I do hope this blog could be a lovely start to a lovely business, I also hope to keep it as a visual diary of things created, patterns devised, problems averted and possibly my attempts at quilting…if I ever dare try to quilt. 

love,

Victoria