Fair-Isle Vest, Knitting Books & Inspiration

In this episode, I talk about my recent making, including how a knitting book helped me to find my making mojo. 

Music Credit: Ketsa, "Day Trips"

mrsdefarge@gmail.com

Transcript

Intro music: upbeat instrumental song with bells and trills

Holly 00: 30

 Hello! I hope you’re well. As always, I’m sneaking this in. It’s been a minute. I’m so sorry it’s taken so long. I’ve been working so, so hard and to be honest I was in a bit of a depressive mood. Yeah, things weren’t great. But I have been knitting a lot and I’m excited to say hi. It’s Sunday. It’s Easter morning. Happy Easter if you celebrate. For all of you who are celebrating Ramadan I’m sending you good thoughts

Holly 01:20

The kids aren’t up yet. My ex is actually sleeping over and so I feel a little more shy than normal so this will probably be quick. I do have good news to report. I’ve finished my fair isle vest! If you’ve been listening you know that 2022 is my year of colorwork. And I’ve been making good progress. I’ve made two pairs of selbu mittens. And I’ve knitted this amazing fair isle vest. It is a work of art. I just like to turn it inside out and just look at the floats. It was… a labor of love (laughter). I think I’ve knit it in total about three times. Gosh knitting keeps you humble. {laughter] it really does. I was focused so much on my color work and tension that I didn’t think too much about sweater construction. So my v-neck was off center. It was off to the side. Yikes. [laighter]. And you know how knitting goes when you’re excited to finish something. I was trying to tell myself, maybe it’s not that noticeable. Maybe I can make it work. [laughter] it will block out.  Friends, it did not. [laughter]. Thankfully better sense prevailed and I ripped it back and I reminded myself that this is a process garment, I’m just trying to learn. It’s fine if I mess up but it would be nice to wear it. So I ripped it back and reknit it. 

Holly 03:21

 So the next challenge was steeking it. Here’s the thing. I’ve done one steek. It was amazing. It was my Icelandic Lopi sweater. And it’s not perfect but I came to wear it a lot and it wasn’t so terrifying even though I totally messed it up. It was way too big of a steek and it seems a little floppy but again—learning curve. But here’s the thing, with a stranded colorwork sweater vest you have to steek the sleeves and the vneck. So there’s a certain point in time where I could try it on as a tube but once you start doing the decreases for the armholes and vneck you can’t try it on anymore. It becomes this strange looking object and it becomes this total leap of faith. Will this thing fit. It’s taking so much time. I’ve knit it twice. Yikes! I finished it and just worried for about a week. I didn’t want to cut the steek. 

Holly 04:45

Better sense finally prevailed. What did I have to lose. But it was nerve-wracking. I did a crochet-reinforced steek. It was very freeing. And it fit. Sort of! It was kind of tight around the chest but this time blocking did fix things! I’ll at least wear it with pride twice because it’s like a badge of honor. I’ve been joking that it’s like a bullet proof vest. [laughter] Stranded colorwork is stranded, not surprisingly, and it’s very heavy. But I blocked it and it relaxed and I did the neckband and shoulderbands. And I’m pleased to say that it’s finished. 

Holly 05:42

 So, the kids are now up, the eggs have been found. So I’m going to wrap this up! I feel a little shy when I’m podcasting when people are up. I finished my vest and I’m really happy with it. But… it took me like three months. [laughter]. 

 Holly 06:08

 I think I cast this on in January. And as I was finishing it up I felt a little bit at sea. I was really needing to knit. Life was stressful and I didn’t have the brain space to figure out what to cast on. But I’ve been making a lot of things even if they are a little bit random. I made a ribbed hat in the Manhattan hat style, so it has an interesting decrease. But since I’m only using a single skein of yarn I had to redo it a few times to get the yardage right. I feel like—I think her name is Penelope—in the Odyssey, who keeps working and then undoing that work at night to prolong the project. That’s what I feel like. I needed to be knitting but I didn’t know what to be knitting. So that hat took like three times as long as it should have.

 Holly 07:11

I’ve also knitted a bandana cowl from Purl Soho. I love that pattern. I find it’s perfect for soft drapey alpaca yarn. When you don’t have enough for a big goofy shawl. It’s just the right yardage. I don’t know if I’ll keep it. The yarn is so perfect it might be better used for something else but for now it’s great and it did exactly what I needed: stockinette project. I’ve also made shorty socks. 

 Holly 07:58

But I can feel that it’s time to cast on something big and new. My knitting and sewing mojo is back with a vengeance. Oh my goodness I want to make all the things. It’s been inspired by knitting books. I’ve treated myself to two knitting books. I bought the new Worsted book by Aimée Gille. It’s gorgeous. It’s yellow. I’m sure you’ve seen it. It’s all worsted-weight yarn projects. Her yarn is very expensive. It’s well outside of my price range. But she was in town doing a book signing. I wasn’t able to go to it. Mid-day yarn adventures are hard for me. It’s hard for me to get out of my normal life. A knitting friend was going so I said, on a whim, buy me a copy. 

 Holly 08:55

It’s really inspiring. If you haven’t read it, you should. I think she’s the same age as me. She mentioned learning to knit before ravelry and youtube and how important knitting books were back then. She mentions specifically Pam Allen’s Scarf Style, which I own. And she mentioned knitalongs from that book, which I don’t remember. I remember reading knitting blogs from very, very early day—Knit and Tonic, as a throwback, Wendy Bernard. Anyway, I made two projects from Scarf Style. An enterlac shawl and a lace shawl. And it just reminded me of how long I’ve loved knitting and how much joy it’s brought me over the years. 

Holly 10:00

Buying the book without any real sense of how I’d afford the yarn to make the projects is not always a great decision. And certainly all of my budget dollars are assigned. [laughter] But it was a splurge. But it’s funny. I feel hopeful. There are two projects in the book that I feel really drawn towards. And I was talking about it to a friend. And she brought over to my house yarn that she planned to donate. It’s a bunch of worsted-weight handspun that she found in our local creative upcycle center. It’s perfect! It’s a lilac color. It’s a bit rustic. I’m not sure iff it’s comfy. But I think it will perfect for one of these projects. I’m excited. I’ve skeined up one of the hanks and I’m going to knit a gauge swatch. So I have my eye towards that! 

 Holly 10:57

I’ve also been working on an Elizabeth Zimmermann Baby Surprise Jacket. That’s kind of fulfilling a need for garter stitch knitting. That thing is weird and I cannot wait to see how it comes together. And I’m looking ahead to Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. I’m so excited for it this year.

Holly 11:26

It’s an annual tradition for my family. I always go with my kiddos. There are good and bad memories attached to it. My partner sometimes would come and sometimes couldn’t. As I’ve mentioned before this is my podcast about 12-step recovery and knitting and my program is Al-Anon. My partner, who I divorced, struggles with alcohol addiction. And it’s been tough. [sigh]. I think I’ve even podcasted about Maryland sheep and wool. It’s one of those markers that reminds me of all of the things we’ve been through as a family, especially with addiction. There were lots of years where he was just passed out. It’s been great because the kids and I made Maryland Sheep and Wool our own celebration. It’s also mother’s day weekend, which can be another tough holiday. [laughter] Especially if you love someone with an addiction.

 Holly 12:34

But I’m feeling really excited about spring and knitting even though honestly right now I’ve been in a tough space. Work is really overwhelming. It’s the end of the semester and there’s a lot of work to do. My budget also feels tight. My emotions feel stretched. TO be honest, my recovery work feels really hard. I think I’ve hit a plateau. I’ve been struggling to find the solace that I usually find in meetings. Everything felt a little bit off. But even with that, I’ve been knitting.

Holly 13:18

Thank goodness for knitting. And thank goodness for knitting books for reminding me how much joy this hobby brings me. It’s provided me with a spark and creative joy. 

 I’m so happy and thankful you’re here. Thanks for joining me. Please take what you like and leave the rest. I’m speaking from my own experience. I haven’t even been talking very much about 12-step recovery but if you are in a program or if someone you love is in a program, I’m sending you good thoughts. I’m reminding myself not to quit before the miracle. 

I hope that you have some beautiful materials to work with and that you’re stitching up something gorgeous. And that you feel all of the joy of this season—of renewal, greenness, spring, flowers, and, I don’t know, small baby animals. 

Holly 14:20

Take care! Hopefully I’ll be back on the mic soon. Bye!

 [Outro music: upbeat music with bells and trills]