Taos Mountain Shawl

I have been under the weather.  I am still not a 100% but I try to listen to my body when it says I should sleep or I can go.  This weekend was a lot of being asleep or still.  It has been a long time since I have sat and read so many books in a day.  It was actually really kind of nice!  I will call it a silver lining.

I finished the Taos Mountain Shawl I was making.  I crocheted it instead of knitted it.  I only took it out probably a dozen times and I could have taken it out a couple more.  There is that corner pictured above that is not quite the angle I would have wished.  And for some reason, I mixed up color order on the other border.  But it is done.

I am really pleased.  I used about twice as much yarn as the knitted version which means it is a bit larger.  I like large shawls.  It has been nice for when I want a little extra but not a sweater.

I usually wear my shawls a bit off center anyhow and this becomes even more wonky.  But it was designed after the mountains near Taos, New Mexico.  Wonky is okay.  The yarn is soft but not as soft as the other cashmere blend I have worked with.

I have another shawl I am taking from knit to crochet, Earth and Sky.  I find I do better using the pictures as a go by so I have no idea what the parameters of that one will be.  But I am going to give it a try.  I have only taken that one out three times so far.  It will be interesting.  Especially since I do not think I have enough of any one yarn for any part.  It will be a compilation.

it did not take me until I was 80!

I finished the cardigan I was making!  It did not take until I was 80 like my Beloved predicted because I kept ripping it out.  But I did start with a knitting pattern.  Then I combined it with a crochet pattern.  It was all about the shape and I guess you could say I did my own thing.  But if I am making it, why not?

The Yosh Little Brother yarn from Tolt Yarn and Wool was lovely to work with.  Lovely enough for me to consider it for other projects even though it is a bit expensive.  It is also soft due to the cashemere in it so I should not complain.

The hardest part for me was the decision of what edging color.  I chose by consensus.  The sage green is not in this picture but the sage green and the cranberry were the lead picks.  I went with the cranberry because I was told it was a bit more edgy, modern.

These pictures are from the day I wore it before I blocked it.  Once I block it, if I block it, I may need to reposition the buttons.  But that may not happen until the first time it needs washing.  This sweater is so soft.  My allergies have been pretty bad and being able to wrap myself in it has been nice.

It just makes me wish to crochet another sweater.  That I will rip out how many times before it is done.  It is part of my process.

We are off a fiber fair this weekend, then the mountain and my parents, and then camping with Koda Bear.  I cannot wait!  I was ready to go traveling before Harvey but I am very ready for a change right now.  As long as it does not snow.  I dreamed it snowed on the mountain last night and I just do not see that as a good thing!  I may pack my snow boots as a just in case measure.  

Oh, by the way, yes, those are my skateboards behind me in the picture.  One rides the concrete like my spoon rides the waves.  I have been feeling the need to go surfing as well but there has not been any surf until this week.  This week has been about packing and going.  Oh well.  Soon.

playing with wool embroidery

I have seen some really pretty wool embroidery on Pinterest and Instagram.  Embroidery is one of those things with crochet that has a tendency to relax me.  Embroider is also much more portable then my sewing machine.  It is portable sewing for me.  Outside of just taking knit fabric with me to be sewn.

This was fun.  I took bits of hand spun yarn that just was not enough for a project.  Or I had used it in another project.  When you spinning a whole fleece, there can be a lot of yarn!

I do think I will make another if the right base hat comes a long.  The only negative is just the length of time it takes.  But it is a form of meditation.  I decided to put it up for sale in my Etsy shop.  I find as much as I like to make hats, I always tend towards my favorites.  The same can be said about shawls.

it takes as long as it takes

I think I have four sweaters in the works currently.  Five if you count the one that I have decided to take out the neck and do something different with the yarn.  I can already tell I will not wear it!  I have a red sweater, a yellow sweater, a lacy sweater, and this creamish sweater all being worked on.  Two of them I am making the yarn as I go.

This cream sweater makes me laugh.  I did pick up the yarn on my last gallivant.  I even picked up a pattern.  Yes, it was a knit pattern so I was going to have to change it to crochet but I do this.  

I have completely changed this sweater.  Instead of being crocheted from the top down like it would be knitted, I am crocheting from the bottom up.  There are still not going to be any true seams in it.  The fabric was of the sweater was supposed to be plainer with only a bit of lacy but I decided that I liked this stitch pattern so much that it was going to be over the whole sweater.  It reminds me of a thrifted sweater I bought in college that I completely wore out.  And the last change is the edge yarn.  Instead of going with the same yarn as the body but in a different color, I am going to use I yarn I am spinning.  

I am so not surprised by any of this.  But because of all these changes, I crochet, I rip out.  I crochet some more.  It was commented that I would not finish this sweater until I was 80.  I am thinking I may actually start the sleeves this coming week.  Maybe I will need to leave the house to look for buttons.  Or maybe I can just do that online.

Everything I am working on currently seems to be taking more time.  Or maybe I am just moving slower.  I could believe that.  But then I ponder things like, my pizza dough recipe is a baguette recipe which becomes a croissant recipe if you add layers of butter and flour which then becomes kouign amman when you add sugar.  Which is kind of like a palmier.  Yes.  My brain.  No drugs except copious amounts of caffeine due to tea.  It wanders all over the place.  But everything takes time.

indulgence

Leaving Washington, there was lunch with friends and then the decision to go to Tolt Yarn and Wool.  I have read about this yarn shop online.  Seen some of the workshops they have to offer.  One of those that I always thought might not be the best place for my wallet for me to go.  But I did.

They have a Makers Market that has sounded interesting.  Not large.  Just a few makers, dozen makers, in a yarn store.  What could go wrong?!  I picked up some interesting insect prints that I am going to put over my work bench.  A white hand thrown cup that I have been using for tea, even though today it is for hot ginger.  A smaller version for simple pours.  Yarn.  

They did have makers of yarn there.  The two blue skiens above were from one of those makers, Spincycle.  I could not pass them up.  I was thinking hats.  Maybe for me?  Maybe for gifts?  Maybe for presents?  I will see.

Tolt Yarn and Wool definitely caters to knitters, not hookers.  There are so many ways you can make crochet sound bad!  One of the Spincycle ladies made the comment she never knows what hole to use because there are too many holes.  It just came out so badly!  I did find a knitting pattern called Baern that I should be able to convert to crochet.  I am using the Yoth yarn I found there.  It is the cream and green skeins in the top picture.  It is an indulgence because it is large part cashmere.  The sweater will so soft.  I personally love the feel of cashmere sweaters but I always wear them out.  I am hoping this will be different.  I can hope.

It was nice.  I may go back to Carnation, WA just to wander.  I wil definitely go back to Tolt but they are online.  I like small towns and I like to look into windows.  When someone says window shopping, that is my favorite type of shopping.  Just looking into the windows.  

I have put down the sewing needle at night and put up my crochet hook.  I am hoping to have a sweater soon even though it is above 90 degrees Fahrenheit most of the time.  If it works, I may order more of this Yoth yarn.  Or maybe I will see how the sweater wears.  Or maybe I will spin some more.