Make Nine 2020 – Part II

In light of global and local events, I had a difficult time sleeping last night and ended up awake from 2:30 – 5am. This gave me a unique opportunity to reflect upon my Make Nine 2020 project and re-design it slightly. I am usually a rock-solid sleeper so today will be challenging for me but I will do some quiet things with the kids, think about some of the things I contemplated last night and make some plans for how to move forward in this new ‘norm’ of ours for the next 2-4 weeks.

In terms of my Make Nine, I have realized over the past few weeks that a few things are reality at the moment: I am having a difficult time fitting in sewing into my daily life due to space restrictions in our home from the kids need for space (so the areas compete) and my learning that is still happening at the loom, needing to experience no pressure there so that I can learn only for myself. Small reflections on the podcast now and then is one thing but otherwise, the weaving journey (mostly with commercial threads/yarns) needs to be my own.

This meant that I wanted to re-address my Make Nine 2020and re-build it. Since there are no ‘rules’ per se, I don’t see why that is not possible! I have also noticed that my personal style is changing slowly and the pieces I am drawn to are changing. I am purchasing different clothing – I have bought a couple of new items and I re-adjusted the size on my dressform for my new normal as well. This is really exciting because I have inadvertently created a capsule wardrobe without meaning to and it means I can move forward in excitment to create these new pieces over the next 12 – 18 months!

I want to go through each one and share my visioning for each. As well, I will share my approach to working through each one and we will chat in more detail on The Wool Stream on Tuesday!

Top to bottom, left to right: Trailhead by Veronik Avery, Felix Cardigan by Amy Christoffers, Anker’s Cardigan by PetiteKnits, Lambda by Ellen Wright, Gentle-Morning by Trin-Annelie, Simple Something by Ankestrick, Flaum by Justyna Lorkowska, Cirrus by Nancy O’Connell & Little Love by Ankestrick

There were some cardigans and sweaters that have not made it onto the list that I am planning to make over the next 12 – 24 months from fleeces that I have bought and include but are certainly not limited to: Classic Smocking Cardigan by PetiteKnits, Bailey’s Irish Cream by Thea Colman, No Frills Cardigan by PetiteKnits, Featherweight Cardigan by Hannah Fettig, Winterfell Cardigan by Katrin Schneider, Stonecrop Cardi by Andrea Mowry, Ravishing Vest by Joji Locatelli, Belmont by Gudrun Johnston, and Out of the Fog by Jenny F.

I thought I would talk about each briefly so as not to completely bore you, but to really think about my plan with these ideas so that I can find a way forward. I don’t want to become distracted by squirrels, but rather very intentionally create a new wardrobe that features almost daily wear of  handmade sweaters.

These are in no particular order in terms of the sequence of knitting them – I wanted to get my ideas down more than anything!

1. Trailhead by Veronik Avery | Yarn: Handspun Freisen, sampling needed | This sweater has me excited for next Fall because this fibre is sitting in my stash, needing to be processed but a gorgeous natural dark brown. I will do some sampling from the fibre with the plan to card it. Samples forthcoming and the plan for a winter-wear cardigan for camping in the Spring/Summer/Fall and deep Winter wear is something I am very inspired by. Because I can’t make all the things, this particular choice is a blend of a shape like Albini by Orlane Sucche, Uo by Ema Marinescu and Yubari by Ankestrick. These are on my long-term list but in the meantime, I wanted something in this type of shape to focus on introducing.
2. Felix Cardigan by Amy Christoffers | Yarn: Westcoast Colour PMS (Polwarth, Mohair & Silk), 2-ply, light worsted, 620 yards | Size: S – 39″ bust | Ravelry Project Page & handspun page | I tried knitting this over the New Year but was frustrated with the changes I’d made, along with the weight of the yarn (Aran). The fit didn’t seem particularly appropriate for me at the time so I ripped it out and gifted the yarn to remove it from my stash. I continued to stumble on this cardigan, however, and I have some pieces of clothing that would really suit having a cropped sweater like this as I have donated others that are oversized and no longer fit. The yoke has been finished and I am currently working on the body! To limit excessive differences between the two skeins of handspun, I am alternating skeins per my usual tactics.
3. Anker’s Cardigan by PetiteKnits | Yarn: Crafty Jaks B-Fabu-Licious OOAK | Size: S – 85-90cm / 33-35″ | Ravelry Project Page | Made with Love Along | I am so excited for this knit, which is a Make-Along happening in the Ravelry group, Wool n’ Spinning, and hosted by my friends Rebecca & Becca. For more, please follow the group link. This is a cast on that is fully and completely for me! I am so excited!
4. Lambda by Ellen Wright | Yarn: Custom Woollen Mills Worsted | Size: S | Ravelry Project Page | This yarn sat in the corner of my office since September after I realized I wasn’t keen on the results of my Lady Marple. I’d knit that sweater in the summer from some deep stash Malabrigo that I really enjoyed making, have enjoyed wearing and appreciate that I had a chance to make it on our trip to Yukon. The construction of Lambda is what drew me in – the lace repeat is nice and relaxing to knit. The shape is slightly more dressy and I’m looking forward to wearing this with long-sleeved t-shirts, jeans & long necklaces.
5. Gentle-Morning by Trin-Annelie | Yarn: Handspun Gotland/Romeny fleece | Ravelry Project Page | Size: 34″ | I am SO excited about this cardigan. It is probably the sweater in this collection I am most excited about. I will be dyeing the handspun yarn after spinning in a gentle oatmeal colour, which I will be discussing with Katrina. The yarn called for in the pattern is Blacker Yarns Tamar DK, which is a long-wool blend. This is the perfect subsitution for this yarn and structure of the jacket-cardigan. More on this project coming soon as this will also be my #zerotohero project and #epiccloth project.
6. Simple Something by Ankestrick | Yarn: SweetGeorgia Yarns {handspun} Alpaca/Merino/Silk, Gotland & SW Targhee | Ravelry Project Page | Size: 1 – 37.75″/96cm | This is a deviation for me in terms of what I tend to knit but I kept coming back to it again and again. It is a simple top-down raglan construction that would work really nicely to blend the colours of my recent SweetGeorgia spin. I am going to be doing some sample swatches to see if my predictions are accurate and I will share more about this project (and whether I end up making it) as I progress. I would like to use this sample as something for upcoming Wool n’ Spinning content this Spring 2020!
7. Flaum by Justyna Lorkowska | Yarn: deep stash something | Ravelry Project Page | Size: S – 34″ | I have flirted with this knit for SO long that I wanted to make it finally. It’s been something I see, think about, queue and then delete because I just never get around to actually making it. My vision is a grey or neutral from stashed commerical yarn. I have so much of those colours that are challenging to use up that I think this might be a good excuse to get through at least one of my stashed yarns.
8. Cirrus by Nancy O’Connell | Yarn: SweetGeorgia Yarns Tough Love Sock in Arbutus | Ravelry Project Page | Size: S/M – 52″ | This knit will be an experiment for going forward because I have never been a  poncho person but love the way it is photographed and worn in my Make Nine photo. I have included my favourite project page from Ravelry, rather than the pattern itself. The idea of wearing a poncho-style sweater like this one over-top of a tunic-style apron or shirt is really appealing to me at this time for layering and wearability, also to protect underneath clothing for longevity, and for the most important thing, warmth! This will be particularly when I don’t want to wear a jacket – so I’m thinking the long shoulder seasons we experience here in the Pacfic Northwest.
9. Little Love by Ankestrick | Yarn: Handspun fleece stash | Ravelry Project Page | Size: XS – 104cm / 41″ | This sweet number is something I’ve been wanting to make for a while, again in some kind of neutral from my stashed fleeces from last summer. There are so many possibilities I can make from the fleeces I have stashed but some sampling will be the first step to assess how to move forward. The yarn called for in the pattern is a 50% wool, 25% Alpaca with 25% acrylic. This is a great opportunity for me to look into my stash and see if there was something I wanted to experiment with – either a natural fibre blend (wool-wise) or a blended-by-me fibre on the drumcarder. Very exciting! Again, netral colours. 

The remaining 8 sweaters that I have thought about making, flirting with different ideas for me to move forward, I think I will work on some swatches and sampling over the next few months and find my way forward. The kids are getting to the age where we are able to hang out and work on our own projects, while enjoying our time together. It is a wonderful time and I am really enjoying it while we are social distancing and holing ourselves up at home.

Above: Gotland/Romeny 3-ply sample, spun & plied worsted

The sun is shining outside, we are listening to some wonderful stories on iTunes and Spotify. They were able to watch a movie last night and this afternoon, we will pop some popcorn and I may finish my Felix Cardigan. I am in the process of sewing buttons back onto my Sparkle Cardigan – which is another post unto itself and I am so excited to share that with you as well! So much happening here! I feel completely inspired to share so much with you!

In the meantime, I am going to focus this next 4 weeks on getting some more processing done for my Gentle-Morning cardigan to get spinning on that – I need to do some more sample knitting for that sweater. As well, I want to work on my Simple Something to see about the colour blending I have in mind. Whew! Lots to do and write and share with you!

How are you managing the social distancing we are experiencing? Have you got some projects you’d like to work on? Please think about joining the Live Stream tomorrow morning for all patrons of the podcast! It is a wonderful opportunity to connect with one another as we enter this time in our lives that is unlike any other experience!