Merry peaceful Christmas to everyone who’s celebrating today, and happy Friday/long weekend to everyone else! I’m still harboring this fantasy of spending the next ten days doing nothing but making. The reality is I have a ton of administrative work to do in the next week that is unavoidable, but I’m setting a goal of working on that for a couple-few hours each morning (starting early), spending the rest of the daylight hours sewing, and then knitting in the evening. Plus there’s today and both weekends, of which I’m giving as much as possible to this project. How much can I actually accomplish in these hours, especially being a slow sewer? I really don’t know. So I’m just setting priorities and low expectations, and will be happy with my accomplishments, whatever they may be!
After getting my WIP mania corralled, along with my wild dreams of all the countless things I’d like to make, narrowing it down to immediate needs and assessing how those factor into my uniform (before branching out from there), I have arrived at an actual list of things to make, with fabric attached and everything! One nice thing about me and this whole wardrobe planning folderol is that I never have to stop and ask myself what my color palette is. It is always the same: blue, black, grey, white, natural, camel. At least that part is easy —
TOP: For the sleeveless Gallery Tunic, I’m starting with two fabrics — natural with a dark blue stripe, and midnight blue with a faint tri-dot pattern. Both are remnants I bought for $5/yard at Imogene+Willie last summer.
MIDDLE: For the modified Scout tee, I’m also starting with two — blue with an off-white stripe (same fabric as my still unhemmed dress) and a black and beige buffalo check, again both from I+W. I really want the Gallery in the blue/white stripe as well, and have plenty of fabric for both, so that could happen.
BOTTOM: For the woven modified Hemlock alt-sweater, I’m going with this salt-and-pepper Italian wool I bought at Drygoods last month. Instead of ribbing for the neckback and sleeves, I’m going to use the wool for everything — gathering the sleeves into a wide cuff and trimming the neck sweatshirt-style, with a strip cut on the bias. Will it work? Dunno, but I’m really excited to try it!
BELOW: And then there’s the knitting. I’m making progress on Bob’s rollneck, and set aside my grey sweater for now, as noted. I’ve ordered the Lettlopi for this little pullover, which should arrive late next week. I truly believe I can knit this sweater in a week — top-down on 10s? cropped? with short sleeves? So depending how far I am on Bob’s when the yarn arrives, I might beg off of it for one little week and see if I can crank out this much-needed pullover for myself.
So that’s my plan! What are you making this weekend?
I’m sure these will look great. Can’t wait to see. Create while the mood strikes.
Thank you, Francis!
What a lovely prospect – a whole week of making! I’ll be just behind you: Boyhood & I are taking the first week of January off, and it will look much the same over here. Some admin, but maximum guitar building – sewing – knitting!
This weekend, I’m casting on a new cowl by Shibui (“Pulse”) in grey and camel stripes as my holiday treat. Next year, it’s on to the wardrobe makes!
Guitar *building*?!
I hope this doesn’t sound like I’m a jerk. I am not a sewer and have no interest in it whatsoever, and I would like to suggest that you consider posting knitting related content on certain designated days and sewing on other certain days.
Hi, Leenie. Sorry, but blogging about what I’m interested in when I’m interested in it is the only way I know how to do it! (Or would want to.)
It IS Karen’s blog afterall. A blog often starts when a creative individual wants to share and express themselves in their way. Putting restrictions on it takes some of the spontaneity away.
I’m not much of a sewer, either, but I find those posts equally inspiring. They fit very much into the theme of a thoughtful wardrobe.
Merry Christmas and what a week to look foreward to!! You have great fabrics and taste……..they will be great!! Happy New Year and S E W I N G!!
Thank you, Susan — and happy Christmas and NY to you, too!
Maybe I will make a list like yours only use my unfinished projects to start with. Last year I alternated new with old and that worked pretty well but now some of the new have become old…
Merry Christmas!
That’s an interesting way of tackling things! I like it.
Merry Christmas! That looks like a good, and not too ambitious, plan. This weekend I’m sewing a dining chair slipcover/play kitchen for my granddaughter’s 2nd birthday on January 3rd. I trimmed the pattern I’m using as a guide, will measure the chair so I can adjust, tomorrow morning cutting and sewing will ensue. I’m very excited to see if I can make what’s in my head appear in fabric. Fingers crossed.
That sounds like fun — good luck!
Merry Christmas, Karen! May all your making dreams be made true.
Thanks, KB — and the same to you!
Love the charcoal wool sweatshirt idea most of all. Excited to see how that turns out! Are you making up the pattern for the Lopi? Have one more pattern repeat for the body of Mailin before starting the ribbing. Aiming to get one sleeve on my needles by Sunday though it will be much too warm for this one unless the weather patterns change drastically! I have great admiration for the thoughtful nature of your wardrobe planning and hope you can make good production progress into the New Year–Cheers!
The lettlopi raglan will just be a simple made-up top-down — easy as can be! Cheers, Jennifer!
What beautiful fabrics! Those colors in clothes just make me happy, too.
Happy holidays, Mary Jo!
I love it all! Sometimes when i am this organized, i like to cut all my parts out for each project and then when i am ready to sew, i am really ready! Hoping all that time shines through for you! Looking forward to seeing finished projects-so easy to live vicariously through you 😉
Yeah, I love the idea of having a whole bunch of stuff cut out and then being able to just sew here and there as time permits. I might carve out some time this weekend to go use the big table at the studio for that.
I appreciate the mix of sewing and knitting! It has stimulated me to want to sew more again and it is all about creating with our hands anyway. I can’t wait to get fabric for my Stowe bag and I ordered some bulky Alafoss lopi in Black Heather and greys to make the Caramia fair isle sweat
Have you worked with lopi before? I haven’t and am really excited about it!
I used it in a fair isle bag and also the Baable hat. It stays on your needles well and has a lovely “halo:)
Merry Christmas Karen! Have fun with all your sewing projects! Sounds awesome! I will be curious to see how you fare at the end of the 10 days. I find that if I let myself do administrative tasks first thing in the day….then my creative energy is sapped for the rest of the day. How do you keep from letting that happen? How many hours do you allow yourself for admin. tasks before stopping? I am hoping in the new year to try and force myself to stay away from my computer until later in the day and try to do more creative things in the morning hours. Knitting by night is always on my agenda too…..nothing better than to cozy up to the woodstove with a knitting project. Keep us posted!
The way my life works has sort of trained my brain to this schedule, I guess. My workday starts every morning at 7 when the blog post goes live. From that moment it’s all emails, comment moderation, customer service, post/check IG, respond to whatever/wherever needs responding to. DG does shipping the first half of the day, so there’s activity and talking and putting out fires and so on. Once he leaves, I have total afternoon silence so that’s when I shift my focus to writing, product planning and whatever creative work I have in front of me. So at this point, that’s just how my brain works.
Oh….and I forgot to say that I love reading about your sewing adventures!
I love reading about both sewing and knitting! I am totally inspired to try sewing clothes for 2016 – but this week I am cutting and seeing a navy blue quilt, while catching up on the Woolful podcasts!! Heaven.
2016 might be the year I try my hand at quilting.
Merry Christmas, Karen – wore my Cowichan Vest today and couldn’t have been happier! Just love it. Also working on my second 1898 hat – those are so awesome! Great inspiration coming from your posts this year – I look forward to more in 2016…HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Oh, that’s so great! Best feeling, right?
I love your queue. Very inspiring. I am sewing a grey corduroy skirt. Finishing knitting a cream Reine cardigan. Also need to finish the pairs for some socks for my twin toddlers.
I am going to try the hemlock tee as a sweater. When you first posted the inspiration for it I was very smitten. Just trying to figure out the ribbing to a woven fabric. Love the wool you are using. And all your fabrics, really.
How much yardage of the lettlopi yarn do you think you will need for your cropped raglan?
I think I probably really only need about 800 yards or something like that. If even that. But I ordered 9 balls (about 1000 yards) because it’s gorgeous heathered black yarn, so I can’t see any hardship in having “too much.” Or I may set aside in case I ever want to lengthen the sleeves.
Hi Karen. I’ve been producing familiar hats/scarves etc for our Wool Shed on Amherst Island at Topsy Farms with our yarn, with the help of 6 knitters.
I’ve had Lyme disease for 20 years, so knit in afternoons flat on my back while hooked up to my feeding machine.
But now is TREAT time. I let myself learn a few new techniques (planning to start with Brioche), make at least one item for myself (a multi-coloured sweater, variation on http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/natasha) , and a few sweaters for the Wool Shed that may not sell fast.
Anyone out there try Topsy Farms yarn? I’m eager for new ideas that use worsted weight.
This might be a weird thing to ask in response to that, but how do you keep your hands from falling asleep? That’s so wonderful that you’re able to knit!
I, too, harbour fantasies of doing nothing but making (and okay, having a few cocktails…) and also face some administrative “stuff” that needs to get done; however, I’m saving that for Monday (one day to get some paid work done). I started beading the bottom of an Alabama Chanin skirt (which will take forever and that’s okay), will start a sweater with LettLopi this weekend as well (Sophia Loren pullover), and hopefully start a sewing project. Hah! How long do I think my break is?! But isn’t it a time for dreaming?
All looks good, I can’t wait to see how the wool top comes out. If you haven’t already done it, and you have some extra fabric, you might consider washing a swatch of it in the machine. I did that with the wool for my gray topper and it made it softer and more maleable. But just the washer, not the dryer, unless you want it felted.
And fwiw, I really love the range of things you post about. Your blog is wonderful for that very reason. Cheers, all!
Eager to see the hemlock/sweater. I’ve got some plaid woven wool that I want to make into a pullover and found some heathery fingering weight yarn that I’m going to try and knit a neckband from and apply like bias . . .? Still deciding on the right pattern – not sure my wool would work with the amount of ease in Hemlock. I’m sure you’ll get to yours before me mine – seeing a Hemlock in wool will be cool. A happy 2016 to you all.
Looks like you will have the perfect holiday season! I am with you – I am casting on new projects, playing with colors and textures! Cannot get any better!
I sew and you have made me want to start knitting again. You pick lovely yarn. This is my real question: is the weather so mild in Nashville that you only need short sleeve sweaters? I am tired of Chicago winters and I find Nashville a very interesting place. And my favorite jeans are from I+w. I would love fabric from them.
I’ve only been here one winter, and it definitely got COLD — like single digit cold. But today I had lunch at a table right inside the open door of a restaurant, wearing jeans and a tissue-thin short-sleeve tee and bare ankles, and was perfectly comfortable. Then went for my walk in shorts. So who knows!
But the thing with me and clothes with sleeves is they get rolled/pushed up above my elbows no matter what. I’m more concerned about what kind of sleeves I can get into a coat sleeve than I am about actually having long sleeves on my arms, because they won’t stay there.
Thanks for the quick response. It is warmer in the Chicago area this year also. But that is unusual. We will just have to visit several different times of the year and check it out😉. Have a great New Year’s week!
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