Tag Archives: elsewhere

Vanilla + Elsewhere

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Elsewhere: Links for fiber crafters

Happy Friday, friends — 

— First some bad news: Jagger Bothers yarn mill is closing — another loss for American manufacturing

— I’ve been limiting my IG time lately (in order to make more time for books), but there are three must-see’s for me: the #fringeandfriendssteekalong feed, of course, plus @meetmakersofcolor and @ebonyh’s Story, which has been my favorite part of each morning this month — so stunning and inspiring

— How to overcome fear of failure (photo above, bottom)

— Style muse: JoAni Johnson

— With [mending] we affirm what we already know, that we can all be healers

— A triumph of dedication and eyesight

— And most of all, Felicia: “I heard David Whyte speak a few months ago and he spoke of how we are practicing, in each moment, for who we want to be in the next. The fabric we create holds that intention – who were we practicing to be on that day? Were we practicing courage by trying something new? Were we practicing generosity by making for another? Were we practicing a new story about who we are by intentionally moving away from a story that no longer served us? Or were we simply trying to comfort ourselves so we could sit with our sadness or fear or insecurity? This comfort is a gift we give ourselves; a gift of time and space where we acknowledge that ignoring our pain, does not serve us. Allowing ourselves the comfort of craft – and then there being a visible reminder in our homes of us treating ourselves with grace – is so very important.” (photo above, top)

Yes, that. Please remember to treat yourselves with grace — this weekend and always.

SHOP NEWS: In addition to a fresh batch of Black, we’ve got a small batch of the Town Bag in Natural with a darker waxed natural outer panel, making the bag a little more contrasty than the usual subtle tone-on-tone effect. We’re calling it “Natural w/ waxed vanilla,” and we love it but it’s not reproducible, so it’s a self-limiting edition — only at Fringe Supply Co., and only while they last!

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PREVIOUSLY: Elsewhere

Elsewhere

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Elsewhere: Links for makers

Hello, February! In knitalong news, today is the start of Black History Month and a BHM make-along — knitting and sewing, and open to everyone “no matter your race, gender, or where you live in the world,” but the challenge is to make something from an African American designer’s pattern. Use hashtag #bhmpatterndesigners and see @naturaldane for more details and suggestions. And we’ve got two weeks left of the #fringeandfriendssteekalong — review those details here.

— Also this month, QuiltCon! I’ve long wanted to attend, and with it coming to Nashville this month, I get to. Anyone else coming?

— On the Slow Fashion front, if you haven’t seen Roe of @brownkids’ In|vested series from the past month, click that link or go click the circle with that label beneath it in her saved stories, and then continue back through the subsequent weeks (marked Convo 1, Convo 2, etc) (photo above right)

— Thinking of them as small quilting projects might get me to love placemats and to attempt quilting

— If you can reupholster a chair seat, you can make a custom ironing board/surface — and vice versa (photo above left)

— I wasn’t there, but this was easily and rightfully the most photographed sweater at VKLive in NY last weekend

— Will someone make a catalog of my stash fabrics (and yarns) like this?

— Whoa (via)

— Amazing (via)

— And a giggle, especially for the nervous steekers out there

Have a great weekend, everyone. I’ve blocked my Sólbein yoke and will be putting it back on the needles and separating the body and sleeves! How about you?

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PREVIOUSLY: Elsewhere

Elsewhere

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Before I get to this round of Elsewhere links, I want to take a moment to reiterate something I said on Instagram last night regarding the Steekalong and indeed all of the make-alongs I host: Everyone is welcome. The kals and other events are designed to be safe, supportive groups where you can try new things and refine your skills and meet new people. Regardless of your skill level, race, ethnicity, religion, gender, age or anything else, I would love for you to participate in any event I organize.

Lots of great links for you this round—

— Designer Jeanette Sloan has put together a massive list of POC Designers & Crafters, linked to their Instagram accounts (and you can find Jeanette @jeanettesloan)

— Marlee + Brandi is a must listen

— If you haven’t heard Caleisha read her beautifully written piece about her experience as a knitter of color, please make time to listen — it’s an outstanding summation of what so many are saying

— “Hand stitching had woken something up within me, which was perhaps dormant, waiting patiently and serenely all these years. I was meant to find it …“

— As a huge fan of Abolaji, I loved learning more about her and her sewing setup in this profile 

— and also loved learning more about the legendary Claire McCardell than I’d known before (via Jen)

— I’m looking forward to these stories

— How to lower the neck of a (vintage) sweater

— How to knit a custom dog sweater
(If you’re not already familiar with top-down methodology, reading through my Improv tutorial should help)

— This. Sweater.

— And I’m determined to practice until I can sketch like Ho-mei

Happy weekend, everyone — thank you for reading.

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PREVIOUSLY: Elsewhere

Photo by Dana, used with permission

Elsewhere

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Elsewhere: Yarny links for your clicking pleasure

If you haven’t heard, there’s a shiny new Fringe Supply Co. site that went live as the ball dropped on New Year’s Eve, and among its many lovely traits is that you can sign up to be notified when an out-of-stock item returns. So if you’re waiting for the next Town Bag update, for example, the new process is to simply click on the big blue “Notify me” button, plug in your email address and wait to be notified! (If we receive X of an item, the first X people on the list will get notified first, and so on. So the sooner you get onto a list, the better.) If it’s the army-green Porter Bin you’ve been waiting for, that’s now back in stock!

And if you haven’t seen the #fringeandfriendssteekalong feed yet, you must — but good luck resisting a cast-on if you haven’t already made the leap! Those are some insanely tempting WIPs over there. Happily my yarn is here, so I’ll be casting on this weekend!

But first, Elsewhere:

– Style muse
– I’m fascinated by this method for making a string bag
– It’s not you, it’s the yarn — more on the subject of twist (which got really interesting in the comments)
– “By choosing less choice [less stash] I’ve gained my freedom but I’ve also gained a life of living rather than dreaming.”
– These sleeves, this sweater, this blanket … knitters blow my mind
– And don’t miss these Fair Isle puffin videos (click to the second slide when you get there!)

Happy weekend, everyone!

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PREVIOUSLY: That cable, those bags and Elsewhere

Top photo by Felicia Semple; bottom photo by Lori Ann Graham-Rushfeldt

That cable, those bags, and Elsewhere

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That cable, those bags, and Elsewhere

New intel! The other morning, after my post about the Love, Actually cardigan went live, I got an email from Brooke alerting me that Churchmouse had coincidentally featured a scarf in their newsletter that morning with the same sort of “stockinette cable,” as I called it — although this one is a braid. I love it when stuff like that happens. So if you want to know more about that type of cable, or try it out in scarf form, check out their Reversible Cable Scarf. (photo above, top) And then I also got an email from hawkeyed reader Cindy who happened to know that the cardigan was originally designed by Nicole Farhi for her F/W 2002 collection. The closure is different and no pockets, so I’m guessing they made those changes for the RTW version, but that is definitely The Sweater! (And there were some outstanding cowls in that show as well.)

There was also a lot of meat in the comments on Wednesday’s Hot Tip: Resist the twist post, so go check that out if you haven’t seen it!

Other than that, here’s Elsewhere:

Knitting bags by Fringe Supply Co.

IN SHOP NEWS: We’ve got Bury Me and Knitting Necessities totes back in stock. The Holiday “Hank” Field Bag miiiight last the weekend, but I wouldn’t wait if that’s on your wish list. And this morning at 9am CT is the next Town Bag update. Each week we still have more people vying for them than there are bags available, but this is our biggest batch yet and we’re getting closer to equilibrium as all the people who’ve bought in previous updates are no longer competing. So my fingers are crossed for everyone, but they will go in a heartbeat. We’re managing to squeeze in one more update before it’s officially too late for Christmas, which will be next Weds, so make sure you note the update details on the product listing! And we’ll also have more solid canvas Field Bags ready next week — y’all keep wiping us out!

If you missed the gift guide, now would also be a good time to peek at that.

Happy Friday everybody — I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

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PREVIOUSLY: Elsewhere

New kit + Towns in town + Elsewhere

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New kit + Towns in town + Elsewhere

Hello, Friday! It’s an exciting day over at Fringe Supply Co. — we’ve got a new Stowe Bag Kit from our friends at Verb, a kit for bags so pretty that photos can’t even convey the hand-loomed khadi, naturally dyed, sashiko-stitched gorgeousness. The kit is available now in three different color/fabric combos, and we do have limited quantities of them — it would make a beautiful gift either in either kit or bag form. And it just so happens Jen at Grainline is hosting a Stowe sewalong on her blog in December!

BUT WAIT, there’s more! We’ll also have this week’s Town Bag update at 9am CT. That one’s a little tricky due to overwhelming demand, so take a second to read the notes on how it will work. And if you don’t get lucky this morning, we will have more next week! We’re doing all we can to catch up with demand, and are grateful for your patience and determination in the meantime.

We also passed the six-year mark this week, and I marked the occasion by updating our About page, if you’re new-ish here or would like to know more about the history and mission of Fringe. We’ve come a long way these past few years! And I’m so eternally grateful for your support.

Now how ’bout a little Elsewhere:

– This story of a quest to make an American flannel literally brought tears to my eyes (thank you, Sarah!)

– Conversely

– And back to awesome

– A holiday garland I can get behind

– I’m officially not alone in my love of the dickey as all-day wear

– This week in Podcasts I’d Like Time To Listen To: Thread & Ladle

– Same goes for Gretchen Rubin on Love to Sew!

– The “Wiksten Kimono Jacket” is now the “Wiksten Haori” — cheers to Jenny for undertaking that (see also: Jamie & The Jones) and to @little_kotos_closet who was instrumental in both name changes

– Do you have a charitable knitting/crochet project? You might be able to win yarn for it

– Currently loving hats with a bit of mohair mixed in: exhibit A and exhibit B

Have a cozy weekend, everyone!

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PREVIOUSLY in Elsewhere: More comfort, more gauge range, and a spot of macramé

Elsewhere: More comfort, more gauge range, and a spot of macramé

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Elsewhere: More comfort, more gauge range, and a spot of macramé

Friday! I’m so excited to have a real weekend, you guys, I can’t even tell you. (Cue the guitar: “Ooh, got the yarn / I’m gonna do some knitting”)

First things first: There is a hotly anticipated batch of the new Town Bag hitting the webshop this morning at 9am CT, and we also have the new MDK Field Guide: Revolution, featuring four interchangeable cable designs by none other than Norah Gaughan. AND! we now have the Lykke DPNs in standalone packs! So if you just need a set of 1s or 6s or whatever your heart desires, you can finally have that! If the bags are gone before you get there, please note that we will have more! We’re working as fast as we can to get stores restocked and keeping a small stack for ourselves each week, and I’ll keep restock dates and times listed on the page until we reach a point where we’ve gotten out in front of demand. Thank you so much for all the love for this latest brainchild.

And with that, Elsewhere:

– Speaking of a bold stripe … (ref)

– The last bit of this really gets me: “I always have some small portable project that I can take with me to use as my ‘waiting’ time. This avoids me heading to my phone for my dose of dopamine (which does me no good) and instead offers me a way of including more comfort in my day.” (photo top)

– These anonymous antique Chinese textile collages are so beautiful and are giving me an overwhelming urge to get back to my Log Cabin Mitts exploration … (via Jen)

– This Jillian Moreno piece for MDK on why some yarns can stand to be knitted at a range of gauges is one of the best things I’ve ever read about knitting. (Did I tell you guys how many different gauges I successfully knitted Germantown in when swatching it for the Anna Vest? So fascinating when you meet a yarn like that)

– Were I in London, I’d be going straight to the Anni Albers show at the Tate

– Annual charity hat-drive time: Tiny Hats for Tiny Babies and Christmas at Sea. (Any excuse to make that 1898 Hat, so much fun.) What are others you’re a fan of? Share a link below

– My longstanding desire to make pojagi curtains for my bedroom just went into overdrive (See also)

– Amazing (photo bottom left)

– And ummm, I might need to add “make macramé feathers” to my weekend list (via) (photo bottom right)

Actually, I’m not allowed to knit (or macramé, for that matter) until I make a further dent in my sewing room/closet cleanup, which is solidly in the “worse before it gets better” phase. But then: Ooh yeah, knitting. I hope you have a peaceful weekend!

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PREVIOUSLY: New pattern, new muse, and Elsewhere