Breaking Free

The knitting slump is over!

Last Saturday, I decided to avoid my computer and spend the day being delighted. Granted, that seems like an odd plan for a Saturday. But acknowledging the stress which led to my knitting slump led me to seek an antidote. And nothing refreshes me like making a point of noticing delightful circumstances large and small.

Here are some of the delights I encountered:

· The glorious bounty of the farmer’s market in August

My farmer’s market haul (clockwise from top left): basil, fingerling potatoes, baby arugula, heirloom tomatoes, zucchini, bell pepper.

· Eating the Caprese salad made with the tomatoes and basil¹

· Getting my flu shot²

· Finishing the chainmaille bracelet

· Using some of the leftover rings to make a set of 15 stitch markers³

· Seeing the brilliant yellow of a goldfinch feasting on the seedheads of the tall grasses ringing the pond

· Finishing my Waffle Pullover!

It took me nine weeks to make this sweater. That feels like a really long time, although I know nine weeks for a sweater would seem perfectly reasonable to lots of knitters.

The sweater fits perfectly. I love the fabric; it is cozy but lightweight. The finished sweater weighs only 520 gr. I know I’ll be living in this sweater at the first sign of cold weather.

As a reminder, I knit the Waffle Pullover with Purl Soho’s Good Wool in Winter Grass (A) and Well Water (B). I used about 1340 yards (4 skeins) of color A and 650 yards (2 skeins) of color B. I made the size 54.75”. I added 3” to the length, but otherwise the measurements match those specified in the pattern schematic.

I documented all the details of how I modified this pattern to suit my considerably smaller gauge over on this page, which is available to paid subscribers only.

I Officially Declare the Slump Ended

I have now moved on to making a vest using the yarn I swatched last week. You can catch a glimpse in the photo of the stitch markers above. I’ll show you more of this work in progress next week, along with a full review of the yarn I’m using.

In addition, I’ve finished the first of what will be three samples of a new hat pattern I’ll be publishing in September.

Being back on track feels grand!

And Just Like That

An hour after I “finished” writing this newsletter, I got a panicked email from a yarn company I’ve designed for in the past. They have a subscription box program that includes yarn and a pattern. The designer they had lined up for the next shipment has ghosted them. They need to ship these packages October 1. Could I design, write the patterns, and produce samples for two projects on a wickedly short deadline?

Of course, I said yes. Good thing I found my mojo.

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Strangely, I just finished two very different books on similar subjects: one on paper and the other in audio.

The book I read in paper is The True Cost of Wool: A Vision for Revitalizing the Canadian Industry by Anna Hunter.

Anna Hunter is the owner of Long Way Homestead, a sheep farm and wool mill in Eastern Manitoba, Canada. Her deeply researched book is a manifesto calling for the return of wool processing and finished goods manufacturing to Canada as both an economic and environmental imperative.

Anna set out to answer the question “Why is your yarn so expensive?” This led her into an investigation of all aspects of the Canadian sheep and wool industry. She documents each link in the chain between sheep farmer and a skein of finished yarn, detailing both the financial cost and, where possible, the environmental cost in terms of carbon emissions.

The True Cost of Wool is yarn geekery at its finest. Although it reads more like an academic research paper than a book aimed at the mass market, you will come away will a thorough understanding of what it takes to make a skein of wool yarn.

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The book I listened to is The Salt Stones: Seasons of a Shepherd’s Life by Helen Whybrow.

Thanks to subscriber

Ginger Booone

for recommending this book. It is a delightful listen!

In this magnificent book, Whybrow recounts her 25 years at Knoll Farm in the Green Mountains of Vermont shepherding a flock of Icelandic sheep. She writes of her family’s commitment to a pastoral life, dedicated to fostering the health and interdependence of the land, animals, and wider community.

Whybrow writes with the voice of a poet but does not shy away from showing us the heartbreaking, backbreaking hard work of running a 200-acre organic farm. Any romantic notions you have about this seemingly idyllic life will be dispelled by her descriptions of coyote raids on the flock, stillborn lambs, and trudging through a snowstorm pulling a sled loaded with bales of hay to feed the rams.

The Salt Stones is a love letter to the land and a meditation on the transition from being a daughter, to becoming a mother, to caring for one’s own mother in her later years, all written with remarkable grace.

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Things that caught my eye

· From BBC, an exploration of the monumental Georges Seurat painting of 1884, Bathers at Asnières.

· I enjoyed this piece from The New York Times about the importance of watching the hands when you want to understand a dance performance.

· I want to feel like this song all the time!

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Thank you so much for the encouragement, commiseration, and tips in the comments on last week’s post. I am eternally grateful for the kindness and generosity of this community!

Continue the conversation—What are you knitting right now? Do you have non-knitting projects underway that you’re excited about? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

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1. Start with a bed of arugula. Sprinkle it with some salt, drizzle with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Add tomatoes (I cut them into bite-sized pieces), fresh mozzarella cheese (also in bite-sized pieces), and basil leaves. Sprinkle with more salt, drizzle more oil and balsamic. So delicious!

2. Yes, delightful! I remember years ago having to wait in long lines at the local hospital with my son during a Saturday morning vaccination event. Now, while on a regular trip to the supermarket, I saunter up to the counter, chat with my friendly pharmacist, get my shot (fully covered by insurance), and I’m on my way. And, I haven’t had flu in years.

3. Open the jump ring, slide on a bead, dab a bit of glue on the open ends of the ring (I used E6000), close the ring, slide the bead in place over the gluey join. These fit on knitting needles up to size 10 (6mm).