Rest and Renewal

In the last month or so, I've been taking a bit of time to catch up on a variety of projects. I took time off to participate in Spinzilla, I've worked on some around-the-house work that needed doing, I've taken up cross-stitch, and I've been making plans for future projects. I've still been knitting, but it's been a combination of work knitting and just for fun knitting. I had taken a bit of time to tidy and plan with my stashes (spinning, personal knitting, work knitting), and found the need to clear my plate a bit to prepare for some of the future projects that I want to get done.

Spinzilla output: All this spun in a week on a spindle!

The thing about making a hobby into a job is that it's not a hobby anymore, and so I've filled the gap with spinning, and recently cross stitch. I also draw, and I used to garden (I'm planning to go back to gardening in the Spring, so this winter I'm hoping to set aside some time for making those plans), and for quite awhile, it seemed like it was hard to justify taking the time to work on creative pursuits outside of knitting, or, in other words, like I wasn't working hard enough to justify taking time off from work. Adding in spinning helped a little, but it still results in yarn, which I then mentally assign to knitting projects (more work, in a sense). Cross stitch feels more like drawing and painting, but new enough to me that I'm launching in with a bit more enthusiasm and less worry over improving my technique like I do when I draw or paint. I'm new to it, so any work done on it is improving my technique, after all.

Halloween cross stitch. Pattern from Cloudsfactory.

I'm not completely taking time off though, and have been still working on proposals for new knitting work, re-releasing older patterns when the rights revert back to me (like the Bangor Pullover), and also self-publishing some new patterns (like the Braeside Cowl).

Bangor Pullover

Braeside Cowl

Also, I've been doing a bit of knitting for fun! It's been ages since I've made myself a sweater, so I'm treating myself to some time spent knitting Ásta Sóllilja by Kate Davies! This sweater is worked in Ístex Léttlopi, and my parents brought me the light grey wool that is used for the body of the sweater when they returned from a trip to Iceland. I love the colours that Kate Davies picked for the design so much that I was determined to use the same shades for my sweater.

Ásta Sóllilja in progress!

In the meantime, in an effort to get a bit of life back into this sorely neglected blog, I may well toss in a bit of crafty fun from non-knitting projects now and again, hopefully a tad more frequently than of late! Other places to find updates from me include my newsletter (use form off to the right, or follow this link:

http://eepurl.com/czV5l9), Instagram (as @jessiemckitrick), and my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/JessieMcKitrickDesigns/), so please feel free to join me at any or all of those!

Carrot

Sample knitting and pattern writing are keeping me busy enough that I often don't have much else to share in terms of projects, but I'd like to make more of an effort to get both things done. I don't mind that work knitting keeps me so busy that I don't have a lot of personal projects on the go, but I don't much like it if I have absolutely no personal projects happening. So, I thought I should apply that 15 minute rule here too. If I can get through my goals for the day in sample knitting, then I can have 15 minutes after the kids head to bed to work on a personal project. Perhaps if I use it as a carrot, then I can both meet my goals and get a few things done that I've been neglecting.



The current carrot that I have in mind is a project for my younger nephew. I want to knit up Calaway by Jenny Wiebe for him, and I wanted not only to use superwash wool, but I wanted a particular look to that yarn. So, I ordered Knit Picks Bare Wool of the Andes Superwash, and, I few weeks ago, tossed it into the dye-pot. I've just stuck with the food-dyes so far in my dyeing efforts, though I'd love to work from plants someday.





In the meantime, I started with 3/4 tsp of Wilton's Kelly Green, along with rather a lot of vinegar added to the water (a good cup to start, but I went through more than 4 cups throughout).

The first result was disappointingly minty-looking rather than vibrant, so I did it over with another tsp of the dye. After the wool was dry, I checked with my sister if she liked the colour, and she confirmed my suspicion that it was still not quite green enough, so another tsp of green it was. The results are much better, and it does look a touch more vibrant in person than in the photo below.

I didn't meet my goal last night (I was close, but found a mistake that would take just long enough to fix that I was done for the night), but if I can make it tonight, I will at least have a read through the instructions, find the right needles, and set up a project bag. If I have extra time, then swatching, and revising my notion of "the right needles" if need be.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with today's 15 minutes of spinning: Alberta-grown Texel wool.

15 Minutes

Being the first Monday after springing the clocks forward, it was rather difficult getting the kids up and going to school today. I often feel as though, the moment I get back home to my quiet office that the best way to start the day would be to have a coffee break, and today more so than usual. Unfortunately, as nice as this coffee break is, it invariably results in procrastination.

Today, instead of starting with a coffee break, I started with a spinning break.

I do some of my best thinking while spinning (or while running, but I can't do that now with my sprained/slightly dislocated ankle; can't wait until I can run again!), and I found that I've been worrying a lot lately about the things I have left slide lately in order to keep up with work. Sewing, housework, crafts-other-than-knitting, knitting for family members (I keep this down to just a few things, but I'm not even getting these done lately), knitting for myself, and definitely blogging, which it's easy to spot has not been happening here lately at all.

I  realized, during my 15 minute spinning break, that there is no reason I can't do several of these things as 15 minute breaks. Sure, I can still take a coffee break too, but if I can alleviate some stress and worry by taking an extra 15 minutes to work on two or more of those things each day, then it's more than worth it. Working for 15 minutes on a blog post each day (whether it gets published same day or not doesn't much matter; it's just putting the time in), then I'll at least have the occasional post, which is much better than the none that has been going on lately.

Featured spinning: Ashford Silk Merino blend, in Salvia.

Exercises and Crafty Professional Development

Two days ago, I started my workday with non-work-related creative work. That's to say, I did a spot of colouring with some new brush-tip markers that I'd bought myself for a treat. It had been ages since I'd just sat and coloured for a bit, and it was fun. What followed was a rather productive day with little or no procrastination, so I'm thinking I'm going to try for a little creative Professional Development in the mornings for about a half hour.





Yesterday, I took that time to finally do the Mighty Ugly Exercise from the book Make it Mighty Ugly by Kim Werker.

Now, if you don't know about this book, follow this link, read about it, and then come back, I'll be waiting right here.

I know, great stuff, right?



So, here are the results of my making something ugly on purpose exercise:

I decided to use a glue gun for all the work in order to thwart my perfectionist tendencies that would have demanded for me to use the opportunity to practice making my stitches more even. Sure it would have been good practice, but that's not the point of the exercise.

I used fabric scraps of printed polar fleece, bits of felt, yarn from an early dyeing project that was over-agitated (I used it for both hair and stuffing). A failed crochet scarf that died it's final death in the washing machine became a jacket, with Really Ugly Trim for a belt. I think the glowing eyes are rather creepy too.







Name and backstory though? I fell firmly in the camp of those who didn't even start thinking about that until the creature was done.

So today's morning project is: Name and Backstory.

One day, a Swamp Creature came out of the swamp, and decided to have a look around. She saw people rushing to and fro, riding bicycles, walking to work, and driving cars. She thought the cars looked scary, and wasn't completely sure about the bicycles either, but she liked how the walking people looked like they had a sense of purpose. So, she found herself some clothes and a wig, and joined up with one of those groups.

Our Swamp Creature, who decided that her name would be Loomis (because she rather liked the sound of it), ended up with a group of data entry clerks. Thinking she was the new temp, they issued her a key card and found her a desk.

Luckily, Loomis was a quick study, and she sorted out how to type, and how to enter the forms into the computer. It was quite satisfying being busy all day, and at the end of the day, she returned to the swamp.




Loomis is mostly happy most of the time, but can't quite shake the idea that she doesn't quite belong. The other employees don't seem to really notice that she doesn't really belong there, but they don't quite include her either. They're not really sure what's odd about her, but of course, the glowing eyes and vague formlessness do tend to make one uneasy. Of course, she gets her work done neatly and on time, so they are reasonably content with her.

Loomis hopes to travel further afield one day, but at the moment just works hard at passing as a data entry clerk, and is saving up for a nice little apartment that is not too far from the swamp. She enjoys walking around purposefully.








And there you have it. Quite roughly thrown together, but then again, so is Loomis. If I've learned anything this week, it's that a half-hour at the start of the day is plenty of time to do something I've been meaning to get around to doing, so why not just go ahead and do it. Also, I've been reminded just how important it is to stop and do something fun for a little while now and again.