Additions and deletions

So, I think the whole #slowfashionoctober movement has passed me by, because I'm not on instagram.  I'm a bit retro: when we moved to Canada, we didn't get cell phones here, and I eventually gave up on the US one I had.  I haven't kept up with the smartphone, texting, selfie stuff that I see people doing all around me.

In fact, I found it to be a relief.  We don't get a lot of phone calls and to be honest, I don't miss it, mostly.  Life with twins and two dogs is noisy.  I don't think I always have to be available--and juggling the folks in my household takes all of my attention a lot of the time.  Truthfully, the only time I really thought I should have a phone was back in the spring time, when I had my little surprise trip to the ER and was too sick to use one myself anyhow.

Although I have dropped in on the instagram conversation as a lurker, I realized I wasn't debating things in the way others have.  I haven't been wondering how I could make all my own t-shirts, or spelling out the origins of every piece of fabric or yarn in my stash.  I haven't sworn off anything much, either.  On the other hand, I don't buy a lot new in the first place.

My only recent purchases have been out of necessity.  I bought another pair of All Birds Wool sneakers when I visited the US.  They are all wool and biodegradable materials, and I have fallen in love with how comfortable they are...and since I am not really up for making my own shoes right now, I'll settle for an ethically made pair, ready for next spring, summer and fall, instead. (winter time in Winnipeg = boots from November to April)

Then, I had (gasp) an underwire pop out of one of those essential female undergarments.  I was down to way too few of those anyway, and had to go to The Bay and check out their lingerie sale.  Now, I think I bought all of "last year's models" and saved a lot of money.  Were all those bras and pairs of underwear made in a place with good working conditions?  With a decent minimum wage?  I just don't know...but Rome wasn't built in a day.  I have to take a middle path about this.  There's no way I'll have time to figure out how to make underwear this month.  It's just not in the schedule.

This month, as usual, I've fixed lots of things.  I mended and patched many pairs of little boy pants.  I knit up an extension on this sweater.  Instead of cutting off the old ribbing, I left it in place, picked up stitches right above it, and knit down.  Luckily, I had matching yarn left over, although I have a feeling the kid in question would have been fine with contrasting yarn, if that were on offer!

I debated cutting off the ribbing at the end, but felt it was risky.  This kid is narrow in the hips, so instead, I just basted down the ribbing on the inside, and it forms a double layer band towards the bottom of the sweater.  It looks tidy enough on the inside.

Now, in this action shot, over a hand me down polar fleece, if you undo the sleeve cuffs, you can see there is still room to grow this season, and the sweater has already been in action again...worn out and about.

The kid in question is pleased as punch to have his sweater back.

I haven't done as much writing about Slow Fashion this month as I had intended.  However, maybe I have some excuses to fall back on.  Pre-twins, I did write a whole book about this back in 2009.  You know, about making ethical and green choices when it came to choosing knitting yarns and textiles in general...Knit Green.

I also realize that while I may not be snapping so many perfectly staged photos, I am indeed spending those moments trying to mend, recycle, reuse, and maximize what we've got at home when it comes to clothing.  Yesterday, I showed someone the knitting in my purse.  It's the sleeve to one twin's fall sweater (each kid gets one handknit sweater a year, if I can manage it) and one half of a handknit kid's sock.  It's all from my stash--no new yarn purchases.  I'm still trying, one stitch at a time, to make things from scratch in a responsible way.

Today, in other activities: I've made 3 loaves of challah, one loaf of banana chocolate chip bread, pureed the soup (and froze some) that I cooked yesterday, put chicken and potatoes into the slow cooker, got my freezer lamb for the year delivered, dealt with another house upkeep issue, and submitted an article on a deadline to an editor.  You know, nothing much... there's still time to fit in a little more mending and knitting, I hope! (and all before I pick up boys from kindergarten, too...)

Perfect

Here is an amazing follow-up blog post by Hugh Stephens that emphasizes the serious difficulties in copyright issues in knitting and crochet patterns and writing.  Thank you, Hugh!

We've been in the middle of Passover, which is a big deal holiday, lots of family, lots of different foods.  Some years, I cook it all myself.  This year has been so different from last year.  No big medical issues (thank goodness) and some actual breaks for me, which has been great.  The twins have just completed their first big overnight (without parents!) with their grandparents.  HUGE!  What did I do?

I sat outside (hint, I may not be on my Winnipeg back porch...) and drank a little wine, did some knitting, and listened to an audio book.

I looked at the trees.  I heard birds sing.  I sat still for over an hour.  Whoa.

The weather was warm.  Here's another look up at the trees.

So warm, in fact, that my new AllBirds wool runners  (sneakers) felt a bit too warm, but were very comfortable on a long walk, right out of the box.  (These are some new, eco-friendly sneakers that I had to try.  So far only available in the US and NZ, but I got US connections, that's all I can say, here's hoping they become an enormous international hit so I can order my next pair from home in Canada.... :)  Here's another review of the runners...  and they look cool.  I would wish for some more colors, maybe a brown pair, or maybe something a little less bright, (they are very aqua green in person) but otherwise, they are super.

The last bit of this post is about a pep talk my brother gave my kids.  He suggested that if they were absolutely PERFECT on their way to bed after the Saturday night seder, he would reward them with a dessert of their choice next Saturday night, after Passover.  The boys' preliminary choices are: a chocolate cookie, and blueberry pie. (I have never made or served them blueberry pie, so that is an exciting option, apparently!)

Well, the truth is that they took that pep talk very seriously.  I have been so impressed with both little guys, and they were active and smart participants at the seders, too.  It was all sort of amazing.  So, we're aiming for a perfect (or almost-perfect) vacation week (no school, either), cause you know, we want those special desserts.  My homemade pies --apple, peach, key lime, whatever.  Not as good as their imagination, cause their uncle is a great cook, and he is exotic and different than Mommy, too!

For me, a long walk, a bit of sunshine on the back porch, some knitting and some wine?  By myself?  Nothing could be better.