Value each other--a Valentine

Valentine's Day is a chance to show how much we value each other.

Today, my article about kidnapping, human trafficking and MMIWG (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls) went live here, on the Jewish Independent website:

When Joseph went missing

This is a serious issue, and it's not just something that happens to "other" people or other communities. Moms, daughters--our family members, people we value--are going missing.

Valentine's Day also made me think about how my household makes stuff to show we care about each other. This morning, one of my kids gave me a handmade beaded bracelet and a lot of art he's made me.  I've hung up the art!  I am wearing my "mom" bracelet!

In the last few years, I've focused on designing things and offering special releases and sales for Valentine's Day.  This year, there's no new design and no 'special' sale. Why?

I've spent a lot of time reformatting older patterns lately so that they are now Low Vision Accessible.  This is a long process...I'm not done. This means knitters with vision challenges can use a pattern with easier to read, larger fonts, single column formatting, no italics, and photo descriptions.  It takes time to redo each pattern, but --I am doing it because I value all of us, and it would be great if all knitters could find patterns that they can read.

Reformatting these patterns also helped me to see that many of my patterns haven't sold a lot of copies, and perhaps they have only sold when they were on sale.  I try not to make my patterns expensive...so without a sale, they are accessible.  However, the message sometimes seems to be that only things 'on sale' or 'free' are good.  That message doesn't value me or my time or efforts, either.

My choice for Valentine's Day this year is to be proud of my knitwear design work, to keep trying to improve it, and also, to stop 'de-valuing' it, too.  So, no sale today.  Does this mean fewer patterns sold overall?  Maybe.  Does it mean I earn less income from patterns?  Yes...I'll need to find a way to make up that loss elsewhere in my freelance work.  At roughly $5US a pattern, it is not an easy way to earn income, even without a sale.

However, we, as people, have great value. Everyone is important.  I'm trying not to let financial issues get in the way of recognizing that...no matter who we are or what we create.   Each person has value and is a gift.

 All of these knitwear patterns, including "Deir Hart" and the "Thump Thump Mittens"--are available
on Ravelry and on Lovecrafts.


More importantly, let's value each other every day...not just Valentine's Day!

Since we last spoke...

I've been busy over here, making things.  The knitting's gone slowly but the sewing has been, for the most part, very positive.  I've had a success--I made this second jumper from the 100 acts of sewing dress no. 1 pattern, and it has already been worn quite a bit!  (It just requires woolly tights, a long sleeve shirt and a sweater as it is brisk outside these days.)

I then made a set of linen/cotton dish cloths and this too went very quickly!

Filled with confidence over the success of my efforts, I dove into making my first pair of pants...with a pattern.  They are 100 acts of sewing pants no.1.  I lengthened them, I lined up the pinstripes from this wool/blend suiting from Economy Textile.  I finished the pants completely, and then put them on.  Sewing fail!  The fabric does not drape.  The pants look sort of like I instantly gained 40 lbs.  I will either be taking these in or washing them to see if I can get them drape or....something.  Somebody may get a new pair of handmade pants?

Ahh, well.  The bigger picture is easy to see.  I am learning many new skills at once.  I'm also happy that it goes quicker than when I try out a new knitting design.  I sometimes spend months on a project that never becomes a fully realized design or goes on sale for knitters.  That's ok. It happens.  Part of making (and learning) is also failing and trying again.  Very important life lesson--sadly true no matter what we're working on.

In other big news, Three Ply: 3 Stories + Patterns, has been written up in the latest Vogue Knitting Magazine!  I am pleased as punch about it and my household was so excited to see the big article.  This ebook is also available from Ravelry as a pdf or you can just download individual stories and patterns from Ravelry or Lovecrafts.com.

Also, I received a lovely note inviting me to try out a gorgeous handmade ceramic bowl from yarncanada.ca.   When I checked them out, I discovered that they were done by Madeline Coomey, an artist from BC who does beautiful work.  However, alas and alack, my household is too chaotic with dogs and kids to keep a ceramic yarn bowl in one piece...and I do most of my knitting on the run these days.  If you do use yarn bowls though?  This one is a good one! Please check out the link!

Last, but not least...
Today, a column appeared online and was published --on my sewing journey...From the beginning again. 

The Messy Cop

 I recently had an article come out in Ply magazine!  The editors asked me to post about it on social media using this snapshot of my writing. (click on it to embiggen to read it)  I haven't received my magazine yet in Canada...but people have asked me for more info.

I first heard about it via a reader query on Ravelry, saying she liked the cowl I was wearing in the article!  (uhh, I didn't think I'd sent a photo with a cowl in it.)  Oh, she said, had I designed this lacy teal leaf cowl?  Could she purchase it?  Ummm...this is when I wondered if I'd lost my mind. Was it lack of sleep, the street construction jack hammering noise or something else?  I'd designed a lot of cowls, but teal?  Leafy? Lace?  Huh.

Turns out the photos featured with this article don't match anything I sent in my submission. (This happens to freelancers.) The woman featured isn't me, and not sporting any of the cowls, scarves, or shawls I have designed!  (Note, my designs work well in handspun!)  I use commercial yarns in most my design samples to make substitution easier for those who don't spin, but there is always plenty of info for spinners who want to supply their handspun for the patterns.

A friend noticed that the lady in the article didn't look like me.  (She's older, for one) She sent me some photos so I could see the article.  Here are some photos I took for this article that illustrate the messy cop process if you're curious to learn more...my cops look different from what I saw featured there. (These photos weren't published, I own copyright, so they're mine to use as I like.)

#1. Use scrap paper or a stiff bit of cardboard to wrap around the spindle.  Tuck the end of the leader so it sticks out of the bottom of the spindle, towards your hand, for easy access later on.  Wind solely onto the scrap paper for ease of removal later.  I started with blue so you can see the leader clearly in the next photo.

#2 As the cop progresses, wind on however you'd like, as messy as you want --the end result is a ball-- but make sure you can still see that (blue) leader yarn at the bottom so you know you could do a center pull ball for plying later.  Keep the cop on your scrap paper quill.

 #3.  When the spindle no longer spins consistently in the right direction, it's full and too heavy to work effectively.  Gently pull the (round) ball off the spindle shaft, holding onto those two ends.  The paper/cardboard quill inside should remain intact inside the ball.

#4.  Take your ball and wind the two ends together onto a nostepinde or distaff for ease in plying.  If you do not have this tool, you can use: A smooth stick, a yard stick, a pencil, another spindle shaft...whatever's convenient.  I tend to tuck the nostepinde under one armpit when I ply, so if that's your practice, make sure the stick is long enough for this to be comfortable. Armpit sizes vary!
Note: The blue leader is still visible, you can see where I pulled it out of the center pull ball to begin to wind the two plies together.

#5. To complete the plying, you're again putting on the scrap paper, leader at the bottom, and twisting your two plies in the opposite direction.  There were will be no leftovers as you are spinning from both ends of a single messy cop/ball rather than two separate ones.

#6.  If you're making a 4 ply yarn, you're ready to go with the cop on a piece of scrap paper...you can easily access both ends of the ball to ply again.  If not, slip the 2-ply yarn off the spindle: it's ready to skein up so you can wash and set the twist.

OK, that's the whole story!  You don't have to wind on in any kind of zen-tidy way!  Your yarn making will still work just fine.  I hope this is helpful...do leave a comment if you have questions and I'll try to check back to answer them.
All the best,
Joanne

Worry Bear for Women

A friend graciously tested my Worry Bear pattern.  She has already given the first bear to a friend who is going through some mental health challenges.  Her second is destined for an older lady with dementia.  I feel like if this design is all I did for International Women's Day this year, so be it.  I was very moved by her images in the projects and how her handknits have such power to show care for others.  She gave me permission to repost them.

We had a quiet moment doing reading before bed this week, and I caught a funny photo of these cherished (but pretty worn) woolly socks I knit long ago.  They were dangling off the edge of the bed as we made our way through a Rainbow Magic Fairy book together.  --And, if you are looking, you can see an old baby blanket doing double duty on the handmade dog bed and the wool crocheted rug, a little worse the wear now, but well-loved by several dogs after 13? years or so!

After working at the computer, and getting groceries and other chores, I made myself a fabulous snack.  That's Greek/Turkish/Middle Eastern coffee....(1 tsp sugar, for those who wonder) made in a briki, a tall glass of water, and plain popcorn topped with a bit of olive oil, salt, and a tablespoon of maple syrup.  (Don't worry, I saved a lot of popcorn for twins' after-school snack, too.)  It was delicious.  May you have something similar soon!

Faster by the day

 There's an old phrase floating around that says something like:
Spinning on a spinning wheel is faster by the hour.  Spindling is faster by the day.  This has gone through my head repeatedly since having kids.  While I was gluing knitting needles and shooting other photos, I hung up some yarn to dry on my (dirty) porch.  First, I hung up an experiment I'd done.



Last summer, I bought some Clun Forest roving from Custom Woollen Mills in Alberta.  It is a down breed, bouncy, and hard to felt.  Perfect for boy mitts.  I spun it up in two ways.  One was a slightly over twisted chunky single ply.  The other, which took much longer, was a skinny single that I plied into a 2 ply.  It's well balanced and the skein looks much nicer.  I will continue onward with this experiment and knit both into mitts.  My best guess is that even though the 2 ply looks nicer and would perhaps last longer, the chunky single will save a lot of time.  My boys don't often lose their mitts, but they do insist on growing, so they outgrow them, but not before they get dirty repeatedly, felted, and well-worn.  Sometimes the end game is about efficiency and not perfection.

The second batch of yarn was ALL spindle spun.  I spun and plied it all on the spindle.  Much of it was spun and plied right on the same porch, as I watched kids.  I have no idea how long I spent on this.  I recently dug around in my spinning basket, noticed a had a lot of odd single balls of spindle spun yarn, and plied them.  That added up and amounted to a lot of yarn!

I have no idea what these skeins will be one day.  What matters here is volume- I was actually productive during those hours on the porch. The kids' wheelbarrow (well-used in 'weeding' play) caught their drips as they dried.

 I often feel stymied by the number of interruptions, illnesses, and other details I manage...it's not a professional 40 hour work week or lifestyle.  However, I recently applied to something and realized that I'd had 60 articles published in the last year.  Sixty!  (some were reprints, but that is ok) So, just like that water dripping, a little at a time does add up after a while!  So...spin on!  (or write on?!)

Making knitting needles

When I went with my family and friends to that Arts Center in Alexandra, VA in May (the one that does art with recycled materials)  I scored something unusual.  They had a jar of unfinished knitting needles in rare woods in all sorts of sizes.  This used to be someone's business, I think she was turning knitting needles on a lathe in ebony, rosewood, etc. but then she retired...and donated her leftovers.  I got 2 sets of straight needles at $3 a piece.  I could have bought a ton, but in truth, I don't really need more needles.  I do use size #6 and 7 (4 mm and 4.5mm) pretty often though.  None of the needles were marked, and none had ends yet.  So, I eyeballed, bought two, and flew home to Winnipeg.

I have a weird collection of beads in many sizes.  I always thought I might get into beading, although honestly, it has never been my thing.  I've made beaded yarns, knitted beads into garments, and in the end, I find it a bit too fiddly and the end result was too girly for my personal taste.  However, I just happened to have some wooden beads...that would work well on these needles.

I did this in a low tech way.  I grabbed some of my kids' glue, some newspaper, and set things up on the front porch.  I didn't measure or get overly particular about details.  I put glue inside the beads, slid them onto the ends of the needles, and left it to dry.

Once dry, the needles look good to go.  I have knit on straight or double pointed needles without anything on the end, and while I can manage it in a pinch, I like a firm cap on the end so stitches don't fall off when I race off to chase a dog or kid.  These will fit the bill.  If for some reason the glue does not stick, I have more wooden beads and I can use fancier glue later.  I started with easily accessible non-toxic glue from the kids' art shelf.

If you are handy, you can easily sharpen dowels and make knitting needles.  I have also knit with pencils in a pinch.  Sometimes you need to knit and supplies aren't close at hand.  If you're not into sharpening dowels, consider visiting some thrift shops and secondhand stores to get needles affordably.  This is how I built up my big collection of needles when I first got married and moved away from my mom's stash of needles.  This also helps you learn to knit with a variety of needles.  I learned not to be overly picky about wood/metal/plastic but to enjoy knitting with tools that were well-loved by those knitters who came before me.

Creative clothes for girls

A new friend of mine has a daughter in my sons' school class.  She's also a teacher at their school--and she has been wonderful to my kids.  In a 'past life'--she also sang opera professionally!  (And yes, that amazing musical talent gets shared with the kids, which is such an amazing gift.)

Today, I learned more.... I've long known that Miriam makes her daughters' clothes.  We have that in common too, although I stick to knitting sweaters, mitts, hats, and socks for my twins.  It turns that out that Miriam also has a new online boutique with girls' clothing here.

 Her designs are creative and colorful, and what's more--these clothes dress little girls in smart ways.  Her kids move and run in these clothes, and twirling is always a good option in these sparkly designs!

Even better, Miriam's found ways to dress her kids in a way that some of us prefer.  Instead of tight tank tops that show off belly buttons, these clothes fit so that girls can outrun everybody on the playground without being, well, inappropriately revealing.  (There's lots of research on this, it's hardly necessary to link to something here--just look at the clothing available for purchase for little girls these days.)

Some people deem this 'modest clothing' or call it 'covering up'--but in truth, it allows little kids to play without thinking about their bodies all the time.  And that's a good thing for everybody's psychological development.

These are fun, handmade, creative clothes, and nobody paid me to say it!  I wanted to let others in on this good secret.  So--please check out this great new resource, the Saravia Boutique....


(While you're there, read about Miriam's story growing up in the Soviet Union, too.  Her mother thought the Estonian school uniforms were the most fashionable, which is no surprise if you're a knitter.  Those Estonians do beautiful needlework!)

Riding off into the sunset

In between writing articles, and making dinner, we sometimes try to do some creative things.

In order to bring you this post...I've lined up homemade challah (from the freezer), slow cooker leg of lamb (freezer lamb to first slow cooker this AM), potatoes and sweet potatoes (second slow cooker), spelt bread for weekend sandwiches (bread machine is going) and salads for all of us.  I find if I manage to cook ahead a bit, it leaves me feeling less panicked and less likely to give in to expensive take-out, etc.  We're about to enjoy Victoria Day here --May Long Weekend, and that is three days of uninterrupted kid- feeding around here...they sure do eat!

Doing all this crazy planning ahead has given me 10 minutes here and there to do some spinning.  I found some wool roving (unknown medium wool) leftover from a class I taught a while back.  It was a strange small amount, so I decided to use it up.  Then I will likely make a chain 3-ply, and knit it into mittens.  I foresee a need for all new mittens for next winter; twins are growing fast; must be all that food!

In my pre-twin life, I imagined all the creative things I would do with my future kids.  I failed to understand how much time goes into just keeping everybody afloat, honestly.  However, both my boys really wanted their own hobby horses.  I'd read a great book called Rags as a kid, it's by Stella and Linda Allison.  I knew we could do this project.  Our Professor (Daddy) picked up two broom sticks at the hardware store, and we were off.

We had our photo shoot and maiden ride on our new horses (the gray one is a pony, just so you know that, Mommy!) this morning.  The boys helped stuff the doubled wool socks (cast-offs with big holes from Daddy) with some wool fleece that was ideal for stuffing.  The boys stuffed the broom sticks in.  I used duct tape (after bed time) to make sure the fleece did not pop out, nor the heads come off the broom sticks.

   Each kid picked out the eye colors (note: blue eyes for the blue eyed twin, brown eyes for the brown eyed twin) and mane colors.  They cut the mane for me after school one day.  I did all the ear attachment, eye embroidery, mane tying, harness, rein and rosette assembly, etc.

 I haven't done as many of these creative play projects as I had hoped to do, in the halcyon days when I imagined what twin-rearing would be.  There just isn't time.  Late last night, as I attached reins and stitched everything on firmly, I guessed that this project took me at least 5-6 hours of sewing/handwork, not counting the broom stick acquisition, the know-how, and the time I spent getting "help" from twins.  My main work time was between 9-10 at night, when I felt a bit cross-eyed with fatigue and couldn't see to thread needles.  (Yup, need to get my eyes checked, too.)

The best part of all this was to see the boys' enthusiasm, and every morning, they checked to see how their horses were coming along.  They seem to have no idea that some people just buy these things, and that is great, in my opinion.  Hurray for handmade, eco-friendly toys!  We didn't spend much money on these, aside from my time. I could see how this would be a fun thing to do if perhaps I didn't have to make two of everything, assembly line, and fitting in actual work for pay time, maybe if someone else was in charge of dinner. :)

However, my kids don't yet understand any of that, so they're literally planning their first horse race for the front yard when they come home from school this afternoon.

Let the races and adventures begin!

making

Nothing gets me back in my "work groove" better than a little quiet and a chance to do things and make stuff.  This past week has been pretty darn productive.  I've written two articles (and one will go live this weekend sometime), I've done some blocking and knitting, I've mended some clothes--which instantly increases what I can wear again...it's all good.

Both twins are also somewhat better settled when they are back at school, so I love routine.  Part of that routine is getting to do something absolutely crazy beyond producing meals for everyone else--It's eating a homemade lunch, by myself.  Better yet, the lunch doesn't comprise of a calzone or sandwich (things I could eat one handed while trying to feed those babies, for instance) but rather a salad.  here's an improvised delight I ate yesterday.  One cut up leftover baked potato, some spinach, some dilly beans--canned by me in long ago hot summer weather, some leftover 'mediterranean' type salad on top (cut up tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, carrots, with oil, vinegar, and Italian herbs), topped by plain yogurt and some peanuts for crunch.  Eclectic?  yup.  Good?  You bet.  And...I did not have to compete with two five year olds over the salad, which, by the way, is an issue.  I have two boys who love salad but will eat it all before I get to serve myself any!  

 Also on the schedule?  Writing up a pattern to submit as part of my local festival's collection!  Here's the sample, all blocked and tidy.  The yarn?  Handspun flax, from TapRoot Fibre Lab.

That one bead?  Recycled glass, purchased from an African fair trade vendor, at a long ago street fair.  Having a deep stash is great when it comes to finding that perfect bead or button...
Happy Spring Making!
Joanne

Handmade Resistance--it's much older than a 'buycott'

Here is my latest article...
 This one just went live this morning on the Daily Forward's Sisterhood Blog:

Ethical fashion is about more than boycotts--and it has been for a very long time. We can create great change through the work of our hands.

Curious to read more?  Here's the link:

Jewish Handmade Resistance

new sweater for a new year

A week ago, I finally finished knitting the second twin sweater...but the timing was off. Last Friday night, I took care of this guy all night while he fought a terrible stomach bug.  When he finished being completely sick all over three sets of bedding (and was resting on a beach towel, with another towel for a blanket), he was so wan and weak that he spent much of last Saturday in bed.  He wanted to pose for photos, but did not feel up to it.  He said he wanted the photos to look good, "since people knit Mommy's patterns" but I promised him--this is a one-off.  It is specially designed for him.

He wanted a sweater that was "dressy" and described it as "big brown, little white, big white, with dots."  He seemed delighted with how it came out.  He wanted to make sure to show that it was completely reversible, too.

The sweater was knitted on size 6(4mm) needles, in the round.  Three tubes, joined at the yoke, sized to fit a skinny but long limbed five year old.  The yarns were all from stash: Jo Sharp DK wool (white) that I bought in Australia, the tweedy brown is a Rowan DK wool that was given to me, and the darker brown is from Cushendale Woollen mills in Ireland (well-aged stash, we went to Ireland in 2004, I think) but is sold in the US as Blackwater Abbey yarn.  I wasn't sure I'd have enough of any of the colors for a whole sweater, so this worked out well.

Although it has been brutally cold out, both boys made it mostly through a whole week of kindergarten. (Yesterday it was -32F without windchill.  The windchills were something like -46C.  Yeah.  I do not even want to convert these back and forth.  Awful.)

 I knew that the stomach bug was a rough one.  I've been waiting for the other twin to get sick.  Today we rested at home again...and this afternoon/evening, we dealt with round 2, which seems to involve Mommy spending a lot of time in the bathroom with little boys. Ugh.

(The kid wanted a lot of close ups with the sweater, so you could "SEE IT"!)

Then, at bedtime, the guy with the new sweater took a flying leap towards bed and just ripped his toe open.  YUCK.  Blood and a very upset, brave kid.  We bandaged him up, propped it up, and hope things will be better tomorrow.  That would be good...I could do with a better day tomorrow.  I'm hoping we do not skip both dance and our first ice skating lesson...

In between bouts of sickness, we played super twins.  Here are the dudes in action.  I could not resist showing the photo off...it was an amazing game.  (Note Pillow case capes, pipe cleaner/sun glasses, and the superhero boot slippers?!)

PS: Remember to get your copy of my new book if you haven't already!?  Please tell people about it, too...I am going to need help promoting this one while I take care of these super heroes...

It's almost OVER.

The UNsale is almost over... October flew by so quickly!  Remember-- purchase any of my patterns by the end of October, and I will donate 20% to the Canadian Red Cross in its efforts to help refugees.

As part of the sale, I promised a new design--a pattern release...and here it is!  Over is now live!

I could say more, but you know what they say about pictures, so here they are...almost all from my photo shoot with a friend who modeled.  Enjoy!  Please check out Over before October's over.  Why's it called Over?  Oversized, over-the-head, summer's over, this fast project's over? That kind of thing.  :)

Last but not least, here are a couple of shots of us:  (and this is why I can't do the modelling, I seem to have a lot of help....)