FO: Spruce Forest

  

At long last, I have started blocking some of the crap in my finished objects basket.  I hesitate to even mention how long this shawl has been languishing, but maybe the shame will keep me going - so uhhh, about nine months?

...yikes.

Anyhow!  I loved making this shawl, and I have a feeling that I will love wearing it.  Of course, I finished it just in time for summer, so it will probably have a nice long nap during the warmer months, but once it hits 50 degrees I plan to wear the crap out of it!  It's big and fluffy and very cozy, and it's a beautiful but unusual neutral.  I figured the best way to style it for photos was with a Victorian-style cotton blouse by Gunne Sax, as this shawl would be right at home on the prairie on a chilly morning.

Happy Friday!

Pattern:  Spruce Forest by Nancy Bush, from Wool People Vol. 2

Yarn:  Brooklyn Tweed Loft, colorway Postcard

Yardage: Almost all of 3 skeins of Loft - 825 yards

Needle size: US 5 instead of the recommended US 4 - I always go up a needle size on Nancy Bush patterns

Color Obsessions

So, one big way working towards The Show affected my creative brain was that although I was neither dressing particularly well nor knitting much, I was still consuming tons of content - patterns, blogs, magazines, books - without an outlet other than the clothes I was making.  Even though I was short on time to knit, shop, or write in the blog, I was pretty much always thinking about yarn, clothing, and visual inspiration.  Here's a few of my favorite color obsessions from the last eight months or so.

Romantic Multicolors.

I have always been a sucker for pink and purple, and lately that has translated into a deep love for soft, botanical multicolored yarns.

Color Stories Inspired by Place.

I love the idea of creating multiple color palettes within my closet inspired by travel.  I always have distinct visual memories associated with places: the brilliant florals and greenery of Indonesia; the sophisticated neutrals of Japan; the greys and sodium yellows of Iceland.  And because I'm a nerd for organization, I like that I can group certain colors together - even disparate ones - when they have a visual inspiration attached to them.

Reykjavík

Bali

  

Kyoto

Natural White.

I don't have the coloring to wear either pure white or brown greys, but I absolutely love natural white.  It's a warmer, more forgiving color than pure white, and neutral enough to complement a variety of other colors.  I used to ignore it - lumping it into the "white" category that just didn't work for me - until I realized it was the perfect shade for a scarf to wear with any color of coat, or for a throw for our grey couch, or as a contrast color to lavender grey and pale pink alike.

 

Speaking of which, did I mention that I'm also obsessed with two-color shawls?  'Cause oh man, that's a story for another day.

Hallo there!

It's been a while!  There's been a few changes around here.  Mr. Mackie had another health scare a few weeks ago when he broke one of his teeth clean off!  Luckily, the vet determined that he had just "done something stupid" and the tooth would grow back pretty quickly.  It did, and since then he has kept his little butt out of the vet's office.

 

In other news... I cut my hair!  I had been thinking about it for quite a while, and a few days before my dear friend Ondrea's wedding in Oberlin, I decided to take the plunge.  I love how easy it is to care for!  I will admit that it's been a bit of an adjustment.  I started growing it out when I was 19, so long hair has been part of my identity for a long time, and I've found that both myself and others have been referring to me as "that girl who used to have really long hair".  It's a little weird, but I'm sure it will pass in time.

 

I've been taking a bit of a break from sewing and general creative work since the show, but lately I've been dipping my toes back in.  I made my bridesmaid's dress for the wedding, which was the first thing I had sewn for several months.  I've also started going back to knitting groups, and blocking and finishing some of the projects that were on hold while I worked on my collection.  And yesterday, I ran into a friend from Purly Girls and we started scheming a project to work on together - more details on that once it's more solidified!

Hope you've all been well, and hope to see you a lot more around these parts!

<3

Cory