A Year in Knits: 2015

2015 in Knitwear Design

   

 

   

This year, I released or reformatted 11 patterns:

5 hats - Talus, Camas, Pip, Salt Creek Hat, Cairn

3 shawls - Fireweed, Lupine, Lingon

1 scarf - Blake

1 pair of mitts - Wayward

1 sweater - Sweet Root

2015 was absolutely huge for indie.knits, and I can't wait to see what 2016 holds! Thank you so much for your support, your cool projects, and your awesome feedback this year. I adore connecting with you all - whether through Ravelry, or Instagram, or in person - it makes the work I do feel really meaningful, knowing that there are wonderful folks like you to share it with. <3

2015 in Knits (and a Crochet) for Funsies!

 

So what about my for-fun knitting? Well, I need to get back on that! I've destashed quite a lot of yarn over the last year, with the goal of streamlining my stash and only making projects that I will love to knit and wear. As I've devoted more time to designing, I've had to drastically cut down the number of for-fun projects I knit, so I'd like to become even more careful about choosing great projects in 2016.

So what are the numbers? Let's take a look!

  

3 collars

   

4 pairs of socks

  

3 cowls

   

  

7 shawls

 

2 sweaters

  

2 hats (both Talus, oops!)

1 pair of mitts

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So for the final count, I'm at 29 finished projects for 2015 - many of which are in the design section, although not all the samples have a project page, so I made even more than 29 things. Clear as mud, right?

According to Knitmeter, in 2015 I've knit 12,006 yards, about 6.8 miles, not including the aforementioned extra entries - up from last year's 10,348 yards (5.9 miles.) High five, 2015 me!

I've destashed 90-some-odd yarns in 2015, and knitted up somewhere in the ballpark of 20 stash entries. As we've settled into living in a smaller house, I've become more and comfortable with the idea of owning less - it makes a high level of laziness much more achievable, while still appearing as though I am a fully functional adult (hahah) - so I'd love to continue the downward trend in my stuff in general, and in my stash particularly.

(That said, the stash will never fully go away, because I <3 my stash! Where else would I get my late-night yarn squishings?)

Happy knitting new year!
Love,
Cory

WIP: Jeyna; Or, Embracing Enough

This year, I am trying out a new thing, which is to consciously choose and value the objects that I have in my life. That doesn't necessarily mean going through and getting rid of everything, or not buying anything ever - but does mean that I'd like to focus on quality & function over instant gratification. In my creative life, that still means experiencing new materials and allowing them to inspire me - but at the end of it, thinking about items that I already own that could fill a particular purpose, instead of taking home a whole new whack of yarn (or fabric, or whatever else.)

Luckily, I work at a yarn shop, which means I get to spend a lot of time surrounded by books, materials, and people that inspire me. And then there are blogs, which I quietly but voraciously read and love, and which are always giving me new ideas and insights.

One of my favorite reads as of late is Kat's blog, The Wayward Knitter. I love how thoughtful Kat is as a knitter and designer, and she has a distinct color sense that I find really inspiring! So when she released the Jeyna shawl pattern just a few weeks ago, I immediately knew I wanted to knit it.

The proportions are lovely, and I can see it worked up in any number of color combinations, from neutral to bold. My instinctive color choice was turquoise and black - and I knew I had some black DK weight alpaca in my stash, but the turquoise had me stumped. I even went on a yarn excursion with my mom, and had decided on another color combination entirely, and was seriously considering buying it... but then that little voice in the back of my mind gently prodded me: I already own the thing that wants to be this shawl, somewhere - I just have to find it.

  

And lo and behold, later that night in my studio, as Lumberjack patiently listened to me go on about colors while gesticulating wildly, I had a flash of inspiration: a lone skein of Abstract Fiber Alto in a deep, gorgeous turquoise - almost 400 yards, just a little more than I needed. There it was, and it was perfect.

It's funny - even thought I thrive on creative constraints in design, for some reason I had never let that idea fully translate into my knitting life. Now that I have it in mind, though, I'm excited for the possibilities and opportunities in embracing enough.

Happy Wednesday, friends!

<3

Cory

Pattern photos of Jeyna belong to Kat Riddell (2015) and are used with permission.

Inspiration: Texture + Color

One of my newest fiber loves is Rambouillet: a light, crunchy wool often peppered with soft slubs. The texture of it always makes me gravitate towards subtle, almost washed-out colors - the color of a t-shirt left in the sun too long; a piece of beachglass; a flower that's started to wilt on the vine.

 

These are three different Rambouillet yarns that I've collected in the last year and a half, and yesterday - sort of on a whim - I put them next to each other for the first time, and they sang. I've come to realize that my brain works well with patterns: shades that fit into the same color story; characteristic textures found across different fibers; accessories that coordinate but don't match.

In a moment, all three yarns told me what they wanted to be. Turns out all they needed was each other.

Although my life feels at a crossroads these days, I'm hoping that organizing my thoughts and plans from now until I graduate (hopefully Novemberish) will help me weedwhack the path forward.

And so, onward!

<3

Cory

Stash Matching

  

In the last few months, as I've made serious efforts towards clearing out my WIP bin, I've been a bit more judicious with my stash enhancements. But as one last hurrah before ballgown, I was a rulebreaker! I went down to Makers' Mercantile last weekend with Lumberjack and my friend Sooz and picked up a special skein of yarn.

We shared some delicious orange cake and coffee from Ryliecakes, then wandered around the shop for a while. Every time I go to Makers's Mercantile, I find something inspiring: a shawl, a pattern book, a new-to-me yarn. I absolutely love hard copies of patterns, so I was super excited to find Mormorio in their pattern notebook and immediately snapped up a copy. And as for the yarn, it's a skein of Schmutzerella Yarns Spectacular in the colorway - dun dun dunnnn - Makers' Mercantile! As soon as I picked it up, I realized that it matched my dress perfectly, and it has just the right amount of sparkle. I'm planning to make it into some kind of garter stitch shawlette, perhaps a Hitchhiker or a Holden.

I'd better make a decision soon, because I think it's going to be my brainless knitting project to work on during ballgown!

Madrona 2014

  

Two weeks ago, I had the good fortune of participating in Madrona Fiber Arts down in Tacoma, Washington. This was my first time attending the market both as a vendor and as a patron, and it was a really wonderful and affirming experience. For four days, I was surrounded by yarn, gorgeous knits in the wild, and passionate weavers, spinners, crocheters, and knitters. I got to see Catherine Lowe's stunning couture finishing in person, chat with excited knitters about their favorite colorways of Madelinetosh, and squish lots and lots of yarn. I got some amazing books, a few yarns that are on my knitting bucket list (Toots LeBlanc and qiviut, to be exact!) and some yarn that just sang to me (3 skeins of Sincere Sheep Equity Fingering for a shawl design that is brewing in my noggin). It left me with a sense of belonging and excitement about this community that I love so much.

It also reminded me of something important as I navigate through the murky territory of wellness. I was in the Toots LeBlanc booth looking at samples, and the vendor showed me the difference between a scarf that had been knit and blocked only a few weeks before, and one that had been traveling with the booth as a sample for seven years. The newer scarf was crisp and pretty, but it also felt slightly brittle behind a light halo of softness; the old scarf, on the other hand, was fulled and strong from handling, and as soft as a rabbit's belly. It reminded me that the beginnings of things are so often the most difficult, when that fragility is right beneath an exterior of calm; that strength will come with time. And that's okay.

<3

Cory