Cabin Socks

I just finished knitting my very first pair of socks!  Yay me!  And they fit *perfectly*; just as they should.  Made from super soft madeline tosh yarn.  They really are so amazing that I’m kinda scared to wear them.

I started knitting them while at a yoga retreat over Thanksgiving Weekend.  It was a silent retreat on a 100 acre property hosted by the most amazing, gentle, kind, inspiring couple I’ve ever met.  They host a slew of retreats throughout the year and if you ever have the chance you should just sign up.  No thinking, no questioning, no second guessing … just go!  Delicious food, yoga, meditation, silence….

This retreat was completely full when I booked and the only place for me to stay was a little cabin (no water, no electricity) overlooking the spring fed pond which was a good 5 minute walk from the farmhouse.  It was just so perfect and exactly what this introverted mama needed – her own secluded peaceful quiet place for a whole three days!

I’d lie if I said I love ever minute of it; the first day was filled with resistance to the point that I just wanted to get in my car and drive home.  It’s the norm for me on retreat – my mind gets scared and wants to flee.  I’m so grateful that I’ve come to recognize the resistance and just practice being completely present with the feeling – sometimes it passes and other times it stays for the entirety of the retreat.

And either way it’s perfect.

So there in my little candlelit cabin I cast on my very first pair of socks.

Halloween

It’s so true what people say about holidays becoming way more exciting with kids.  And next year will be even crazier when Whalen starts to understand that Halloween is about dressing up and getting free candy … and Christmas is about a jolly fat dude giving you free gifts!!!

Last year my mother-in-law (bless her sweet heart) sent up a pumpkin outfit for Whalen and it wasn’t until the eve of Halloween that we realized that it was actually a dog costume … oops!  Let’s be honest; he had no idea why he was dressed up – or that he was even dressed up all.  But look at that kid – could he be any cuter!

This year I started my search in September for his costume but found very little selection and most were being made overseas which just didn’t sit right with me.  There were a ton of used ones but most required the wearer to have something on his/her head which doesn’t really fly with Whalen.

I ended up finding the perfect dinosaur costume on etsy!  Super cute, easy to wear and can be worn throughout the year – not just halloween.  And the best thing about etsy is that you’re supporting the art of handmade clothing.

A huge thank you to the super talented KidHub for making Whalen’s super sweet dino costume.

Straight Cut Tunic

I really don’t know how I feel about this tunic.  It’s clearly too big, too bulky, not the right fabric, and not very flattering at all *but* I had such high hopes its hard to just toss it away 😦  I’m toying with the idea of shortening the sleeves and maybe if I wore it with a belt or a chunky cardi ….

A capsule (custom, handmade) wardrobe is all about creating clothing that you love, fit like a glove and ones you’re super proud of … and this sadly doesn’t fit any of those criteria.  So, I think I may just move on – keep it in my closet as a reminder of where I came from and hope that there are some victories in the coming months 😉

Harem Pants

Instead of finishing my gorgeous straight cut tunic, I’ll be blogging about that later in the week, I’ve been painting a 165 foot long picket fence – boooo!  So in the meantime, here’s a super easy pattern that started my sewing adventures.

I first made these pants for Whalen when he was super wee because he has skinny legs and is quite petite so pants never really fit him well.  Harem’s are a great and easy pant to make for any newbie sewer.  I decided to reintroduce them into Whalen’s daily rotation because the kid can’t stop running with his head turned to the side.  The result:  skinned knees that never have a chance to heal.  So, I made these pants for Whalen a couple weeks ago.  Making things for small people is so quick, so easy and super rewarding.  These cute hipster pants took me an hour or so to sew up.

I did do a few modifications…

1. Added an extra 1.5” to the top of the pattern to account for an elastic waist instead of the separate waist band.
2. And I also used a cotton batik instead of knit fabric.  It’s a little tighter and has hardly any give around the lower legs but my dude has skinny legs so it works quite well for him

I’ll probably sew up a couple more pairs for fall/winter – he’s just way too cute in his crazy harems and camo mocs!  And the pose just kills me!

Closet Clean Out

Do you take time to reorganize your closet for the season ahead?  Do you find it hard to part with certain pieces even though they don’t fit or look good on you anymore?

This weekend I took an hour, here and there, to really go through my closet – pack up summery thing, toss out some stuff, and created a pile to donate.  The only divide my wardrobe ever had was ‘work’ and ‘weekend’ but since I stopped working, in the corporate world 6 years ago, my clothing is all weekend all the time!  And after having Whalen my style has really gone down hill.

My fall/winter style is going to be layers of comfy clothing!  Tights, tunics or long dresses, knits, booties or bogs, and long coats.  The winter on the east coast of Canada can be brutal so pants are never a good option in the slush and snow … which make tights and dresses a perfect winter style.

Looking at my pictures it doesn’t seem like I organized anything – hahaha!  but I swear it was way worse when I started.

I must admit that I have a hard time letting go of certain items like lulu tops I wore to climb kilimanjaro (that so don’t fit this post baby body), shoes! they really are the toughest to part with … so I don’t – haha!  I’ve been blessed to able to afford some pretty cool shoes like Manolo, Jimmy Choo, Channel, … and although I rarely have places to wear them I just can’t let them go.  And shit clothes – like tshirts, leggings, sweats, old tank tops – that are all stained and stretched out but I can’t find it within myself to toss them … it’s kinda what I’ve worn for the last year and half so maybe that’s why its so hard to see those piece go.  Who knows?  They stay for now … too much change too fast is never a good thing.

Work in Progress….

 

I bought myself an empty notebook and filled it with inspirational styles and cutouts of super cute patterns.  I’m still planning on going through my own closet – picking out what will work and either donating or throwing out what no longer suits me.  Things are getting organized, bugetized and prioritized…..

What’s the true cost of clothing?

I remember asking my mother’s friend who makes gorgeous quilts – Why don’t you sell them? – and she asked “How much would you pay for a handmade quilt?”.  Hmmm … I had no idea – maybe 100 – 150 dollars.. that seemed reasonable.  She quickly set me straight that the time, energy, and materials that go into her quilts make them worth more like 300 – 400 dollars.  And it’s just recently that I get it!  Handmade clothing – clothing made by hand here in Canada – costs a lot more than most people want to pay especially now that we’ve been brainwashed by the Walmarts, H&Ms, Gaps, Carters, and Joe Fresh’s.  But who is making that clothing?  What are the daily conditions at the factories?  Do you believe that energy can be stored in clothing – what are the workers frame of mind making your clothing?  Do you, on some level, absorb that energy when wearing the garment?  Things to think about, yes?!

Tom (my husband) and I were talking today about this Cowichan vest knitalong – it’s gorgeous and I’d love to participate but again 15 skeins of bulky yarn is sadly not in the budget these days.  I actually had the pleasure of attending a knitting night hosted by Sylvia Olsen where she demonstrated the proper Cowichan style of knitting and to this day that’s how I knit all my colour work.  It’s super intuitive, straightforward, and you need not worry about tension which trust me is a HUGE deal with stranded knitting.  (where was I going with this…) Oh ya, so lets calculate how much this lovely Cowichan vest might cost JUST to knit.  You need 5 skeins of bulky yarn (medium of the road quality) $24/skein = $120 for *just* the yarn (not including shipping or taxes) not to mention the time or other materials.  And now for the soul crushing reality that you could drive up to Gap, Old Navy, Joe Fresh and purchase a knock off for what…$30-$60.  But like mentioned above, what price are you really paying for those clothing?

Fringe Association Knitalong – click link above for more info!

Gorgeous design by Sylvia Olsen

I see knitwear in my custom wardrobe but it will take some planning, budgeting, and possibly some sneaky shopping to pull it off … you know the kind?! where you buy beautiful gorgeous Madelinetosh yarn and just ‘blend’ it into your yarn stash as if it were always there.

The vision of a closet full of handmade clothing, made with love, consciously and fair, keeps me going….

Selfish Knitting starts NOW

I took my first knitting class 6 years ago but didn’t fall in love with it until Whalen was born and I’ve been knitting pretty much constantly ever since. There’s just something about knitting for little human beings that I love so much.  It’s really the perfect way to get comfortable with the art of knitting because everything is a miniature version of itself and you get exposure to different stitch pattern, chart reading, colour work, blocking, sweater construction just on a small, more manageable scale.

Here are a couple of cozy things I finished this summer for my little man.  Both of these gorgeous patterns are from the uber talented team at Tin Can Knits.  They test knit all their stuff so there’s no surprises – nothing worse than getting to the middle of a pattern and nothing making sense.  The sweater on the left is Old Growth and the cute vest is Peanut.  Whalen’s winter wardrobe is almost complete – two more sweaters are awaiting button bands and seaming …

But I do think it’s time that I add some knitwear to my wardrobe.  I love everything that’s in Pam Allen’s book home… I mean *everything*!  The cardigans and pullovers are roomy, cozy and super oversized which is everything I dream of for my fall/winter wardrobe.  The only issue is yarn, lusciously soft yarn, can be pricey.  An oversized sweater, like the ones featured in home, can easily cost $100 to make.  That’s where I get overwhelmed with choosing and go back to my comfort in baby knits.  Is it too much to ask for Quince and Co or Madeline Tosh to just send me some free samples (like 8-10 skeins!) hahaha!

The yoga of sewing

I’ve always looked with envy at those who move slowly.  Always relaxed, taking their time to enjoy a cup of coffee, casually sitting in the park knitting … you know, those that start from the beginning and don’t rush to the end.  I am *the* total opposite.  I wonder what makes us who we are?  Where did I get this notion that getting to the end is somehow better than being in the middle and enjoying the process?

I took a yoga teacher training back in 2009 having just quit my crazy engineering job – I just needed a break and this was my way out.  The month long retreat style training in the mountains of British Columbia were some of the best days of my life.   I have life long friendship with women whom I only spent 30 days with; one of which I travelled to India with for 3 months.  I left feeling energized but in no way ready to teach … I mean, I’d only really been doing yoga for a couple years and nothing consistent.  My mind convinced me that I needed to be doing a daily practice for years before I could even consider teaching anyone to move, to breath and to be present.  And I never got there … Yoga for me has been this push pull relationship for the last 8 years.  I find myself never enjoying the moment, the asana, the breath but sprinting to the end.  And the race is tiring – potentially why I’ve quit so many times in the past.  It dawned on me this week that this ‘sprinting’ pattern is in most of what I do including this new passion of sewing.

I’ve never prewashed, ironed, properly pinned, or measured a seam … I just kinda wing it.  I want to get it done because isn’t that what really matters?  the finished product (I mean ‘having’ a finished product .. not the quality haha)?  being able to show your friends, strangers that you’ve actually made something even though it could have been better if you’d slowed down, taken a breath, focused in on your hands as you pass the fabric through the machine, …

Over the weekend I decided to prewash some linen, as an attempt to slow down, and it took me 4 wash/dry cycles before it even started to feel like something I’d put up against my skin.  Tonight, after supper, I went upstairs and ironed that beautiful soft linen (without any distraction) for 30 minutes.  It sounds crazy but although slowing down is so hard for me it also feels so natural… it was strangely very meditative.

Over the next little while, I plan to slowly organize my thoughts and visions into a workbook – hoping that getting somewhat organized for this crazy overwhelming adventure might help slow my minds need to get things done.  My goal is not quantity but quality!  I want to enjoy this process, slow down enough to develop some skills, and possibly even create a wardrobe that I’m super proud of.

Crash and Burn

Sooooo … I just found out why you should always use the fabric suggested by the designer.  It was a slow motion crash and burn.  The fabric was a little iffy to start and I should have known better than to use some random stretch polyester – gross, what the hell was I thinking?!  But I did and every step was brutal from tracing out the pattern to making bias tape to the entire shirt fraying uncontrollably to ended up with a stretch out piece of crap – seriously I should have stopped when the fabric wouldn’t iron flat.

Things I learned …

1. Don’t watch tv and read the pattern, you’ll miss important parts.
2. Patience will be my bestie by the time this year is up
3. I’m super determined when I put my mind to something
4. Being determined is not always a good thing
5. If something won’t iron flat put it back, throw it out, and/or burn it and pick another fabric
6. Stretch is not your friend when you’re just learning to sew
7. When something’s telling you it doesn’t want to be shirt, *listen*
8. Beer makes everything better

I wish I could think of 2 more points to make it to 10 .. but I can’t which kinda goes along with the theme of this post.  Boooo!