Zora Re-Issued

Remember Zora?

This is a cardigan I wear again and again. It's flattering, looks great with jeans or my handsewn clothes, and works from fall through spring. The grey version, above, was my first wheel-spun wool project. The original blue version was knitted in a yarn that is no longer available, and I've been meaning to update it for a while. At the same time, I want to do more to use and promote sustainable wools. So, I'm happy to announce that Zora has now been re-published on Ravelry for knitting with Topsy Farms Pure Sheep Wool 2-ply. You can read more about Topsy and my trip to Amherst Island last spring here. I'll be knitting a new Zora for myself shortly, probably in their soft black. (Am I crazy to knit an aran pattern in such a dark colour?) You can order Topsy wool here. Note that my yardage recommendations are generous. However, I don't think you'll have difficulty finding something to do with any leftovers.
The Ravelry link is here. Take time to check out the project pages. You'll notice that some knitters have chosen to interweave the cables while others didn't bother to mirror the cables as written. There's lots of room for choice.

In the Works

Recently someone asked me about my design process. Do I plan everything out in advance, or do I launch right into the knitting? The answer is somewhere in between. I like to start with a sketch, inexpert artist that I am. My current project started with this a couple of days ago.                                            

 

I did a little experimenting with a small stitch pattern built into the yoke increases and then, because I'm working in a yarn I'm familiar with and know my gauge, I simply cast on. I played around a little with some short row shaping at the base of the collar, but then after trying it on, decided to nix it. I want everything simple.

Next, I plotted out the yoke shaping and did the calculations. You can catch a glimpse of those at the side of my sketch. I like to work in notebooks and I try to avoid the temptation to skip writing everything up, even the failures. It's a huge time saver, because sometimes I'll go back to a "fail" and take it in a different direction. That's how Harriet's Jacket was born.

This current pullover has been in my mind for a while, but it took the weekend away, talking to other knitters and designers, to get it going. On Monday, I took a good look around my work space,

and felt re-energized. Are you noticing more colour in my work?

 This is my teal triple whammy. Everything made by me!

Old Friends

In my previous post there was a suggestion that I was going to use my ram's head buttons (purchased about 15 years ago from Philosopher's Wool at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival) on my new coat. I actually intended to do that, and got as far as sewing the first button on. Then I realized that I didn't like the look of a shank button. So, I poked around in my buttonbox until I located exactly six (phew!) old Mission Falls black buttons with crosshatches on top. Mission Falls made the BEST buttons. When the company went out of business, I visited Mags Kandis on a studio open house day in Prince Edward County and bought a big batch of her remaining buttons in different styles. They're always just right.

Then, I donned my new coat and headed out to rake leaves and give the lawn a last mowing. By Friday the daytime high is predicted to be below zero. Winter really is coming.

BTW, these are Sonya Philip's Pants #1 in navy Essex, a linen/cotton blend. Perfect year round.

Wash Day

Yesterday I finally got around to doing something I had vowed to do a long time ago. I got around to posting, on the laundry room wall, instructions for how to wash wool. Why? I'm tired of various family members asking me to talk them through the steps involved in washing their woollies. (At least they've got as far as not expecting me to do the washing for them.) I guess they don't do this often enough to remember own their own. So, in case anyone else out there is interested, here's my poster.
NOTE: these instructions apply only if you have an old-fashioned top-loading NOT HIGH EFFICIENCY washer. I had an old Whirlpool model re-built just for me. There is enough movement of the laundry load in the newer high efficiency models, even on their "soak" cycles to felt wool. Unfortunately, I learnt this the hard way.

To Wash Woollens

1. Set the washer temp to “WARM”.

2. Set the water level to “SMALL” or “MEDIUM”.

3. Pour a capful (at most) of Eucalan into the washer.

4. Fill the washer with water by setting the dial at “Regular”, then just as it starts to agitate turn the dial to OFF and push the dial in so that the machine is completely turned off.

5. Submerge your garment in the sudsy water, gently squeezing out the air.

6. Allow the garment to soak for 30 min or longer, leaving the lid of the machine up.

7. Turn the dial and set it anywhere that says, “Spin”, then pull it out to activate the machine. The machine will not spin until you close the lid.

8. Let the machine finish the cycle. Remove the garment, supporting it with your hands to prevent stretching, and lay it flat to dry on a towel, moulding and patting it into the desired shape.

     Note: Eucalan is a “no-rinse” wool wash.

What's In a Name?

Quite a lot, in fact, when knitters are trying to look up a design on Ravelry. With the proliferation of indie designers, e-publishing, and Ravelry, it's becoming increasingly difficult to avoid duplication in the naming of patterns. Add to that the fact that magazine editors have a preference for one-word names, as well as names that are easy to pronounce from their spelling (I have personal experience with this, having once tried to name a pattern "Strachan"), the problem is even more vexing. There are definite trends in names. I can't help but notice an unusual number of designs with made-up feminine-sounding names ending in the letter "a". It all makes me want to go the route of Sonya Philips with her sewing patterns named by number, i.e. Dress #1, Dress #2, etc.
All this is merely a preface to letting you know that, as of a few minutes ago, I have decided to re-name my favourite fall garment. Back in the spring, when I first chose a name, I performed the usual Ravelry search to check that the name had not been taken, and at that time nothing showed up. However, since then a pattern company has posted onto Ravelry a pattern leaflet from almost a decade ago with the same name. Wanting to avoid confusion, while at the same time retaining the obvious reference to the actress in question, I have simply altered the name of my own design to "Audrey's Coat". An apostrophe makes all the difference. You can find it here. Now, back to sewing the buttons onto my new plum version, which I intend to wear next weekend at the Wool and Wine Retreat in Prince Edward County. Maybe I'll see you there.

Prepping

Some "preppers" get ready for the apocalyse, some just get ready for winter. I'm in the latter category. With temps expected to plummet by the end of this week, I'm feeling the need to round out my cold weather accessories.

In keeping with my planned colour palette for this season, there's my Yule tam from last winter, and I've decided to add some grey Bibliogloves in BT's Loft in "Snowbound", a pale grey with black flecks, and a new Tumnus scarf in Berroco's Ultra Alpaca worsted in "Oceanic Mix". The latter is a rich melange of teal greens and blues. I'm so in love with it that I might need to pick up more to make a sweater.
P.S. My plum Audrey Coat only needs pocket linings, then some weaving in of ends, and some wet blocking. Can't wait to wear it.

Forever and Ever

Still working on the plum edition of the Audrey Coat. Not sure why this seems to be taking so much longer than the two I made last spring. Feel as though I will be knitting this forever and ever. At the moment, near the hemline of the body, the whole thing feels like a blanket. I could not have done this in the summer, in our house with no air conditioning. At this point in the year, however, the coziness is actually welcome.

I decided today that I also need a couple of more pieces from Sonya Philip's 100 Acts of Sewing, so I cut out fabric for a dress and another pair of pants, both for wearing at Rosehaven's Wool and Wine Retreat next month.
In the same vein, I've been showing some pairings of my sewn wardrobe + my own knitted designs on Instagram. Here they are:

Buttonbox Waistcoat (wide collar version) + Pants #1 + short boots.

Cataraqui Scarf + Skirt #1 + 13-yr-old J.Jill velvet jacket. (Imagine little heels and raspberry lipstick.)

 Finally, I noticed this simple but amazing planting while out for my morning constitutional.

Hydrangeas and ivy at Queen's University.

 

P.S. For those of you lucky enough to be heading off to Rhinebeck (I won't be going this year), here is a post from 4 years ago with some possibly useful observations.

Cool

My wardrobe plan for fall is working. Today is sunny and cool--perfect for an outing in Dress #1 from 100 Acts of Sewing in Merchant and Mills teal washed linen (purchased from Fabrications in Ottawa) topped by my original grey Audrey Coat.

I'll probably wear grey bamboo leggings, half boots, and perhaps my Fibonacci Neckerchief. When the weather is like this, it's the best time of the year. Few insects, warmish afternoons, lots of opportunities to wear thick sweaters without having to cover them up with a winter coat.
I'm participating in #slowfashionoctober. Be sure to share your own makings there too.

The Lopi Mystery Solved (Sort of)

I had an interesting conversation today with a local yarn shop owner who told me that, because of a fairly recent deal between Berroco and Istex (the Lopi producers in Iceland), ALL North American sales of Lopi are currently being distributed through Berroco. Now, for my American readers I will explain that many, if not most, Canadian yarn shops do not sell Berroco products, and those that do face the problems of border taxes, duties, and brokerage fees when the wool crosses the border into Canada. Lopi does not fall under NAFTA protection, unlike the mattress I recently purchased online. This explains why Canadian shops that previously had reliable inventories of Lopi (enough to knit my Audrey Coat) no longer do.
To get around this problem, a couple of weeks ago I ordered direct from Iceland via this website. I thought the shipping costs would be prohibitive, but lo and behold, the entire ten balls of Alafoss Lopi, shipped, cost about US$80. Since my Ravelry sales are in US dollars, I am able to pay in the same currency through Paypal. So simple, and the wool arrived in just a few days!
I've been beavering away at it for the last few days, while Bill is having fun in Paris, and you can see that I'm at that exciting point where the body and sleeves divide.

You are, of course, looking at the coat upside down since it is knitted from the top down. The most exciting bit from my perspective is the beginning of the seed stitch pleat. There won't be much more excitement from here to the start of the pockets. Audiobook time!
Meanwhile, fall has arrived in earnest. This afternoon the lake was full of sailors bringing their vessels home for the conclusion (or near conclusion) of the season. Here they are at the entrance to the Kingston Yacht Club harbour area.

And you really know it's fall when giant cruise ships drop anchor in the passage between Wolfe Island and the mainland. I think it's mainly German tourists arriving (early) to see the fall colours. Good luck with that. Our weather has been weird and no one knows how it will affect the trees.
Finally, in case anyone is wondering why I chose to stay behind instead of tagging along to France, it's because the prospect of having the house to myself for a week held more allure than the Louvre or Paris Opera. Sad, but true.