Creativity check, Fall 2018

As is my custom periodically, here's a little snapshot of my current creative endeavors. It helps me stay organized and motivated to see everything in one place, including finished projects, works-in-progress, and future project planning.

Knitting

I've been doing a lot of knitting behind the scenes, aka not mentioned here or on IG very much, since all of it is Christmas knitting. The good news is that I'm currently knitting on the last two Christmas gifts, for the time-being, and then I can cast on some other fun projects that I'll be able to share more.

Finished

Since my last creative check-in (which was quite some time ago!) I finished my Weekender sweater, and some little baby socks and a knitted heart for a friend who is about to have her baby!

Grouped by type, here are some patterns for "dream knitting":

Sweaters:

• Tecumseh, modified so the sleeves start earlier and it's more of a traditional sweater shape. I already have yarn for this, I'm just waiting to cast on until I finish up a few remaining Christmas gifts. I anticipate this will be the coziest thing to work on this fall.
• Cline, which has been on my short-list for some time.
• Something (anything!!) from Plain & Simple, a pattern collection I just received for my birthday. All the designs are so, so good.
• And at some point, I may want to knit Nurtured or a Veronika cardigan
• Some kind of Lettlopi colowork yoke sweater, once I get the rest of my birthday Icelandic wool from my family. Here is a link to some of my favorite potential patterns that I've bookmarked for that yarn :)

Shawls:

• I'm feeling extra motivated to use yarn that's already in my stash, be it full skeins or scraps, and I'm especially drawn to two-color shawls that make good use of two full skeins' yardage, have a lot of "mindless garter stitch," and are in a long, narrow triangle shape, like Kallara or Stars Align
• the Ebel shawl makes excellent use of pretty little partial skeins of yarn, and seems like it would be a fun knit
• Yeva shawl, of which my LYS has a sample of and it's so incredibly cozy

Socks:

• fall-colored socks in Woolberry Fiber Co's If I only had a brain, something textured, maybe either Blueberry Waffle or Cyril or Yorkville with my regular drop heel

Hats/other accessories:

I'm not in a huge rush to make more hats for myself, since I've recently finished a few that I really love, but there are such fun, small, portable projects, and the perfect palette with which to experiment with textures and yarn. The following patterns have caught my eye recently, along with one pair of fingerless mitts:

• a worsted-weight hat, with cable-y-squishiness, like Quadri or Marlon
• The Oslo hat, which is very Carhartt-esque in nature
• Ryg hat in the suggested yarn has the most interesting/cozy texture
• Tatara mitts, for which I already have the (special) yarn for

And lastly, my friend, Maeve, gave me some gorgeous charcoal/tonal grey MadelineTosh DK yarn for my birthday, and I have to do some brainstorming about a project that will do it justice.

That's a lot of knitting, I know, but it's fun to get out potential creative ideas out here, in writing. There is so much creative inspiration everywhere around me, I find myself easily overwhelmed if I don't keep my to-make list somewhat tangible by typing it out here.

Sewing

Finished:

• A Klein dress, modified into a fun, summery top
• a full-length Klein dress

I've done a little bit of sewing, as of late, as you can see above. But as I talked about in a recent post, much of my (creative) time has been filled with Christmas gift knitting. However, I did manage to finish a second Metamorphic dress, that I wore on my twenty-eighth birthday. It felt only-right to wear something made by me on that day. I still very much want to sew a pair of Arenite pants, although they feel a bit less pressing for two reasons. First, they seem more warm-weather appropriate and I'd have to brainstorm about how to style them for the cold months. Secondly, I want to make a wearable muslin in a cotton fabric (that would serve at pajama pants!) since there are several fit details I want to troubleshoot before cutting into my fabric.

Other potential garment sewing:

• a Hinterland dress, but I may want to wait a bit and see how I layer/style my Metamorphic dress in the cold months before committing to a third dress of a similar shape.
• a Wiksten kimono, sized down for a slightly less roomy fit. But I think this would be a super fun fall/winter garment!
• Peppermint ruffle sleeve top, because it's just so cute.

Non-garment sewing:

• the Fika tote (I mean, I feel like I have to sew this for the name alone!) Plus, it's exactly the kind of tote I've been wanting to make for quite some time
• Wool and Wax tote (I already own this pattern)

Other making & organization:

I've been working on those little Christmas houses that I started a few years back (pictured towards the bottom of this post). Just a few stitches at a time, it's nice and mindless, when I want that kind of making. Plus, they're just so cute.

Also, I took a look through my deep, deep stash, which is almost entirely partial skeins of yarn from projects I've made over more than the last decade. There are a few full skeins of yarn, leftover from larger projects that used less yarn than anticipated. And there's some really rustic wool that I think would be perfect to use for a pair of felted slippers. I think stashes are fascinating! The rest of my stash is entirely what I've mentioned above, the materials that have a plan, a purpose.

What are you working on or wanting to be working on?