Creativity check & works-in-progress, October 2017

I figured it was time to do a little check-in, project-wise. I've been working on a lot and feeling exciting about both knitting and sewing. Here's a post about what I've been working on (and what I want to work on soon), but first, a pumpkin-y October-ish photo :

Knitting

Finished:

Glacier park cowl, more pictures to come, once my friend Molly and I have a chance to take some together!

Shortie socks, post here with more details

a fun little gift knit that I'll share as soon as the recipient has it!

In-progress:

Mae sweater, a KAL with my friend, Maeve. I haven't worked on this too much, but I'm very excited about it! Now that I have a few other things off the needles, I can devote more time to it. So far, I've only knit a few inches of ribbing.

Socks for him: sure and steady progress! This is the first time I'm knitting socks on 9" circulars. More thoughts to come, but so far, I love how even my tension is with these needles.

Frogged (unraveled):

The colorwork mittens, mentioned in this post. I didn't enjoy the process and I wasn't going to enjoy the finished product, due to tension issues and the fiddly nature of small circumference + fingering weight + dpns + colorwork inexperience. That yarn is too pretty to waste on an unsuccessful project. So I ripped it out, and I have no regrets.

Future:

Christmas knitting, and mostly sweater knitting in the background. No more personal knitting projects until I make headway with gifts.

Sewing

Finished:

A new table runner (I wrote more about it in my birthday post). The fabrics were all from my stash and it was incredibly fun to just get to work and start sewing.

In progress/supplies purchased:

I recently bought fabric to sew a case for Nicholas' Nintendo Switch. We still have to figure out the specifics, since I think we'll make it up as we go, and it should be fun!

Future:

• Lou box top (and maybe a second with a ruffle hack?)
• blackwood cardigan (jersey)
• matcha top (woven)
• waterfall raglan (jersey)
• ebony tee (jersey) flow-y tunic length*
• inari crop tee
• West water tunic (linen or linen/cotton blend)

Clearly, I want to do a lot more sewing, but I have this fear that what I make won't be wearable/won't look nice, etc. But honestly, whats the worst that could happen? I mess it up and have to repurpose the fabric? This is not life or death, Andrea. Facing creative fears always leads to good things, from my experience (with colorwork, knitted garments, etc). I have a stretch of a few days off of work coming up and I plan to get supplies today (and pre-wash, etc.) so I have no excuse not to sew when the time comes, beginning with a Lou box top, I think.

Other things

Bullet journaling: So far, I love it. I've been fairly consistent, and as someone who loves to make written lists, I so appreciate always having a set spot to write them. A few days ago, I was setting up my "habit tracker" which is just something fun that I wanted to add to my journal.

Coffee-drinking: knitting and coffee so frequently go hand-in-hand for me (literally), I should mention the cardamom latte(!!!) I had today at Vintage Heart. Amazing. And for home-brewing, we've been enjoying some birthday Wild Gift coffee from a friend, made in the aeropress on my days off.

(video) Podcast-watching: I really enjoy and feel inspired by the Stitched in Sweden Podcast and the Hey Sister Podcast. Both podcasts have knitting and sewing content—and they are making things that I see myself wearing. These two podcasts gave me the last push I needed to decide to try sewing clothing. Plus, many of the patterns I'd like to make I first saw on their channels.

Wearing wool: Today was the first day in maybe six months or more that was cool enough (by my standards) to wear wool outside. I sat on on the porch and drank coffee and felt a bit chilly, dare I say it. ;) Happy October, friends!