Hey, y'all.

New podcast coming soon.

Midnight Fiber and Fabric Podcast, Episode 29: Minicast

Mentioned in this episode:

The Meyer Briggs Episode (Episode 27)

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain



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I need a reset

I'm having this awkward battle with online connection again.

On one hand, it's a great tool to connect with others like me and to share the things that are important to me with others who will care just as much as I do.

On the other, I feel like a number. And while I've never been an obsessive tracker of followers on any of my social media accounts, that pull to "check in" constantly is kicking me down.

So a break from everything that defines your likeability as a number is necessary. At least for me right now. Social media is too loud again and my brain already has 100 hamster wheels running. So I'm away from twitter and facebook and instagram for the forseeable future.

When I get my brain calmed down again I'll record another podcast.

Midnight Fiber and Fabric Podcast, Episode 28: Unfinished

Fade to Black socks

White Birch Fiber Arts

Nerd Girl Yarns 

Invictus Yarns

The Necessary Vest by Samantha Kirby

DragonflyFibers

Lara Neel {instagram} author of Sock Architecture

Share your favorite Indie dyers in the ravelry thread for this episode!

Sarah MacKenzie at Amongst Lovely Things 

Our current reads:

George Washington by the D’Aulaires 

The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgleish 

My reading goal for May is to get 60 minutes every day in May. Want to set your own May reading goal and check in with everyone in a thread on Ravelry? Let me know here.

Upcoming Event: Maker’s Faire Kansas City on June 27-28 at Union Station 

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Chronic Life

A few years ago this space went quiet. My mother-in-law received a terminal diagnosis- from nothing to diagnosis in 1 appointment, to talking about "time left" with an oncologist just a few days later. I wrote just a bit about it in this space (here, here, and here). She passed away 6 months after the diagnosis and we spent her last month essentially at the hospital and then moving her to hospice. Our boys were so little then and it was hard to decide what to share and what to keep back for when they were older. It led me to a major block creatively. I couldn't write, I couldn't knit, I couldn't make anything because everything I had was trying to hold everything together for myself and my family


That is basically what has happened here again minus the cancer. Since my autoimmune diagnosis over a year ago, I constantly weigh what to share, what to hold back and the result has been dead space for you and stagnation for me creatively.

 {Purple toes are VERY important when you are almost 3.}

I know that a part of this problem is my own preference to hold this space as a place for happy things. Laundry doesn't exist here, nor dishes or piles of sports gear or the fact that chronic illness is taking up all my brain space.


This space is a virtual representation of my creative life both in thought and deed, where I choose to celebrate the work I do with my family and beautiful fibers, editing out the forgettable things like sleep and quick meals and time spent chauffeuring kids to one activity or another. (And laundry. I totally edit out the laundry.)


With those goals in mind, chronic illness has no place on these pages, but I need to be able to write again and get all the backlogged words out so that I can start to process forward instead of sitting in one place. This post is made out of things that don't generally fit here, some ugly and raw, but a definite part of my story.

I am tired y'all. I want to do all the things. I have known for a long time that I am NOT superwoman, nor do I want to be, but I want to still do the things I love. I want to continue my creative work, my music career, writing, podcasting, and homeschooling, but... the energy.


Oh, the energy.


I spend much of my week borrowing. I borrow spoons on Monday which leaves me deficient for Tuesday, so I borrow more and by Thursday night when my work/school week is done I crash for the next 3 days. My "off" days are being spent on useless things like sleep and recovery instead of all the cool things we used to do all together.


That recovery is even needed is an insult to my old life.


I cannot go out for a run anymore. A lot of favorite foods are off the table because of how much inflammation they cause in my body. My hands swell and ache and I can't knit or spin or braid my daughter's hair. My alarm goes off 20 minutes early in the morning because that's how long it takes to get my stiff body out of bed. My evenings are built around my med schedule, and I have to leave knit night early to get home in time for my box of pills.


I built my life quite purposefully over the last  many years around God and music and books and homeschooling and creative things, and it is hard to see much of it being dismantled.

So now I've hit a reconstruction phase. Navigating a path that gives me creative space with enough rest built into my day but also the ability to work is tricky and full of misdirects. I'm knitting whenever I can knit and I've been overwhelmed with the feeling that every stitch is precious.


So there will be an occasional series here called Chronic Life. I'll label the posts that way and if you aren't interested in posts about life with chronic illness you can skip that particular read. This is a thing I need to do in this space- bring it all out and put it in words.



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Midnight Fiber and Fabric Studio Podcast, Episode 27: Quite a Stack

Yarns and Patterns mentioned:

Casu Cowl by Galia Lael

KismetFiberworks 

Necessary Vest by Samantha Kirby

Dragonfly Fibers

Nutkin socks

Nerd Girl Yarns

White BirchFiber Arts and the colorway is Fade to Black. 

Fresh from the Cauldron

Invictus Yarns

Dizzy Blonde Studios  

Podcasts mentioned:

2 EwesFiber Adventures podcast

2 Knitlit chicks podcast

Just Another Bay Area Knitting Podcast

Knitmore Girls podcast

Books mentioned:

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan 

Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

Harry Potter and the Gobletof Fire by J. K. Rowling

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Cinder by Marissa Meyer 

Maze Runner by James Dashner

The History of theAncient World by Susan Wise Bauer

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a WorldThat Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain. 

Other mentions:

online (free!) Meyer Briggs test (Type Finder Research Edition)

Maker Faire KansasCity on June 27-28 at Union Station

You can join in on the podcast conversation on:

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Doing it All is for Amateurs

I had some emails and Rav PMs after the last podcast and I answered them all. But then I saw people at Stitches West, and I decided to answer it here, because everyone keeps asking: How is this working? How are you DOING IT ALL? I mean, I'm working and homeschooling the boys and going to school myself, then there's the health stuff and the regular house and family life things that go into just plain living- how is it all coming together?

The answer is: The "Doing it All" myth is for amateurs, and I know at this point in my life that it's just not possible. And I'm totally okay with that.


There are a lot of factors that make this work. I'll talk about many of them in a moment, but you have to know before this post really gets going that there is one secret weapon. One BIG thing that pulls together all the little details.


Little things first:

1) This is not a long term situation. Knowing that makes all the difference in my psyche. This one semester is really tough schedule wise, but after this everything about our schedule gets a little looser and knowing that life is only like this through the first week of May is a short term projection I can deal with.

2) We are schooling on a way alternative schedule. Math, latin, grammar and all the other school things are being covered in the appropriate amount of hours, just not like a normal school schedule and not at all like we used to do it. Saturdays have become a bigger school day for us and Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday are like "maintenance" days. They have a selection of their work to get done on their own in the morning and then I check it all with them after I'm finished with my work or school. School may go all the way to the end of June to finish our hours, but that's fine too.

3) My creative time has been slimmed down in a way, but I'm cranking through some things during class. Knitting while listening to lecture really helps me keep my focus- I know that may not be true for some people, but keeping my hands busy lets my brain concentrate on what I'm hearing. I'm going to call it a side effect of listening to many audiobooks while knitting and doing housework over the past several years.

4) I am more organized than I was before. I went back to a paper planner so that as I think of tasks that need to be completed I can dump it into the correct day on the planner to make sure it gets done and free up my brain space for what is right in front of me. Homework assignments, readings, work -related projects, kid stuff- it all goes into the planner and I'm doing really well with this system. I look through the week's worth of things to do on Sundays to get myself organized for the week, and my florescent pink planner is the workhorse of this semester's schedule. 

5) Taking care of my body is more important than ever before. Between the schedule and the autoimmune disease sleep is the most specific priority and I am making sure that happens every single night. I don't include inflammatory foods in my diet and I'm making sure to get my steps in every day (which is super easy now that I leave the house more frequently- working from home has it's perks, but incidental exercise isn't one of them).


But I told you earlier- it really all comes down to one BIG secret weapon.

See, back when I was first considering the whole "Back to School" thing, I looked at the math of the situation and threw my hands in the air. There was no way it was possible. And thinking about all the back and forth of the situation was dizzying. It seemed right to say no, and I did. It was my husband who looked at it all, and promised me that he would help make it work, and he has been true to his word.

He helps the boys with their math lessons and supervises the evening madness of dinner and showers and bedtimes on the nights I'm working late or escape to a knit night. He finishes laundry I started earlier in the day, and makes sure the kids help around the house. Really, he's the reason I can even do this at all.

I have family (most specifically my mom) who are willing to help out on a regular basis by watching kids and getting them to trampoline or gymnastics or whatever when I have class or doctor's appointments.

It's all about support.

I had to let go of a few things too. The dishes are not always done, I'm *always* behind on laundry, and "free time" is spent plate balancing- what needs attention right now so that nothing crashes into a firey explosion? But I'm not the only one plate balancing- Brian is right here with me, asking what he can take over, taking the kids to the park for an hour or two so I can take a quiz online, all amidst his own work and commitments.

So there may not be really cool craft projects (my kids are kind of awesome at making up their own anyway) and not as many field trips. There may not even be a garden this year (Okay, there will probably be one, but it will be small. Miniscule. Probably.) But, it's a thing. A thing for just right now to get me to somewhere I need to go, and it's going to be a good place.

If only I can pass Anatomy and Physiology. That would be great.

Midnight Fiber and Fabric Podcast Episode 26: A Delicate Ballet

I finished the Lookin’ Jadey socks, Hermione’s Everyday Socks and the Long Mitt Envy fingerless gloves. I also cast on NEON vanilla socks 

Cable love: Rocky Coast Cardigan by Hannah Fettig, Baroque by Janice Kang, and Zombie ViXen by Susan Claudino.

I set some fiber-y goals for the new year and tried out some new needles over the past several weeks, including HiyaHiya Sharps, Knitter's Pride Nova Platina and Chiaogoo RED.

We've been reading: 

Ellie's Favorites: (age 2) Moo Baa La La La by Sandra Boynton and Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney 

The boys: (ages 7 and 9)  

My Side of theMountain by Jean Craighead George

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl 

SarahPlain and Tall by Patricia McLachlan 

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

My reading: 

Drums ofAutumn by Diana Gabaldon

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell 

The Pale Horseman by Bernard Cornwell

The History of the Ancient World by Susan Wise Bauer 

I will be heading to Stitches West February 19-22 and would love to meet up with you! 

You can join in on the podcast conversation on:

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After Quiet

Funny thing about being quiet for such a long time. There is so much to say, but it's hard to get it out. It all seems inadequate after a long absence, so let's start with the basic thing:


Sometimes media is so loud that I can't hear anything else. It rattles around in my brain along with the chores that need done and the grocery list and my work in the studio and time with my family...and I lose track of all the things I want and need to do in the middle of the noise. So I take a break and get my head right and come back better for the absence.


So here I am. Back from the absence, hopefully with more to say.


A little backtracking and a "where we are now" so that tomorrow we move forward:

1. Influenza A hit Ellie over Christmas break and she's finally back to normal. She had to go in to get IV fluids,which was one of the saddest things I've ever had to do with one of my kids, but she bounced back tremendously the next day and even more the next day. Definitely the right decision, but hard on all of us at the time. Thankful that no one else in the family was infected.

2. I have not been well these last several weeks because of the autoimmune thing. That has certainly influenced the lack of wordage in this space. Sorry about that, but the best thing I can do during a big flare is stay warm and sleep a lot. (Check and check.)

3. I have been knitting, but not as much as I would like to and not anything of exceeding interest or difficulty. Mostly socks, because they are beautiful and easily repeatable. My sock yarn stash may have grown in the last several weeks.

4. I started 2 college classes last week. I have not been to college in... a long time. I'm really loving how the professors post their notes on blackboard and I can just print them off before class. Seriously. My messed up hands are super appreciative of not having to write for an hour straight and hope I got it all. Studying? I'm still figuring that one out. Like I said- college and me haven't been a thing for a long time.

The things is, one really crazy semester of school and work and homeschooling is going to set me up for something awesome next fall, so I'm doing my best with crazy right now and spending all the other minutes sleeping. Really. Ask my kids. And my husband. I'm not the most graceful sleeper, but I am a frequent one.


As for this space...

Another episode of the podcast is coming. I don't like to make promises on my time right now, but hoping for next week.


I've been interviewing different needle brands for sock knitting and have a new and surprising (to me) favorite, so organizing that information for you too. And pictures... there is a camera deficiency at our house after Ellie "retired" the most recent camera. So it's cell pictures, which are.... fine. Hoping to remedy the camera situation soon.


If you want to find me in other spaces, I'm most active on Instagram and Twitter at the moment, but check in on  Ravelry, Pinterest, and Facebook from time to time too.

Midnight Fiber and Fabric Podcast, Episode 25: Heel Connoisseur

 This week I've been working on Hitofude and Hermione’s Everyday Socks out of a colorway by Nerd Girl Yarn. I’ve also been cutting fabric for pajamas for all of the kids. 

I love the amazing bath, body, and baby things at LuSaorganics.com and just restocked our cabinets.

We are preparing for the holiday season- I'd love to know some of your traditions and favorite winter things. Please share on the Episode 25 Thread on Ravelry.

I'm working on learning new sock heels and mention Sock Architectureby Lara Neel.

I picked up Hiya Hiya Sharps and Knitter’s Pride Nova Platina needles to try out this week.

Events: I will be heading to Stitches West February 19-22.

You can join in on the podcast conversation on:

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Midnight Fiber and Fabric Podcast, Episode 24: Bizarre Circle of Conversation

Lots of Halloween sewing for this year, mostly for Ender's archer ensemble:

Knitting: World Series Socks, Hitofude, 5-1 Mittens, Flax

Winter Wear KAL: Let's knit together on some items for this winter- anything winter related can be connected to this KAL! 

Join in by tagging your work with #winterwearKAL on Instagram and Twitter or on the Ravelry thread for the KAL.

Craftsy class: Handknit Knitting Design with Shirley Paden. Can you visualize what the written pattern will become before you have knit it? I'd love to know about how you see your knitting.

On the Nightstand: Life of Pi by Yann Martel, History of the Ancient World by Susan Wise Bauer, Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

Events: Stitches West February 19-22

You can join in on the podcast conversation on:

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Nervous Knitting

Evenings are my knitting time, and lately evenings have been all about baseball.

Kansas City baseball.

In October.

October!!!

And last night found me at the ballpark with my husband, standing most of the night nervously knitting along and hoping to see something amazing from our boys in blue.

Meet the sock of the night- the sock I formerly titled as the "Spare Sock" on Ravelry, but now know it as my World Series Socks. The Blue, the orange... so fitting. I thought before we went that the knitting would sit uselessly in my hands as I watched, but I needed the knitting to alleviate the stress, and by the middle of the 6th inning I was through with this sock and cast on the second.


Now we wait for tonight's game to redeem yesterday's.


Reading this week: Voyager by Diana Gabaldon and Anything by Jennie Allen.

Midnight Fiber and Fabric Podcast, Episode 23: A Whack of Hats

This week I wore the Shapely Boyfriend Sweater by Stefanie Japel, and several pairs of wool socks.

I worked on the Spare Socks, Looped Loop, Ender's sweater and FINISHED Braid Hills! I also made a whack of hats, but there are no ravelry pages for them yet. I also cast on Glitz at the Ritz using a club yarn from Nerd Girl Yarns club Random Fandom.


Winter Wear KAL: Let's knit together on some items for this winter- anything winter related can be connected to this KAL! Join in by tagging your work with #winterwearKAL on Instagram and Twitter.

I've been  working through the Handknit Garment Design Craftsy class with Shirley Paden over the last few weeks. What have you been learning lately? Please share on the Ravelry thread for Episode 23!

On the Nightstand:

Sweater Design in Plain English by Maggie Righetti

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

A Million Little Ways by Emily Freeman

I love new book suggestions. Feel free to share what you are reading in the comments for this post or on the ravelry thread for this episode.

You can join in on the podcast conversation on:

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Midnight Fiber and Fabric Podcast, Episode 22: Dude in A Kilt

This week we talk about my SPAKAL spinning, the Spare Socks, and Looped Loop.

Winter Wear KAL: Let's knit together on some items for this winter- anything winter related can be connected to this KAL! Join in by tagging your work with #winterwearKAL on Instagram and Twitter.

Projects/plans talked about in the winterwearKAL portion of the podcast include: Braid Hills cardigan, Flax, and Soledad.

Pocket Jamie makes an appearance in the tips and tricks section. He's worth a quick peak!

Sunday Short Rows Video is mentioned in Try New Things

Winter Wear KAL Top 5:

Lacy Julian

Barley

Peerie Flooers

Snowflake Fingerless Gloves

5-1 Mittens

You can join in on the podcast conversation on:

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Like a Real Sweater

It's always a wonderful feeling when the item you're knitting starts to actually look like the item you're knitting. I'm almost done working the first sleeve of Braid Hills and it feels real- it's NOT just a blob of knitting in my lap with all these weird bits tied off on spare yarn to hold for later. It feels like a sweater and it's coming to look like one too. I was able to try it on last night to check sleeve length, and I'm so very happy with it at this moment. We'll see how it feels once I get to work on the second sleeve in the next day or two.

At the moment I'm working the cable chart on the sleeves and finding the cables much easier now that I'm working in the round and always on the right side as I knit. Far better than working the chart back and forth! A few more rows on the chart then off to the cuff and second sleeve.


I've been reading a lot of bits of things this week. I'm taking another read through Dragonfly in Amber and listening to Life of Pi on audiobook. I'm trying to keep moving through The Time in Between by Maria Duenas, but it still has not really grabbed me 38 pages in. I'll give it until 50 pages I think, but we'll see how it goes.

Frankenstein

{Yarning Along with Ginny this week. Won't you join us?}

Welcome to the Braid Hills cardigan, currently in the Frankenstein stage of the sweater process. Six different sections are currently held on waste yarn, but the back is done as well as the right front. Up next: left front.

This project is so hard to photograph right now. The color looks so very different depending on the angle and light and none of these pictures are as accurate as the yarn looks up close in real life.

I mentioned on the podcast that I made a grievous error in my yardage calculations and had to order more yarn... two skeins just in case, even though one will probably be fine. I didn't want to take any chances this time and risk having to order another skein to finish the last little bit. I can surely find a project for a spare skein of MadTosh DK if I have leftovers. I'm stopped on the project until the yarn shows up. I keep stalking the shipping information to make sure it is steadily heading my direction. I might cry if it gets lost. No... I know I would cry.

I've been reading a lot through August, but started back to work last week and slowed down again. I'm still working my way through The Best Yes by Lysa Terkeurst in preparation for a book club meeting at the end of the month, and I recently started The Time in Between by Maria Duenas. I'm not sure about this one yet, but I'll keep reading for now. I also have The Yarn Whisper by Clara Parkes waiting in line to be read next.

Midnight Fiber and Fabric Podcast, Episode 21: I Say These Things

This week I talk about my SPAKAL project, the Braid Hills Cardigan, and the Spare Socks (I *did* cast on a sock!!! Why did I say last week that I wouldn't????)


Some of my favorite books that include finishing techniques:

Vogue Knitting: The Ultimate Knitting Book

Finishing School by Deborah Newton

Principles of Knitting by Jane Hyatt



weaving in ends video from knittinghelp.com


Winter Wear KAL: Let's knit together on some items for this winter- anything winter related can be connected to this KAL! Join in by tagging your work with #winterwearKAL on Instagram and Twitter.

You can join in on the podcast conversation on:

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Midnight Fiber and Fabric Podcast, Episode 20: Make Friends with the Gauge Swatch

This week I finished the House Targaryen Socks (knit in Nerd Girl Yarns colorway Regenerate) and made a lot of progress on the Braid Hills cardigan. I also mentioned Soledad and my progress on my SPAKAL sweater project.

Question: How do you store your tools?

Today in Always Learning we discuss accurate body measurements, ease, and sizing with a gauge swatch. Use #knittinginvestment to tag your knitting investments on Instagram and Twitter.


The buttonhole I'm using on the Braid Hills Cardigan can be found on knittinghelp.com.

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Pair #8

We took a little road trip last weekend and I decided to take 2 projects: The Braid Hills Cardigan I cast on about two week ago, and the House Targaryen Socks I've been working on since Stitches Midwest. My guideline for the knitting was to work on the sock whenever I might need to start and stop frequently and to work on the cardigan in blocks of time, probably evenings. The great thing about traveling with a toddler is the fact that we will be done for the day and back in the hotel ready to head to bed no later than 7:30 p.m., guaranteeing me evenings to rest and knit.

The cardigan is my #kiltmenowkal/#countdowntooutlander project and it's going well so far- I put about 3 inches on it over the weekend, and learned a new-to-me buttonhole. I'm at a point where I can knit, knit, knit through the body aside from the little cables and buttonholes, so I'm happily clicking away on it and can now knit on it without bigger blocks of time.


The House Targaryen socks are officially done- well, they're still drying after a wash and block, but counted as complete! I turned the heel of the second sock on the drive down, and worked on it in bits and pieces through the weekend, grafting the toe as we pulled into our neighborhood. LOVE the perfect timing. These are the 8th pair I've completed for myself in 2014, 9th overall. And with that I'm on a sock knitting hiatus until I finish a few other things on my knit list.

I've been reading Outlander on the kindle again to refresh it in my mind before watching the t.v. show. I finished it and moved on to The Best Yes by Lysa Terkeurst. I have so many books just waiting to be read and not enough time to read them!

Midnight Fiber and Fabric Podcast, Episode 19: Knitting Investments

This week I worked on the House Targaryen Socks, finished the Little Flower Hat, and cast on for the Braid Hills Cardigan.


Patty Lyons introduced me to Knitter's Graph Paper.


I talk about taking the time to invest in your knits by selecting great materials and planning ahead.

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