What is it with the Tolsta Tee?

What is it with the Tolsta Tee?  

I.  LOVE. THIS. THING.

It is a simple knit. Nothing fancy.  Nothing complicated.  Comforting really.  Yet I cannot get it out of my head.  I am about 80 % done Tolsta 2 and you know what is in my head?  Yarns and Tolstas.  Making more Tolstas.

I have some dark blue Butterfly Cotton that seems to have fallen out of my stash bins and I know that I have a skein of a rich Persian red that would look great with it.  It wold make the most wonderful, versatile striped top.  A Tolsta would look so good to wear with my new blue skirt.  

That is the magic of knitting designs.  Something strikes your fancy and it can be the most fun you had in a long time.  

I have so much waiting for me.  So much else to knit.  I have that gorgeous Midknit Craving London Fog yarn to knit an Anyday Sweatshirt.  There is the glorious yellow Folklore sweater I am making with the tiny spots of greens and yellows and blues.  There is some seriously wonderful Isager Spinni just calling my name only the teeniest bit louder than the Einband in my stash.   

Tolstas magical stripes are beguiling me and making me dream of ever more Tolstas.  I don't know what I will get up to next, but it sure is going to be fun.

  

The Perfect Sort of Morning

That hot coffee of yesterday went with me, straight to the sewing room and we got down to work.  

Because I had sewed the main skirt part together for a fit test, doing the waistband and the closures took longer and were fussier to finish than it would normally have been.  It isn't perfect but it is done and fits wonderfully.

There  is the right amount of ease at the waist no matter how I move.  The top is smooth and even with none of the bulk of my gathered or pleated skirts, but it fits nicely over the widely divergent measurements of my waist and hip.  I still had to hem it but my eyes were done by the time I had the waist band stuff finished.  I sewed on buttons and called it good for the day.

I wanted to get everything done but the hem on purpose.  I want to wear it for a few hors and see just how it works.  It is such a different skirt shape for me and it is completely self drafted so it is a gamble.  There is going to be a perfect length and I want to find it.  I already have a couple things in my closet that suffer being a wee bit too short or a wee bit too narrow in the cut of the skirt to be worn with complete confidence.  It doesn't mean I don't wear them.  It just means they are worn on days when I know I am alone and not going anywhere.  

I did not do any knitting yesterday.  I could feel my thumbs.  They did not hurt, not a bit but I was  conscious of them in a way that was odd.  Weird in fact.  It felt like a rest day was a good idea.  

It is a glorious morning.  One of those prairie perfect clear crisp mornings.  There is no wind and the sky is perfectly clear.  You need a sweater, but the air is clean and pure and it makes you want to twirl in a half circle skirt way.  The birds are singing and the dog walkers are out and the day is awakening slowly in this small town.

So, skirt on, coffee on and  knitting to hand.  It is the perfect sort of morning.      

The State of Things

There was knitting between chores yesterday so no sewing. 

I am always fascinated how you cast on with needles and string and form an anomalous blob and you knit a bit and do a few things and all of a sudden...sweater.  

I had a lovely day yesterday watching vlogs, one of which is the Fat Squirrel Speaks on Youtube.  These are for her.

These are pages from Gnomes, a book that has long been part of my library.  For you, Mary Beth to ease your heart as you have eased mine.

This is what I have been up to this morning.  I didn't even have a hot cup of coffee yet.  I did have a cold cup though. 

I got so involved in searching out colour numbers for my sister Kathy's project I forgot I had it.

And I am not finished yet.  I have to go through a few more boxes to find colours that may not be filed properly.

It has always been interesting to me how crafts ebb and flow in peoples lives.  Sometimes people follow what looks interesting and it is what your friends are doing.  Sometimes it is because for some indefinable reason, you are compelled to do a craft and nothing makes you want to stop.  It becomes part of who you are.  I have done many things in my life but knitting is my home.  I still love all the other things, but knitting is my home.  For most, the ebb and flows continue and you find pleasure doing whatever craft strikes you at the moment. Or maybe you run or read or bake or play hockey.  There is no right or wrong of it.  Finding peace in our day is the important bit.

I knit.  It is the state of me. 

And because the state of me, at this particular moment in time is that I need a hot coffee, I am going to go do that.  

It worked

The cherry tree out my window is a marvel of nature and man.  Man because he bred it, and nature...because nature.  With the rains of the last week, the cherries have shown themselves.  All the bee activity done before the first hail and rain was enough.  It looks as if the cherty harvest will be bountiful. The berries are thick on the tree and there will be more than we want even if the weather doesn't cooperate. Keith spent time working on the back garden this weekend too so everything looks crisp and clean and bountiful.  He only planted potatoes this year but there is nothing like fresh new potatoes. Yum.  

Writing the blog in the mornings is usually beneficial.  It allows me to get all my fears and worries out and set down.  Once they are out in the open I can sit myself down and things usually resolve themselves.  Either they work or they don't and I move on to do what I need to do.  Getting them out, saying them, allows me to confront the worries with fresh eyes.

That is exactly what happened to the skirt and fabric problem with Fridays post.  I said it and then went in and laid out the pattern on the fabric and did it again and again and then magically it worked.  I found a way to make the fabric I had work.  By lunch, Friday morning, I had a skirt cut out, ready to be sewn together for this trial.  I sewed Saturday and fitted it Sunday and it works!   I am so, so happy with this.  

The self drafted A line skirt wasn't a good fit but this half circle skirt is going to be just right.  I like gathers but sometimes fabrics don't suit gathers.  Pleats are ok, but even that can be too much for some things.  I just don't want so much heaviness at my waist.  The half circle skirt will give me a cleaner smoother top and has the ease and width of skirt I like.  

Everything is ready for the last bits.  The waist band is waiting to be attached and then there is a long hem to do.  I am thinking very seriously about bias binding the hem because that is an easy way to get a nice, crisp, mildly weightier bottom hem without hand sewing.

All through the weekend, the Tolsta Tee accompanied me.     

It is zipping along and I cant wait to wear it.  

Joys and Frustrations

Thursday is mail day.  This is by long standing tradition here on the Canadian prairie.  It is how we do it and I had mail!

Cassie wants to sew something and so I ordered fabric to suit.  It took a bit of a search.  If you want anything just a wee bit different than average, here in Canada, you have to go looking for specialty.  I had to find a fashion fabric retailer.  

My usual online vendor is great but its selection of 4 way stretch fabric is dismal.  Only swimming or skating type fabrics were available and that sort of thing would not do what Cassie wanted.  Plus its slippery nature would make it a very difficult sew for a competent beginner.

Once I found a place with the fabric Cassie and I desired, we ordered and mail day!  It arrived.  

I had to laugh.  The whole thing was wrapped in packing tape.  Every single bit covered.  I get that.  This package was not going to be caught on a machine and ripped open and the goods damaged beyond use.  I get that, but it reminds me of Christmas past and sneaky, snoopy little boys birthday gifts and the struggle to keep things a secret. This feels just like that too.

I was a little worried about cutting the package open till I saw it.   

One wee corner was not sealed below the impermeable packaging.  The fabric is going to be perfect and knit though it is, will be manageable for her skill set.  They sent a catalogue of what they normally stock and sent a really nice pile of samples...

which makes me desire to order all kinds of things.

No.  I have enough.  I am going to go dig in fabric this morning to remind myself that this is the truth and to find suitable fabric for the skirt I am trying to make. There isn't enough of the fabric I picked out initially.  I have tried every way I could of laying out the pattern but nope.  It will not work.  I need a bigger piece of fabric.  The really frustrating thing is that it isn't short by much.  

Between joy and frustration with fabric, knitting was great.  I managed to get the Tolsta Tee down to under the arms, so I am officially a third done.  Ish.  On a short sleeved top it may be more than a third.  

It is starting to look like a good serviceable tee too.  I love this part of a knit  It always feels like the hard part is done and I can settle in and just enjoy going around the circle. The 6 and 2 stripe doesn't feel as natural to me as a 7 and 3 stripe but it looks really well balanced and proportional. 

I am off the play in fabric and yarn and string.  Time for the second cup of coffee too.  That first one went down really easy.  The day looks good and I hope the lords of sewing are rooting for me today.  Wish me luck.

When Good Knits Go Bad

By lunchtime yesterday I felt I had cowered in the cold long enough. I was warm enough on the outside but shawl or not, I couldn't stop the feeling of a chill down my back.  I pulled out one of my favourite knits ** which I have not worn all spring.

It had a problem.  The last time I wore it, I think it got caught a couple times on a sticking out catchy bit on one of the dishwasher trays.  Time for a good fix.

I had to pull out a few rows   

but that was easy enough.  Except for the weaving in end from the original knit.  I am apparently very good at hiding the woven in ends and it made for an interesting rip back.  Eventually I got it and pulled back enough for the edge to be redone firmly and

here we are.  Fixed and wearable.  The repaired cuff is three rows shorter than the other side but that will do.  The sleeves are plenty long and nobody will notice but me. I had hoped for a two row repair, but it was not to be.  And so it goes.  

I put it on and put on the pretty summer shawl with it and was cozy all the rest of the day.

In other big news, I just finished putting the sleeve stitches on a holder on the second Tolsta.  I am utterly thrilled!

 

**They are all my favourite knits.

Keeping the Chill Off, the Summer Series

 I was  hoping to show you the second Tolsta Tee this morning but it lied.  I need to knit another stripe repeat before I can split for sleeves.  Gauge and measuring tapes lie.

Since it is cool and wet today (Hooray.  We are so dry here that our sump has only run three times this year.  In a normal year it would have run 6 - 8 times a day) I will show you how I keep off the chill down my back, the summer series.

The shawl I am wearing today is one of my least worn shawls.  It is also one of my loveliest shawls.  

It is a triangular shawl knit with a little pea type motif and a bit of a border out of 2 skeins of Arucania Ruca, a yarn made of sugar cane.  I have not worn it much because like all yarns made in a way similar to rayon, it is cool to the touch and light as a feather to wear.  Till recently,  with the advent of proper meds, I have been cold from the inside and cool fibres were not my thing.  But it is lovely and silky and slinky and it works well on warmer days.  All I need is a bit of a something to pull the collar on my sweater a bit closer to my neck and I am warm.

If I wasn't wearing this shawl, I would be wearing this one.  Again.

This is my  Holden Shawl knit in Drops Lin an sadly discontinues heavier weight linen.  Or lighter spun?  It is loftier than most linen yarns but it is delicious to work with and wear.  I knit this in 2012 and it is still one of my favourite things to wear on hot summer days when I just need a little something over the back of my neck. If they still made Drops Lin, I would have masses of it in stash.

Or I might be wearing this.

This is my Bitterroot Shawl, a very early design by Romi Hill found in  my forever favourite Knitty.  Spend some time going over the many favourite designs by so many people.  And then go knit a Bitterroot because you must.  I knit this in Handmaiden Flaxen and it explains why I have so much other yarn by  Fleece Artist and Handmaiden in my stash.  There are no words to say about how lovely this yarn is. 

It is a little to chilly for this one, but it is another thing that gets a lot of wear in warmer temps.   

The Winter Windows Silk Scarf by Margaret Radcliffe from Luxury Yarn One Skein Wonders.  I knit it in Drops Silke Tweed, a silk and Wool blend that I dearly love and miss.

And the last one that gets a lot of summer wear is this one.  It gets a lot of wear in winter too, because I just love this pretty thing. 

It is a Multnomah Shawl which is out there on the internet somewhere, but I knit it way back in the dawn of time from one of my very first Zauberballs.  I have knit the pattern a few time since and I still enjoy making it.

Some shawls I like for fibre content, some for size and the way they sit and some just because they remind me of happy things.  I don't wear them draped for a phot shoot.  I wear them in a more practical way, draped for warmth and coziness where I need it, on my upper back.  They may not look so pretty, tied at the front or pinned there as they most often are, but I love my shawls and I want them to snuggle into and remember.  There was a lot of joy knit into them and I treasure that.

The Getting is Going Well

It is quiet this morning.  The air is still and calm and the birdsong is vibrant  and clear.  The sun is brilliant in the cloudless sky and it promises to be a wonderful day.  

I did get a lot of knitting done between loads of laundry, which was actually put away on laundry day, for the first time in weeks.  

I did not quite make it to the armscye of my second Tolsta Tee.  Three more rows till that happens but I feel pretty comfortable and confident that I will get there today.    

The math and gauge says it is doing all the right things.  The sleeves will fit. The body will be exactly what I am looking for it to be.  So the math says, and while I do agree the math is probably correct, I still wonder and hope that all is right.  I will try it on after I have a few rows knit below the sleeve split like I usually do.

Besides more knitting, my goal for the day is to get to that wearable muslin of the skirt that I was talking about. I am so excited.  Keep your fingers crossed for me. 

Bounding

What a great knitting weekend!

My hands are healed but I am taking it easy.  I am knitting on the cotton for a bit and then switching to the Silky Wool and I am stopping for the day when they are tired.  So far, so fair.

I made another full repeat of the stripe pattern and by days end I ought to be to sleeve separation.  

Progress doesn't show up as much on the Silky Wool top but there is progress.

Also in the bottom right corner, you can just see the first Tolsta Tee.  I am wearing it this morning again.  I really love everything about this top.  Yarn choice was great, fit is great, and wearability as a topper over dresses or alone as a tee is superb.  

I even did a try on of my first self drafted skirt, the one I am testing for fit with an old sheet.  I had not touched it for a week, chicken that I am.  It isn't too bad, though I will have to make a few adjustments.  That was expected.  I am really looking forward to trying a full skirt on the black cotton as a wearable toile.  If it works that is.  And then to a few skirts and maybe another dress or two.  And some tops.

I have a fabric stash as well as a yarn stash and honestly, it is the most wonderful thing to know that when I am tired and cranky and not interested my wardrobe that I can sir down and make something new, knitted or sewn.  It is so much more fun than shopping. There is the thrill of wearing something new but also the thrill of making.  It is so satisfying.

Even though today is laundry and chore day, I feel as if I am a kid, bounding off to explore the world. And I will be as soon as I make myself another cup of coffee.

A Saturday morning

Before F1 race stuff starts I am watching a documentary on what life was life in ancient Rome presented by Mary Beard.  She makes Roman history so accessible.  You can see the passion she has for the subject light her face and I love that.  

While I am doing that, I am also dealing with this.  

The back of my green Elton sweater made with Fleece Artist BFL2/8.  Looks good.

Thr front.  Not so good.  My first thought when I pulled it out was hey, that's not too bad.  Yes it has been worse.  Much worse.  So far this has been the fuzziest thing I ever made but then, that is the nature of of soft spun yarns.  I picked it off a bit a few weeks ago and knew it needed a proper defuzzing.

A proper defuzzing later, it looks great.  Let's give it some scale.

This is after the ball has been well squished. 

I use a d-fuzz it comb, a nifty little thing that is cheap and works well.  They last well, though not forever.  

I don't usually worry too much about fuzzing.  Most of my sweaters don't fuzz too badly, and since it usually just me, it isn't a big deal.  But some sweaters are worth keeping them tidy looking.  This Elton sweater is one of my most worn things.  I simply love it. 

Trivial bits of things

I really want both my WIP tops to be finished.  It isn't that I am tired of knitting them.  I want to wear them.  It is so exciting making new things that fit just how you want them to fit in the colours and fibers you want.  Plus the simple action of knitting. 

I will let you in on a little trivia on both tops.

I love knitting this yarn. Elsbeth Lavold Silky Wool is on of the most splendid things to work with.  It is a fairly fine DK, more of a sportweight to my way of thinking, but the weight you call it is not that important.  The gauge you get is. 

This top is all garter stitch. At this finer gauge, it takes some time to see how much you knit each day. It doesn't feel boring (not that any knitting is) because of the stripes and the yarn changes.  It is fun, but oh my, the garter stitch. It is a lot of garter stitch.

Good thing I like garter stitch.

The second Tolsta Tee is being made with cheap yarn.  I bought the Country Silk in Jasper the summer my daughter in law, Olga was first here.  She came camping with Brian and I to Rock Lake but we also spent a day in Jasper.  Brian did not mean to park right in front of the yarn store that used to be there, but that is where we ended up.  It was fate.

The black cotton is from one of my most fun adventures from online shopping.  This South African cotton, Cotton Fields was being sold at an incredible price.  Each skein was under 2 bucks and I ordered tons and I am so glad I did.   

I am happy that I decided to knit this one double stranded.  It is knitting up with reasonable speed and I hope to have it done by the end of the month. If my hands hold out, it will happen.  It will be great to wear on those hot July and Augusts days.  

Today a bit of knitting, a bit of reading and the start of an F1 race weekend.  In Canada I might add.  Looking good.

Cotton v Wool

I did knit on the black Tolsta Tee yesterday and all is well.  Still, with an abundance of caution, I am gong to change projects and knit on my Mashup Top.  What it comes down to s this.

One is mostly cotton. 

The other mostly a classy wool blend, Elsbeth Lavold Silky Wool and Noro.

The wool is easier on my hands.  That is so hard for me to say.

I started my fibre adventures with crochet cotton and I worked with cotton for many years.  It feels comfortable in my hands and I have never had to worry about using it for anything, knit or crocheted. It was all good.  Yet here I am, with just a touch of arthritis in my hands and you know what?  My hands are feeling the difference in the fibres.

Cotton is a bit harder on my hands.  It doesn't stress them but it does tire them out faster than when I work with wool.  That tiredness is a sign that it is time to stop for the day.  It always has been.   So while there was knitting and all is going fine, I am switching to wool today.  

It isn't hard to decide this.  I am loving this top to and now that I know how I want it to be, knitting it is fun.  So onward to fun.   

Here. We. Go.

Wahoo.  I knit yesterday.  Just one row and it felt pretty good.

I am looking forward to this second Tolsta.  I have worn the first one several times already and am looking forward to another.

I took some time to wind up some cotton yarn I picked up on my epic journey several years ago.  

It is all 2/8 coned cotton.  The green, rust and gold were partial cones that Camilla Valley Farms had on sale and I bought the cone of cream after I got home to make a top. Because the colour inspiration comes from a crocheted blanket I made my Grandpa many years ago, I want to do a very similar wave pattern for my top.     

Its all wound up and ready to go.

My current plan is to hold two strands, one from the outside of each ball and one from the inside and to use a basic feather and fan pattern and a very simple shape.  I know I will knit top down and the debate at the moment is do I knit shoulder and neck shaping or do I go boat neck with no real yoke shaping at all.  Either way I am looking forward to it.

So back to some knitting today.  I don't want to over do it so I have lots of other things planned.  My challenge today is to not knit more than is good for me.  Wish me luck.  Knitting's siren song calls hard.

Waiting is hard when you feel good but you know that a few more days will help the overall outcome.  

Soon

What a lovely weekend.  The weather was fine, my brother was visiting and there was a surprise visit by some grandkids.  Just a lovely weekend.  

Around town, the flower bloom is going all out.  The lilacs, that old prairie farmyard staple and almost every ones early spring favourite,  are spectacular this year.  The purple sort are everywhere but one of my sons has a white lilac in his front yard and a Japanese lilac tree in his backyard. The tree lilac will bloom in a week or two and is well worth waiting for just for its scent.  Gorgeous.    

The only real downside to the weekend was that thee was no knitting.  Sigh.

My hands feel great but I am going to give it another day or two to be sure. Today is laundry day so there is lots to fill my day and I may even do some well loved chores (dishes) and have a really good time.  Or not as the case may be.  I am thinking of pulling out another puzzle to start to fill in the between times.  We shall see.  But shortly there will be some sewing and some knitting and that will be enough.