Q&A!

 Hey there! I'm still here, plugging away on pokemon.  Up to page 20!  Very Exciting, I'm sure.

Well, I decided to take a short break from that riveting style of post and do a Q&A!

I got a few nibbles, so I'll get started:

Stephanie asked: (is there a) Halloween craft you want to try?

I do have a few skeins of knit picks felici in what I would consider a Halloween colorway. I'm planning socks! and that's probably the only Halloween crafting I'll do. I don't usually do an enormous amount of crafting relative to the seasons or holidays, but I do enjoy Halloween prints and colors!

Morgan asked:  What is a knitting or spinning technique you've always wanted to try?

Honestly, I think I've explored all the facets that knitting has to offer. I've brioched, I've entrelac'ed, I've laced and cabled, and done an enormous amount of color work.   What I need to work on is actually doing gauge swatches, and practicing finishing techniques to make my knitting that much more excellent.  I would also like to get better at finding shapes that work for my body type: sweaters that fit well and are flattering that I actually reach for when it's chilly out.

In spinning, it's a bit trickier I think.  There are techniques I'm aware of but have no interest in giving a go. I'm not much of a fan of art yarn types of spinning, but I would love to try different wool types.  There's so many types of sheep out in the world and I've only spun up a dozen types of breeds or so. Eventually, when I have more room, I would love to try processing a fleece again.

Caitlin asked: How you decide whether to modify a pattern or not? How you go about modifications - careful planning v. On the fly v. Combining things from different patterns v. Making it up?

 In the recent years I actually haven't done very much improvisation or modification to accessories.  Socks for example have been vanilla for at least the past year, and any shawl patterns I've done have been just lovely in the sample so I haven't seen a need to change them.

In the past I did a lot of adding of stitch patterns and motifs to things.  Mostly that involved some kind of a vanilla base, be it a sock or a hat, and I would plug in a stitch pattern.

 I used to agonize over making room for my bust in sweaters, which is slightly larger proportionally than the rest of me, but then I stopped.  I don't generally knit sweaters that are skin-tight, and knitting stretches in general.  So, for a sweater I knit for myself, I'll automatically aim for the size that gives me a few inches of positive ease overall and it works out more or less.  I usually do have to modify the sleeve size to fit my arms though.  There seems to be a horrible trend of sweater designers who make their sweaters with negative ease on the sleeves.  I am not here for that.

 I've also come to the conclusion that certain sweater shapes, yoke sweaters specifically, just do not work for my body type at all and I've ceased trying to make them work.

 I have to do a LOT of modifications when knitting for my husband, who's rather broad chested with large arms.  I knit him a few sweaters over the years that he never wore and never told me that the arms were entirely too small.  So, for him I have to add several inches to the armholes.

Brandi asked: (What are) your top 5 things you've ever made?

Now this is a toughy.  I had to let this question stew overnight and I still don't think I could narrow it down to just 5!

1. In terms of knitting skill, I would have to say that my Ixchel (which I wrote about here) is the apotheosis of all my talents.  It utilized years worth of knowledge and skill for me to knit, and I'm still convinced that the designer never intended people to actually hand knit it.

2. In terms of repeatability and enjoyment of knitting, I would say that my On the Spice Market shawls are up there.  I've knit that pattern three times!  It's one of those that just gets in there and needs to be knit again (and again), plus it's a great way to use up leftovers, and an excellent shape for throwing on over anything. Here's my blog post about my most recent iteration.

3. One of my most proudest spinning accomplishments was my handspun Evenstar shawl.  I actually wrote about starting knitting it in the post about shawls above.  I was exceedingly happy with the way the yarn spun up, which started out as a braid of baby camel/silk from Portfiber out in Portland Maine.  It spun up into a beautifully soft and fine laceweight two-ply yarn, and when I knit with it, I could hardly believe that I had spun it. The final object was so delicate and beautiful, I almost couldn't believe I had knitted it.  Did I mention Soft?  This thing is the SOFTEST material I've ever made, too.

4. I have to go with my very first sweater that fit.  And I'm actually wearing it today!  It's my first Nightscape sweater! 

5. My fifth proudest (though not necessarily in that order) thing I've made have to be my children.

They are a good set of kids and I love them! <3

Runner's up for top five things I've made:

Any of the embroidered hexie project bags I've made:

My NOT A BLANKET

and my lady cross stitched on linen:

 

Morgan also asked: Talk about the different hand positions of knitting and why you knit the way you do/if you've ever tried to change it.

Well, that's not a question, but I'll talk about it anyway. ;) I knit English style, with my working yarn in my right hand.  I have knit this way since the beginning of my knitting career, but things have definitely changed and evolved since the beginning.

 For example, when knitting colorwork, I used to knit with a color in each hand.  And I think I was knitting the Dude Sweater when I realized that it was really affecting my gauge.  So now colorwork can be a bit tedious, I have to pick up the color I'm working on and drop the old color, but it's not that bad.

I think there was a time when I experimented with knitting continental style near the beginning of my career, but it didn't feel great on my wrists and also it was much looser than my usual knitting style.  I definitely can do it that way in a pinch, but it's not my favorite.  Knitting is supposed to be fun!

 Interestingly, I do crochet so my hands resemble a continental style knitter's, but it isn't my favorite craft and it hurts my hands a lot to do it.  I haven't looked up a more erganomical way to hook though.

And last but certainly not least:

Caitlin asked: You may have written about this before, but if not, talk about how you stash craft products, be it yarn, fabric, thread, tools. As someone with an absolutely excessive stash of craft stuff, it fascinates me that you tend to buy as you go.

I sure can!

I have an old chest that I store all of my yarn and fiber in, looks like this:

    

Everything inside is in plastic (which I loathe) because I had a horrible history with carpet beetles at my old house.  Thankfully the beetles are gone, but I keep up constant vigilance anyway.  I actually sort of cringe inside when I see the fanceee podcasters' background shelving full of unbagged or unboxed yarn.  It looks gorgeous, sure, but I would hate to see what it looks like after a small moth infestation.

My yarn stash really isn't all that excessive either.  I have one sweater quantity that I spun a few years ago.  I actually have plans to over-dye it but I'm intimidated so it stays in my stash.  Everything else is leftovers or sock yarn.  Maybe there's a skein or two of lace weight.  I really do just mostly buy larger quantities of things on a whim for casting on immediately.  (or you know, boy asks for a new fox sweater and I can't resist)

My fiber stash has definitely grown in the last few months.  I don't usually buy larger quantities than 4 ounce bumps, and I have a few sample bumps in there and a few bags of WIP fiber.  (that is bags holding the second or third plies)

I store my knitting and spinning WIPs all over the house, to husband's chagrin I'm sure.  My cross stitch usually stays either on the desk where I'm working on it, (near my knitting accessory pouch) or on my side table where I'm working on it when someone is using the computer.  I have a drop spindle in the car for spinning while waiting for the kids.  I have an easy vanilla project (either socks or Toby's sweater) on the couch for evening knitting while watching movies and and shows.

Everything else gets piled like so:

 That bag on the top, with the pink are my extra flosses for my pokemon cross stitch (the blue box at the top stores my other cross stitching supplies, which isn't much at all really), the shipping bag has the rest of the blue for Toby's sweater.

The middle shelf are spinning projects I probably should get a move on, and the bottom is my fat squirrel bag holding Hazel's sweater which I Really Should Get a Move On.

The box with roses and the red box are mostly empty.  They used to hold fabric scraps, leftovers, etc, but now they hold empty project bags and a small amount of fabric stash. In terms of fabric, I have a single 5" charm pack and some dark canvas that I use for my hexie bags.  I don't keep a fabric stash anymore, and I got rid of all my leftovers and bits I just won't use before the move.

My sewing machine is also there, and a very small amount of scrapbooking supplies that I never use on my bujo.  I don't have a lot of thread or other sewing supplies, but I keep them in my sewing box which isn't pictured but is put away.  I do have a desk that one day I plan to craft on.  It's difficult because there isn't a plug nearby so it's not great for sewing. That is where my sewing box is stored, and a few choice drop spindles sit on the kate on the very top.

As for needles, I have a box with my interchangeables and crochet hooks on one side, and another smaller box with my double points and fixed circulars:

Fun story, the chiao goo pack you see there Actually has my Karbons in, and my Karbons case (underneath my addi lace set) has my chiao goos in.  The case the Karbons came in was Rubbish, and I don't use my chiao goos as much anymore.

The box with fixed circulars is mostly filled with sock sizes.  I dabbled in doll clothes a few years ago, so the sizes range from 6-0's (that's .75mm) [and honestly I used them once and it was Terrible] to U.S. 3s (3.25mm).  I got the 3s before I had an interchangeable set that went that small.  But also, sometimes it's a good idea to have an extra set of 3's!

And that, my friends is the end.  I hope you enjoyed this, and if you have any questions you'd like answered or clarified please leave a comment! I'd also love to hear your answers to any of these questions!

I had a really good time talking about all of this! Thanks for reading!