Make Nine 2020

This Epiphany – in some Christian traditions the Day of Kings (el Día de los Reyes) – secular revelation comes not with a star, angels, and shepherds, but by means of a Tweet and Reply. There's the horror, the horror of an imperial, violence-prone presidency on full public display, in 140 characters or less, and the lawful rejoinder. Context here.

This Media Post will serve as a reminder that war powers reside in the Congress under the United States Constitution. And that you should read the War Powers Act. And that you’re not a dictator. https://t.co/VTroMegWv0

— House Foreign Affairs Committee (@HouseForeign) January 5, 2020

The contending assertions also provide a reminder that the religious text for the day plainly calls wise men and women to acts of resistance and civil disobedience against would-be tyrants. When fox-like Herod treacherously demands you play the informant for him, conscience and lucid dreaming will send you home safe by another way. It's not alternative facts, but an alternate road.

One of those alternate paths for me includes the gentle Make Nine Challenge (#MakeNine), explained by blog, Instagram, and Ravelry group. Rather than attempt to Make All the Things and succumb to the pressures of fast fashion, this challenge is a thoughtful, intentionally limited ramble through a year of making. I've been trying to de-clutter, and that really should include my multi-craftual queue, too. So here's my collage and intentions.



1. Make some prayer shawls: maybe knit them, maybe weave them. While the production method may be in question, the current need at Church of the Improv is indisputably urgent. I've never before seen a time such as this. It's easy to feel anxious and overwhelmed.

2. Fold some origami cranes and take them to the June pilgrimage to Washington, DC.

3. Reduce the number of UFO socks, including Singular Sensation Socks. This could easily turn into a deep dive into a rabbit hole all by itself. To set some parameters, let me note the current number of Singular Sensations is 11; the lowest number is 7, achieved in 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2016; the highest number is 12, a dubious achievement of 2009.

4. Sew a T-shirt or two. I haven't done any garment sewing in a long, long, long time and would like to get back into it, not least because I love wearing tees, inventory is running low, and I'm increasingly dissatisfied with storebought. Although I have a quibble... I prefer the finished look of facings, but patterns with bias binding would seem to be the current style, such as the knit 100 Acts of Sewing: Shirt No. 2 or the woven Grainline Studio Scout Tee, with sleeve variations. Perhaps more research is needed.

5. Free square, project to be determined. Of course there's a free square. There are many contenders for the empty space – Sock Madness, Tour de Fleece, and the Tokyo Ravellenics come readily to mind – but I want to hold it open for a while.

6. Sew some project and shopping bags, such as Grainline Studio Stowe Bag. I'm still trying to reduce my use of plastic.

7. Knit a Churchmouse Yarns and Teas Swingy Linen Skirt. I have the pattern, and yarn purchased for Camp Loopy 2017 (just when the most recent round of chaos started) and re-purposed in 2018. I haven't had the requisite time to knit, but I hope to remedy that this year.

8. Sew some aprons, such as Purl Soho Cross Back Apron. Or possibly weave some kitchen towels or spa cloths.

9. Can some things – apricot or peach jam, maybe; tomato jam, definitely; maybe dilly beans or pickled nasturtium pods; hopefully some cherries. Lately I've repeatedly missed cherry season because of too much travel. Sigh. The list could go on and on, but in the spirit of Make Nine, there's no pressure (har) to can All The Things.

I'm looking forward to learning lots of good ancillary things too. For example, that's my first photo collage above (yay, me) and I hope to become more proficient on Instagram, the format of which just boggles me. So here goes, and good luck to everyone Making Nine.

Resolution

Happy New Year! May it be filled with that 20/20 clarity... and fancy doughnuts!



It's going to be a doozy of a year, methinks. I was feeling grouchy and stressed at the close of 2019, and was looking forward to some peace and quiet for at least one day. But, the new year had scarcely dawned when a flock of urgent and/or trolling messages landed in my inbox. Argh.



So. Rather than start a first foot this year, I'm simply going to continue on last year's first foot (never finished), Invitation to the Dance by Caoua Coffee. It's a lovely pattern that deserves better attentiveness, and I look forward to reducing the number of UFOs buzzing around Area 151. Besides, I just joined the Team 2020 Sew My Wardrobe sew-along – another reason to limit and/or reduce knitting projects.

Under the Influenza

Suddenly I've developed the nastiest of all nasties, like a flu in onset, like a heavy cold in misery. I haven't been this congested since the last millennium. When you mix general bleariness and a whole lot of OTC cold remedies...



... with a charm pack and a quilt block project for Church of the Sharp Elbows...



... wobbly crafting ensues. You know how the cold remedy labels advise, "Do not operate machinery"? Apparently that includes sewing machines. Yet I persevered and crafted on.

Here's my first quilt block. In my current state I'm somewhat amused that the house – yes, it's supposed to be a house – would appear to have settled, which ::cough:: explains why the walls and chimneys aren't precisely vertical. Nothing a bit of sashing couldn't fix. Also, the walls and the window don't contrast enough. I'm tempted to fix that with a laundry marker.



This was my first attempt at paper piecing. I can see why quilters like the technique – it's a simple way to achieve a high degree of fussy. Speaking of which, this block most likely isn't up to the high standards of the Quilting Guild at Church of the Sharp Elbows, which means I'll be keeping it and making another to donate. So what does one do with just one quilt block?

Radio Silence

Sorry about the blog going dark, I've been a bit busy and a lot tired. I got no new knitting to show off, although I do have this curiosity, an unclaimed custom-made box bag.



I've had custom orders hit snags before, but this is a first. The bag was my contribution to the prize pool for the Free Up Your Needles knit-along, which concluded August 31. Originally I offered its winner a sock monkey with bananas lining project bag, but she wanted lighthouses and whatnot, so I obtained nautical fabrics for the outside and lining of the bag. The finished object is my variation on the pattern – it has two handles, two pull tabs, all raw edges are finished, and its contrast lining forms a zipper guard to protect projects from snagging. Huh, anchors... ironic.



The box bag is ready to hop in the mail, free and clear – the winner just has to supply a mailing address.

T is for Template

T is for template. I got tired of toting my socks in progress around in ::cough:: plastic zip bags, so I finally made a project bag following Dragon[knit]fly's tutorial, with a few tweaks. The result is this box bag, which looks rather like a dop kit gone deplorably wrong. Hey, it's a prototype.



Mods: Because the fashion fabric is directional, I pieced and seamed it so the motifs would be right way up on both sides of the bag, which had the added benefit of securing the interfacing. The inside raw edges are finished with improvised binding (oh, for a bias tape maker or Creative Little Daisy's clever tutorial!). The handle is simplified and has a contrast lining, there's a loop at the bottom of the zipper to provide something to tug against whilst zipping, and there's a zipper pull. There's also a zipper guard, to keep the zipper from snagging on sock yarn. It took an incredible amount of time and re-sewing to get it just right and, sadly, the fabric shows the wear and tear.



The bag interfacing is mediumweight Pellon, which gives the bag substantial body. I could see using lighter interfacing or skipping interfacing and even the lining for a soft, unconstructed look. I don't think I'd use anything like Timtex for an Amy Butler-esque look. I also don't think I'll use rayon thread for the topstitching again – it's 'way too fragile and was a slithery horror to work with.

Overall, I'm happy with the bag. It easily accomodates a sock in progress plus wallet, keys, and cell phone. The same concept with different proportions could be used as a lingerie bag or a shoe bag. I'm going to make more box bags – I certainly have enough socks in progress to fill quite a few. Hm... a smaller bag with pockets would be nice... hm... I wonder if left-handers would rather have the zipper guard on the other side of the zipper?

Meanwhile, I've been enjoying looking at political carved pumpkins. I'm a total klutz when it comes to pumpkin-carving, but the DIY stencils are giving me hope!