Weaving – Damselfly's Delights

Yes, it’s already halfway through January and I haven’t done a final tally of my makes from last year. Now that that government south of us is sorted and we can all breathe easier I feel a little more willing to look backward again. Plus I finally finished writing up my project notes that I hadn’t touched since August so it’s all fresh in my mind. Drum-roll please! In 2020, I completed:

26 garments sewn or refashioned
1 seam roll and a plethora of masks made
6 items knitted
2 skeins spun
6 tea towels woven
5 fabrics dyed

I only made a couple of things for Thom. And after I put the photos together I realised that the green Jeds were actually completed this year, not 2020! I did cut them out in December anyway. And both pairs of socks above are his. He has enough pieces now that he can dress completely in wife-mades, except for his undies! (Maybe I should remedy that. Or not.)

I completely lost track of how many masks I’ve made although they were only for Thom, his mom and me. Unlike many other sewists I was slow off the mark and didn’t make any for giving away. However I think it will continue to be needful to wear face coverings for quite awhile still, at least until everyone is vaccinated and so-called “herd immunity” kicks in. So pretty much for most of the rest of 2021, I figure. Currently in my province you can’t get on a bus or ferry, shop in a store, go to a medical appointment, get your hair cut or enter a mall without a mask on. At least mine are more fun to wear than the generic paper disposables! Who knew a year ago that they would become perhaps literally a life-saver?

In the end I did complete some UFOs but there’s still several left over. I have a pile of knits cut out and ready to sew. I was threading up the machines for the green ones but I’m stalling. It’s a lightweight stretchy beast and I’m a little nervous about sewing it. Just DO IT! Also I’m finally back to knitting on a pair of socks that’s been hanging around half-done since 2019. And I was actually dreaming about spinning last night so maybe there’s hope that I will finally complete the sweater quantity project that I started forever ago. Only another 2 skeins to go, I think. And then they all get popped into a dyepot. That would be fun for a change! I haven’t spun at all for nearly a year. I also have a weaving draft and yarns all picked out for another round of towels. But there it all sits. Sad and forlorn.

Some soul-searching has me concluding that perhaps I’ve been somewhat reluctant to start new projects because I don’t actually need anything right now. Unlike some people however it’s not because I dress differently when mostly staying home! This is my normal life. Comfy practical clothes for gardening, walking, working in the craft studio, doing housework, cooking – all the usual stuff. Really, the only things I really do miss these days is getting together with family and eating out (particularly foods that don’t do so well as take-out like sushi, dosas, dim sum, yam fries with chipotle mayo…yum…). Oh, and running away to the beach or the desert in our van. Okay, enough of that, damselfly. No use whining about it. Nearly everyone is in a similar situation.

The good news is that I didn’t buy very much in the way of craft supplies all year, instead I was digging deeply into what I already have. I managed to use only stash fabrics and buttons but needed some more thread and of course a few PDF patterns that I couldn’t resist. What I did go a little spendy on were my new sewing and coverstitch machines but so far in the few months I’ve had them they’ve gotten plenty of use so definitely happy with those purchases. I also bought extra essentials like wonder tape, clips, a stitch ripper and more bobbins. I still have a ridiculous amount of fabric left though a lot of it is pretty ancient (some is over 20 years old!) and not particularly wonderful. It’s a challenge to find the best use for it and to make sure it will be something that actually gets worn. One day though I’m going to reward myself for my good reduce/reuse/recycle behaviour and buy something really special to sew! But that can wait for now.

Looking forward. I’m hopeful. I’ve already bought my garden seeds for this coming season!

Did you hear that sound? That was May whooshing by. Another month disappearing in the rear view mirror. I wanted to post more this month but obviously that didn’t happen. We rambled about the neighbourhood. We gardened – a lot. We read and read and read. I finished a couple of projects. We wore our masks to get groceries, both for ourselves and for Thom’s elderly mom. We stayed isolated. We stayed well.

When put like that it sounds kind of boring, doesn’t it? It doesn’t feel like that while I’m living it however. We’ve found some pleasant and most of all quiet places to walk. Our favourite is Shaughnessy, that Vancouver bastion of huge heritage mansions and treed streets pompously named after prominent members of the Canadian Pacific Railway board of directors circa 1885. Foot and car traffic is minimal, giant old trees keep it cool and the curvy streets keep us guessing as to which direction we’re going. It’s an adventure every time! I haven’t been carrying my iPad though so I have no photos to show you.

The garden is doing well and we’ve actually gotten quite a few compliments from passersby on how nice it looks. We both enjoy gardening and of course this year we have less alternative distractions, right? Yeah. Thom does the bigger stuff: pruning, mulching, mowing, leaf blowing, the larger weeding, turning compost, staking and tying up plants. I do the more delicate stuff: starting and transplanting seedlings, shaping beds, fertilizing, harvesting, the pickier weeding and plant trimming. We luckily have complementary skills and abilities! The weather has still been mainly relatively cool especially at night and this month it’s been quite changeable too. More like April weather than the mostly sunny April we had. A benefit is we’ve been blessed with enough rain that I haven’t had to water very much at all so far, except in the greenhouse of course. Everything (except the cucumbers which are still in pots in the greenhouse waiting for it to warm up a bit more) is planted now so all that’s left to do for the next few months are weeding, harvesting and watering. And watching things grow. Yes, the hammock is already out and being enjoyed.

Not much exciting has happened in the studio however. I did promise a photo of the finished tea towels:

Towels in 4-block 4-shaft Summer & Winter

I love them so much! And am now encouraged to wind a new warp for more towels in a different weave structure. Maybe there’s hope for me to regain my weaving skills yet? Then there’s the second pair of socks for Thom:

Yes, I wove the mat underneath too. Years ago now and you can see the sheep are losing their chenille “wool”! Poor things. The sock yarn is DGB Confetti from 2009. Working from deep stash these days. Heh. I truly love this yarn brand and am sad that it’s apparently discontinued. It’s very durable and the colourways were attractive. Now that the superwash sock yarns from independent dyers are more popular, they seem to mostly all use very similar base yarns which aren’t twisted as tightly so don’t hold up to wear as well. They’re also twice as expensive, but I don’t begrudge the hardworking dyers their profit. Just that I would love to be able to keep wearing the socks! Also, I do like dyeing my own but it’s hard to get undyed sock yarns for a reasonable price if you don’t have a business. Nevermind. I have enough for the foreseeable future anyway.

Here’s the masks I mentioned in my last post, free pattern from Dhurata Davies:

They fit very nicely:

I have to say the masks have really helped us with the stress of grocery shopping in crowded stores where it’s difficult to maintain distancing. Some shops insist that all their customers should wear one along with only allowing a certain number of people in the store. I think there are actually more people wearing masks here now than there were. On the busier city streets I would say that perhaps 1/3 to 1/2 of the people I see these days are masked but less than 1/4 of them in quiet, low traffic areas. A much higher percentage wear masks on transit. But not everyone. Discomfort, vanity or disinterest? Even we don’t wear our masks on our ramblings but only if we’re forced to be in closer proximity to others.

And I also sewed a shirt:

This is the Tessuti Helga shirt pattern that I cut out of some thrifted poly-something a year ago. And then it sat. And sat. While I proceeded with a whole bunch of other projects. But finally I decided that this shirt had aged long enough. It was time to test whether this pattern fit me well enough to consider making another version from nicer fabric. The lines of this shirt with its clever hi-lo angled hem are quite comfortable. The facings are stitched down so I knew I wouldn’t have my usual fights with keeping them in place. I deliberately chose a size S which surprisingly fit well with enough wearing ease even for The Belly Fluff. Can’t imagine how loose it would be if I went by my actual bust measurement! The only fit changes I made were sloping the shoulders and shortening the sleeves, both necessary on nearly every garment I make. I had some trouble with the collar which somehow didn’t lie properly against my neck. I chopped it shorter and hand-stitched the seam closed and now I like it much better. Lastly I used 5 smaller buttons instead of the 4 larger ones called for. I only had these appropriate ones in the stash.

Hem detail and close-up of the novelty fabric

If/when I make this again, I would consider adding some length to the body of this shirt. It feels a little short in front to me especially when I’m just wearing leggings like I am in the photo. This fabric is a little stiff too (some kind of home-dec stuff?) so it doesn’t drape as well as something like a linen or shirt-weight cotton. It’s more like a jacket. But I think it will get some wear, more perhaps in the autumn.

Moving right along. I desperately need some t-shirts, particularly longer-sleeved ones, since there are obvious gaps in my drawers and several old well-used t-shirts are finally wearing out. After 20 or so years I think they don’t owe me anything! I have plenty of suitable knits in the stash so there’s no excuse really. When I cut garments out in batches I can usually squeeze in a short-sleeved or cap-sleeved t-shirt as well as a 3/4 or full-length sleeved one at the same time. These are all vital for layering with my other pieces in my wardrobe. It turns out that I wear knits far more than wovens or often pair them together. Knits are comfortable and forgiving of fit and lend themselves more to my leisurely lifestyle. Got to get on this, preferably before it gets stinkin’ hot in my studio. Which it will. Very soon now.

Tag: Weaving

A 2020 Recap

Whoosh….