Introducing the Self-Made Wardrobe
I want to tell you about a kind of crazypants, new project I’m doing. I mentioned it in Friday’s finished object post, but I want to tell you more about it.
I am going to wear an entirely self-made wardrobe for an entire year. That means, for a year, I’m going to only be wearing clothes I’ve made.
Yea, only clothes I’ve made. For an entire year.
I said it was a little crazypants, didn’t I?
The project is called The Self-Made Wardrobe, and it’s got it’s own blog over at SelfMadeWardrobe.com, where I’ll be posting all about making clothes, loving your wardrobe, fashion, identity, and wearing things we love, along with the clothes I make, and the clothes I wear. All focused around building a wardrobe to house the world that is me, and all written in a non-shallow, non-fussy way. I’ll also be writing a serial book, all about helping you build a wardrobe to house the world that is you.
I’ll still be here knitting my crazy shawls, writing patterns, writing books, but I’ll also be posting some sweater knitting as well, and maybe only working on one or two shawls at any one time (instead, oh say, five.)
I’ll also be pulling out some seriously old works in progress.
Like this sweater. And this one. (which I last blogged about in June of 2012…)
You can read more about the project here.
And get self-made wardrobe blog updates straight in your inbox here.
Come over and check it out, or at least look at the oodles of fabric I picked up this weekend.
Instant gratification
Instant gratification and knitting.
I’m a huge fan of instant gratification. But when we talk about instant gratification and knitting we’re usually talking about “instant gratification projects,” the projects you can start and finish in a sitting, quick-y little projects that give you a finished object “NOW.” The projects that are the antithesis of big shawls on tiny needles, I like knitting.
But really even these tiny projects aren’t instant gratification.
Four or five hours for a hat is about as delayed as instant gratification could get.
And I like my gratification a little more instant than that.
I don’t look for instant gratification from finishing my projects (mostly cause I wouldn’t find it.)
Gratification and satisfaction? Absolutely.
Instant gratification? Not so much.
I much prefer the instant gratification I get from the act of knitting.
The yarn, the needles, the movement, the rhythm.
It’s kind of like instant happy brain.
Knitting isn’t so good for instant object gratification.
But it’s fabulous for instant feelings gratification. Which is what knitting is really about, right?
Because if what we were after, was really the hat (right now), we’d just go buy the damn thing.
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Announce! Announce!
I sent these coupon codes to the mailing list yesterday afternoon, but figured I’d share them here too:
For $1 off a single pattern, use the code: tinytreat
To buy 2 single patterns and get a 3rd pattern FREE, use the code: lotsoflove
These coupon codes apply to my individual self published patterns on Ravelry.
They’ll expire this evening at 5(EST), so treat yourself now.
Come over to Ravelry, browse my patterns, and brighten up your week.
How many stitches are in a shawl anyway?
I thought it’d be interesting to calculating the number of stitches in the last shawl FO I posted about (dang it’s been awhile since I posted a shawly FO.)
Lapidarius was a basic rectangular shawl with:
67 stitches per row
48 rows per repeat
12 repeats in the shawl
1 set up row
and 6 border rows on either end.
So:
(6 border rows) + (6 border rows) + (1 set up row) = 13 border rows
(48 rows per repeat) x (12 repeats in the shawl) = 576 patterned rows
(576 rows in the patterned section) + (13 border rows) = 589 rows total
(589 rows total) x (67 stitches per row) = 39,463 stitches total (damn!)
I was expecting a lot of stitches, but certainly not that many! I was expecting maybe a couple thousand, but not almost 40,000 stitches for a (relatively) small shawl!
Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to go pick my jaw off the ground.
(Have I done my math wrong? Is it actually 40,000?)
