Sweater for Good Unraveled

 Today we have some Unravel for real! A failed sweater from 2017 ish was returned to yarn balls, 1200+ yards of chunky weight yarn.

It's got a lot of variation in it and is sort of copper/chestnut/green brown/warm shades.....

Have you heard about Sweaters for Good, the initiative of the Hudson Valley Textile Project that asked knitters coming to Rhinebeck for NY Sheep and Wool to commit to knitting their "Rhinebeck Sweater"  out of yarn with roots in NY State and/or the Northeast US.  The word went out about this last year at the festival and has been bubbling along just below the surface all year. It's a lovely idea to support local fiber  farms, wool producers, dyers and mills. And really the point is not about making a new sweater in order to attend the festival- the point is celebrating local yarn, which is itself the point of sheep and wool festivals in the first place.

All of which is to say I took the pledge and now the clock is ticking! IAlthough I have plenty of great local yarn, none seems to be in a sweater quantity unless I want multicolored stripes.   I saw Kay's post on Modern Daily Knitting about her Sweater for Good considering  Rug, I remembered that this sweater has been in my queue forever, would be a quick knit (chunky yarn ftw) and I had a failed sweater knit in Jill Draper Makes Stuff yarn,at exactly the right weight and vibe, and it is about as local to Rhinebeck as one can get!

 That's what it looked like knit up, pre unraveling the failed pullover.  Color more accurate here than at top.

Anyway, a quick check with Jill Draper for a skein of CC for the Rug yoke found me discovering she'd discontinued this yarn  (Middlefield, its' a wool alpaca blend) but had a skein left that could work for me.. It's one the way.  I am kind of excited to cast on. Let's ignore the fact that it has been pretty warm at the annual Rhinebeck sheep festival in recent years so knitting this may be more of an act of faith than a fashion statement in October! 

 

READING: Kin by Tayari Jones.  Wonderful characters, enjoying and recommend so far! It's a good follow up from Whistler by Ann Patchett .  I am not the only one feeling this way: these two authors are speaking together (!!) at the  National Book Festival in DC next weekend , wish I could attend! (aug 22nd) .

 

Folded crane covered wall!At a health center  I was photographing at for a client earlier this week.

keeping on keeping on

 This simple sweater that simply needs sleeves completed is moving along ever so subtly.I get a kick out of random stuff accumulating on my kitchen table. Are you a clear it all off all the time person? I am not. And so you can see the sweater in question (left there so I'll knit a little while I have coffee), a long ago kid's penguin that resurfaced yesterday , it tickled me, my coffee mug, my new project bag from Yarn and Whiskey and two random vintage postcards promoting the "beauty" of modern wall-to-wall carpets.Here's a better look at them:  I have an extensive old postcard collection, thanks to myself as a kid but mostly to my Uncle Jerry. I inherited his VERY robust collection about 30 years ago.  He traveled all over the US picking up postcards new and old, and clearly anyone who knew him handed off their postcards, too. Sometimes I'll pull out a bunch to admire and get lost in time--yesterday I read one that a young girl sent in rural Maine in 1911, assuring her Grammie she'd "made it and only fell off once and wasnt hurt". (presumably a horseback ride to another town). The card was addressed to a name, and the name of a town..that's it!

I was looking through old cards as candidates  for Zoe to bedazzle--here's a vintage easter card she did up as a gift for a neighbor.

 

And a glimpse at the impeccable penmanship on the back . Is there anything as bored and aimless as a 14 year old with nothing to do mid summer and noone to hang with ? She got a bug to bedazzle last week and who am I not to jump on that? 

 Reading: Kin  by Tayari Jones, I liked her last book , this was recommended to me twice recently, and I'd forgotten that I already downloaded it. So far so good!  Thanks to the  Unravel reviews linked to Kat's blog, my reading queue is getting better every week..

In storytelling of the non-fiction kind: I've been getting notes from my KnitStars production team asking me for still images to intersperse with my video. I am very curious to see how they present me! Shelley Brander, KnitStars owner and lead creative  wrote a lovely and lively substack post about her visit  Meanwhile they keep on releasing single classes from past years to watch, they are so good! You may want to check some of them out, here is a link Look under the Masterclass Singles. 

Please do use my link if you feel like buying a class, anyone who is a KnitStar subject gets royalties when any sale is made from their link, no matter what class or season you are buying. It's actually a good deal for creatives all around:-) and I appreciate the support!____________________ 

a satisfying pairing

Maybe the first time ever, this week I  completed a knit while simultaneously finishing listening to the final chapter of a book. 

Sophie Scarf not yet blocked in Lang Premium Cashmere. It is a paler pink than it appears here, the very palest of pink. The stitches along the edge will settle in.It will be gifted to the person it was intended for when I started it in 2022.

If I were one to pair a project and fiber choice with a book I wouldn't have done wrong to match it to Whistler by Ann Patchett, which was also lovely and gentle and engaging and went by fast. Add a nice cool rosé and you'd be all set. Wish I'd though of that! 

Next up in the "finish-or -reimagine-all-the-started-things-in '26" line up is this very lightweight cropped sweater, I am knitting it in a yarn I love, Coast by Holst Garn . Its a lofty, lightweight  cotton wool blend, comes in fabulous shades- I've linked it to my favorite source, The Yarnery in St Paul MN. They ship super fast.

  

This yarn was originally knit into a Lavallette teeby Mary Lou Egan (spoiler alert this pattern uses so-called condo knitting on the faux lace part. SO fun to knit!)

I will honestly say it was a wonderful make however,  I wanted it very oversized, and in 2020 I was larger myself  as I ate and drank my way through the pandemic lockdown so...so it turned out too big to keep in 2021. I never got to weaving in ends and the final touches.  In 2024 I frogged it and cast on for a light airy very simple pullover, using the Vanilla Sweater pattern. I'm knitting it on size US 6 needles even though it is a fingering weight, it's loftiness makes it hang nice and airy. I picture it as a layer with a tank top and shorts in the evening or over a sundress or high waisted baggy jeans.  I may even leave the neckline somethinbg like it is instead of the shallow ribbing suggested in the pattern. Mostly though I am now picturing it finished! 

Now I need a new book. As always I'll be reading through all of the Unraveling posts this week for suggestions (and to find out if anyone has reviewed Daniel Mason's new book).  

next up

The finish-what-you've-started mojo continues. T-shirts stitched! Two begun last November toward the end of my Tshirt modifying (upgrading?) bender of summer '25. They were intended as holiday gifts last December

 

 I'd stalled deciding what to do after the neckline--I stitched the heart and didn't want to distract from the perfect message by being too decorative. This month I saw that running stitch around the letters was the solution. Boom: xmas in July for my sister and bro-in-law. Shirts from Mahogany Mommies.

KNITTING:  I randomly picked up this started project. (I just struggled and failed to find a clever way to desccribe the areas of my office that have bags or baskets of wips, suggestions welcome.) Chosen by virtue of portability and if I'm being honest, the  first thing my hand fell on. It's a Sophie Scarf*. I know, I know, many deride them . I  am a fan and this is my 4th or 5th.  Love the mindless pattern, love using up a luxurious skein or two and  I find them super wearable especially in lightweight cashmere like this one. I love a cashmere scarf and a flannel shirt in winter. This one  started in 2022 as a gift for a model I used to work with a lot , she chose the  ballerina pink. We fell out of touch and so did the knit.  * I use the darker piece of yarn to keep track of my increases or decreases, I flop it across the row where they occur and yank it out when the scarf is done. 

 

READING: Whistler by Ann Patchett. You all are right. So good !

 

PLANNING!!: Ghost Ranch in Abiqui New Mexico Oct 4-10th , co-teaching a class on POWERFUL STORYTELLING: Words & Pictures with Beverly Army-Williams.  Our dream come true teaching gig: if you're not familiar with it, this artful retreat ranch is Georiga O'Keefe's former hang-- the landscape is one you'll recognize from her desert painitngs. 

 Beverly and I met on her porch (with handsome husky Oskar supervising) to finetune our workshop--it is going to be truly wonderful. Our dream-come-true class would be filled with our virtual maker/knitter/blogger/creative friends (aka YOU) joining  us. There's ample free time each day to enjoy the ranch and the stunning northern New Mexico environment . All the details here, there is still room in it. Wouldn,t an early October adventure in New Mexico amongst friends be just right?

 

Summer is summering! I'm looking forward to hopping on Kat's Unraveling links to see what others are making and reading! 

*

finally finally finished with stripes + other recent events

I'm back Unraveling , determined to keep up with the Wednesday habit. On late Thursday (shhh). It's been a constant -motion  couple of weeks. I try to keep it chill in the summer and am failing this year.  I am not mad about it. In the past two or so weeks:

The KnitStars folks came and filmed me and my master class for the new season! (that link is to a flipbook with an overview of all the seasons including "mine" which is still in production, Season 11).  I was dorky and definitely talked with my hands extravagantly.  I had fun, we covered A LOT of material. They were delightful to work with. We filmed a photo shoot of a shawl and a scarf (explaining as I went) , and made yarn still lifes at my local farm, and shot sheep shots (of course!)We filmed  at my house (living room and..kitchen teaching some things, photo things of course NOT kitchen things(!) and we filmed around the neighborhood, I went kayaking with Zoe for local color. I did a little knitting in a favorite neighborhood knitting spot. My flowers behaved perfectly despite torrential rains the day before. 

And in actual knitting news,   I finished my Piilo! This is going to be a fave. I finished it at 11:45 pm on my birthday to give myself the gift of getting'er done!

  Styling? What styling? The next morning it was hot,  I'd just run in from the beach and so you get the sunglasses look and the half down hair selfie. I love how it fits me, it is the same ease-wise as the pattern but cropped in length. I LOVE the funnel style neck, I love the yarn, (Kelbourne Scout) and the muted stripes.

In other styling news: I took Zoe to see Megan Moroney (country pop, huge teen girl fan base)concert in NYC for her 8th grade graduation present. It's a 2 hour train ride for us so not a major trip but it was a happening-- I was coached to wear the right thing (pink! so much pink) and cowboy boots. I am glad I went along with it--the sold out arena was 100% pink. We also went to the Today show taping early early the next morning ans saw her perform right in front of us in the outdoor plaza so had you been watching the Today show last Friday you'd have seen us waving hi to America, we were right in front row. Moral of the story: if a 14 yo suggests you to go to her first concert even if its not your favorite musician, say YES. 

Reading: while I was trying to decide between Ann Patchett's new book or Daniel Mason's new book, my bookgroup chose NorthWoods aka Daniel Mason's last book. 

I'd already  read it a couple of years ago.  Can I recall details well enough to discuss? Not a chance. Thanks to a long drive down to Maryland & back this week listening to it I am in the last chapter -and it is even better the second time. 

In other making: the annual ritual of  a big jar of rhubarb gin cordial happened . It'll sit in the front closet until around Thanksgiving, when we'll remember it and enjoy it in cocktails into the holidays. Recipe (roughly) here.  

 

peachy keen

 

If you see this- my kitchen counters covered edge to edge- it can only mean one thing. The Peach Truck came to town

Uncoincidentally my making thoughts this week are peach-centric. The fruits all ripen at the same time,.  Each one is the platonic ideal of a peach. We've eaten a ton as is.  Made a peach cobbler yesterday (too much lemon, turns out juice of a half lemon was not a great idea) and I'll make another one (less lemony). Some might get frozen.  One year we made a big pitcher of white wine sangria with peaches,...that was good! They are so juicy and never a bad one. Tell me your fave peach recipes please.

Knitting? Still on this sleeve. Reading? Forcing myself through the last 3 hours (audiobook) of Katabasis, on 1.3x speed to help it go.  I'll only recommend it if you are deep in academia, it lampoons that world wickedly. For me? Tedious!  I'm not a fantasy fiction person so there's that too. Next week I'll have a new knit and a new book! 

Leaving you with this sweet goat who stopped to strike a pose on the way out to pasture. I was at Olympia Farm scouting, I plan to have my Knit Stars videos teaching photography for knitters segments filmed there, after the film crew visits me (GULP) at my home base. I thought why not lean into my She Shoots Sheep Shots tendencies?! We'll have a (real person) model with a shawl and also some lessons on still life shooting of their lovely farm yarn etc in the segments. I really really hope the weather will be good!  

PS I am serious about the peach recipes!  

other distractions

Here again for Unraveling on Wednesday, thanks to Kat I am back in the blogging habit. (too soon to declare? hope not!) Not much progress in knitting or reading -at least not enough for interesting photos and you know that's how I roll.  So I'm going to fill in with what's been filling in around here.

Some of my most favorite visitors are back in the 'hood!  We counted about a dozen down the street on Sunday. Always thrilling, we call them our dinosaurs. They are horseshoe crabs, they come to lay eggs during the full moon/new moon this time of year. 

 

With the clock ticking toward the Knit Stars filming, I jumped into refreshing  the rusting vintage style metal porch furniture. The cheerfully mismatched colors (as I liked to think of them) were looking several notches below charming.  Like every project of this kind, it is taking waaay longer, and needs more paint than estimated . And did the weather get humid and then have a major thunderstorm on me? Why yes it did. It is salmon /coral, not pink. And so are my hands!

 

 When  not in the yard sanding or spray painting metal chairs, this week, I am working this gig. Having a fascinating time listening to  speakers and the attendees roleplaying. My work is 75%  fiber/ wool/handmade photography and the rest is non-profits  institutions or corporations. While working I hear a lot of reknowned experts speak. another reason I love my job! (aka sticking my nose in everywhere) . The Campaign School is for getting women up to speed as candidates. It is intense and inspiring, the kind of thing that builds hope!

 

Which brings me to a book for this week, look at me staying on topic. A little .

 

 Link to the book. The author, Zoe Chance, was a presenter this week on building influence and how you present yourself in the world. Riveting! I am getting her book and diving in. 10:10 recommend.

As usual, we were the last to leave the beach Sunday, this is heading into 7 pm. with the tide heading way out.  The girls are 4, 7 and 14(!)  (not shown, Zoe and her BFF sitting a teen appropriate distance from us) . 

I'm looking forward to seeing what you have been knitting and reading over at Kat's roundup of Unravelers !