I'm Drea, I'm Meg, I'm Tina, and I'm Jess.
And this is Pardon My Stash.
Welcome to Pardon My Stash, a podcast about knitting within the fiber arts and how awesome it is.
Yeah.
Before we get into today's topic, topics, topic.
We have a topic.
Yeah.
And it's a good one too.
It's a good one.
We're going to talk about stuff.
Let's find out what everybody is working on.
Jess.
I am working on the I Am Dragon 2 Cowl by Alexandra Davidoff Studio.
It looks boss.
Thank you.
I think I'm about halfway through it because I keep getting distracted from it, but that's okay.
It's important.
It is important.
And so I'm working on that, I'm doing it in Critical Hit Dyes Morgan on Ranger,
which is super soft and I love it.
I'm still working on Ocean Stones by Gretha Menson.
Ooh, that looks good.
Thank you.
I really kind of fell off this week.
I didn't knit that much on it, so it's not much further than it was last week.
But I'm knitting it out of Fiberspace Vivacious Decay in the Colorway Heavenly.
It feels nice.
I'm filling it up right now.
Thank you.
It's super squishy.
It is very squishy.
I really can't wait to see what it's going to be like when it's blocked.
When it's blocked, yeah.
Because it's still a little bit like, especially the end is kind of weird because I frogged it,
but I'm interested to see how it blocks out.
Dreya, I am working on the Akemi Shaw by Isabel Kramer, and I am using Silver Moon Fiber Arts
in fingering weight in the Colorway Faded Jeans.
I actually got a lot of this done today.
I did like two whole lace pattern repeats and pretty good.
The power of trash TV.
Yeah.
We've watched a lot of Love Island and we got a lot of knitting done.
Not Tina, but I did.
I did not.
I did not. I know Dreya helped me today.
I'm still recovering from surgery.
Yeah. Everybody's getting surgery by the way.
But yeah, no, Dreya helped me out.
She was doing some lifting stuff that I couldn't do today.
Yeah.
What are you working on, Tina?
Thank you.
I'm glad someone asked.
I'm interested.
I was about to.
So kidding.
I'm still working on my Engel Sweater by Caitlin Hunter, and I am using String Yarns NYC
Dolce Do Decay in red, dark gray and gray.
And I swear to God, those are the colors and.
Fetching names.
Really, really straight to the point.
They're aptly named.
It could be worse.
They could be numbers.
Yeah.
No, they are numbers.
I'm giving them those colors.
You gave them the names.
Okay. I guess it couldn't be.
I'm not going to be like one, two, seven, eight, five.
Because that's descriptive.
No, and actually I didn't get too far in it this week because I finished a baby cardigan
and a matching Very Vital Beanie Hat.
Which you gave to the recipient.
Yes.
So my, my, yeah, my husband's friend at work was really excited about my knitting.
And I thought, wow, that's really cool.
So he had a granddaughter and really wanted something for her.
And so I made a little baby cardigan and a Very Vital Beanie Hat.
I am not going to shout out the cardigan pattern because I have determined that it is the worst
baby cardigan pattern ever.
It's a really cute cardigan.
It's super cute.
It's way too complicated for no reason.
Absolutely no reason.
It doesn't need to be this complicated.
I actually am of the mindset to actually rewrite it so that it is seamless and just like easy.
Like it doesn't need to be in eight different pieces.
Yeah, it had a lot of different seams.
Which I think it was because they probably did it in a straight needle set.
Probably.
Honestly, I think that's why.
Because it was like the sleeves are flat.
The body was flat and like done in three different pieces.
And I honestly think that's why.
But overcomplicating.
Yeah, overcomplicating it when it honestly could be a seamless top down.
It really doesn't need to be that complicated.
Anywho, be sure to check out our website partofmystache.com for more information as well as pictures regarding our current projects, patterns and yarns.
So this week we have a, I think a pretty fun topic.
This week we are talking about knitting with intention.
And what does that mean?
It means intently knitting.
Okay, let's wrap it up.
Alright, close it up guys.
Thanks for listening guys.
The music.
Alright, no.
No, what it means is consciously making choices about what you are knitting in terms of items for yourself or items that you want to produce.
One thing could be creating a closet of wearable items.
And what I mean by that is creating items for yourself that you'll actually wear.
Not just, oh, this pattern looks cool.
But wait, I hate wearing that type of stuff.
And then you never wear it.
Or if you are, say, really into making baby stuff that you find like a solid couple patterns that you really love making over and over and again.
Kind of finesse your techniques with that and focus on that and focus on the type of items you like to make too that bring you joy.
Or it could be something entirely differently.
Topic is up for discussion.
Go.
I would also look at knitting intentionally as whatever knitting means to you.
I mean, my sister only likes to do one by one rib scarves.
I personally would probably rather chew tinfoil.
I would die.
But she finds it extremely meditative.
She grabs her yarn.
She grabs her needles.
She puts something on the TV and she bangs out these hugely long scarves in like a week.
And that's her joy.
Like she likes to do that.
So some people like to knit for the meditativeness.
Honestly, my goal right now for this year was to try new stuff, like try new techniques.
So for me, like knitting intentionally is trying to find projects that I haven't done before.
A learning experience.
Right.
So one of the things I want to try this year is knitting a raglan sweater.
I've never done that before.
I've only done top down in the knitting seamlessly and I've done bottom up knitting seamlessly.
I'm looking forward to it.
But I want to try raglan.
So that would be a whole new technique, something else in my wheelhouse.
So that's knitting intentionally.
That's like my favorite type of sweater.
I've never done one.
That's fun.
I'm looking forward to it.
Yeah.
Good stuff.
The yoke always comes out super pretty.
I just like the way that raglan sweaters look on top.
Yeah.
Good stuff.
The yoke always comes out super pretty.
Yeah, it looks very neat.
I just like the way that raglan sweaters look on top.
Yeah, it looks very neat and tidy.
Mm hmm.
And then you also kind of don't have that like round and round and round and round.
Oh my God, it just is getting bigger and getting bigger and getting bigger and getting bigger
and getting okay.
There we go.
Yeah.
So yeah, so that would be one definition of knitting intentionally.
What does knitting intentionally look like for you?
For me, I think it's going to be more along the lines of not just choosing projects for the sake
of making the project.
Like I want to make projects that I'm going to get use out of.
I want to make projects that somebody else is going to get use out of.
Like I don't just want to make a crazy pattern for the sake of making the crazy pattern.
I feel like I'm past the stage of doing the weirdness or let me try this.
If I find a pattern that I like that I want to do and it's something that I haven't done
before, then great.
And if it's not, then whatever.
Something that's practical to you.
Yeah. Yeah.
I want to make useful things, but I don't want to make like stuff.
Just random stuff.
Yeah.
Yeah. It kind of goes into that mindset of like how consumerism in general, you just end up with
stuff and you're like, wait, did I actually want this stuff?
I don't know if any of this stuff brings me joy.
Now I have too much stuff.
And I feel like knitting can turn into that too, to a degree because like you said, if you just knit
stuff, but you don't necessarily love what you're knitting or you're making stuff in your size,
but you'll never wear it.
Then why did you bother making it?
Yeah. It's like, okay, well now it's going to sit there in some bag or on some shelf.
So funny thing.
I did a lot of test nets last year, lots of hats, lots of cowls, and kind of like sitting there like,
okay, this is a lot.
Like, what am I going to do with all of these?
I like them all.
I love them all.
Like I picked really nice yarn and I love the patterns.
There isn't a single one that I did that I didn't like.
And the thing is I rarely wear them.
I always forget to wear a hat or grab a cowl, but guess who always needs a hat or a cowl?
And we can never find one when it's time to go to school.
To baby.
Every day.
That kid wears my hand knits to school almost every day.
The cowl wrapped twice around her neck, the hat falling off.
But she loves my stuff and she'll be like, this one's for Mariel.
And I'm like, that one won't fit you.
But she will still wear it.
No, that's not a good idea.
It's not a good idea.
This one's for me.
So it's really funny how it started as me kind of being like, you know, why am I making all of these?
I do enjoy making them, but now I'm also at the point where I'm like, someone in my house will
wear them even if I'm not making them.
And I don't, I never was the type of person that was like, I want to knit this crazy thing.
I know I'm never going to wear it.
I only knit things that I think are beautiful.
I don't knit stuff that is like, oh, that's hideous, but I want to learn the technique.
If I'm not going to wear it, I'm not going to knit it.
There's also like, it might not even necessarily be hideous, but like there are, so there's also
like the idea of maybe it's not necessarily hideous to you, but you don't have the patience for it.
So like a really good example of that to me is the stuff by, I think, I think his name's like
Steven West.
He makes these beautiful, like intricate shawls.
Geometric.
Just like with colors.
And like, I'm like looking at them and I'm like, wow, how pretty, I would feel so accomplished
if I made that.
And then knitter know thyself.
And I'm like, I will never finish that.
If I cast that on, I will never finish that because I won't have the patience to sit there
and go through each section.
And like, I feel like I would get frustrated with myself really fast.
And I find that my initial intention, I guess I'm talking about my intentions now, but my
initial intention with knitting was to be distressed. And if I'm going to stress you
out, it's going to stress me out.
I'm going to like be sitting there going like, oh my God, I don't know how to do this.
Now I'm like, oh, I got to figure this out and now I got to do this section.
So I am actually finding like things like my Ingalls sweater, where there's a straightforward
color work and it's a lot of stock net while quote unquote boring, de stresses me because I
don't have to think about it.
So I agree with that because I do a lot of knitting for stress relief as well.
Yeah. So I and and as much as I love, you know, I'm using his shawls as an example, as much as I
love those patterns and they are absolutely beautiful.
And when I see people with them, I'm like, wow, that's amazing.
I also have to say to myself, I actually, if that was a store bought item, I wouldn't have
bought it for myself. Like, that's not my style.
I'm pretty muted in terms of my style.
I'm not, which is funny because I have funky hair, but outside of my funky hair, I'm actually not
like, I'm not the type to, you know, be like with your clothing.
No, no, it's comforts the priority, not really the the, you know, fashion statement.
So what about you, Jess?
What does knitting with intention look like to you?
Um, so knitting with intention to me is basically does the mood hit?
And I'm going to do it.
Because that is how I operate.
Most of the time it is something either something I find looks interesting and I want to do it.
Um, it because it is once I started at some point, I, I at this point in life, I will finish it.
So it's, I won't do it if I don't think I can finish it or if I, if I look at it and I know
like right away, okay, this is good to hold my attention for all of seven rows and then I'm
going to be over it. Um, so I do try and, and choose stuff that I know at least will hold my
attention for, um, the entire time or most of the time.
I can't always promise the entire time.
I know myself this year, I'm also like going business wise, like using a lot of our yarns,
because if I make stuff in our yarns, we have stuff to display.
So I'll feel accomplished.
And even if I don't use it, it'll look nice on display.
So still productive.
Um, even if it's things like a set, cause I don't, I don't wear a lot of knits.
Um, I wear some.
So, so yeah, if, um, if it's not something, cause I don't wear a lot of knits, but I enjoy the
process of, of knitting and crocheting and creating things.
So that is my, my.
You also tend to lean toward more complicated.
I do then then say you don't, you're not a simple knit person.
Um, if I am, they're usually shorter, like I'll crank out some hats, um, hats and cowls.
Um, I like to do, mitts are actually kind of fun.
The only hard part about that is when I get to the second one.
Um, okay.
But who doesn't struggle with second mitts?
I usually don't.
I do.
I will admit it.
I don't care.
Second sleeve, second sleeve, second mitt,
second sock, any second.
I'm like, no, I've done this.
She do like asymmetrical patterns.
I mean, you probably could with a color work, especially for like a glove or something.
You could do like a different design on top.
That is true.
I could do that.
I used to say I was going to make her a set of odd socks.
Yeah.
No, I made you one set of socks.
I'm not making you any more.
Sorry.
One day destroyed in one day.
I think to, to go off that point of that you don't usually make for yourself,
just, I think it's harder to in general to like, I know for me, like I would love to
have like a full closet of knitted sweaters and stuff, like sweaters and capelets and
shawls and just stuff I could wear.
But like the time that I would have to put into to actually do that is insurmountable to me,
like to actually make a significant amount of items to replace a lot of the thrifted
or store bought sweaters that I have.
Like I am not a small lady that will take a long time.
Well, it's, it's a sweater is a big commitment and there are some people and I'm not one
of them that can knit a sweater really fast.
Yeah.
I really envy those people because I, you know, I could totally see knitting yourself
a whole wardrobe that way, but it took me an entire year last year to knit two sweaters.
Like I was knitting a sweater.
And you were cranking.
For a year.
Yeah.
Well, yes and no.
I knit a lot of stuff in between because those sweaters got to a point where they were
no longer portable.
So I threw other things in my bag, but it is, it's like, it's a great intention to be like,
I'm going to replace my whole wardrobe with hand knit stuff.
But that's a big job.
I feel like that's like a lifetime goal.
Yeah.
Oh yeah.
Like definitely.
And if you're the type of person that's like, I'm going to knit one, one sweater a year
for Rheinbeck or for whatever fiber festival you're going to, or just for fun.
It's, it's definitely an achievable goal, but I don't know that I would want a whole closet.
Yeah.
I don't know that I want like a full wardrobe of knits or makes, but I want the ones that
I make to be ones that I will use.
Right.
Yeah.
You don't want to knit a sweater and then be like, I'm never going to wear this thing.
Yeah.
I think it's back to your practicality point.
Yeah.
That you were making before.
I saw this and I posted it on my story too.
I saw this gorgeous reel of someone who just had all these different kinds of shawls.
And I was like, you know what?
That's what I want.
I want like five or six shawls to like pick from in different colors and techniques.
That would be fun, but I don't know if I necessarily want like five or six sweaters.
And we were talking about that on the way here too, about how you were saying,
you haven't really picked a Reinbeck sweater yet.
And I had mentioned like, maybe you don't, maybe you just wear the one you made last
year, because the one you made last year was so intense in itself.
Also, it looks different now.
Yeah, you did.
You changed the length.
So like it does look different.
So, but I don't know.
I don't know if like, you know, I think having like using Reinbeck as a goal to finish your
sweater, like at the start of the year, you give yourself essentially 10 months.
Yeah.
So it's a good goal setting procedure, but like, I don't know if like you need to do
it every single year.
I don't know.
I know some people do.
Yeah.
I don't think it, I mean, it's not, it's not definitely not necessary.
No, no, no.
Yeah.
I don't think I'll be one of those people.
I think Reinbeck is, or whatever fiberfest, it's like the idea is you wear what you're
proud of, what you want to show.
And maybe that's a hat.
Maybe it's socks and nobody sees them.
Maybe it's a sweater.
Maybe it's a shawl.
Like whatever you're proud of.
I think that's why I don't usually wear socks to fiberfest.
No one can see them.
Nobody can see them.
You just put the dishcloth on your chest and then walk around and everybody can see.
This is my, this is my work of art for the year.
This is it.
No.
I'll pin them to my sweater.
Look at these socks.
No, I've actually within the last week, I did some major rethinking about, about, right.
I still want to make a sweater for Reinbeck, but it's not going to be the one that I picked.
Just with concerns about fit and everything.
So I'm going to, I'm going to knit a sweater.
If it's done for Reinbeck, I'll wear it to Reinbeck.
And if it's not, then I will wear something else.
Maybe I'll wear ocean stones.
Who knows?
Yeah.
I just don't, I don't know.
I'm still of our like kind of back to the, almost the new year's resolution.
Like my intention is to calm down.
Like I don't want to like.
Find you joy.
Yeah.
Like just no, no deadline.
No, like if I finished this Engel sweater for Reinbeck, cool.
I'll have a sweater to wear for Reinbeck.
Otherwise, I don't know.
Maybe I just won't wear a knit.
I feel like I just, you know, if it's one of those hot days too, like I just like, well,
you know what?
I'll just like, I'll make like knitted earrings and like, call it.
I really wish it wasn't so like, there was that one year that it was freezing.
And I want that to come back.
It's been so hot.
And I'm like, could it not be 70 degrees on Reinbeck day?
But I think too, like, you know, intentions can definitely change.
And your intention can not necessarily, maybe the intention you had when you started is
not necessarily the intention you have 15 years later.
Oh, even like three months later, you can adjust that as you go.
I'm a day to day kind of gal.
If it's not making me happy, I'm not doing it.
15 years ago, you said, I'm just going to be a scarf knitter.
Yeah.
Talk about intentions changing.
I did nothing but scarves for a very long time.
You did.
Me too.
She doesn't wear anything that I make her.
I make anything, but she loves everyone.
She loves them.
She wears them once I take a picture and she puts them on display.
Same with her jewelry.
That's cute.
Like she has all this jewelry that she does not wear and she does not.
It's not that she doesn't want it.
She wants it, but she hoards it like a dragon.
Like she doesn't.
That makes sense.
I have to find a better word spot though, because our, you know, my dresser just doesn't
doesn't work anymore.
I'm not going to lie.
Like just even doing that sweater and hat for that guy that I don't even know his name.
I don't even know his name.
He's just a friend of my husband's.
I just, it brought me so much joy because like I called my husband on the way that we
got back here and I was, and he was just like, yeah, he was so happy.
He was so excited.
Especially when someone appreciates it.
And he said he was going to send me a picture of the baby wearing it.
And I was just like all excited.
And so now I feel like my intention now is to just like gift bomb people who are appreciative
of knit things that I don't even know.
It's supposed to be the year of finding your joy.
That's what makes you happy.
You should do it.
I think finding my joy right now is, um, I think I randomly found it, which was to
Dre and not to antagonize Francis.
Christ.
Nice.
I know.
Let it be.
You touched it like eight times.
It's so sad.
No, um, no, honestly, like the joy that I'm finding is just people who truly appreciate
it.
So I feel like I think that's, I think that's the joy that I'm finding.
People who truly appreciate it. So I feel like I think that's, I don't know.
I'm finding more joy.
I feel like I've given, except for my poor, sweet youngest daughter, I need to make her
a sweater.
My poor, poor little thing.
I just, I've made my, my older daughter stuff.
I've made my husband's stuff.
I've made you guys stuff or if I haven't made you stuff, I've given you yarn and I've made
like other people's stuff.
I have not made my youngest daughter something.
I have a bunch of whips for her that are not child.
I, I'm, you are going to give her a complex.
You should finish something.
I was saying she's got to be old enough to know how to, you know, wash it herself.
No, but she's like, she keeps like going like, is that mine mommy?
Like every time she comes by me and I'm like, no, Tina, that's so sad.
It is really, you know what?
Maybe I need to, okay.
My intention is to finish Jojo's sweater.
There you go.
And then once I finish it, cause I mean, she's only five, so I can finish her sweater and
then I'll go back to knitting random people gifts.
There you go.
There it's a good goal to have.
There's the intentions.
Yeah.
But yeah, I agree with Meg.
No rando.
It was like, was it Meg or you that said rando knits?
I did.
Did you say that to me?
I said something.
It was more like knitting for a reason.
Like, not just, I have a, I don't know if you guys do this.
I have a terrible problem, like right at the beginning of the year where I'm just like
new year, cast on everything.
Yes.
Cast on every project.
Cast on everything.
And then like a month later, I'm like, I don't want to knit any of this.
Like this is not the thing.
And I really did not want to do that this year.
Like I don't want to like just jump into stuff.
I want to think about it.
I want to plan it.
I want to look at the yarn.
And I want to know before I cast on, like, you know, this is, I really, I either really
want to knit this or I really want to learn this technique or something, or I really want
to knit this for somebody.
Like I have the person in mind.
I'm making this as a gift, something like there has to be a reason I don't.
Cause and, and that's not, I'm not saying that other people have to do that.
That's for me because I know me and I have way too many things on my Ravelry favorites.
And if I'm at a loss or I'm bored, I will just grab yarn and pull a pattern and be like,
and I'm starting this and it goes nowhere.
So for me, it's important to, to know either why I'm knitting it or who I'm knitting it
for one of those things.
No, I agree.
So, but that's intentional.
You're like doing your intention.
Yes.
You are trying to make sure that every yarn and project that you're moving forward with
is this is for something.
I wish I could be the type of person that could just randomly start something and be
like, yup.
And now I'm finishing a million projects, but I'm not.
If I randomly start something odds are it's going to wind up in a whip bag somewhere in
my, my den and not knowing where it is for the next three years, because I just didn't,
I didn't think I didn't care enough when I was picking it out.
I got excited about the yarn or I got excited about the pattern, but I didn't really put
a lot of thought into it.
And now I've got like 10 whip bags everywhere with half done projects that I have no intention
of finishing.
You know, I actually found that I have the hardest time getting to 40% completion, but
once I get to 40% completion and I get past to 50% completion, I suddenly have the ambition
to finish it.
Because now, now yes, you're over the hump.
Because like, I don't know what it is.
I'll get to about 30% and I'm like, bored next.
Yep. Yep.
But if I can push myself to get to 40 and that happened with this sweater, like I did
the yoke and I, um, I, you know, made the sleeves, uh, the sleeve holes and, um, split
for sleeves.
Sorry. I know there was a right word to say that.
And, um, I did a couple of rounds of the body and then I went, okay, I'm done.
I was like, no, no, I'm at, I'm at the 30%.
I need to get to the 40% mark.
So then I just kept knitting.
I was like, no, I'm just going to keep it.
And now that the body is like a lot bigger, I'm like, oh, okay, I'll finish this.
But I have to get past that hump.
That's fair.
Yeah.
Well, I think that in the beginning and again, this, I'm not speaking for everybody.
I think it's just me.
It's like you start off and you're so enthusiastic.
Yeah.
And then especially if it's a project that is like repetitive, you get to that like 20,
30% and you're like, oh my God, I have so much to do.
So much more of this to go.
And you do, you just kind of fall off it.
You're like, I have figured this project out.
I'm not going to learn anything new.
I am bored.
I want to knit something else.
But then once you get past that, now you're like, I see where this is going.
I see the finished product.
It's like almost there.
It's not 8 million more repeats of whatever I've been doing.
It's I can see it.
It's close.
My goal is attainable.
So you can get lost in repetition.
I love repetition.
I think it really depends for me and it depends on what kind of mood I'm in.
Like this, this whole lay section, it's eight rows and it's in groups of three.
So every there's sections, there's sections.
Yeah.
And it alternates like you do like the knit section and then you do the Pearl section.
And you just alternate.
Well, that's how I felt with, oh God, what was that shawl?
More simple lines.
I really loved more simple lines.
I don't know.
I knit it twice.
I don't know if I would knit it again because by that second time I was like, all right,
I have done this.
I am bored.
I think it's because more simple lines actually has a really good rhythm to it.
Right.
That makes any sense?
Yes, it does.
Because it like you do, you get to about that apex where you're about to say,
I am really bored of this stocknet.
And then all of a sudden you're like, oh, you're at the islands.
We get to do some islands.
All right.
And then you do the islands and then you're like, okay, I could do some stocknet.
And then do a little bit of stocknet.
I think you would probably really like this pattern because it's the same basic thing.
You've got the stocknet section and just when you're like,
I cannot manage to knit stocknet any longer, you get the nice cable section.
And then back to the stocknet.
That's how I felt about the back east wrap.
Right.
It's all stocknet.
It's just a little bit of a shake up.
A little spicy-s-tease every so often.
A little spicy.
But yeah, in my head as I'm knitting this lace section, it's one, two, three, one, two, three,
one, two, three, one, two, three.
And I still have like 10 more repeats of this lace pattern to go.
So I'm chugging along.
Yeah.
More simple lines is killing me.
You did it though, Jess.
You did and it came out beautiful.
And I had an inch of yarn left to spare.
That was some yarn chicken right there.
It's great.
I thought I played yarn chicken.
You were like, I didn't think you were going to have enough to weave in your eggs.
It was real close.
I was cutting it real close and I was like, I'm not pulling back.
I'm not adjusting nothing.
This edge is getting done.
And it did.
I even found my other one because it wasn't exactly your color way, but it was kind of close.
So we had like my little ball and we're like, okay, if we have to, we'll fudge the
bind off with, with that.
And we didn't have to, but it was close.
That was something.
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At pardon my stash.