Knitting to Keep My Grief Company

And just like that, another year has come and gone. 2022 was an incredibly difficult year for me, starting with a massive rupture that changed everything about my life. It ended dramatically too: I started December in the ER, spent the solstice holiday weekend at the emergency vet because one of my cats at a bar of soap, and ended the month putting Munin to rest, my companion of 15 years. If you’ve been part of our community for a while, you know that Munin was battling cancer for the last three years. We did everything we could, including administering chemo at home every other day for over a year. Finally, in the last week of December, it was time to say good-bye.

It’s hard to talk about the grief of losing a pet. For those who haven’t experienced a deep bond with a pet, it seems trivial. For some of us, a pet is part of the family, a daily companion and fur baby. Munin came home with us at 8 weeks old, and was a sweet, funny, affectionate, and charming companion until the very end. His sweetness was truly one of a kind, and he’s left a huge hole in my heart and my home. His sweet little face, adorable little fangs, his little chirp, and the cutest white patch on his chest.

My grief is heavy, tangible, always lurking right behind my shoulder, and sometimes washing over me completely. I know one day it will be less heavy, and eventually it will be a quieter companion, whispering rather than taking over. But in the meantime? I am going to knit. This cardigan is taking me a while to work through, so Munin had several chances to nap on my knitting and my project bag before we said goodbye. I know there’s at least a couple of his little black furs knitted into the fabric, and I will always treasure that.

It seems silly to say that knitting can get us through the hard times, but for me, knitting is a life line. When I am overwhelmed, knitting allows me to slow down and gather myself. Since my grief is so present right now, I’m knitting to keep it company. With each stitch, I allow myself to acknowledge this new companion, to sit with it and say, I see you. I feel you. And with each stitch, I hope the hole in my heart gets a little smaller.

A special thank you to everyone who donated to Munin’s healthcare fund over the last three years. With your help, we were able to give him the best possible care. If you are interested in contributing to his end of life costs, please make a donation here.

The Shift Cowl!

My finished Shift Cowl being blocked.

I will admit, I am always hesitant to jump onto the latest trend. I didn’t even know that it originally was published in 2018. It wasn’t until Ana started selling Spincycle yarn in kits for the Shift Cowl that it came into my radar. I finally caved late November of last year and bought a custom kit of Spin Cycle Dyed in the Wool in Leith, The Family Jewels, and The Meadows. I didn’t get the chance to start the cowl until the beginning of February. I remember being so resistant to wanting to like this pattern. In the end, I LOVED knitting this cowl. I will admit, it took a few rounds to get into the groove of the pattern, but from then on, it was smooth sailing! 

The initial stages of the Shift Cowl.

This pattern uses mosaic knitting to achieve the pops of color. Instead of holding both the two colors at the same time, only one color is worked at a time and uses slipped stitches to show the second color. If you are new to color work, I highly recommend this cowl. It is a great introduction to mosaic knitting as the floats are only two stitches maximum. The entire project is knit flat, then uses mattress stitch to seam together. 

Here’s the cowl a few rows away from the bind-off.

I do have to say that it wouldn’t be a project completed by me without a few mistakes. The first mistake I made was forgetting an increase on one of the sides. Luckily, it was fairly close to the beginning, so I just ripped it out and started again. The other slightly significant mistake I made was with one of the increases. The pattern calls for both make one right (M1R) and make one left (M1L). It wasn’t until about halfway through the pattern that I realized i was incorrectly doing M1R. I certainly wasn’t going to rip out all my progress, so I kept doing it incorrectly, but made a mental note for upcoming projects. The only other thing that gave me issues was figuring out how to seam it together with mattress stitch. Luckily Ana offers online lessons and was able to give me the help that was necessary to complete the seaming.

Definitely not a perfect example of mattress stitch. Also note the floats in the knitting.

This was such an enjoyable project, that I already have some more Spincycle Dyed in the Wool for another Shift cowl!

Next Shift Cowl using Spincycle Dyed in the Wool: Absinthe, Cataclysm, and Ruination.

What the Sweater Challenge is Really About

Happy 2019, friends!

This is our third year welcoming in the new planetary cycle with our Annual Sweater Challenge.

We’ve been working hard over the last four years to really hone our core values and mission, and this is also true of the Sweater Challenge. So today, I’m sharing thoughts on what this challenge really is about.

On the surface, it seems like a way to get folks knitting - which is true! But there is a whole lot of “why” behind getting folks knitting. There are the obvious answers, which are about supporting the small businesses and industries that make knitting possible. Without our knitting community, we wouldn’t exist, and in turn we wouldn’t be able to support the various small businesses and independent entrepreneurs we partner with. There is an amazing ripple effect that comes from supporting small businesses. That said, this not why we do what we do. We genuinely believe that creativity is a conduit to a healthier, more fulfilling life, and a way to connect and care for ourselves.

Some people tell us they’re hesitant to join the Sweater Challenge due to time constraints. The challenge kicks off in late December, with an early March deadline, inviting folks to finish their pieces and wear them to our Anniversary Party. The timeline is about 2.5 months, which objectively speaking, is a good amount of time! But why do people feel so crunched? We are all bogged down with responsibilities and myriads of little things that keep us busy. America is the land of busyness (insert side rant about the pressure to feel busy all the time). By committing to this challenge, you are committing to self care and to more intentional living. We knit because it brings us joy and helps us destress; knitting is absolutely a form of self care. By making a commitment to knit a garment in this time frame, you are making a choice to intentionally set aside time for self care. This of course brings us to thoughts on intentional living. Many of us (myself most definitely included) from being more intentional in how we spend our time. By committing to self care through knitting, we are creating space for more intention in our lives.

Beyond this, we are big supporters of crafting a handmade wardrobe and slow fashion. Slow fashion allows us to be mindful about consumption and putting together a wardrobe that reflects our values. Clothes can be such a defining element for folks as a vehicle for self expression. If we have to wear clothes, why not wear clothes that bring us joy? Not only is the act of knitting a form of self care, we can came out of the activity with a beautiful wearable piece that inspires us. It can feel silly to talk about the transformative power of clothes, but we’ve all experienced it - those special items that really make us feel like ourselves when we put them on. And what is more you than a piece you’ve made yourself, to look and fit exactly the way you want? My beautiful friend Sew Liberated has been posting about this, and this year we are committing to being unabashedly ourselves, and helping you do the same!

I know what some of you are thinking: “but my sweaters never fit right!” or “I don’t have the skills to make what I want!” We hear you, and the Sweater Challenge is our call to you to grow your skills, and we are here to help you every step of the way. Even if you’re part of our online community (rather than in person) we will still work with you - phone calls, emails, even video chat.

Thank you for reading! There’s so much more to be said about all this, but for now I will leave this with an ask to hear your thoughts.

Celebrating Samhain with the Hemlock Shawl

It’s no secret that we love Halloween/Samhain and this year we are super excited to share a special collaboration with you! Ash Alberg is one of our favorite indie designers and all around witchy fiber person. We often talk about important it is to us to support other small business owners and independent entrepreneurs, and that’s how this collaboration was born.

Ash took the plunge to become a full-time knitting designer, and as soon as I heard, I reached out to her to commission a shawl pattern. I also wanted to highlight Harrisville Designs, a small family-owned and operated fiber mill here in New England. Ash and I took some time to squee over our mutual excitement, and then I sent her some skeins of FlyWheel.

A few months later, Ash and I are delighted to bring you Hemlock, her exclusive design just for us. It uses three skeins of FlyWheel, which has a stunning color palette, but you can knit it in any wooly fingering weight.

Pattern: Clean Lines Scarf

By Ana Campos

This is a great project for the changing seasons - a quick knit, and a cozy, generously sized scarf. Wrap yourself up in this cozy scarf, or get started on your holiday knitting!

Level: Beginner

Gauge: 14.5 stitches/22 rows = 4" (10 cm) x 4" (10 cm) in stitch pattern after gentle blocking

Size: Approx. 11 inches (28 cm) wide x 70 inches (178 cm) long

Materials:

Berroco Vintage Chunky in Smoke, 4 skeins

Size US 10 knitting needles, or size needed to obtain gauge

Note: This pattern would also work for worsted weight yarn. Go down to a size US8 needle and follow pattern as written. The scarf will be narrower, but gauge is not terribly important for a scarf.

Directions:

Cast on 41 stitches. 

Row 1 (RS): K1tbl, *P1tbl, K1tbl, rep from * to end

Row 2 (WS): P1tbl, *K1tbl, P1tbl, rep from * to end

Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until you have completed 6 rows.

Row 7: K all.

Row 8: K2, *Sl 1, K3, rep from * 8 more times, Sl 1, K2.

Repeat Rows 7 and 8 until scarf measures approximately 68.5" (174 cm) from cast on edge, ending with a WS row.

Row 9 (RS): K1tbl, *P1tbl, K1tbl, rep from * to end.

Row 10 (WS): K1tbl, *P1tbl, K1tbl, rep from * to end.

Repeat Rows 9 and 10 until you have completed 6 rows.

Bind off in pattern.

WANT TO MAKE YOUR OWN? PICK YOUR COLORS HERE! 

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