Making Miscellany 3:1

Hello, hello, and let me be the 100th person to congratulate you on making it to the 1,000th day of January. For the past week or two, every time I read or hear someone commenting on the length of January, I’ve bristled a bit (are we just all repeating the things we hear other people say?), but also, somewhere deep, there’s an ah, there’s a yes, there’s the comfort of recognition: this month has felt unusually, uncharacteristically long (I wonder, Southern Hemisphere friends, is it the same for you too?).

Nevertheless, there’s been plenty of joy in noticing the signs and arrivals of January. Some of them are universal (to this latitude, at least!): the special quality of the winter sun (when it’s deigned to show its face, that is), its light low all day; the first snow drops, pushing their way up through damp ground. Others, though, are tied to my own personal landscape: the long tailed tits, who only seem to grace our garden’s feeder in late January, have returned; as I sit with my knitting at a small person’s tennis lesson once a week, I notice that the flood lights no longer need to be turned on. Each day, I half expect to hear my first chiffchaff of the year among the increasing chatter of the birds on the canal; soon, we will begin to look for our local swans building their nest.

And for my making brain (which, given how long projects take me, always thinks in spans of months), it’s the time of year when I begin to look at winter-y projects, whether they are active WIPs or merely dream ones, and switch to thinking … maybe that will be ready for next winter.

Which brings me on nicely to my January sweater. I began this after the holidays, with plans to, to borrow a phrase from Modern Daily Knitting, “bang out a sweater”, and be wearing it before the month was out.

Janni Sweater by Orlane Sucche, knit in Biches et Buches Le Cotton & Alpaca

Instead, it’s grown slowly over the month, with lots of stops and starts. The longer I make, the more I think it can actually be quite hard to do simple things well! There is nothing difficult about this plain stocking stitch sweater (although there are some lovely details!). But I even found the first step — choosing a pattern for the simple, oversized, pull on over anything shape I am after — tricky (and I think I won’t know if I nailed it til I’m done). I knit the top down sweater to the sleeve divide (and then some) and tried it on: the armholes looked comically massive! I knit the better part of the first sleeve, then paused to work on the second: I find it hard to get sleeve length right (and to assess fit) with one sleeve yanking the sweater off to the side. I’ve knit the second sleeve to almost the same point, and tried it on again. I * think * I’m happy with it, but once I’ve knit a bit more on the second sleeve, I will block what I’ve done so far, and see where things stand . Once that’s done (assuming I’m happy with the fit), I’ll finish off the sleeves and use the (rapidly diminishing) yarn I have left to finish off the body …

Many years ago, I used to read a popular (now hibernating) knitting blog where relatively plain sweaters grew very slowly, with lots of stops and fit checks. I always had respect for the thought poured into each garment, but also sort of didn’t get agonizing over every step. But now, that’s me: with a yarn spaghetti, stitches-on-hold-everywhere WIP, hoping to get the fit of something quite simple as near about right as I can. Let’s hope the end result is the basic oversized sweater of my dreams!

When I’ve not been working on my sweater, I’ve been preoccupied with socks. My first WIP is the Woodland Joy Socks … it’s been delightful to watch them grow, but oh, I am rusty at small circumference colorwork. I suspect some of the smaller details aren’t going to be mega visible on my first sock, but that’s okay … the second sock offers a chance for improvement! These grew slowly while I worked on the bird chart, with just a little too much going on to to make them portable, but now I’m onto the body of the sock (which I’m knitting using some tweedy self striping yarn) I think the first sock will be done before too long!

With my sweater WIP unwiedly with so many balls attached to it, and my colorwork sock almost a mostly at home project, I was really feeling the lack of something portable; at just that moment, my five year old expressed interest in me knitting her socks, asking if I’d use a yarn I had put in my destash pile. A perfectly timed request! Her little socks, knit with two strands of Skein sock yarn held double, are a few rounds off done. They put me in mind of ice cream — mint chocolate chip and strawberry, to be precise — and it’s been so nice to see her enthusiasm for them; when we’ve had fit checks, she’s not wanted to take them off. Win!

Otherwise, not much making has been going on in these parts. I began the month thinking I didn’t have enough long sleeved tops in my wardrobe, and that it would be a good thing to make some. I’ve ended it thinking the same. Maybe next month will see that happen! I’ve thought lots about quilts, and, most recently, this quilted coat (maybe a project for next winter …) As I sit here typing the late January sun, I’m wearing a recently mended sweater, rescued from Nick’s recent wardrobe purge; to small and with elbow holes, he’d decided it was time to let it go. It’s found a happy new home with me!

Other projects on my mind: a spring Sophie Scarf (I wear my current one all. the. time.), a second Curlew hat for me, inspired by one I saw a young guy wearing on one of our recent winter walks (knit by his mom, as it transpired); a cat balaclava for my littlest person (I know it’s meant to be a bear, but I think it can play as a cat too!); Love Notes for both girls (this has been on the list for awhile) …; and my perpetual plans to make the perfect trousers.

Other things I’ve enjoyed this month:

• This parsnip cake (so delicious, but next time, I’ll do it in a square pan as it overflowed my loaf pan, and I also find it hard to get a loaf cake cooked through without drying out the outside)

• Late Light by Michael Malay — this was the first book I got through my Mr. B’s Emporium book subscription (a lovely birthday gift!), and I just adored it. I often think I want to read non fiction, then find it so slllllow to get through — and I flew through this. Malay is such a careful and thoughtful writer, and the way he writes about coming to know a place you didn’t grow up in really resonated with me. 10/10 recommend!

• I’ve heard so much about the new Bob Dylan film and have been remembering how much I love Bob Dylan’s music. While I’ve not been to see the film (yet!), we watched the 2005 documentary No Direction Home last weekend and really enjoyed it. If you’re in the UK, it’s currently available (in two parts) in iPlayer.

Right, I think that about does it from me. It’s hard to believe that this is the third January I’ve sat down to write the Miscellany. Thank you so much for letting me pop into your inbox. I’d love to hear what you’re working on or dreaming about this month. And if you know someone who would enjoy this monthly meander, please do send it along!

Hugs,

Katherine