10 Year "Blogiversary": Taking Stock of the Last 10 Years and Upcycling Into the Next 10

I know that few read my blog, at least regularly. If you do and you are reading this, I thank you. My 10 year blogiversary was in June, 2021. At the beginning, I think I was hoping for lots of followers. That did not happen, but I have realized over these years that blogging for me is a way of making a journal that is mostly for myself. I remember telling a favorite knitting blogger that she should write a book; her response was "the blog IS the book"!  

Blogging is less in vogue now that we have more immediate forms of communication, but I still like to write and to edit myself.  The ongoing process of writing blog has taught me something about how the internet and platforms such as google work, and I am convinced that keeping updated with technology is an important skill as one ages, as it is really a set of management skills for life. 

In the last 10 years I've widened my dabbling in different mostly fiber-based arts and crafts, outside my usual knitting and spinning. Travel has always influenced my efforts. My trip to Scotland changed my appreciation for fine wool in natural colors. My fiber guild has helped, with its classes and infectious creative spirit.  Quitting my full time job because of Covid has helped too as it allowed me more time.  I have found that classes, whether live, online, or on youtube,  help me to figure out what I DON'T want to pursue more seriously, as well as what I DO. 

I am doing more sewing. Newer  serious interests include: hand stitching thanks to Alabama Chanin's School of Making, and triloom /continuous strand weaving, botanical printing.  

Less serious but occasional dabbling includes marbling fabric and paper,  indigo dying, natural dying, nuno felting, needlefelting,  and even bookmaking. I've done some synthetic dying but would like to focus on natural. I think that making paper will be in the future.  I never thought that core spinning would be a goal and I felt that I failed at it after a class, but when I saw some yarn that looked like lavender strands, I got back to it and things clicked. 

I like to buy clothes, but I am concerned about the environment and the throw-away garments of today. So I am happy that my expanded interests have allowed for some upcycling which I hope to continue in the next ten years.  I would also like to focus on having a greater percentage of handmade items from natural fibers. Here are some items that I have done: 

This blouse is made from a linen dress that my friend Ruth found at a thrift store. Free pattern online. I finished the armholes, neckline, and hem with hand stitching. 

Alabama Chanin skirt from black and gray thrift store tee shirts. My friend Margo Duke, also a blogger, hermajestymargo.blogspot.com,  loaned me her laboriously hand cut stencil.

This Alabama Chanin inspired skirt was more original. I cut Natalie's skirt pattern into panels from old white tee shirts and dunked in indigo. There were  happenstance ripply patterns on it and I decided to stitch on them, adding a backing. When it got a bit pale from being in the sun on the porch while draped over a loom, I redipped it and love the dark blue result! It is beaded and there is some metallic threadwork at the bottom.

So I thought I would share some more of the items of the last couple of years of which I am proud:

One of my favorite yarns is Koigu's KPPPM.  The pattern is very loosely based on Sally Melville's party panel skirt. I like skirts, can you tell?

A sampling of marbled fabric and paper done with my niece Daisy

Large blanket done on a square loom for friends. Synthetic yarn. Kinda done with that.

I will continue to do donation items for refugees. I've spent a lot of time in the last couple of years making these continuous strand woven little felted wool jackets for Syrians children. More recent ones have a hood added. These would fit a one or two year old well fed American child but likely a three or four year old Syrian child. These go to Lifting Hands International or a group in Seattle at The Salaam Cultural Museum. Information on sending donations to both is here at Ravelry. 

My first book. Zoom class with Elisabeth Viguie Culshaw and Cassandra Barron.  The cover is botanical printed with sweetgum leaves from my yard and tannin dye. I can highly recommend Elisabeth's zoom classes, more information here. 

Another continuous strand weaving. 

My first indigo experience was a class at The Charleston Museum with Tamara Evans of Knit Oasis. After doing a number of indigo vats using Dharma's indigo kit, I did a fresh leaf class with Donna Hardy now of the International Center for Indigo Culture at Ossabaw Island and then, I went to a class in Green Pond  SC with Caroline Harper  of CHI Design on fresh leaf dying.  Caroline demonstrated a doable method for at-home. I took the "recipe" also available online, and went to my friend Janet's house. Janet has a studio and indigo growing. It worked, to my astonishment. 

I decided to combine some botanical printing with indigo. These were printed and steamed, then the next day dipped in Janet's perpetual iron vat.

I have struggled over the last four years to learn brioche knitting, using Nancy Marchant's Craftsy class. Thank goodness Craftsy is back up. I finally got it but I still often make mistakes.  This is Nancy's 2-Color Under Dutch Skies pattern. 

And the reverse...

Here's to the next 10!