What I'm Reading - The New Jim Crow (& other thoughts)

This is a series of posts on the books I am reading or plan to read to further my anti-racism education. It is, like all things I attempt, a WIP.

True to form, I was slightly overly ambitious in my initial target with this project (a book a month). I think this is not the first time I’ve aimed for a book a month on a certain topic, when, in absolute truth I don’t read a book a month on any topic.

So I’m adjusting the plan here a bit. I’m aiming for a book every couple of months, but we’ll see - I’m just going to keep chipping away at it and sharing the books as I read them here, because making the first list of books after seeing all the recommendations going around was very helpful for me (and maybe it is for you, too).

What I’m currently reading:

The New Jim Crow - Michelle Alexander
(so dense! so good! so saddening/maddening) I’ve been alternating between a borrowed copy from my sis and the audiobook version from my library.

Emergent Strategy - adrienne marie brown

What my bedside shelf looks like (or - books I’m looking forward to reading:

the books by my bed (with a lucia la ferme silk mask for sleepin’ over a note from my acupuncturist, lol)

top to bottom: Emergent Strategy (as above), The Source of Self Regard - Toni Morrison, Red, White and Black make Blue: Indigo in the Fabric of Colonial South Carolina Life- Andrea Freeser, and Black Nature - Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry Edited by Camille T. Dungy.

What I'm Reading

I had a look at my blog recently, noticing I had a lot of unfinished drafts in the Show Up section - book lists, playlists, thoughts on showing up to this work in a continuous way.

I didn’t know how to publish them at the time, and I still don’t totally know. But I do know that we (white folks) need to be doing this work - we did then, we do now, and it will be ongoing work.

So I’m posting here, as a way to stay accountable to myself and to you - anyone reading this, and as a list of books I have read, am reading, and recommend.

The plan is simple: 1 book a month for a year : the topic is Anti-Racism, and the works will be largely (if not exclusively) written by BIPOC.

The book for June 2020 is So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo.

I am listening to it via Hoopla, which is an audiobook service from a local library in my area.

Should you wish to buy a copy, I would suggest using this list to purchase it from a Black-owned book retailer.

Summer of Basics - results (or lack thereof?)

so here I am, Summer of Basics has just wrapped up, and I haven't *exactly* accomplished what I set out to - but this is a not a sad post, this is just a post to wrap things up, give some insight into my making process & share some thoughts I had along the way. 

my sleeveless, half finished dress no 2

To recap, my Summer of Basics plan was: 
1. A Cline Sweater
2. A Dress No. 2
3. A Peppermint Jumpsuit
To recap on the whole post, you can read that here. 
To date I have: 
1. a front and back of a Cline sweater out of AVFKW Pioneer, in colorway Sourdough (drool!) 
2. a front and back of a dress no 2, sewn together and pinned to be hem... but I haven't managed to cut out the sleeves, pockets, or bias binding.... so.... 
3. no progress on the jumpsuit
 

These are my main thoughts from this whole process

1. I'm glad things like this exist, to get us thinking more broadly about our wardrobes, but also more critically about how we plan our making. 
2. I don't really like putting goals or dates to my personal making - I end up pushing up against it and feeling not great about it
3. I love knitting with Pioneer <3
4. When I finish my Cline, I will have a full CA-sourced and made Climate Beneficial Wool outfit I can wear (see below) & that makes me STOKED.
5. I'm not so sure about sewing - tbh I only manage to do it in the company of others. maybe this is how i will sew going forward. or maybe I will allocate my budget for making instead to supporting small RTW garment makers that I love? Or maybe I will trade for sewn objects. mainly I am curious to know if I seemingly don't *like* sewing just because I am bad at it right now, or if I genuinely just don't like it? I'm gonna just keep checking in as I sew over time and see how it feels. time will tell on this one, I think. 

Roku hat made from AVFKW Range (discontinued) - CA Climate Beneficial Wool 

GDS Cloth Goods Smock made from Lani's CA Climate beneficial Rambouillet 

there you have it. a (lack of) progress on my making plans, but a lot of joy this summer, a lot of slowing down, being outside, learning what I'm like when I'm falling in love in a healthy way. A lot of family time, a lot of boundary setting for myself and my work, and really, I'm pretty pleased with what I've gotten done so far. 

Did you do summer of basics? What was your experience like? I'd love to hear yours! 

xx

your ani 

Summer of Basics - a plan

you know Karen Templer, right? I pretty much assume anyone who reads this/follows me probably already knows about Karen. But if you don't (you can thank me later ;) )  you can familiarize yourself here. Basically, she is a powerhouse of handmade wardrobe inspiration and blogging and knitting notion supplies.

(screen grab from Karen's blog Fringe Association) 

which brings me to a cool thing that Karen started, which is called "Summer of Basics". basically (lol, pun intended), you pledge to make 3 garments (knit, sewn, etc) that will really be workhorses in your wardrobe - fill gaps, etc, over the summer months (starting in June).

I've never done it before, but I'm really trying to work on my sewing this year, so I'm giving it a red hot go. 

Here's the plan: 

cline sweater

(screen grab from @ebonyh instagram - how freakin lovely does she look?!) 

Pattern Specs: Cline Sweater by Julie Hoover
Wool: 500g (yardage unspecified) DK/8ply(ish) weight Naturally Colored Wool bought at the Bendigo Sheep and wool Show 2016

the wool (the entire 500g is in ONE skein - still need to wind this sucker, but it's freakin huge) 

why? I have a sweater that looks similar to this (or I should say that I stole my dad's sweater when I was home), and it's the first thing I reach for. I love this color of wool & I've been looking for the perfect pattern for this wool since i bought it. I love the simple shape, but smart details, like the double collar (or whatever that's called) and the dolman sleeves that are just cute and not too 80's. 

dress no 2
(with short sleeves) 

screengrab from 100 acts of sewing etsy 

screen grab of Essex linen cotton from A Verb for Keeping Warm website <3 

Pattern Specs: lengthened Dress No 2 (I have a lotta leg) with short sleeves (I think) 
Fabric: undyed cotton/linen fabric from Verb - with an intention to sew this puppy, see how it fits, then maybe overdye it this summer 

why? I want to get better at sewing my own clothes and have found this dress really straightforward when I've made a muslin before (though I always stall at the bias binding ugh) - and I wear so much beige/undyed, this will get plenty of wear & can be updated with dyes and painting etc. The pockets are a big draw for me, too. I think I will put them slightly to the side, closer to the side seam. 

In The Folds Peppermint Mag Jumpsuit

Peppermint Jumpsuit by In The Folds 

Pattern Specs: (free!) downloadable pattern written by Emily of In the Folds (former podcast guest - here!), without belt
Fabric: TBD color of Merchant and Mills Laundered Linen from Verb <3

why? it's no major secret that a fking love jumpsuits, but tbh *making* one feels like a big stretch for me, so this is not only about making a cute-ass garment that I want to wear, it's about conquering fears of sewing things like pants and jumpsuits, slowly slowly. 

stay tuned for updates about the Summer of Basics, follow along with #summerofbasics & #closeknitdoesbasics && an upcoming post about my favorite basics knitting patterns! 

money real talk- April finance check in

so, I should start by saying that I’m not at all an expert in anything financial- and I wouldn’t really even say that I’m all that financially literate. none of the links I’ll provide are affiliate or sponsored or anything, I’m just sharing what research I’ve done and the things I’m trying. 

a goal of mine is to become more financially literate & share my learnings with my family and community, even if they aren’t totally game-changing or huge. 

the more we know, the less we have to worry, right? that’s my hope. 

heres what I did in April to unfuck my finances/just get a handle on them: 

1. I downloaded Mint - why? cuz I suck at doing a traditional spreadsheet budget (tho I looove spreadsheets, go figure). 

Goal: to have a daily/weekly check in with what money is going where & see all accounts in one place (credit card, checking, savings, Roth IRA, PayPal, phone bill)  

how: using mint for 3 months (began this tracking in Jan 2018, but only closely attended to in April), seeing what insights I get, and using the budget tool to set reasonable and realistic amounts for each spending category. 

Bonus: see your credit score easily on mint! You are entitled to 3 FREE credit checks per year, I believe, so you can check yours now. & just be aware that applying for credit and checking your credit does affect your score so don’t go too bananas with it. 

2. I set up a Roth IRA with Charles Schwab

why? Charles Schwabb has come recommended- and it’s easy to set up and also to invest.  

why roth? The one thing I did learn in my personal finances class at Berkeley was that Roth IRAs are taxed on their initial amount (small) and NOT taxed when you take money out in retirement (when the magic of compounding interest has done its thing) 

A NOTE FOR LATER: google "retirement savings contribution credit" - it’s a % credited back to you for retirement contributions up to $2000. 

3. I opened a savings account, not with my usual bank (because my bank has abysmal APYs) 

why? Online banks have savings accounts with higher yield interest than most banks. 1.6% goes a lot farther than 0.06%. I used Marcus by Goldman Sachs - came well-reviewed and was a simple set up process. 

4. I did my taxes (for free). 

how: I used irs.gov/freefile to find a service that provided me with tax help for free, I used turbo tax in the end, for no specific reason really, I think that’s just always the one my parents used.  

5. I (plan to) get my library card and got an overdrive account  

why? I have a lot of required reading this year (self imposed) and I don’t have a budget for books (or just a couple), so I can save in this way. overdrive gives you access to audiobooks free, which is huge for me because I love audio.  

For now, that’s what I’ve done. My other tasks include continuing to read financial literacy blogs and adding any cash expenditures into my Mint spending tracking && continuing to research credit cards to figure out which is best for me.

oh, and writing out a specific money goal for this year- still a lil afraid of this task. working my way up to it.

what about you? Do you do any of the above? Other things? I’d love to hear them! 

xx

your ani  

The Jumpsuit & A Fashion Revolution Wrap Up

all photography by the talented Diana Alvaro

this post is unsponsored & comes from a place of hope, gratitude and transparency. the jumpsuit that i got in Guatemala I paid for, and this is not an ad - just my sincere thoughts about fair trading practices and my attempt to show my thanks for the way that Pixan House and others in Guatemala allowed me to travel through their space & showed me such warmth <3

If you've been following along on instagram, you might have seen this post from when I got to visit Guatemala and found my way to Pixan House in Quetzaltenango. Pixan is an organization of indigenous weavers and designers in Guatemala, a sister program to the Highland Women's Association. 

If you've been following along with Fashion Revolution, you might have seen a lot of incredibly interesting and important dialogue around what it means to be "sustainable" and "ethical". In particular, the words of French Malian dyer Aboubakar Fofana in his series of instagram posts on the topics of "fair" trade and colonialism stuck out to me. 

He talks about the way that often Western designers use artisans in 'developing' economies as a way to appease their own guilt, often at the expense of the artisan and their communities, and ultimately leading to more wealth disparity. 

This is why organizations like Pixan are so crucial. Pixan is direct trade - not fair trade - (which can be prohibitively expensive for smaller organizations), they work directly with indigenous highland weavers, and they are staffed and run by Guatemalan women. Formed as a reaction to the civil war which occurred in Guatemala in the 1960s, the organization aims to support and sustain indigenous women living in the highlands.  

Doing trade in a way that is truly fair to all parties involved is certainly not simple or easy, but I feel excited and hopeful as I introduce you to Pixan. 

They've recently launched an Etsy store as a way to gain a wider audience for their beautifully-made cloth goods, most of which are naturally dyed with local plant materials and all of which are hand woven by artisans in Guatemala. 

I'm especially stoked to tell you that the jumpsuit they custom fit for me is now available on their Etsy, too! (and it comes in 3 different colors! - I kind of want another!) It's 100% cotton and the most comfortable thing on the planet. 

And as a special thanks to my patreon supporters, folks who are donating $5+USD/month are getting a discount code sent to them shortly - this code is good for your first purchase with Pixan, so if you'd like a discount on your jumpsuit purchase, access to additional content from me, and future discount codes, you can become a patron here. 

More Guatemala thoughts coming soon, as soon as I can process it all & get some solid headspace to write up some content. Looking forward to sharing more with you. x 

A Stash Check In & 2018 Knitting Projects

below: the entirety of my 'stash' (ie all the yarn I own - not including WIPs) as at 5th Jan 2018. 

now, my plans 

to trade: 

IXCHEL fibres bunny mink (the lushest!) handspun by Charley McCaffery, bought from her at Niki Whitefield's retreat in the Dandenong Ranges in 2016. 

2 cutie cute balls of Lopi that I have no plans for

handdyed fairy floss coloured silk bought from the Handweaver's Spinners and Dyers Guild of Tasmania in Hobart, 2016

to make: 

shawls

kirkendall shawl - goodnight day

2 skeins Asana Bulky bought aaaages ago when Monarch Knitting (Pacific Grove, CA) moved & changes hands 

Void Shawl by Melanie Berg

3 skeins Snoqulamie Valley Yarn (BFL & Clun forest wool) from Tolt, bought July 2016 

(yarn discolouring) 

a note: my skeins were sitting in a basket in my room (very sunny room), and have discoloured, so I'll need to figure out how to fix this before starting (could it wash out?), do I need to try dyeing? (pictured) 

scrumptious millpost merino from the NSW tablelands in my favourite 70s vibe colour palette

a shawl pattern i wrote for a class i taught with Lily and Dot in Dec '17

beanies

the most beautiful present ever, a handspun skein of Tasmanian Moorit by my angel Lauren Champs 

Mawson Hat by Jared Flood (DK weight pictured). usually when I have single skeins of DK/worsted weights, I'll make a beanie and I've been liking the mawson

a skein of beautiful wool from Adrienne that I (synthetic) indigo dyed at Niki Whitefield's retreat in the Dandenongs in 2016

garments

James pullover by amy miller

giant ass 500g skein of undefine weight wool from victoria 

bought at bendigo sheep and wool show jul 2016

light summer tank by Temple of Knit

indigo dyed silk yarn by Shepherdess bought from the retreat in the dandenongs in Oct 2016

MISC

BFL from my ex's mother - most likely to become 1-2 mawsons 

an incredibly special ball of millpost merino that Caroline and I dyed with cochineal one day while we were on hold for two hours to immigration

the loveliest gift from a podcast guest, Emma of Fleece and the Wheel, handspun 

a gorgeous skein of handdyed merino/silk from podcast guest and absolute sweetie Olive 

On Moving Across the World (Or How Not Having a Plan Scares the Sh*t Out of Me)

kunanyi by Nina Hamilton

how do you begin writing a semi-formal announcement about moving across the world because your visa is running out? 

i haven't known how to, and i've been avoiding writing this for that reason (and others, i guess) 

how do you write about how you moved across the world for love that you thought was gonna be a forever kind of love and how that love ended? it's been a really weird thing i haven't been able to properly speak about on the internet for a bunch of reasons, but mainly because of bureaucracy. i am on a visa that is tied to the existence of a love relationship with my now ex partner. in the eyes of the government, our relationship was the only thing worth letting me hang out in australia for. not my contribution economically or to my community. not for making this a home for over 4 years.

(to be clear, i'm so so so aware of my immense privilege to have been able to move here of my own free will to begin with, and that my US citizenship has made my life pretty fkn easy. and even though i'm not as active in making this choice to move back to the US as I'd like to be, I am not fleeing, and I get to return to a place of relative stability and comfort (even though of all the times i could possibly have to move back to the US, the era of the Sentient Cheeto is not what i would have preferred) ) 

ani's blunnies and socks by kunanyi by Nina Hamilton

i guess now what i'm doing is trying to stay present for my last month in Tasmania, accepting that this place has had an enormous impact on me as a person, but that it can be let go of (at least physically). i'm trying to stay grounded in the idea that home is in your body, and i'm trying to remind myself that i did this move before - i moved across the world (i only knew one person), i moved interstate (i didn't know anyone). this time i have family to come home to, and that feels like such a gift. i know i'll be leaving a chosen family in tasmania, but it helps to remember that this little island isn't going anywhere. and i sure as hell will be back. 

now, when i get back to the US, I don't really have a plan or anything in particular lined up. this scares the shit out of me. i am an organised person, and i like having a plan. 

here's what i do know (so we can spend time together in the places we are, and in case you might have any suggestions for what to do/where to live/where to work): 

November (location: Tasmania) 

8th/9th Nov: teaching at Commuknitty - 10am-11am Mathers House. This is a free learn-to-knit skillshare. come on by! 

7th Nov: teaching at Lily and Dot (Hobart) - sold out shawl knitting class

14th Nov-23rd Nov: traveling Tas with my little brother 

If you were hoping for a little private tutelage in knitting, or small group stuff, I'm available, so get in touch. 

I'll also be selling a few things (my bicycle, some clothes, a DSLR), so if any of that is of interest lemme know. I'll probably end up posting the clothes and yarn on instagram in stories. 

Dec (location ~ Bay Area) 

Landing in the Bay and going from there. I went to Berkeley so I'm fairly comfortable with at least that part of the east bay, but if anyone has any advice on what i should be doing in the bay, places that are good to work for, yarn stores to teach in, pls send me your thoughts.

and if anyone just wants to hang out or go for walks or just hug each other or cry a little bit (or a lot) pls HMU because i'll probably just be doing that for most of the month of December/always

in big, confused, perpetual WIP love,

x ani 

Not Perfect Linen x Close Knit GIVEAWAY

If you've been following me on instagram for a little bit, you'll know that I am a huge linen fan - specifically Not Perfect Linen. 

I first bought the ice blue dress from Have Company, wore it basically every single day, then realised it made absolute perfect sense to get the dress in a couple more colours (so I picked up the natural and the charcoal grey), and they've since become the staples of my wardrobe - getting layered over pants, under kimonos, under handknit sweaters. 

I love a lot of things about these dresses - the fact that the wrinkle actually looks good (a win for an ironing averse human like me), that stains seem to easily lift from them (I get a lotta bike grease on them), but most of all, I love the pockets.

POCKETS - I know I'm not alone in loving a good pocket, especially in a sweet little dress. But what's great about these pockets is that they're deep enough to hold my phone and keys, and I can cycle without fear of them falling out! This is a huge deal for me, and I often end up choosing these dresses over others that I own because of this. Another win - since I can put stuff in my pockets, it actually weighs the dress down a little bit, so when it's windy, I don't have any Marilyn-Monroe-steam-vent-situations (not that I'm opposed to that or anything). 

You all know how much I love them, and the family over at Not Perfect Linen and I wanted you to be able to know this love like I do! 

So, we're hosting a GIVEAWAY (that's open worldwide)  for one of their sleeveless linen dresses in the colour/size of your choosing.

Here's how to enter: 

1. Follow @notperfectlinen and @close_knit on instagram

2. like the giveaway photo on @close_knit

3. comment on this blog post with the colour of dress you'd most like to receive, and include your instagram handle so I an find ya! 

Giveaway will close on the 7th Dec, 2016 9am AEST. 

SHOW UP :: The Book Club

SHOW UP - the book club is for me.

it's for you. 

it's for anyone who has reflected on the events of this year, of recent history, and has felt anger, rage, fear, sadness, hopeless, helpless (etc- these are just some of the ways I have personally felt). 

it's for folks who have considered themselves 'allies' + for folks who aren't sure what the word "ally" means in this context. (this article situates what it means to be an ally for some in the context of black lives matter, though this is obviously not all-inclusive, and the concept of allyship is nuanced and one I'm hoping we can explore in this book club.) 

this book club is for anyone, it's for everyone, and it's about showing up to ourselves, to challenging themes, to systematic bull shit that we are passive (and sometimes active) participants in in our daily lives. it's about creating a safe space for truth telling about the condition of our souls. 

These are some things I'm hopeful will come out of the book club (perhaps this can be the book club's "manifesto" of sorts): 

• learning about movements I have little knowledge about - or ones I haven't been as active in as I'd like to be. I'd like to read books that situate a whole host of things (intersectional feminism, trans rights, queer rights, BLM, and more). To me this means prioritising reading books by black authors and PoC authors, female/feminist authors - obviously with room for many voices, and room for discussion amongst book club participants .  
• having a space (physical, virtual) to have meaningful and safe interactions about these topics and the sometimes very uncomfortable truths we'll uncover
• getting to share this space with friends and strangers and family
• getting to hold myself and others accountable to keeping these things at the front of my mind, in a tangible way (for me, they are my values - so for me this means getting to align myself with my values in a more tangible way) 
• staying open to wherever this goes, whatever books and topics arise, staying open to reading them, engaging with them, and engaging with the folks that show up - everyone. come as you are, however you are, come however you can (I see you). 

I'm hopeful that you'll join me - however you see yourself - radical feminist, or totally not feminist, I'm asking that you give this a go with me, give me feedback, call me out when I used fucked up logic, call me out when I have not checked my privilege as a white person, give me a chance to learn and a chance to grow, and I'll do my best to do the same for you, if you're okay with that. 

I'd like to do this together - so whether you live close by (right now that's Hobart for me), or you're a million miles away, join in by getting the books - borrow them or buy, up to you - and join in on the conversation. 

I'm going to start with this book: We Should All Be Feminists - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It is only 30 odd pages, and has been recommended to me many times.

If you'd like, start with this book too! If you don't want to buy it (It's $9.99 also), borrow it from the library (unfortunately my local library doesn't have it) I've just bought it, and I am so happy to pass it on to someone who would like to read it next. If you don't like to read books (I'll be real, I'm pretty bad at reading), get it as an audio book. No audible account? share one with a mate, or Google your library and audiobooks, they often have a selection of downloadable audiobooks. 

I'll make it a goal to post here regularly - maybe once a week or once every two weeks, and I'll post updates on instagram under @close_knit, where I'm very happy to hold space for conversation, as well. 

Maybe let's use a hashtag so we can find each other? #SHOWUPbookclub work for everyone? let's go with that. Use the hashtag #showupbookclub to have internet-friendly conversations. 

Meeting place and time in Hobart TBD - in the meantime, seek out the book, send me your recommendations, and hold tight whilst I get the logistics going. 

and finally, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE - give me feedback, call me out. I want to know how I can be a better ally, and I want to know if anything about what I'm doing here is exclusive in anyway. Tell me how I can improve, I want to work on this - I want to keep these conversations going. 

FREE PATTERN - Feel It All Shawl

The feel it all shawl is a free-form, decide-as-you-go, feel it shawl. Knit during a time when I was feeling a lotta things, I wanted something I could pick up and just decide what I wanted to do with it in that moment. no specific plan or destination, just a journey I could take with whatever I was feeling in that moment. 

I encourage you to feel your way through this shawl, just do whatever feels right or good to you in that moment - make mistakes, rip them out (or don't) and keep playing around. This is a good one to get your binge watch on on Netflix. For me it was Jane, the Virgin (highly recommend, btw just the right amount of stuff going on to be fun, but not so much going on that you have to pay *that* much attention) 

download your free "feel it all shawl" pattern here

What do you think? Will you give this improvisational shawl a crack? 

xx

Ani 

Bartering, Trading - A Love Affair

I'm just going to kick this off by professing my immense love for bartering. Now, I'll keep this post to the purely trading/bartering and stay away from the topic of the "sharing economy/collaborative consumption" - not because I don't want to talk about those things, but because I have too many feelings about them for one post (ie I LOVE THE SHARING ECONOMY, and am a complete geek about it). So, I'll stick to pure and simple trading of things for things/ things for services where there's no money at all involved. 

Like many things in my life, my first experience with trading came as a result of my creepin' around on Instagram, checking out (read: stalking) folks that seem rad. Well, actually, to give myself a little credit for being a little less creepy, it was actually the other person who found me and suggested a trade. She saw a hat I made in my instagram feed and commented "love this hat - would love to trade for it", and I of course, immediately went to her website, found her email and sent this whole long thing that was like "um, hell yes, you're an awesome lady who works with leather, I like leather and supporting small batch makers, and I think I love you" (well I left out the love you part, but  I think it was implied). 

So, how did we do it? It basically looked like this:

• We figured out what we both needed/wanted from each other, and worked out whether those things were within the scope for each of us to design (or modify) and create
• We did a rough cost mock-up to see what would be of similar/equal value for trading. We put a price on our labour ($20/hr for both of us), just to make things simple.
• We tweaked our materials, designs and overall products until we were happy with the value of the work we were doing for trade.

What did it look like in the end?

• I made Brittany two hats, she made me 3 little knitting supply pouches and a handbag - all from lovely leather. 

I think what made this trade feel so right and special was not that I particularly needed those leather pieces right away. I could live without a leather bag and knitting supply holders, but they were things I had been eyeing from afar for a long time, wishing that I felt financially able to splurge on those things. So it was this nice thing that popped up for me that enabled me to have those sweet and lovely things in my life without spending money on them. Instead, I got to spend my time lovingly creating these hats for her. And I spend pretty much all my time knitting anyway, so this was such a joy! 

I'm finding that the more I knit, the more I run out of things I actually need (like how many more beanies does one chick need?) It is so liberating and fun to work on a piece of knitting for someone who is excited about it, someone you know will like it, and who will appreciate how much work went into it. That is a truly gratifying experience.

Now,  I hope I haven't bored you too much with my love note to bartering, and what I really hope is that you'll get in touch to work out a trade. I'm especially keen to trade for: podcast audio editing skills (this one is a big one for me right now!), ceramic cups, leatherwork (would shoes be too much to ask?), fermented foods, lessons in fermenting foods for that matter, meals, vegetables, rides (in a car) around Tasmania, borrowing of said car, linen clothes, handmade underwear and bras (!), lessons in crochet or sewing, lessons in bicycle maintenance, and many many other things I'm sure I don't even know I need yet. 

I can offer for trade: custom knits of all sorts - you do the dreaming, I'll do the doing, knitting lessons, yarn from my stash (maybe - depends on if I can part with it), a song for you (I like to sing), yogurt and granola making, and probably other things that I can't think of right now. 

Get in touch - I'm presently working on a trade for a special lady artist friend, and the very thought of getting to create more special things for more special people in exchange for a little bit of their love in the form of their work makes my heart sing. You can find me at hello [at] closeknit.com.au, on instagram, and in person in Hobart (and sometimes Sydney, and rarely, the USA). I promise, I'm a nice lady. 

xx

Ani

How the Knitted Chokers Came to Be (+ Learn to Make Your Own)

I designed Close Knit to be a freeform thing - I didn't want to commit to making a certain product, or anything, I decided instead to have side jobs to keep up an income so that I could afford to be a little playful and meandering with this little business.

It's lead me to so many good things - a blog post series turned into a podcast, my flexible work schedule that lets me attend handspinners guild meetings on thursday mornings, and now I've begun learning (and getting addicted to) spinning. 

There have been so many tiny, serendipitous things that have happened that have led me to where I am now with Close Knit, and I'm loving the surprises and exciting opportunities that have come out of them.

The knitted chokers/necklaces are one such story.

I have promised my partner a friendship bracelet for many years (sorry, bub!) and I've also promised for the last year and a half that I'll felt patches onto the jumper that used to belong to my papa back in day (the elbows are just gaping holes now). So I finally got around to picking up some roving from the handspinners guild shop and I picked up two, one dark grey and one navy, not sure which one would go with his jumper. 

I took them home and realised the grey was totally clashing - so I nixed that idea and figured, well, now I've got this grey cloud of fluff to practice spinning with! I started spinning it up and made a few tiny skeins, no more than 10g each - real tiny. I plied them up, washed them and turned them into my first few skeins of handspun which I proudly brought to the guild meeting for "show and tell". 

Then I was like, what do I do with all these tiny skeins? they're not really enough to make something out of. So I remembered that I had promised a friendship bracelet to my partner for literally years and set about making one. I knitted it up and thought I'd make it a bit bigger than my own wrist to accommodate his - but when I finished it it looked pretty long. I held it up to my neck for comparison, and then I was like, wait a minute, could I knit chokers?

So i tied it up in a little bow at the back and started wearing it around. I was pretty pleased.

I wore it home and immediately my housemates all exclaimed that they wanted one, too. That gave me the needed validation that these were fun/kinda cool so I kept knitting them.

They are all handspun wool (usually Australian grown merino) - spun either by me or a friend in the states who sent me some little skeins to play with - and then they're handknit by me. Because of the nature of handspun, they're all one-of-a-kind! They're tiny labours of love and what I like the most about them is that I only feel joy/excitement when spinning and knitting small things - so they're full of good vibes, too. 

If you're in the marker for a knitted necklace - let me know, let's make that happen! 

OR if you wanna make your own and you live in Hobart - come to my workshop next Tuesday night, 7th June 2016 7pm-9pm at the State Cinema in North Hobart. To register a spot email hello@shippinglane.com - tix are $35 and include a hot beverage, knitting needles and wool that's been handspun by me! Hope to see you there. 

And in case you're wondering, I did end up making my partner his friendship bracelet in the end ;) 

What's On My Needles - Knit-A-Long Edition

Each Week (more or less), I'll share a quick (or sometimes not quick) snippet of what I'm currently working on, no matter how small (or rough) it is. 

If you follow me over on instagram, you'll already know about this,  but in case you don't - here's the lowdown. My BFF (best friend in fibre, or best friend forever, either is cool with me) Kate  and I met up in Boston last year and went on an unintentional yarn crawl, because what else would happen when two fibre nerds meet IRL for the first time? We're both mad for non-superwash wools, and neither of us had tried knitting socks before, so we picked up a couple skeins of Quince and Co finch - in the heathered colour "caspian", because of course we would pick the same colour. But really, we picked the colour because we wanted something neutral but not too light that they'd get too grimey. These are socks, afterall.

So here we are, a solid 8 months later (whoops) finally getting around to knitting our first pair of socks together. We wanted to try this together because we have a habit of starting projects and ripping our hair out over them and then giving up (sometimes). So we figured that if we did them together, there would be enough moral support to keep us going - solid logic, right?

Then we figured that if we were struggling to work up the courage to knit our first pair of socks, there are probably a bunch of other folks out there, too. So we made it a little Knit-A-Long. We're calling it the Pen Pal Sock KAL - cuz how cute, that rhymes, and it describes our friendship. And we're using the hashtags #penpalsockkal and #firstsocks.

We technically started the 1st of May, and I'm saying techincally here because I haven't even finished swatching yet, so please feel free to join us at any time. Oh, and my good internet friend Joanne had a great term for what this KAL will probably be, the #worldsslowestkal - which is cool with me because, hey, knitting shouldn't make you feel anxiety or pressured, right? (I'll be honest, I sometimes feel that, but I'm trying to relax about the whole thing - it is only knitting, afterall). 

So get amongst it by knitting your own pair of socks - any socks will do - will doing the BFF socks by Cookie A  and we're leaving out the cables because Jen Beeman is a goddess and her pair were absurdly good. Knit as fast or as slow as you want, 'cause we're not here to judge, just cheer you on. 

xx

Ani 

What's On My Needles - The Making of a Sweater

Each Week, I'll share a quick (or sometimes not quick) snippet of what I'm currently working on, no matter how small (or rough) it is. 

Well hey there- I seem to have taken a (rather unintentional) hiatus from posting "what's on my needles". But it's never too late to share, right?  I thought I'd take this time to do a little "start to finish" kind of post to show you the process of skein to sweater, since I finished my Agnes Pullover a couple of (cough) months ago. 

I've since worn Agnes on hikes, to the shops, to the farmers' market. She's a good companion. Nice and cozy warm. And pockets. Bloody pockets. Love 'em. 

That's what was on my needles in Jan/Feb - now I'm working on a cowl (more on that soon), a shawl (also more on that soon), and some sewing/quilting/spinning to break things up a little. 

Thoughts On Spinning (From A Spinning Newbie)

first attempt at spinning

You know when you discover something and you're like "how did I not know about this before? what was I doing all this time? my world is completely changed." This happens to me on a fairly regular basis - some examples I can think of - bringing my bicycle to college and being able to cycle around The Bay, buying garlic Persian fetta and putting it in salad, and most recently - spinning. Clearly I am easily pleased/my life is easily improved. 

first tiny baby skein of hanspun

Spinning has my head, well, spinning - with ideas of what I can make, ways I can get more creative/have more control over the things I make. My mind feels like tons of tiny little lights are twinkling at once - or something like that. The plying possibilities- the spinning possibilities, the fibre I can source, the learning the thing. It's all so damn exciting. 

spinning attempt #2 - mid Andean Bracelet Making attempt

Thinking of trying spinning? Here are some thoughts I have/things I've learnt (but take this all with a grain of salt, because I am clearly no expert) 

• See if there is a local spinning guild you can check out. Mine has been a ridiculously amazing resource and community. It has a library of tools- and I was even able to loan a drop spindle so I didn't have to buy one outright! In all likelihood, there's one in your area and the people there are the best people in the world (cuz, the fibre community, amirite?) 
• Try starting on a drop spindle - they're cheap, portable, and that makes it easier to get started, I think. That way you can easily start without a lot of upfront cost, and you can do it wherever. If you're anything like me, you'll be so stoked that you will take it with you everywhere- to the park for your lunch break, to the farmers market, etc
• If you do start on a drop spindle - try the "park and draft" method first, just to get your bearings. You start by sitting down and over-spinning so that you don't have to do the downward motion + draft (aka pull the fibre through your fingers) at the same time. Here's a video that might help get you started.
• If you have long hair, tie it up before you start, or you might spin your hair into it.... (not that i did this or anything) 
• Speaking of hair ties, have a couple on hand, they're really useful for tucking the excess fibre into on your left wrist so that you don't accidentally get too much fibre all mixed up in your work before you're ready to draft it.
• Get some roving if you can, it's a little easier to work with than a raw fleece (at least for me so far) and there's minimal processing that you need to do before you can start working with it. 
• Try not to have clammy hands - I've felted some bits of my wool because I have perpetually clammy hands- I've not worked out a fix for this yet.... I'll update this if I get any advice on this. 
• Want to Ply? Look up: Andean Plying Bracelet for a simple way to get the fibre off your hand and plied! I think it's pretty amazing that you can make a plied yarn  with nothing but your hands and the drop spindle. 
• Just start! It doesn't even matter if it's lumpy and weird and over-plied. It'll all work out. Wash your skeins when you're done, and that'll help even that shit out. 

I'm thoroughly loving spinning - and I'm not seeing this love/obsession changing at any point. If you want to get started and need a hand, I'm happy to help! I can try giving a lesson over skype (or in person, if you're Aus based!) and I'll do my best to help you out. Shoot me an email at hello@closeknit.com.au if you wanna chat spinning :)

xx

Ani

HOW TO :: (NOT A HOW TO) Improvise a Quilt

A few weeks ago, I made a quilt. Well, kind of. It's a wonky mess, that's not finished "correctly", but it is technically a "quilt" and I slept with it on my bed last night, and it didn't fall apart, so I'm calling it a quilt.

I went into this whole quilt-making thing not wanting to follow any rules, any tutorials. I was in a mood and I was just not having any of that. I was not about to cut anything straight, measure anything, do any math. I just wanted to make. the. thing. damnit.

Here's what I did:

Step 1. Take a bunch of old sheets and pillowcases - doesn't matter how many, I used 2 pillowcases that were different colours, a big flowery sheet, and a double bed fitted sheet. If, like me, you're using a sheet with elastic in it, rip that shit out. Seriously just make a cut with some scissors and then rip it out. 

Step 2. Rip up your sheets/pillowcases. Doesn't matter the size, or if they match or anything. Maybe keep one that's reasonably big to use as the backing for the quilt. I basically ripped a double bed sheet in half (roughly) to get the backing for my quilt.

Step 3. Lay those ripped up pieces out in front of you and start jigsawing them together. Bonus points if  - like me- you tried to do this on your bed and accidentally pinned through your sheets a lot 

Step 4. Pin your pieces into place once you roughly have the look and size quilt face that you want - it doesn't have to be perfect here, I left a few spots that I filled in later with bits to fit the quilt backing that I'd made. I decided to fold my pieces over so that there weren't raw edges, but raw edges would be cool, too (I guess you'd just have to worry about the seams coming apart after a while) 

HOT TIP (which I learned after I made mine, of course): try using safety pins instead of regular pins when you're pinning your quilt pieces together so that they don't just all fall out when you go try to sew it. 

Step 5. Sew your quilt top! start wherever the hell you want. I know I did. There's probably an easier way to figure out where to start, but I don't know it.

Step 6. If your seams are so wonky that they cause a whole part of your quilt to get all billowy and floppy, just fold that bit over and make it an "accent" - make it work, right? 

Step 7. with right sides facing (this is the only time that a rule matters) sew your quilt backing to your quilt face - now you've got a lil quilt cover-y thing that you can slide some batting into. 

Step 8. Go buy some batting - and maybe measure your quilt before you go - that way you're not wasting money/batting. Bring your batting home. Cut your batting (probably don't try to rip it, that probably wouldn't work out well) to just under the size of your quilt - I didn't measure, I eyeballed. 

Step 9. With your quilt cover thingy right sides out, slide the batting inside. Trim if it doesn't fit inside. I had to. Then once it does (roughly) fit inside, pin it in a couple place so that it stays put.

Step 10. Make some cross marks with pins (or don't) and just start hand sewing little x's every so often to hold the quilt in place. I guess mine ended up somewhere around 10cm apart - but again, screw measuring. 

Step 11. Sew up the top of the quilt either by hand or by machine. 

Step 12. Admire your wonky ass quilt. 

You've just improvised a quilt! Sorry in advance to all the real quilters who actually know what they're doing - let's just call this thing a "how to that's not really a how to".

xx

Open for Commissions :: A Mindful Making Ethos

Lately, I've been working on commissioned pieces, for trade, or for money, just on a small scale. I wanted to let you know that I'm available to knit custom pieces for you (for money, or trade). I also wanted to take this chance to express why I am choosing to primarily create custom work. 

When I first conceived of Close Knit, I was stubborn about knitting items for sale. I thought, "there's no way I could possibly make a living from that", "I'd get arthritis", and "it would kill the joy of knitting for me, if I became a production line of hats (or insert other thing here)". So I went about laying the foundation of Close Knit with the intention of only designing, teaching, providing resources, etc - I wasn't planning to knit except to design and also for selfish projects. 

I still believe in most of what I thought then. I'm not prepared to knit 30, 100, 1000 of the same garment - no matter how much I like the design. There aren't enough hours in the day, and my hands are too prone to soreness that I just don't want to risk it. And the more I've thought about this, the more resolute I've become.

Close Knit is an exercise in mindful making. I was trying to think of a way to describe my practice, my ethos -- I didn't want to use a term that felt wishy washy to me, like sustainable, and I wanted my practice to encompass so much more than that. When I am making, I like to take my time, and be intentional. Some questions that I (try to) ask myself before starting a project are, do I need this? is it beautiful? are the materials sourced as well as they could be? (I try to take into account environmental impact and human/social impact, which can be hard) is it something that will get a lot of wear? To me, this line of questioning is the crux of mindful making. Though at the same time, I make because it feels good, because I love it - I don't necessarily NEED that 10th beanie, but the process of creating is such a pure expression of joy to me that it would feel wrong not to honour that. (and for the record, sometimes I make totally bizarre stuff that no one would wear, and that's kind of just part of the process that I'm learning to accept) 

That feeds into my decision to work on commissioned and (primarily) one-of-a-kind pieces. I want to get that chance to work on a special design for someone - made exactly as they want it to be. Is this the fastest way to get something done? No way. Is it going to be cheap? Not really. It will take me a lot of time, and it will cost more than a garment you could get at a big box store. But that's why it's so important. I want to use these commissions as a practice for myself in slowing down, and a practice for the recipient in (hopefully) loving and treasuring an item that was made just for them, with love and dedication. And that's also why I'm open to trades and discussion. I want to continue valuing my time, and sometimes this means with money (because rent and bills sadly won't pay themselves), but I want to have an open practice around this that includes trades, payment plans, collaborations. 

If you have a piece in mind that you'd like knit for you, please get in touch: hello@closeknit.com.au - let's chat and make something work! 

xx

Ani 

The Super Simple Beanie Pattern (Free Download) + A Shop Update

You might have noticed that I've been doing a bit of swapping around over here (or you probably didn't, and that's cool too!), so I wanted to pop the Super Simple Beanie up for you in this post to download, and let you know that my patterns from now on (free and paid) will be available through the link at the top navigation (Pattern Shop), which takes you to my Ravelry store! Not on Ravelry? It's free to join and there are tons of patterns. Not into Ravelry? Get in touch and we'll sort something out! 

Click HERE to download your free Super Simple Beanie Pattern. 

Enjoy!

xx

Ani

Thoughts On Sweater Knitting - The Good, Bad, and Ugly

Each Week (more or less), I'll share a quick (or sometimes not quick) snippet of what I'm currently working on, no matter how small (or rough) it is. 

A couple of weeks ago, I was farmsitting up at Nan's, and I knew I needed a big project to work on. I'd been eyeballing the Lila pullover for some time, and just needed a sweater's quantity of wool. That's where Nan came in - generously letting me take some luscious White Gum for this sweater (!!). Marlee of Have Company happened to be on the same wave length as I was, so we started our sweaters around the same time and kept each other up-to-date on progress using our lil' hashtag #crosspacificknitclub. 

It was a fun and eye-opening process - knitting this sweater, making mistakes, slowly fixing them, seeing Marlee's sweater progress, loving her sweater, suddenly feeling very inferior and slow. It was a process in self-care and weird competitive vibes for sure.

The anxiety and jealousy vibes I was feeling made me ashamed. I didn't want to feel these things, because knitting a sweater shouldn't invoke those feelings, and Marlee had been nothing but incredible supportive the whole way through (read: ALL the moral support when I was majorly confused about short rows and concerned I'd made a sweater for a giant).

So I stepped back from the sweater for a day or two, mostly because my hands were starting to hurt (early onset arthritis, anyone?), and took a little time to reflect on those feelings. I think they stem from a really deep-seated desire I feel to compete, to be instantly gratified, and get validation on the interwebs. The more I took a hard look at those feelings, the more ridiculous they started to seem. And when I finally verbalised them to a friend, I realised how utterly useless they were. Since I'd gotten my petty feelings out in the open, I could actually move into making this sweater happen, and do it with focus and good intentions. 

After that, I finished knitting it, was feeling pretty happy with it, and then went to block it (because, ya know, trying to be a "good" knitter"). Then the shit hit the fan because it looked as though it had stretched waaaay out. So there I was, on the bathroom floor scrunching and squeezing and hoping it wasn't 7 sizes too big. And it took over 2 days to dry, so I was a hot mess for 2 days wondering if I'd just made a sweater for a pregnant human. 

Turns out I was overreacting and it was a pretty good fit afterall. 

Lessons learned - try to be less critical of myself when knitting (even if I'm slow AF), trust in the magic of blocking, and trust in the magic of internet friendship and KALs (knit-a-longs) to keep you honest, grounded, and supported. Oh, and grey is remarkably challenging to photograph - that was the other (much less profound) lesson learned.

xx

Ani