notaprimarycolor

January 22, 2025

Last week in making.

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In an attempt to be productive while dissociating, I am prioritizing daily creative acts. And I’m going to try to document some of it too. Last week felt especially creative, so here’s what I did.

Fine Things Community Pottery Studio

I joined a brand new studio and successfully threw two pots! I feel really nervous not having the traditional support of a class, but I’m excited to explore some ideas outside of the scope of local classes. Here are the things I’m planning to work on:

Nerikomi patterned pieces (this technique excites me so much)
Tiles for my fireplace renovation
Chess set for my husband
Hand-built plates using MDF forms I eventually make
A tabletop lamp?

Painting Workshop

I attended a really lovely painting workshop taught by Allie Yacina at Happy Anyway. I am obsessed with sketchbook artwork and Allie has an incredible practice, some of which is currently on display at the shop. The morning consisted of creating color swatches using a primary palette, thumbnail sketches of a still life, and then a final painting. I left so inspired, I spent way too much money at the art store. Acrylic gouache is a fun medium and I learned just how creamy Caran d’Ache pencils are.

Cast on a New Sweater

In additional to just starting the Port Jacket, I learned the Portuguese knitting style. I wanted to try this method out because I read it can reduce hand pain and give you better purling tension. I’m not getting amazing results doing German short rows with this knitting style, but I’m hopeful it’ll get better with practice.

Shirt Sewing + A Weird New Shelf

And lastly, I made a lot of progress on this button up. All that’s left are the cuffs and buttonholes. I also bought and installed this so-hideous-it’s-kinda-cute towel rack that I’ve had my eyes on for months. I wanted something on the wall here where I could hang works in progress and in-use patterns. I also moved my small “design board” over to this wall too. It’s way easier to access now that it’s not behind a table. You can see I have quite a few outerwear projects planned!

January 11, 2025January 7, 2025

Feeling ALIVE!

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I had no idea how much health issues had slowed down my desire to play around with materials and make stuff. But now that my thyroid medication seems to be at the right dose and I no longer have a uterus (thanks to fibroids), I’m BACK BABY.

It’s really exciting to feel like I’m actually awake during the day now. And I want to celebrate my newfound productivity by cataloging my recent makes. First up, I just added the binding to this wall hanging I made years ago.

I refinished this “gentleman’s cabinet” which you can read more about here and here.

This thrifted stool got a much comfier seat. The rope basket turned cushion cover was already made, but I added the fabric and drawstring bit to keep everything in place. There’s now 2″ of foam too since the plywood was much too hard of a seat. I finished this project by splattering some acrylic paint on it because why not?

I’ve actually been finishing some sewing projects outside of work! I made a dress out of fabric that’s been in my stash for YEARS, a quilt coat with fun yarn ties, several new machine covers (also using old stash fabric), these amazing mellow yellow Cloud Sweatpants, some basic tees, and I batch cut out like ten more projects. I’m planning to share more about some of these makes in upcoming posts.

I finished two sweaters in December and started playing around with duplicate stitch.

I got out my tufting gun and was a total beginner again. This process is so challenging and I hate not being in control, but I’m willing to keep going! The ultimate goal is to make little rugs for all the steps leading upstairs for Otis.

And I’m trying super hard to reestablish my logbook practice. In 2018, I captured a trip in one of these sketchbooks and I’ve missed so many travel adventures since. This practice is one of my proudest accomplishments and I’m determined to pick it back up.

January 7, 2025

Hysterectomy Recovery Project

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As I mentioned here, I had an almost overwhelming amount of knit WIPs. My goal was to finish at least two of them before the year ended, and I did! One of them was this sweater that I started about 3 weeks post-op.

PATTERN: Seaway Pullover by Ozetta

YARN: Purl Soho Linen Quill, colorway Baked Earth (discontinued)

SIZE: M

NEEDLES: US 7 needles for the body and US 6 needles for the rib

The pattern calls for a DK weight, but I had this worsted yarn in my stash that I thought would look really good with these understated cables. It’s such a pretty color and the drape is lovely. I’m kinda shocked it was discontinued.

I have some tension issues on the right front that was knitted flat. My purl rows were a little loose for some reason. Maybe I can blame it on the surgery? Thankfully I feel like it’s only really visible in photos. I’m pretty pleased with this sweater and learned that cables are quite easy.

I had a lot more yarn than the pattern called for, so I decided to make it a turleneck. I still have one whole skein leftover that I’m pondering how to use.

January 5, 2025January 4, 2025

Making Supplies Cabinet | Part 2

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The gentleman’s cabinet is done! It still needs a coat of wax, but it’s upstairs and looking so much better. This thing is solid wood, so I was able to sand out a lot of the deep scuffs and scratches. It’s still sporting some imperfections, but I’m calling it *character*

I am okay with the stain color. It’s a bit more orange than I thought it would be and it kinda makes my eyes vibrate. There’s absolutely no way I’m going to re-sand it though!

I’ve still gotta figure out what goes in each drawer, but I know it’s for sure going to be a home for interfacing and bulkier sewing supplies. I think the big divided drawer is going to be perfect for yarn and knitting WIPs too.

I’m excited to find some art n’ things to style the top of it. The extra surface has already proven super handy and adding a light to this dark corner has lengthened my nighttime making sessions.

January 4, 2025January 7, 2025

Made a really good sweater.

Another Piece of Furniture for Making Supplies | Part 1

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I absolutely love Dental Cabinet and it fits a ton of supplies. But its drawers are full and I have some more stuff that needs a home.

Enter the Gentleman’s Chest, a mid-century piece I first saw on marketplace, but sold before I could arrange a pickup time. The size and configuration of drawers feels perfect for all the stuff I have just kinda piled up in this corner currently.

Somehow another listing for the exact same piece popped up and since it was being held at a consignment shop, I was able to snag it. It’s solid wood, so I am confident it will be a much faster restoration than dental cabinet was. I won’t have to agonize over choosing a paint color since I’m not painting this wood, even if it is dinged up.

I plan to refinish it over the holiday break and I’m posting about it now for accountability!

December 11, 2024

Little Makes

A LOT of Knit WIPs

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After finishing my Seasons Cardigan, I immediately started this Clay Sweater. It’s a pattern I knew I wanted to knit the minute the pattern was released. I even bought the same colorway of yarn as the photo sample because it’s so perfect.

It almost flew off my needles, but then the weather started to warm up and an upcoming international trip convinced me I needed to start a more portable summer project.

So I set aside my sleeveless Clay, picked up some cotton yarn, and stared knitting a tank top. This design is simple, but the instructions were hard to interpret sometimes and I made mistakes that required ripping back a lot. After knitting the front, I started to suspect the fit would also be weird. But I persisted because I didn’t have a way to try it one while traveling and I couldn’t not knit on the plane.

When I got home and tried it on… it offered up so much side boob. I was frustrated and for some reason, my solution was… to make a second one? I actually bought enough of the same yarn in a different color to make it again! I felt I needed to have the original to reference, I guess? On this version I started the armhole shaping immediately after completing the neckline shaping and I’m much happier with it. However, it is currently waiting to be bound off, summer being very much over.

And even though I clearly have THREE other knit wips, I started a new one. While I was recovering from major surgery, I wanted to start a fresh, new project that had no baggage!

The theme this year is definitely texture, and these subtle cables on the Seaway fit right in. This yarn is so nice. It’s the Purl Soho Linen Quill Worsted in the “Baked Earth” color. It’s unfortunately discontinued.

I’m trying to loosen my death grip on this project and am getting some striping in the parts that were knit flat. I’m trying to be okay with it.

Anyway, I’m hoping to at least finish the Seaway and the gray Ingrid before the year ends. Or maybe I’ll start another project 🙂

New book by Anna Husemann (gifted). Excited to learn intarsia!

June 9, 2024December 29, 2024

Dental Cabinet | more adventures in furniture restoration

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I bought this old, heavy, and apparently very dirty dental cabinet two years ago with the intention of cleaning it up and storing sewing supplies in it. I knew at the time that it was going to be a big job, but damn, I really underestimated it.

In addition to 75+ years of muck, and a little bit of mildew, there were a few forgotten treasures inside. The diagram of “The Teeth of a Seven Year Old Child” was my favorite find.

I cleaned the whole thing and stripped the drawer fronts of paint, but then simply couldn’t pick a color. Then winter hit and I didn’t have to choose a paint color… and then it was two years later…

Well I think working through my sewing WIPs made me want to wrap up this furniture WIP. So I went back to the paint store and picked up even more color chips.

It came down to these two colors and since I already have a lot of green in my space, I went for clay. The basement lighting made it look like a Halloween cabinet and I did briefly question everything. But once the back was dry, I brought it upstairs and in natural light, it looked just as I’d imagined.

In the stripping process, I accidentally removed spots of the enamel on the insides of the drawers, which added MORE things I needed to paint. But ultimately the insides needed to be repainted because they were truly gross, even without my paint stripping damage.

I used spray enamel for just the drawer interiors and left the original paint on the outside because of the locking mechanisms. There’s also writing on the bottoms of the drawers. This cabinet appears to have been built by a couple of people (they all initialed a little sticker) and the process included numbering the cabinet itself and each of its parts. So each drawer and each drawer pull has a hand written number, which is pretty cool, and I didn’t want to cover that up.

The cabinet probably weighs around 200 lbs and needed to be maneuvered up two flights of stairs. It was awkward and a little scary but we did it! Due to space restrictions, I had to work on the drawers in two batches. Getting the first batch done and in the cabinet was really exciting.

My paint job isn’t perfect, but I wasn’t starting with a perfect surface either. I did my best and think it looks a whole heck of a lot better. I added this photo to show how much time has passed – my hair is quite a bit longer than in the first picture.

This cabinet holds a lot and I’m really enjoying that every drawer has a certain supply in it.

May 27, 2024June 2, 2024

Rearranged, more tables.

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I’m a rearranger. I get a boost of creativity from rearranging a space. You can see several iterations of my space (and past spaces) here.

Everything started with wanting to downsize my cutting table. The big IKEA table was fine but it really dominated the room and wasn’t super sturdy.

These Husky tables had been my sewing tables (they were lined up along the back wall) and I’d taken off the drawers because I kept bashing my knees on them while sewing. I knew with the drawers attached, they’d make a much better (adjustable height) cutting table and would allow me to have all my cutting tools at my fingertips.

I really, really love this new cutting set up. The wall mounted system I’d been using to store all this was starting to annoy me since I’d have to carefully grab each item in order to not make the hooks fly off the pegboard. It was also a dust magnet.

Once my sewing tables transformed into the cutting table, I splurged and bought three more Husky workbenches without drawers and wheels (the wheels made them too tall before).

I knew I wanted to flip the space too so that the table length could increase. I’m able to fit all my personal machines and the machines I use for work all together without having to move stuff around as often. The little swivel corner where I can stitch a seam and then spin to my serger is my favorite part.

I’m planning on replacing these IKEA cabinets too with this old dental cabinet I’ve been trying to restore for a while.

Rearranging kinda helped me de-prioritize my work-from-home set up too. My computer desk had always been in a major corner of the room and now it’s in between the two sides, which has made it take up less mental space. It’s across from the built in fabric storage pictured on the right.

Moving my computer table freed up this corner for art! I lost my practice during the past 5+ chaotic years and I’m desperate to find it again. It’s not routine yet, but at least I’ve started.

And finally, after working in this space for several years, I realized it was missing something crucial to any creative practice – a comfy spot. It’s not complete yet (this is an air mattress) and the coffee table is much too large, but it does the job. My husband is building me a custom daybed and I’m going to learn some upholstery skills too. This spot will double as a guest space, but will mostly be my Knitting (and seam ripping) Nook.