October was a loss. Between an unprecedented number of work meetings—to the tune of nearly 40 hours—and overtime dedicated to making up all of the work I couldn’t do while in said meetings, I was too tired to do anything at the end of the day but pour myself onto the couch and soothe my crispy brain with Twitch streams. (GrandPooBear and TheDragonFeeney are personal favorites, if you’re curious.) We didn’t decorate for Halloween, and I didn’t touch my sewing machines.
I did, however, manage to start and finish exactly one knitting project: the shawl-cowl hybrid you see above. I wanted to use up the leftovers from my Everything Gold sweater, and I was already familiar with how this shawl is shaped from working on my Ebbtide, so it made the cut as weekend and occasional evening knitting.
The pattern is Adama from The Yarniad. The yarn is Malabrigo Rios in color Glitter. This is actually the second project made from sweater leftovers; the first was a quick hat I knit up for Justin, which I’ll share tomorrow.
To use up all but a few feet of the yarn, I added another repeat of the lace motif before knitting the edging as written. The details of my modifications can be found in my Ravelry notebook.
I won’t pretend I’m not frustrated and disappointed work robbed me of the energy to even think about a birthday dress, let alone actually sew one. It’s a tradition I started last year and had really hoped to continue. As a small consolation to myself, I chose to make “Adama,” which means “diamond” in Latin, into “Topaz,” my birthstone.
I thought I’d wax poetic about birthstones and other fleeting childhood obsessions like horses and astrology, but I’m finding that although I’d very much like to have something interesting or witty to say, this post, like my birth month of November, has been about easing back in. Easing back into making, into sharing, into the act of engaging with art and life and people. Tomorrow will be another short post, I expect, but then I think I’ll have a proper round-up to finish off the year, and who knows? Maybe I can start again on the slow and deliberate process of cultivating a habit of writing.
Outfit Details
Shirt: SBCC Tonic 2 | Skirt: H&M | Earrings: Charming Charlie | Tights: Old/unknown | Socks: Smartwool | Booties: Crown Vintage Sandy