Making lately
These days, I find delight in waking up when the morning still smells of the night. You know the hour, mostly silent but for the birds calling in the new day, and mostly dark but for the pink-tinted sky announcing the warm sunshine ahead.
On those mornings I’m lucky to wake up before my rooster crows, I make it a point to do so slowly and deliberately. I put the kettle on for tea or coffee, and jot some lines down on my journal. I savor a few pages from the book I’m currently immersed in. I may turn on the radio, quietly so as not to wake anyone up. Being offline is a requirement.
It seems like today is the last day of scorching hot weather. We will now leave behind the days of 40ºC+ (104ºF+) and there is even a slight possibility of light showers next week, something we haven’t felt since the beginning of summer. I’m feeling quite excited about the shift in weather and I’m sure that if my unshorn sheep and my feathery chickens could take a peek at the weather forecast, they’d be on pins and needles too.
But today’s post isn’t a reflection on the weather, it is a little collection of projects that have been keeping my hands busy. Busy despite the heat, busy because of the heat, as making helps me cope. And I’m sure many of you feel the same way!
Summer was off to a good start with this pair of socks, which I know aren’t exactly what comes to one’s mind when they think of summer’s projects… But I had unraveled a jumper I knitted last year, and seeing the beautiful hand-dyed wool gather dust was breaking my heart. So, in a way, summer started with a new cycle. Same wool, first a jumper, then some socks. Renewal!
This sock’s pattern is the Polka Dot Party Socks.
I then broke the fiber vibe with this chamomile cream, a recipe I followed from my beloved copy of Herbal Academy’s Botanical Skin Care Recipe Book. I’ve been using it on my face every night, and on mosquito bites as well (a pleasant suprise! Chamomile works like a charm in calming down the itch and irritation, so I know I’ll be making a batch of this every summer from now on…)
Still on skincare, I replenished my stock of lotion bars for us + friends when I made these flower-infused lotion bars using calendula and rose — a lovely recipe I wrote for Taproot Magazine!
Pickles, of course. Another highlight of every summer! This year I made a few different vegetables and added a fun herbal twist to each of them. This is another article I wrote for Taproot Magazine (talk about dreams coming true!)
Jumping back to fibers! I dusted off my sewing machine and made myself the dress I had been looking for all over Vinted. It came out just lovely! For this dress, I followed this really easy, sew-along type of tutorial from YouTube (yes, I feel very modern!)
Inspired by my recent sewing success, I made myself a pair of simple linen shorts and then dyed them green. My mom will probably call me once she receives this post in her inbox, telling me she can’t believe I was 30 years old when I finally made myself a pair of shorts. I know, mom, I know…
I traced them from a pair of shorts with a cut I quite like, and then followed the instructions in this video.
I have a couple of other projects on my knitting needles at the moment, as well as a basket full of white fluffy wool I’ve washed and is ready to be spun… But more on that later!
Soon we’ll head off North to camp in the mountains, among forests and lakes and waterfalls, and I’m starting to plan the projects I’ll take to keep me company in the cool evenings. It’s a funny thing, taking craft projects with us when we go to places. When I look back at certain trips, I can always remember them best when there was a project associated. There is a hairband I knitted while in the mountains three or four years ago, and one look at it brings back a flood of images and feelings. A jumper I knitted my partner, the day we spent by the seaside. My pink shawl, a hot summer spent by a pool. A marled cardigan for my little one, some days curled on the sofa back at my mom’s house. Although from the outside it may seem that working on projects while in places / with others may seem distractive, deep down I think that these projects are one of the very things keeping us grounded, present, and attentive. Do you feel the same way?
What are you making this summer? What are some of your recently finished projects that bring a smile to your face? I’m always looking for the next creative project to keep my hands busy, so please share away patterns and projects, or drop them in the comments for others to feel inspired! ✨
Hope you’re having a wonderful summer! See you once I’m back — river-bathed, waterfall-showered, and undoubtedly knee-scraped 🌲
