As I wrote about in an earlier post, I chose to put some of my fiber arts purchases this season under my tree and open them on Christmas. As it turned out, the holiday scramble was more busy than ever and I was exhausted on Xmas Eve (after 2 services – one where I served as the organist, and one where I went to hear my grandson’s quartet accompany the music in the service), and Xmas Day was very busy as well. It was Boxing Day before I got a chance to open my gifts and look through what I had bestowed upon myself in fiber this season.

I started with the I-Cord tool that I had purchased from Twice Sheared Sheep (I like their philosophy on knitting – be sure to check them out), and have to admit, it took me a couple turns to get it moving in the right direction. For assistance, I turned to YouTube, and found Laura Nelkin’s channel, and her most helpful tutorial. After watching through once, and going back once or twice to some key areas, I was off and running.

My first creation with my new tool is featured at the top of this blog post, and probably wasn’t the best yarn to start with due to the “extra” fibers, but I figured it out, and found success after only a couple fits and starts.

The tool itself appealed to me as a self-present because it is made well, and with attention to the user experience (UX). It comes in a small, velvet-like flocked pouch with a drawstring which will be a wonderful place to keep it when not in use. That also adds nicely to the presentation when you first open the package. The tool itself looks and feels like a quality piece, with a wooden handle that is balanced and smooth, with a slight indentation for the thumb when using it.

As someone who spent her early years running the grounds of juried art and craft shows, I know quality from careless mass production and this piece is quality, through and through.

Some may wonder why I “needed” a tool to do something that can be done with double-pointed (dpn) knitting needles. I didn’t need it to make I-Cord but I do like learning new ways to do things. In addition, once we master the I-Cord tool technique, it’s much faster from yarn strand to I-Cord than the traditional way.

I also have a history with the Bond “Sweater Machine” craze back in the late 80’s and early 90’s so I know what those hooks can do and how they function in creating a piece of knitting, so I was curious about that aspect of the tool as well.

NOTE: somewhere in my storage areas I have a double length Bond knitting machine bed with extra lengths and extra individual hooks. Someday I may attempt to make my own tool, but not this year!

I am envisioning making fiber jewelry (move over Prada) – not to sell, just for myself or perhaps a gift or two – and embellishments to other crocheted and knitted pieces. Who knows what all I will find, and as algorithms go, since I’ve been on so many sites looking for I-Cord, I’ll be getting a LOT of attention in my social media feeds around the topic as well.

This purchase also kicked off the pre-New Year for me, where I plan to intentionally learn new things and expand my skills and knowledge in many areas. As I approach the window for retirement, it’s so important to make this time a PIVOT and not a deceleration. I plan to pivot my energies into more fiber artistic pursuits – formal and informal – and as I allow that general idea to percolate in my brain, a lot of interesting ideas will continue to bubble up.

My other self-gift was a kit from Mary Maxim. Shown in that earlier blog post, the item prominently features CATS. Not only is it another bag for someone that is obsessed with bags, but it will also reinforce my skills in achieving active color changes in a piece that I am working. I have largely avoided these except at the edges of pieces, so one of my new skills this year will be the intentional upskilling of my ability to do colorwork – in crocheting AND knitting. In fact, I have committed to myself to make a knitted hat with a design on it, and upskill my knitting practice to included stranded colorwork.

As the Xmas portion of this holiday season draws to a close, I find solace in quiet evenings on the couch, Xmas music in the background, tree on and looking festive, cat at my side, feet up, and yarn work in my hands. Too soon I will reenter the work week shuffle, along with the stress and time commitments it brings. For now, though; I will enjoy the solitude of yarn and downtime. It creates a healing space and offers a terrific way to close out the Xmas holiday.

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