AlissaMakes

She Knits, She Sews, She Gardens, She Grows

  • Personal Weblog: Stardate 02-18-2026

    I meant to post this on Sunday. Whoops! Here’s what I did on Valentine’s Day:

    I dropped off my Trans Mural knitted square at Dye Mad, and some donations to Craft Raccoon. Then I went to our weaving guild meeting, where I learned about June Cashmere.

    We had a Mardi Gras themed Valentine’s Day meal. I baked gluten free King Cake. Bob made a gluten free vegetarian blackened Cajun fake chicken pasta. Everything was delicious!

    We watched Honeybunch. We really liked it. Then we tried to stay up to watch Dracula (1931) on Svengoolie. I don’t know why we have to fall asleep before 8pm every night. Is that because we’re old? (It might be because we get up at 4:30am.)

    On Monday we went to see Good Luck. Have Fun. Don’t Die in the theater. We enjoyed that as well.

    I am still working on Bob’s second sock. I am flying to Oklahoma City today. I plan to finish the sock on this trip. It’s all the knitting I brought. It’s a modest goal.

    I finished The Winter Witch on the first flight. I enjoyed this book. It was an easy read: character driven, lots of dialogue. My eyes teared up at the end. Not horror, except for the witch hunting. Not spicy, either. Highly recommend.

    I will trade this book for Queen of All Mayhem: The Blood-Soaked Life and Mysterious Death of Belle Starr, the Most Dangerous Woman in the West. I gave it to my sister for Christmas. She finished reading it and loved it! And while I am in Oklahoma, we are planning to see The Cowboy: An Immersive Journey.

    Farewell for now from St. Louis.

  • Monday Media

    I finished reading Died in the Wool. I enjoyed it more than the Agatha Christie books I tried to read. Still, I had to force myself to continue because I didn’t care who did it or why. I did perk up anytime wool or sheep were mentioned.

    I started reading Winter Witch. This is about the Filles de Roi. A mashup of historical fiction and horror? Sign me up! I wouldn’t call it horror, not yet anyway. (Unless you count life in general back then which was short and brutal.) But I look forward to reading it each night.

    This weekend we watched Sister Midnight. If you have been reading my blogs for any length of time, you will know I love vampires. All but the sparkly kind, anyway. But who doesn’t love watching sparkly vampires play baseball to a kick-ass song? No complaints here.

    Anyway, I highly recommend Sister Midnight. Not the typical vampire movie. Bob and I have decided to have a double feature of Sister Midnight and A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night.

    Fat Tuesday is next week! I’m going to try to make a gluten-free King Cake this year. I miss King Cake.

    Edited to add: We recently rewatched Sinners. We saw it on the big screen the first time. Another new favorite.

  • The Year of Projects Shuffle

    First of all, I have completely fallen off the wagon on the 100 daily stitch book challenge. I can’t be faffed.

    Do you know what I like to do? Make garments. I like to knit and sew garments. I have decided to embrace this about myself.

    Is it an art block? I don’t know, and I’m not sure it matters. This is a hobby, so I do what I want.

    I will spin and weave when I get a chance. And, I’d like to finish my rug hooking project.

    This week I recovered from Covid and knit my square for the Dye Mad Yarns Trans-Mural Project.

    I planned my spring sewing and posted about that here.

    I took a cold, hard look at my knitting projects and went through my stash. I shuffled some things around.

    Instead of a Vintersol, this yarn from Wing and a Prayer Farm will be a Log Lady cardigan. Marilee and I will be having a KAL. I might also rewatch Twin Peaks, again.

    I will still knit Vintersol. I have wanted to make it for a long time. I have two colors of Schiehallion yarn, and need a third color. I’m pondering on that.

    I pulled this from my stash in order to join the Half Moon Tee KAL.

    I love it when plans fall apart and come back together!

  • 👉SEWING👈

    I finished my circle skirt. I’m pretty happy with it. I lined it.

    I’m also planning my spring sews. I created a little worksheet to help me plan.

    The off white Mercer Jumpsuit is for beekeeping. We won’t be getting bees this year, but will be working at Bee Yard with our local organization to learn so we can get bees next year.

    Do you follow james.makes.things on Instagram? I enjoy their posts, because 👉sewing👈.

  • Personal Weblog 01-27-2026

    I am loving the popularity of the knit protest caps, like the Melt the Ice pattern. I see a few other designers have jumped on the bandwagon.

    I would be knitting one, but I already knit mine in 2001 using the pattern from Nordic Knitting. I made it to commemorate my eldest’s propensity to protest the powers that be (me). It has been a favorite hat for decades. I wore it in 2016, and now I’m wearing it again.

    The funny thing is I didn’t knit the decreases correctly. It should have a plain stitch between the crown decreases. I was a newish knitter, though, and misread the pattern.

    It seems the custom of wearing a red liberty hat goes back to ancient Rome, according to this podcast. She doesn’t mention the red cap of the American Revolution, though I saw one at the museum of Fort Laurens around the same time I knit mine. (I have a photo on a disc somewhere. That’s how old I am.)

    Speaking of knitting and resistance, I can’t wait to dive into this new historical fiction book. I have other books to get through first, though.

    We are under a Level 3 Snow Emergency in Ohio, for the first time ever. Schools are closed. Businesses are closed. My life is relatively unaffected so far. I work from home and still have to work. I want a snow day, too! I have to laugh, but no complaints. I might feel differently if we run out of toilet paper and eggs. Or if we lose power. I will have to put on my snow shoes and shearling coat and go on a supplies run. I will wear my red cap.

  • January YOP

    Knitting

    I finished my She Makes Waves sweater, which I posted about on Friday. Marilee has now posted hers finished, and included more silly images I made. (I wasn’t sure it was ok to share them publicly.)

    I am now working on my Abilene pullover, and a pair of socks for Bob. They are both in a similar green.

    Sewing

    I am making a wool circle skirt with some dead stock wool jacketing fabric. I got it at remnant price, and had just enough to make the skirt (but not enough to match checks.) I cut the back on the fold instead of seaming it so at least the front and back are fluid. I will insert a seamless zipper in the back. It’s lined, and I added pockets.

    100 Day Stitch Book

    I have finished two pages. I haven’t done much embroidery recently, and my stitches are rudimentary. Others are using appliqué and I might try that on my next square.

    Reading

    I finished Museum of Lost Quilts by Jennifer Chiaverini for the Emporium of Forgotten Threads read along. I enjoyed the history mostly.

    I am now reading Died in the Wool by Ngaio Marsh for our guild read along. This book was written in 1945 and I am enjoying the vocabulary.

    This is a Year of Projects (YOP) Update. The group is in its 15th year, and is a Ravelry based group. You can learn more here.

  • Friday Finish

    I finished knitting my She Makes Waves sweater!

    This isn’t AI, it’s Canva. Or maybe it’s Canva AI. 🤷🏼‍♀️

    Marilee of Quite a Yarn Blog fame and I started a knitalong of this sweater last summer. Then we started another knitalong, and had to put this one aside. 😂 But we have recently both finished knitting it! You can see her finished sweater here.

    Pattern is She Makes Waves by Natascha Tulloch. Yarn is Cascade Anchor Bay. It’s 50/50 cotton and wool, and super soft and cozy. Like a favorite sweatshirt. I will get a lot of wear out of it this spring.

  • Scraphappy January: 100 Day Stitch Book

    I read about Ann Wood’s 100 Day Stitch Book Challenge on One Small Stitch today. I decided it is what I need to start my stitch journal.

    I gathered my eco printed scraps, as well as color coordinated natural fiber fabric remnants. I don’t know what I’m doing, but this is step one. The stitching starts tomorrow, so I’d better get organized!

    ScrapHappy is a great group of bloggers creating with scraps. I am inspired every month when I read their posts! Anything made of genuine scraps is eligible to write about. If you would like to join in on the 15th of the month, email Kate at the address on her Contact Me page.

    Here are the links for everyone who joins ScrapHappy on occasion.

    Kate, Eva, Sue,Lynda,
    Birthe,Turid,Tracy,Jan, 
    Moira,Sandra, Chris, Alys,
    Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
    Sunny,Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera,
    Ann,Dawn 2,Carol,Preeti,
    NĂłilin, Viv, Karrin,  Alissa,
    Tierney, Hannah and Maggie

  • Personal Weblog: 01-01-2026

    Happy New Year!

    We spent New Year’s Eve watching Four Rooms. I made mediocre cheese fondue. We ate the last mince pie. Fell asleep in bed watching Freaks of Nature, which we were enjoying. Woke briefly to hear the neighbors firing their guns at midnight.

    This morning I am reading lovely, contemplative new years posts. I want to post something lovely and contemplative, too. I have decided to occasionally post a personal log. I am going to need a new lovely and contemplative title, though.

    I am reading many had a rough 2025. My 2025 was pretty good, minus the dark cloud of authoritarianism hanging over everything. Work was steady. Health was stable. I went to the Fiber Witch Festival with friends. I went to FrankenCon with two kids. We built a greenhouse! I went to Oklahoma to visit my mom and sister. I went to Scotland with Bob.

    I went back to therapy. I went back to the gym. I healed my gut with diet, which I have to keep up.

    I ended up back on Instagram. I left Blue Sky and joined Threads. I started and closed a business, and renamed my blog a couple of times. The usual.

    I will be 59 this year. I am slowing down. I have to. My body will not tolerate much stress. Travel is stressful. I don’t have too many travel plans this year: go to Oklahoma, and maybe Cape Breton, to see family.

    Most of my goals this year are financial: pay off debt, save, invest. Make a will.

    I feel compelled to live quietly. I like routine more and more. I am aware I need to put good rituals in place and establish a rhythm to my life.

    I had a wonderful dream. A white-haired older woman visited me. She told me to follow. I followed her through our snowy woods to her cabin. She handed me a lantern. I weirdly began to turn it over in my hands. Afraid I would cause a catastrophe, I apologized. She said, no. This is your light. It will take whatever form you like. It became a ball of light. She said to nurture it. I put it inside my chest.

    What should my word be for 2026? I am liking ember right now.

    Black eyed peas, greens, and cornbread for dinner today. What are you eating for good fortune in 2026?

  • 2026 Year of Project Goals: Crack that WIP!

    In 2026, Marilee and I are having a Crack that WIP! knitalong. We both feel we have too many projects in the works, and want to clear the board. Below are my current WIPs I plan to finish.

    If I finish these, I will exceed my annual knitting yardage goal, which I have decided will be a nice and round 10,000 per year.

    For sewing, I would like to continue to make garments I enjoy wearing. I have done well with summer clothing, so I am focusing on a few winter things right now, mostly in wool. I think I may also make a teal corduroy jumpsuit.

    I have a set of tea towels to weave this year, this time using a pattern and kit with an inlay technique to learn.

    I would also like to learn to weave on an inkle loom. Our weaving guild has a small inkle loom, so I am hoping to borrow it to weave a belt. I make so many loose flowy dresses, I think sometimes it would be nice to have a way to belt them. If I can’t borrow the inkle loom, I may make a cord on my lucet.

    I also want to start a slow stitch art journal. I am mulling over the possibilities, and am watching videos by k3n clothtales on youtube. I want to use found objects, sort of like junk journaling. Anyway, I’m not sure what this looks like. I don’t have a lot of mixed media supplies, and I don’t want to buy things I’m not sure I will use. I guess we will see where this leads.

    This is a Year of Projects (YOP) Update. The group is in its 15th year, and is a Ravelry based group. You can learn more here.