So I Had Another Button...

As you know, I love, love vintage buttons. I have a whole drawer full and am always on the lookout to add to my collection. When I made the last little vest with the purple buttons, this little button was runner-up. And I had some of the purple silk left so I decided to make another vest. Its all because of this cute little button.  I'm guessing it is from the 70's. It was in a bag of buttons purchased at an auction. The center of the button matches the purple silk very well. So I added the silk to some brown alpaca roving I had from Emmee's  fleece from last year. I started knitting the vest on our Seattle vacation. I ran out of yarn before we got into the state of Washington!

But luckily I am a spinner. Being a spinner, I got out my wheel and spun more yarn so I could finish my project. All you die-hard knitters out there! This is the best reason to take up spinning.  Since I didn't use a pattern (again) and was making it up as I went along, if you look closely at the two vests together, they do not exactly match. But that makes each of them individual and one of a kind. Right? (she asks tentatively) This one is a few sizes larger than the other one, too. I truly do respect knitters that publish patterns for us to use. All the hours they must put in to make a pattern work. I bow to you.

I enjoyed spinning the yarn and knitting this little vest. It gives me alot of satisfaction to take the wool from my herd and turn it into a finished product. Each step. From shearing Emmee, to skirting the fleece, washing the fleece in my workshop, taking the washed fleece to Bonnie's house (ABC Ranch Naturals) to have it picked and carded into roving, spinning the roving into yarn and then toting the yarn and knitting needles around (sometimes across the country!) until it is finished in its final form. It is difficult to calculate how many woman hours are involved in the making of this vest.

In the end, it is definitely worth it to me. I have my current, finished projects laid out in my workshop so I can look at them. They need to 'age' properly before I can dispurse them. Ok! Truth be told: I like to look at them! Sometimes even I wonder where I got that color scheme from. Its fun having your things about. It pumps up my creativity even more and I continue to work. And at the end of the day or even the end of the week, I like the satisfying feeling of accomplishment it brings. Everyone needs 'atta girls' now and then. Even if you give them to yourself.Talk to you soon,  Tammy