APT Atelier April Digest
everything is green and I want to be too.
Hello! I’m enjoying longer sunnier days here in Seattle and relishing in the beauty of Spring. I grew up in Texas which has notoriously short and underwhelming spring and fall periods. I was never appreciated Spring fully until I moved to a place where it not only exists, but shines. Spring in Seattle is long and slow and we get to relish in wave upon wave of new plants blossoming to life and daylight stretching later and later into the evening. It is utterly glorious, and I’m glad to have found a place where spring takes its time to gradually fade into summer.
In case you missed the inaugural newsletter, here’s a quick run down of our format:
Admiring - things I’ve been liking or liking the look of - media, music, actual stuff
Pondering - something I’ve been mulling over. A topic I’m chewing on and would love to discuss.
Tackling - the project that is taking up the biggest chunk of my crafty headspace
ADMIRING
First up in this category is media: Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins. I am a certified Hunger Games Girly, have always been, will always be. IMO, the original trilogy is one of the only book-to-movie adaptations that hold up. The newest installment follows series staple Haymitch through his experience in and after the 50th Hunger Games. It has tie-ins to both the previous prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and the original Katniss POV trilogy. It fills in gaps and adds so much more rich context. I’m now in the process of rewatching the movies after reading it and loving them all the more with a new lens to view them through. 10/10 would recommend, 5 stars, no notes.
On a craftier note, I’m having a huge color crush on all things grassy matcha spring green. They feel so fresh and happy! I’m living vicariously through Rebecca from HipKnitHooray who is knitting a gorgeous cabled sweater in this color family, and through my friend Ahna from Brookwillow who knit a simple-but-not-basic sweater with the same vibe last year.
I’m in no place to buy more yarn, but if I were, I would be tempted by these:
If you shop any of the above yarns through The Woolly Thistle, I will receive a small commission as a TWT affiliate: thewoollythistle.com/APTATELIER
Green has always been my favorite color. There is a shade for every mood, situation, and season. green girl 4ever <3.
PONDERING
It’s a weird time in the world right now. Lots of things are happening that feel very outside of my control. It makes me want to shrink into myself and focus on my own small life and responsibilities. But I’m trying to actively push back against the instinct to retreat and use my family and my work as an excuse to disengage. I’ve been thinking a lot about the responsibility I have as a member of a community to continue to show up and advocate for what I believe in. So I’m doing what I can to stay informed and trying to strike the balance of protecting my sanity and not being overwhelmed by hopelessness and despair.
Here are some things I’m doing that are objectively very small, but also manageable and sustainable ways to use my voice and my dollars to advocate for what I do and do not condone:
Being a conscious consumer. Supporting businesses that share my values and avoiding ones that don’t.
Frequenting institutions, like the library, that add value to my community, offer myriad resources, and provide a place of refuge to all.
Reading the news. You can’t be angry about what’s going on if you don’t know what’s going on. You also may not hear about happy things, like new orcas being born.
I know I can do more. Tips or suggestions are welcome. We owe it to each other to carry on with tenacity and courage.
TACKLING
I finished another project with my hand spun yarn! I think this is my fourth completed hand spun piece and maybe my favorite. There is something so deeply satisfying about making clothes with your hands from materials also made with your hands. What a treat.
I made the Stockholm Slipover by PetiteKnit using 8 ounces of gorgeous hand-dyed Falkland wool roving from Little Fiber Co. I’ve never really been a hand-dyed girly, but I was so drawn to Lauren’s booth at Flock Fiber Festival last year, and she has me hooked. I’m already planning to stock up at the festival this year. I want to copy Chelsea’s hand spun Kerr sweater (@truelane, middle of the photo), she really knocked it out of the park with that one.
I love the silhouette of this vest. The fit is perfect for wearing layered, and I’m looking forward to wearing it on it’s own as a tank as the weather warms up. The colors also came through beautifully. I didn’t feel like alternating between my two skeins of yarn, but I did do some intentional color management during the knitting process to make sure the garment ended up cohesive and not too stripey or color-blocky. I wish I was a go with the flow knitter but I simply am not and in this case, it worked out in my favor. I love it and I want 6 more so I can wear one every day of the week.
Alright friends, that’s all from me. Hang in there, make beautiful things, go outside, hug your loved ones. Talk soon, xoxo Anna.
Wow what a gift to get a new one of these! Excited to start SOTR later this week!