A Little Fibery Goodness

And I'm not talking about fiber for Maisie. I have to clarify that because that's usually what I've had to talk about lately.  It's been an ongoing topic of conversation these days and let me tell you...I'm tired of talking about poop, cleaning up poop, praying for better poop...  Poor Maisie.  

The Always Amazing Aaron came to visit over the weekend.  I welcomed his visit because I knew he wouldn't come empty handed and he didn't disappoint.

Guess who this is?  The brown handspun.  And yes, Aaron's wrong side knitting is just as nice as his right side.  

It's Marcel!  From his lamb shearing.  I have a very special story to share about Marcel, but I'm not ready.  I still think I see him sometimes and it catches my breath and I have to look twice.  I love all my sheep.  I really do.  Even stupid ole Beanie Baby.  Some of them though...  Okay, moving on!

Aaron's spinning that perfect (as always) yarn to accent a blue sweater.  Lovely.  I am planning a Marcel sweater myself.  The Market Jacket from November Knits.  I'm going to blend Marcel's two year old shearing with some of Woolliam's Cotswoldy curls and I can't wait to get started. 

This is one of B. Willard's Border Leicester lamb cousins.  The gray fleece had some subtle color changes so Aaron separated it out and I think it's gorgeous.

And his WeSoInNo (Weave Something In November) project.  Yardage for a woven bag.  All handspun, warp and weft, and woven on one of his handmade looms.

And last, but not least, some Kool Aid dyed handspun. 

We'd had a couple warm winter days and the bees were having a honey party on the porch while we were taking pictures.  I love to drizzle honey on the railing and watch them come in and gobble it up.  It's enjoyable for me and helpful to them - gives them a winter boost.  I'm sure it was quite a sight with silly Maisie bebopping around, bees buzzing all over, knitting and fleeces strewn around the porch and me snapping pictures.  At this point I'm afraid I'm probably become more just theplaincrazylady. 

Maisie's fully transitioned over to the goat milk.  I thought we were golden last night.  She was happy and seemed to be feeling good, racing all over and pooping (see, there I go again) normal for the first time in many days.  This morning she tanked again.  We're hoping it's just her body trying to regulate itself and are trying to be patient.  She's hanging in there...with Betsy at her side.  Keep the prayers and good thoughts coming please.

Weaving...

No, not on the loom yet (I've got to get this sweater finished first), but a million ends on the Jester sweater.  I now think there's a way to do this as you go, but I didn't know that at the time.  Always a day late... 

I used the "percentage pattern" from one of Elizabeth Zimmerman's books and made up the color design as I went along.  In hindsight, probably not the best way to attempt your first Fair Isle sweater.  So much maths.  So much maths (slowly shaking head). 

You pick something you like, but then have to make sure that pattern's stitch count fits the number of stitches you have and/or the amount of inches tall you are wanting to fill.  Between decreases of course.  Gotta throw in some decreases on top of everything.  Add in aesthetics and just because it fits the counts/inches doesn't mean it looks good.  I've probably knit this whole sweater three times.  At least parts of it.

I did try to add a Jacob element.  The top half of one of the standard patterns looked to me like big, sweeping sheep horns, like Jester's.  I thought "Why not?" and modified it and added it in.  In retrospect I should have changed the two dark "ends" closest to the "head" to white, but it's not terrible.

What I'm worried about is the buckling around the lowest patterning.  I possibly probably went overboard on "Make sure to keep your floats (the back side of the patterning - see top pictures) loose" so they don't draw in and pucker.  Elizabeth Zimmerman warns that it's impossible to fix that after it's done and that it's nearly impossible to knit them too loose.  I'm afraid I've pushed that envelope :-/. 

To top it off, there's a decrease just after that section, really emphasizing how sloppy I knit it.   She also mentions to not panic about those decreasing puckers.  That they'll block out just fine.  I've really had to  trust that and "Knit on with confidence..." but will be holding my breath as I block it tomorrow.

Yes, I am almost done and hoping to finish and block it tomorrow.  I have the underarms to weave together and all the ends to weave in, but that's just tedious, no maths ;-).  I'm also a little concerned about how the neck looks, but am going to give that the ole "by light of day" waiver tonight.

Because of how old this beloved sheep is and the horrible "lesson" of Handy's passing, I'm working as hard as I can to finish this sweater before the unthinkable happens.  Sorry, it's been a long summer and fall :-/.  I'd much rather be motivated by fun prizes at the end of a month long weaving challenge :-).

So, how's everyone doing?  Weaving on with confidence?

Almost A Day Late...As Usual

If you aren't participating in NaNoWriMo (some day!) and are looking for a November Challenge, how about weaving?  Fall is finally here.  Hard summer work has slacked off.  Christmas Panic has not set in...yet (aka denial).  Several friends and I have been talking about a weaving challenge or exchange...for longer than any of really want to admit.  Let's just do it!  We can be WeSoInNo ;-).

Or we can just try to weave something in November.  

Here's the deal.  Much like the Knitting Olympics or the Tour de Fleece, pick a good personal challenge for yourself.  This can be anything - rag rugs, dish towels, shawls, scarves, throws, blankets...  It could be just learning how to warp the loom that's been sitting in your spare bedroom for the last few years.  Don't have a loom but would like to join in?  How about making a cardboard tapestry loom?  They're great fun!  So are potholder looms.

For the month of November (minus today obviously...sigh), work on your weaving challenge.  You can join the Punkin's Patch Ravelry group and let us know what you've picked as your challenge and how you are progressing or if you have questions/need help/can help...  Or, you can just leave a comment here or send me an email.  If you join in for the challenge and complete your goal, we'll have some prizes at the end :-). Simple as that.  Just weave something in November.

20's ready!

My challenge is completing two projects.  While that doesn't seem like much of a challenge, when you consider how many times I've actually been the one using my loom this past year...two projects is huge (hanging head in shame).  My first project is Jenny's "Grandma".  I spun the yarn for the Tour de Fleece last year (see a pattern?)

I have some locks set aside (for a special touch...I hope).

And picked my pattern - that would have been, yeah, um, last year as well. 

My second project?  To be determined, but I'm leaning towards something wearable.  And finished in November....just in time to start freaking out about Christmas.  A day/month/year too late ;-).

Ready to weave something in November?