Neither Hip Nor Funky

So I didn’t mean to fool you with that last post.

I was all “Poor me, poor me with no photos of my sweater.” Then P-funk walked through the door right after I hit post and agreed to take some photos.

So pictures first. Scroll down for knitting details at the end.

Pattern: Tweedy Aran Cardigan by Norah Gaughan (queue it)
Yarn: Classic Elite Skye Tweed in Marmalade (The Skye Tweed really softens remarkably after a good soak. It is rather stiff when knitting. However, I can wear it next to the skin, over a tank top in these shots with no problem, and I am pretty sensitive to the itch factor in wool.)
Needles: US6 and US4

Mods:

• Made bottom section of fancy rib 1 inch longer
• Made collar width 1 inch shorter
• Made front a size in between the small and medium by adding a couple more twisted ribs
• Knit fronts at the same time. This ended up with me making my buttonholes unevenly spaced, but not too much so.

Extra Design Feature:

Underarm wedge insert in twisted rib. I decided stockinette would be too much “Hey! I messed up an inserted a panel!” and the fancy rib wasn’t going to look right with the increases already in the sleeve. (Thanks Melissa, for suggesting an insert; it saved me much stress.) I have a feeling I may need to do this again in the future, as I often need to add some room in my upper arm. Interesting note: the set in sleeves lined up perfectly to sew in after adding the insert. I’m not sure they would have in correctly without them.

Pattern Knitpicky Randomness:

• Check the stitch count for your size to make sure you can fit in the different sections of fancy rib, twisted rib, and different cables with a purl row in between the sections. In some sizes, the pattern doesn’t seem to leave room for a purl row before Cable A.
• Some of the measurements in the body schematic seem to either be off or rounded down. For example, for the smallest size, it shows the waist as 17″ and the hips as 16 3/4″. I would recommend calculating it out for your size based on the gauge to see what the sweater will actually be.

If you made it this far, I will leave you with a present:

A shot of my armpit. I was trying to show my insert panel, but it was in shadow.

Just checking in….

I keep waiting until I can take good pictures of my finished Tweedy Aran to write a post. However, sunlight/weather (come on Oregon, when do I get some spring?) and the photographer have not been available at the same time.

Here’s a glimpse of some surgery I did on Sunday.

Click on me for more info on the craziness that is going on.

The sleeves were too small for me. If I had paid attention to the schematic, I would have know this, as the sleeves were 12″ around at the upper arm which is exactly my upper arm measurement. I would really prefer a bit of positive ease in my cardigan sleeves.

So I added a panel. The first one was a big oops, as I didn’t take the ratio of the sleeve increases into account, ending up a with a roomy, pseudo bell shaped sleeve. So I made a little wedge insert–just right.

Here’s a little preview pic that I took before weaving in the ends and sewing on the buttons. I plan to get some real pics on Friday afternoon or Sat morning, weather permitting.

So, it’s been a little while. I have some FO’s to share. I think I will just line them up here for you, as the unseasonably wet, cold, dreary weather saps some of that creativity. It works wonders for your desire to knit up some wooly goodness, however. I just need to attach some buttons and the sleeves (with extra panels for my peasant girl buff upper arms) to my Tweedy Aran for it to make it’s debut.

In the meantime, Cowls!

Simple Cowl with revers stockinette edges made with my handspun (Sakina Needles BFL in Woodstock)

Cowl II, Son of Cowl. Made with my handspun, superwash merino from Happiest Girl Dyeworks.

Both are thick and thin, bulky, 2-ply yarns.

And I made a pair of socks:

Well, kind of. These were the samples that I knit as I was teaching sock classes. However, I knit the whole second one uncomfortably too small. I got a bit too sure of myself and cast on too few stitches. So I don’t really have a pair, until I knit a second one that fits.

Gather ’round let me tell you a story, a story about yarn. Wait, while I have your attention…..It is Ravelraiser time. Have you donated to ravelry? Donate now and you may win lots of goodies. Go ahead, right here. I’ll wait.

Okay, I have been meaning to write this post for about a week, and I have been uninspired about the writing of this truly inspiring occurrence. So I’m going to go mainly with a picture story.

I went on the employee field trip to Imperial Stock Ranch with Abundant Yarn last weekend. They produce a great wooly yarn that Abundant has recently started carrying. The owners of Imperial Stock Ranch are truly passionate about their land and their animals. Sustainability is what they have been practicing for decades because they believe in it and believe it is the best for their animals. Their yarn is still fairly young, as all their wool used to go to the Pendleton Mills to make blankets etc before the mill moved and stopped using yarn from local suppliers in 1999. The yarn and their clothing line started from Jeanne’s passion about keeping her sheep on the land because she feels that is where they belong. Even telling us the story she teared up when talking about how it looked like they might not be able to keep the sheep. There was a learning curve as they started new ventures, but at this point they have a nice classic product with a mature and natural color sense.

I learned so much about the farm and the process of shearing and the steps that go into the yarn. Too much to do justice to here, but I will try to show the basics in pictures.

The ewes are separated from the lambs awaiting shearing. A few little ones snuck back through the fences to get back by their mums.

Shearing. There were a couple apprentices with the main shearer. The fleece should all come off in one piece.

The fleece is fluffed out and large matter falls out or is picked out quickly.

The fleece is then put in bags. It is stomped, like stomping grapes, to fill the bags that are about 7-8 feet tall. I got to stomp some fleece at the beginning of one bag, so I was hanging in that bag you see and the top was about 2 feet over my head.

3 Bags Full. The owners drive a truckload of fleece up to a mill in Alberta, about a 12h drive, once a year. They drop off the new fleece and pick up yarn and roving made from their last batch of fleeces. (They originally tried a more local mill, but the place was inexperienced and could not put up consistent skeins of yarn.)

Naked Sheep reunited with the little ones

The small yarn shop on the farm in the old servant’s quarters. The have a two ply and a light Lopi style, as well as pencil rovings. A list of where the yarn is available is on their site; also available at Abundant.

I had a wonderful time, and I’m grateful for the experience and the hospitality and passion of the owners. More pictures are on my flickr page.

You would have thought that orange knits would have been flying off the needles here at Chez Orange Obsessed during the fire months. Instead there was orange staying on the needles, while a little pink, some green, and some gray were flying off. Yet, I did get one orange spark before April drew nigh.

However, there is some more orange that I plan to finish up before I get too Earthy. As opposed to Glee, I have a sweater on the needles that I dream about and miss when I am away from it: My Tweedy Aran

The color varies from orange to pinky-orange depending on the light, however it is not normally quite as pink as this picture suggests.

The back is finished, and I am to the armholes on the front.

Then I will be moving into some greens. For someone who wears a lot of brown, there is a dearth of it in my stash.