Fiber Arts Friday: Save Our Sheep Sweater, part 18

Since last time I have Kitchener'd the armpits closed and sewed on the buttons,... and, on the night before we got our home back after the major remodel, this is Complete!

AND now that it is complete, I think it is important to capture how large an achievement this is:

• This sweater is 100% Hand-spun by me from Rare-Breed, American Wool.  Some of which was grown very close to my home.
• Each of these yarns are their natural color.  Nothing is dyed.
• I began spinning the yarn used in this sweater in April 2019. 
• I started thinking seriously about this sweater in early-January 2022.
• Cast-on in late-February 2022.
• Final Bind-off and Finishing happened in late March 2023.

With four urgent projects (Wavy Scarf, Black Hat, Baker's Hat, Twisted Rib Stocking Cap), a little bit of time-out for one hot summer, finishing out the other WIPs (Summer Cardi, New Normal Socks, Clown Fish Socks, Very Berry Socks, Brown Socks) and Two Tours de Fleece interfering with knitting progress over the last year, I'm very pleased with this sweater.

Especially when considering at early February last year, I was just restarting regular knitting after moving our farm and getting our former home ready for sale...  so I would say that this last year has been quite productive.

So my Save our Sheep Sweater has been 4 years in the making.  :-)

There are several mistakes and I could have made the button holes 2 stitches instead of 3.  The final result is rustic and I love it!  This is my first, fully-hand-spun, sweater and I love it!  I expect it will get lots of wearing for years to come.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Save Our Sheep Sweater, part 17

Well, I thought I might get this project completed under the 1 year of knitting mark, which happened toward the end of February... but I avoided weaving in the ends and re-doing the Button Band Bind-off for two long.

Finally on a few cool days in mid-March, I decided it was time to get them finished.... and both were not terrible.

Weaving in ends is tedious and took a few sessions, as expected.  Redoing the Button Band went much easier than I expected.

I replaced the "standard" bind-off with the Simple Stretchy Bind-off as described in this video.

Pulling out the Bind-off was surprisingly easy...

With the new Button Band Bind-off and much less bunched-up looking...

Remaining now are sewing on buttons and Kitchenering the Armpits closed.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!!

Fiber Arts Friday: Save Our Sheep Sweater, part 16

Since last time when I completed the sleeves, I have embarked upon my very first Button Band.

Picking up the stitches was easier than I expected.

It's a bit bunched up in this photo, but I'm very happy that my existing long circular needle is long enough for this task.

The pattern instruction was to pick up and knit the first row in one step, but I wanted to err on the cautious side and understand why they wanted a multiple of 6 stitches first.

The reason is that this Button Band is ribbed in 4x2 like the sleeves.  I decided to add 4 stitches so that the rib would be the same at the bottom on both sides, and therefore should also match as the sweater is buttoned up.

At this point, I have the Navajo Line completed as well as the next few rows.  I am ready to make the Button Holes, but first I need to confirm the hole size required...

In comparing the button options I selected earlier in this project, I've decided on the bottom one.  It's a slightly oval button made from Olive Wood and stained in a Walnut finish.

Button Hole Help:

I am using Shropshire for the Button Band, and I love working with it.  It has a nice amount of stretch and softness.

Due to the stretch of the Shropshire, I decided that I will make the button hole only 3 (instead of 4) stitches wide...

And the Button Band one or two rows wider to accommodate the oval buttons I selected.

One more row was enough...

I marked the locations for the Button Holes..

Then confirmed the button would fit appropriately in the new holes before knitting the rest of the Band.

With the Shropshire being so stretchy I decided to do a Standard Bind-off, per the pattern instructions.  However, I think a Slightly Stretchier bind-off would have been better.

Now, with my first ever Button Band being complete and the life lines all removed, the remaining tasks are sewing on the buttons, Kitchenering the armpits closed and weaving in the ends.  So close!!

Happy Fiber Arts Friday

Fiber Arts Friday: Save Our Sheep Sweater, part 15

Upon starting the Jacob on the Body of my Save our Sheep Sweater, I decided that the grey Jacob breed band on the sleeves would be shorter and the Black Welsh Mountain breed band would be longer.  This has to do with the placements of the Navajo Lines and the fact that I wanted the sleeves to be about two inches longer.

Then after continuing the sleeves, I decided that I did not want the extra bulk of the Navajo Lines at my wrists.... but I really like the delineation between the field of the sleeve and the cuff.  So I put two lines of Hog Island where the Navajo Lines would have gone...

I finished the first sleeve on Monday, January 2, 2023 and the second on Saturday, January 29th, 2023.

I'm always impressed by the depth of black when I work with the Black Welsh Mountain.... what an incredible and naturally-occurring color.

Remaining now is to make the Button Band (which I've not done before), Kitchener the armpits closed, weave in the ends, and sew on the buttons.  It still sounds like a lot, but I am getting closer to the end.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Save Our Sheep Sweater, part 14

Since last time (early October), I reached 25 rows for each portion of the Hog Island Breed Band.

I put both sleeves on stitch holders and cut a couple of the life lines to allow for a better fit check.... at this point, the body is ready to begin the final section.

The final section is supposed to be about 3-inches long, after 4 rows of Navajo Lines... which means I did not have enough Hog Island available to complete the Navajo Lines.  Therefore I spent some time considering the end in context of my available yarns.

After contemplation, I added 2 rows of Jacob-American, before beginning the final Navajo Line section, since I didn't like the idea of starting it on a color change.

Then did the final section in Jacob-American, with the last two rows and bind-off in Black Welsh Mountain.

Binding off took a few sessions, since the deep black yarn is hard to read and my needles are quite slippery.

I did the bind-off using the Simple Stretchy Bind Off demonstrated in this video.

Remaining now are to finish out both Sleeves, make the Button Band, Kitchener the armpits closed, and weave in the ends. Getting Closer each day.  :-)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Save Our Sheep Sweater, part 13

As is always true with my fibery projects, changes are expected.

The Hog Island has been in many places of breed order and configuration over the life of this project.

I have currently decided to leave the Jacob out (grey), because I have worked with it before... therefore making this project 100% new-to-me breeds.

This also means that I'm reasonably settled on the smallest/darkest buttons from my short list.

After weighing and winding the separate balls of Hog Island, I began the Right Sleeve... this time starting at 19 rows, a few less than I could make, so I could check progress against the other balls, in the hope of preventing TINKing.  :-)

Progress slowed down a a lot in July, with ~100F Daily Temperatures.

I started to pick this back up on cooler mornings in late August/early September... and at the end of September I am now working on this again for a few minutes, nearly every morning.

I'm through most of the Hog Island and approaching the final section of instructions, so decided to try it on for a length check...

As of this writing, the left sleeve (23 rows) is four rows longer than the right, and the body is one row shorter than the left sleeve.

I would like the sleeves to be about 2 inches longer, prior to starting the cuff, so I added a life-line-like marker to measure from.

Also as I was checking the waist length, one of the needle stoppers fell off, along with a bunch of stitches.  Ack!

Fortunately Hubba was home, so he was able to help me remove the sweater while I contained the loose stitches in one hand, thereby preventing a series of running stitches and a lot of repair.

Whew, catastrophe averted.

I need to think more about what's next on the body... and whether it's important to me that the breed bands on sleeves and body are the same length... or if the last set of Navajo Lines should be at the same distance from the shoulders.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Tour de Fleece 2022, part 2

A few weeks later, and two Tours complete... the hommes and femmes.

I did end up playing with my regular Spinning Chien group, as well as joining the Shuttles, Spindles, and Skeins Team... a former LYS in Boulder, that is still holding virtual meetups.

Week 1 

Friday, July 1

• Dorset Horn - 15 minutes
• Tibetan Mastiff, Ramen - 15 minutes

Saturday, July 2

• Dorset Horn - 15 minutes
• Tibetan Mastiff, Ramen - 15 minutes

Sunday, July 3

• Dorset Horn - 45 minutes
• Tibetan Mastiff, Ramen - 15 minutes

Monday, July 4 - Transfer Day, US Independence Day Holiday

• With a little extra time for spinning today and yesterday, I was able to finish the single for the Dorset Horn - 1 hour 22 minutes

I wound it into a cake and will be ready to begin plying tomorrow.

• Tibetan Mastiff, Ramen - 15 minutes

Tuesday, July 5

• Dorset Horn - ply 15 minutes
• Tibetan Mastiff, Ramen - 15 minutes

Wednesday, July 6

• Dorset Horn - ply 15 minutes
• Tibetan Mastiff, Ramen - 15 minutes

Thursday, July 7

• Dorset Horn - ply 15 minutes
• Tibetan Mastiff, Ramen - 15 minutes

Week 2:

Friday, July 8

• Dorset Horn - ply 15 minutes.  As the cake shrinks, my speed increases.  But I still have a ways to go.

• Tibetan Mastiff, Ramen - 15 minutes.  I got a new lamp last week and have noticed that the color is more grey when under the light of the new lamp.

Saturday, July 9

• Dorset Horn - ply 30 minutes
• Tibetan Mastiff, Ramen - 15 minutes

Sunday, July 10 - Challenge

• No spinning

Monday, July 11 - Rest

• Cashmere - drop spindle (park and draft) - 30 minutes

Tuesday, July 12

• Cashmere - drop spindle (park and draft) - 15 minutes

Wednesday, July 13

• Cashmere - drop spindle (park and draft) - 15 minutes

Thursday, July 14

• Cashmere - drop spindle (park and draft) - 15 minutes

Friday, July 15

• Cashmere - drop spindle (park and draft) - 15 minutes.  After growing a bit too much confidence, I broke the thread.  sigh.  So I spent some time pulling part of the batt into roving.

Week 3

Saturday, July 16

• Cashmere - drop spindle (park and draft) - 15 minutes.  I broke the thread again.  sigh.

Sunday, July 17

• Cashmere - drop spindle (park and draft) - 15 minutes.  It's interesting to look at this photo along side the first one in this post.  Every little bit does add up, even when it doesn't feel like progress is being made.  :-)

Monday, July 18 - Rest

Tuesday, July 19 - It was lovely to be back at my wheel today.

• Dorset Horn - ply 15 minutes

• Tibetan Mastiff, Ramen - 15 minutes

Wednesday, July 20

Thanks to the replay option on Peacock, this is the first Tour de Fleece where I have been able to watch coverage beyond a 2-hr highlight show of the actual Tour de France.

• Cashmere - drop spindle (park and draft) - 15 minutes

Thursday, July 21 - Challenge

• Dorset Horn - ply 15 minutes

Friday, July 22

• Dorset Horn - ply 30 minutes

Week 4

Saturday, July 23

• Dorset Horn - ply 28 minutes.  Finished Plying.

• Tibetan Mastiff, Ramen - 30 minutes

Sunday, July 24

• Tibetan Mastiff, Ramen - 45 minutes

FIN - Men's Race

Weighing before and after means that I have 30 + 24 + 5 g or 59 g of singles were spun over 3 weeks and 112 g were plied thus far.

Tour de France, Femme Begins

With the Men's race ending today and the first Women's race beginning, I decided to dedicate the next week to plying my Tibetan Mastiff, Ramen.

There are 102 g here, that hopefully will be in a finished 2-ply yarn by the end of the week.

Sunday, July 24

• Tibetan Mastiff, Ramen -  ply 30 min
• Cashmere - drop spindle (park and draft) - 15 minutes

Monday, July 25

• Tibetan Mastiff, Ramen -  ply 30 min

Tuesday, July 26

• Tibetan Mastiff, Ramen -  ply 70 min.  I think I might finish this tomorrow

Wednesday, July 27

• Tibetan Mastiff, Ramen -  ply 34 min.  I smashed my hand in a door this morning and injured my primary index finger.  It's the same one I shattered a few years ago, so it's good and painful. At least I can ply with my middle finger and was able to finish making this yarn.  sigh.

Thursday, July 28

• Cashmere - drop spindle (park and draft) - 15 minutes.  I have a lot more cashmere to go, so I've decided to dedicate the rest of the tour to making some progress here.

Friday, July 29

• Cashmere - drop spindle (park and draft) - 21 minutes

Week 5

Saturday, July 30

• Cashmere - drop spindle (park and draft) - 15 minutes

Sunday, July 31

• Cashmere - drop spindle (park and draft) - 15 minutes

FIN - Women's Race

Before and After Individual Top Photos

Sometimes it's really hard to see progress, so here's a side by side of before and after the Tours.

On my Clemes&Clemes Wheel, I had Tibetan Mastiff - Ramen., 143g (bobbin+yarn) to begin and ended with 173g (bobbin+yarn), for a total of 30g of single spun and 102g/324 yards of yarn plied.

 

On my Louet, I had Dorset Horn for SE2SE, that began with 233g (bobbin+yarn) and finished with 257g (bobbin+yarn).  Meaning that 24g of Dorset Horn Single and 112g plied during the Tour de Fleece, Homme.

 

On my Ledbetter Drop Spindle, I began with Cashmere, 24g (spindle+yarn) , Ended with 32g (spindle+yarn), for a total of 8g spun.

This was not my most productive Tour de Fleece, but this was mostly just about making it happen... and both of my wheels are currently empty, which never happens.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Save Our Sheep Sweater, part 12

In order to resolve the 5-row discrepancy between the body and sleeves, and eliminate my losing game of yarn chicken, I TINKed back 3 rows on each sleeve, then knit 2 rows on the body... and I'm back to each breed band being a consistent number of rows between the body and sleeves.  Whew, my need for order has been resolved.  :-)

I have completed the waist shaping and have just started the hip shaping... and am now ready to begin the next Breed Band.

But first to re-consider the remaining yarns with the button options I've found thus far...

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Save Our Sheep Sweater, part 11

Picking up my Save our Sheep Sweater with part 11 as I approach the end of the Gulf Coast Breed Band... So far this summer, I have been able to get one or two rows completed most mornings before chores and work while it's still cool out.

I did two extra rows on the body before starting the increase shaping for the hips next.  At this point I have 52 rows + Bind Off or about 5.5 inches left to go on the body length.  But...,

Due to the decreases allowing for more rows on the arm than I planned for, it's looking like the Gulf Coast Breed Band on the body will be a few rows less than the arms.  I need to decide if I'm ok with it.... 

At the time of this writing, the delta is 5 rows and is expected to be 3 or 4 rows.  We'll see how I feel in a few days.  TINKing back 3-4 rows on two sleeves is not a huge deal to keep track of.

Otherwise with 52 rows to complete, and about 4g per row, I laid my sweater out and considered the last two breed band options...

I've decided to not include the Leicester Longwool for the Breed Band, for the same reason that the Navajo Churro is being left out of this sweater, lack of stretch.

Therefore, the Shropshire, is now set aside for the Button Band, and the next two bands are currently planned to be Jacob (grey) and Black Welsh Mountain (black).

I'm still expecting to be complete with this sweater in September/October.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!