Relocating to a New Blog Address

Hello!

For the purpose of everyone more easily finding me and my blog, I have created a new blog with a new blog address. Please follow this link to access the new blog and new content.

Thanks so much!

Recently, the knitting pattern for the elegant Fairfax Shawl was released on Ravelry, Craftsy, and on here my website CedarHillYarns.com. You've seen it on Instagram, Twitter, and our Facebook page, as well.

The Fairfax Shawl is a wide crescent shawl worked side-to-side in garter stitch. [Dimensions: 86 inches (218.4 cm) by 23 inches (58.4 cm), blocked.] It features knit-on Shetland Lace edging and a center short-row panel. Perfect for any body size and type, this shawl utilizes two skeins of our Journey 100% Superwash Merino yarn.  Choose from SIX stunning hand-dyed colorways and make it a kit for less than the cost of the yarn and pattern purchased separately.

Each kit includes:

* 2 skeins of Journey in your choice of SIX colorways (Norris Point, Glen Coe, Lerwick, Saguro, Kansas, or Cappadocia).

* 1 printed full-color copy of the pattern.

The pattern kit is available for presales only at this time. Pre-sales will end on September 21st.  I am extending this date due to the forseeable complications with both shipping and ordering for crafters who live along the Eastern Seabord due to Hurricane Florence.

Click here to order your Fairfax Shawl Kit.

Pattern Release: Strand Hill Cardigan

It's been a long time coming, but the pattern rights to my Strand Hill Cardigan have finally been returned to me!  This pattern originally appeared as the cover pattern of the Knit Picks Golden Morning Collection in April, 2015. 

I am thrilled to finally have the option to knit it up in some Cedar Hill Farm Co. yarn, and I think it's going to be sparkly this time around!

Strand Hill is a top-down, seamless cardigan features a wide panel of Estonian lace down the center back and a narrower panel of the same lace on the front panels. This pattern has been test knit in a variety of yarns, including cotton, and has been worked up by many, many lovely folks (check out all of the beautiful project pages on Ravelry for this pattern!) who have loved working it.  The sweater is seamless and is worked flat for the body; the sleeves are worked in the round so that there's no seaming there, either.

Whether you'd like to knit it up as a cropped cardigan or as a full-length cardigan, this sweater is sure to be one of your very favorite handknits.

This pattern is currently available at Ravelry, Craftsy, Cedar Hill Farm Company, and Knit Picks.
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New Pattern Release: Ripple Socks!!!

There's a sexy new sock pattern in town and it's the Ripple Socks pattern!

You know, one of the most difficult patterns to find, even with all of the bazillion patterns out there, is a sock pattern that doesn't get swallowed up by the random patterning of hand dyed and indie dyed yarns.  Am I right?! Yes, I am.

With that in mind, I have spent the last few months designing these socks, the pattern for which has been rolling around in the back of my mind for years and years.  Personally, I love a little waviness, but every time I've searched for a sock pattern that uses this particular shell pattern, I couldn't find one.  Of course, that meant I just needed to sit down and write one, myself.

The coolest thing about this pattern, besides its sexy waves and eyelets, is the fact that the stitch pattern is actually stretchy.  Unlike most lace or cable patterns where you find the fit to be a bit tighter than anticipated, this pattern actually works with your foot's individuality.  Consequently, you will find that the sizing in the pattern is limited to two primary sizes; however, the reality is that the pattern actually fits four sizes.

Another thing about this pattern that makes it unique is the fact that I have taken into account that people knit socks using a variety of methods.  Consequently, you will find written instructions for DPNs, independent circulars, and two-at-a-time Magic Loop. That's right, THREE different sets of directions are included in this pattern!

You can download your own copy of this pattern on Cedar Hill Farm Co., Ravelry, Craftsy.

And, definitely a special thanks goes to my daughter Kaelin, who is definitely the best knitwear model out there! 

The Palazzo Scarf: A New Debut

In 2015, Knit Picks selected The Palazzo Scarf for inclusion in its 2015 Spring Accessories Collection. I am excited to announce to you that the rights to this pattern have been returned to me! You can join me in my excitement as I am re-introducing it to my fellow knitters.

Palazzo is now available for download on Ravelry, Craftsy, and of course, the Cedar Hill Farm Company website.

This elegant scarf is a pattern that involves knitted lace and seed stitch, so it is a great pattern for those of you who are looking to delve into some intermediate knitting to advance your knitting skills. If you are a veteran knitter, then this is a quick and versatile knit that you definitely need to add to your handmade wardrobe. It works well for any season and for any occasion. (I'll probably be wearing mine with my favorite pair of jeans.)

Knit Picks had this scarf knit up in their own yarn for the photos and inclusion in the collection, of course, but any fingering weight yarn, particularly with an alpaca or silk component, would be an excellent choice to work with. Myself, I'll be casting this pattern on in the Cedar Hill Farm Company Journey base, though I haven't quite decided which colorway to choose first.

I hope you'll take a second to stop by any of the above pattern websites to take a look at this very versatile, very trendy pattern and download one for yourself.

Happy Knitting!

From Sheep to Shawl

You hear a lot these days about the resurgence of natural wool in Europe, and how a handful of Europeans are bringing back "old school" wool to the knitting community.  Here in the states, I don't think the average crafter is really aware of just how much natural yarn is available.  Old School has been available for a long, long time!

In 2014, I convinced my husband that my path to greatness required me to raise sheep. Although I know that he didn't really want to go in that direction, we borrowed a trailer, drove to South Carolina to locate a breeder in the middle of literally nowhere U.S.A., and we bought our first sheep: a ram lam and two ewe lambs.  I named them Stanley, Stella, and Blanche, and they have each lived up to their A Streetcar Named Desire caricatures.  Stanley is a teeswater/cormo cross.  Stella and Blanche are corriedale/finn crosses.  And so began the breeding program.

Now, in 2017, we have twelve sheep (having lost 3 to one thing or another) and I have my own farm-raised yarn. I bred it for its luminosity and depth, for its sturdiness and drape.  I sheared it and skirted it.  I sent it to Mountain Meadow Wool in Wyoming, where Ben bent over backwards to make the single-ply that I had in my head. I dyed it here on the farm. I named it Single Sheep. I sold a bunch of it--it's still available in the shop, don't worry!--and while attending middle school basketball games this season, I knit it up into this lovely little number which, incidentally also happens to be in my daughter's basketball team colors. The pattern is the Soho Shawl by Kristin Ledgett. I used most of a skein of Autumn Afternoon and about half of a skein of Natural, but your yardage may differ because I made mine a bit larger than the pattern suggested. Although the yarn is a little "curly" in the skein, it relaxes both while knitting it and after a good soak followed by light blocking.

Cedar Hill Farm Company's Single Sheep isn't your average yarn, folks.  I don't mean to toot my own horn, but in the sunlight, it literally GLOWS. This isn't a superwash. It's a natural, American farm-raised wool. It hasn't been chemically abused or bleached in any way--as a matter of a fact, it amazes me that the mill was able to get all that red clay out without resorting to a chemical ooze.  It's sheepy. It's organic. The colorways that I have chosen are earthy and vivid. It's just plain wonderful wool yarn! And if you are like I am, which some people may refer to as a "wool snob", then this is a yarn that you will love, too. If you would like to try it, just click on any of the links in this post or go to my shop's home page. Single Sheep is the featured yarn on the home page, and you can just click on any of the photos to get your hands on some for yourself.

A Simple Hat Pattern and a Very Good Cause

The Georgia Fiber Fest is upon us once again (Sept. 8-10), and this year we are welcoming the SSK Yarners podcast to the event.  These lovely ladies have graciously volunteered to do a podcast about the festival, and we are very appreciative!

But the best part about the presence of SSK at the show is that they are directly connected to the STAND DOWN group, which provides volunteer aid to homeless veterans.  The ladies of SSK will be bringing a donation box to the show and will be collecting handmade (knit or crochet) hats that will be sent on to this organization. I couldn't be more on board with this!

So, folks, in case you'd like to donate, as I know all crafters are happy to do, I thought I would share my super simple hat pattern.  I like to work up hats for charities in a wool/acrylic blend so that they are machine washable and don't require much in the way of care.  I'm giving you two different sizes because you may also want to make hats for children's charities at some point.  Winter is, believe it or not, on the horizon.

Simple Hat Pattern:

Yarn: 82 g worsted weight for an adult hat; about 75 g for a child's hat
Needles: US 8 (5 mm) circular (about 24")
Gauge:  18 sts x 24 rows = 4" stocking st
Sizing:  Elementary aged child (Adult)

Using a long-tail cast-on method, CO 88 (96) sts. Join and work in a 2 x 2 or 1 x 1 rib for 4 inches.  Knit the next 4 inches (24 rows).

Decreases:
Rnd1: *K6, K2tog; repeat from * across rnd.
Rnd 2 and all even rnds through Rnd 12: Knit.
Rnd 3: *K5, K2tog; repeat from * across rnd.
Rnd 5: *K4, K2tog; repeat from * across rnd.
Rnd 7: *K3, K2tog; repeat from * across rnd.
Rnd 9: *K2, K2tog; repeat from * across rnd.
Rnd 11: *K1, K2tog; repeat from * across rnd.
Rnd 13: *K2tog; repeat from * across rnd.

Cut yarn, leaving a 6" tail.  Weave through live sts. Remove sts from needles and draw sts closed. Secure yarn tail on inside of hat and weave in any remaining ends.

You could knit this in your sleep, I'll bet. I hope that you will get on the bandwagon and knit up a hat for someone less fortunate this year, even if you just knit it and hand it to someone on the street as you pass them by.  I'm sure it would be appreciated.

So much knitting, so little progress

The unfortunate thing about succumbing to the desperate urge to cast on for a large number of projects at once, no matter how good the intentions, is that, ultimately, it seems like no progress is being made on anything.  Right now, I have a baby blanket (Bounce), a pair of knee socks (Sockmatician's Toe-Ups), a pair of cable-y socks (Paragon Socks) that have only the cuff done so there's no point in sharing a pic of that, a cardigan (Hitofude), a cape and a vest for the book, and a lace scarf on the needles.  If I'm going to be totally honest, there's also the Pi Shawl that I cast on about 16 months ago that languishes in the car and the Two Hearts sweater that has been languishing for slightly longer. The only projects that I have finished in the last 4 months or so are two consecutive pair of All About That Curve, both of which I cast on and knit feverishly because I got bored with the million other WIPs, and a much-modified version of the Amiga cardigan for the Shinybees Rav group. To say that I have created a situation of overwhelming stagnation is an understatement.  Really, I've backed myself into a stressful corner, as nearly all of the projects on the needles have looming deadlines.

So here's how it's going.  Bounce is suddenly at the forefront, as I was misinformed and the baby it is intended for will be arriving at least a month sooner than I thought. I am committed to working one full 12-row repeat a day.  I only have 18 more gradient repeats to go.

The Toe-Ups are probably not going to get finished before the KAL that they are a part of ends.  So, let me just give my final impression of this new pattern here because my insane choice to knit wool knee socks when the temperatures are in the upper 90s-low 100s every day in no way reflects the pattern. I do want to show off the amazingly invisible increases that I am working on the legs.

Overall, I think that if you are a toe-up sock knitter, this is a great pattern.  I'm neither a toe-up fan nor am I a single-sock knitter.  This pattern is clearly written for both.  I just don't like the fit of a toe-up sock through the heel and ankle, and the thrill of finishing is somewhat diminished for me when working a sock in reverse.  Finishing the leg is more like "Sigh. Finally. Well that was anticlimactic." Finishing the toe is a downright thrill. The super cool thing about this pattern is that, if you own an iPad, the math is automatically calculated for you.  I don't know many knitters who love doing the math on their own, so this is definitely a plus.

The only difficulty I had was with the gusset instructions, which weren't particularly clear to me, and I had to rip back and re-do.  I did post some more detailed instructions on my Rav project page for anyone who knits this pattern two-at-a-time.  Otherwise, it's a good pattern.

Hitofude is like the blanket in the regard that I am trying to knit one repeat per day.  So far, I'm up to 8 repeats and only have 6 to go.  I am enjoying this pattern now that I have it memorized and it is working up quickly, which is a plus because the blanket is not.  This fingering weight Silk Sheep flies through my hands, whereas the DK wool in the blanket, though incredibly soft and squishy, does not, and it also makes my arthritic hands and wrists hurt to work a heavy fabric on large needles.  I think I have also re-activated my golfer's elbow thanks to this blanket project.

And I can't show you anything else because it's top secret book knitting. We've been exploring our publishing options recently, so I've had less time for knitting on these items than usual.  Also, my life this week has been in a total chaotic shambles, for most of which I blame the appocolyptically hot and dry weather and Chester, the stupid donkey who won't stay in his pasture despite barbed wire and electric fence.

Alright, well, I have livestock to feed and chores to do before I can get back to feeling like a human knitting machine.  Have a great weekend!

In Reverse

I think that we would all agree that I'm a pretty prolific knitter of things. And, I'm not going to lie, when it comes to knitting socks, I am a sock addict. You will find me with at least one, sometimes two or three, pair of socks on the needles.  If I don't have 20 other WIPs going at the same time, I can whip out a pair in about a week (unless they are for my husband).  But, I'm a top-down gal, and having only done one pair of socks from the toe up, and granted, the fact that I had to re-knit that pair 7 times until my husband was completely satisfied with the fit may be coloring my viewpoint, but I can honestly say that top-down is the only way my brain likes to work a sock because in reverse, the math doesn't make much sense to me.  And although I totally know how to work 2-at-a-time, toe-up, I pointedly choose not to do it.

Until now.

So let me rewind and explain.  There's a British video podcast that I thoroughly enjoy watching now that I've just recently discovered the video podcast scene.  The podcaster is Nathan Taylor, who is also Sockmatician on Ravelry and a plethera of social media, and although we do differ on some of our views, I have found a kindred spirit in the love of musical theatre, advancing correct grammatical form (does that sound as "English teacher" to you as it does in my head?), and sock knitting.  Only, here's the thing: he knits socks toe-up.  Recently, he wrote a sock pattern that is so awesomely and mathematically ingenious that I feel like it would be a disservice to sock knitting if I didn't at least try it.  I mean, when someone figures out how to create a pattern that allows you to input your base measurements and then automatically generates ALL of the numbers to custom-fit your foot as you knit (you have to have an iPad for that automatic part--sorry Windows users) ... well I appreciate a man who does the math for me, don't you? Not going to lie. That's one of the perks of being married to an engineer.

Now, I also have this new yarn base, Traveler, and I have been dying (no pun intended) to use it for a pair of socks.  Yesterday, I cast on for the Sockmatician's Toe-Ups. The pattern is great and the math is done for me, but ... it's backward.  My brain is really struggling with working the part of the toe first that I always so look forward to working last.  It's like the week before last when I gave everyone desert before dinner.  The kids were so befuddled by homemade pound cake (with homegrown, sliced peaches drizzled in blackberry sauce and topped with whipped cream) that they didn't know if they should eat it or it just look at it.  There were questions, like "What are we supposed to do with this?" and "Where's dinner?" and "What kind of witchery is this?" That's how I am feeling about working socks backward, especially since the toes, based on my experience, seem to be very narrow.

The amount of brain activity that it has taken for me to repeat two increase rows would astound you.  However, for as much as I have struggled with this, I really think that this sock pattern deserves a proper test because, if you can't knit it 2-at-a-time, it's not worth knitting.  Of course, the important thing is that my Guitar God colorway looks fabulous!

I will, as the Sockmatician says, "crack on" with this toe-up madness and we'll just see how it goes.

Random on a Monday

So Monday begins again and even though it's still early, I'm already feeling like the keeper in the zoo when all of the animals are out of their cages and going wild.

In farm news ... All of the lambs have finally lost their tails.  Frenchie was the last one and I am happy to report that after a touch-and-go last two weeks, she is finally looking and acting like a healthy lamb should.  Lennie, her pen mate, is just plain wild and ready to go out and show everyone who's boss.

In family news ... Scout 1 had a work-related accident on Saturday and is on crutches with stitches this week.  Although it appears to be less severe than the doctor initially thought, meaning no fractured ankle, having a 19 year old that can't do for himself has been a bit ... more work for the mama. This mama doesn't need any more to do on her list. Scout #2 has his first retail job, and he seems to like it.  He's saving up for car insurance, so until he has his car, I'm his personal driver. And Rocket went to basketball camp yesterday for her first sleep-away camp. She's at the University of Georgia being coached for three days by the entire Lady Dogs coaching staff AND the entire Lady Dogs basketball team.  The graduated seniors even stuck around for camp this week, which was a total surprise.  She's torn between being more exhausted than she has ever been in her life and being star struck.  She took pictures yesterday with her two basketball heroines and was on cloud 9, so good for her!

with "Patches" Roberts

In knitting news ... About a month ago, I got it into my head that if I cast on for a bunch of things at once, then I would be more likely to get them done because I could just rotate and never get bored.  Well, I have 5 new projects on the needles right now, and pitiful little to show for it.  Turns out, when I only focus a little on each one, I get the feeling that nothing is every going to get done and so all of these projects are now making me feel more overwhelmed than entertained.  Also, for the first time ever, all but one of my WIPs are in my own yarn.  Not sure how that happened because the stash bug bit and I have an embarrassingly large amount of yarn that has been added to the stash over the last 6 weeks or so with specific purpose--most Christmas knitting.

I have a new pair of All About That Curve on the needles (nearly half finished) in Cedar Hill Farm Co.'s Gypsy in the Electric Algae colorway.  I am REALLY liking how this knits up, too!

I have Hitofude by Hiroko Fukatsu on the needles in Cedar Hill Farm Co.'s Silk Sheep in the Veridian colorway. I put this down about 2 days after I started it, and returned to it last night.  Initially, it was one of those projects that I couldn't find a rhythm for, but when I picked it back up last night, it sailed across the needles.  I am going to find it hard to put this one down again.  I am planning to have it finished for the Georgia Fiber Fest in September, so I have some time yet on this one. (Why yes, that is a large Cedar Hill Farm Co. square-bottom bags in the photo!)

I have a new sweater vest design on the needles for the book I'm working on in Cedar Hill Farm Co.'s Journey in the Lerwick colorway.  This one has been floating about in my brain for a while and it only decided to come out on Saturday, which was a very inconvenient day for me to be compelled like a mad woman to get it cast on and start on the writing of it.

I have a new Serendipity scarf on the needles in Cedar Hill Farm Co.'s Gypsy in the Iris colorway.  I've worn the original down to something not quite good enough to display at shows, so it's time for a new one.  Purples aren't usually my thing, but I'm quite drawn to purple lately, and that's probably a direct result of my lingering grief over the death of Prince. I was hit unexpectedly hard by that one.

I have Bounce by Tin Can Knits on the needles.  I'm making this as a shower gift for my husband's step-daughter from a previous marriage in a new line that won't be released in the shop until Fall, 2016.  This is a super wash, SUPER squishy DK that hasn't been named yet.  I did gradients in two main colors, teal and canteloup, and then cream, her other color of choice is the border color.  Two colors in 11 gradient shades each.  I hope this turns out to her liking.  I've had a very difficult time trying to decide how to place the colors, and I finally decided to do dark to light, from the edge to the center, for each color.  To me, these colors just don't jive well with one another in a "baby" fashion, so to avoid the risk of it ending up ugly, I'm just taking that safe route.  There is much more work to this blanket than I anticipated, and this is another of those projects where I haven't found a rhythm yet. But, like the Serendipity Scarf, Hitofude, and the two book projects, I have until September to cast off.

It's beginning to sound like September is going to be FO madness.

And lastly, the ever languishing sea of stocking stitch that is evolving at a snail's pace into a hooded cape for the book is on the needles.  This is one of those projects where, despite the fact that I knit like the wind, you get to the end of the row and feel like there should be a prize for having just finished the row.  Right now it's at 334 stitches in a worsted weight Cascade 220 superwash.  And I'm knitting it in the summer, in Georgia, in temperatures that suggest we live in the Sahara Desert instead of in the Appalachian foothills.  So, yeah, every row deserves a celebration.  I put this down for quite a bit because also I can't find a rhythm.  I've tried to make a deal with myself to do three rows a day because this really does need to get done and there will be so much embellishment work that the body is going to seam like a breeze. It's day 4 of that deal and I'm mostly on track so far.

Well, that's what I have going on as this week begins. Hope your week is a great one!

All About That Curve Ankle Socks

There's a new ankle sock pattern in town and it's kinda uni-sexy!  Introducing All About That Curve Ankle Socks! Written to include three foot circumference sizes (8", 9" and 10"), this two-at-a-time, top-down sock pattern is EXACTLY what you've been missing in your life. Exactly.

Designed for use with Cedar Hill Farm Company's Gypsy (light fingering weight Australian merino yarn), this ankle sock is completely different from anything out there right now. It utilizes the Sweet Tomato Heel--which is sheer genius so thank you Cat Bordhi--and a round toe design that is customized for this pattern.  I've always been a mid-calf kind of gal, but these ankle socks are perfect for wearing to bed or padding around the house.  Because the weight of the yarn is so light, they'd also be pretty great in a pair of tennis shoes.

 If you have never worked a Sweet Tomato Heel, no worries.  In addition the the step-by-step instructions, there's also a link to a video tutorial. The round toe is a modification of the traditional decrease for working in-the-round, so no worries there, either.

Although this pattern is written for use with a single circular needle, it can be worked with two circular needles or DPNs if that's your thing.  If you aren't into working socks two-at-a-time, you can simply follow the instructions for Sock A and then repeat for a second sock.

And did I mention that there will be a kit for this pattern available in the very near future that includes stitch markers that have been specially designed for this pattern?  Oh yes, indeed! You'll want to make sure to be signed up for my newsletter so that you are the first to know when the kits become available.

Now, the fact that this pattern can be worked for both men and women is significant.  I know that there are a growing number of male knitters out there who like to knit socks.  I also know that there aren't that many sock patterns for men out there that don't look all kinds of girly.  I know that this sock pattern is completely unisex simply because the husband, who will only wear plain socks in neutral colors, said as soon as he saw them--even though the test knit was pool-y and not at all neutral in color--"Now that's a sock I'd wear! Make me some."  So, there you go. Officially endorsed by the pickiest male sock wearer on the planet. Now you have to knit up a pair. The husband has spoken.

You can get a copy of the pattern on Ravelry, Craftsy, or from the online shop.

Back on Track

You may have been wondering where I've been.  It seems like 2016 and time for blog posting has been like oil and water.  There's just been so much going on that something has had to give.  Well, truth be told, quite a few things have had to fall to the wayside. The husband and I had our first date night this past weekend since December.  That's how crazy it has been.  We have been just that completely enslaved to the farm projects.

First, it was that I needed to put in the garden--and then it stopped raining altogether and the weather got very unseasonal--and an insane amount of work has had to be done to keep everything alive, though the tomatoes have been a drama and I've lost nearly all of them. It still isn't raining ... except for the first day that the roofers showed up to put OSB on the barn a couple weeks ago, which was also when the farrier was finally able to come to do hooves, in which case the sky opened up like we were in the midst of a hurricane, not once, but three times.

The *%#!# barn has also sucked all of the time and energy out of my spring and everyone else's in our little family. In the course of three weeks, and under a deadline from the bank, we had to build 31 roof trusses (16 ft high by 40 ft wide) one-at-a-time on the second story of the barn (very hilly here and not a lot of flat ground to work with), lift each one off of the second story with a 42 ft forklift, and set it in the stack.  When we had 31, we had to set them ourselves, one at a time, beginning at the part of the barn that is 24+ feet off the ground.  I have a SERIOUSLY DEBILITATING fear of falling. I can't see how, with having to stand at the edge to set every truss, and then that little accident that involved the dropping of a truss from 20 ft in the air on top of me early on in the process, I didn't end up in the psych ward.  But here we are, on the other side of it, with hopefully a stronger family bond and a very clear understanding of our limits.  Basically, we can do just about anything, the five of us.  And look what we did, all by ourselves except for a little block work and roofing:

It's large enough that our house could actually fit inside of it with room to spare.  No joke.  It's 36 ft x 60 ft with 2 stories (each one 12 ft high) and a partial basement.We rock.  I think we also have the largest barn for miles around. And I could not be more grateful to the guys from Team Roofing in Athens, Georgia who came out, were the first company to ever give us a fair price in this barn endeavor, and were completely insane enough to climb up and down that roof with grappling hooks and a rope or two. That, my friends, was my limit. I don't do roofing.

And then there was the sheep drama, which continues to make me cranky and tired.  Blanche and Stella got pregnant in December, which is late, because I knew from the Farmer's Almanac that this would be an unseasonable cold spring and I also knew that there was no chance that we would have the barn finished and lambing pens set up in it by the beginning of April.  So the ladies were due in May.  Stella surprised us all by being a week early and quietly having triplets.  One of them was a little puny (Frenchie) and it took a good 24 hours to get her to feed correctly.

Blanche, on the other hand, the world's worst mother, was two weeks past her expected due date and created serious worry that she would deliver stillborn lambs.  Nope, she decided, while we were roofing the barn, to also have triplets.  Because she is the worst mother ever, she forgot the last two that she delivered and had to be coerced to clean them.

Then, she flat out refused to accept the second-born (Lennie).  He had to be a bottle baby and I have had to go out to her pen and feed him every 4 hours for the last two weeks.

Yesterday, doubtless because Frenchie has some pretty sharp and snaggly looking teeth that have just come in, I realized that Stella had officially abandoned her and that she was so weak from not having been fed enough that she could barely stand.

Because Mother Nature has replaced our Georgia May weather with weather found in Minnesota or Michigan, Frenchie had to spend the night in a cage in the laundry room and is now living with Lennie in the dog pen so that I don't have to chase them both down at feeding time (which is still every 4 hours). Did I mention that I make their formula from scratch because what you get from the feed store, based on last year's experience, is crap? Sometimes, for just a second or two, I think that all of this is not worth producing a few skeins of yarn.

Speaking of yarn ... Any day now (I'm thinking tomorrow), I'm going to be dyeing up a whole batch of it and getting back on track with the online shop.  Most specifically, I'll be dyeing more Gypsy because I have a new two-at-a-time ankle sock pattern called All About That Curve (more on that tomorrow, but you can check out the pattern today on Ravelry or in the online shop) that was designed for that line of yarn.  I'm going to be doing a kit for this pattern with that yarn and some pretty exclusive and awesome stitch markers, so more on that next time, too.  I'll also be dyeing up a new yarn line, Traveler, which is a fingering weight 75/25 Superwash BFL/Nylon blend.  It's very close in its composition and durability to my discontinued Rocket Sock Medium (there's still a bit of that left in the shop if you want one last skein), but it's a little lighter weight.  It's also going to be a series of eye-popping tonal dyes that you aren't going to be able to live without.  So also be looking for the post about that.  Of course, if you subscribe to my newsletter, you will also get a note about it in your inbox.

And there we are.  A little bit of normalcy--well for about 5 seconds because the kids are suddenly out of school for the summer--has returned to my life and I'm looking forward to having time to write a blog post or two once in a while.

Sweater Evolution

I began knitting another Amiga cardigan in March as part of the Shinybees Rewind KAL.  I have been putting off making this sweater for literally ages and ages. Not because I didn't want another one, but because I just wasn't sure which yarn wanted to be this sweater. I am happy to report that it is officially an FO, with only the bath and blocking left to be done.

The road to finishing this FO was a challenging one.  I had 2 skeins of the original Touch Possum yarn in my stash that were as similar as two skeins of any natural, undyed yarn can be. (Now they blend it with silk and such, but mine is just New Zealand merino and possum.) I have had these in my stash for at least 4 years with the expectation that I would save them until I was sure that whatever I knit with them would be a treasure that I would wear all the time.  Well, turns out that I saved these treasures so long that the yarn is now discontinued and there is no more. Anywhere. On the planet. None.  I was even assisted by the people at the Touch home office in New Zealand in my search for just one more skein, and even they came up empty-handed. No one is willing to give up or admit that they have any ... which should tell the people at Touch that THIS is a yarn worth producing, right?!

So what did that mean for this project?  It meant that I couldn't just order another skein if I ran short.  It meant that from the cast on I was playing chicken with this yarn for any sweater project that I chose.  Having worn out my other Amiga cardigan (repairs are coming shortly, as I have just discovered the lost "extra" skein I saved just in case), I decided that this pattern was exactly what I wanted to use my possum yarn for, and it did turn out quite lovely.  EXCEPT.

If you are familiar with the Amiga pattern, then you know that my FO looks more or less NOTHING like the one pictured on the pattern.  There had to be a few adjustments to accommodate my limited quantity of yarn and the way the yarn lay as a fabric.  None of this did I have in mind until I had cast on and had worked my way through the yoke and realized that there was a very distinct possibility that I would run out of yarn without having finished the sweater.

Spoiler Alert! I had this much left when it was all said and done:

Modifications abounded with this pattern. First, I had to knit a longer raglan seam for the yoke to accommodate my bust size, and that used more yarn than what the pattern required. So then, I knit to the end of the first skein which, to my sheer amazement, took me to within 4 inches of where I wanted the sweater length to be.  At this point, I put the body on some waste yarn and started work on the sleeves. There was absolutely no way that I could figure out from the original pattern how much yarn would be used for each of the remaining parts of the sweater.  From this point on, it was a total guessing game!

I decided that it would be a good idea to do a shorter sleeve than on my previous Amiga.  The pattern calls for a 3/4 inch sleeve, but I knew that the sleeves would roll at the cuff because of the yarn and the straight-knit arm.  To save yarn, I tapered the sleeves by 12 stitches over 48 rows to the inner elbow and then I knit a 4-inch 1 x 1 ribbed cuff.  The sleeves fold up nicely at the elbow, which is perfect for both wearing over a tank top in the summer and for wearing over a long-sleeved shirt in the winter since I tend to push up the sleeves anyway.

I had a little more than half of a skein left at this point, (60 g), so I divided it up, leaving about 55% (33 g) for the collar band and 45% (28g) for the remainder of the body.  I added 4 inches to the body, including a bottom band so that it wouldn't roll up, and a miracle happened.  I had yarn left over!

I took the leftovers and added them to the collar yarn that I had set aside: 44 grams!

There was a good deal of splicing of this yarn to avoid having to weave in a bunch of ends on an airy fabric--you would have been able to see those ends on the RS as well as the WS in the right lighting.  I used the Russian Join method, not just to join the ends of the leftovers, but throughout the sweater. The one thing that this yarn was infamous for was knotted joins throughout the skeins.

The miraculous result was that I finished with a 5-inch, 1 x 1 ribbed collar band in the end.  That's enough to bridge the gap across the chest and close with a shawl pin if necessary or to wear as pictured, with the collar folded over.

I had approximately 1.5 yards of yarn remaining.  I will put this tiny bit of treasure in the safe just in case a repair has to be done in the future.  (Not joking.) I am so in love with this sweater that I know that I made exactly the right choice for this treasure of a yarn. I hope that your spring knitting is bringing you this much joy, too!