This Journey Has Ended!

It starts with a sheep. Not just any sheep, mind you, but Diablo, the pet Jacob sheep. He is approximately 14 years old in this photo.

I sent this fleece to a mill to be cleaned and put into roving. Then I spun it into 2-ply goodness to be knit into something. I didn't know at the time, just that it would be something.

while looking through old Interweave Knits, I found this pattern. It is Gatsby Girl Pullover by Jodi Green. It has ribbed sleeves, and I made mine in the lace pattern.

It has taken me some time to do this, but I wasn't concerned by the time. I just worked on it sporadically in the beginning. By the time I was finishing the front, I really got busy and worked hard on it to get it done.

In the beginning, I debated whether to make it seamless to the armholes, but then I reminded myself there are reasons to have pieces to sew together. Mostly the fit. It looks fitted snugly on the model in the photo. So I made mine a size bigger than normal, and it drapes nicely on me. It is a tad bit short, just coming to the tops of my hip bone. I like mine just a bit longer, but not much. So I won't quibble about that.

I always make my sleeves first. I decided I really didn't want to do K1P1 rib and have a snug sleeve. So I chose to do the lace, and then I knew when blocked it would not be snug. And it isn't. I also did not put the buttons on the shoulder. The neck opening is large enough to slip over my head without difficulty.

I found this a long project, but worth it. It seems that my other handspun projects did not take nearly the time it took for this one. But I am not in a race. Handspun yarn is so satisfying to use, especially if I spun it.

So kuddos to me! Another finished project!

I spent the afternoon yesterday digging huge holes to plant red buckeye bushes. AE gave them to me Sunday when I went to their house. My neighbor mowed his non-existent weeds and it has begun already. He has to have the perfect yard. Sigh! I am still trying to clean up mess from last year before the grass starts growing up again. Later in the evening I weed-eated some tall stuff around the fenceline.

AE told me he thought my bird I saw was a brown thrasher. He pointed one out in a tree nearby and gave me the binoculars to look. I still think it could be a juvie mockingbird, but perhaps it was a juvie thrasher. I am not too worried about it at this point.

The Sisterhood of the Pointy Sticks met on Saturday again. JE, CJE, and I met at the Weaving Guild meeting. We went to lunch. We spent the rest of the afternoon sunning on my deck and looking at old issues of Shuttle, Spindle, and Dyepot. When it started getting cool in late afternoon we moved indoors. JE did some spinning of some sari stuff that looked like dryer lint, but was a pretty yarn. CJE is knitting a pair of Nancy Bush gloves. We both are having difficulty with these Estonian patterns. I went over to CJE and AE's house Sunday and spent the afternoon. It was very chilly, but CJE and I took two short little walks with Patty.

So right now I do not have any major knitting projects going. I am trying to knit these socks with the Estonian pattern, and I have the afghan I am crocheting for my nephew's wedding gift. I am spinning the red yarn. And that is it.

I have been dyeing some silk for my Shibori class. I guess I am just not really good at this fabric folding and stuff. I am terribly disappointed that it does not look like what I would like it to look like. I know the dialog about "just beginning", and "just learning a new technique". But it should like something other than a Rorschac strip. I made the mistake of looking at some of the photos of other students stuff. I can't figure it out. But I am learning some new stuff, and that was what I wanted.

I found an interesting site for anyone to check out. rebeccaburgess.com She has begun the Fibershed Project. It is an ecological way of using fiber sources near you within a 150 mile radius. Like my sweater above. I found it interesting and worthwhile to check out.

I guess that wraps up this week so far. I am trying to pace myself with the yard work. But with the nicer weather, I want to just jump right in and get to work. I paid for that last night. It took some time for my back to settle down after the hole-digging.

Happy St. Patricks Day and Happy Spring next week! Yeah! I can't wait! Bring on the heat.

Oh-before I go, there is a cute commercial on. There is a group of men in someone's backyard grilling burgers. Suddenly this man stumbles into the group wearing a huge parka and looking dazed. They surround him and ask him "Where ya been buddy?" He says "I don't know. I was inside and it was all white." One of them says, "It was Winter, buddy. Someone get him a burger, quick!" Yeah-it was winter. Everyone is talking snow by the end of March. We had sleet on Monday. That was enough for me. Bring on the sunshine, please!