Fixing Mistakes

How far back would you go to fix a mistake?

Several inches past the "set up" row I had to go back and fix a mixed up cable. I put the 4 stitches on but realized I needed the 2 purl stitches on both sides - so that's 6 stitches ripped down to the base.


 It worked! I knitted them back up.

 Several other times during this project I got my cables going the wrong way.  There were lots of handy tutorials on the internet. Twist Collective has good advise about fixing mistakes.

 This pattern is called Bronwyn. This crazy green yarn was bought at a thrift store. If I ever see multiple skeins of one color of 100% wool in a thrift store I buy it and figure out the project later. The yarn is called Fleur Delaine by Laninter USA (made in Brazil).

Icelandic Sweater Complete!

 Alafosslopi yarn is so chunky it only took me a week to make. It's debatable if it's actually an "improved" version of a traditional sweater. The neck line is a little better but if I were to do it again I'd make even more of a swoop neck. It's almost too tight, but that was the look I was going for. I've actually worn this sweater three times since I've finished it.

Progress on the Icelandic Sweater

 Notes on the Icelandic Sweater:
Once I got to the part where I'd make the neck lower I went to the center front of the garment and did a bind-off of 10 stitches. Then I continued in the pattern working back and forth and doing a slanted bind-off at the beginning of each row. (Not a "short row" like I had said in the previous post. Once I actually got to this part I realized that all I had to do was K 2 tog or P 2 tog at the beginning of the rows to make the swoop neck.)

At last, it's time to weave in the ends.

Icelandic Improved

       I love Icelandic sweaters but...     there are a few qualities about traditional Iceland sweater designs that I'm not fond of.  They are generally too saggy because of the heavy wool, the necks are too high, and the color combinations are high contrast giving them a bit of "clown" look. I've decided to design an Icelandic sweater with improvements.
     This one is going to be fitted with tight sleeves and slim body. For the colors I'm going to keep them all in the same value.  I'm choosing dark, but the whole thing could be done in light colors or the mid-range.  I had to dye some of my left over Alafosslopi to get some more black.

Before

After

I'm planning on doing some type of swoop-neck by utilizing short rows - I haven't gotten to that yet. To be continued.

The actual design I just made up after looking at photos of sweaters on-line. I'm keeping some notes on it: 

Now I'm getting to the shoulders and neck part of the project. This is the part I enjoy knitting. Stay tuned and I will post the final project in a few days.

Sunday Spinning

The stage is set. A big pile of freshly carded batts and Netflix. It's going to be a good Sunday.

While organizing my storage, I came across 2 unwashed and UNLABELED whole fleeces. I washed, dried, picked, and carded this white one. I have no idea what type of fleece either are. Usually I leave the receipt in the bag so I know where and when I purchased it plus what type, of course. I failed with this one so I'll never know. Don't make my mistake. Label all your wool!

Mini Movie Review - Harvesting Liberty

A veteran growing hemp and processing it with old-timey methods. A woman spinning, dying, then weaving an American flag. Taking it all to Washington DC. Five stars!

Happy New Year

This is the one and only post for 2016. It was a great year but I didn't blog about it.  My fleece hobby was completely over-shadowed by my new love of rock climbing. I did knit a little during the year but most of my time was spent climbing fake-rock walls in a gym and vertical rock outside. It's funny how I spent my 30's spinning and knitting and then I took up rock climbing at age 47. Ha! I think I got this all backwards.

Happy New Year! Wishing Fleece Love and Happiness to all!