Over the past few years, I've been re-discovering wool. That's not to say, because I was only knitting sporadically over several years, that wool wasn't a part of my everyday life. There's always been, thankfully, a wool coat in the closet along with a few wool sweaters some now (who knows what happens to cause this) too itchy--but too beautiful to part with, and from the Precambrian era, my knitted Fair Isle sweater.
Flame-resistant, breathable, acclimatizing, insulating, durable, will absorb nearly half its weight in moisture without feeling wet, natural, renewable, and biodegradable are some of the qualities of wool. In other words, if you knit a garment that you can't stand, are too stubborn to frog, or, better yet, have worn it until it's threadbare, you can grab a shovel, therapeutically rip it to shreds and dig it into the garden. As an added bonus, the wool might also fertilize your prize tomatoes.
These days I have a few knitting projects on the needles. Are serial projects a personality trait, or a necessity? Consider if you will a yarn shortage, or a simple project to carry about, or the epic gauge fail that I suffered last week.(How? The swatch was perfect. A gremlin in the mix--perhaps.) Also, languishing in the dark my mini fox. I've tried a few times to make its face, but it always turns out a little askew. (A tiny bit of white yarn in a sport weight will do.) Since we do not have a yarn shop in town, it`s either mail order or a trip to the city. (I've forgotten it a few times.) Given these variables, in my case, serial projects are a necessity.
Also on the needles: socks, a purse ( gauge fail I spoke about earlier), and fingerless mitts.
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I rarely sit down to knit without first making a cup of tea. On the needles, the Darjeeling shawl. Unfortunately, the cup isn't full of Darjeeling tea.
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In an earlier post, someone asked what substance was used
to dye the wool to the right. Since I was recently in the village for a
walk, I found out that it's Brazilwood with tin and oxalic acid. The
hank to the far right would, I've been told, be from a second/or third
dipping ~ really? |
Original post
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Short a few yards. |
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I made this Fair Isle sweater years ago. I didn't have a clue about colour work. I've filed it under beginner's luck. The great news: it still fits! |