The 10 1/2 Hour Sweater

I needed a project. I was spending too much time in the evenings reading nonsense on my phone or watching nonsense on tv. It's been years since I knit a sweater, for myself or anyone else. I used to do a lot of knitting. I just sort of stopped. So, I decided it was time to knit a sweater for myself. I wanted something big and cozy and cheerful; something I couldn't just buy at the store or order online. 

I scrolled through Ravelry and wasn't inspired and then remembered that Lion Brand Yarn had free patterns. I found a pattern for a pullover with a simple cable twist on the front that seemed like a fun, quick knit. It called for super bulky yarn and used size 15(!) needles. (As a brief aside, I learned to knit on size 10 needles and they seemed huge to me then. Size 15s border on ridiculous in my mind.) The pattern called for Lion Brand's Homespun yarn, but I chose to use their Wool Ease Thick and Quick (80% acrylic, 20% wool) in a beautiful variegated color palette called Astroland. I did some comparison shopping and ended up ordering six skeins from Michael's. Four days later, a box of yarn appeared on my front step.

A box of potential.

I started knitting right away. After doing a test block, and confirming that I'm a tight knitter, I chose my size and started at it. I finished the back of the sweater the first evening.

Knit, knit, knit.

The back took nearly two full skeins. Logically, the front would take a similar amount. That would leave two skeins - one for each sleeve. I began worrying about what would happen if the sleeves needed more yarn. I didn't want to run short. So, the next day, I went to our local Michael's store to buy one more skein. The original six skeins had to be ordered because, while our local store did have some in stock, it didn't have enough. When knitting with solid color yarn, one must consider lot number so the color is consistent. With the variegated yarn, I didn't think that would be as much of a concern. As it turned out, of the two skeins of Astroland available to purchase in person, one was the same lot number as the yarn I had ordered. Confident in having enough yarn, I spent the weekend knitting. By mid-afternoon three days after receiving my order, I had all the pieces of my sweater knitted. 

All the parts.

I hate sewing pieces together, so the back and the front and the sleeves sat for an additional day before blocked them then sewed them together. All told, it took me 10 hours and 31 minutes to make my sweater. (I actually ran the stopwatch on my phone while I was working on it so I  could see how long it would take.)  

All done and so cozy!

As it turned out, I didn't actually need that extra skein of yarn I bought while in a bit of a panic. I even had some of two other skeins left over.

The remains of the project.

The label on the yarn showed how many skeins were needed for certain things -  2 for a scarf, 7 for a sweater (even though I only used 6), and 1 for a hat. So, I made a hat. I didn't time this one but I finished it in an afternoon. The claim that one skein made a hat was strikingly accurate. When I was finished, I only had about 6 feet of yarn left.

One skein, you say?

Yup, one skein!

And, because I had a little more of the sweater yarn left over, I added a big pompom to the top.

Cute and super warm too.

My new sweater was a great, quick knitting project and the bonus hat was a lot of fun too. The only problem is that now I want to knit something else! 

Fashioning Cold Weather Fashion

It’s finally gotten cold enough out to break out my furs.  Fur is probably one of my biggest guilty pleasures.  I just love the look and feel of real fur.  Yes, I know that animals died to make the stoles and collars I adore so much.  That is why it is a guilty pleasure.  To help assuage my guilt, I only buy vintage fur.  My rationale is that by wearing something made from animals that were killed well over half a century ago, I am somehow bringing more meaning to their deaths. 

One of my vintage fur finds.

Several years ago I found this wonderful fur capelet at the Salvation Army.  It was in fairly good shape when I bought it but, after several wearings and once lending it to a less-then-gentle acquaintance, the shoulder began to tear apart.  I tried to mend it and thought of getting a big flower broach or something to cover up the spot but it had gotten to the point where I no longer wanted to wear it.  Maybe it was my upbringing, but I cannot stand to throw things away if they are still potentially useful.  Only the shoulder of the capelet was torn.  The rest of it was still in beautiful shape.  So, instead of trashing it, I recycled it into scarf.

Too much damage to cover up.

I carefully removed the satin lining and examined the fur.  A lot of the hide had dried out and was in worse shape than I anticipated but I still was able to salvage some nice strips.  I cut the lining to match then sewed everything back together again.  I made some bows with extra bits of lining to cover up some of the less-attractive seams.  I think it turned out well for my first time working with real fur.  It’s also wonderfully soft and cozy.  Perfect for these single-digit winter days!

From capelet to scarf.

Also while pulling out more winter accessories I discovered that I did not have a hat to go with my red coat.  I have a great burgundy wool cloche that I knit a few years ago that clashes horribly with the coat but I really like the look of it.  So, I decided to make another in black.  I couldn’t find the pattern I originally used but I had no trouble finding several new patterns on ravelry (I love ravelry.com!).  It took two evenings of knitting in front of the tv and two trips through the washing machine and then, voila, a black felted wool cloche hat!

Knitted cloche before felting.

 

Final felted cloche.

Adventures with Wool

Sometime in the middle of November I decided that I wanted to learn how to spin wool.  There was a small spinning wheel available for me to borrow and I ordered some wool to spin.  I watched videos on You Tube and searched spinning forums online.  I felt like I was ready to give it a try.

Merino wool – so soft!

The first challenge was the spinning wheel itself.  It took some time to figure out how it all worked.  Fortunately, my husband is great with mechanical things, even those with which he is unfamiliar.  When he figured out what to do with the wooden knob that was hanging from a bit of monofilament with a spring attached to the other end it was a revelation. 

Now, in the past I have learned quite a few things but researching a bit and then doing it.  That’s how I learned to knit and crochet.  In this case, however, I think I really needed to be taught in person by someone who knew what they were doing.  While I hesitate to call my self-taught spinning a disaster, I will declare it unsuccessful.  

My yarn was either too twisty or not twisty enough.  I also couldn’t manage any sort of consistent thickness.  I was treadling too fast or drafting too slow or the tension was wrong.  Maybe I just got the wrong type of wool to start.  I have read that practice and experience will help solve a lot of the issues I seemed to be having.  The thing is, the more I tried, the worse I seemed to get. (Having a raging cold at the time was certainly not helpful but I’m not going to blame it or the cold meds for my failure.)

I’d call it artisanal but that would be an insult to artisans.

After a fair amount of swearing, I was able to produce a small quantity of super bulky, two-ply yarn.  I was determined to knit something with it despite how embarrassingly horrible it was.  There was just enough to make a collar and I have to say, I am actually happy with the way it turned out.  It is warm and soft and doesn’t look that bad.

Finished collar – Not too bad!

Overall, I’d say it was worth a try and I’m glad I did it.  I also expect that I will never want to spin my own yarn again.  My husband also gave the wheel a try.  He had about the same success that I had.  Years ago he had made me a pair of drop spindles.  I had never tried one myself but he decided it was a good time to see how it worked since we had the wool and all.  It turns out that he’s quite good with a drop spindle.  So, while I have given up on spinning, he is working the rest of the wool into yarn for me.

Drop spindle with yarn