Well the knitting is done. Now on to the blocking and then the steeking. I will block this afternoon and it will take some time to dry. It’s a pretty dense fabric. I got some grosgrain ribbon and you all voted on the leather buttons. Well not all of you…but the consensus was the leather buttons. I have 4 of them. I intend to just put them on the top half of the sweater. I’m leaning towards the brick red ribbon. I have 10 days until Saturday…. I think I can…I think I CAN!!
Okay people. I’m on the second cuff. I’ll be finished with that this afternoon, I think.
The next step will be to finish the bottom of the sweater. As a recap, I was worried about having enough yarn. So I put the sweater body on a cable and I decided to complete the sleeves. I knew I wanted a sweater and not a vest. And happily, yes, I have enough yarn… I may have enough for a hat too…
And now I’m thinking about buttons. I raided my button box…I have a good one. And here are my top choices.
I want you to help me, so reply to this blog and on my social media and pick your favorite!! I have 3 weeks to finish. I think I will. I’m pretty excited to be done with this handspun lamb’s fleece sweater from my own Gina.
I’m live every Thursday at 1pm on Facebook. I hope you’ll join me. Today I showed the update of my No Rhinebeck Sweater. I’m nearly finished with the first sleeve. I also had an epiphany about needles. And I wanted to share. I share my favorite needles, some needles I hate and a circular needle keeper.
[vplayer id=14126]I’ve finished the colorwork yoke. I’ve gotten to the sleeve/body split. Now it is just knitting, knitting, knitting!
I kinda wonder and worry if I have enough handspun. So I’m thinking about alternatives in that case. I know I want to have more colorwork at the hem and the cuffs. And so maybe that is where I add in other yarns.
But for now…just relax and knit!!
Making progress on the yoke of this Iounne sweater. It’s a free pattern from Knitty. Is it simple? Oh so SIMPLE! But it is my first time knitting a steeked colorwork yoke sweater. So simple is OK. And this is all handspun yarn. The gold is from my own lamb fleeces and the color is hand dyed BFL roving that I dyed specifically for myself.
So that’s it. All the fiber festivals that I was going to be at are now closed. They aren’t totally closed. Many will have a virtual marketplace instead and I’m participating in at least 3 of them. At this time of year, most Rhinebeck goers would be planning their Rhinebeck sweater. Now there’s no Rhinebeck. But we still need a new sweater, right? So let’s coin the new hashtag….#norhinebecksweater.
My #norhinebecksweater will be a yoked cardigan that is knit in the round and steeked. Yes, I will be cutting my sweater up the middle. And I’ve been planning this for a long while. I’m using my handspun lamb’s wool.
I have great farm yarns and one commercial yarn that are fantastic in sweaters. LiViLy is our cormo heavy DK/light worsted 3 ply yarn. It is super soft, next to the skin soft. I have some neutrals and some brilliant jewel tones of this yarn.
Trasna is our BFLXCormo wool that is a heavy sport/light DK 3 ply yarn. It is also next to the skin soft. It has a lustrous quality from the BFL part of the wool.
Synergy is a wilder farm yarn. It is a merino, marled, 2 ply yarn. There are 2 weights: their is a worsted weight and a sport weight. I have 11 different colorways of that yarn. In a garment, it will do some gradual stripping and it is super soft as well.
Finally, the commercial yarn is Alto. It is a 50/50 blend of superwash BFL and silk. It is a DK weight yarn. It is highly lustrous. And it has a fantastic drape to it. You will love your sweater knit with this yarn.
What will your #norhinebecksweater be?