How can you not enjoy knitting yarn from a sheep named “Cosmo”? No doubt about it, “Cosmo’s Crazy Quilt” yarn is a one-of-a-kind fiber. While Sandy's Crazy Quilt Art Yarn comes in a variety of colors, Cosmo's version is a simple white with all kinds of goodies mixed in. I found silk flowers, ribbon, sparkly tinsel-like fiber, silky sari-like fiber, pearls, as well as a variety of colored wool fibers. A veritable carnival on my needles!
The New York City Handspun Bouquet scarf was the last time I got to enjoy a “one night” project, where I sat down with a ball of yarn and ended the night with a finished product. There’s something wonderful about the “I made something from nothing” feeling a quick project like that gives you. It makes me feel like some kind of wool wizard.
Quick, however, didn’t mean completely easy. Wrangling all those textures made for some tricky knitting and times, particularly the ribbon. I admit to some worry as to how comfortable something with all those “additives” will be on the young head that gets this hat.
I do take pride in finally managing a respectable pom-pom. I’ve made some mangy ones in the past, but this one turned out rather nicely. It might be a little large, but since the rest of this hat is over-the-top, why not the pom-pom as well?
Right now, I don’t have anyone in my life the right size to wear this. Size aside, this hat has to go to some child with the personality to match--a loud and lively little lady. So I’m going to tuck it away and trust that the right head will present itself sometime in the future. Every time I have done that, the perfect moment to give it away has always come along. It’s part of the wonder of handcrafting, don’t you think?
I haven’t had a project knit up this quickly in ages...it feels wonderful! Sure they’re really, really green--neon, in fact--but it kind of grows on you. I just might end up wearing these, which surprises me. I expected to like them enough to gift, but not enough to wear. That’s the lure of handmade--it’s always more than just the fiber.
Speaking of fiber, I did indeed have enough--with even a little (a very little) to spare. That made me happy. I love it when a pattern lives up to its stats, don’t you?
One thing I did notice--there was no way the called-for length of the wristband would have made it all the way around my mitt. Since I didn’t think I had enough yarn to lengthen it, I ended up making my wristband go from the outside seam just across the top. That means my button is on the thumb side, but it looks okay to me. I was just glad to have enough yarn that I didn’t have to make the wristband a different color.
And speaking of color, I decided to go subtle for the buttons. I think these simple dark textured ones add the perfect final touch.
This was supposed to be a quick and easy project. It is, after all, just garter stitch.
Lots and lots of garter stitch.
So while it was easy, it wasn’t nearly as quick as I’d anticipated. As a matter of fact, I was really ready to be done with it by the time I reached the third of four balls of the lovely chunky brown. The combination of thin white and chunky brown fibers made for way too much tangling. I hadn’t anticipated that this project would make me so frustrated.
There were good parts, though. As with lots of locally sourced wool, there was a lovely touch of lanolin (the waterproofing substance naturally found in sheep wool) in the brown, and my hands always felt softer for having worked with it. The switch between fibers at least kept things interesting. And every time I looked at it, I thought of that cake you make with Famous Chocolate Wafers.
Still, I was worried. I know enough of squiggle lace to know it changes dramatically once you get it off the needles. I wasn’t particularly fond of the way it looked on the needles--I kept telling people it looked like something that belonged on Carmen Miranda’s sleeves, an endless stretch of ruffles. Would it look better or worse once bound off?
Oh, the answer is definitely better. I like it. I mean I really like it. It’s wonderfully stretchy and just the right balance of light and chunky. It’s fabulous. I’d have picked it up off a store shelf for its stand-out beauty and versatility.
The fact that I’ve visited the yarn source and knit it myself? Well, that makes it just about perfect.
Squiggle lace has not worked for me in the past. I love it in the photographs--it looks so delicate and textured. Then I knit it up, and mine looks like seaweed caught up in a poorly made fishing net.
When I saw the lush, thick, undulating chocolate brown of the yarn from Homestead farm, I knew I had to give it another try. It’s spring, after all, and I wasn’t willing to relegate this wool to a thick winter cowl. I wanted to give it some chance to hang out with a lighter texture.
Normally, squiggle lace utilizes a single, non-turning row of thicker yarn intersperced with several rows of a much thinner yarn.
I wasn’t happy with the results of a single row, so I used two rows (up and back, as it were). This means I ended up with more of a ridge than a squiggle, but I liked it that way.
As I thicken the piece with more rows, I think the space between the thick brown ridges will lengthen. Blocking will do the same. The only thing I don’t know is how the piece will lengthen out once I get it off the needles.
For someone who knits as much as I do, I don’t spend much time around sheep. That all changed on my recent trip to Wisconsin.
After spending a lovely morning in Monroe, my husband and I drove out to a farm. Along the way, Jocelyn of Orange Kitten Yarns had advised us to keep an eye out for barn quilts which are quilt squares painted onto the sides of barns. I’d never heard of this, and was delighted how it added to our driving experience. It felt like an artistic grown-up scavenger hunt.
Jim and Sandy Ryan were delighted to share their farm with us, telling us about the marvelous fibers Sandy makes. No one was more excited when Sandy asked, “would you like to feed the sheep?” nor was anyone more surprised when Jim produced a box of Nabisco Nilla Wafers! Evidently I have more things in common with sheep than I realized!
Wellies on (it was a muddy, muddy day!), we trudged out to where Sandy’s flocks of sheep, llamas, and dogs have their happy home. One shake of a cookie box and we had company:
What a great, memorable experience. I look at the yarn Sandy gave me to knit, and it has a special quality to it now. I’ve seen the sheep. I've shared cookies with them. We’re connected.
I was surprised how distinct each sheep was. In the short time I met them, it was easy to spot unique personalities. There is something meaningful about a sheep’s eyes. They look at you like they know great secrets. I was unsettled to know how many of Sandy’s happy sheep are “rescue” sheep. She’s good at her mission; they all look quite contented now to me.
Sheep get a bad rap for being “not too smart.” Their emotional bonds--to owners, their offspring, and each other--shows that for the lie that it is. Sheep form strong relationships and even have “best friends.” Life has taught me that is the very best kind of smart, astute choice of snack foods aside.
Afterwards, Sandy took us to her workroom to show us how fleece gets from sheep to needles. I’ve tried very hard (and mostly succeeded) to keep out of the whole spinning thing, but that doesn’t squelch my appreciation for those who do. Look at this carding drum! Don’t you just yearn to touch all that artful fluffiness?
Sandy gave me three different yarns. It’s not often I get to pick my own project, so I loved the opportunity to match these very different fibers with Ravelry searches for projects.
First was a lush, chocolate brown in ungulating widths. I decided not to relegate this to a purely winter project (it’s rather chunky), but to pair it with some creamy lace-weight for a squiggle lace shawl I could wear year round.
Then came a cheery hank of high-voltage green. A Ravelry search for projects using 50g of yarn yielded a smart set of fingerless gloves. This is perhaps one of Ravelry’s best features--you can wander through pictures of possibilities based on whatever yarn you’ve got.
And finally, two hanks of very sheepy art yarn, complete with curly-cues that feel like they’re right off a sheep’s back (but cleaner, of course). While this would serve as a dramatic trim to just about anything, I’m going to knit them into a stunning scarf to keep those Chicago winds at bay.
While the farm is a charming place to visit, there is no shop here--you’ll need to catch up with the sheep’s fleecy output at local yarnshops like Orange Kitten or online. If you find yourself driving near Monroe, however, look them up and tell them DestiKNITions sent you.
Don’t forget to bring them some Nilla Wafers--you’ll make instant friends.
