Sizes: US women’s shoe size 7 (women’s 9, men’s 10) Materials: 1-2 skeins hard-wearing high twist Aran-weight yarn, similar to Country Classic Yarn for Sox Removable stitch markers for marking sections, beginning of round, etc. Size US 4 or 5 needles in the configuration you prefer for small-diameter knitting Procedure: Cast on 40 (40, 44)
Fiber Arts
Updates and new directions: May 2020
Welcome back! After an intentional and much-needed hiatus we are finally ready to share what we’ve been up to for the past few months, most of which has overlapped with the pandemic outbreak of coronavirus in 2020. Highlights include Rick’s latest beer recipe, Melon Collie Berry, a thank-you to Trisha and Arthella, the hostesses with
Sheep to Sweater – Part 4: Suint vat cleaning method
With the holidays behind us and a break in the bad weather I was finally able to get back to the Sheep to Sweater project and the fermented suint vat that I discussed in the last fleece-washing video. Talk about a smelly experience! This method is not recommended unless you have a dedicated washing space
Repeat Knits: Characteristics that take a pattern from interesting to inspirational.
A few weeks ago I mentioned in a post on Instagram that I sometimes find myself motivated re-knit the same patterns, and was musing on why that’s the case for some patterns, but not others. Join me for a closer look at why certain patterns lend themselves to repeating, with examples from my experience and
Six Stripe Poncho – A simple and colorful stash-buster
Once again, my mother has gifted me with some Harrisville Designs Highland yarn, and once again…I decided to make a poncho. While the piece shares some similarities of shape and construction with the Prospect Street poncho, this striped accessory is knit side to side rather than edge to edge, which makes it feel like a
2019 into 2020: celebrating successes, building community, and embracing inspiration
We hope you’ve had a satisfying and rewarding year of making. We certainly have, primarily on the brewing and knitting fronts, with a lot of natural dyeing as well. In each of these spheres, we’ve tried new types of projects, mastered skills, and published our own recipes and patterns. So come along and explore what
Glittering Quartz Hat & Mitt Pattern Set, Celebrates Mohair’s Sparkle & Shine
Sometimes, a design seems to manifest out of thin air, helped along only by my ability to work with string and sticks to fashion it as quickly as possible. That’s what this latest set of knitting patterns seemed to be as I’ve been creating them this past week. The Glittering Quartz Hat and Glittering Quartz
Sheep to Sweater – Part 3: Washing fleece with a pre-rinse
As I read more about fleece preparation, I realize there are many options and variables in the process, particularly in washing or cleaning a fleece. Temperature, time, type of detergent, number of rinses, and other variables can be combined in different ways depending on the type of fleece to be cleaned, how dirty it is,
Sheep to Sweater – Part 2: Washing fleece with hot water and detergent
After skirting, the next step of fleece prep is washing. There are many techniques for washing a fleece, but the objectives are the same: remove dirt, manure, urine residue, sweat, debris, and excess lanolin from the fleece, while maintaining the integrity of the wool and without felting it. In this episode I share my process
Sheep to Sweater – Part 1: Skirting Fleece
I’m excited to start a project that I’ve imagined for several years: taking a freshly-shorn fleece from one of our sheep and cleaning it, spinning it into yarn, and knitting a sweater. The first steps are to grow and harvest the wool, and I’ve already made a few blog posts and a video with advice