And Now, for My Next Trick...
This is the project I've started since my trip. This will be a simple cardigan, made from a pattern published by the Peace Fleece company. The pattern is called the Everyday Cardigan, and I suspect it will be fairly straightforward to knit up.
I'm using yarn spun from my friend Jan's sheep. Jan, in addition to owning The Rose & Ram in Independence, has a flock of about 3 dozen shetland sheep. Twice a year, she has a big sheep sheering party and her friends, knitters and spinners can help with the work. Jan generally schedules these events during the week, so due to my job I've been unable to attend.
The fleeces are then available for purchase by folks who want to learn or know how to prep the fiber and then spin it up into yarn. The rest of us have to wait until the fleeces are spun, usually by a local company like Silver Falls Spinnery or Fantasy Fibers.
I first saw this yarn when it was a fleece in a bag in Jan's shop. The sheep is named Diego, and this year his fleece was very dark and glossy. As soon as she had it spun up, I bought enough to make a big, warm sweater. The yarn is a very dark charcoal, almost black. Because it is so dark, I found a simple stockinette stitch was enough. Any other stitch patterns I tried tended to be swallowed up by the sheer blackness of the fiber.
The buttons are handmade from deer antler. I thought the rustic nature of the buttons would work nicely with the rustic yarn.
