A New England Yarn Journey :: Gotland Wool Company

I want to introduce you to another Vermont Fiber Farm - Grandview Farm located in Washington, Vermont.  

 Kim has been a long time shepherdess, but recently welcomed Vermont's first flock of Gotland Sheep to her farm.  You can meet some of them here and learn more about the history of Gotland Sheep.    

They have curly, lustrous, silky wool.   I purchased a skein of worsted weight in Mist from her shop, Gotland Wool Company.   The yarn is such a beautiful silver gray color and super soft.  I am enjoy knitting a baby bonnet with this gorgeous yarn.    It is more expensive, at $17.00 for 2 oz - but the joy of working with it is worth it.  

I am learning more and more about the costs and care that go into owning a flock of sheep and truly, if yarn is cheap, you really do need to wonder.

You can listen to a podcast from a couple of weeks ago at Woolful, where Kim was a featured guest.

Woolful podcasts are my new absolute favorite podcast.  I get so giddy each time I listen to the interviews with other fiber enthusiasts and am researching where the entire process of sheep to wool might fit into our family's future.

A New England Yarn Journey

Our family has been working toward being more aware of the food we eat - choosing local and organic when possible. In addition, we are creating nutrient rich soil and planting and growing more of our own each year.

I want to transfer these same principles to my work with fiber.    I have found it becoming too easy for me  to buy inexpensive yarn and to buy more than I actually need.  Instead, I would like to purchase and create with yarn that is ethically raised, uses no to few harmful chemicals, supports small family businesses, and is local if possible.  

Thus, I am embarking on a New England yarn journey where I am going to learn about small farms in New England that raise a flock of sheep or other fiber animals and sell their fiber.

I am looking forward to the connections I might make and the feeling of knitting and creating with fiber that meets most of these criteria.

I hope you will join me as share this new creative path.

Mittens :: A Simple Pattern Using Two Needles

All of our children from about the ages of 1 - 8 or so, have preferred wearing hand knit wool mittens to the store bought variety that tend to be stiff and hard for them to maneuver their little fingers.

I just wanted to share a simple two needle mitten pattern that I have come to use:

These fit a child 2 - 4 years.

Yarn:  Peace Fleece worsted Weight

Needles:  Size 4 and 7

Starting with the Cuff:  With size 4 needles, cast on 28 stitches.  Knit for 3" in a K2, P2 repeat across each row.

Change to size 7 needles and work 2 rows in stockinette stitch.

Thumb Gusset

Row 1:  K 13, PM, KFB, K1, KFB, PM, Knit to end

Row 2:  Purl

Row 3:  K to marker, sl marker, KFB, K to one stitch before marker, KFB, sl marker, knit to end

Repeat rows 2 and 3 until you have 13 stitches between markers.

Next row:  Purl

Thumb

Row 1:  Knit 26, Turn

Row 2:  Purl 5, P2tog, P6, Turn

Work 4 rows in stockinette stitch on these 12 stitches

Next Row:  K2tog 6 times

Leaving a 6" tail, cut yarn and thread tail through remaining stitches and pull tight.  Begin to stitch down side of thumb.

Top Shaping

Rejoin yarn to stitches on left needles with right side facing and knit to end.

Continue knitting in stockinette stitch until work measures 3 3/4 inches from top of cuff, ending with a Purl row.

Switch to top color if desired, leaving an 18" tail for later sewing.

Decrease

Row 1:  K2, K2tog, repeat across to last stitch

Row 2:  Purl

Row 3:  Repeat Row 1

Row 4:  Purl

Row 5:  K2tog across.

Break yarn, leaving a 7" tail.  Thread yarn onto yarn needle, run needle through remaining stitches.  Pull yarn, sew up.

Enjoy!

Dyeing Wool Yarn

After seeing the process of "painting" wool yarn on various blogs and in an old issue of Living Crafts magazine, the girls and I decided to give it a try using food coloring.

First I put a few "glugs" of vinegar in a large pan with water and heated to near boiling.  I added each skein of yarn for a minute to soak, one at a time and placed on towels on our table.  In most tutorials I have noticed they used plastic, but we didn't have any, so there was a bit of a mess under the towels when we were done.

I took the hot water/vinegar from the pot and poured a some in six bowls and then added about 8 drops of food coloring total to each bowl to make red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple.  

Next we spooned the color on each of our skeins of yarn.

I then heated up about 1" of water in a large canning pot and then put the bottle (canner) holder over the edge of the pan and when the water came to a boil, I carefully put one of the dyed skeins of yarn around (in) the jar holder, then put the cover on to steam the yarn for about 3 - 4 minutes.  Next, the yarn was removed to cool down and then I rinsed it under lukewarm water and wrung it out then hung to dry.

Abby winding up her yarn.

Her finished yarn

Sarah finger knitting with her yarn.  She wants to double finger knit it to make a jump rope.  Her dad will help her make some branch handles.

My finished yarn.

The colors came out a bit faded, but it was a fun process.  It sure makes me appreciate those that make truly beautiful hand dyed yarns such as The Sitting Tree, Springtree Road, Sweet Basil Fibre Works, and Brambleberry Yarns.

Fiber Love

I so enjoy working with wool - knitting, crocheting, needle felting and dying it.

Our neighbor has sheep that he breeds to raise lamb (for meat).  He recently sheared his sheep and because he really doesn't want to bother with the wool, he offered it to us (for free!).

Oh, the possibilities....

Hearts and More Hearts

A stuffed heart for our door made from an old skirt and salvaged lace trim.

Sarah's stitched hearts.

I made my love a pillow for our bed of a felted sweater.

My love woodburned this for me on a heart shaped piece of birch.

A special treat of heart pancakes for  breakfast.

There is something about Valentines Day that I enjoy.  It is so much fun to be crafty with hearts and so nice to give everyone a little extra treat on this day.

Warm wishes,

Tonya

How to Make Your Own Drop Spindle

Yesterday we went to visit the mamas that gave us all of our wool and their new babies. This mama had triplets! It is common for sheep to have twins and not unusual for them to have triplets. Can you imagine?

The babies are not so gentle either.

We are thankful for the wool that the sheep so generously give with their annual shearing.

Our family has continued to wash, pick, and now card the wool using two dog brushes. We picked the kind of dog brush with metal bristles.

Three of our children and I have been enjoying our new handmade drop spindles. We ordered circular wooden disks (or large wheels) from this online shop (http://www.cherrytreetoys.com). They are 3 inches in diameter. Next we bought dowel and cup hooks from our local hardware store. When you order the large wheel, take note of the diameter of the hole because that is the diameter of the dowel you will need. In our case it was 1/4 inch dowel. For each spindle, you will need about 12 inches of dowel.

For the end hooks, buy cup hooks 1/2 inch.

Put some wood glue about three to four inches from the top of the dowel and then slide the wheel onto the dowel so it covers the glue. Some glue will ooze out - just wipe it with a rag. Screw the cup hook hook into the bottom of the dowel closest to the wheel.

Now if you have a coping saw or a small saw, you will need to make a notch in the wheel. Just saw into the wheel about 1/8 of an inch or so, this will guide the spun yarn.

Once the notch is made, make sure that the open end of the hook is spun in the opposite direction of the notch, this will prevent your yarn from slipping out.

That is it! Please ask questions if this isn't clear. I will show some pictures about how to use the drop spindle next.

Warm wishes, Tonya

Sheep and Wool Festival

We took a leisurely drive down to Tunbridge for the annual Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival yesterday. The foliage was breathtaking and we enjoyed the drive, avoiding the highways and instead, going through small Vermont towns.

The pictures tell the story.

Gorgeous hand dyed yarn~

Abraham having a drink break ~

Bobbin Lacemaking , amazing~

Abby needlefelting in a cookie cutter, sponsored by a local waldorf school~

Needlefelting in a windowpane~

Sheep Shearing~