Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival 2018

I had a great time at the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival in Jefferson, Wisconsin.  The festival is put on by about 150 volunteers, and they do a fantastic job.  It had stopped raining, and the weather turned out to be perfect. 

There's so much to see at the festival.  They have sheep dog trials, sheep shows, fleece judging, auctions, a display of hooked rugs and demonstrations, a sheep to shawl competition, lots of vendors, and lots of classes to take and more.  One of my favorites is the Hall of Breeds, where sheep breeds from all over the world are brought in for everyone to see.  Another favorite is seeing the lambs that are born at the festival. 

I took 2 classes, and I enjoyed both of them.  The first class was Intermediate Brioche taught by Javier Jara.  We knit a sample of 2-color brioche and used increases and decreases to create a design in the brioche.  Brioche is reversible, and it usually has a light side and a dark side. 

                                                 My Sample of Brioche, Light Side

And the dark side of the same sample.
 
The 2nd class I took was on Sami Mitten Techniques, taught by Laura Ricketts.   Laura brought lots of samples of mittens to show us and they were all based on her research of the historical Sami mitten knitting techniques.

Sami Mittens usually have a braided cord at the cuff, often with a tassel.  Some of them have knitted braids near the cuff that are similar to Latvian braids.  They have a pointed top and pointed thumb top, and the mittens have a "peasant thumb," which is a straight thumb without a thumb gore.

We knit a little sample minus the thumb, which has the same decreases as the top of the mitten.

There were lots of different sheep at the festival and also some baby lambs that were born at the festival. 

The festival provides so much opportunity to learn spinning, knitting, felting, dyeing, and other fiber crafts.  It really is a wonderful festival. 

Parakeet Bead Loom Bracelet for my Granddaughter

My granddaughter has a parakeet named Chip, so I made her a bracelet with a parakeet that looks like Chip.  She helped weave a row of the bracelet, and her brother also wove a few rows.

I added an adjustable closure with a lobster claw.

My notes:  Light blue above beak.  Wrist size 5 1/4" for N.  Clasp adds about 1 1/4" so beads should be about 4 1/2".  Parakeet is 21 rows divided by 9 rows per inch, so 2 1/3".  4 1/2"= 4 x 9 = 36 + 4 =40 rows.  Decrease each side: 11-9-7-5 each side.  6 rows + 21 = 27.  40-27 = 13 rows so add 6 more rows per side before and after pattern.  Clasp: lobster and beads.  New thread, weave in well and come out center bead.  Make a chain of jump rings for one side.  Size 8 beads make a circle of 8 or 9 beads and add closed jump ring which chain is attached to. Other side: also about 8 or 9 beads with a jump ring attached to the lobster claw.  I used heavy duty jump rings from Hobby Lobby.  One G thread. When weaving in threads, I added a knot after weaving in about 10 rows and then went through a few more beads and cut thread.  Add a charm onto the last jump ring.  4 rings and a charm.

Warm Socks for my Grandson

These are really warm heavy socks.  I've made these for my husband, and he loves wearing them every winter. 
Long ago when there were just "knitlists" online, Joan's Socks became a popular pattern.  It is now available through Lion Brand Yarns.  The socks use 2 strands of Wool Ease yarn held together to create a very thick knitted sock. 

These socks are pretty fast to knit.  They'll keep his feet so warm this winter.

My notes: Foot size about 10 1/2.  I used 2 balls of Wool Ease yarn. Size 7 needles for the cuff in K1, P1 rib for 12 rounds. Size 9 needles for the sock. German Twisted Cast on. Cast on 32 stitches. Work leg for 7” including cuff. Heel flap 16 stitches. Sl 1, purl 7 plus 8 from needle 3. Right side: (Sl 1, k1) across. Wrong side Sl 1, then purl across. 8 slipped stitches on each side of heel flap.
Heel: Sl1, P8 p2tog, p1, turn, sl1, k3 k2tog, k1, turn, etc. 10 stitches left at end of right side row.
Pick up 8 stitches on each side of flap. Gusset: K to within last 3 stitches needle 1, k2tog, k1. Knit instep. K1, ssk on 3rd needle. Round 2 knit even. Repeat until 32 stitches. Foot: 8 3/4” for K then work toe. Decrease first round, knit second round until 16 stitches are left. (I did knit the last row before kitchener stitching them together.) Wool Ease 3 oz. 197 yards, 2 balls. 80% acrylic, 20% wool.

A Fisherman's Kep for My Granddaughter

I learned about the Fisherman's Kep pattern by Anne Sinclair from the knitters on Fair Isle who were selling the pattern to buy new windows for their local museum, the George Waterston Memorial Centre and Museum.  They have a Facebook group, The Fair Isle Fisherman's Kep Page, where knitters can ask questions and receive help with the pattern, and also post pictures of their finished keps.

So, I made this fisherman's kep for my granddaughter.  This will be so warm for her this winter.  This is a fun pattern to knit.

C

Fair Isle has a long history of trading their textiles, including their handknit keps, with passing ships for goods that were not produced on Fair Isle.

My notes:
I used Galway sport yarn and Cascade 220 sport in light pink. I used size 2 (2.75) needle for ribbing. 144 stitches and size 3 (3.25) mm for the body of the hat.
When turning the brim, p 1 row and then purl 1 row after turning so 2 purl rows aren’t at edge.
Next time, use a smaller needle for the outside ribbing on the brim so it holds in a little more.
I used a centered double decrease at the top so the pink thread would be on top of the stripes. So, slip 2 stitches together as if to k2tog, and then k1 stitch. Slip the 2 stitches over that stitch. Knit the stitch in pink, and each row, knit the stitch above the decrease in pink.
My decreases start with 112 stitches, decrease every other row to 16 stitches (all pink). 6 decreases.
Motifs from any of these books: A Shetland Knitter’s Notebook, A Shetland Pattern Book, or Traditional Fair Isle Knitting.

A Pretty Afghan for my Granddaughter

I love this feather and fan crochet afghan pattern called Feather and Fan Baby Blanket, by Alexis Middleton.  I crocheted it for my granddaughter and made it larger.  I used Caron Cakes, color Mixed Berry.  I used 5 skeins.  I love the sequence of colors.

I cast on 187 stitches using foundation crochet.  It's a little over 42" wide, and about 62" long.  I ended with a row of single crochet instead of single crochet in the front loop because I think it will be a bit stronger at the top edge. 

She loves her new cozy afghan!

Victorian Lattice Square Afghan for A.

I'm crocheting an afghan for my granddaughter.  I'm using Stylecraft Dk acrylic yarn, and she chose the colors Lapis and Mushroom.  The squares will alternate in the afghan and be joined by the Lapis color, and I'll add a border in Lapis.

I love this pattern, and it's perfect for her. 

My notes:
I’m using Stylecraft DK yarn in Lapis blue and Mushroom and a size E 3.5 mm hook.
I am using the sc, ch1 as the first DC where the pattern says it. It makes a smaller DC which blends in well with the join each round. Round 9 is SC around. This is 14 sc, ch1 in space, 14 sc, then the corner of 2sc, ch3, 2 sc.
I’m adding a round of blue around each square, so the mushroom squares will have a round of blue. This is 16 sc, 1sc in center, 16 sc, 3 sc in corners around. I will join the squares with blue. So, the squares are now 7 1/2”.
Design:  6 squares wide by 8 squares long before border.  48 squares.  SC join in Lapis.

Cozy Socks

I love making these cozy socks for my granddaughters.  The pattern is called Cozy Toes by Christiane Burkhard.  The pattern comes with child and adult sizes, and these socks are in worsted weight yarn for cozy warm winter socks.

The yarn is Red Heart Gumdrop in the color Licorice.  It's an acrylic yarn.  These socks are so fast and fun to knit.

My notes: K's foot 9 1/4". Cast on 40 with size 3 needles.  K2, P2 cuff for 2 1/2". Size 4 needle for sock.  12 heel stitches to pick up. 7" leg total length. Foot is 7 3/4" long before toe.  12 stitches to kitchener (6 + 6). German twisted cast on. 

Norwegian Mittens for my Granddaughter

I took part in a Knit Along course by Kristin Myrmel of Norknit.com and SKD (Scandinavian Knitting Design).  Kristin is a Norwegian knitter.  Her courses are very informative, and she includes lots of videos on various knitting techniques.  Along with the course, there's also a closed Facebook group where everyone can share their progress and pictures.

I love the design of Norwegian mittens.  Norwegian mittens have several design features that make them easy to recognize.  They have a thumb gore, and the design on the outer thumb is different from the inner thumb, which matches the inside of the hand.

The outside of the hand has a large design--often Norwegian stars, snowflakes, or animals.  The inside of the hand has a small repeating design.  Between the two is a line which separates the hand--often 3 stitches that form stripes or dots.  The cuff can be a ribbed cuff, often with stripes, or a colorwork cuff, or a lacy cuff.  The mittens have a pointed top of the hand and the thumb.

                                              Norwegian Mittens, Inside and Outside of Hand

I used Galway sport yarn and size 3.0 mm double pointed needles for the mitten, except I used a size 2.75 mm needles for the thumb.  I used 2.75 mm also for the cuff.  I knit into the back of the knit stitches for the K2, P2 cuff. 

I once took a Norwegian mitten class (2009) from Arnhild Hillesland and enjoyed her class, too.  There were a few differences between the 2 classes.  Kristen uses k2 through the back loop for the cuff, and Arnhild knits the cuff regularly.  Arnhild taught us to use k2 through the back loop as our Left Leaning Decrease, and Kristin uses S1, K1, PSSO (or SSK).  The top of the mitten was a little different, too.  Arnhild takes the last stitches through the yarn tail, using the white yarn tail for the white stitches, and the pink yarn tail for the pink stitches.  In Kristin's mitten we did a double decrease at the top first:  S1, K2tog, PSSO.  I've loved the mittens I've made from each class.

My pattern notes:

I added 3 rows to the thumb gusset, alternating 2 rows of each design. Thumb: use 2.75 mm needles. Skip last row of top of outside thumb. Added some Xs to first row of thumb to continue pattern.
I was afraid the mitten would be too long, so I took out 2 rows in the center, so only 1 row between the 2 stars. Center diamond is 1 x, x space x, x 3 spaces x, x space x, x. The length would have been fine. The mitten fits very closely.
I used k2b for left slanted decrease as Arnhild does.
Finished 7 1/4” mitten, excluding cuff. 21 rows = 3”, about 7 rows per inch. K: wrist to thumb 2 1/4”, pinky 5 1/4”,  hand about 7”.

Bead Weaving for Bracelets--Patriotic and Parakeets

Making bracelets on a bead loom is quick and easy.  My granddaughters love them!

I started this patriotic bracelet for my granddaughter on my Northwest beading loom.  I love the pattern, which I found on Pinterest.  I used size 8 seed beads by Toho and OneG thread. I have two more of these to make before the 4th of July.

I wove in the ends and added a lobster adjustable clasp.

My two granddaughters love their parakeets, so I made this parakeet bracelet, and I have one more to make.  Size 8 Toho beads and OneG thread.

I wove in the ends and added an adjustable lobster clasp.

Finally, I made a bracelet using my granddaughter's school colors and an easy macrame finish.

My notes: Patriotic, K, 6" wrist, so 6 1/2" finished. 5 1/4" beads, clasp 1 1/4". Beading 5 3/8". 9" across =3/4". 2 repeats 4 3/4". End 4 blue, 1 red, 4 blue, then add to each side.
N, school bracelet, 5 1/4" wrist. Hearts, 7 beads, 8 threads.  4 hearts =2 3/4". 24 rows, then decrease each side. 5, 3, 3, wrap around warp threads several times and take weft through several rows, knot, thru several rows, knot, thru several rows,cut. 
Parakeet, K 6" wrist, so 6 1/2".  41 rows = 4/3/4". taper both ends so approx 5 1/4". 11, 9, 7 each side = 5 1/4". 12 mm 15 mm lobster clasp.

Faroese Shawls

Faroese Shawls are shawls traditionally knit in the Faroe Islands using the natural colored wool of their sheep.  It is a warm shawl that sits well on the shoulders and is perfect for everyday wear.  The  shawl can also be tied for extra warmth and for easy wearing while working outside.

A guild friend mentioned knitting a Faroese Shawl as a knit along, which inspired me to begin to knit one, too.  I had taken 2 classes in the past on knitting a Faroese doll-sized shawl, but never had the time to knit a full-sized shawl. 

                       An Example of a Graph showing a Faroese Shawl with a Center Gusset.

                     Child's Faroese Shawl by Olivia Joensen. Picture from Faroe Strands Blog.

Faroese Shawl Traditional Characteristics

The Faroese shawl has a number of traditional characteristics.  It is knit from the bottom up--in other words, there are hundreds of stitches cast on to begin the shawl.  The shawl is decreased bit by bit until there are few remaining stitches to cast off or to graft together.  The shawl is traditionally knit in garter stitch.  This makes the shawl reversible.  Some shawls are lined.  Many are fringed.  Some shawls are more than one color.

The shawl has a Center Gusset.  This helps provide the wonderful support of the shawl to help it stay on the shoulders.  The center gusset is a rectangular shape which is wider at the lower edge.  On each right side row, a decrease is knit next to each edge of the gusset, and in addition, some rows have decreases inside the gusset for additional shaping. 

Shoulder decreases rows toward the upper part of the shawl also provide shaping to help keep the shawl on the shoulders. 

The shawl has a garter stitch border.  Decreases are worked on right side rows next to the border on each side of the shawl.

Faroese shawls often have a lovely lace border.  Some shawls continue the lace pattern into the center gusset.  The Faroese lace pattern graphs show only the Yarn Overs, which they call Eyelets.  Each eyelet is marked with an X.  You have to decide which decreases to use in the lace graph.

                                                    Faroese Graph showing Lace Eyelets

The shawl I'll be knitting is from the book, "215 Shawl Designs," by Olivia Joensen.  This book was originally published in 1980 and has recently been republished.  It includes an English translation.  It is available from The Island Wool Company online.

This book contains 250 lace charts and also a shawl graph and instructions for knitting a basic Faroese Shawl.

There are many good sources for Faroese Shawl patterns.  Marilyn Van Keppel wrote a translation of a book of Faroese Shawls into English, available at Schoolhouse Press online.  They call it the Faroe Shawl book because the name isn't easy to pronounce. The first class I took about Faroe Island shawls was taught by Marilyn Van Keppel around 2001 in Columbia, MO.  It was a wonderfully informative class.

Cheryl Oberle has some beautiful Faroese shawls in her wonderful shawl book, "Folk Shawls: 25 Knitting Patterns and Tales from Around the World."  The 2nd class I took on Faroese shawls was taught by Cheryl Oberle at the Wis. Sheep and Wool Festival, which was also a wonderful class.

A beautiful Faroese shawl pattern is available in the book, "Nordic Knitting: 31 Patterns in the Scandinavian Tradition," by Susanne Pagoldh.  It is a traditional Faroe Island shawl from the Faroe Islands, and the instructions are a bit sparse.  There are some beautiful Faroese shawl patterns in the books, "A Gathering of Lace" and "Shawls and Scarves: The Best of Knitter's Magazine."  There are also lots of other Faroese Shawls and patterns that you can find on Ravelry.com. 

This is a beautiful traditional shawl, and I'm sure it will be fun to knit.

A Flower Garden Afghan for N, Flower Garden CAL

I really enjoyed crocheting this afghan for my granddaughter. This was a CAL (crochet along) by The Knitting Network, and it's called Flower Garden Afghan, by Lynne Rowe.

I used Michael's yarns, mostly Colorwheel (Loops & Threads) and a size H hook (5.0). For the white, I used the larger balls of Michael’s Loops and Threads yarn in cream color.  The colors are these: mid pink, bright gold, deep purple, pool blue, lavender, purple, turquoise, fuchsia, and mid green.

I love the flower blocks in the center.  I added 2 extra to make the afghan more rectangular.

                                                          Flower Blocks

The other 2 blocks were Circle in a Square and Sunburst Squares. 

This was the first afghan I've pieced together from blocks.  I joined the squares together with single crochet in the back loops with wrong sides together (center loops).  There is a decorative ridge on the front of the afghan.  There are 6 flower blocks, 14 circle in squares blocks, and 22 sunburst squares.

I crocheted one round of single crochet in off white before doing the border. 3 single crochets in the corners, and one single crochet in every stitch and one single crochet in the chain 1 spaces. One single crochet in the corners between squares: (one single crochet, chain 1, one single crochet to join over squares.  I did 4 rounds of double crochet around the afghan and finished with a shell of 5 double crochets in purple. The corner shell was 5 double crochets (shell) chain 3, 5 double crochets (shell).  Finished size was about 42” by 50”.

Note about Sunburst square:  (Sunburst Granny) 4th round: Slip stitch in any chain space. Chain 3 (1 hdc) and 1 hdc in that space (2 hdc)
Next space: 3 DC, chain 3, 3 DC in this space for corner. Next space 2 hdc. 1 sc in top of next cluster, 1 sc in next chain space, 1 sc in top of next cluster. 2 hdc in next chain space.
Then next will be the corner again, and repeat around. It ends with the sc in the top of the next cluster and slip stitch into the 2nd chain of the first hdc.
This is more symmetrical than the original pattern directions.

I can't wait to give it to her!  

Natural Dyeing with Old Black Walnuts

Fresh green walnut husks are used for yarn dyeing for best results.  But, can you use old walnuts that you find lying on the ground in January?  Yes!  I got lovely colors from walnut dyeing this week in January.  The colors range from a light brown to a warm light/medium brown, to a reddish brown.  

On a nice January day while going for a walk, we found old black walnuts on the ground at the edge of our property by a creek.  They were brown and black, rotting, and broken.  I wondered if I could still get enough black walnut dye from the old walnuts, so we collected over half of a 5-gallon bucket.

I used a large canning pot and filled it with the black walnuts along with some leaves and water almost to cover the walnuts.  The water turned from clear to tan to brown pretty quickly.  After about an hour, it looked like this.

I cooked the black walnuts for 4 hours at just a very low simmer.  The black walnuts turned very dark, and the dye liquid turned almost black.

I soaked two skeins of Knit Picks bare worsted weight wool yarn in water overnight.  To the water in one bowl, I added about 3 tablespoons alum, and to the water in the other bowl, I added about 3 tablespoons of cream of tartar.  Walnut dyeing doesn't require a mordant, but the walnuts were so old so I thought I'd try using mordants.

Since the walnuts were so old, I didn't know if I'd get much color from them in the finished yarn.  Next year I'll collect the green husks and use those for walnut dyeing, but it was fun to experiment.

I removed each of the black walnuts from the dye bath the next day, and also put the dye through a fine sieve.  There were a lot of small walnut pieces and leaves that were collected in the sieve.

Next I put the yarn which was mordanted with Alum into the cooled dye bath.  I let the dye bath come to just a low simmer.  I simmered the yarn in the dye bath for 1 1/2 hours.


My granddaughter was my helper, and it was fun walnut dyeing together.  She loved it and wants to try dyeing with marigolds and Queen Anne's lace next summer.

The yarn looks so dark in the dye bath, but since the walnuts were so old, I assumed I would probably get a finished tan yarn, but I was hoping for more color.  I let the yarn cool in the dye bath for several hours.

The yarn was drained on a stick over the dye pot until it stopped dripping.  The weather was nice enough to later hang the skein outside to dry.

Here's how the skein that was mordanted in Alum turned out after rinsing it until the water was clear and letting it dry.  I am really happy with it.

                                  Wool Mordanted with Alum and Dyed with Walnuts

Next I dyed the skein of yarn that was mordanted with cream of tartar.  I placed it into the same dye pot, and I simmered it for 2 hours.  I let it cool for awhile in the dye before placing it on the stick over the dye pot to let the dye drain off. 

I hung the skein to dry.  Then I rinsed it until the water was clear and let it dry outside.
I love how this skein turned out.  I love the different shades of brown and reddish brown in it.

Wool Mordanted with Cream of Tartar and Dyed with Walnuts 

We really enjoyed experimenting with old walnuts for dyeing wool yarns.   Natural dyeing is so much fun because you really don't know exactly what color you'll end up with.