Author: denisemor

Little bit of everything this week.

First off- finally got a picture of Daphne’s interesting hairdo. Has anyone ever seen this sort of thing on a sheep before? (rear end)

I don’t remember her fleece doing this last year. Kind of a weird springy guard hair halo. It’s coarse, but very springy.

Daphne is a unique character, that’s for sure.

Next, wool off the hoof- this is the Cali fleece I got flicked out while at the market last Sunday-

It’s a smooth and easy spin- and wants to be quite fine. I’m doing the singles on Moto (speed setting 5), and planning to do a three-ply finished yarn that comes out to about a sport weight. (playing at speed 4)

also decided to turn some blended batts into chunky unspun hats

And am taking another shot at rooting some cuttings from the garden. Sadly, last year’s rhody cuttings didn’t take, and that long-suffering shrub finally gave up the ghost this year 🙁 So I lost that round, but I’m back at it with roses.

Took 5 semi-hardwood cuttings from my favorite rose, St. Cecilia, and popped them in little makeshift cloches this morning

I really should have used sterile seed starter mix, but I didn’t have any at hand, and the urge to act was strong, so I just used potting soil. Here’s hoping i get at least one to root (fingers crossed). She’s a lovely rose, with an amazing scent, but for some reason doesn’t seem to be available anymore.

And here are some of the last roses of the season, collected just before it started raining yesterday

Most of the garden is kind of winding down, but I am please d to report that we have finally acheived ripeness on the Petite Gris de Renne melons! 🙂

and inside

so that is super exciting. AND, I handed off both vests to The Shepherd yesterday, (new one below, altered one was the subject of last weeks’ Sweater Surgery)

neckline detail

So I finally gave my self permission to dive into Cali’s fleece that I received in trade for the project. I got about 11 ounces of it flick carded (not washed yet, but really clean) while at the Alger Sunday market yesterday-

It’s going to be a lot of fun to spin! I’m thinking maybe sweater project?

The other thing that I have been working on for The Shepherd is downsizing a vest that I knit for him a couple (few?) years ago. When I first considered the alteration, it seemed pretty straightforward. But of course, the devil is in the details. 😉

And when it comes to cutting into knitting, you want to be pretty sure you’ve got a good plan.

So this vest sat quite a while, as I knit the new one, and considered the best way to approach the resizing.

When it came time to get down to business, I started by pinning it to the desired dimensions, to see how much fabric I’d be taking in.

Once I had a good idea about how much I’d be taking it in, I removed the ribbed hem and armhole trim.

After this I decided to mattress stitch the new seam right away, Which I immediately realized was a mistake, because I found it kind of awkward trying reinforce for the edges from the reverse side of the fabric. So i pulled out that stitching, but no harm, no foul, because no cutting had happened yet 🙂

After refreshing my memory on streek reinforcing techniques, I decided to go for a row of single crochet, which would also give me a clear definition for where the new seam would be stitched and an even selvage on the inside. Should have taken a picture at that stage, but I was kind of in the thick of things and didn’t think of that (sorry). But after reinforcing what would be the new edges, here are the bits I cut out

The seaming went much more smoothly the second time, since I had a clear guide in the from the line of crochet.

Now I’m reknitting the ribbed hem. Once redo the armhole trim I think I’ll go back and whip stitch the inside edges of the seam down with thread, so they lay nice and flat.

So, a little ways to go yet, but I’m pretty sure that the patient is going to make it, and continue to keep The Shepherd warm for a good long time yet. And I learned a few things along the way as well, which is cool.

It’s a vest! at long last, it’s a vest!

Still needs a final block and weaving in of ends, but it is functionally complete 🙂

Took me a couple tries to get the centered double decrease right, but am really happy with the finished neckline.

That’s all I’ve got tonight folks-

Have a good week!