Tag: Chone

Scenes from the Barbershop

denisemor 2 April 22, 2018

Saturday was nice and sunny, and I was able to convince Chone that he needed to be relieved of his heavy winter coat (or at least part of it)

He’s usually a good sport for at least the first half of the job.

And we had a nice bit of quality time, with lots of rubs and snuggles

He’s such a sweet little dude 🙂
So he’s about half-shorn now, much like Dottie and Esther.
Still haven’t had a go at Felix and Frank yet, and Frank look like he’s already shedding his fleece a bit.
It’s just as well- I think that he’s pretty felted. But I hope to have a chance to get him tidied up soon.

In other fiber-y news, I received a sample of angora from a friend the other day, so I spent some time today playing with it and working up a little sample.

I’d never spun angora before, so it took a little bit of practicing before I got a feel for how it drafted. It’s so soft and fine- but with a decent staple length, so I decided to spin it on it’s own, with no wool blended in.

My regular old hand carders did a decent job prepping it- not perfect, but got most of the clumps opened up

Thought I had a picture of it on the bobbin, but oh, well-
Here is the resulting swatch

Serious halo- and I haven’t even washed it yet!
It could probably have used a bit more twist in the singles, so I’ll probably try that next time so the yarn is a little stronger and more stable. But I’m pretty pleased with how the first try went.

Makes me really want to make one of these
or perhaps one of these

The little ones look like they’d work up pretty fast….

Pretending it’s Spring

denisemor 2 February 11, 2018

The sun is shining, the air is fresh, and spirits are high out in the pasture today.

Frank even came out of his shell a bit

Amazing what some sunshine and “falfers” (alfalfa pellets) can do 🙂

For as wet as it’s been, I was pleasantly surprised that Dottie doesn’t seem too felted

I got a little bit of quality time with her and Chone , who is sporting a mighty nice-looking fleece himself

Esther’s fleece looks kind of messy on the outside (tips are pretty weathered, and some chicken keeps pooping on her!)

but I think it’s still really nice underneath. One thing’s for certain, there is lots of it!

I’m still not officially done with the argyle socks, but I’ve given in to the the green and cast on my cabled sweater-

I know it doesn’t look like much yet, but I’m really excited about how it’s coming along. The fabric feels great, and it’s fun to work on. I’d almost forgotten how satisfying this kind of textured work is.

Here’s a better look at how the cable panel on the back is shaping up.

Scenes from a September Weekend

denisemor 0 September 11, 2016

Stumpy announcing his presence

Dottie and Edgar showing off their Fall partial haircuts

And Denise learning a new skill!

Oh Norwegian Purl, where have you been all my life!? 🙂 Can’t wait to try it out on some corrugated ribbing.

And, I am really close to finishing the Tomato Bisque cowl (maybe 90%).

I think that is probably the closest I have come to accurately capturing the color of the yarn.
September light seems to suit it!

Down to the Buttons

denisemor 2 April 24, 2016

The Chone Burr project is off the needles and fully assembled!

And I am pleased 🙂

It turned out well, I think, and fits nicely, though the sleeves are a little slim (Or maybe my arms are just thick)

I’m glad I went with the 44″ size for the shoulder space, but it could probably have used a bit more waist shaping, as it is a little boxy.
But I do love it. And it is 99% done.

Here is a shot of the collar detail-

And here is one of my lovely sleeve caps-

I used to be a little afraid of set in sleeves and sewn together sweaters, but I think I’m finally getting the hang of it. It was actually almost enjoyable putting this together!

(You are not imagining things, the cap of that sleeve is a bit darker than the neighboring pieces. A little natural variation in Chone wool coloration that I didn’t notice until it was all assembled.)

So it was another good Brooklyn Tweed pattern experience. And I even learned a new technique- the stem stitch bind-off (used around the buttonband and collar). Work out great and might come in handy for other projects.

Now I need the perfect buttons.

I’m not sure what that means yet, but I’m sure I’ll know them when I see them.