A Shawl of Homespun

I have been working on making a shawl all the way from fleece for some time now, and have finally finished. The fleece came from a beautiful Coopworth sheep and was purchased at Hodgepodge Handicrafts in Newport, NH. I purchased it in its natural colors of silver, cream and charcoal. After carding the wool on a drum carder, I then used a single treadle Ashford Traveler spinning wheel to a 2-ply yarn. (In the pictures below, the fleece and yarn are shown in a beautiful egg basket made by Jane Darling at Firefly's Farm.)

Cleaned Coopworth Balls of homespun

After several attempts at using patterns that didn't meet my approval, I finally settled on an original design in which I knit from the top center and expanded out into a large triangle. Two lace stripes run vertical down the spine and the bottom is bordered with a simple lace before it is cast off. I received a beautiful maple through-hole for a shawl pin from Josh Trought of D-Acres. The pinning stick is made of ash and was whittled by Merrill Snell. I love the shawl pin as much as the shawl, and I felt they really complimented one another. Here is the finished product with me squinting into the sun!

Kathleen H. Peters in her shawl of homespun

Back view of homespun shawl

I learned two very important points from this creation. The first is that blocking a finished knit item does, truly, make a world of difference. Before the shawl was blocked, the lace edge was very wavy and indistinct. Blocking the shawl really give it an exquisite finished look.

The second thing I learned was that my children really do pay attention to what I do when I work with fiber. While trying on the shawl for the first time, moments after casting off, my daughter came running to me with her beloved "special" blanket. I wish you all could have seen her eyes when she realized I had an extra shawl pin! It was pure delight! How I wish she wasn't growing so fast!

Kathleen H. Peters with her daughter, trying on the shawl for the first time.

The Season of Knitting

Many of you are probably wondering where on earth I have gone off to! Well, that is simple! I haven't been felting at all! I have been over in Clark, SD visiting in-laws for Christmas. And then, my husband and I spent the last week replumbing our house since the pipes burst while we were gone. Luckily, there was no flooding - but I will spare you the non-fiber details.

So what do you do when you are a fiber nut who can't transport her felting from NH to SD? You knit! This year my whole family needed hats. My daughter, is already on her 3rd hat this year. The first one (which I loved) was crocheted out of homespun and was left on the T in Boston. The second had ear flaps - and she was traumatized any timed she saw it. Imagine, an 18 mo. old who is already fashion crazed! The third hat - and hopefully last - looks splendid on her. It is made of Noro and really brings out the blue of her eyes while still matching her orange coat. Leave it to Noro to get a tasteful color scheme for that challenge! My son has a nice simple brown hat. It frames his face nicely with a rolled brim, and looks great on him when his cheeks are all ruddy from the cold! Last but not least - my husband finally has something I made for him that he wears! For years he has been telling me not to bother, he just isn't a "sweater kind of a guy"! But his head circumference is very, very large - which makes buying a good looking hat challenging. He could wear a bright orange hunting hat to work. However, he found that my hat suited that purpose a bit better. Again, Noro saved the day. It is spiced up with stripes, yet remained completely masculine.

Cora's hat Seth's hat Cora's, Seth's and John's hats

So how about a hat for me? I have been wearing the same hat for five or six years now. And I am sad about the idea of retiring it. But I did buy some yarn for a new hat and matching scarf. They will be knit in my knitting class - starting tomorrow.

Kathleen H. Peters in her favorite hat