It was....love at first sight when the Purelife British Sheep Breeds came in last week with the 847 lbs of Rowan. I'll admit, the Purelife line appeals to my dorky side--the British Sheep Breeds book and yarn have a little blurb about all four of the breeds used, and each of the yarn colors is from a specific breed. And, it's a renewable resource--an annual shearing--so it appeals to my greener side, too.
Then I saw the British Sheep Breeds book that goes with it--the cover jacket (Gayle) is absolutely wonderful. I just had to knit it! I chose the Dark Grey Welsh though--the Bluefaced Leicester would terrify me (aside from knitting I have messy hobbies--cars, target shooting, etc. and though I know I won't dare wear this coat to anything like that, there's usually some 'evidence' in my car that I accidentally come in contact with!)
I went home that night and got started--after casting on with the wrong size needles (yep, I can't be left to my own devices when I'm this excited!) and tearing the whole thing out, I'm about halfway through the first chart repeat. The chart isn't exactly for the faint of heart and I'll be honest--I've never knit a cable before in my life and never knit from a chart either. It's beautiful though--and the pattern is pretty darn clearly written. Just proof that if you're patient with yourself and don't mind asking questions you can knit anything. I love it! It's a rough wool, definitely best suited for outerwear, but I can tell it's going to be exceptionally warm, and the cables are amazing!
*Ashley*
OMG Now I will have to get my hands on this. I lived in Ireland for some time and enjoyed going to the farms and the sheep hurding contest and the shearing contest. When we traveled to England we also made time to check out all the wool. Just wonderful! By the way I put you guys in my favorite blog list on my blog.
ReplyDeleteLooks awesome! Can you post an update pic? Many MANY years ago, my now late grandfather got into spinning wool by hand for a time, and I'm lucky enough to have several balls of it. Various colors and thicknesses. Some are more consistant in thickness throughout the skein than others. I'd like to combine some of this yarn with something I can make for my daughters, ages 22 and 20. I've thought about a cabled scarf (have done some fisherman's knit stuff in the past). Something timeless and sizeless that would let them have a bit of my grandfather's handmade wool. Any thoughts or suggestions?
ReplyDelete