On a Desert Isle, with only a Sheep
I now know for certain that if I'm stranded on a desert island with only a sheep for company, I could probably keep warm. Note quite sure how that's important, but there you go. I once had the opportunity to spend some time with an individual who had spent some hard time in prison, solitary confinement. His solemn instructions should I ever be in the same predicament have similar survival value for me, I imagine. But you never know.
More than a year ago, I decided to undertake the project of creating a garment from raw local wool. For being free, the wool was quite lovely, but also quite dirty. Anyway, bit by laborious bit, the sweater emerged -- first clean carded fleece, then spun and plied yarn and then an aran sweater I patched together from many free designs I discovered here and there. I even figured out how do it all in the round and integrate the raglan sleeves on my way up. The miracle is that it actually does fit, despite playing quite fast and loose with the gauge, coupled with the fact that the wool itself is quite imperfectly spun and can range from a lace weight to a worsted. I'm hoping that the welter of cables will distract from the thin spots. It does seem to have fulled a bit when I washed it, which helps. Anyway, I'm quite pleased, both at the result and to be done with it. I might even enter it into the Saanich fair.
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