Why Wool?

Last night the snow came down here in Wyoming. Fortunately, it didn't stay around come morning. The snow, and the chill in the air got me thinking about wool, but, honestly, when am I not thinking about wool?
Why do people use wool for knitting? Why do people have such a negative idea of wool?
To begin this discussion, what is wool? Wool is the protein fiber that grows on sheep. It is shorn or shed from the animal and is then spun into yarn. That's the short of the whole process.
But why do so many people have a bad impression of wool? Maybe they shrank their favorite sweater, maybe it's itchy, maybe they've heard from so many people that it is itchy and they just believe it.
Not all wool is made the same. As we saw from my previous posts about the fiber samples, wool comes in many different colors, lengths, weights, etc.. The best thing to do is to go to a yarn shop and feel all the wool yarns they have; do the neck test. The neck test is when you take a skein or hank of yarn and put it on your neck. The feeling on your neck will tell you a lot. If you find it itchy, there are many reasons why. Wool yarn is made from, for the sake of understanding, the "hair" of the sheep. Fiber is measured in microns. The micron measurement is based on the average diameter of the fiber. Human hair, by comparison, ranges from .017 to .18 millimeters, according to Wikipedia. Wool fibers range any where from less than 21 microns to over 45 microns. The comparison of the two is that 1 micron is .001 of a millimeter. So, fiber diameter is one variable.
Now, you might ask, well what makes wool so variable? It's the same reason why human hair is so different. People from different parts of the world, or with different ethnic backgrounds have vastly different hair. If you look at your own body hair, (this is a lot easier on a hairy, Italian guy) depending on where it grows on the body can yield a very different hair. Pardon the slightly disgusting comparison, but, my sample of Black Welsh Mountain wool (left) was very comparable to pubic hair; that would not make a very comfortable garment. Yet, many of the wool samples I've spun have been like cotton candy. Now who wouldn't like a cotton candy sweater, except maybe a diabetic. Today there are so many new indie dyers and spinners making wonderful yarns from their local wool, you really should see and feel what they have to offer.




The next variable is how the wool was spun. The same sample of wool could be spun worsted and make a very fine thread, think of a fine wool suit, or it could be woolen spun and make a very lofty soft yarn. (left, woolen spun Finn, right worsted spun Finn)

If we look to the psychology behind wool we can see many other reasons why people don't like wool. I believe this to go back to our mothers, and or grandmothers. If we look back to the 1930's and 40's during war time, wool was an important fiber for military uniforms, so it was in scarce commodities to the regular person. What did they do? they recycled old wool. Recycled wool was wool that was taken from yarn, fabric, second cuts, etc., and combed out. This broke the fibers and made it very rough to the touch. Many garments were made from this fabric and some generations lost the feeling of pure new wool, which is where that label came. Pure New Wool, is wool that hasn't been used for anything but this garment. Today recycled wool is sometimes used for rugs and carpeting.

Why should you use wool for your next project? This is a big question. I think the first fear in using wool for a project is it's washing. Yes, wool felts. Wool felts from hot water and agitation. So wash in cool water and by hand. Or if you are lucky and have a fancy new washing machine, wash it on super delicate hand wash cycle. I have done this with cashmere sweaters and they did not felt at all. We also have to let go of the idea that if we wear a garment once it has to be washed. If you don't spill on your sweater you don't have to wash it. I generally only wash my sweaters a few times a year. You definitely want to wash them before going into storage to prevent moths. When drying your sweaters, lay them out on a towel, roll them up into it and squeeze. You'll be amazed how much water comes out. Why should I be worried about shrinking when I can use superwash, or shrink free wool? Some superwash wools are terrible. To make wool superwash there are many things that happen to it. Most of these treatments involve chemicals. Wool fibers are coated with a plastic like coating to prevent the scales on the fibers from locking, these scales are the reason why it felts. Other treatments involve pre-shrinking the wool before it is spun. Do yourself a favor and look it up yourself, you will be surprised how much goes into making shrink proof wool.
This brings up another reason why wool is so wonderful, it's wicking properties. Wool can absorb a lot of water. For example, early firefighters would have wool suits that they would soak in water prior to entering a burning building to prevent it from burning. Wool can also be semi water proof. In the past raw wool was spun in the grease to keep it from absorbing water, seeing as how we know that water and grease do not mix.
Wool can be expensive, but if you are spending upwards of 40 hours of work on a sweater, don't you want it to be the best damn thing you can make? Wool has forgiveness that man made fibers do not have. Blocking can make all the difference in the final project of a wool sweater. These results will most likely not happen in acrylic. Also use your head when thinking about your project. Don't use a luxury fiber, like cashmere, for an out door sweater. Use something that has good body and nice insulation.
I don't think anything is better than a wool sweater, especially one that is hand made with love. It is time you take pride in your knitting. Go out in public and knit and see how many people are fascinated by what you are doing. Take pride in the fact that you are making something with your hands. And never say "oh, I'm just knitting"; most people don't have those motor skills. So, be proud of your skills and their outcomes, and buy some wool for that next project. You can also be very supportive of your local economy by doing so. Most yarn shops have a local section that may include local wool. And last, but not least, do a sheep a favor and use it's wool, it'll have another fleece next year.

Thirfting: Hobby or Obsession

You never know what you're going to come across in a thrift store.
Since moving to Wyoming we have been doing a lot of thrift store shopping. In my previous life I did a lot of costume designing and often it was on a tight budget, so I went to the thrift stores and consignment shops around Buffalo.
Tip One: Go to the suburbs, even though it's a drive, the prices at the stores are significantly less than those in the city. There may also be fewer stores in the burbs, that means that everything gets donated to that location and it may include designer pieces.
Our shopping usually isn't for anything specific but we generally find something. Lately, I feel as though I've moved from a Craft to crafting so I'm always looking for things that spark my creativity. Recently it was some vintage fabrics. In Fort Collins I found a four inch thick collection of the most adorable embroidery transfers that are going to be appearing on some up coming items for sale.
Tip Two: Speaking of sales, make sure you know what days your thrift stores have sales. These days you may not find the greatest of things but they will be on sale. When you walk in make sure to check to see if there is a daily or weekly color tag sale, generally that means the item is 50% off.
Being a fiber and knitting person I always look at the yarn; yarn that's not only in skeins but in sweaters. In a coming post I'll show you how to take a sweater apart for the yarn. The other day I was looking for sweaters to felt to make bags.
Tip Three: If you are going to felt a sweater for a project, the first thing you want to look for is a tag with fiber content. Ideally, you want one that says 100% wool, Shetland wool, virgin wool, alpaca, angora, or any mixture of the list. Cotton does not felt, linen does not felt, silk does not felt (although this list may make wonderful yarn to work with when taken apart), and no synthetic fiber felts, like rayon, polyester, acrylic, Dacron, Orlon, the list goes on. So look for Wool!
In the sweaters that I was looking at I found this great wool hand knit hoodie. I looked at it and thought to myself that this looked familiar, and then I realized it was a Central Park Hoodie! If you are a knitter, you may be familiar with this pattern. In Buffalo, the knitting shop that I went to had a class to make it with the pattern designer. If you're interested in the pattern check it out here.

Now this one had some issues, like pilling and a broken zipper, all of which I could take care of. I took out the broken zipper and put in a new one, and have been picking off the pills every time I wear it. The wool in the hoodie I believe is Icelandic because of the plethora of guard hairs all over. I love it. It's warm, possibly even more so because I know it was hand knit. It's a little big on me and a little small on Joe, but we both thing it's wonderful.
This is the exact reason why you go to a thrift store, well, why I go to a thrift store, you may find something that you didn't know you needed but when you have it, it sure makes you great full for someone else's "junk". So go thrifting. Find something good. Make a contribution to that charity. Make a smaller footprint in the world. And go dig for treasure.
But don't forget to bring your re-usable bag!

So, it has been a few months, and I apologize.
But, How is your knitting coming along? I hope it is going well.
Recently, I was with my knitting group and I was asked how I came into my knitting; my response was "By knitting through the Almanac".
Knitting through Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac, has been such a great experience. I know the year is not over yet, but I am confident that I will be finishing it.
I left off in February, which included baby leggings, a matching jacket and bonnet, a pot holder, and a square shawl. The pot holder is a chunky double acrylic wool blend yarn from Lion Brand, and let me say, it gets used. I wear the square shawl, and with this project came a happy mistake. Elizabeth tells you to increase at each corner by doing a yarn over, knit one, yarn over. I performed my yarn overs, not above the knit one but over the previous yarn over. This creates a parabola! More recently, I have been playing with the idea and making complex curved increases. Then the baby set was adorable. The leggings came out for a toddler while the jacket and bonnet were perfect for a true baby. The leggings were given to one young mother, while the jacket and bonnet were given to a first time grandmother friend of mine.
March is the only month I did not complete, which is ok because I love the pattern.
April was the afghan month and boy what an afghan. A friend of mine gave me two bags of lopi yarn, all in different colors and all beautiful. So with the lopi and some other chunky yarn that I had in my stock, I knit 24 squares, from the center. Then I grafted all the squares together, and finished it by knitting a sideways border all around it. Our summer was warm, so it was quietly packed under my bed till the fall. Only a short time into the fall now and already some nice naps have been had under the fine blanket. This was also the final project my grandmother saw completed.
It was in May that she passed away. Memorial Day 2015, my 93 year old grandmother passed away. Now, she did not teach me to knit, but she did teach me to crochet, and to appreciate the things we have. Growing up during the depression she did not have a lot, but it was more than my grandfather had. She told me that her family never went hungry, but that my grandfathers' did. As for knitting, it was the month of mittens, in which I only got one pair done. I think Elizabeth would have understood the circumstances though.
June was hat month, and boy did I knit hats! I knit all the patterns she had in the Almanac, and then I worked on some patterns from Knitting Without Tears. Now, I realize I have forgotten another pivotal moment to this year: When I Started Spinning!
I began spinning a few months prior to that on a drop spindle. I spun wool, and silk, and linen, and cotton, and, well, anything I could twist. In June, I visited relatives in New Hampshire and on the way there I stopped at the beautiful Harrisville Studios. I bought some wool there and also mohair, both of which I began to spin. By this time I have a heavy weight spindle, a medium weight, and a super light weight one. The heavy one I attempted flax on, but moved to the medium weight. Wool, I like on my heavy weighted one, and cotton and silk are perfect on my home made super light weighted one.
July was pi shawl month. I was excited. This pattern was why I bought the book in the first place. I had bought a silk and mohair blend yarn and found it an excellent suit for the project. I cast on and knitted, then increased, then knitted, then increase, and so on until I got to the end of three skeins and said enough. Then I began knitting a sideways border around the whole thing in hand spun mohair. Next came the blocking of the shawl, and my gosh, I love it. At the same time, I knitted a wedding veil out of a silk linen blend, which was a wedding gift to a dear friend of mine. This pattern I virtually made up, but it was based on the concept of a Pharoese shawl.
August came and went with more hats, I'm sorry Elizabeth, but I didn't get that chapter at all.
September came with no nether garments and ended with nether garments. Knitted Long Johns were the project for September. I loved this project. I know the idea seems rather odd but, knit them and you will love them.
Now it is October and I am knitting an in-between-season sweater, again not one of Elizabeth's, but I think she would approve. Details with pictures to come.
Happy Knitting!
ONO

January Project: Complete

January has come and gone and so has the Aran sweater project. Now my sweater fell short because I ran out of yarn to make sleeves, so I made a sweater vest.
On a trip to visit friends in New York City, and to see Death Becomes Her at the Metropolitan Museum, I was knitting on the train. And somewhere between Albany and New York City I ran into problems; I realized I was running out of yarn. I already had finished knitting the back as a raglan but who ever heard of a raglan sweater vest, so I had to figure out how to make the front fit into the shoulders on the back. I pondered for some ways on the train and realized if I made the front a V neck and continued the decreases from the front then I could make the front follow over the shoulder and make a drop shoulder seam in the back; which I did. I'm rather happy with the results except for one thing...It's far too large for me. Luckily I know one person who would appreciate this fine knitted Aran V-neck sweater vest and he shall receive it when next our paths meet.

P.S. I would like to say this is an authentic Aran sweater because there are variations in the cables. To all those half empty glass people who will see them as mistakes I say "No, those are character traits, choices on behalf of the sweater!"

Sweaters

Good Morning All,
Last night I spent far too long attempting to put together my first sweater for The Elizabeth Zimmerman Challenge. I mean between 10 different gauge swatches, attempting patterns, planning patterns on graph paper, I must have spent 6 or 7 hours just on that.
So this morning I woke up early, (I have a rehearsal for a concert...did I mention I sing?) and I started back on the sweater. Luckily I had found some patterns that I liked. In my gathering of resources I had found a book I rather liked. Now it is not Elizabeth Zimmerman, but I think she would be proud of me either way. It is an Aran sweater, that I will be knitting and I feel she would be proud in just that.
Now in The Knitters Almanac, Ms. Zimmerman discusses how to knit, but more importantly how to make it your own art form!
Today, a lot of people knit but they use some one else's patterns. The tradition of Aran knitting, and really any traditional needlecraft, not just knitting, is not given to you in a pattern but rather self created. In Aran knitting the patterns were passed down within a family, Italians have a different dialect in each region, the Irish have a different stitch for every family. Knitting to the Aran people was a way to express something. It was just a mixture of knits and purls.
So what I am saying to you is, KNIT! but, make your knitting your own and change the stitch pattern up, or change the sleeve, or the neck line. Trust me, you can do it!
Happy Knitting,
Old Niagara Outfitters

Elizabeth Zimmerman Challenge January

So today is January 2, 2015 in case you didn't know that. Here in Buffalo it is a little cold, but not terrible. It is just like every other winter I can recall to be honest, but aren't here to talk about the infamous Buffalo winters.

I can recall in the late summer months of 2014 friends of mine saying how they wanted to learn how to knit, maybe even get together some October evening with their first skein, a pair of knitting needles, and myself there to teach my group of friends how to knit. Well, October has passed, but again we are not here to talk about the great passing of time or the passing of New Years Resolutions. We are here to discuss a new project, or rather a group of projects!

Yesterday, January 1, 2015, I began what I have dubbed The Elizabeth Zimmerman Challenge. (this is when you comment, raise your hand, drop me a line, send me a telegram, etc. and ask Who is this Elizabeth Zimmerman?)

Well to answer your questions about this post...
Elizabeth Zimmerman was a wonderful knitter and author and spinner! She just so happened to have written a few books, but at the moment we are only concerned with one, The Knitter's Almanac.
Originally published in 1974, The Knitter's Almanac is a book with projects for each month of the year (how fitting since it is the beginning of January). Now I've added a link to Amazon just in case you don't already own a copy of the book; you can also get it on your Kindle.
Towards the end of December I thought, why not go through the Almanac?
So why not?
Her first project is an Aran sweater. I didn't know what exactly an Aran sweater was so I did some research...only after I started knitting.
To many people an Aran sweater may be more recognizable as a fisherman's sweater, or an Celtic sweater. They're commonly made from wool and have cables and bobbles and what not all over them. Now I must admit that while I love Ms. Zimmerman, I'm not all that fond of the way she wants you to make this first sweater by cutting it and inserting the sleeves, but well get there in a few weeks.
In the mean time I have my yarn, blue wool that I recycled from a sweater that my sister's boyfriend gave to me. I have acquired numerous, well 5 books from the library on Aran knits, and now it is up to me to figure out what stitch patterns to use. I have already started gauge swatches, 3 already, and still I don't have the right needles (sz 6 to be precise). Ms. Zimmerman gives very good advice on the swatch and that is to do it in stocking stitch, instead of your pattern stitch; just in case you don't like the pattern stitch she's chosen.
So next week, and every week here after, I will post my progress, hopefully with pictures too. But for today, think about your next project, instead of a resolution. You may start something you love and beginning forgetting something you don't.
Happy Knitting!
Old Niagara Outfitters