GR's Sweater from Minnie

As I mentioned in my first post, when I first started spinning I bought a fleece from a friend Lani, who had a small flock of sheep.  This fleece was from a ewe named Minnie who had lovely wool; soft and lustrous. Lani kept good care of her sheep and it showed in the high quality of the fibre and the fact that it wasn't full of hay and manure. 

I washed, carded and spun up the fibre.  It was terrific fun -- I didn't really know what I was doing -- was relying on books, calls to fellow guild members and instinct.  I was new to spinning so the yarn was slightly over twisted and didn't have the loft and airiness that my yarns for sweaters now have.  As a result, the sweater, when finished was dense and heavy. 

When I started spinning the yarn I didn't have a project in mind, but I knew I wanted to make something "substantial".  A sweater for my youngest daughter seemed the best idea, because sweaters are "substantial" and she was small so it would not take too long.  I dyed the yarn using kool-aid -- easy as anything.  The pink is from Strawberry Koolaid, the green from Lemon/Lime, the yellow is Pineapple and the white was good old Minnie. 

These Icelandic sweaters are a dream to knit up.  You work the body in the round, the arms in the round and then you join everything up at the yoke, working in the round and working the pattern.  The colour work keeps you going as each row lets you see the picture develop.

The sweater was heavy when completed, but my daughter loved it and wore it until it didn't fit her anymore.  Then we passed it along to another wee one who also wore it until she outgrew it.  A lot of hard wear and it still looks good.  I guess that's what you get with over twisted yarn.