Finished in February

Last month, even though I worked diligently on many of my fiber projects, I didn't finish any of them. Not a one. Although I'm fairly patient, I do need to savor the satisfaction of completion from time to time. This month I kept plugging along and now, even though it's late in the month, I have two finished projects to share.

I'm calling this handspun yarn Missouri Dark Chocolate because 1) the rich color reminds me of - yum - dark chocolate, and 2) it's completely produced in Missouri. The fleece came from a Rambouillet x CVM sheep who was raised by a wool grower in the Kirksville area. I sent the fleece to Bonnie Ahrens at ABC Naturals to be washed and processed into a fine spinner's roving. The fine, soft fibers were a delight to spin.



I spun the roving into a cushy 2 ply medium weight yarn. After washing, processing, spinning, and plying, the 3.75 pound fleece yielded 1,232 yards/ 27.5 ounces of yarn. See those little waves running along the locks of wool in the photo below? That's known as crimp in sheep lingo, and nice wavy crimp like this usually yields a lofty, insulating yarn. It will knit up as a warm yet lightweight fabric.



My other completed project is this triangular knitted shawl. The pattern is Akimbo by Stephen West. The yarn is Pagewood Farm Denali sock yarn in two colorways, knitted on a US size 4 circular needle. I started this shawl last Thanksgiving and enjoyed working on it, but it had to compete with quite a few other projects for my attention. It wasn't growing very quickly. Luckily the Ravelympics came to the rescue. My sisters and I decided to resurrect our 2008 Ravelympics Team Sennott. I needed a knitting challenge to attempt to complete during the Winter Olympics, and the Akimbo shawl seemed like the perfect challenge.



My shawl was only about one third knitted when the Ravelympics began. To be honest, it's a good thing I enjoy watching many of the Winter Olympics sports. Watching those short track speed skaters, those crazy halfpipe dudes, the amazing mogul athletes, and others helped me knit right through my shawl in a much shorter time than if I hadn't attempted the challenge. Saturday evening I knitted the final stitches and freed the fabric from the needle. Yesterday I blocked the Akimbo. It's a lovely, eye-catching design. The colors will coordinate with many things in my closet. And best of all, our weather is still cold so I can wear it this winter!




Well then, two projects completed this month doesn't mean I'm nearly through with all my works-in-progress ... not by a long shot ... but I'm getting there!