After the devastating panic upon realizing I'd sold Marcel's fleece last spring, the Always Amazing Aaron talked me off the ledge by reminding me that I'd stashed away a bit of Marcel's lamb fleece two years ago. That and he had eight ounces left in his stash which he so kindly gave back to me. A woolly gift - if I'm careful, it's enough to make the Market Jacket. Gratitude.
It's been processed for several weeks, but I've stewed and stewed with how it needed to be spun. I sampled a couple times and finally decided to
just jump in and spin it. Yeesh, the indecision will kill you. I was bummed that I'd delayed so long that it was going to end up being a summer project rather than something I'd finish yet this winter, but that was okay.
Enter an email this afternoon from Alaska Cathy, one of so many fun folks I've met through all this fiber craziness. "Want to do the Iknitarod?"
The Iknitarod? A winter knitting challenge following the Iditarod? I like what I'm hearing here! My favorite musher isn't racing this year, but I don't care. I'm a sucker for winter sports, anything winter. I live for the Winter Olympics and something to fill in the years between? Perfect.
Here's where it starts to get a little crazy. We are to cast on at the start. Which is Saturday. This Saturday. As in the day after tomorrow. My yarn isn't spun yet. Luckily I've spun the last two Thursdays, and not feeling up to my usual work load, I threw in a Wednesday this week too. I got two bobbins (about 10 ounces) spun today and have whittled my stack down to 16 ounces.
That's still a herculean amount for me to spin in, at this point, mere hours. And that's not counting plying and skeining. And washing to set the twist. And drying and winding into balls. And sampling yet again to make sure I have the right gauge and needle size and know which pattern measurements I'm going to use. ACK!!!
However, in the spirit of the Iditarod, it will be a true challenge. And getting all the yarn finished in time? I'm looking at it like it's a qualifier race :-D. I even brought my miniSpinner to the house this evening and am putting in a night run ;-).
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And Miss Maisie did a great job taking care of herself for awhile this afternoon. A good lambie to have on my team :-).
19 comments:
What a great challenge! Will be cheering you on and looking forward to updates! Your sweater will be beautiful.... ready... go... Spin... Yea!
(Maisie's looking great!)
Just a thought that this project seems to be the one not to rush....to relish each moment and enjoy the journey. Maybe something not so precious to join in the race would be more fun in the end.
So glad you had a stash of Marcel even if you didn't know it, good luck with it. Maisie is so well behaved staying right in view, and she is getting so big. She is A"maisie"zing.
Oh what a fun thing to participate in. It is nice to get some motivation (excuse) for putting everything off to get a fun project done. I looked up the jacket and it looks beautiful. I am so glad that you were able to come up with the fleece!
As the world's slowest spinner, I'm flabergasted at your challenge.
Sounds like fun! And, between Maisie and 20, you've got good mascots!
Marcel's Market jacket is going to be beautiful! So glad you found extra fleece. Sounds like a wonderful knitting challenge..I will be cheering you on:)
I am soo happy for you that you had stashed some Marcel lamb fleece. I love it when I find something I didn't know I had. And blessings on your friend who sent back some more. Have to say I am with KC on this one though. The real win might be in savoring the journey instead of worrying about coming in first or even finishing (the race) for that matter.
So glad you'll always be able to get a hug from Marcel, one of my favorites too. ;-)
Awesome! I am really impressed with this and will enjoy following along.
Gorgeous jacket and fiber! You can do it! We're all cheering you on.
Love the pattern and I'm also very happy to hear that you found some of Marcel's fiber. Can't wait to follow your progress.
Just wanted to let you know how much I love your blog. I am a new shepherdess and I have enjoyed watching Maisie grow and thrive with the goat milk. We have had dairy goats for 13 years but are new to the sheep. I am teaching myself to spin and it is quite a challenge. There are less tears now but still have so much to learn. I told my husband I was going to pack up the car and drive to your house evry Thursday just to spin....he knows I'm crazy. I would love to have you visit me at crossedarrowshomestead.blogspot.com
Mush on ... spinning is still in the race ...I am sure the end results will win out ;)
The inspiration will provide the motivation to "get 'er done" by "gettin' started" You thrive on the company of people who like personal challenges. Knowing you (just a little), you will not do a less than your perfect wool prep and knit on this sweater. You will do yourself and Marcel proud.
It will also provide the impetus for me to restart my Petunia scarf ;-)
The things we do for fun! :-)
Beautiful colour fleece and beautifully spun (under all that stress!) Enjoy!
Love, Ineke
Wow, your project is beyond ambitious! I would be planning to just get the spinning accomplished and yarn ready to work with and that would be arduous enough for me! Hats off to you! Can't wait to see your progress.
I was going to check in to see how you're feeling but -- apparently -- you have recovered. At least enough to have lost your mind! LOL! That is some beautiful fiber there, and a challenge worth the sheep who owned it. Glad to see that Maisie is still chunk-o-licious! We'll be sitting with bated breath, waiting for the results!
Fun challenge! And i love that pic of sweet Maisie. Of course. :)
KC and CathyD's thoughts are valid for sure. I had to stop and think. I don't HAVE to make the Marcel sweater for this. I could make any of the other projects I have in my queue. There are plenty to choose from. Sigh. Of course, the main reason they are still in the queue and not cast on, or better yet FINISHED...is because I so seldom dedicate time just for something fun. I always feel like I should be working. That I shouldn't "play" until I have my chores done. I live on a farm. The chores are never done. Add in extra goals like trying to create art, blog, actually sell some of all this wool… So, while the chances of me actually finishing the sweater in time might not be great, I’m going to enjoy dedicating a good amount of time (for once) to try.
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