It's hard to get any more personal with a sweater than to spin and knit it from a lamb you raised on a bottle, but really, it's "personal" pretty much any time I'm doing anything with wool these days. Even the Lamb Camp yarn is personal because they are sheep I love and help take care of throughout the year (and am super excited for lambing to start :-).
The Iditarod/Iknitarod is personal because it's something I really enjoy (dogs, snow, interesting mushers, hard working volunteers, Alaska!) and look forward to all year. I follow a few mushers year round as they train and prepare. I spend months thinking about who and what I want to knit and preparing myself.
This year I picked Baaxter to "pull my sled" - a much safer choice than Maisie I hoped ;-). Over the summer I spun the yarn I wanted to use and then stewed and stewed on a pattern. I couldn't get excited about anything and to make matters worse, I was headed into the race with a sore knitting hand.
I finally decided to just make up a pattern that I thought I'd like, give it my best shot and if it didn't work or I hated the finished sweater I could just rip it all out and try something else and if I couldn't finish at all, I wasn't going to worry about it. Definitely not the best (or my normal) attitude.
And then I heard that some ashes of a good friend (Maisie's "dad") who passed away last year were on one of the sleds (Michelle Phillips #30) headed to Nome. That's a game changer. Vergil LOVED the Iditarod. It's (extra) personal this time!
Definitely no snow here (even though I still have plenty of pictures to share from last week ;-).
In fact, if you can't beat 'em (springtime), join 'em (yeah, I bought some stupid ol' flowers yesterday).
I'm stewing a bit on the "fabric" I'm getting. I sampled with a larger needle and didn't like it, but I'm not loving the density of this needle size either. I think I'm going to trial block half of one of the sleeves and see how it feels "finished". If it's awful, I can do something about it before I get any further down the trail.
Enjoy a fun walk out back with my Iknitarod team while I get back to knitting. It's a bit over 2 minutes long, but it's one of the best videos I've lucked into, so I left it all in :-). Don't miss Hank near the end as he glances back at the barn to make sure his sheep are okay.
My book this week is The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. I'm liking it so far and the author's description of the Alaskan wilderness fits perfectly with the scenery I'm enjoying on the Iditarod Insider :-).
Joining in with Ginny...
18 comments:
My youngest so & his fiancé were fortunate enough to attend the ceremonial start of the Iditarod. Kind of vicariously crossed it of my bucket list thru them lol. They also took part in the "running of the reindeer!"
Lovely peaceful video. I didn't realize you have such a big pond on your place.
I knew about the ashes! The knit from the pictures looks so rich and soft! I hope it blocks well and you are easin' on up the road!
Even if it takes some trial and error, that sweater is going to be so special once it's finished! And I love your project bag- that print is so cute!
Love the video! So nice that Hank has time with the other dogs. They all look very happy!
It was 75 degrees here today. Don't think I can handle more snow.
It looks so lush and green at your place!
It's on my bucket list for sure!
It's the camera angle. Looking straight down on the grass, it's still pretty brown and muddy.
It's just behind the Frog Pond.
My cousin, Varona Thompson, raced in 1977, 1978, & 1980. And this article is about her dad, my uncle, Larry Thompson. http://www.adn.com/article/20120227/air-force-one
I might just have to plan on doing the Iknitarod next year in their honor.
Good luck with the race, Sara! Your project will turn out beautifully like all of yours do.
Don't settle for a knitted fabric just to get Baaxter's sweater finished before the Red Lantern. You can consider this the warm-up for the Tour de Fleece!
What a difference a few days can make - from beautiful snow to "Let's plant pansies!" I have a tomato plant and a strawberry in my back yardlet now.
That is AWESOME!!! Thank you so much for sharing! You'll love the Iknitarod. Great group of people and several are up there at or near the race so we frequently get extra info and pictures.
I tried the sleeves on yesterday and they look fine "in use". I need to remember that Baaxter is not a soft, silky, fluffy sheep. His fleece is pretty industrial, as is his yarn and therefore whatever I make from it. It will be a Baaxter sweater for sure :-).
I loved the video and I am loved the "composition" of the photos;).
Baaxters fleece is wonderful
I saw on the news last night that they had to bring snow in rail cars for the race. Crazy weather all over the place!
Kathy D in crazy Michigan
video great, Hank checking it out and MARKING the spot! great. Liked the article of Larry Thompson.
Sent it on to a nephew who was a pilot in Alaska and a friend of his did 'dog' runs for the mushers during the Iditarod.
Mush On!
Baxter fleece is why turtlenecks were invented! Gotta love him as is!!!
I see the red lantern peeking through in the pictures! Makes me smile . I'm with you in spirit!
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