it’s all about the tangles we get into

Posted on annePosted in designing, projects

ok, a very quick post because i don’t have time for more today . . . i have classes and two deadlines i’m working on.
i finished my sweater and am throwing up a few blocking shots and a story. hope you like it.

i can’t start the story of the sweater without first telling the story of the yarn, and i think some of you will appreciate this one.

i basically started spinning with the help of some local friends and then was on my own to explore fibers and techniques (they spin one kind of fiber, one way, and that’s about it). one of these friends had “generously” given me a bunch of cotton, so of course, being a beginner, i thought that might be a good thing to explore first. on the wheel.

HAHAHAHA!

yeah, that didn’t work out so well, but i had this one-pound bundle of cotton, and the only other thing i had was about a pound of coopworth. and i wanted spin, dammit.

so i took out this old afro comb that i had in the bathroom, and spread out the roving in sheets. i laid tufts of the cotton on those and then sorta combed them into the sheets (OMG, i was so dumb! and lacking in tools; i didn’t even know enough to ask someone—that’s how much of a beginner i was.).

all of this took virtually forever, and though it certainly is one way of doing things, and may even appeal in its sheer doggedness to make a fiber experience happen, it is certainly NOT the recommended method for combing spinning fibers, or even desirable. they actually have these cool inventions called combs and carders that make this work a piece of cake and take a fraction of the time.

i just didn’t know that then. word.

i predrafted those bundles and spun them up into this yarn.

and actually, once i got the whole deal to the starting line, the spinning went very well, and the yarn washed up a treat. the only problem was that, by this point, it was pretty precious to me if you know what i mean.

so i promptly put it away until i found just the right project for it, taking it out of the cedar closet to pet and stare at once in a while.

till one day, i realized it just might work well for a project i’d had on my mind a lo-o-ong time.

doncha just love a big, juicy, weird cable?

i had this one bookmarked for, oh, about ten years in the BW3 book—no kidding; it was the first thing i saw when i opened the book for the first time, and i’ve been in love ever since.

it’s not an easy cable . . . its organic quality is derived mainly from the fact that in no way is it symmetrical—you cannot turn it around and see the same shapes either sideways or upside-down. so, it’s not very intuitive.

other than that, it’s a heap of fun. so why did i wait so long to use it in a sweater? we-e-e-ll, it’s one of those very heavy compacted cables that is difficult to find yarn for; the gauge of the cable is so vastly different from the background fabric that nothing ever seemed right (and OH! did i swatch that thing—in numerous yarns).

now, of course, we have every yarn under the sun and then some to chose from, so it’s not so hard. including handspun, which is what i finally turned to.

mmm, yummy, and it worked. you can still see that the background fabric has a looser gauge than the cable, but the poofiness of this coopworth/cotton combo fills in the gaps and the irregularity of the handspun echoes the weird cable in a quirky way that i love.

i’m really happy with it . . i had it on last night once i got it off the needles and it fits well. the yarn in the one sleeve has a little more white in it, and the lower arm is just a tad tighter than i would like, but i’m hoping that the cable will relax enough with its soaking to feel better next time i have it on. i’m not ripping it back though; it’s not that bad.

the mock neck was interesting. since i knit the piece top-down and the cable ran the other way, but is not vertically symmetrical, when i picked up stitches to do the neck, i was a little flustered at first. i turned the chart upside-down to work the cable backwards, but it was hard to read. it took a few rounds to adjust. i still don’t really get why that was a struggle, but i’m sure not laying awake at night to figure it out (i save that for new designs . . .)

ok i really gotta run . . . maybe the thing will be dry by tomorrow and we can sweet-talk david into taking some modeling shots.

61 thoughts on “it’s all about the tangles we get into”

  1. Wow, the patience and determination it must have taken you to thusly process the fiber! Thanks for sharing the stories behind the yarn and the sweater – which are both gorgeous, by the way!

  2. I just love the sweater. The cable is so graceful. As a person who his spinner envy I have to say the yarn looks stunning! Nice job! Bravo!!!

  4. Oh, it turned out so well! And I love the spinning story; anyone who just dives in and tries stuff as a complete neophyte is good in my book 🙂

  5. It looks wonderful! Enjoy wearing it. I am very pleased you were so dogged about spinning. It is that trait that makes you a good spinner. Then I got to benefit too! Without you I would still have underspun, underplied yarn. Thank you!

  6. The sweater is so awesome. That is the cable to end all cables! It’s so great! Is this sweater for David or you? Of course, you can wear it whenever you want, I’m sure. The yarn and the story is awesome as usual!

  7. Yummy, and given the current state of the weather you could even wear it here in NC!! It really looks good, and how special to have it in “your” yarn.

  8. You could say I’m at the same point now as you were then. I don’t know nothing about spinning yet ! But your story does give me some hope for the future, after all I only had my first lesson a few days ago 🙂

  9. awesome! I love learning things the hard way and finding out there are easier ways later. It always feels to me like I really truly earned that knowledge.

  11. What patience you have to process the fiber that way! It just goes to show that there’s no “right” way to do something, and that determination does get you somewhere.

    I used that exact cable (mirrored) on an Aran I designed for my mother almost 20 years ago. The sweater turned out great. Pity she was so much smaller than me, or I would have reclaimed it after she died. I’m pretty sure my dad threw it away, like he did with all the rest of her stuff, so I don’t even have it for keepsake purposes 🙁

  12. Oh so beautiful, enjoy the sweater! I find it amusing how the color looks different in the skein and in the sweater photos, I think it is the background color.
    Can you write us the pattern please? then you can lay awake at night to solve the mystery of the neck as it will be a new design, sort of,,, just teasing, sorry!

  13. yea on the finished sweater! very nice; i love the cable too.

    and i may have seen a certain green lacy thing on the interweave knits spring issue preview page? congrats! looks lovely!

  14. It is beautiful!! Please write the pattern! I love that cable and you are right-that is the perfect yarn.

  15. That is an amazing sweater! I have a cable fetish myself:) Although I must admit I have no idea how you made the neck work. Very impressive.

  17. Love it. I see what you mean about having the right yarn for this project. The cable is Lively, humourous in a good way. Tres Bien!
    How’s about startin me on the Maple Leaf? Was that knit top down? (see how i eased into gettin gyou thinking about that swaeter pattern?) ;~)

  24. I love the cable – gorgeous!

    I don’t spin at all (yet; bought a drop spindle kit!), so I don’t entirely know what you are talking about, but you obviously put a lot of work into making that yarn – sure it will make the sweater all the more precious to you.

  25. Awesome sweater! I love the way it looks…

    And Congratulations on your design in Interweave Knits. Though now I really need you to stop — I haven’t even finished the shoulder shaping on the shawl I’m working on and there’s so much more that I want to make!!!

  29. You made a whole sweater’s worth of yarn that way? I am in awe. I’d offer you to come on over to work with my drumcarder next time around (an excuse for a visit–want to come to California? We promise no home delivery of snow here). But you got way more character and interest spun into that yarn the way you did it than any blandified thing my drumcarder could have done–it’s beautiful.

  30. I love that story! It gives me hope to actually spin my own yarn for a sweater at some point! And even though I smiled at the image of you combing all those fibres together, the smile was mostly for myself, as it sounded as something I would have done, if I had not been blessed with good friends with spinning advices 😉

    It is a very beautiful sweater and it must be very precious to you!

  32. beautiful. not many designs can pull of a massive, chunky cable like that, but it works!!! the yarn looks wonderful and it really showcases the tweedy bits!

  33. Anne- I love it- especially the bit about the afro comb. Haven’t seen one of those since the 70’s.

    Are you calling it “Cables on Acid”?

  35. What a wonderful sense of accomplishment! You should be very pleased/proud. Yet, I suspect you feel a bit of emptiness after all that…time to cast on! VBG!

  36. Love. It. All of it, including the origin of the yarn. But most of all, I love love love that mock neck. You are very inspiring.

  37. Yummy. Rustic yarn and cabling gets me every time. Reversing the pattern for the neck sounds like knitting with mirrors. whew!

  38. Wonderful story, and a wonderful sweater. I love the color and the white flecks. It makes me think of big flakes of snows slowly drifting down in a gray winter twilight. And the cable is amazing! Wear it with pride, it’s a winner!

  40. What a gorgeous cable! The difficulty makes me nervous, but I am so tired of simple, normal cables. Is that one available in any of the major stitch dictionaries?

    Can’t wait to see the modeled shots of the sweater!

  41. I completely LOVE the sweater. It’s fabulous! Now, if I could only talk my husband into wearing cables. They’re “too girly” he says. WTF is up with that?

    By the way, Bloglines *finally* is picking up your feed again. Hooray!

  43. I’ll be the umpteenth to say Yay, Bloglines finally found you. What a great sweater with a wonderful story. It’s a perfect match of the textured yarn and a cable with enough character to work with it!

  44. I think it’s perfect. The whole thing, start to finish. You wouldn’t have made this lovely tweedy yarn if you were blending your fibers the “right” way, after all!

  45. WOW! I am so impressed – by your determination and my your inventiveness and by the wonderful finished product. Wear it in good health and be happy.

  48. Congratulations on your IK project. It is exciting to see you get the recognition that your talents deserve. I have also been blown away by how your blog is ballooning. 45 comments already! Although, it shouldn’t surprise me since your blog has been one of my favorites and I hear others say the same.

  50. You really are scary you know. In a good way of course. That’s a gorgeous sweater with a great story behind it. Lovely.

    (Bloglines seems to have finally caught up too.)

  51. Hooray! You showed up in Bloglines again! (I really need to remember to check people’s blogs after a couple of days…)

    You’ve been working on some really lovely stuff, as usual.

  53. Oh Anne, that looks sooooo cool. The cable reminds me of last year when we went camping and Steve and I took the kids on a hike. Well, we went down this trail that had all these odd looking but stunningly beautiful and secret looking trees and tree limbs and such all over the paths. There was this one HUGE tree that loomed right onto the path, we literally had to swerve to the far right and butt up against rock to miss it and keep from falling. Anyways, when I stopped and gawked at this tree, I thought it was so odd, it had what I called, “it’s own diamond neclace” growing. It had these awsome looking roots growing right up it. Attatched to it like ragged diamonds. Very cool, well, that texture has always kind of stuck in the back of my mind, laying dormant, resurfacing every now and again….this cable reminds me of that tree. Thanks for sharing it!!

  54. This is beautiful! I’ve been worried because you haven’t been posting, but come to find out it is just Bloglines being slow. Phew! And by the way, have I told you lately that you make my day?? I don’t think you’re a meme’er, but I did want to say thanks on my blog. 😉

  55. Catching up here, whew… I just sat here with mouth dropped open reading how you blended those fibres… patience of a saint? mercy.
    I too love the oddly weird cables and I’ve seen this one before and have always had a bit of a ‘chubby’ for it :^)
    Beautiful sweater, Anne, I’m looking forward to seeing the photos of you wearing it!

  58. Hi Anne! I nominated you as one of the ten bloggers who “Make My Day”. Your work always inspires me. You can check it out on my blog. Don’t feel obligated to pass it on if you don’t have time.

  59. Oh, I recall you mentioning this sweater awhile ago. I remember it because of the coopworth/cotton that you blended together. What a lovely story to accompany this sweater. Going to look for the modeled shots now . . .

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