We miss you, "Miss."

Mount Horeb, Wisconsin, February 2012. We headed to Blackberry Ridge Woolen Mill today so I could pick up more of my favorite worsted-weight yarn. It's a lovely drive, and the mill is about 20 minutes from the house.

We were sad to learn "Miss," the Anatolian Shepherd Dog, recently passed away from Melanoma. Miss was 14. She was a sweet mascot, and she made every trip to the mill truly enjoyable.

"How yarn bombing grew into a worldwide movement."

A TED Talk.

Stash Busting

Verona, Wisconsin, February 2016. Here's another sweater knitted in Dalegarn's (discontinued) "Tiur." The pattern is a Sandness Garn design. Brush up on your Norwegian!

"Much as you'd like to believe your aroma is 'masculine' or 'musky,' your clothes tell another story, and cashmere in particular starts to smell pretty foul after a bit."

How to wash woolen garments.

A Winter Knit

Verona, Wisconsin, February 2016. This is "Isfjorden" from Dalegarn Book 126. The yarn is Dalegarn's "Tiur." Dale discontinued my beloved Tiur several years ago, but I still have quite a bit in the stash (and I already have knitted seven Tiur sweaters—here's one).

"It’s so cold this week that Minnesotans are freezing their pants off."

It's not yarn bombing: it's frozen-pants bombing. (See also here.)

Wool and Sheep

Yesterday, I again returned with a friend to the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival. The place is starting to feel familiar!

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Jefferson, Wisconsin, September 2015. "Ewe" probably know where I did most of my shopping.*

*ADDED: Yarn shopping, that is. I have four of those wonderful bags.

A Lost Sheep

Big Ben needs a sheering.

Merino wool is the nicest fiber with which I knit. Cashmere is delightful, of course, but it wears poorly, and it pills because it is so delicate.

Now, a company is marketing merino-wool activewear.

Curious

Columbus, Wisconsin, July 3, 2015. These sheep are bred for their wool.

Skein

Columbus, Wisconsin, July 3, 2015. Max guards the merchandise.

Skeletal Crochet

"Fabricated nostalgia."

"Architectural Crochet"

Hello, Dolly.

Yarn Art

At the 2015 Venice Art Biennale.

The Year of the Sheep

Near New Glarus, Wisconsin, October 2014. It's not bad if you're only expecting a sheering.

A Finished Piece

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Verona, Wisconsin, January 2015. I knitted this late last year, but I only got around to the seaming and finishing work this month. I usually knit fair-isle patterns in Shetland yarn because that fiber is best suited to colorwork. This garment, a Debbie Bliss design, is done in a cashmere-blend yarn (I earlier used the same yarn for a baby blanket).

Organizing

Suburban Chicago, November 1962. Has Mom just returned from shopping, or is she sorting yarn?

A Fine Yarn

Verona, Wisconsin, November 2014. This is "Belle," a cardigan designed for Rowan by Lisa Richardson. It's one of the lightest and most comfortable garments I've knitted.

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The yarn, "Kidsilk Haze Stripe," is a mohair and silk blend. It's soft and not at all scratchy. I liked the yarn so much, I am knitting the same cardigan again, this time in shade "Chiaroscuro."

A Small Project

Madison, Wisconsin, 2002. I adapted Dale of Norway's "Salt Lake" and knitted a child's sweater.

"The World's Cutest Sheep"

""My girlfriend showed me a picture and I laughed because I didn't think they were real."

A Scottish farmer takes measures to protect his Valais Blacknoses.

"[E]ven within this small cluster of islands, there are knitting traditions specific to each island."

Knitting in the Shetland Islands.