Sheep

New Series and an Easy Pattern

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As gardeners/homesteaders/small farmers, we spend a lot of time thinking about the food and medicines that we consume. And that’s great! But, in my opinion, we don’t spend enough time thinking about the fibers we put in our homes and on our bodies. It’s wonderful to eat fresh foods, but how healthy are we really if we’re wearing things that are shedding microplastics into our water sources at the same time?

I’m introducing a series here on my website that will feature a free monthly pattern for anyone who wants to make their own textiles but isn’t very experienced yet. The majority of these patterns will be knitted rectangles that can be seamed into various garments. I’ll be using handspun yarn for the samples, but will make suggestions about what to look for if you’re buying commercial yarn. The goal of this project is slow cloth and slow fashion, just like the slow food movement.

If you’re new to knitting, or you’re a spinner who isn’t sure yet how to use the yarn you’ve created, then this series is for you! My goal is to share the type of patterns I would have loved to knit when I was starting out with fiber arts 20 years ago. These will be simple, useful designs that showcase the beautiful textures of handspun yarn, and put the power of cloth making into your own hands. I’ll alternate large and small projects so there’s something for every type of spinner and knitter.

These patterns are also knitted flat for the most part, which is easier for someone like me who has both nerve damage in my wrists and arthritis in my hands. I sometimes have a terrible time with double pointed needles, especially if they’re small.

If you don’t spin these patterns will still work for you! If you want to source handspun yarns or small mill produced yarns, the Livestock Conservancy’s Shave ’em to Save ’em program is a great place to start. I want people to feel free to use their wool (or any other fiber), or to source yarn from a local farm. For that reason, these patterns will not be fussy or too precious. They don’t have to be perfect, they’re meant to be used! Wear those mitts in the barn or to the farmer’s market. Making your own things can lead to a deep feeling of accomplishment and encouragement to try more new projects.

The fashion and textile industry creates as much as 10% of the world’s total pollution. That’s a staggering amount. In addition, up to 60% of the textiles created each year are plastic based. It may feel like your one pair of mitts is hardly a drop in the bucket, but it does make a difference.

I have a few different patterns for fingerless mitts, but this is by far the simplest and easiest of them. You will knit two rectangles and sew one seam up the side of each, leaving a hole for the thumb. I wear my mitts every day while I do barn work for about 4 or 5 months of the year. I never used to believe that fingerless mitts did anything to keep your hands warm so I never bothered to knit any. With age has come some wisdom. Mitts keep your hands surprisingly warm and still leave your fingers free to collect eggs, give out treats, or just to use your phone or camera. Plus, they’re some of the oldest knitted garments out there.

The pattern for November, 2024 is Ribbed Barn Mitts.

Barn Mitts (1)Download

Jacob Sheep

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Penny and Pearl have arrived on the farm!

Sheepgirls

I have wanted to add sheep to my fiber herd for years, but I always came up with a reason to put it off. Until this Spring that is, when various changes steamrolled my usual no-sheep-yet excuses. I talked to my partner and started doing more research on breeds that would work best for us. We spent a delightful day at the MD Sheep and Wool festival talking to shepherds, visiting sheep, collecting business cards, and buying fleece from our top 3 breeds.

We had narrowed down our choices and to my surprise I found that my #1 breed, Jacob sheep, had been replaced with the Hog Island sheep from Virginia. To further my research, I washed and spun the Hog Island fleece I’d purchased and loved the tweedy yarn it made. We visited Mt. Vernon, purchased a black fleece, and talked about buying a few wethers. P and I were busy planning fencing and sheep shelter. And that’s when I threw a wrench into the whole thing.

Thinking back to when I first started with llamas and alpacas, all of whom were rescues, I started wondering how often sheep show up in rescues. So, I pulled up the websites and poked around on the pages of the rescues in our area. Finding no sheep, I decided to check the Petfinder website for sheep in MD and PA. And there they were, two little Jacob sheep ewes at a rescue in PA. They were within a 2 hour drive, and Jacobs were #2 on my breed list. Uh oh.

When I sent the rescue’s link (http://oneliferescue.org/) to P, I expected to be reminded of our decision to start with Hog Island sheep. But, no. His question was “when are you getting those ewes?” He knows me well and is just as dedicated to animal welfare. I filled out the adoption application, emailed the rescue, and waited while they checked my references. We didn’t have to wait too long for our approval. Penny and Pearl would be coming home with us! We made arrangements to pick up the girls that Sunday afternoon, and got to work on the fence and sheep shed.

Today marks Penny and Pearl’s first full week with us. They are still quite young, and the folks at the rescue did a wonderful job with them. The girls are curious, friendly, and surprisingly affectionate.  I’m looking forward to getting my hands on some of the beautiful Jacob fleece. Hog Island sheep are still on our list, but right now I’m going to concentrate on these two girls, and learn as much as I can about shepherding before we begin growing our flock.