Casting On

What better way to kick off the 4th of July weekend than by casting on for a heavy wool sweater?! Woohoo! Seriously, I’m pretty excited. I started Checks and Balances for Paul.

I’m using one of my absolute favorite yarns. It’s a mohair/merino blend from Good Fibrations. The mohair is the magic ingredient. It gives the yarn this incredible loft that makes it wonderful to handle, and it knits up into garments that are exactly what you want from wool–light but sturdy, comfy, cozy, hard wearing . . . It’s the perfect sweater yarn.

And the color! The artist who raises the angora goats who contribute the mohair is a genius with the dye pot! I posted a picture of a mind blowing red she dyed back in October. The colorway I’m using for Paul’s sweater is called “Soft Suede.” I’m not sure if you can tell from the picture, but in its way, it has as much depth as that glorious red.

The best part about Good Fibrations yarn and the very special woman behind it is the goats themselves. My friends, these are happy, happy goats.

These pictures are from a visit to the Good Fibrations farm during kidding season. I think that’s what it’s called. It’s the time when there are goat babies everywhere!

The cute is unreal.

I cast on for the sweater last night and knit a bit here and there as we ran errands today. I found a shady spot behind the library while Paul ran into the bank.

This is going to be a busy weekend, and the Tour de Fleece starts tomorrow, so there will be lots of spinning for the next few weeks. That probably mean progress on Checks and Balances will be slow for awhile. That’s okay. I’m happy to have gotten started.

Happy 4th of July weekend, everyone! I hope you get to spend it doing the things you love.