Sierra Silver Moonlight

.
Or, how I went from
,

,
- to -
,

 .
- using
 .

 .
- and a whole lot of
 .

 .
-because I really took my time with this project, and it took a very long time.






See, way back in May 2008, I attended an alpaca show with my friend, Allie Neas.  I think I even blogged about it, and I saw a woman there who was wearing THIS sweater. 
.

.
I was so gobsmacked by it that I actually approached a complete and total stranger and fawned all over her sweater and begged for details.  She was either somewhat snooty, overwhelmed by my boldness, shy, or maybe just mean, but all she would tell me is, “It’s a Rowan Pattern, and I used a zipper instead of buttons.”  Bitch. 

It took me FOREVER to actually find the pattern, based on the limited information that it was a button-up Rowan pattern.  I finally tracked it down - it’s Moonlight, and it’s in this book, number 34.
.

..
The fleece was shorn from a sheep, named Sierra Silver, owned by The Lace Shepherdess.
.

,
Sierra is the one in the middle.  Isn’t she STUNNING.  Her fleece really is silver.  It also kind of sparkles in the sunlight.  I love it LOVE IT.

So, please allow me to introduce my sweater, Sierra Silver Moonlight (I love poetry.)
..

,
Here, let me twirl in front of the camera for you.
,

,
Yeah, I’m pretty pleased with myself – this is my first ever sweater! 

As you can see from the photo with my little dog, Dixie, lying on the washed locks, there is a slight color variation from light to dark grey.  I wanted to knit the sweater so that it would be the lightest color at the collar and the darkest at the hem.  The only way that I could figure out how to do this was to knit the sleeves as I knitted the bodice, only I can’t stand raglan sleeves, so that was out.   I was thrilled to discover that Barbara Walker, a true genius, had already figured it out, and she shared her genius with the rest of us in the book, Knitting From the Top.  Thanks, Barbara!

In order to use this genius idea, it  meant that I had to re-design the whole sweater to be worked from the top down.  Also, I wanted a tighter gauge and a more closely fitted design.  I’m really pleased with how it all turned out.

I learned so much through the course of this project.  I learned that I love Coopworth, and I learned that so does my cat…
,

.
- -  Don't let that look of pure innocence fool you - I couldn’t make her get off of this fiber, the brat.
,

,
Wait, there’s more!
,

 ,
- - she actually stole my spindle and carried it up to my daughter’s bed.  Look how she’s hanging her head in shame.
,

 ,
- - the only way that I could keep track of my balls of yarn.

Anyway… I spun this yarn on my toy-wheel spindles, using my most favorite method in the whole world, Tammy Rizzo’s Navajo Ply on the Fly.  If you have shied away from Longwools, thinking that they are harsh, well, you might like to reconsider.  This fabric which resulted from knitting this sweater is sturdy and strong – I figure that if I can keep the stupid cat off of it, I’ll have this sweater for the rest of my life.  On the day of the twirling-in-front-of-the-camera-photo-shoot, it was bitterly cold, and this sweater kept me surprisingly warm. Longwools have a drapey luxuriance -  I’ll certainly be spinning more Coopworth!  Witness my latest purchase from The Lace Shepherdess – Timothy – he’s the handsome lad in front, and here is a photo of his fleece.  Ahhhh……

Encourage one another….