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Woolful x Biches & Bûches Knitalong

October 31, 2016

 

It’s been nearly a year since the last Woolful Knitalong and what a year it’s been. As we embark on these cozy wool filled seasons, it felt like the perfect time to celebrate with a special year-long knitalong, inspired by one of my favorite new companies, Biches & Bûches.

If you haven’t already listened to the story behind the mother-daughter company Biches & Bûches, you can listen here. Their natural aesthetic strikes such a strong chord with me, the designs, the fiber and the photography.

I’ve chosen to knit their no. 3 pullover, but here are some of my other favorites…

no. 1 pullover
n0. 5 pullover
no. 17 pullover
no. 30 shawl
no 43. hat
no. 50 pullover
no. 56 mittens

woolfulxbicheskal woolfulxbicheskal_2 woolfulxbicheskal_3 woolfulxbicheskal_4 woolfulxbicheskal_5

And here are the details…

How: To participate in this knitalong you can do so by: knitting a Biches & Bûches design/kit OR knitting with Biches & Bûches yarn. It’s up to you, so go take a look at bichesetbuches.com and find your yarn or kit.

When: November 1st, 2016 This is a year long knitalong. Take 3 months, take a year!

What: Prizes and such will be given throughout the year, including Biches & Bûches and Woolful yarn and kits, and more. We’ll also be sharing special behind the scenes and stories with Biches & Bûches, and some fun design collaborations over the year.

Where: Make sure to post photos of WIPs and finished projects on Instagram or on the Knitalong Ravelry page so we can all follow along. Use hashtag #woolfulxbichesKAL. Post on your blog and share as well, just make sure to link back to this blog post. We can’t wait to see!

So what are you going to knit? Share in the comments!

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Making with Farm Yarns: Moeke yarns + crocheted mason jars

March 8, 2016

Today I’m introducing a new series on the blog, centered around making with farm yarns. Farm yarns are something I’ve developed a passion around and while there’s no lack of projects to knit with them, sometimes it’s hard to wade through all the possibilities and actually get around to the project. So here is where I’ll share projects and patterns I or others have knit, with these beloved farm yarns.

Many of you know of my appreciation for the Romanian Moeke Yarns and it’s founder Ioana. It’s hard to believe it’s been over a year since we first met, when she was just launching her yarn brand and had yet to launch it here in the States. She shared her and her family’s story on the podcast last January, which you can listen to here. I encourage you to listen, even with the somewhat poor sound quality due to a rough overseas connection. The work that her entire family puts into this yarn, it’s incredible.

And so much has happened since it all started and Moeke is now a fairly common name amongst knitters, at least in the Instagram community it is. 😉 Several beautiful designs have come out, with Junko Okamoto and her designs being some of my favorites. But I want to call your attention to maybe a lesser known yarn of their’s called Stela. Named after Ioana’s mother, this yarn is hardworking, strong and rustic. I’ve used it in a shawl and love the rustic feel, but at it’s heart it’s a utilitarian yarn, best used for hardworking and decorative knits. So here is the first I’ll share, knit with Moeke’s Stela yarn.

moeke yarns stela

Last year a friend emailed a photo of crocheted mason jars and suggested Stela would be a great fit for such a project. I thought they were lovely and they were catalogued into the depths of my project queue. Fast forward a year and I needed a quick gift for a friend, something that was a bit of ‘me’ and a bit of ‘her’. Whenever I go through my stash I always pause at my Moeke yarns, trying to think of something I can make with them and in this instance I was about to dismiss them when I remembered the photo of the crocheted mason jar covers…perfect! Less than a skein of Stela, a mason jar + candle, a pattern off Pinterest and 45 minutes later I was set. I had to make some minor adjustments to the pattern I used based on the size of my jar and the worsted weight of the Stela yarn, but it was simple enough to size it down by eliminating one of the body sections of the pattern and using a different sized hook.

You can find the Stela yarn in my little shop, Woolful Mercantile

and here is a list of crocheted mason jar cover patterns, although you could easily make up your own…

Crochet jar cover
Jar Cozy
Another Jar Cozy
Crochet Jar
Mason jar cover

crochetjars_2 crochetjars

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4/52 Weeks of Wool: Romney

March 4, 2016

It’s been an eventful week around here, with our Maremma pups having some ‘escapades‘ in our surrounding forest (more on that later), along with our beloved Dexter dairy cow Lulu joining them on one such event and coming down with bloat and scours. We weren’t sure she was going to make it, but thankfully she’s pulling through and I’ll be writing a whole post about this (with photos)…there’s a lot more to share.

Although this post mark’s the 4th week of my 52 Weeks of wool project, I’ve been keeping up with the actual spinning each week, just a bit behind on the posts. 🙂

And now I make a novice claim…Romney is the perfect fiber to learn and begin spinning with! Of the 8+ fibers I’ve spun thus far, this has been the easiest to maintain consistency in weight and drafting. Romney is not the softest of fibers, but it’s rusticity lends itself so well to the beginner spinner’s eager will and is forgiving of the minor pauses in cadence that are often unforgiving in other fibers. At least this is my experience and I’ve heard something similar from a couple other spinners since, so if you’re new to spinning or wanting to get started, I suggest Romney wholeheartedly.

The Romney has a nice halo and being that it’s long-wool, it has a nice strength to it, similar to the Cotswold I spun, but it has less luster than the Cotswold and is more rustic-not as soft…a quality that I love personally. I had so much fun spinning and plying this amazing wool and seeing the results of a consistent and very satisfying yarn.

The roving I spun came from Prado de Lana, a fiber farm created by Amanda and Alberto Barcenas along with their two children Sammy and Noelia, in Chester County Pennsylvania. I’ve loved learning a little bit more about their farm and homestead, finding similarities behind the desires of why we both do what we do…’creating awesome business adventures and creating unforgettable memories and learning opportunities with our children’. It’s exciting to see another young family pursuing their passions in organic gardening and fiber farming, and a great example that if something similar is calling to your heart, it is possible…really it is.

The Barcenas’ raise Lincoln Longwool and Romney sheep, with fleeces ranging from white, grey, chocolate brown and taupe. The sheep are due to lamb this month and next, so make sure to follow along on their blog for updates! ell locks, roving and some really scrumptious looking yarn from their flock. They also make and sell wood knitting needles from oak, walnut and birch. Their Romney’s fleece range from white, grey, chocolate brown and taupe. You can read more about this special farm and family at www.pradodelana.com and on Instagram @pradodelana