Who Can Resist Romney Yarn?

Fia

I admit it…I hoard yarn!

Fia, on my knitting needles!

When we first started raising sheep, I never knit with  my own yarn. I saved it all for my yarn customers. In all honesty, we needed every penny we could earn in order to make our hay purchase for the winter, and so I never felt I could afford to knit with my yarn. I did this for a few years, and then one day, I could no longer resist. I remember the first time I dove into my yarn inventory and stole a few skeins, just a few, for a project. Well, several years have passed now, and my knitting needles have produced many sweaters, vests, hats, scarves and mittens with my own Romney yarn.

This past spring, when my 2012 yarn arrived from the mill, I did something I had never done before. I took an entire bag of yarn, that I had spun just for me, and I hid it! It came from our ewe lamb named “Fia”. The lambs produce their softest fleeces in their first year of life, and I knew that Fia’s fleece would turn out to be amazing yarn. Her fleece, a dark chocolate brown, had not begun to fade yet, and I longed for a sweater made from her wool.

This fall, while driving our daughters to college, I cast on Fia’s yarn and began knitting. I chose an Icelandic pattern which had nice color work at the top, long sleeves, and fastened with two buttons at the top.

Fastened with clasps from Melissa Jean

Cutting the Steek

The sweater, knit in the round, gave me practice working a steek, and the thrill of cutting the steek. Half way through, I decided to leave off the sleeves and make it more of a vest. Today, I put the finishing touches, the silver clasps, on the sweater and wore it for the first time. I am eyeing Fia’s fleece, and just may have to hoard her yarn again next year.