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  • Blog 2014-2021

Henry's Shop Shirt

2/17/2018

 
Picture
It’s 2 degrees F this morning in North Idaho with no shortage of snow
so the wool shirt Henry asked for last spring
that I finished yesterday,
​is still just the thing.

His shop does have a wood stove,
but one wall is an old sail
​and to actually get work done,
​wool layers are essential.
Picture
A boatbuilder by trade,
​Henry is also the son of a spinner
and a couple of years ago
he
designed a spindle
that just happens to be perfect
​for the yarn I like to make.
Picture
It’s called The Hepty, and I’ve blogged about it at least twice...
Indeed, many of the spindle photos on this blog are of Hepty #1
which I’ve used almost exclusively since I snatched it out of Henry’s hands two years ago.
(Once in a while he makes a few to sell-- the Heptys
in the photo above are waiting for their very own spinners--
and since I was visiting I got to try them all...)

At any rate, from Henry’s first casual request for a shop shirt
there was no question as to how I’d spin the yarn.
Picture
Since almost every knitting project begins with fleece,
I ordered one from the Ortmann’s in Wolf Point, Montana.
Their marvelous fine fleeces have been a staple (pun sort of intended)
of my spinning life for years (Cormo, Polworth, Debouillet),
and this time I chose a Targhee/Debouillet cross--
 out of curiosity and a desire for something both next-to-the-skin soft and wearably robust.
The fleece was (and still is), lovely.
Picture
Picture
About 20 microns, it is soft and silky with enough integrity ​that my fingers
don’t feel like they are covered with sandpaper when I touch it
​as sometimes happens with superfine fleeces.
Picture
Picture
It has, indeed, been a pleasure to work with at every stage
Picture
An early sample helped me to decide that the fabric I envisioned -
fine, light and very stretchy— would begin with three ply yarn.
Picture
Of coruse I was disposed to want a three ply,
as it is so easy to chain the singles from my spindle onto a plying stick
(at left in the photo below), and then add twist when plying back onto the spindle.

—note: I wrote about plying sticks in the same February 2, 2016 blog post linked above, so no need to click again if you clicked on that one!
Picture
The joy of this technique is that I can spin and ply each spindle full of yarn
with the tools at hand, wherever I am.
Picture
By fall — I had spun about 380 grams (13.57 oz)
Picture
I never did count the yardage, but I was pretty sure the sweater would be less than a pound.
Picture
Lobaria Pulmonaira (lungwort lichen), from a particular spot near our cabin
​ provided the dyestuff.
I went there for a few solo days in early December,
enjoying the full circle satisfaction of dyeing on a wood cook stove
using the same aluminum pot in which I dyed my first yarn ever,
while living in the tiny house you can see a couple of photos down,
​ back in 1985.
Picture
These lichens work best for me when there is direct contact,
but I didn’t want bits of lichen in the skeins
​ so put the yarn in a net bag
and the net bag in the pot with the simmering lichen.
Picture
The color was not as even as it would have been had I let the skeins float free,
but it is luscious nonetheless,
And certain amount of a abrash can be a fine thing
​on an otherwise unadorned garment.
Picture
The structure is a simple top down raglan in the round,
all in stockinette stitch, which means i could read while knitting— always a plus for me.
Picture
The pattern is the shape of Henry with numbers based on the yarn I had made.
Picture
The final garment weighs in a 295 grams (about 10.5 oz)
Picture
It actually fits me (with a little stretch over the hips and extra long sleeves), so perhaps the next one will be me shaped, as I have 85 grams left over, plenty of fleece,
​and a spindle that likes to be used.
Picture
Picture
But this one is Henry’s.
He has things to make in his shop.
Bonnie Klatt
2/20/2018 12:54:57 pm

Beautiful, Sarah. Absolutely beautiful and full of love.

Marina Skua link
2/20/2018 01:05:12 pm

Beautiful work, and such dedication on a spindle! The colour is amazing, I didn’t know you could get such a beautiful gold orange from lichen.

Melanie Richards link
2/20/2018 01:55:53 pm

Wow, that sweater is beautiful! Nice work!

Jodi link
2/20/2018 02:30:54 pm

I adore that color. And that it came from your cabin (“camp”, up here, haha), just makes it extra special. Henry looks great. I love his shop.

Lyn link
2/20/2018 04:30:58 pm

Love the sweater on you - - too big, loose and yet perfect and on him - - snug, but not too and perfect. Delicious all the way around.

Nancy B
2/21/2018 04:09:24 am

What a great mum you are. (Not to mention that someone has an excellent taste in whisky... always good to see the national drink has been appreciated by somebody Over There).

Severine
2/21/2018 09:04:38 am

I know next to nothing about dyeing, so please forgive me if I ask a foolish question, but why not put the lichen in a fine bag, as for tea or herbs that will be removed from the cooking pot? It seems like then the yarn could circulate more freely but all the little lichen bits would stay contained. Or is there a dye-related reason for not doing that?

Sarah Swett
2/23/2018 09:33:36 am

That would work for many dyes Severine, but unless the bag was really big, i think in this case there would have been even less direct contact between the lichen and the yarn, which I think is extra important for this dyestuff. The yarn bag I used was quite large so a lot of hte yarn was as close to the lichen as I could get it without actually floating around.
I lean toward this contact theory because in an earlier batch I strained the lichen from the dye and the color was much more even but extremely light. All rather unscientific so perhaps next time I'll try three different methods at once and see what happens!

Severine
2/24/2018 10:47:47 am

Thank you kindly for your clear explanation. Certainly the method you used produced a stunning sweater; your son is fortunate to have a mother with your gift for detail and eye for beauty. The rest of us are fortunate that you are willing to share your knowledge and experience with us!

janet kovach
2/22/2018 05:59:06 am

2.22.2018
...beautiful photography...
Sarah, where did you gather the lichens from?
Were they scraped off trees or rocks in your area?

Sarah Swett
2/23/2018 09:35:56 am

Hi Janet -- these lichens grow on trees -- mostly dead hardwood brush and some fir stumps, only in particular areas of the Canyon. The lichen itself is differently colored depending on it's 'host', but I don't know if it gives a different color as I just mixed it all together. I always try just to take a bit of what is there, and only use this lichen once a year or so..

Freyalyn Close-Hainsworth
2/22/2018 10:23:51 am

What a lovely post - and how nice to see your Henry at work. No wonder he needs lots of wool. And I love my Hepty to bits - so glad I've got one.

I tend to spindle spin and wind off into balls to wheel-ply, but I'm going to get into practice with this way.

Sarah Swett
2/23/2018 09:40:18 am

Wheel plying from a bunch of different spindles full is probably both more efficient and leads to greater consistency in the final yarn, or so it seems to me (it's what I did with Henry's last big spindle spun sweater), but these days me 'n my Hepty are good enough friends that I'm pretty consistent from skein to skein. Plus I so love the containedness (if that is a word which my computer thinks it isn't), of using the one tool and plying as I go, that I shrug at little inconsistencies... You can also see from the 'stripes' in teh final sweater, how much each spindle- full knits!

Juli Sampson
2/22/2018 10:50:23 am

Do you use any mordant with the pulmonaria, or just the aluminum pot? I have lots gathered but had no idea I could get that gorgeous color. I am excited to dye now!

Sarah Swett
2/26/2018 01:12:05 pm

Just the pot -- and I"m not sure even that is necessary. Might work fine in Stainless Steel!

Christina Rockett
2/22/2018 01:46:55 pm

Will Henry be making more of his spindles? And if yes how do I reach him?
Thank you

Sarah
2/26/2018 01:13:14 pm

He has a list Christine, and if you are willing to wait, you can contact him at henrycedwards@gmail.com!

Nancy T
2/22/2018 02:03:48 pm

Perfect! Simple is my favorite mode and this is perfect. And I guess I need to buy some whisky so I have a proper, handy case for my spindle . . . the things we do in sacrifice for our work/art.

Wendy Gilmore
2/22/2018 04:58:01 pm

Great sweater for a great looking guy! He could use some fingerless gloves, though. How much yarn did you say you had left. . . . ? Just a thought.

Margaret Stone
2/22/2018 06:49:57 pm

Gorgeous. Once my mudbrick house is built I will wield my spindle aplenty and attempt a three ply. Inspirational as always. Thank you Sarah.

Heather Myers
2/23/2018 05:04:43 am

Lovely! Wonderful color and sweater! And a totally enjoyable post and photos. Thanks!

Peg Cherre link
2/23/2018 07:51:03 am

The yarn is absolutely STUNNING!! Your dedication amazes me. I love the color differences; it adds to the overall beauty of that sweater.

Arlene
2/23/2018 08:21:19 am

Wonderful post as always. Please share contact/order info for the Ortmans ranch, I would like to order a Fleece . Thank you 🙏

Sarah Swett
2/23/2018 09:42:36 am

Hello Arlene,
Nancy Ortmann's email is: mt.wool@yahoo.com
She'll send you a newsletter with the list of expected 2018 fleeces. I don't think they've sheared yet so you can pre-order there.
Have fun choosing!

Jennie Jeffries
2/24/2018 05:38:19 pm

That particular color- rust, but better- made me salivate. And Henry, well, looks very good in it


Comments are closed.
    Picture

    ​Sarah C Swett 
    tells stories
    with
    ​ and about

     hand spun yarn. 


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