Farm Entry #1: Sheep, knitting, woodstove season

I spent the last week in Dublin for a work trip and the weather there reminded me a lot of Vermont this time of year (dark, cold and rainy).

After spending a week away, I really start to miss home and was glad to get back and see the sheep. I’m downsizing for the winter as most farms do and had three butchered on Monday and four next week. I’m looking forward to less sheep, more meat in the freezer (and to sell to neighbors and friends — reach out if you want some lamb!), and slowing down for winter to regroup for next summer.

The grazing season was very strange this year because of the rain and I found that I often didn’t have time to do extensive fence moving because of my work schedule. I’m applying for a fencing grant that will hopefully take care of a lot of those issues and will allow me to keep the sheep on pasture 24/7 during grazing season instead of taking them back to the barn each night like I have been doing.

Anyway, since Autumn and foliage were cut short and now we’re getting lots of rain (and surprisingly no snow… very peculiar), I’ve started spending more time knitting again. I’ve started the 1031 sweater by Ozetta.  I’m using my bulky lopi yarn from my sheep Lina and Lifra. I found the gauge to be slightly off once I started knitting the sweater (even though the gauge swatch was perfect), but I’m going to keep going and see how it turns out. It seems pretty stiff right now, but I think once I wash and block it, it’ll drape a lot better. I’m knitting it for my friend Meggie who likes oversized sweaters, so it might be perfect for her! I’ll see if I have to frog it and start over :) The Moorit color is beautiful and Icelandic wool is so durable and warm. She will be quite toasty once she starts wearing it, if she can get over the itchiness.

I’m excited to see how my other yarns turn out. I should have two batches returning from the fiber mill soon and will have more yarn available for anyone interested in knitting with Icelandic yarn.