Mary Jane

Thank you to everyone who helped me get well! All your kind wishes really helped my recovery. I’m much much better. I can actually read! I can walk without having to take a nap right afterwards, or sleep the entire next day.

I’m really sorry about having to cancel so many events. I’m still very nervous about having a re-lapse, so I have to take it very easy. If I get too tired, or worn out I’ll have to look at my schedule and see if I am up to all my obligations. I know now, it is better to bow out if I’m feeling ill. I think that was the shocker for me, I didn’t really feel ill, until I was totally sick. I hope I’ve learned to notice the warning signs.

I’m going to try and blog a little so you know I’m not dead. Today is a celebration of boots! These were taken a couple of years ago at the annual sheep round-up and shearing on Nash Island Maine. The sheep are the ones that grow the fleece for Nash Island Light by Starcroft Fiber Mill, the yarn I used for my lace up pullover Nash Island.

In action!

It’s out! Nash Island, the Maine wool sweater I’ve always wanted. Find the pattern on Ravelry.

Size XXS (XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL, 3XL, 4XL)
Shown in size S with 3in (7.5cm) of positive ease.

Finished Bust Measurement 27½ (32½, 37½, 40, 45, 47½, 52½, 55, 60) in, 70 (92.5, 95.5, 101.5, 114.5, 120.5, 133.5, 139.5, 152.5) cm.

The pattern includes a schematic and sizing table, to assist you in choosing the size you like best.

Yarn Nash Island Light 100g /skein, 175 yds (160m); 3 (4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6) skeins in Cove (Navy) (MC), 1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2) ball each in Buoy (Lt. Blue) (CC1) and Urchin (Green) (CC2)
Needles US9 (5.5mm) needles, US8 (5mm) needles – or needle size necessary to get gauge. Optional: US8 (5mm) double pointed needles if making an i-cord lace instead of a lanyard as shown.
Gauge 16 sts and 17 rows = 4x4in (10x10cm) in stockinette st on US10½ (6.5mm) needles.
Notions Stitch markers, tapestry needle.

Where the wool comes from : a view of the sheep round-up on Nash Island on shearing day.

Nash Island Light, Worsted weight wool. 100% organic, grown on Nash Island Maine, and dyed in nearby Columbia Falls at Starcroft Fiber Mill.

This yarn is so very soft! It must be the island air!

True there isn’t a lot of this yarn available,  so if you’re unable to get your hands on some, substitute with any nice rustic wool.

Photos are all by Kathy Cadigan and feature her lovely daughter Morgan. Thanks Ladies!

Later this week I’ll be releasing Nash Island …. I wanted to call it Nash Island Lice, because it features the tiny repetitive motif frequently called “lice” in Scandinavian countries. Think of the Lusekofte of Norway. When I nonchalantly refer to my sweater I’ve started to notice a kind of recoil in some folks…the word lice just makes them start itching.

Nash Island is an old school knitting project, much like the first sweater knitting I did when I moved to Maine. Knit FLAT. I know. Really. But hear me out. I was teaching at The Black Sheep Needle Arts Retreat last year along with a bunch of other teachers and the subject of flat vs. circular came up, with lots of pros and cons in each camp. Melissa Leapman was surprisingly vehement on the subject and quite convincing with her unwavering arguments in favor of knitting EVERYTHING flat.

So I thought – fine – let’s give it a go. The colorwork is all on the right side of the work, so you don’t have to purl in pattern. The shaping is what I call “Maine Wool Sweater” which is a modified drop shoulder and boxy, so you throw it on like a sweatshirt. I added the lace up placket, which reminds me of an old Candid pattern I never actually knit, but always wanted to, the Portuguese Fisherman’s Sweater.

So…you know by now I’m impulsive, and I often design things when I’m just about to leave for the event I want to wear it to, and it’s the same for this sweater. I was on my way to Nash Island for the annual sheep round up and shearing…I didn’t get it done in time, but I knit some of it there, as captured by Gale Zucker if you go through her instagram feed.. I’ll say it was really convenient knitting on pieces, instead of lugging around an entire unruly sweater. I also like not having to steek the placket.
Like Melissa said, sensible, and in my opinion, liberating in a way.

Check back this week, or on Ravelry for Nash Island’s debut.

I’ll tell you more about the yarn then. Hint:  made by my friend Jani with the wool of Nash Island sheep you see above.

PS I’m teaching at the same retreat this year, April 1-3 if you’re in the neighborhood.

PPS I talk about my very first sweater today on Fringe Association!