Horrietta

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This is Horrietta.

Horietta

Image credit to Bev Tilson

If you’ve ever imagined that there could be real “cloud-shaped white fluffy sheep on a hilltop” (like you see in kids’ drawings), I reckon it would be her.

Do you remember how I told you a little about Horrietta, when I met her ‘publicist’ Bev at Creative Fibre?  I promised I’d tell you more, so here we go:

Horrietta, a Suffolk/Merino cross, lived on the Big Ben Station in the foothills of the Southern Alps.  Stations in New Zealand are very large farms, where the animals are free to roam large distances for long periods of the year, only being mustered for essential work such as shearing.

Every year, the sheep would be mustered for their annual shear, and every year for seven years, Horrietta decided she didn’t want to go.  She simply turned and went the other way, and hid where the musterers and dogs couldn’t find her.  Sheep are traditionally herd animals.  The hermits (as lone sheep who evade mustering are called) are usually males.  Horrietta was unusual in being a female hermit (although they didn’t know that at first and initially called her “Horace” until the mistake was discovered).

Eventually though, her wool got so heavy (13kgs/28lbs) that she began to have foot problems.  So a concerted effort was made to capture her, and bring her in to be shorn by hand using blade shears.

This is Horrietta after she’d been shorn, and her lambs Henry and Camilla, from a handsome merino ram named “Johnny Depp”.  They were born on the first day of Spring in 2012.

After shearing, with twins

Image credit to Bev Tilson

The difference is quite remarkable.  Her staple at shearing was 12″ long!!

Now she lives with two of the casual musterers who work on the station she lived on.  They thought that her wool could be appreciated by hand spinners around the world, and Bev has happily taken on the task of making sure that can happen.  The original fleece has now all been sold, and the proceeds donated to the mountain search & rescue dogs charity – NZ Land SAR Search Dogs.  Her owners hope that Horrietta and her lambs can continue to contribute to this worthwhile cause through the ongoing sale of their fleeces.

Horrietta’s latest fleece has been graded an even finer micron that her first (it’s somewhere around 22 – 24 microns, but I cannot remember exactly).  It is very fine quality.  The fleece is extremely white, with no ‘black material’ and has loads of crimp and spring.  There are some beautiful examples of the fleece spun into yarn in the Ravelry group noted below.

If you’d like to purchase some fleece from future shearings, or simply want to follow Horrietta’s adventures, have a look here:

Horace Hermit (Facebook) where you’ll see some cool pictures of where she lived and you’ll get an idea of how it was that she managed to evade capture for so long.

NZ Hermit Sheep (Ravelry) where future fleeces will be made available for purchase.

Or, you can drop Bev a line on morecraft@xtra.co.nz to arrange to be notified when the next shearing takes place in November.

Hope you found that interesting!

Many thanks to Bev Tilson for supplying the information for this post.

Snuggly, wuggly, wool

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Now that I’m very, very, very, nearly finished with the monster hoodie, I’ve been contemplating other knits for family.

Hoodie in progress

This marathon knit which has left my fingers and shoulders very sore (each side is the same length as a dress on me), so I think it’s time for a few quick knits.

The cool of winter has reminded me that there are little nieces and nephews who “require” dressing in the unbeatable snuggly warmth of wool…

I’ve got a few patterns queued, and as I know that there are a number of baby garment knitters among you, thought I’d share:

Fat Kitty makes me giggle.  So cute!!  I will add a fat, fluffy tail though, and maybe some long whiskers.  The pattern actually comes with charts for a rabbit, cat and bear, so you can take your pick.  It looks like it’s designed especially for one of my nieces.  The pattern is from Just Jussi, the talented designer of the hit Aviatrix hat, who is coincidentally also a Kiwi.  I haven’t decided on yarn yet, but I do have quite a bit in the stash, so I will probably pick some machine washable wool (just to avoid being told that it got shrunk in the wash).

Just Jussi has put together some very cute designs.  I also picked out Liam because what keen knitter can say no to fluffy little sheep on a baby knit!?  It also happens to be the name of my nephew, although I think he’s too old for it, and I will probably knit it for his brother when he arrives later in the year.  I have the perfect yarn in mind for that, a beautiful fingering-weight merino in blue that is very soft, and very suitable for a baby.

The aptly named Favourite Hoodie caught my attention recently too, and I can see it knitted up in a lovely, natural coloured pure wool. Perhaps more of that same merino but in a creamy yellow.  The best thing about this yarn is that it is dyed using eco-friendly methods and non-toxic dyes – which makes it very guilt-free knitting for babies.  It’s just a pity it’s not sold any more.

eco merino

I’m also in love with Bronson, Echo and Addison all of which just happen to be free dowloads from Rowan and also in same issue of Rowan No. 46.

Looks like they’ll be keeping me busy for a while!

Before I do that, I do have a couple more ‘almost done’ knits that the recipients are hanging out for:

Kauri scarfThis is a scarf I’m knitting in snuggly Zealana Kauri (check out the fancy new packaging!) for a certain young man who has requested a long, warm (and soft) scarf that he can wrap around his neck a couple of times and be able to tuck it into a keyhole so that it doesn’t slip off while he’s wearing it.  It’s based on my Keyhole Scarf pattern which is designed to be unisex.  I’ve adjusted it for worsted weight, and cast on 39 stitches using 6mm (US 10) needles.  It’s coming along beautifully, and such a quick knit!

The other young man’s hat in juicy orange is almost done too:

Hat

In case you are wondering about it, here’s the beginning of the Southern Skies.  It has come along a bit since I took this picture.

Southern SkiesSo… quite a bit on the needles, and that makes me happy.   But the best thing of all, is that it’s all WOOL (even the possum has wool in it). Beautiful, warm, natural wool.  :-)

How’s your knitting going?

Upcoming Wellington knitting events!

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I thought all the fun had died down after Wonders of Wool and Creative Fibre.  Well, look at what we have coming up next month in Wellington!

Social wool fair

This is not a ‘finished products’  market, but for the crafter.  If you are interested in having a table at the fair to destash a little, the cost is extremely reasonable.  There will also be yarn sellers there!!  Check out the website on the address in the poster to find out more.

Also, there is going to be another Lights Up Knitting Night!

Viewing The Great Gatsby in 2D, it’s on Monday 10th June at 7.30pm (tying in with Worldwide Knit in Public Day).  The Embassy Theatre will be themed Gatsby for the whole week, and from 5pm that night, Jelly Rolls will be playing live 1920s style music. Themed cocktail specials as well.

Tickets are now on sale via phone (04 384 7657) or in person at The Embassy Theatre. Tickets include a glass of wine or mocktail and are $20.

Yay for creativity in Wellington!!!

A Knitter’s day

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Yesterday was one of those days when I didn’t think anything could get much better.

I was very privileged to have a day with Audry on her trip to New Zealand.  We had so much fun! Audry has written a post about her day, and I don’t think I can add much to it, except to say thanks very much to Jimad for allowing us to visit the mill, and for spending time showing us around when he was already very busy.  And of course, thanks to Audry for meeting up with me!  It was really lovely to meet her after reading her blog all this time, and knitting her pattern.

During lunch, I showed Audry my current pattern in development and she displayed impressive detail and pattern writing skills by critiquing (very nicely) the design.  I think it will be much, much better when I finally get around to finalising it!  I really enjoyed having someone to chew over the design with.

Audry asked me to model the Southern skies version of Celestarium… I am not sure I quite make the grade for professional model, but it was a privilege to help her with the pictures.  :-)  I’m looking forward to the release of the pattern (maybe tomorrow?) so I can knit it!

Hop on over to her blog for a sneak peek of the new Southern Companion and a read about our day!

Oh, and before I forget… I was treated to a very sneak peek of the patterns in her new book!  The designs are simply beautiful, well curated, quirky and very interesting-to-knit looking.  It’s going to be a good one.