January, Ho!

And here is my January-project-to-be, the Aran cardy from Knitter's Almanac -- nine skeins of Sheepswool from Schoolhouse Press, in pale gray --

with naturally-shed deerhorn buttons.  The color is actually a rather sandy gray, tending more towards the brown than the gray, I mean, which gives me pause, but as I seem to naturally gravitate towards darker grays, I chose the lighter shade, and this will be something different in my wardrobe.  The yarn is actually from Bartlettyarns, though I don't see the exact thing at their website, so perhaps it is unique to Schoolhouse.  It is thick and rather rough, but according to reviews at WiseNeedle it softens up nicely after washing -- it does have a strangely interesting and not at all unpleasant smell, that reminds me vaguely of the auto mechanic -- it must be the lanolin, as I could actually feel it on my hands after I spent a few minutes fondling and pondering its texture.

I think I will start this a bit earlier than January proper, as I am very familiar with my own dawdling tendencies, and am not convinced that a full-sized Aran cardigan will take a mere four weeks! and so after the last few repeats left to finish the Backyard Leaves scarf, I will wind up the Sheepswool and get started!

Comments

[Jessica]

I just read this archived post of yours (I came over from Zimmermania) and I too have the oddly-smelly Bartlett Yarn! I was debating whether to continue my Rogue with it, but am relieved to hear you say that it's supposed to soften up. Hopefully some Eucalan will work on the smell, too! :)