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** Working with Pamela Wynne is one of the great joys of my job. I’m super excited to share her Inspiration and Progress post with you today. For more information on The Shepherd and The Shearer, start here. To purchase a kit to make Pam’s sweater (as well as one designed by Cecily Glowik MacDonald ) click here.**

I’ve always admired people whose creativity was inspired by stuff like nature, or architecture, or something inside themselves that calls out to be expressed. My own creative output usually takes the form of handmade clothing, and my greatest inspiration is … well, clothing. I romanticize the artistry of designers who incorporate everyday beauty into their garments because mine is such a practical, covetous, method: see. want. make.

Okay, I may be overstating this — it’s not as if I’m a knock-off artist. Usually, what happens is I see a general style that speaks to me somehow, and then I translate it into a knitted or sewn garment I’d want to wear.

This process dovetails with a second source of inspiration for me: materials. The color, texture, and qualities of a yarn usually tell me what it wants to be. Not in some mystical way where the fiber ‘speaks’ to me, but in ways like all these plies would make for super sproingy cables, or this laceweight silk would create the drape-iest dress ever to drape.

So as soon as I blocked my swatch with the Shepherd and Shearer wool, I knew it wanted to be knit into cables. The yarn isn’t very tightly spun, so I started sketching a simple cable and twisted-stitch pattern that would let it bloom and grow the way it clearly wanted to. (Btw, everything I know about yarn and fiber I learned from Deb Robson and Clara Parkes.)

Can you see the difference between the fabrics in these two swatches? The one on the left was knit on 4mm needles, and the yarn is locked into tight little stitches. It makes for a very fine, compact, cohesive fabric that I quite like. But when I blocked the swatch that I knit with slightly larger needles (shown on the right here), it became something — maybe it became its own best self. It definitely became all of my favorite things about fishermen’s sweaters, and Aran cable textures, and the crew-neck cardigans my mom made for me as a kid.

I work at a university, and one major inspiration for this sweater is a kind of queer prepster style that I’ve been seeing every day on my friends, colleagues, and students (and in the mirror). I knew I wanted to design a cardigan that could work with that preppy-with-a-wink chic.

[photo via Autostraddle, from the wonderful 2012 “Queer Ivy” photo project.]

In thinking through the design, I looked to old-school baseball sweaters — and recent updates like this varsity cardigan from Brooklyn Circus — and immediately knew I needed a shawl collar.

[Who’s the sassy babe with Babe Ruth? Love him!]

The shawl-collar ‘grandpa’ cardigan I settled on is classic, and endlessly versatile. It’s got satisfying knitterly details, like a cable that runs up the sleeve and all the way across the saddle shoulder. And it has practical details, like on-seam pockets that can warm your hands or hold your keys without adding bulk.

If you wear it with a tailored fit (and optional waist shaping will make that possible for those of us with curves), it’s a sharp, buttoned-down style that suits everyone, especially 1950s Hollywood heartthrobs and sweater models.

[photo of Gene Tunney from FamousDude; bulky cardigan image from a vintage Beehive pattern]

If you wear it over-sized or unbuttoned, you get easy casual layers.

[Photos, clockwise from top left, via Details, the sartorialist, Rakuten, New York Magazine, The Shady Side, and theshinysquirrel.]

And if you wear it with a bowtie and a lamb, you obviously just get all kinds of awesome.

[image from Rambler’s Way]

One of the best parts about this project, for me, is that I get a sweater I love at the end. I’ll wear mine with a tie and oxfords for work, with a flowery dress and sneakers for cool summer evenings on the porch, with plaid flannel shirts during Michigan winters, and with jeans and a t-shirt all over the place.

How will you wear yours?

Everyone caught the nastiest virus this week, and I am still suffering through fever and sore throat and stuffiness.  Fortunately for me, Neve is over it already and has been out checking everyone and taking care of feeding for me.

Yesterday I sent her out with my camera.

She even took video of Piper’s back end for me!

I don’t know what I’d do without that kid!

On April 24th, at 1:19 pm Felix Edward was born at home after only an hour of half of labor. He was 10 lbs 8 oz and 22.5 inches long.

Four Days Old

We are so excited to have him finally. He’s been nothing but a joy.

Flowers to brighten our bedroom.

I’ve been pretty much hanging out with him in bed all week as we spend our days mostly nursing and napping–which is why all of my photos are phone snapshots of questionable quality. I don’t even know where my camera is at the moment.

Felix in his handspun cormo sweater and wrapped in a blanket a friend of mine wove. Also, his hat is way too big, but it was cold yesterday morning, and we had a doctor’s appointment.

And this is Felix right now, at seven days old, hanging out in his stretchy wrap while I do some logistical things on the computer.

To tell the truth, after a week laying low, I’m getting a little stir crazy. I’m not trying to do too much too soon, but I feel some fiber work calling my name, and I’m hoping Felix and I can come to compromise on how to get some of that done soon. Most of the time I’m pretty content to sit and stare at him, but unfortunately, that doesn’t put food on the table. I’d like to have the shop open again in the next few days. We’ll see how it goes!

With love from babyland!

We’re just a few short weeks away from our lambing window, but I’m already keeping an eye on the ewes’ udders and hoo-has.  There shouldn’t be anyone lambing earlier than May 4, but I feel most comfortable when I can get a really good feel for how everyone looks and how they are acting leading up to the event. This helps better notice subtle changes that occur so I know when I should be out every two hours and when I can get some sleep.

Of course, Susan and I have been plenty surprised by sheep and goats alike that show zero sign of impending labor and then are nursing their babes next time we check them!

Right now udders and teats are easy to see since the ladies have been sheared, and though there’s no significant “bagging up” of their udders, they are becoming just the slightest big bigger every day.

They are getting wider and wider every day, too!

Occasionally just after feeding time I can sit with Piper and rest my head or hands on her belly and feel a little kicking in there.

Wren’s udder hasn’t enlarged very much, but her teats have been getting fatter and more pronounced.

This lady has been looking wide, but there’s not much udder or teat development.  This could mean that either she was bred a lot later than some of the others, or it could just be that she won’t bag up at all until she lambs.  Sometimes they do that.

Just like any other mammal, no two sheep are alike, no two pregnancies are alike, no two lambings are alike.  Some get all dramatic, some are quiet and reserved. Some bag up huge way ahead of time, others never bag up at all.

There is one way they are all alike, however.

They don’t like me checking out their backsides.  They are very suspicious of this activity, and will quickly turn and sniff at my face (or camera).

It’s going to be an interesting mix of lambs this year: our ram was a white Border Leicester.  Some of the ewes are colored Border Leicester.  Some of the ewes are white Cormo.  And yet other ewes are a mix of Cormo and Southdown. I can’t wait to see how the babies turn out!

As for lambcam (which I know everyone is waiting for!) we are waiting on some new equipment, but it will absolutely be working before the lambs come. We’ll let y’all know when it’s back up.