Support a Wool Mill in California

I try to keep an eye out for interesting fiber-related projects on the crowdfunding sites, and I just recently saw this one from Mendocino Wool & Fiber on Indiegogo. It’s a great one if you have the means to support it.

They’re trying to open a wool mill that will enable the production of 100 percent locally sourced and processed yarn in California. There are no local mills in Northern California, and shipping fiber across the country or overseas is cost prohibitive for small producers, time intensive and harmful to the planet.

The idea is to use contacts they — being sheep shearer Matt Gilbert and knitter wife Sarah — already have in the fiber animal community to get their raw material and to use this funding to get the equipment that will be needed to produce the yarn. They hope to be able to offer certified organic as well as non-organic yarn that is still produced to high standards of sustainability (for farmers who have high standards themselves but are not certified).

They’re looking to raise $20,000 and are already well on their way. You can pledge as little as one dollar and as much as $900, which gets you a tour of the mill and dinner with the family. This sounds like an amazing project and just what the country needs more of — local production that uses available fiber in a sustainable way that’s good for those who raise animals, for knitters and for the planet. I hope you’ll check it out!

[Photo via Indiegogo.]

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If you’re new to lace knitting or just aren’t sure how to incorporate the technique into garments, check out these tops and sweaters that use lace as a decorative element.

The easiest lace out there is eyelets, and you can practice them plenty with this eyelet covered sweater from Knitcro Addict. It uses light/DK weight yarn and is worked in four pieces knit flat. It’s intended to be a little cropped and a little oversized, and includes sizes XS to XXL in the pattern.

If you’re in parts of the world where it’s getting colder as you read this, the Nora sweater from Bummbul might be a good choice. This is actually a great one for learning lace because it’s worked in super bulky yarn, which makes it easier to see what you’re doing and makes the lace super graphic. This one just comes in one size, with a 42 inch (106) cm bust, but that could fit a variety of people depending on how much ease you like.

Minimi Knit Design has a cute allover lace cardigan worked in one piece from the bottom up. It’s worked in lace weight mohair held double, which maybe isn’t the best for those new to lace (because it can be hard to rip out) but it sure is pretty. Sizes range to fit from 30 to 66 inches/76 to 168 cm bust measurements.

If you’d rather not have lace all over your sweater, you can knit the Lumi sweater from Originally Lovely, which has a chevron lace pattern on the yoke and is otherwise worked in reverse stockinette stitch. (It’s worked inside out so you don’t have to purl every stitch.) The pattern has 9 sizes from XS to 5XL and uses worsted weight yarn.

Or try the super romantic sookie blouse from Trust the mojo (available on Ravelry). This sweet top is started working flat from the bottom up and has a V-neck and I-cord edgings. The sleeves are worked separately in the round, and the pieces are all joined together to work in one piece to finish off the top. It comes in eight sizes and is available in English and French.

You can also pair lacy sleeves with an otherwise plain top, like on the Starflower Wrap from Annelise Driscoll Gingrow. This intermediate pattern makes a wrap sweater with generous lacy sleeves and a double wrap belt. The pattern has nine sizes, from XS to 5XL, and is available for free from Hobbi.

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