A Couple of Cool Fiber Projects to Fund

I don’t keep up with all the Kickstarter and similar campaigns that have to do with knitting or yarn, but a couple of interesting ones got on my radar this week, so I thought I’d share.

First, have you used Wooly? It’s an iPhone app that allows you to access some of the features of Ravelry, which does not have its own app. I downloaded it when it first came out, but at that point it mostly just let you view your project and stash lists without being able to interact with them all that much.

The app has grown up with time, making it possible to edit and add photos to existing projects or stash, share on Facebook and more. Now the makers are envisioning a redesigned and way more functional app that will work on all i devices (their stretch goal if they raise more money is an Android app as well), which will include pattern browse (!), the ability to add things to your queue, start new projects, access your entire notebook offline (!!), see your Ravelry messages and, the thing I was dreaming of all this time, the ability to add new stash!

This sounds super-cool to me and if it does to you, too, you can help fund their Kickstarter, which is open through Aug. 7 and as of this writing had raised a little more than half of its goal.

Second, the Buffalo Wool Company is a company based in Texas that makes bison and bison-blend yarns as well as selling knitting patterns and bison accessories. They travel a lot to shows (I saw them last year at the Arkansas Fiber Arts Extravaganza) and are looking for funding to revamp a truck into a mobile yarn store/dye house.

This would be the second-ever yarn store on wheels in the United States and the first (that we know of) mobile dye house, which would allow them to create custom colors on site instead of having to wait for a special order to be made after the show. If I can do math this one ends Aug. 15, and when last I looked they’d raised almost $5,000.

I love that crowd-funding makes it possible for great little projects like this to get off the ground!

Not too long ago I did a test knit for another designer that was for a cabled cardigan. It’s really cozy and nice but it just about broke me in a ton of different ways. I couldn’t get gauge, which I suppose is my own problem, but mainly I was somehow both bored and forced to pay attention at the same time.

Because it used the same cable all over, I always had to know what row I was on, but nine out of ten of those rows, nothing in particular was going on. So I couldn’t stop paying attention, but what I needed to attend to was boring.

It may have ruined me for knitting cabled sweaters, but maybe I just need something that’s more engaging. Like this Modern Aran Cardigan pattern from Lion Brand Yarn.

This is a reworking of an old pattern from their archives, and you can tell that form the classic look of the cables and the oversized feel (nothing cropped about this one!). It has allover cables, but like a classic Aran sweater it’s not the same cable, so you’ll have to pay attention to what row you’re on and what cable turns happen for which cables on that row.

Because of this, it’s considered an intermediate knitting pattern, but if you’re comfortable working from multiple charts at once it shouldn’t be a problem for you. There are three different charts and seven different cable moves.

Also because the pattern is so big and boxy there are only two sizes available, with a finished chest measurement of either 49 or 63 inches (that’s 124.5 or 160 cm). It’s up to you to decide how much ease you would like and whether that will work for your body.

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn (and calls for another classic, Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool). It calls for six buttons and includes pockets to make it extra cozy.

This one looks like a great winter project to make and to wear if you’re up for a bit of a challenge. You can grab the free pattern or buy a kit with the yarn needed direct from Lion Brand Yarn.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

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