Today we are singing the praises of sheep! Yes, the herding dog named Cardigan, and the human with two ee’s in all thr-ee of her names, are celebrating the makers of our favourite fibre. It’s true that in the last post I confessed my huge happy for my acrylic caravan blanket. It really does make me feel very bubbly! But today, as I sit barefoot in beautiful sunshine, I am finishing and loving what feels like a new BFF.
I know that the love I have for this new friend is based on a history that I can feel in my bones as I work for months on one garment. I really do care about the animal that grew this wool. No, I never met this one. It’s a universal fleecy love! My life has been much more comfortable thanks to wool. Yes, it is very difficult to imagine the comfort that this new cardigan will give me in a few months, as I sit sewing on buttons in this amazingly warm sunshine.
But I know the time will come, and that makes me feel safe and ready for the dark, the cold, and the endless rain. I know that I will be able to count on this cardigan for years to come. That’s because it’s wool, 100%, and Canadian. I cannot say this, sadly, about my lovely caravan blanket. Although it will be able to do things my wooly can’t, I know that it will become increasingly thin, and flat, and maybe even a little crispy ‘_’ That’s what acrylic does.
But this new wooly will become softer, prettier, hazier, and will take my shape. I will take very good care of it. I will love it to pieces. The coming together of such an amazing fibre and months of my hands at work with it, have bonded us! I love my new cardigan! You can read more about my new BFF, the process, and the pattern on ravelry.
Oh yes! Cardigan, the beautiful dog, really does sing.