The Heather Hoodie Vest

I've always loved jeans and denim. I always will.

So it wasn't much of a stretch to fall in love with this roving.

These shades of gray and blue will go with just about anything. I just love the winter blue sky colour blended with the white and darker blues.

And we've had lots of the blue up in the sky lately while the ground is covered in snow.

It's Northern Lights roving called Icy Winter sold by the company Louet. It's sheep's' wool top and it's lovely to work with on the spinning wheel.

The project I'll knit with it is the Heather Hoodie Vest that was originally in the fall issue of Interweave.

I bought the magazine that it was listed in which I see is now sold out at Interweave. If interested, you can also buy the individual pattern on Ralvery.com.

I used to knit 10 sweaters a year and now I can't wear them. It's not just the weight gain, it's the hot flashes. That's where wraps and vests come to the rescue. They're not so hot and yet they keep you from freezing.

(I'm also currently knitting the February Lady Sweater with the roving Picasso from the same company).

The challenge this time for me was to spin it as a bulkier yarn. Most of my spinning lately has been for finer yarns for lace shawls so this time when spinning I had to relax more and let go.

No problem. A glass of wine can help with that too :)

How the roving is painted will often determine the appearance of the spun yarn so I made sure to show photos of the roving prior to spinning.

I did a double ply and my Wraps Per Inch is about 11 so it's not a true bulky yarn. Currently I'm knitting swatches to try and get gauge so that I can begin my project.

My spinning method is really a mix between worsted and woolen, but probably leans more towards worsted.

Before I spun my own yarn I never did gauge swatches. Instead I bought the yarn sold by the pattern company or I had the yarn store help me get the substitute yarn.

Now I need to check that the yarn I've made will work for the the intended project.

Picture here on my spinning wheel bobbin is the single ply of this yarn.

It was an absolute pleasure to work with. I don't even care that the cables in the vest won't show up so well with a variegated yarn.

I can see myself also making a shawl or hat from this yarn because the colours are so nice.

I never got tired of spinning this one.