February 2020

This past Christmas I was lucky to be part of a very special gift. A family with a little flock of five Jacob sheep lost a little one named Max. They had some of Max’ fleece and needed to have something made as a keepsake.

His owner wanted a special present for his wife to keep to remember Max. What a thoughtful Christmas present right? This is Max-

Jacob sheep have such beautiful fleeces. The colors vary from a lilac (bluish gray) to white and all the way to black. All shades in between. Each fleece is so unique. Max’ wool was soft and the lighter colors. Almost a butterscotch color tone throughout the fleece.

I was a little nervous when the wool arrived. I’m sure by now you all know worry is my middle name. I’m good at it! ha! I didn’t weigh it because I was not sure how much yarn I could spin from that little handful of wool. Guessing maybe 2 ounces worth?

However, I forgot how light weight Jacob wool is and so little lanolin. Whew! Washed it up and got to spinning the yarn. They gave me free rein for this project so since there was not much wool, I separated it according to color and divided it in half. As I spun each ply I kept the colors separate so Max showed up in the scarf prominently. I added random areas of white silk to stretch the yardage out. After the yarn was plyed it was gorgeous if I do say so myself!

Got out my knitting needles and got to work. I’m not an accomplished knitter though. Charts and detailed instructions send me screeching to hide in the nearest corner! SO, simple it would be. Straight knit on needles way too big for the fine weight yarn. It worked into a scarf that is so soft and drapey? I was happy but would he be happy with his present for his wife? Here is the scarf:

Thank goodness, he was very happy with the scarf! Phew! I love working on items like this. A much beloved sheep family member to the end result of a scarf to be kept as a memory of their little sheep gone too soon. I am blessed to be able to do what I do in so many ways!