with this cold snap I am digging out some sweaters only fit for January cold. Here’s another somewhat forgotten/neglected cardigan from the finished objects stash. I knit this about 15 years ago when we lived in Kenya. There were lovely handspun naturally dyed yarns available from The Spinner’s Web. The subtle colours of those Kenya Leo yarns from Njoro were irrisistable. I just had to knit with them. I can’t remember if I even had a pattern but I just worked away and this cardigan is the result. The yarn wasn’t of the best quality compared with what one can buy today but the fact that it was naturally dyed – and I even knew the dyer – made for compulsive purchasing. The yarn from those Kenya sheep was a bit “hard” and it did not have a great deal of elasticity. Yet it was not strong enough to use in my rug weaving unless I combined it with a stronger thread. I had trouble with the neck of the resulting cardigan – and the fit across the front isn’t great – in fact it is not really comfortable if I button it across the front – I should have cast on more stitches – that’s my fault, not the fault of the yarn. But I can wear the cardigan and it has been admired by fellow knitters – that always makes my day!
A little book about the natural dyes used in Kenya might be of interest to some of you. Called A Notebook for Kenyan Dyers by Lorna Hindmarsh and published by the National Museum of Kenya.
Janet's thread 