Earlier this summer, Dave got a text from a friend who was visiting P.E.I at the time. The text read: “How much yarn do you need to knit a sweater?”

Now all the knitters I know out there are groaning. Because that’s not an easy answer. It depends on weight of the yarn, the style of the sweater, and the size of the sweater. Which is pretty much what we texted the friend. Then we heard no more. I foolishly assumed they’d realize they shouldn’t be buying yarn without a knitter present (or at least a little more information under their belt.)

Silly me…

We recently went to visit said friend (first time we’ve seen them since the summer) and while chatting he dropped the bomb. “I have a big ask. I know it’s a big ask, so if the answer is no, that’s totally cool… but….. could you knit me a cardigan?”

And then he brought out this:

A giant bag of the sheepiest yarn I have ever seen in my life. Like this stuff is right off the sheep’s back. The lanolin is so thick, you can feel it immediately. As soon as you open the bag, the aroma is instantly barnyard. And lets not talk about veggie matter… I think I’ll have enough to feed a sheep by the time I’m done knitting.

I felt up the yarn and said to him “You know this is going to be itchy? Like REALLY itchy???”

Yep… he’s cool with that.

I took a closer look at the bag – there’s not a yarn label in site.

Me: “Any chance you know the weight of the yarn?”

Him: “Ummm. I think we bought three pounds”

Me: “No I mean like, thickness of the strand… like-”

Him: “Oh – it’s three plies, I think they said!”

Me: “Yeah… unfortunately, not helpful…”

Me: “Do you happen to know yardage… the length of yarn in each skein?”

Him: “No… sorry…. but it looks like enough, right?”

Me: “Possibly…?”

Then we started talking about the style of sweater he wanted. Slim sleeves, mostly plain… just a basic grandpa-like cardigan.

So, I toted the bag home with me and the adventure began. Luckily, because of Mom and her gadget collecting ways, she had all the things needed to determine how much yarn there was (a yardage counter, swift, winder, and scale). It turns out there more than 3,000 yards – more than enough most likely (The friend is not a huge guy). We’re pretty sure it’s a chunky weight, though a swatch will tell me that.

Right now, I’m waiting to hear back from said friend on his measurements, and pattern choice:

And despite that fact that it is not the nicest yarn, I am kind of looking forward to it. Dave is not even a sweater guy (he gets too warm), let alone cardigan guy (he wouldn’t be caught dead in a cardigan). All I can make him are socks and hats (and he has too many of both).

So once I get the specifics from our friend, I’ll be embarking on a very sheepy adventure!