The Wee Gaffer

For Munchkin's Christmas, I have knit him a new sweater. I have been blessed with boys who are excited about wearing things I've made for them (although whether this is due to nature or nurture I couldn't say), so the gift of the dreaded "clothes" for Christmas should actually meet with favor from the young judge. This sweater is inspired by a sweater that the venerable knitter Elizabeth Zimmermann made for her husband, whom she often called the Gaffer. So I've called mine "The Wee Gaffer." 

This sweater is a fairly accurate gansey, which is a traditional style of sweater worn by English fishermen. It has ribbing at the bottom, a pattern of purl and knit stitches across the chest, and gussets under the sleeves to enhance the range of movement.

This particular gansey has a unique shoulder construction that I had never seen before. After knitting the chest and back from the bottom up, you then turn everything sideways and knit back and forth between the two sides to form the shoulders. 

Note: This sweater has not been test knit, and so may include errors!  

The Wee Gaffer 

Size: 

4T (I think) 

Materials: 

approximately 550 yards of worsted weight yarn

size 8 US needles

Body

Cast on 140 st in the round.

Knit 1x1 rib for 8 rounds.

Knit in stockinette for 57 rounds.

Chest

Table 1:

						Row 6
						Row 5
						Row 4
						Row 3
						Row 2
						Row 1

Table 2:

Row 7

Row 6

Row 5

Row 4

Row 3

Row 2

Row

Table 3

						Row 6
						Row 5
						Row 4
						Row 3
						Row 2
						Row 1

 = knit
 = purl

Purl 1 round.

Knit 1 round

Purl 1 round.

*Knit 1, inc 1, pm, knit 2, pm, knit 6, pm, knit 13, pm, knit 6, pm, knit 13, pm, knit 6, pm, knit 13, pm, knit 6, pm, knit 2, pm, inc 1, repeat from *.

*Knit to marker, inc 1, knit 2, knit table 1, knit table 2, knit table 1, knit table 2, knit table 3, knit table 2, knit table 3, knit 2, inc 1, repeat from *, knit to end of round.

Repeat this row 9 times.

Note: tables 1 and 3 are 6 rows high, table 2 is 7 rows high, so the tables will not be in sync after the first repeat. You will need to keep track of where you are in each table separately.

Cast off 7, knit 2, knit table 1, knit table 2, knit table 1, knit table 2, knit table 3, knit table 2, knit table 3, knit 2, cast off 13, knit 2, knit table 1, knit table 2, knit table 1, knit table 2, knit table 3, knit table 2, knit table 3, knit 2, cast off 6. Break yarn and pull through.

You are now knitting the front.

Knit 2, knit table 1, knit table 2, knit table 1, knit table 2, knit table 3, knit table 2, knit table 3, knit 2.

Knit back and forth, staying in pattern, until you have completed 6 total repeats of table 2

Purl 1 row.

Cast off, purlwise. Break yarn and pull through.

Repeat for the back.

Shoulders

Cast on 12.

Knit back and forth in garter stitch, knitting the first stitch of each row together with a stitch from the chest. 

Insert your left needle through both loops of a bound-off stitch.

Wrap your yarn around the needle.

Pull the yarn through.

Pull this newly made stitch through the last stitch on the needle. 

Knit 30 rows in this way.

*Knit 6, turn.  Slip first stitch, knit 4, knit stitch together with stitch from chest.

Repeat from * 37 times.

Repeat for the other side of the neck.

Knit 15 rows, knitting straight across all 12 st, knitting the first stitch of each row together with a stitch from the chest.

Cast off. Break yarn and pull through last stitch.

Sleeves

Cast on 48.

Knit back and forth in 1x1 rib for 8 rows.

Knit 1, inc 1, knit to 1 stitch before the end of the row. Inc 1, knit 1.

Knit in stockinette for 5 rows.

Repeat 5 times.

Knit in stockinette for 26 rows.

Knit in garter stitch for 3 rows.

Knit in stockinette for 9 rows.

Purl 1, pm, purl to 2 st before the end of the row, pm, purl 2.

*Knit to marker, inc 1, knit to marker, inc 1, knit to end.

Purl 1 row.

Repeat from * 4 times.

Sew sleeve together using mattress stitch.

Use the 3-needle bind-off to sew the sleeve to the armscye. When sewing the gussets together, sew the stitches 1:1. When sewing the sleeve to the chest piece, sew the stitches 2:3. (Sew two stitches together, skip one of the chest piece stitches.) (Stitches may not perfectly match up. About 2 inches before the end of the seam, count your stitches on the chest piece and the sleeve and adjust your ratio if necessary.)

Repeat for second sleeve.

Weave in all ends.

Adoption FAQs

So, what’s going on with the adoption? 

So much! We’ve been provisionally matched with a little girl (!!!) from China, so we’re working on assembling our Dossier to send off to China ASAP.

Wait, weren’t y’all adopting from Hong Kong? Is that the same program? 

Yes, we were and no, it isn’t. We decided to switch programs. After spending some time (about a year!) pursuing adopting a child from Hong Kong, it became apparent that there are many families who want to adopt from Hong Kong, and there just aren’t many children available in that program. This is partly because Hong Kong, unlike China, doesn’t place restrictions on how many children a family can have, and Hong Kong also has a robust domestic adoption program (people from Hong Kong adopting children locally), which is a wonderful thing but means that the Hong Kong international adoption program is by definition pretty small. It didn’t make sense to us to wait in line for a child while at the same time there are children in other programs who are waiting in line for families. This is the decision that was right for us and by no means should it reflect a criticism of anyone who chooses to adopt from Hong Kong.

Tell me more about this little girl! 

She is darling! She’s two and a half, about 4 and a half months younger than our youngest son. She is in an orphanage, but everything we read about her mentions how bright she is and how she’s right on track, developmentally speaking. This is pretty unusual for a child who has been raised in an orphanage, so we think that she must be getting really good care. We are praying that she is in a loving, safe environment, and that she has Christians who are shining God’s light and love into her life. Her special need is that she has a congenital giant nevus, which a large, black birthmark covering her neck and shoulders. Although she will need some medical care and monitoring, we feel like this is a very doable special need. You can read more about congenital nevus here.

So what is the process going to look like? 

Right now we’re collecting (a lot of) forms and certificates for our Dossier. When we finish that, which should take between 2  and 4 weeks, we send it off to China. China reviews this and then sends us a “Letter of Acceptance,” which is we sign and send back to confirm yes, we want to adopt this child. This process can take between a few weeks and a few months. Then we submit a I-800A form to Homeland Security. Once we get approval, we’ll be able to apply for her immigrant visa. Approval of her visa is called Article 5. After we get Article 5, we’ll be waiting for our Travel Invitation, which is the date that we actually go get her. When that happens, we will be in China for between 2 and 3 weeks. We will complete the adoption in China, so when we come back home, she’s ours forever! This whole process will take between 6 months and a year. Please pray that everything goes as efficiently as possible, that we are diligent in completing the work on our end quickly and that the wheels of bureaucracy would glide smoothly.

How much is all of this going to cost? 

Gulp. A lot. The cost for the adoption is approximately $36,000, with some flexibility on either side. There are several factors that affect the final number. Some of our fees are paid in China, so the strength of the US dollar vs the Chinese yuan will affect our costs. Also this number includes our travel expenses, so the time of year will affect how much flights and hotels cost. We have already paid $5,005 of this, leaving $30,995 left to raise. The exciting news is that we have a matching donor, who has promised to match what we raise up to $13,000! So every $1 you donate becomes $2!

How can I help? 

You can pray! Pray for us to be able to raise the funds we need, pray for the process to go swiftly, pray for the well-being of our little girl across the world. Pray for us as we prepare for her, and pray for our boys, that they would love her before she even comes home.

 You can give money! We need to raise about $31,000 overall, but our immediate goal is to raise $5,400 in the next month. We have to have this money to send off our Dossier, so if we don’t raise this in time, it will delay the whole process. Because of our matching donor, we actually just need $2,700! You can give money by sending a check to:

Bethany Christian Services

930 McCallie Avenue

Chattanooga, TN 37403

The check should be made out to Bethany Christian Services, with “Matthew and Libby Fenn’s adoption” on the memo line. We are still working on ways to donate online, and we’ll update this information as soon as we have good options. Another way to support our adoption is by buying a scarf. We are selling braided infinity scarves that I made. For more information, go here. Thank you for wanting to help! 

Adoption Fundraiser Sale

We are holding an adoption fundraiser sale! 

We're selling infinity scarves for $25 each. These are made of soft jersey knit material and feature two colors that are braided together on one side. They can be worn looped once or twice and add a stylish touch to any outfit, casual or professional. They're a great way to stay warm, look good, and support a wonderful cause this Christmas! Buy one for yourself or someone you love! Here are some examples of the scarves I've whipped up so far. 

Purple/brown stripe, looped once

Purple/brown stripe, looped twice

Dark blue/light blue, looped once

Dark blue/light blue, looped twice

Gray/purple stripe, looped once

Gray/purple stripe, looped twice

If you're interested in buying one, you can comment below, email me at derkihee@gmail.com or text me. 100% of the scarf price goes to support our adoption. If you live in the Chattanooga area, I can offer home delivery; if you need it to be mailed, it will be approximately $3 more. We can accept cash, checks or PayPal. 

New colors coming soon!Stay tuned for orange/brown, orange/bright print, pink/gray, blue/neutral stripe. If you have your heart set on a particular color combo you don't see here, contact me and we'll chat! There will be at least 1 week delay on all custom orders. 

Doable/Not Doable?

It's December 1, that venerated day when all dedicated crafters/knitters/sewists review their to-do lists and have a wee moment of panic. Here's my list this year:

- one sweater
- one sock
- one pair felted clogs
- a bottle of raspberry liqueur
- 5 stuffed animals
- 6 pairs of pajama pants.

I'm knitting a Norwegian-style sweater for my sister. I have a picture and I've designed a pattern to be very similar though not identical. I don't know yet if my pattern is going to work in real life, that's the "fun"part about not buying patterns.
Status: I've knit the plain part of the body and sleeves and am about to embark on the colorwork section.
Priority: High. I'm pretty confident I'm going to finish on time, but last Christmas this sister got parts of a sweater for her gift, so I really want this to not be the Christmas project that falls through the cracks this year.

Several months ago, I knit a sock.It was a nice sock, I knit a little pattern of chevrons down the front and back to add some interest and keep me awake while I was knitting it. Unfortunately, after I finished it I lost the ball of yarn for the other sock, so the first sock has languished in the stash basket since then. Last night I finally caved and bought another ball of yarn, which means I'm due to find the lost ball in about 45 minutes.
Status: First sock is knit except for sewing the toe, the second is but a gleam in the eye.
Priority: Medium. These are worsted weight socks, so they'll knit up in a couple of evenings once I get the yarn and track down the right size knitting needles.

'Stache requested a pair of felted clogs for Christmas. I'm using this pattern, which I've knit for myself. These clogs were great. I loved them dearly and wore them to pieces, which took about 2 years which is not a bad lifespan for knit footwear.
Status: I have the yarn and I need to buy the pattern because I've forgotten the password to my pdf. Le sigh.
Priority: Low. 'Stache requested these pretty late in the game and I've already warned him he might be getting half an unfelted clog on Christmas Day.

I'm making raspberry liqueur using this recipe.
Status: The raspberry liqueur just needs to age for a while. I also need to buy some little bottles. Turns out its tricky to find bottles that won't break a stocking when they're full, but still hold a decent amount of liqueur.

I am making 5 stuffed animals from the Menagerie Pattern. These have been really fun and have come together pretty quickly. I've been mostly sewing them assembly-line style, with some slight hiccups for not having any pink fleece for the cat ears. Also for sewing the penguin's head completely wrong twice in a row.
Status: three stuffies are just waiting for their stuffing and pellets to arrive. The cat is a couple steps behind and the penguin needs to be seam-ripped again and the head resewn. Then it's just stuffing and finishing.
Priority: High. This is a major part of the kid's Christmas and kids are less understanding of receiving a half-finished gift.

I want to sew my kids and the kids in our small group pajama pants for Epiphany. Pajama pants are fun and quick to sew, and flannel patterns are just the cutest, although we'll be doing different patterns for boys and girls this year. Gender-neutral flannel patterns is a seriously under-served market.
Status: still need to buy fabric, have the pattern.
Priority: Medium. The due date for these is after Christmas, so there's a little more breathing room. I think this year I'll have some size duplicates, so I won't have to cut them all out separately, which will help.



Right now, this seems like a really doable list. The trouble is to keep myself from adding to it. There's a blanket for Munchkin, a little sweater, a scarf, and a much-needed hat for me that really want to be knit. Must! Resist!