Pattern Description from A Fine Fleece: “Inspired by the conceptual designs of Alice Starmore, I tested my own design waters more than ten years ago with St. Patrick, my first but never published design. I chose cables that, in my mind, represent both the myth and the man who was St. Patrick. Snakelike cables were obvious motifs to use, and the more complex and interwoven cables are meant to symbolize Celtic art and the complexity of faith. The handspun yarn was a joy to design using multiple colors of mohair blended with emerald green wool. I wanted a jeweled, heathery yarn like wildflowers in an Irish filed. The goal ratio for the yarn was 75 percent wool and 25 percent Mohair. The green wool is a result of 75 percent of the wool being dyed dark forest green and 25 percent dyed bright lime. The mohair was dyed in five separate colors: royal blue, dark purple, magenta, bronze gold, and a sunny yellow. The carding process took a long time as I fed varying amounts of fiber into the drum carder until I had a batt that resembled the final goal. I carded all the fiber by eye, then stripped the batts and carded and recarded them for consistency. I admit that this was not the most time-efficient method for carding fiber, and I revised my method for other project later in this chapter. however, the yarn is exactly as I envisioned. But what is even better? The Romney/Border Leicester wool came from a sheep named Patrick. You can’t get more conceptual than that!”

Skill Level: Experienced

Finished Measurements:

• Chest 40 (44, 47, 51)“ (101.5 112, 119.5, 129.5cm)
• Length 23 (23, 28, 28)“ (58.5 58.5, 71, 71cm)
• Note: Length can be adjusted by 5” (12.5cm), or one 36-row repeat of Chart B. Please allow extra yardage for longer length.

Yarn: #4 medium

• 1400 (1500, 1800, 1950) yds (1280 1372, 1646, 1783m) worsted weight
• 8 (8, 10, 11) skeins Rowan Yarns Scottish Tweed Aran, 3.5 oz (11g) skeins, each approximately 186 yds (170m), 100% pure new wool, 024 Porridge

Needles and Notions:

• US size 5 (3.75mm) knitting needles
• US size 7 (4.5mm) knitting needles, or size needed to obtain gauge
• US size 5 (3.75mm) circular needles, 16” (40cm) long
• Cable needle
• Stitch holders
• Tapestry needle

ERRATA: This pattern has errata. The website that provides errata for this book is currently down. Please check the A Fine Fleece group for solutions.