my delightful lopi yarn source
If you're joining in the MasonDixon Knitting BangOut a Sweater KAL -aka the Stopover KAL LopapeysaLooza--whatever you're calling it ---you'll love my yarn shopping tip.
Let me preface this. 1) the words "yarn shopping tip" do not roll easily off my fingertips and 2) I love my LYS.I always try to Shop Local. My local clubhouse , Knit New Haven*, does not carrry Lopi. Nor does the yarn shop at the other end of town, The Yarn Basket, nor my 3rd closest, the artsy and fun to shop at Madison Wool. So, last month, when I decided to satisfy my colorwork jones described here with Mary Jane Mucklestone's Stopover, I hit the internet.
I'd seen this Frank Stella piece, in Kay Gardiner Herself's IG feed in late November. In an uncharacteristically decisive move, I declared it my Stopover colorway. Or as Kay calls it, my #Stellover. (always with the great hashtags, that one)
Looking online I had trouble finding just the right colors in any one shop. I landed on a new-to-me yarn source, Nordic Store and gleefully saw the LettLopi price set at $ 2.49 a skein. And not just some, but ALL the colors.
WHAT? Lopi is a bargain even at full price (usually $4.50/skein) but this was cray-zeee. I grabbed my four colors, added a fifth because why not, I go to the shipping and WHAT THEWHAT? The 4-7 day shipping price is $21.??? Almost equal to the price of the yarn?
So. Turns out I was online shopping in Rekjavik. But - I had the exact hues I wanted, and more, and the price was the same- or less- than ordering in the US with shipping. I hit OK and BOOM 4 days later I had my international mail with this inside .
Yup a video, because Icelandic wool by Icelandic mail gets the full Hollywood treatment.
And also because I hit the video button on my phone by mistake.
I'm going to consider myself a KAL member anyway, even if I already cast on. Without the CC on the bottom ribbing because that's not a good place for me to have a horizontal line. If you know what I mean. I'll have a good chunk of it knit while away this coming weekend- but I bet you'll still be done before me.
* At KNH they suggested subbing Quince Osprey. Different feel but nice option. I also considered Brown Sheep Lambs Pride, my old go-to for scandanavian style sweaters. But- a knitter wants what a knitter wants and in this case, it's the real Lopi and a package from Iceland.
When Hannah went to Iceland last summer I was so excited to have her yarn shop for me - and then I realized - I can get Lopi here, she doesn't need to bother. hahaha. She did say that they sold yarn EVERYWHERE, even the grocery store. I'm glad you got the colors you liked and it's more, ummm, authentic this way.
ReplyDeleteOsprey is gorgeous yarn, but would make a fairly heavy Stopover. I'm intrigued by the light quality and I usually avoid loose gauges. Can Kirsten and Kay be wrong? Off to Ingebretson's today after a conveniently located meeting! Four days shipping is rad.
ReplyDeleteThis is so excellent in every way! I am dying to get a package from Iceland. [runs off to cook one up]
ReplyDeleteI also love that you really zeroed in on a colorway, based on something you saw. I'm going to try that--I'm stuck at the moment with all the options available.
Aaaaahhhhh. You're making me want to knit another! Your #Stellover is going to be fabulous!
ReplyDeleteI love your colors! And the video!!
ReplyDeleteNow I want to have a package from Iceland, too! But living in Portland, OR, I have at least 2 LYSes that carry Lopi. And it's easier for me to choose colors when I can see them in person. So now I have yarn, and a pattern. I guess that means I'm in!
ReplyDeleteYou're too funny! Can't wait to see how yours turns out :)
ReplyDeleteyou made me Laugh Out Loud at least four times! resisting the urge to join in this KAL...
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the suggestion to look at the Nordic store. I was having a terrible time trying to decide on colors for the Mason-Dixon Stopover KAL and kept going back to the Nordic site to get a better idea of what colors might work. In the end, this is where I bought my yarn. It's $24.90 for the yarn; $24.42 shipping - and the total of $49.32 was better than anything I found anywhere else. (Still: $24.42 for shipping? yikes!). Wish I could have seen the colors in real life like some of the luckies whose LYS carries Lopi - there's just not a lot of call for Icelandic yarns here in Austin.
ReplyDeleteI considered the Osprey (having a couple skeins on hand already; but not enough). But then I went Full Out for this KAL and ordered the Lopi. Looking forward to casting on once it arrives. (Can't imagine I'll be done in just "days," though. Because I don't usually roll that way.) XO
ReplyDeleteI once used Lamb's Pride for a lopi sweater. It was the second I'd knit of the same pattern - the first having been out of Lopi. It was for my mom, and she still brings it out occasionally. But in my opinion it turned out too heavy, and too stiff.
ReplyDeleteHi, can't wait to see your wonderful color choices made into a sweater! Based on the LYS's you listed in your post I assume you live in the New Haven area, so I was surprised you didn't mention The Yarn Barn in Woodbridge. I only heard about the Stopover KAL on Friday and was lucky to find a good supply of base and accent colors at The Yarn Barn in Woodbridge, CT on Saturday. They have sold down much of their sizable letti lopi inventory (no grey, black or cream in stock) but a good selection remains for anyone that is interested in the KAL. They were marking down much of the letti lopi 30-40% which made buying yarn for a second sweater possible!
ReplyDeleteCraftsy has it very inexpensive. $17-$18 for 5 skeins. Check it out!
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ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous-- It is true that the Yarn Barn carries Lett Lopi--and I called them, to make sure they had some and to inquire if they had the colors I'd chosen. The person who answered the phone didn't want to tell me what colors they had--only that they had "a good selection" and I should come by.
ReplyDeleteToo far a drive for that much vagueness so I went online. I'll try again for a second sweater:-)
I hear you on the "vagueness" issues ..... the store is run by a mother and daughter team and honestly like everyone else they seem to have their good and bad days. They had a huge selection three weeks ago but when I was there this week the supply had been substantially depleted. This being said the entire lett loop stock was marked down 40% (original price was $3.50) and they had a few options for base in different dark blues, dark purple or dark green (8-9 skeins of each) and had a large selection of accent colors (everything from mustard, browns, gold, red, pink, cobalt, navy, charcoal, black, light blue, some purples, some heathers) but not enough yardage to use as a base. They didn't have any grey or cream unfortunately. Arabella (mother) does have the color card that contains all the colors and can order them but I don't know what the new price/skein would be as I didn't ask. My sense from looking at their existing lett lopi inventory was that the reason it was less expensive and marked down vs other sources was that the inventory had been in the store for awhile. I lucked out and found an interesting denim/darkish blue for the base that is unfortunately discontinued and given the good selection of accent colors I was able to put together something that works based on what was in the store. They pop yarn in the mail for me as I live a good distance away and I'm sure if you were looking for specific colors and had the color number they would look for it and ship. They are truly nice people and I like to support local if I can but sometimes its a challenge! Best of luck on your sweater. I'm calling my sweater the 'catch as catch can' stopover!
ReplyDeleteHi, I liked the sleeve design on your stopover sweater. It was hard to tell from the picture but it looked like you might have modified the design. Did you? Looked great.
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