Mid-June feels like a strange time to be thinking about Icelandic Lopi, one of the thickest and warmest wools on the planet. Then again, everything feels strange right now, so I’m going to go with what works.
We’ve been busy here knitting Lopi sweaters in preparation for the fall and winter, when I tend to sell the most in my Etsy shop. I can never seem to keep Lopi sweaters in stock, so we (we meaning myself and my mom) are working to build up a bit of stock now, when it’s hot and sticky in the northern hemisphere and no one is thinking about hefty wool sweaters.
Our problem, as always, is that we are sorely lacking our favorite sweater model, my brother. He is still over in northwest UK, and with the pandemic, it doesn’t seem he’ll be coming back here any time soon. In fact, we’ve encouraged him to stay on another year, because to be perfectly honest, he is safer over there and most likely will receive a vaccine long before we do. We also worry about him having to travel, quarantine, find living accommodations, and take care of his two very large dogs, right in the middle of the second wave of the virus. We have our fingers crossed that his visa and work extension will be approved.
None of this stops us from missing him every day. The last we had an in-person visit with him was in September of 2019. And from a purely selfish perspective, I miss having him around to model my sweaters! I have two in sealed storage and more on the way, waiting for a modelling opportunity.
In the meantime, we’ve tried to make do. First, we put together a stash-busting Lopi sweater in a size I could model. I really wasn’t sure about the color combination – I’m a purist when it comes to Lopi, and I love the traditional browns, greys, and blues – but in the end, the unusual color choices turned out really well!
We are on a mission to use up some of our vast Lopi stash, so we’ll be putting together more of these multicolor yoke designs in the future!
Our second, crafty plan is to recreate sweaters I’ve already knitted in the past, and which my brother has already modeled, so we don’t need to worry about photographing them. The bonus to this plan is that we can knit the sweaters in a different size! I always knit my Lopi sweaters in a 44″ chest size, which fits my brother perfectly. So, I’m only able to offer that one size in my shop. This way, however, I can knit the next size up and offer more options to buyers.
So far we’ve recreated this beauty:
I absolutely adore this speckled Lopi wool, and I had enough for one more identical sweater in the next size up. It is currently available in my Etsy shop.
On the way shortly (it is currently being blocked) is this one:
Again, we were able to recreate the exact colors but in the next size up. I really love these two sweaters, so it was a joy to make them all over again.
In the works now is a never-before-knitted design, very traditional in shades of grey. I’m looking forward to seeing how it turns out, even if it will have to sit for a while before it can be photographed!
Finally, in further Lopi news, my mom and I cleaned up our gigantic Lopi bin. We sorted colorways and put scraps into sealed bags, and organized the full skeins. It turns out we have plenty of options we didn’t realize we had! And for the small amounts in our stash, we will work on some multicolor yoke ideas and maybe even put together some mittens, hats, and legwarmers.
All in the middle of summer. Sure, why not.
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