Search Results for: stopover

Stopover – New Sizes

January 29, 2016 by Mary Jane 2 Comments

You asked for it and you got it! Stopover has been expanded! We have sizes from XS – 5XL!!!!

Woo Hoo!

Now you’ve got no excuse not to join the Mason-Dixon Knitting, #BangOutASweaterKAL starting on Monday…don’t fret if your yarn does not come at the crack of the starting gun…there’s plenty of conversations happening on their blog and Ravelry group to inform, enlighten and entertain!

Stopover

Size XS (S, M, L, XL, XXL, 3XL, 4XL, 5XL)

Finished Bust

32 (37, 40½, 44¼, 48, 51¾, 55½, 60¼, 64) in.
81.5 (94, 103, 112.5, 122, 131.5, 140.5, 153, 162.5) cm.
Plus!!!We have a fancy new sizing table and schematic included.

Stopover – Bang It Out – Mason-Dixon Style!

January 25, 2016 by Mary Jane 4 Comments

Stopover Fun! filmed by Kathy Cadigan on the island of Unst, Shetland. 
Acting silly and leaping like a gazelle in Stopover.

Bang out a sweater in no time – that’s the plan. Mason-Dixon Knitting is having a Knit-A-Long! Yes Ma’am!

Kay figured out that you really can knit Stopover FAST!!!

Mason-Dixon is the Headquarters…so go there immediatly!!

I would love to join in but I have a heap of other obligations…so although I have a basket full of Lettlopi that is beckoning and tempting me I must not succumb…though I really really want to….we shall see how strong my willpower is…In any case I’ll be pretend playing along and available the whole time for hand-holding and consultation…although Stopover is so simple you probably won’t need any.

Today I’ll tell you a little history!


 Left: Photographer Jeni Reid's Stopover for Wovember.
Right: Designer Kirsten Kapur's Long Weekend Stopover

When I decided to make the first Stopover I was headed to Shetland 5 days later, (see video above) and I remembered I should be wearing something I made in the pictures…It had to be light, because of packing and traveling, plus it was summer. An Icelandic Lopapeysa was the obvious choice – the yarn is light and lofty and weighs next to nothing! My mom bought one in Reykjavik way back in the 70s – and it was light as a feather! She wore this sweater to death, and it held up great, only needing a little mending at the cuffs after about 5 years, and if it weren’t for the dreaded moth problem at her house it would still be going strong. Almost the same sweater can be found in the Handkknitting Association of Iceland shops today, but at the usual denser regular Lopi weight and gauge.


 Left: Kiki's Don't Stop (East Road Knits on Ravelry).
 Right Lori's Embellished Stopover (loritimesfive on Instagram)

I’m a gal that does not stick to the ball band suggestions. Yarn companies are in the business of selling yarn, so they want you to use as much as you can, smaller needles means you use more yarn. I make things based on what I want. I wanted to reproduce that super light fabric, so I used Lettlopi – what they call an aran weight – at the regular – bulky – Lopi gauge. Because of the qualities of Icelandic wool, it fluffs up and fills in the spaces, so the resulting fabric is full of air, and does not droop or sag like might happen with other yarns. I am sure there are other yarns that might substitute well, I remember a mohair blend when I worked at a yarn shop that I used the same trick with, knitting it at a way looser gauge than the ball band said…I’m a renegade from way back!

Light to pack and fast to knit, my rules. I got my Stopover designed and finished before takeoff!

The KAL officially starts next Monday, February 1.

Ready steady GO!
Get thyself to Mason-Dixon Knitting!!!

PS: We had a KAL over on my Ravelry group last fall. You can check out some fabulous color combinations in the Finished Objects thread!

Stopover for the Holidays!

December 1, 2015 by Mary Jane 2 Comments


 Photos: Kathy Cadigan courtesy of Fringe Supply Co.

Holiday shopping madness makes me uneasy. I would rather relax and knit at a leisurely pace, go for a walk, or have a cup of coffee with a friend. But then I want to make stuff for my loved ones … and there is never enough time!

I have a few patterns that are just right for the season. Stopover. If you have your heart set on knitting a sweater, this is the one for you. It goes really really fast. Some makers have knit it over a weekend. Others have finished it by knitting a few hours in the evening over a week or two. Which means it could be done by the last day of Hanukah and for sure by Christmas. Or failing that, New Years!

As for other gifty things…pop over to Fringe Association…Karen Templer’s temple of all things beautiful…beautiful, simple, elegant, inventive. Every post is a pleasure to read for ideas to ponder and inspire. This season’s Holiday Lookbook includes great things for knitters yes, but lots for non-knitters alike. In particular, I’d love to have the jumbo sized Deluxe Canvas Tote bag – a step up in sophistication from the LLBean bags I’ve used for years. They come natural or black as shown above, perfect since the first thing I do to break in a new canvas bag is spill coffee on it. See photographer Kathy Cadigan’s version of Stopover? – the full shot is on page 23 of Fringe Supply Company Holiday Lookbook 2015.

Find lots of other versions of Stopover on Ravelry. The KAL is on through New Years Eve, join us if you want to make friends with fellow Stopover knitters.

Stopover Deets:

A modern Icelandic style lopapeysa worked at a loose gauge for a deliciously lightweight garment. Stopover is knit entirely in the round with subtle waist shaping Inspired by my week long Stopover in Iceland!

Yarn
Shown in Ístex Létt Lopi (100% Icelandic wool, 109yds / 100m, 1.76oz / 50g).
I have a preference for airy light icleandic wool, but other springy Aran weight wool or wool blend yarn would be suitable.

Finished Size S (M, L, XL) Bust 37 (40½, 44, 48) in, 94 (103, 112, 122)
Sleeves are offered cropped or traditional long.

Needles US 10½ (6.5mm) 16 and 32 inch (40cm, 80cm) circular needles, US 9 (5.5mm) 32in (80cm) circular and 1 set US 9 (5.5mm) double pointed needles – or size necessary to get gauge.

Green Colorway:
#9423 Lagoon Heather (MC)
#1406 Spring Green Heather
#1404 Glacier Heather
#1409 Garnet Red Heather

Blue Colorway:
#1403 Lapis Blue Heather (MC)
#1406 Spring Green Heather
#1404 Glacier Heather
#9427 Rust Heather

Pattern in English and also French!
With purchase you get both and can choose which you prefer to download.

click below to see Stopover the week it was finished!

Stopover KAL Countdown and Colors

September 15, 2015 by Mary Jane Leave a Comment

Countdown to the Stopover KAL! It begins just after midnight tonight – wherever you are!
If you sign up in my Ravelry group on the ••Stopover KAL – signups thread, by 11:59 pm Eastern time, which is just before midnight here in Portland Maine, you’ll be included in the drawing for the very first prize – 3 skeins of Léttlopi! That is also the time the special KAL promotion, of 10% off ends…so join up!

This is my very first KAL, so I’m not well versed in the art. Some people started the moment I posted Stopover, which is GRAND! I’m so happy, and they are NOT excluded from any of the fun. You can figure out time zones here. If you look at the ••Stopover – Talk About It thread, you can see some of the in-progress Stopovers, and the colors people have chosen. You’ll also see the trio of natural colors that are the prize for the first drawing. Winner announced tomorrow!

Which brings me to choosing colors! I get lots of questions…I suggest choosing a color you absolutely LOVE for the main color. Then grab another color you like, and decide which position you’d like it in. I’ve put the MC at the top, followed by CC1 for the Cuffs and Neckline, CC2, for the first color in the “peacock feather” motif on the yoke, and finally the accent color, CC3 on the bottom.

A friend of mine really loves the mossy green #9421, which I just happen to own a ball of, so I started trying out possible combinations with what I also had on hand. The combination on the left looks a like spring in Maine to me, the dead grass starting to turn green,the first pale yellow wildflowers and the little red buds on the maple trees…if I swap out the clear colors for heathered versions the look veers to autumn.

Pretending I don’t like fall colors had me swap out the yellow for grey, which made me think of lightening up the whole sweater, and have blue as an accent…And then I got to thinking about Grey Heather as the MC, with blue and red as the accents, inspired by the first finished Stopover. The black dot seems nice and graphic.

Maybe too graphic. Soften the transition and include a really pretty slate blue, and perk it up with glacier blue and a bright clear yellow, like an alpine wildflower. Too sweet? Use the dark blue as MC, but choose some unusual colors to go with, you can’t see very well in the image on the right, but the dark color #9417 is a gorgeous eggplant. I’m currently smitten with #9427 a rust heather and the red will glow like a jewel!

Ok so be bold and choose bright red for the MC, the cast on and neckline will be my current love rust heather, and then let’s continue being kind of weird and bring in that gold color, and now I’m back to that black dot for graphic punctuation. I can’t stop thinking of the eggplant color now, so how does it go with the rust heather, the weird gold and old favorite garnet heather…kind of pretty. Really rich. Much nicer in person.

So since I think I like rust heather so much, how about feature it as MC…and add some of those fall colors, with deep blue like a mountain lake. Can’t commit to the rust? Try the blue again as the MC…You see? ENDLESS opportunities for fun! You may not even have to knit Stopover because you could just do this till the end of time. But I do hope you decide to knit it.

Can’t decide? There is no shame in knitting it exactly as the sample…that is still my favorite one!

But to sum it up:

Choose your favorite color for MC.
Choose two harmonious colors for CC1 and CC2.
CC1 will be the cast-on, cuffs and neckline.
CC2 is next to the MC at the end of the ribbing and cuff. It also forms the base of the “peacock feather” and the radiating quill in the yoke pattern.
Choose something unexpected for CC3, the single dot – you want to make sure it will hold it’s own against the MC, so make sure there is a difference in value with the MC, or that it is super-saturated and bright.
Have fun with it!

Find my Stopover pattern on Ravelry!

Stopover in Action and a KAL

September 11, 2015 by Mary Jane Leave a Comment

We’re taking the plunge! Stopover is having a Knit-A-Long!

The KAL will start on Wednesday September 16, 2015 with the official CO time at 12 AM wherever you are. The last day of the KAL will be December 31, 2015 since some people might use it for holiday knitting because it’s such a quick knit.

Signups continue throughout the KAL, right up until the end, I bet someone could knit one in a day!

I’m offering a discount! Use code StopoverKAL for 10% off until September 15, 2015, 11:59 PM Eastern time – that is just before the KAL starts in my time zone.

If you want to join in the fun, go to my Ravelry group Mary Jane Mucklestone and sign up on the ••Stopover KAL • signups thread. You can read all the details on that thread which is just for signups so we’ll have an easy list to see for drawings and prizes.

In fact, on the ••Stopover KAL – Talk About It is where we will announce prizes and drawings, and there is a drawing happening September 16, 3 skeins of Léttlopi, might be yours if you sign up before Wednesday September 16.

You’ll also find a ••Stopover KAL FO – No Chatter thread which is just what it says, eventually a gorgeous gallery of finished objects to admire and marvel at.

When I first made Stopover I was captured acting silly and leaping like a gazelle on the island of Unst by photographer Kathy Cadigan, who was making a more proper video for the release of my friend Gudrun Johnston’s book Shetland Trader 2. (Which you need to buy if you don’t already have it.)

Click on the video above for a glimpse of Unst behind my nutty self.

Oh! Speaking of Stopovers, beginning March 9 Icelandair will be flying to Aberdeen, where the planes and the boat departs for Shetland, so you can book an Iceland stopover before or after you visit Shetland!

Stopover in French!

September 8, 2015 by Mary Jane 1 Comment

My new Lopapeysa pattern Stopover is now available in French! Many thanks to Christine of the online yarn shop Triscote for her hard work translating. She’s offering kits for making Stopover which includes the yarn and pattern.

While I’ve got your attention, a friend in knitting test-knit her sample in a different colorway!

Shown on our same gorgeous model, but the blue one is size XLarge. For beauty’s sake we’ve scrunched up the sleeves, and her arms are holding back some of the excess fabric. The original green version is size Small and you’ll notice how much more closely it fits.

Go check out Stopover on Ravelry for deets!

Buyers will get both the French and English translations – but you only have to download the language you prefer.

Stay tuned…a little birdie told me there might be a Stopover KAL.

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