Saturday, April 9, 2011

why lopi?


In the preface to The Best of Lopi, Norah Gaughan highlights some of the positives of knitting with lopi:

• sweaters knit up quickly in bulky yarn
• simple colourwork patterns keep it interesting
• usually knit in the round with little finishing

So far all true, although I did pick the Norwegian design cardigan pattern that is knit on straights and seamed to start with. Believe it or not, that's half the sweater back knit in a couple hours in front of the TV last night!

More that I didn't know? Lopi is from the world's longest haired sheep - a distinctive breed of sheep brought to Iceland by the Vikings. Icelandic law forbids the importation of foreign sheep, so there's no crossbreeding and the unique properties of the sheep are maintained. The yarn is famed for being durable, lightweight, warm and water repellent. Sounds perfect for the communities in northern Canada!

3 comments:

WildflowerWool said...

Lopi is great wool; it is so warm. At this rate you will be finished the sweater in no time.

suse-the-slow-knitta said...

wow! that's quick!

kathy b said...

3 of my favorite things:
knits up quickly
little finishing
interesting!

Must look up the book.