Jaime's Stopover Sweater

It's 70 degrees here but I just finished a cozy and warm Lopi sweater. Lopi is my absolute favorite sweater yarn and its been a while since I knit one. This is my third Lopi pullover and I was excited to knit Mary Jane Mucklestone's new pattern Stopover for this one in all neutrals... Lopi ♥!

Pattern: Stopover by Mary Jane Mucklestone
Yarn: Lettlopi - Main Color is Dark Grey Heather 0058, Contrast colors are Black 0059, Oatmeal Heather 0085, and Ash 0054
Size Made: Small - 37"
Modifications: Knit the body 1" longer than the pattern called for

I'm just going to wax poetic for a moment about my love of Lopi. Lopi is a yarn made in Iceland from the Icelandic sheep that live there. There are no predators in Iceland so the sheep happily graze the landscape throughout the country without fences. Iceland is cold and damp and these sheep have developed a dual coat that keeps them both warm and dry in the most extreme of weather conditions. This means that sweaters made from their wool are amazingly warm, but also can keep you dry in a rain or snow storm. The yarn is also very durable and hardy. It looks great after years of wear. As if that wasn't enough, it is also a light and lofty yarn. Considering how warm and durable it is it doesn't weigh much - this sweater is just over 9 oz.

For me all of this means that Lopi is the perfect sweater yarn for hiking and camping adventures. It is light and doesn't take up too much space in a pack and is the perfect layer when it gets cold. The yarn can withstand the stress of wearing a backpack and its way cuter than a puffy jacket. My other Lopi sweaters have accompanied me on all my adventures and I have big plans for my new Stopover sweater and I this summer. Even though we're going into the warm months and this sweater will be too hot to wear in town, there will be plenty of 14ers and backpacking adventures for my Lopi and I.

Lopapeysa is the name of an Icelandic style sweater made from Lopi yarn. They usually have a stranded colorwork motif in the yoke and can have patterning in the cuffs and hem. This was my first Lopapeysa with this hem patterning and I love the look of it. The thing that really drew me to this pattern though was the gauge. This sweater is knit on a size 10.5 needle for a gauge of 13 stitches to 4". This is much different from my other Lopi sweaters knit on an US 8 needle with an 18 sts to 4" gauge. This sweater really lets Lopi's lofty nature shine and creates a much lighter fabric. I thought it would mean that the sweater wouldn't be as warm, but like all Lopi - it's still surprisingly very warm.

This pattern is very straightforward and simple. The body and sleeves are knit separately from the bottom up and then they are all connected for the yoke. The colorwork pattern was simple although there were a couple of rows that use three colors at once instead of just two. Lopi comes in a beautiful palette of colors and neutrals and I was excited to use 4 neutral colors for this sweater that come from the natural colors of the Icelandic sheep.

Overall I'm in love and am ready to take on some high country adventures this summer!