This kit features DK weight Gotland yarn, spun from the glorious undyed fleeces of Shepherd’s Craft Farm, Whitefield, Maine, with a bright pop of my naturally dyed DK weight Bluefaced Leicester from the flock of Two Sisters Farm, Warren, Maine.

The kits are currently available in two color combinations: Darker Gray Gotland with bright red Pomegranate (dyed with madder and lac), and the Lighter Gray Gotland with deep green Hackmatack (dyed with indigo and weld - if you are not familiar with some of the quirks of natural indigo, please read my note on the subject). Feel free to get in touch if you prefer a different combination of gotland and BFL, if for instance you would rather work with Lighter Gray Gotland and the red Pomegranate, or even one of the other DK weight BFL colorways.

Both kits contain enough yarn to knit the larger size.

I designed these mittlets years ago when I first started Upton Yarns.  I’ve stopped producing the yarn I used then, a 3 Ply Coopworth, so that I could instead use all of my Buckwheat Blossom Farm Coopworth fleece for my 5-ply gansey yarn, but this flexible pattern knits up just as nicely in Gotland and Bluefaced Leicester (or really most DK weight yarns).  I designed these mittlets with my very well dressed brother-in-law in mind, aiming for understated and comfortably unisex. My original pair has become a sturdy but stylish wardrobe staple, still a favorite all these years later. The pattern has instruction for two sizes, because unisex style is great, but having to wear the wrong size is just annoying.

I’ve given the pattern a  (sorely needed) edit, and added a thumb increase chart for clarity.  It is available as a free download on my site here: Salt Bay Mittlets

or on Ravelry at:

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/salt-bay-mittlet

This Spring my Instagram feed was suddenly full of charming knitted birds winging their way to Alaska as part of the Netloft’s Birds by Hand project, an exhibit intended to raise awareness of the importance of the Copper River Delta to migratory birds.  I fell in love with the project generally, and with Evelyn A. Clark’s design for a Gansey Bird in particular. Soon my own trio of Gansey Birds were headed north to join the Netloft’s flock.

This kit features yarn from two Maine farms, Buckwheat Blossom farm in Wiscasset for a contrast color and with the main color gansey yarn coming from the Maine Island raised flock of Straw’s Farm in Newcastle, which seems fitting. I used US size 2 needles, but otherwise made no modifications to Evelyn’s wonderful pattern (written for a worsted weight yarn).  The kit contains yarn to make 6 birds, enough for a home flock, and perhaps a few to join the flock in Alaska.

For every kit sold, a donation will be made to the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network.

Evelyn’s pattern is available for free download at:
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/gansey-bird

Kit contents:
From Straw’s Farm, Newcastle, Maine

• 120 yds 5-Ply Gansey: Straw’s Farm Island Sheep in Cordova (dyed with natural indigo)

• 9 yds 3-Ply Straw’s Farm Island Sheep fingering weight, in Lichen (dyed with weld)

From Buckwheat Blossom Farm, Wiscasset, Maine

• 5 yds 5-Ply Coopworth Gansey yarn, in Natural Gray (undyed)

From Two Sisters Farm, Warren, Maine

• 50 grams wool for stuffing

Happy knitting!

***Please note, the kits contains yarn only.  You can purchase the pattern by Kristin Drysdale on Ravelry.com here. ***

Once again I have fallen in love with a pattern and put together a yarn kit.  This time for Kristin Drysdale's wonderfully cute (and warm) Ingeborg Slippers.  I fell in love with the pattern the first time they appeared on my Instagram feed, and it turns out they are a relatively quick but very engaging knit.   

Kit features Upton Yarns DK weight Bluefaced Leicester from the happy sheep of Two Sisters Farm, Warren, Maine, in three colorways: 50 yards each of light blue Glacier Bay and dark blue Delft (both dyed with natural indigo) and 20 yards of contrasting Tiger Lily (dyed with madder, lac, and weld) for the crochet edge, and arrives packaged in one of my hand printed project bags. 

If you are unfamiliar with the foibles of yarn dyed with natural indigo, please check out the About Indigo page here.

Happy knitting!