Projects
A New Main Squeeze
Dear Kay,
Head still spinning from Nash Yarn Fest. I keep thinking about the kindnesses that happened all weekend long, seeing people being good to each other, laughing, hugging, celebrating a yarn with each other, a sweater, a funny sticker. The generosity of this community never ceases to amaze me.
Along the way, I was stealing a minute here and there on the stealth project I haven’t wanted to share until the MDK Atlas x Madelinetosh yarn collaboration had been announced.
It’s Jen Geigley’s Main Squeeze Pullover, and I’m loving this thing like a baby!
It was this photo that made me beeline for Jen’s pattern.
This color, Caretaker, can safely be said to have a lot going on in it. These speckletastic wondercolors are the heart and soul of Madelinetosh, and they give an entirely new vibe to our Atlas yarn.
We listened very carefully when Libby Butler-Gluck told us about which patterns make the most of these color-shifting, sometimes wild colors. The trick is to let the colors fly across simple stitch patterns that can handle a lot of color being applied to them
When it’s worked in knits and purls, creating a very simple texture, the colors pixellate and turn into clouds.
For my Main Squeeze, I kept thinking about another vibe entirely, the vibe of Oeste.
Oeste makes me think of Pensacola, Florida, spring break, 1970s. I think we stayed at a Howard Johnson’s motel that was this colorway.
Oeste is so good! So unpredictable!
What will happen here? Who knows? I think that’s why we love variegated yarns so much.
I spend as much time gazing upon this as I do knitting it.
It’s taking forever.
In a great way.
With warm weather on the way, this will be such a find next fall when I’m wishing I had a great new sweater to wear.
Hey, Future Me, you’re welcome!
Love,
Ann
PS You can see all sorts of glorious patterns that are great for Atlas x Madelinetosh, right here in our lookbook. And see all 24 colors of the yarn here.
Haha, Oeste means West, and the colorways makes it think of Florida, at the East coast!! The common denominator is coast, beach, sand…
Great post!!
Wow love the colors of this wool!
Thanks! Having a blast with this color, whatever it evokes …
Ahhhh – I’m so excited that you’re making this!! Honored!
I’m totally making one of these too. Loved seeing it live.
Still thinking about you in that Narutomaki Vest, so cute!
It’s gorgeous! Are you using two skeins of yarn, alternating each round or two between the skeins? I have found with hand dyed yarn the difference between one skein and the next can be jarring.
Lois, this is a really good point to bring up.
I can’t deal with alternating every round, but with hand dyed yarn I introduce a new skein when I have about a dozen or so rows worth of yarn left of the original skein. That way the shift gets spread out over about 25 rows and prevents a jarring and obvious transition.
Such a good question. I’ve never really done much in the way of alternating skeins when using hand-dyed yarns. I guess, for me, the unique nature of each skein is something I enjoy, so it’s fun for me to see how the colors play out as I knit. They swirl, pool, break up in all sorts of ways. I definitely have sweaters where you can see a line when a new skein is added. Also: working with two balls of yarn, and alternating, seems like more to deal with. When I want a really consistent result, I’ll go for a yarn that is more consistent in color.
Ann, this comment is so helpful and liberating!
I had a fun project on my needles that I was enjoying working on so much, using a Madeline Tosh yarn. Then a more experienced knitter told me that hand dyed yarns needed to be alternated with a different skein in every round. I’m sorry to say that advice stopped me in my tracks. I put the project aside and haven’t picked it up since.
Your comment reminded me of the MDK motto: Knitting is fun!
Being in the moment and seeing the beauty and the magic revealed in the process is what makes it fun and sparks all kinds of joy. Thanks for the reminder!
I saw you knitting this at MDK HQ and have not stopped thinking about it since! Thinking of Oeste or maybe Gracenotes, I can’t decide!
Mo! The Carolina Wren continues to work on that nest. Can’t believe you saw it in our air conditioning unit! We’ll keep an eye on it!
What a gorgeous color and a gorgeous sweater that will be!
I mean, I’m even enjoying the sleeves and I never enjoy sleeves!
I’d love to see a pic of those sleeves! Totally different effect of that yarn in stockinette, right? I love that color choice also.
Yes, I too am so curious to see the sleeves.
These new yarns are like a delicious experiment, very exciting!
Totally. Please stand by. Sleeve content coming soon.
Any chance someone is adapting the Easel Sweater pattern to work with Atlas? It was the first thing I thought of when I saw the gorgeous new yarn!
This really makes me want to make another Main Squeeze – it’s such a great pattern. I think I would make it out of Oeste or Grace Notes. Yours is so beautiful and I can’t wait to see how the sleeves look in this yarn.
Sensational – yarns and lookbook!
What is the stitch that make up the sweater pattern? I really like it.
Agree, agree, and agree, Ann! I’ve already made (and LOVE it in Pear) one Main Squeeze, and can’t wait to start the next! Also can’t wait to see how many are made in the Jade colorway – I noticed it was all but gone by the end of Nash Fest, so clearly lots of lovers of the greens in MDKland. No bad color choices for the Atlas or for the Main Squeeze!
That sweater is going to look great on you in that colorway. Can’t wait to see how it turns out.