New Pattern: Mother Lode
I'm so thrilled to finally be releasing today's latest design, Mother Lode. It took me over a year to create this... literally. I purchased the yarn at the Rose City Yarn Crawl in March os 2016 and its taken until now to conceptualize and knit this beauty. And let me emphasize the "conceptualize". The yarn, a 4-color Mother Sampler (heavy lace weight; approx. 1100 yds per sampler collection) from Yarn on the House, sat in a place of prominence for about 5 months, staring at me, taunting me, until it told me what it needed to be. And here she is:
Mother Lode
lode
lōd/
noun
noun: lode; plural noun: lodes
a vein of metal ore in the earth.
a rich source of something.
Origin
Old English lād ‘way, course,’ variant of 'load'. The term denoted a watercourse in late Middle English and a lodestone in the early 16th century The current sense dates from the early 17th century.
What's in a name?
Sometimes? Nothing. But sometimes? Everything! I'd been eyeing these Mother Samplers from YOTH for quite a while and finally was able to source them locally during the yarn crawl. I hemmed and hawed about what color combination to select (greens, blues, browns, grays) and finally settled on the classic gray. They're warm grays so there's an undertone of brown which makes this the perfect "wear it with everything" kind of shawl.
So to me, this shawl is everything. The yarns are lovely, and just my kind of palette, but mostly, it's the fruition of a long term project working out EXACTLY as I'd imagined it. So the Mother Lode is a rich source of joy and pride for this cat.
The Details
The Story
I was lucky enough to get my hands on a YOTH Mother Sampler during a yarn crawl - when I brought it home I knew it had to be something cushy and spectacular, but not fussy, to show off the gorgeous palette.
Materials
- Yarn on the House Mother Sampler (heavy lace weight; 100% domestic Rambouillet wool; 1100 yds/200g): 1 set of 4 (275 yds/50g ea).
- ‘Sea Salt’ (color A)
- ‘Poppy Seed’ (color B)
- ‘Wild Rice’ (color C)
- ‘Cracked Pepper’ (color D)
- US 3 (3.25mm) 32” circular needle (or preferred length)
- Removable stitch marker (optional)
Finished Dimensions
79 inches wingspan by 16 inches deep
Gauge
30 sts and 58 rows = 4 inches in garter stitch after blocking
Notes
- This shawl is constructed in an asymmetrical shape and worked flat, from tip to end. Written instructions are provided for the entirety of the shawl.
- Adjust needle size as necessary to match gauge.
- All sts will be slipped purlwise unless otherwise noted.
- You may wish to clip a removable stitch marker to the RS of the work to differentiate RS from WS since this project is worked largely in garter stitch.
- Although gauge is not critical for this project, a looser gauge than noted will result in the use of more yardage.
No YOTH? No worries!
Although this pattern was designed using a palette from the YOTH Mother Sampler, you can put together your own sampler with a heavy lace weight or light fingering yarn. You'll just need 275 yds of each color and you're off to the races.
So! Go get your pattern here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mother-lode
Choose your yarns! And get knitting! If you're on social media, tag me with #unapologeticknitter or @notsorryknitter on Twitter and Instagram. I'd love to see your color combos! Happy knitting, my lovelies!!!