After releasing my F/W13 collection, I decided I wanted to knit something special as a thank you for the folks in Carnation who had helped make the photoshoot possible – Anna from Tolt Yarn and Wool and her friends and neighbors Shelley and Janya. Moon Pulls was already a collection favorite and I thought it’d be fun to knit each of them a hat inspired by Moon Pulls – and so I did!

While I decided early on that I wanted to write the pattern for the hats, it took a little while for that plan to come to fruition. I had made two different versions of the hat when I knit the prototypes for Anna, Shelley, and Janya, and I had an idea for a third version I wanted to include as well. Deciding how best to incorporate three “views” (in the way a sewing patterns often include different views) into one knitting pattern took me some time, and actually sitting down and knitting different versions took a little bit of time, too. While the hat itself is a pretty quick knit, I had to fit in the knitting of the samples around many other projects.

I knit the first three samples while in Iceland last spring during DesignMarch. Shopping for Lopi at the Handknitting Association’s store in central Reykjavík convinced me that I shouldn’t stop at three samples – one for each view – but rather I should knit at least two per view, in order to showcase different color combinations. There’s such an immense opportunity for creativity with the wide palette of colors Ístex offers. In the end, I knit eight, all of which are featured in the pattern’s pages to give you ideas for color pairings.

Finally, a year after knitting the first pattern sample, Moon Sprites is available! Here’s an overview of the three different pattern views:

View A – three colors, colorblocked. This matches up with the sleeves on Moon Pulls.

View B – three colors, without colorblocking. This matches up with the bottom of the body on Moon Pulls.

View C – two colors only, colorblocked.

This pattern is absolutely fantastic at using up leftovers of Létt-Lopi (or any other aran-weight yarn, for that matter). It makes a great gauge swatch if you’re planning to knit Moon Pulls. And with only a little bit of colorwork (seven rounds in total), it’s also ideal for colorwork beginners. I love how much possibility is packed into one little hat pattern and I can’t wait to see what beautiful versions knitters come up with!

You can find Moon Sprites as a digital download on Ravelry, on Etsy, or on Kollabora, and the printed version is going to press as I type (they should be available at Tolt starting mid-week next week; if you’re a store interested in carrying hard copies, email me at the address listed on the about page).

Special thanks to Kathy Cadigan for the beautiful pattern photos!

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To bring this whole thank-you-hat thing full circle, this month is Icelandic Wool Month at Tolt Yarn and Wool! The Tolt community is celebrating Icelandic wool and its wonderful properties, and you can share your Lopi projects on social media with the hashtag #tolticelandicwoolmonth. It’s worth noting here that Tolt carries Einband, Létt-Lopi, Álafoss Lopi, and now Plötulopi, so you can get your Lopi fix in a variety of weights. Be sure to stop by Tolt if you can to check out Moon Pulls and Moon Sprites in person!

Anna and I were pretty excited when we realized the release of Moon Sprites would coincide with Icelandic Wool Month at Tolt. When she asked if I’d be willing to be one of this month’s guest bloggers, I gladly said yes – so today I’m on the Tolt blog waxing poetic about Iceland! Thanks so much to Anna for inviting me to share!