Sky Ladder

Posted on Posted in patterns, yarn and dyeing

ah, Sky Ladder, the pattern that everyone flipped over in Bare Naked Knitspot 2012. Why? Well who couldn’t fall for this little baby wrapped in a natural colored handknit! But truly, I think it’s because the pattern had options for everyone.

It’s a scarf

a wrap

a baby blanket

and yes, a throw. Clubbies that were double dippers like knittingfiona (see her ravelry project page) took advantage of the extra yarn and made something for the home. Once we were all out of yarn, clubbies flocked to Mountain Meadow Wool’s site to buy more Cody.  The yarn’s bounce and spring paired with Anne’s design made everyone fall in love at first stitch. Including my mom, if you remember, who knit the whole suite for Baby Knitspot’s christening (see her ravelry project page here).

In Chinese mythology, the sky ladder connects heaven and earth, enabling gods and humans to travel between the two. The “ladder” may take the form of a high mountain, mythical tree, tower, rainbow, or cobweb. Appropriately, this project is a squooshy piece of heaven to knit in a variety of shapes for lightweight warmth on chilly spring days. Natural yarn colors will enhance the finer details in the cable and lace textures throughout, while richly-dyed colorways will bring their openwork and depth into focus. With all shapes knit in one piece, the repeating motifs are surprisingly easy to work on larger needles, making for a relaxing and satisfying project to snuggle up with on winter evenings.

Since the pattern release in February 2012, everyone kept messaging us wanting the pattern. The wait is over. The pattern is now available in the knitspot pattern shop here and on ravelry here.

And…there’s something even more special this time around. With Sky Ladder‘s release, we announce the next artisan yarn of Bare Naked Wools. I am delighted to introduce you to Stone Soup DK

a subtly heathered 2-ply blend of rambouillet, columbia, lincoln, navajo-churro, alpaca, silk, bamboo, tencel, bison, and lama, with a slightly bumpy tweed look. Isn’t it cool how you can see all the different fibers working together?

With 300 yards in 115 grams, it knits up beautifully on a US 4 – 9 with 18 to 22 sts per 4 inches.

This yarn is the brainchild of Mountain Meadow Wool. It’s a collection of perfect, fine fibers leftover from the last year of spinning at the mill. It was introduced to Anne and me at TNNA last June and we both said in unison, “we’ll take it. All of it.” We bought every pound they had and had them spin it into fingering weight for this month’s BNK 2013 club pattern and the rest in DK, first for club members, and now for all of you.

As soon as Anne saw the pile of hundreds of skeins in the colorway Pumice, a beautiful grey-brown, in the middle of her living room she said, “I think we should call it Stone Soup. You know, like the book.” I couldn’t have agreed more. The name is perfect on so many levels.

When the DK arrived, we knew we had to get some samples knit to show all of you how gorgeous it is. Anne wanted Sky Ladder knit right away and we both laughed about how Sky Ladder Queen should knit it. We called my mom and she was thrilled to knit a new secret yarn in her favorite pattern. And when all of us were at the DIA a couple weeks ago, Anne took some great shots of Sky Ladder in Stone Soup DK.

Doesn’t this yarn look amazingly cuddly? Well, it is. The entire time my mom was knitting it she couldn’t help but text me every day and tell me how much she loved it. Padraig couldn’t help but pet it as soon as we gave it to him.

Of course my mom knit the hat (Sky Cap to be released next week) to match!

This color is so nice against the skin! It would be a gorgeous scarf or wrap. This yarn would also be perfect for Sticks and Stones, Highlander, Leaving, Inky Dinky, Cradle Me, Hourglass Throw, Oktober Zest, Slöfock, Creel, High Peaks, Hot Waffles, Lacunae, Paris-Roubaix

and René

which Cherie so kindly knit for Anne in a flash! Isn’t her stitch work beautiful?

She was so in love with the yarn that she is knitting it again for herself.

Our friend Barb has been knitting up a Sticks and Stones pullover, which Anne is busy sewing up. We’ll get a peek at that during the next week; I hear it’s really soft and comfy.

Stone Soup DK is available in the knitspot shop here and soon we will have Stone Soup Fingering available too. The clubbies ordered all the extra skeins we had, so we ordered more! Fresh supplies are arriving on tuesday; they should be up in the shop by the end of next week.

Not only that, but we’ll have test quantities of a second color on hand.

Make sure to join the Bare Naked Wools group on ravelry. It’s a great resource for pattern ideas and the little nudge you need to finish those WIPs. Sometimes we have contests too! I’m off to cast on Fartlek in a skein of Stone Soup DK gifted to me by Anne.

11 thoughts on “Sky Ladder

  1. Oh my goodness. That sweet boy is definitely full of Irish blood. You know, I had never really been pulled in by Rene, but Cherie’s Rene may have suckered me in. It’s gorgeous!!

  2. Padraig and I agree – that yarn looks fantastic! It shows off the textures perfectly in Rene and the Sky suite.

    I love the picture where Padraig has his hands up by his head. Looks like he’s gazing up a sky ladder!

  3. So much great stuff! I don’t need a nudge to finish WIP’s–I need to be shoved over a cliff! Love, the Padraig photos–thought the one with just the eyes peeking out was the cutest, then saw the blanket chewing, then the rest–no way is choosing possible. And the glorious knitting–stop trying to tempt me out of project monogamy!

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