I have a new yarn love and it is Andes del Campo.

It’s probably rather silly since it’s not a new yarn at all.  And I had played with it a bit when it first came out & thought it was lovely.  But I hadn’t used it in a project until recently & now I’m head over heels.

What caught my eye was how gorgeous the new Hot Rod Heather looked in person.  I picked up a leftover skein from the office, intending to play with it for a bit, maybe crochet a big Andes del Campo afghan with some other partial skeins.  But on that same day, I ran across the Neon Ski Bonnet pattern while I was playing around on Pinterest.  Since I live in Oregon, it’s really not cold enough for such a warm hat but I love cables so I thought I’d try it out.

And I absolutely loved everything about working on this project.  The cabling was really fun and the yarn felt so wonderful in my hand – it worked up quickly and beautifully. I finished up my skein of yarn pretty quickly but then I had to order another skein to finish it. (My knitter’s shame: I frequently start projects without first double checking that I have enough yarn.)

Also fun about this pattern is the construction – it wasn’t what I was expecting at all.  I love the fact that it’s double lined for the ears – it provides extra warmth as well as hides the backside of the cabling. Now I just need to add the giant pompom & the ties and I’m ready!  As I mentioned, I don’t really need it for the (generally) mild winters of Portland but I am going on a weekend trip in January to a very snowy area for winter fun and I think this hat will be put to good use then.  Even if I look silly in it (which I do).

Right before I placed my order for the extra skein of Hot Rod Heather, we received a copy of Knit Wear magazine, which I loved flipping through.

 

I especially love the cover sweater – The Tucked-Buttonband Cardigan by Kyoko Nakayoshi. 

And I discovered that it calls for Aran weight yarn!  Perfect for my new found love for Andes del Campo!

I added some Wharf Heather to my order (not intending to be so similar to the original pattern – I honestly had a hard time deciding since I love so many of the colors in this line.  But I’m generally drawn to blues).  As soon as I was done with the hat I started right on the sweater.

I always start with the sleeves – that way if my swatch lies to me, I won’t have to rip a completed sweater!  I really should be working on Christmas gifts for my family…but I just can’t stop!  Even if the 11″ of seed stitch is getting a wee bit boring.

Have you tried Andes del Campo?  Let me know what you think in the comments!