I love Carter's new sweater, Biliberry, a new pattern from OGE Knitwear Designs. I test knit the size 4 year and am so happy with it. A very simple technique of knitting stripes and slipping  stitches using only one color per row creates the plaid fabric. It's so easy and effective! The pattern is sized from newborn to age 8. I love knowing that I can use a pattern for several years. I showed this to my son, Carter's daddy, and he said he loved it. As it's knit with wool, I'll pack it away until fall and then I'll get some modeled shots. 

I was in Finland last fall (remember travel?) and purchased some Norwegian made Sandnes Garn. I started to knit it and decided I loved it! I looked around the internet for reviews and found out it's a very well-loved and hard-wearing yarn. Unfortunately it's not commonly found in the USA, but I DID find it! Loopy Ewe in Fort Collins, Colorado carries Sandnes Garn's two DK weight yarns, Peer Gynt, a non super-wash, and Smart, their superwash. Their colors are very sophisticated, with plenty of beautiful neutrals which I love, but also a good variety of pastels and brights. I used Smart, a superwash, for Billiberry above and loved it so much I decided to order more for some other projects. Both Smart and Peer Gynt are DK weight and 100% wool, but Peer Gynt, being non-superwash, feels more wooly, toothy, and hearty, while Smart, a superwash, is softer and more drapey. I cannot say about how it wears as yet, but the reviews are amazing and I'm looking forward to using this yarn for many future projects. Maybe the most appealing feature is the price! Both sell for about $5 per skein, amazing for such nice wool in such sophisticated colors. 

Loopy Ewe has kindly offered to give my readers a 15% discount on both Peer Gynt and Smart. Loopy Ewe's customer service is superb and their shipping costs are very reasonable. I was very pleased. Their brick and mortar is closed at this time, but they manage to ship out very quickly. To get the 15% discount, purchase the yarn online and in the notes section say you came from the Knitionary blog and ask for the 15% discount. It will be applied on their end and your charge will be adjusted. This offer is good for the entire month of May and applies to Sandnes Garn yarn only. I hope you try it and let me know what you think. You'll also get an additional 5% back as a Loopy credit on June 1st for any order in May--on Sandnes or any other yarn you order, as per their regular rewards program. 

Loopy Ewe's website

purchase Sandnes Garn Smart

purchase Sandnes Garn Peer Gynt

purchase Billiberry Sweater by OGE Knitwear Designs

My Ravelry project page for Billiberry