Lopi (Icelandic wool), Fair Isle – dual strand | 2023

In April 2023, I went with my family to Iceland, and during the trip I was able to explore several studios and shops that are a part of Iceland’s rich fiber culture.

One of those studios was a knitting cooperative where a group of Icelandic women create original designs and vend the very highest quality Lopi wool that is available in Iceland.

Icelandic sheep have bloodlines that go directly back to the Vikings, and their wool has a unique two-fiber structure found nowhere else in the world. I was also blown away by the natural palettes of the wool and the geography and how they relate.

This pattern was designed by one of the members of the knitting cooperative who I met, and the color was developed by knitting both white and grey strands in tandem.