Fair Isle February

In celebration of our yarn landing at Doodlebug and because I love everything stranded color work we are getting ready to kick off the first ever annual Fair Isle February. In most parts of the northern hemisphere February is a dreary short month that somehow manages to drag on forever. Why not liven it up by adding color? My favorite part of starting any project is picking out the yarn and colors its going to be worked in. Pairing up colors and finding unsuspecting combinations is what I live for. We will be running a couple of contests over in The Wool Dispensary group on Ravelry, complete with prizes. There will be categories for the following:

• Project using all Wool Dispensary yarn
• Project using Wool Dispensary with another yarn
• Project using another yarn entirely

Yes, I would love for you all to be using Wool Dispensary all the time in every project but I also know that there are lots and lots of other lovely companies and yarns. And if you're anything like me your stash is huge and we all want to knit down our stashes. So, in that spirit please come play along even if you are not using Wool Dispensary. (But if you haven't tried us yet, you might just want to give us a try). A Base Premise #1 update is also in the works to help you get your fair isle on. A soft springy single ply merino from Wyoming it's the perfect amount for a pair of stranded mittens or the contrast color in a hat. Okay plug time over.

Now on to what I plan to knit (aka start but maybe not finish) during Fair Isle February.

Useful Restorative in Tight Rope and Ogre Bogies, Victory Garden multi from Madelinetosh

• Narwhal Mittens by Ysolda Teague - using Wool Dispensary Useful Restorative for the outside and Madelinetosh Light for the lining
• Garden Gnome Hat by Betsy Farquhar - using Wool Dispensary Base Premise #1 and Useful Stimulant

Base Premise in Vexes & Hexes and Useful Stimulant in Circus Popcorn

• Kitsune Mittens by Betsy Farquhar - using Knit Picks Palette and Harrisville Shetland
• Octopus Mittens by Emily Peters - using Mama Blue and Madelinetosh Light
• Paper Dolls by Kate Davies - using Three Irish Girls and Craftsmeow
• Manresa by  Delia Rau Cholakian - using Shibui Baby Alpaca DK

Lining this all up I realize that with the exception of the Narwhal mittens in sport weight and leg warmers in DK my list is decidedly heavy on the fingering weight but your fair isle is not limited to small gauge yarns. There are plenty of patterns which work with Aran and worsted weights. Whether your a seasoned fair isle veteran or new to the world of stranded color work. Have no fear and come and play along! The Wool Dispensary promises to bring you a February filled with fun and color.