Manos del Uruguay Alegria

Recently, Artesano, the Eruopean distributor for Manos del Uruguay brought out a new collection of patterns using Manos' new sock yarn, Alegria. I designed 4 patterns for this collection. There are designs by other designers too and you can see them all here. These patterns are available from Manos del Uruguay stockists in the UK and Europe. All the designs take just one skein of Alegria.

For this collection I took my inspiration from local Cornish landmarks, several them from the moorland around the village of Minions about 10 mins from where we live.

Cheesewring is made up of short row wedges separated by an eyelet section for a simple, easy and fun pattern. Wear it as a shoulder shawl or scarf.

This is the perfect pattern to practice wrap and turn short rows if you're new to this technique. Thank you to Jen for knitting this sample for me.

Golddiggings is a quarry on the moors where we love going swimming (I blogged about our last trip here). I must admit it was too hot to wear this lovely scarf on this trip but in the winter we have in the past (nearly 20 years ago) walked on the ice as the quarry froze completely, which is very rare here.  

The Golddiggins scarf is a wide, lacy scarf with a textured lace pattern which looks fab on both the right and wrong side. It has a scalloped edging along one long side of the scarf. 

Thank you to Frances for knitting this sample for me. Here's a not very good close up photo I took of the scarf before I sent it off: 

As Alegria is a sock yarn, I decided to design two pairs of socks too. First up are The Hurlers. These socks are classic top down socks with a standard heel flap and wedge toe. The pattern is written for double pointed needles but if you prefer magic loop then you can ofcourse do that instead.

The Hurlers have a ribbed eyelet pattern which spirals down the leg and the foot. This colourway is fantastic. So colourful and fun. Thank you to Anita for knitting these socks for me.

And finally, the Camel Trail socks. The Camel Trail is an old rail way track which is now a very popular foot and cycle path and runs from Bodmin via Wadebridge to Padstow. The mistake rib pattern on these socks remind me of a rail way track. These socks are designed to be unisex. Just as perfect for both men and women. I'd happily knit these for myself or for Simon (and he won't wear anything 'girly').

The Camel Trail socks are worked toe up with a short row heel turn and heel flap. They start with a Tunisian/Easter cast on but you can substitute that for your favourite toe up cast on method. The pattern is written for the magic loop technique but you can use double pointed needles if preferred. Anita, sock knitter extraordinaire, knitted these socks for me too. Thank you, Anita.

These patterns can be purchased from your local Artesano/Manos del Uruguay stockists in the UK and Europe.

I loved the Alegria sock yarn and I especiall love the bright vibrant hand-dyed colours. Here are some examples of some of the gorgeous colourway available (no, I'm sorry I don't know the name of these colourways).