You are careful about the yarn that you buy. You are so busy and it can be next to impossible to find the time to visit your LYS if you're lucky enough to have one near you. 

When you do shop online, once you've tried a yarn and like it, you are fiercely loyal and use the same few select yarns for most of your projects. You're willing to venture out of your comfort zone every once in awhile - if it's for something special, or if the risk is smaller, like for a sock or shawl pattern.

You're also conscious of the values of the brands you purchase from. You like to support small businesses when you can, and you like the idea of shopping in a thoughtful, sustainable way. 

 Trying a new-to-you-yarn can be nerve-wracking. From the investment of your money & hard-to-find free time, to whether or not you'll even like the yarn, a lot of doubts can creep in: 

• Will you like knitting with the yarn? Will you enjoy winding it from a skein to a cake? Will it feel good in your hands at the end of a long & stressful day?

• Will you like wearing the yarn? Will it feel good next to your skin? Or will you be constantly tugging it away from your neck or worried about what you need to wear underneath?

• Will it wear well and hold up to your hectic schedule? Can it take you from school drop off to conference room? Will if feel at home in your closet?

• Will it hold up to tugs from littles wanting your attention? Will it pill? Will it tear? Will it look as good on day 365 as day 1?

I get it. 

There are so many decisions you have to make every day, I will not add worrying about whether you'll like the yarn used in one of my patterns to your to-do list.

That's why each pattern launch comes with a corresponding yarn review. Most of these reviews are positive, because I'm not inclined to launch a pattern with a yarn I wouldn't recommend to my knitting friends (hello, you!), but I will always be honest.

Megs & Co Ellis is one of those yarns that I would defo recommend.

Note: While yarn was graciously provided by Meg from Megs & Co for the Wild Dunes and Sweetgrass patterns, all thoughts & opinions are my own.

So with all that said and out of the way, read on for the full review of Megs & Co Ellis.

Why megs & co Yarn

Meg created Megs & Co out of a passion for dyeing fiber sourced from shepherds that pledge to use cruelty-free and sustainable farming practices. Her shop features a wide range of fiber blends and yarn weights in a gorgeous array of colors from inspiring neutrals to bold jewel tones. 

She recently launched a custom milled yarn that was spun from domestic wool produced in New York State, Ellis. 

Ellis is entirely grown, sheared, scoured, spun, and dyed in New York State and has one of the smallest carbon footprints I've found. The wool was sourced from two small farms in the central/upstate NY area, spun at Battenkill Fiber Mill in Greenwich, NY, and hand dyed by Meg in Fairport NY. 

So until the yarn is shipped to you, it's never left NY. Talk about supporting small, local businesses!

MEET ELLIS

Meg & I teamed up with the re-launch of the Wild Dunes shawl using Ellis. We debated about which color would be the best fit before ultimately agreeing on Dahlia, a vibrant breathtaking pink.

 In the skein, you can feel the natural wooly texture of the rambouillet and finn fibers.

 Rambouillet is known for it's next to skin softness, with a micron count between 18.5 to 24.5. It takes dye well, and can easily withstand daily wear and tear. Finn wool is soft & springy and knits up into a fabric that is light & airy, yet warm.

Ellis is a blend of 80% Rambouillet & 20% Finn wool, creating a unique wooly-wool with a soft and rustic hand, crisp stitch definition that's perfect for lace knitting, and showcasing vibrant colors like Dahlia.

USING ELLIS

Ellis was neatly skeined and I was able to put them on my yarn swift easily. Winding was a breeze - there were no knots or tangles and I had no issues with dye transfer to my fingers while winding or knitting.

The color was distributed evenly and neither shawl sample had any issues with color pooling. If you're still nervous, you can easily alternate skeins to lessen the chance of any pooling. 

(Want to know more about alternating yarns? check out this fabulous post by Elizabeth Margaret Knits)

Knitting with Ellis was a delight. The fiber felt strong and smooth in my fingers and the stitches were nice and even, creating a light delicate fabric that rested comfortably in my lap. I could happily knit my Wild Dunes shawl even when it was over 90 degrees outside. So if you like to knit all year round, Ellis is a great choice for you!

DESIGNING WITH ELLIS: WILD DUNES & SWEETGRASS

Because of the generous 600 yards per skein, you can knit your own Wild Dunes in just over 1 skein of Ellis. 

But Meg & I agreed. We love a good value and a good twofer. So I thoughtfully designed Sweetgrass as a companion pattern to Wild Dunes. 

Sweetgrass is a simple top-down shallow triangle shawl with the same knitted on lace edging from Wild Dunes but on a Stockinette stitch base. If you're newer to lace or shawl knitting, Sweetgrass will be a great place to start with new techniques:

• garter tab cast on

• increase with yarn overs on every row

• working a knitted on lace edging

• blocking

So take a break, enjoy the rhythmic stockinette stitch, and lean into the fun challenge of working the knitted on lace edging.

Sweetgrass launches this Thursday, so get ready to cast on by picking up 2 skeins of Ellis in your favorite color today and cast on for not one, but two delightful shawls.