“I’m inspired!” Heather said after reading Pattern Roll-Call: Something Gorgeous Around Your Shoulders, and she ordered a skein of Celeste in Red Brick. Last week, she showed me what she made with it. It’s a gorgeous, lacy cowl — I don’t think she could have picked a nicer pattern. And I thought you might like to see too…
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The pattern is Eclipse by Jacquelyn Ridzy — so simple and really lovely.
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It always amazes me how the colours in yarns totally transform when it’s knitted up. Look at the way the red flows into the purple! And those little flecks of gold really pop.
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And it’s got this sweet little garter-stitch border. I love it!
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I can’t tell you how much I love it when people share their projects with me. Thanks, Heather — your cowl is gorgeous!
I dye because I love playing with colour. And when I free myself from the (usually self-imposed) requirement to create a specific hue or shade, and instead just let myself be drawn into pure experimentation, I find real joy in the process.
Last week, I did just that. I created a basic colour recipe, and then tweeked it, and tweeked it again, and then once more… and dyed one skein in each, just to see how they’d come out.
Trade winds blow great ships across the sea, their sails billowing, their hulks lying heavy in the blue and green waters, laden down with trunk upon trunk of brightly coloured silk fabrics, and barrels filled with the warm shades of precious spices.
Because the recipes (and the resulting colourways) are so close, I’m going to choose only one colourway to dye for the shop in future. But… I’m not sure which one to pick. And so I’d like to ask you, dear readers, for your help. Which one would you pick? Please tell me!
And, just to add a bit of fun, I’ll give a $4 credit on your next order from SpaceCadet Creations to everyone who leaves an answer in the comments here before midnight on Friday. Howzat then? Sound good?
So, go on then! Tell me which colourway you’d pick!
Small print: Comments must be left on this blog post before midnight on Fri Oct 1 2010. Limited to one $4 credit per household. Comments must name a colourway chosen from the four listed to be valid. Multiple comments will not count for multiple credits. Commenter must list a valid email address when leaving the comment and then use that same email address when placing the order with SpaceCadet Creations, in order to be properly credited. The $4 credit must be claimed via the message section when placing the order on Etsy, in order to be properly credited.
The thing that never fails to take me by surprise me is the way that the colour of a yarn can change as it is knitted up. As beautiful as it looks in the skein, when the colour repeats are all long and stretched out, is nothing compared how to it looks as you start knitting and the stitches join the colours together in unexpected ways. It’s so exciting to watch each row unfold!
So exciting, in fact, that it’s sometimes a bit hard for me to send my yarns off to customers… because I want to knit them up myself and see how they come out. And so the thing that never fails to absolutely delight me is when customers share pictures of their finished objects and I get to see my yarns all knitted up. Let me show you two that I think worked out beautifully.
And she used it to make these fabulous Dancing Diamond Socks by Wendy D. Johnson. I love how knitting subdues the wild variegation of the colours but still allows the yellow to pop. The result is just gorgeous!
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When I lifted my first skein of Plumberry out of the dye pot, I loved it — loved it — but I knew that it was the kind of wild variegation that needed a carefully chosen pattern to really bring out the best in the colours.
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And when Sarah chose to knit Pomatomus by Cookie A. with it, I don’t think she could have picked a better pattern for the yarn or a better yarn for the pattern. These socks are absolutely stunning!
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Thank you so much, Cindy and Sarah, for sharing your beautiful socks with us!
And everyone else, when you finish a project with one of my yarns, please do share it — I just can’t get enough of seeing how those colours turn out!
Y’know, even though it’s still August and that usually means high temperatures and hot days, the weather has taken on a slightly cooler tinge this week, and that’s got me thinking about autumn. I’ve been day-dreaming about turning leaves, that crisp smell in the air, and lovely lovely autumn knitting. Is there anything better? And the first thing you need as the weather starts to change is something gorgeous to drape around you to keep that chill at bay.
I’m crazy about cowls. They’re so easy — there’s no tying, no arranging, no fussing or adjusting… they just pop over your head and perfectly fill up the space around the top of a jacket to keep you toasty warm. Abby by Amy Singer has a beautifully simple stitch pattern that will work perfectly with any yarn from a Semi-Solid to a Wildly Varigated. I think it would look amazing knitted up in the gentle blues and purples of Mountain Mist.
The lace pattern on Mirth is gorgeous, just gorgeous — what could look more elegant draped around your shoulders on a cool autumn day? But the real beauty of Stefanie Japel‘s pattern is that it’s written in both text and charts, and the size of the shawl can customised by completing as many chart repeats as the knitter likes. The allover lace pattern will really shine in a Gently Varigated yarn such as Pink Autumn or Desert Wine.
Now here is a pattern that makes you want to grab that crazy-gorgeous yarn that’s been calling your name and just cast on. The long criss-cross floats of Laura Nelkin‘s Eventide really showcase the colours a variegated yarn such as the cool blue/green/purples of Midnight Swim or the gentle pinks and olive-greens of Bramble Rose. And the beautiful openwork creates a pattern that is perfect for those not-too-warm, not-too-cool days that autumn brings.
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So, yeah, I know… it’s still August. And the sun in still high in the sky and we’re all still wearing our summer clothes. But one of these days, the weather is going to change suddenly and summer will be gone… And now is the perfect time to cast on so that, when that happens, you’ll have something gorgeous to see in the autumn.
I’m really excited to show you some of the new colourways I’ve put in the shop this week! I have to say, I just cannot get my camera to really capture them, but I hope you get a good idea here.
Dragonfly flitters by, catches the light and throws back iridescence — greens, lilacs, pinks that shimmer in the sun for only a moment… and then are gone. This skein is over 100g of Superwash Merino in Celeste, a wonderfully soft 3-ply fingering weight yarn.
These are ancient mountains, gentle and rounded, that seem to go on forever, ridge upon ridge disappearing into the distance as the night falls and the mist rolls in — deep blue fading into soft purples that stretch as far as the eye can see. This skein is over 100g of Superwash Merino in Celeste, a wonderfully soft 3-ply fingering weight yarn
Happy yellow that welcomes the sunlight, stretching skyward, petals open to catch the rays. Yellow petals, deep brown seedheads — happy sunflowers basking in the mid-day sun. This skein is over 100g of Superwash Merino in Celeste, a wonderfully soft 3-ply fingering weight yarn, which has been dyed using a technique to create random, short bursts of contrasting colour.
Dark waters, dark night. Soft waters, cool and still, flashing deep blue, purples, greens. Water dark as bruise, quiet as the night, so cool on the skin… Irresistible. This skein is over 100g of Stella, a beautiful and distinctive 2-ply fingering weight yarn in 80% Superwash Merino and 20% Nylon.
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These skeins are over 100g of Superwash Merino in Celeste, a wonderfully soft 3-ply fingering weight yarn. There are two skeins available, sold in separate listings.
And there are more new colourways going into the shop later this week. Keep your eyes open for them!
One of the most exciting things about buying yarn from small, indie dyers like SpaceCadet Creations is that each skein is hand-created and unique, dyed on its own or in a very small dyelot, and not like any other skein in the world. But now and again, someone will look at my shop and then contact me to say that they love my colours but… what can be made with yarns from such small-batch dyelots? What can be knit out of a single skein of yarn?
Now, there are legions of addicted sock knitters who could probably jump in with an answer that question (“Socks!”) but, in reality, there are just so many beautiful projects that can be created from just one or two skeins of hand-dyed yarn! Let me share a few patterns that have caught my eye…
This beautiful shawlette was designed to show off the colours of a of a single skein of sock yarn. Mary-Heather chose simple stitchwork to compliment the colours of even the most wildly variegated colourway, such as those in Sunset over a Stormy Sea, and the regular increases help reduce the chance of pooling. The shawlette looks fantastic tucked into the top of a jacket — stylish and functional at the same time. And I think it’s a perfect first project for anyone who is experimenting with hand-dyed yarns.
I fell in love with these the minute I saw them! The lace pattern is delicate without being fussy, and the gloves look warm and lady-like at the same time. Using just a single skein of yarn, I think this pattern would look stunning knit up in an autumn colourway.
This little cowl is so sweet, so perfect, that I every time I see the picture I just want to cast on for it RIGHT NOW. It’s always at a moment when I’m busy dyeing or blogging and so I can’t cast on but… still, as soon as I see it… I want to start it RIGHT NOW! I love the simplicity of it, how quick it would be… how it would be a little gift just for me. I’m seeing it in a warm colourway such as Bramble Rose. You know… I really am seeing it.
In fact, I may just have to stop blogging and go cast it on. Right now.
