hand-dyed

Dyeing Disasters and Silver Linings

By Stephanie

When I’m dyeing, I always go into my studio with a fixed idea of the colours I’m hoping to create.  I see them in my mind and that’s what I’m aiming for as I mix up the dyes.  And most of the time, I hit pretty close to the mark.  But sometimes…  sometimes what I pull out of the dyepot is nothing like what I was expecting.

And I’m always so disappointed, because I really wanted the colours I saw in my head.  But then I realise that even though the result wasn’t what I was expecting, it’s alright, because for someone else, it will be exactly what they were looking for.

Vineyard Stain was exactly that kind of dyeing disaster.  I was aiming for something else entirely, and couldn’t believe what came out of the dyepot.  And then I looked at it and realised it was lovely, with all the complexity and depth of a beautiful red wine.  When that skein sold, I was almost disappointed to not get to keep it myself!  And, because the colour had been a complete fluke, I wasn’t really sure I could reproduce it.

But I’d kept very careful notes as I dyed it and so, when I tried to create the same colourway again, I was relieved to see that what came out of the dyepot, though slightly more intense, was most definitely Vineyard Stain.  Maybe even better the second time around.

Into The Deep, on the other hand, was a completely different type of dyeing disaster.  What came out of the dyepot actually was what I’d been visualising in my mind but, in real life, it just didn’t look good.  Not at all.  I quickly tried a few different things to remedy the situation — a little more of this dye, a quick dip in that one — and I didn’t write any of them down.  And then I realised what shade this yarn really needed to make it alright, and I mixed it up and quickly submerged the skeins.  And what came out of the pot thirty minutes later was just breathtaking!  The silver lining to my dyeing disaster.

But I hadn’t written any of it down.  And I know — to my deep regret — I will never be able to produce Into The Deep again.

A Quick Peek at the Prizes

By Stephanie

I posted the prizes off to the winners of the Giveaway today and, before I slipped them into the envelopes, I just couldn’t resist taking a few pictures just so I could share them with you.

The two runners-up got 2oz each of this BFL fiber.

When I dyed this, I was going for a fiber version of Plumberry, the colourway of the newest yarn in the shop*.  But, although I mixed the dyes up correctly, I did the dyeing in slightly the wrong order and the blue took on an amazing silver-grey tint.  It doesn’t look like Plumberry to me but, let me tell you, it is really quite stunning!  I might dye more like this, but I am undecided as to whether it deserves its own name, because dyeing is a dynamic process — even if I gave it a new name and tried to dye it this way again, it might come out of the dyepot with more blue and looking more like the original Plumberry…   Hmmmm…   Maybe the nature of Plumberry will be that it’s sometimes got this grey, sometimes got more blue.  We’ll have to see.

Anyway, I do hope the runners up enjoy the lovely colours of their new fiber!

*You never saw the Plumberry yarn?  That’s because both skeins sold in two hours!  But I’ve dyed some more that will go in later this week.

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And for our winner, I’ve chosen a skein of Garden In Spring sock yarn.  This is the first colourway I ever dyed for the shop and it is absolutely one of my favourites.  It’s so bright and cheerful and just so darned happy, and I think that’s the very essence of how winning a giveaway ought to make a person feel!

Congratulations again to the winners, and I hope you enjoy using your yarn and fiber!  And to everyone else, there will be more giveaways in the future, so keep your eyes open for those.

Scenes from a Fiber Life: Reskeining Freshly Cut Grass

By Stephanie

After the skeins are dyed, we reskein them into smaller, more manageable skeins to go in the shop.  And we do it outside, if it’s a nice day…  in the dappled sunlight with a glass of chilled mimosa.  This was my Sunday.

Freshly Cut Grass on the swift

From the swift onto the skein winder
The swift moving at high speed

And the result is one of my favourite colourways, Freshly Cut Grass

And… Back to Cold Again

By Stephanie

No sooner had I begun to wax lyrical about Spring than the weather decided to teach me a lesson and get cold again.   In honour of that, I dyed a new yarn.

Sock Yarn, Fingering Weight Superwash Merino, in Cold Waters

In a still northern sea, the prow of a ship plows through cold waters, dividing the waves into a pale, frothing wake. The water is dark, foreboding… a deep blue broken by white wave caps, and chunks of silver-gray ice. Beautiful in its strength… beautiful, these endless Cold Waters.

This skein is approximately 100g of Superwash Merino in a wonderfully soft 3-ply, fingering weight yarn.

Fiber Content: 100% Superwash Merino
Weight: Approximately 3.75oz / 105g
Colourway: Cold Waters, 100324-001
Care Instructions for the final item: Hand or Mashine wash, Lay flat to dry.

And Spring Weather Inspires Spring Dyeing!

By Stephanie

With Spring days filled with clear skies and bright sun, this is what comes out of my dyepot…

Sock Yarn, Fingering Weight Superwash Merino, in Freshly Cut Grass

When Winter has loosened its icy grip at last and the snow has melted away to reveal hopeful buds pushing determinedly up through the dark earth, there will come one day a scent drifting past on a gentle breeze… a smell you remember but can’t quite place… And your mind will recall bright clear deep greens, and soft pale yellows — and will give you the name of the crisp, delicious smell your nose had forgotten: Freshly Cut Grass.

This skein is just under 100g of Superwash Merino in a wonderfully soft 3-ply, fingering weight yarn.  It’s in the SpaceCadet Creations shop now.

Fiber Content: 100% Superwash Merino
Weight: Approximately 3.20oz / 90g
Colourway: Freshly Cut Grass, 100319-001
Care Instructions for the final item: Hand or Machine wash, Lay flat to dry.