Knitting on Impulse

Flirtatious Fir

I just couldn't let go of this photo - the idea that sturdy brown fir cones begin as such lavishly pink little flowers intrigued me.

There is a lovely mix of browns, and even a hint of olive to set them off:

I chose midrange hues for part of the sock yarn, and pastels for the other:

and pastels for the other:

Both sock colourways have been designed so that the brown hues and the red/pink hues will alternate in full rounds for most sock sizes.

The BFL:

I am drawn more and more to the idea of semisolids and subtle blends - even in a richly complex colourway, I like the effect of choosing hues in a similar value range.  Except for specifically designed striping effects, high contrast creates a graphically intense variegation that can overshadow the colours themselves. It can be very challenging to create a balanced blend, while still honoring the spirit of the original inspiration, because light and dark are not the only factors in contrast.  Warmth and saturation play a vital and sometimes surprising role, and the balancing act is a delicious blend of intellectual planning and sheer instinct.

The silk blend turned out rich and shimmering, as always:

The merino lace palette honors the delicacy of the wee blooms:

A Good Day to Dye

Warm, but not at all humid, with a lovely breeze to ruffle the fibres.  I like the idea that my yarn is imbued with Whistler mountain air before winging its way around the continent (and occasionally across the ocean).

It's not this week's colourway (in case you were wondering), but part of a new colourwork (kit) design I'm working on. (One that was born on a recent morning of deliberate daydreaming, come to think of it.)

Have I mentioned how much I love the dyeing?  It takes the thrill of Seeing that further step - to stroke, taste, digest the delicious colour, make its essence mine and then pour, dip, squeeze, fondle and caress the fibre, step back, hold it to the sunlight, adjust the seasoning and caress again until it blooms into the fullness of being and expresses exactly the joy that was bestowed upon me by the original. Pure bliss. Seriously.

Floating Along

I was struck this week by the way in which life resembles a river.  Which is a totally unoriginal idea, I know - I grew up with analogies about Spirit and water, and flowing serenely around obstacles - that wasn't it, though.  What hit me was the image of a perfectly safe little river, rippling along sweetly and shallowly in the sunshine, and the way that all that needs to happen is to squeeze it into a narrow canyon and stick a couple of rocks in the way and all that nonchalant serenity turns into a crashing whirlpool of doom.  Same river, exact same amount of water.  I wonder if it's possible to portage right around June next year?  We negotiated the last of the big end-of-school rapids this morning (coming perilously close to dumping the canoe, even so) and I'm pretty sure I can see flat water just ahead. 

I got very very brave yesterday afternoon, and volunteered my patio dye studio for a playdate, thus firming up my claim to the title of Coolest Friend's Mom.  (I was never a Cool Kid, but apparently Cool Mom is within reach.)

My daughter is still struggling with knitting, due to some coordination and patience issues, but her best friend knits and is awestruck by my prowess (how often will that happen?) and the opportunity to squirt colour all over their very own yarn was irresistable to both.

Newly Green - the series

One branch after another is popping out with new foliage in a myriad of pure, unsullied hues - I couldn't stop at just that one, so here's two more:

A brilliant yellow green with flecks of gold - so much brighter and purer than the yellows of autumn:

Which became sock yarn:

Spruce - which is technically not newly green quite yet, because the new bit is still gestating inside those delicious pinky-brown coverlets:

The stripy sock, featuring 3 to 4 rounds of blue & green to one of pink/brown:

(It actually sold out before I managed to blog it, but I liked it so much, I couldn't help showing off anyway!)

The BFL - again, perfect for the Shifting Hues Scarf:

And the merino lace, distilled to the essence of the needles, so as not to compete with stitch patterns:

Dancing Moss

I asked a good friend this week what sort of yarn she would like for her belated birthday gift, and she was quite clear that it was to be Red.  It seemed as good a time as any to start revisiting some of the more popular colourways, therefore this week is devoted to one of my favorite photo inspirations, the dancing moss:

There is just so much primal energy and joy in those little sporophytes - the world of moss never fails to delight and astonish me.

Once again, I strove to capture their pure, translucent reds, lit from within by the warm spring sun.

Merino lace:

Luminous lace (baby alpaca / merino):

Bluefaced Bliss - I divided this into two groups - one with more defined contrasts to go with the Shifting Hues Scarf pattern:

(I included an un-reskeined shot to give you a better idea of the colour progressions) and the other group of skeins are more of a deep semi-solid red:

Truthfully, I was disappointed and even despondent when I saw the initial outcome of these skeins, thinking I had spoilt them with too much brown.  But I persevered with overdyeing and the end result is a rich red wine with subtle base notes of mahogany and a lingering finish of sunshine.  (In other words, quite satisfactory!)

No socks this week, due to a little learning experience about the vagaries of the wholesale supply chain, however, all is now sorted and there will be lots next week.  I've collected some very cool sock-worthy photo subjects in the meantime.

Shifting Hues Scarf

Pattern: my own design, presently being proofread and test knit.  Designed specifically to work with the skein length and colour intervals of my BFL.

Yarn: Bluefaced Bliss in Forest Floor.

Notes: Simple to knit, and works up very quickly - would be a fabulous last minute gift.  I plan to provide the PDF free (on request) with any purchase of Bluefaced Bliss.

 

Seeing Stone

During the first part of the long weekend (the sunny, healthy bit), we took the kids for a nature hike near Lost Lake.  While there were many wonderful photo subjects, I was particularly drawn to a rock protruding from the fragrant needles of fir and pine.  Close examination revealed exquisite patterns and colours, with markings reminiscent of prehistoric cave art.

I have always felt a sense of mystical connection to rock and stone, especially the kind that grows warm and solid out of the fertile wooded ground.  I was looking for something subtle and mysterious in the colourway, and the stone did not disappoint.

In order to accomodate the practical requirements of different forms of knitted fabric, I am beginning to seek both semi-solid and high contrast colourways from a given subject.  The grey areas of stone revealed a rich palette of stormy blues, smoky purple, faintly pinkish brown and hazy grey-greens:

These were interpreted in the alpaca/merino lace:

The merino lace:

The Bluefaced Leicester:

And with the darker hues in some of the superwash merino sock:

The lace-weights and the BFL in particular show that lovely shimmering effect where the eye is never quite sure whether it is seeing green or blue, or purple overtones... I think it gives the fabric a wonderful depth and mystical quality.

I have also been playing with different skein lengths for contrast effects, and this week's experiment utilized the full brilliance of the colour range:

I created two of these skeins in the superwash merino sock, keeping one to test my mathematical predictions, and it is indeed striping in full alternate rounds between the warm and cool hues. Good fun, and very striking knitted up (unfortunately it was dark by the time I got the sample knit, but I may edit it in later.)

Edited to add:

I quite like the striping effect - it overlaps by a couple of inches on my 8 inch foot/ankle, so I think anything up to a 10 inch circumference would show the same effect, and the sock would have to be substantially larger than that to see the pattern disintegrate into flashing.  The sister skein is presently winging its way to New Jersey, but I will continue to present experimental skeins each week and incorporate repeatable effects into the repertoire over time.

Yarn Store Update: Forest Floor

The new yarns are up in the store now.  You'll note I've added an archive album underneath the store album in order to keep track of sold out colourways - I've always found it annoying to surf through an entire online store looking for the single item that might not have been sold...

This week I was inspired by the miniature worlds to be found underfoot in the rainforest:

I chose colours in a similar value range this time, for a nicely blended effect:

(One day soon, I will update my colour series from last year and put it on a webpage of its own for reference - I've had a few inquiries about my methods and realized that it is buried in the blog archives.)

The Bluefaced Leicester (which I am still completely in love with):

I've got a simple lace scarf pattern in the works that takes advantage of these colour intervals in the same manner as the silk scarves I was playing with last spring.  (I'll give it a proper post of its own when it's finished.)

 

The merino sock yarn - I have started a pair of ribbed socks (pictures further down) and am totally impressed with this stuff - so soft and lofty in the skein, yet so crisp, sturdy and elastic in the knitted fabric (and loads of yardage to boot.)  Definitely a keeper.

Here's the semi-solid - the blues are confined to shades of navy in this case, so you might even get by with it for a guy:

I also played around with dyeing a couple of extra long skeins in a quasi self-striping effect (and kept one for myself):

A new lace yarn this week - 100% merino, slightly thicker than the alpaca/merino:

And the alpaca/merino lace:

I love the way the different fibres contribute their own unique characters to a colourway.

Showers Of Green And Flaming Tulips

You know, this new life of mine is, by and large, pretty low stress (at least compared to the unmitigated hell of the Before Times), but I have to say, I am extraordinarily glad to see the end of this particular week.  After that little crisis of confidence, I settled down to finish formatting photos for the final application.... and the monitor promptly died.  It took half a day on the phone to ascertain that it was fully covered by warranty... and we could expect to receive the replacement in a week or so.  (If we filled out the form which they kindly emailed to us but couldn't comprehend why there might be an issue reading it!)   More frantic phone calls and $75 later, we had a rental to get us through the week.  Then there was the jurying for a certain other venue which took place this week, and once again, reason and common sense fought a pitched battle with small minded nepotism.  We squeaked through in the end, but this is apparently destined to be an annual event.  All's well that ends well, and the last of the portfolios are safely delivered, but I do have a bit of a post-adrenaline let down at the moment.  Thank heaven for fibre! 

On to the good stuff - buoyed by the enthusiastic response to my initial offerings, I have jumped in the deep end of wholesale sourcing... and I have two new and luscious yarns that will be regulars now.  Firstly, a new sock yarn: a sturdy but divinely soft and squooshy 3 ply in an 80/20 superwash merino / nylon blend.  Secondly, one of my favorite yarns in the whole world: Bluefaced Leicester in a fingering weight 2 ply - plump and springy, robustly wooly, yet fabulously soft to the touch.  I am in love.  The BFL is not superwash, nor is it blended with nylon.... but the yardage is right for socks, and I plan to assuage my frayed nerves by knitting a pair this weekend, after which I will wear them hard and report back on their sturdiness.  Whether or not it will make hardy socks, it is superb for lacy scarves and shawls, as well as stranded colourwork.  (I have a few design projects up my sleeve in that regard, just as soon as I, ahem.... finish up all the other languishing design projects.)

Also, before I get to the pictures (sorry for rambling on so long) - a word about the lace-weight.  I had reason to check the precise weight of my new yarns, and while I was at it, popped one of the lace skeins on the scales.  (And then checked a bunch of my undyed stock to corroborate).  Disconcertingly, it appears that this particular manufacturer errs slightly on the lean side - somewhere between 0.5 and 1.5 gms on each skein.  It really hadn't occured to me to disbelieve the 50 gm label, and further research leads me to believe that it is considered an acceptable margin of error by the industry, but now that I know, I don't feel right not disclosing that.  After some consideration, I decided that posting the precise 10ths of a gram for each individual skein would be overly cumbersome and obsessive, and that this would be a reasonable form of disclosure in lieu of that. In any case, I am experimenting with some other lace yarns for the long term, but I will continue to use up my stock of this stuff because the baby alpaca / merino is just so incredibly lovely to work with.  (The format of the sock yarn and the BFL allows me to err on the side of generosity, by the way, which is much the way I prefer to do business.)

On to the colours!

It has been a late and chilly spring this year, but the breathtakingly new green has at last begun to dust the bare gray branches.

From left to right: reeled silk (this skein is for me to play with, but I may carry it in future if there is interest), BFL, superwash merino sock, alpaca/merino lace. 

A closer look:

I couldn't resist the start of tulip season, either:

From subtle shades of pink and gold and salmon:

to fiery crimson with hot pink highlights:

and a dash of pure flamboyant joy:

Here's the line-up:

The sock yarns:

The BFL:

The lace:

They're all available in the photo album in the right hand sidebar.  Have a great weekend - I've got a skein of BFL calling my name....

Teaser

Spot the artist's patio....