quiet colors

Spring is in full swing, but I'm still loving the soft and quiet colors

One of these days, I'm going to knit a sweater out of Par Avion (shown above). I'd love to knit the Classic Cardigan by Sandi Prosser from Vogue Spring/Summer 2015, but it calls for a DK weight, and I'd like to knit it out of fingering. Maybe a little math in my future:)

Of course, there are a few colors I think would look great in a sweater:

Wind that Shakes the Barley

Blithe Spirit

But before I get ahead of myself, I'd better finish up the sweater on my needles.

In a Gray Way

Gray has been calling my name a lot lately. I just finished a pair of Folklore Socks in our new-ish Everlasting Sock Yarn...in Cloud Burst. And I'm working on the Cinnamon Girl cardigan for myself in Sojourn Sport...in Cloud Burst.

It's such a lovely gray...how can I go wrong?

I'm also about to cast on a scarf for Jimmy using some of my treasured Arbor stash...in Cloud Burst and Pearl. It's actually going to be a modified version of the Abella stole.  I'm going to replace the lace borders with ribbing, plus make it one repeat narrower.

And then there are the sock yarn blanket squares that I work on when the mood strikes...in tones of grays and creams:)

So, it's neutral city over here these days. But not to worry, there's still plenty of color being splashed around daily in the dye pots!

Blue and Green

Lately, I've really been drawn to watery blues and olive greens. It probably has a little something to do with the amount of heat we've already endured this summer. It's been hot and muggy...I mean hot and muggy, blech.

But I've also apparently got a fondness for cool, watery colors, as evidenced by the number of colorways I have that include those two colors...who knew?

Row 1: Reverie, Riesling, Clover, Scarborough Fair

Row 2: Picholine, April Showers, Calypso, Rainfall

Row 3: Morning, Bluebird, Monhegan, Sea Glass

Row 4: Mountain Air, Deep Waters, Tidepool, Pacific

Really, I try not to overthink my color choices when it comes to dyeing up yarn and fiber. I just try things I think would be pretty. Then I hope others will think they are pretty, too. Most of the time that works out all right.

But I can tell you, I'm definitely thinking about knitting with a soft, cool blue this summer!

A Colorful Viewpoint

I tend to assign colors to lots of different things, including months of the year, holidays, places, song titles...you name it and it probably conjures up some kind of color image in my head. And sometimes it only makes sense to me. For instance, I usually think of April as "white". I think it's because there are usually trees flowering, it's usually Easter month, and what not.  I know I'm not alone in this, there must be others who do it...I just haven't met them yet:)

Sometimes it's a very subjective viewpoint ..like this colorway, Monaco:

In my mind, "Monaco" conjures up sparkling marble & limestone buildings with rich interiors layered in raspberry velvets and gold leaf moldings.

And sometimes it's more obvious, like Seashells:

All the soft colors you see in a pile of seashells.

How do you think about color?

Sock Yarn Club

I have really enjoyed the Sock Club this year! Maybe because I almost always have a pair of socks on the needles, so I think you always need more sock yarn:)

It's also fun to come up with a new colorway each month. I'm trying very hard not to overthink it, and just go where my whims take me. So far, it's working out well. A couple of the sock club colorways are on their way to becoming regular colors next year. And I'm pretty sure I won't be running out of sock yarn!

Here's a little look at the colorways this year (the club began in April):

Top: Cecily on Trellis Fingering & Madeleine on Linden Sock
Row 2: Brass Locket on Linden Sock & Sea Glass on Sojourn Sock
Row 3: Spiced Plum on Sojourn Sock & Rainforest on Arbor Fingering
Bottom: Mermaid on Sojourn Sock & Buttercup on Linden Sock

December's club will go out this week, and then I'll start planning for next year!

New Colors for Fall 2015

Meet our newest yarn colors - from left to right - Travertine, Dried Lavender, Riesling and Pacific.

In a Blue Mood

It seems I'm in a blue mood.  Colorwise, that is...not emotionally. I've got several knitting projects in various stages - and they are all some shade of blue! 

Plus, my spinning at the moment is in lovely shades of blue:

I'm pretty sure this is a first. I've had a couple of projects in the same color before, but I don't think I've ever had everything I'm working on basically the same color.

And, I would've thought it would be gold, or brown or "autumnal colors"...not blue:)  Go figure. But I shall enjoy my "blue mood" while it lasts!

On the Wheel: April Showers

I'm spinning some fluffy clouds these days:

This is the fiber club colorway from last April...April Showers. It's on BFL/Silk and I am thoroughly enjoying it.  BFL/Silk is my favorite fiber blend to dye, and it's pretty great to spin, too!

The fiber club colorways are exclusive for one year, so this color will soon be available in my shop. I'm dyeing up a batch next week on a few different fibers, so keep an eye out:)

I'm not sure what this yarn will become just yet, but I'm enjoying being able to spin without pain!

On the Wheel : Seashells

I'm not getting a lot of time to spin or knit right now (it's dye, dye, dye all the time around here), but I do have this lovely bit of fiber on the wheel when I do get a moment or two to spin:

This is last June's fiber club colorway.  It'll be available as a regular color this coming June:)

Colors of October

I love the colors of October

1. yellow and green leaves over the pond, 2. October, 3. Fall Colors -- Yellow, 4. 365/274 Finally a real fall day, 5. Fall Relections, 6. 'Fall Layers', United States, Colorado, Grande Mesa, 7. Fall colors 1, 8. Fall 2011, 9. Fall 2011, 10. Fall colors in the U.P., 11. Colours of Autumn, 12. Delicious autumn, 13. Early one October morning

Color Your World

I've been doing a little hand dyeing of some fiber I had in the stash, and having a good amount of fun with it.
In the past, the way I've dyed my yarn or fiber is to handpaint it, wrap it up in plastic wrap, and steam set it in the microwave.  It works well, and it's fast.  But the downside is there is a lot of handling and fiddling with the fiber, which can lead to felting, or at the very least "fuzzing".

So, I did that method for the first 2 braids you see below, but for the 2 plum braids at the bottom I tried the oven "low immersion" method.  I loved it!  Consider me a new "oven" convert.

Merino/Silk commercial combed top

Romney roving (this is actual roving, not top)

Polwarth commercial combed top

  I foresee more dyeing adventures in the near future.

Summer Colors

I think it's unofficially "officially" here...Summer.

What are your colors of summer?

May Colors

It's been a cold spring around here.  I'm ready for the warm spring flowers, but especially the warm!

Spring Hexagon Pouch

Well, here is the little finished hexagon pouch I've been working on lately.  I think it's very cute!  Just right for spring.  It's a fairly straightforward construction, and has a nice weight to it, thanks to the quilt batting.  I wish I would've added fabric gussets to each end of the zipper.  But, that leaves something to try next time...

The temperatures are finally starting to climb around here, after a frigid week just before Easter.  It's unusual for me to complain about cold weather, but I'm finally ready for spring to show itself!

Spring Colors

Inspiration Collage : Greens

Who doesn't love spring greens!?

1. 7 warmups in 7 days - day7, 2. Smithsonian, 3. Spring green, 4. spring greens with white, 5. Green Chairs, 6. Green Wheat, 7. Green!, 8. Greens palette, 9. green, 10. green machine, 11. green, 12. Green Elephants Garden Sculptures, 13. Green curl

My Watercolor Palette

I love seeing other artist's palettes, and their color choices.  It's endlessly fascinating (to me, anyway) the choices people make, the colors they gravitate to and use the most, and how they arrange them.

So here's mine :

I use all Winsor & Newton except where noted.

What does your palette look like?

Friday Favorites : Gold Yarn

I've decided to 'borrow' a blog post idea from one of my favorite blogs, Chiot's Run.  She is always posting her Friday Favorites (more along the garden variety) and I think that's a great idea.  Only with a more fiber-y bent to it.

So my first Friday Favorite is gold yarn.  I love this color of yarn.  All the way from bright and brassy, to antiqued and aged, I gravitate to this color over and over...and over.

Do you have a yarn color that you gravitate to?

October Colors Palette

Photo Credit : edward van buuringen

So many things about this time of year excite me.  The colors are certainly one of those things.  You may have noticed that I love browns, golds, rusts and grays, all colors that are taking center stage right about
now.

A Little Color

Last week, it was all grays in the projects I was knitting.  This week, there is a little bit of color creeping in:

Top : Quince & Co Lark in color Nasturtium

Bottom : Cascade 220 Heathers in 9452 Summer Sky Heather

And I've got a little more color waiting in the wings...