A Life of Colour

Evolution.

I can't quite believe it but this month marks the month that I started dyeing yarn! It was in 2005 that I dyed my first skeins and since then, I haven't looked back. Most of my dyeing has been part-time up until just recently but what's even more interesting is looking back at my early dyeing style. Without even realizing this is my anniversary month, I had the chance to dye as I pleased this week and decided to go back to a technique I had been using when I first started dyeing yarns.

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I remember now why I had decided to stop using this technique. Not only was it labour intensive but the results were very random in nature. At that time, understanding of the nuances of handpainted yarn wasn't as widespread so it was a bit of a challenge to explain to knitters why the colourway knit up so randomly. You have to understand - most knitters were accustomed to commercially available yarn that behaved in a predictable manner. These? Not so much!

However, let's flash forward 4 years to now and to just how much understanding has developed. The industry has evolved from a "oh my God, the colourway is acting randomly" to a "oh my God, I love how random this colourway is acting". What a lovely change! I'm so grateful for this because it means I can resurrect this technique so knitters can have the chance to knit with these yarns with the perfect project that compliments their random nature. What's that saying? We've come a long way baby!

If you like randomly dyed yarns, these are in the store and available for purchase...enjoy!

As I was browsing through my early skeins, I came across this one which I dyed in December of 2005 and was indeed one of my first skeins:

Can you believe I was dyeing semi-solids back then? They surely weren't all the rage they are now but I remember dyeing this skein in particular even now. I had put the yarn in the dye bath and had applied a few colours. Not being sure I was getting good enough saturation, I added more dye of a few different colours and promptly freaked out! Why? The colour of the water was brown and I was afraid I had ruined the skein. When it came out of the pot, I hadn't ruined it, in fact, I had created my first semi-solid! Back then we didn't even call them semi-solids.

Now I giggle to think I had struck on the latest craze way back in 2005. Ah, the evolution of handpainted yarns. I even crocheted this colourway into a scarf because it wasn't selling and as you can see, it is indeed a semi-solid.

So, morale of the story? It seems that handpainting goes through evolutionary stages like anything else. It's good to go back and visit these photos to see just where my techniques started and how they have changed to today. Maybe I need to revisit a few other techniques I used? Seems they come back into style!

And a couple more pictures of my first couple of baskets full of handpainted colourways. Today it doesn't seem like much but back then, believe me, it was a lot...LOL

 

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As you can see, my colour sense has also evolved from when I first started dyeing to what it is today. What a fun trip down memory lane this has been! I could probably write a whole book on some of the other changes when I consider other things such as yarn availability/quality but I think I'll stop here as this post is getting long.

Thanks for reading if you managed to get this far - it's been a fun journey so far and Happy Anniversary to me! Looking forward to seeing what evolves into the years to come.

Sizzle.

What do you get when you add Flaming Desire to Into the Fire? A little sizzle of course! Have you seen Anne's design? It really does sizzle and the name for it? Perfect! I was so excited to see it up on Anne's blog yesterday. Her designs are just so gorgeous and to have one of ZYG's colourways showcased in her pattern is truly an honour. Thanks Anne for such a gorgeous design...you have managed to make the colourway sizzle!

 

 

 

For those who missed out on Yarn4Socks.com's December sock club and would like the yarn colourway or the yarn colourway plus pattern, Valerie was kind enough to give Anne and I the go ahead to produce more for those who want the yarn in the colourway Anne did her pattern with.

If you'd like to knit a sizzling pair of socks for yourself, please click here to pre-order the yarn or the yarn/pattern combo. Yarns will be dyed in early January and shipping will commence in mid January 2010 - the perfect little knit for right after the Christmas rush!

Mojo.

Mojo is a funny thing. It can apply to pretty much any area in your life. For instance, lately I can't seem to find the mojo to get on the treadmill. For awhile, I was doing great and getting on non-stop and then all of a sudden I'm not. Where did my mojo go? 

Knitting or crocheting is not much different. Somehow I managed to pick that mojo back up again. How or why I don't know but I am finishing projects all of a sudden. The hiatus was a long one and due mostly to my handling yarn all the time while dyeing. At the end of the day, I was pretty much over looking at yarn and the thought of a knitting or crochet project wasn't high on my agenda when I wanted to rest. Now, after finding my mojo again, I am remembering why I liked knitting or why I liked crocheting. It's about the process not the yarn!

Perhaps I should apply that thought to the treadmill too - it's not about the exercise, it's about the process.  I'll have to think about that one a little!

And without further adieu, my One Row Lace Crochet Cowl (Rav link) is done. I'm so pleased. Pleased as punch really. I used up all 4 ounces of yarn to make it extra long so on those super cold days I can cover up my ears and my face. I quite like how the yarn speckled a bit here and there with pink in the purple to add a bit of texture to the colour.

 

And now that my crochet hook is taking a breather, I have cast on and knit a few rows of Multnomah (Rav link). I haven't knit a shawl before so I'm intrigued by how the stitches are increasing and how they are looking like wings. So pretty!

I'm anxious to see how the shawl is going to unfold so I've been picking up the needles when I have a spare moment. I sure hope my mojo is back to stay!

It suddenly occurred to me that today is but 10 days from Christmas. Happy Holidays everyone! I can't believe it's that time of year again. Before we know it, it'll be 2010!

Crochet.

Do you crochet? I do and I have a long term relationship with crochet having started it first when I was about 10. At that time it was my Dad's sisters who sat me down to show me. After that I went all crazy with it and crocheted several afghans. Where did they end up? With my Grandmas of course! They were both so touched it was adorable. Even now my Grandma prefers my crochet afghan to anything else. My Mom is always tickled when she visits her Mom and she insists that she put away all her other regular blankets but DO NOT touch the afghan I crocheted for her.

I tend to go long periods of time without picking up a crochet hook until I see a project that makes my fingers really itch to pick up a crochet hook. This time it was Kim's socks from a semi-solid club colourway. So cute! Ever since I saw Kim's gorgeous socks, my fingers have been itching to pick up the crochet hook again. So much so that I couldn't quite get it out of my head. So on the weekend I wound up a skein of Serenity Sport yarn and got started.

It wasn't long before I remembered my love for the crochet hook. Not only does it create a lovely lacy effect but projects seem to whiz right on by. I finished this much of the project in just one night and after having to rip out and re-start with a smaller starting chain. I really love the way it's turning out. Crochet has a tendency to use up a lot of yarn but the lovely effect of that is it always makes a lovely squishy fabric too. Oh crochet, how I've missed thee!

I am so happy to have re-started crochet that I actually did a wee movie of my double crocheting. It's interesting to watch yourself crochet on screen that's for sure. My fingers haven't forgotten. I love it!

For more details on the project I'm doing, please see my Rav project page. It's a lovely cowl made up of DCs. After doing a cowl or two I do plan to work up to socks and like knitting the crochet hook is teeny tiny but I am confident I can get there. So do you crochet too?

BSJ.

I'm actually done! I can't believe it since I tend to be knitting sample socks for all the myriad of colourways I produce when dyeing. It's one thing to see colours in a skein but quite another to see how the colours express themselves when knit. It's really quite fascinating actually so many times I pull out a colourway and knit a sample sock just to help visualize how colours will look in a finished sock so as you can imagine, finishing something other than a sock is truly a special occasion!

 

I did end up incorporating a few mods into the project which included a crocheted neck hole edge as well as a turned down collar. Adding a single row of SC to the edge of an unfinished knitted piece has a nice way of making the edge look pretty. The turned down collar was due mostly to only having two buttons despite having 3 buttonholes. Long story short, Hobby Lobby was out of stock on the buttons when I went back to get another pair. I'm hoping they will come back in stock because I'd like to add a button to the collar as well. If not, I am quite happy with how the collar turned out as it is. Turning down the collar was also done because when I was finished seaming up the sleeves, the neck hole seemed a wee bit smallish. Oops! However, improvising is a knitter's best friend when you don't want to rip back and the outcome was indeed a happy accident.

If you'd like to see more photos and find out more details of the project, please click here for my Rav project page.

Now what to do next? Perhaps I need to knit up some of my handspun into a cowl or fingerless mittens or something. Now that sounds intriguing! Off I go! Have a great weekend everyone.

Cyber sale.

In recognition of all the sales this weekend I decided to have a sale in my shop too! I don't do this often so if you want to pick something up at a nice discount, you have Sunday and Monday, November 29th and 30th to do so at 20% off*.

I just added in some yummy Serenity Sock II yarns (80% superwash merino/10% cashmere/10% nylon). This blend is exactly the same as our Serenity Sock but is imported from the UK and is a slightly finer fingering weight. Gorgeous!

So if you're hankering for a bit of yarn, drop by the shop on Sunday or Monday to receive your 20% off. Deductions will be taken off when you checkout. Thanks everyone for your continued support and for those in the USA, I hope you had a wonderfully festive Thanksgiving.

Mr. Zen and I are going to venture into Michigan to shop the sales a teeny bit too. I remember going one year at midnight and it was crazy! Not this year though as there isn't anything we need that's worth standing in line for or staying up for until the wee hours of the morning. Have a great weekend everyone and hope to see you at the Cyber Sale.

*excludes spinning wheels & clubs