A Life of Colour

Mezquita.

Fresh off the needles and my second design to be released! I never dreamed I'd get into writing up my own designs but I'm actually having a lot of fun knitting up what I want and writing up a pattern for it as it works really well with my creative side. That side of my Aquarius personality that just has to do things on her own. It's kind of fun actually as I also approach designing very much like I do dyeing...I get an idea and just go for it with very little planning involved. If it works out, I'm even happier and as I'm knitting one design I am already thinking about the next...it can get a bit obsessive actually...LOL However, that being said, I really do enjoy the challenge of it too!

And here she is...

If you'd like a free copy, you can download it from Ravelry here or direct download it here - enjoy!

Already on the needles is my new "Playing with Colour" shawl design...this one makes me happy on so many levels - not only do I get to knit what I want but now I'm stepping outside the box a little and playing with more colour which makes the dyer inside me so very happy - it's a nice way to mesh my zest for colour from dyeing with designing. Can you just imagine the colour combo possibilities so far? I can and I'm not even halfway on this one yet!

Raveled: Playing with Colour Shawl Design

If you are wondering if I'm still dyeing yarn, yes, yes, I am! I just dyed up a few Spring colourways which are on their way to Yarn4Socks.com for release in late March/early April. Normally I really prefer to dye dark colourways but after dyeing up this batch, I think I'm missing out on the lighter colours now and will be adding them into my repetoire more and more. Nothing like a bowl of yarn to make the winter weather not seem so bad...

Are you ready for Spring? I know I am! Of course if you live on the other side of the world, you're probably also ready for your change of season too! Have a great weekend!

Untangled Web.

Ever had a yarn on a swift wanting to put it into a neat and tidy cake but it just won't behave itself? This is the result of one such skein which refused to untangle itself no matter how hard I tried! It took a bit of patience and perseverance to unravel the web of tangled yarn and to wind it into baby yarn cakes but it sure did turn out cute didn't it? 

I swear my job as a dyer is fraught with wrangling yarn into submission and the above photo expresses that very well - that's 13 baby yarn cakes! However, by its very nature, yarn just wants to tangle or catch on something at a moment's notice especially when you're not paying attention. Click the photo to see it in its enlarged glory!

That was the highlight of my day today and yesterday was spent having turkey with family in Toronto where my 7 year old nephew was not unlike yarn - hard to keep wrangled into submission but oh so cute nonetheless.

Hope you had a great weekend!

P.S.:  If you can find a use for the baby yarn cakes, you're more than welcome to! The cakes are ready to knit from and marked down by 50% from the original skein price.

Retrospective.

Gosh, time really flies! I remember moving into this house not 3 years ago and setting up my little dye studio in our garage. Shortly after I shot pictures of where I dye yarn as well as my office and my room where I did all my yarn winding. Today is so much different. I no longer cook yarn out of just one pot nor do I work out of my yarn winding room - that room has been reclaimed as a spare bedroom while I use more space in our unfinished area in our basement.

Priorities have shifted more to administrative work and being most efficient at production. I still can't quite believe I only had that one little lonely pot to dye in when I started here and it served me just fine at the time. Fast forward 3 years and I'm dyeing out of multiple pots at a time and have at least 2 more tables to work from with one holding the dye powders exclusively. I'm right on the cusp of adding in yet another table with more cooking pots too...that should be coming in the New Year!

Why the nostalgia? I'm heading toward starting my 5th year dyeing yarn in less than 2 months. Things have sure changed a lot in 3 years and if business continues the way it has more changes are afoot I'm sure! Perhaps I better snap some photos of my dye studio soon so I can look back again in another 3 years.

Of course, this post wouldn't be complete without announcing a little yarn update to the store...this time Serenity Silk in multiple colourways. If you're following along with Romi and have subscribed to her 7 Small Shawls series, her fourth shawl coming up will be knit with this yarn in the 14 kt colourway. I can't tell you how excited I am to finally see her design...it's been in the making for awhile now!

Hope you're having a great weekend! Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadian knitters! 

Mishmash.

I bet you're wondering why the weird title, eh? LOL Mishmash means hodgepodge and I thought it rather appropriate for this type of dyeing style. Every once in awhile I like to push the boundaries to see what else I can come up with in terms of defining a style of dyeing. In this case, I decided to stretch outside the box of traditional one colour semi-solids. When you think of semi-solid, how do you define it? Is it one colour in varying tones or is it one colour almost solid or do you have an entirely different definition of semi-solid? 

Since these definitions really are not set in stone, I decided to stretch my definition of semi-solid to a multi-colour semi-solid. Now you might be wondering what that means exactly? Well...as a dyer, I like to think of semi-solid as a technique rather than a specific type of colourway. In an effort to think outside the box a little, I created a colourway for the Harmony Semi-Solid Club that involved a mishmashing of colours. 

If you look closely, there are quite a few colours in these skeins and all of them applied using a semi-solid dyeing technique. To achieve such a colourway, you do have to be careful because mixing of too many colours can end up in rather unappealing muddy mess...LOL When these were wet, they looked entirely different from when they were dry and in the end, I was quite pleased with the results. 

 

-click image to embiggen- 

As a dyer, I always enjoy coming up with something new and thinking outside the box. It stretches my conception of colour and how it should be applied each and every time and in a lot of cases, I'm quite happy with how my vision translates to the yarns. 

Now I'm really curious to see how these will knit up as the colours are a little more random than a traditional one colour semi-solid.

Preparations.

Oh gosh, the Knitter's Frolic is just around the corner (May 8th) and only a week away now. Instead of going into panic mode I've decided that I've dyed up enough yarn and will spend next week doing all the other little myriad of things I need to do to get ready. Wish me luck getting all this yarn plus a bit more into our vehicle! That's going to be an ordeal in itself...LOL

 

 

If you're in Toronto or planning to come out, do drop by our booth! Cathy of ZigZagStitches and I will be in Booth #8 in the Kobayashi Hall. The show opens at 9 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m.

If you haven't ventured over to my blog for awhile and am reading this in a newsreader, do come on over.The blog has just had a complete face lift from my graphics designer team and I'm so happy with how it looks - feels like home now! 

And my do-it-myself shawl? Still knitting on it and had hoped to have it done by the Knitter's Frolic but no such luck...just so many other little things to do that knitting time has become very precious these days.

 

 

Have a great weekend everyone! If you'd like to see the photos bigger, please click on each one.

Serenity 20.

As a dyer, it's always fun to dream about having your own yarns spun to your specifications by yarn mills. Finally, after a few years in business, I took the plunge and had Serenity Lace spun to my specifications as my first custom spun yarn last year. The response was so fantastic that I decided to do another custom spin but this time, in a fingering weight and from that was born Serenity 20 spun especially for Zen Yarn Garden and not seen anywhere else.

The new yarn was spun and delivered early in the New Year but it's been waiting for me to get a hold of it for a few weeks now and finally, I did my first update last night. This yarn is delicious and soaks up the dye in a fantastic way. Here's a sampling of a few of the colourways:

 

Today I spent the day packing up everyone's orders so the yarns would get into everyone's hands quickly! I know it's not fun to have to wait for yarn especially if you have a pattern in mind already.

Thank you for such a fabulous response to the first stocking of this yarn - it makes me very excited to know you are just as excited as I am to try a new yarn. I am planning on updating the colourways on a regular basis so if you visited last night and didn't see a colourway you wanted, please make sure to visit again soon!

And what is Serenity 20 you ask? Well, since I have already been stocking the lovely Serenity Sock with 10% cashmere, I thought it'd be amazing to up the cashmere content to 20% for twice the cashmere and twice the softness. 10% feels nice but 20% feels even softer so this yarn contains 70% superwash merino, 20% cashmere and 10% nylon in a lovely fingering weight. It's perfect for a luxury pair of socks but will be fantastic for any next-to-the-skin projects like cowls, shawls, shawlettes, fingerless mittens, etc. Let your imagination run wild!

Now I'm having visions of more custom spun yarns. If you could have a dream yarn spun for you, what would it be? I have a few more ideas but feel free to make suggestions too!

Serendipity.

It's out, it's out and it's in stock at Amazon.com if you care to purchase it there. I will be having the book in stock in my store too if you prefer to wait for my copies but I'm just so excited to see the book has made it print finally.

And thanks to Mia's suggestion on Facebook, if you would like a signed copy from me, I'm happy to do that too! There are 3 designs featuring Zen Yarn Garden yarns :)

 

I remember when Beth called me...I had a bit of a fan girl moment and then when I finally calmed down and we chatted, it was so nice. She had asked me if I thought writing a book about sock clubs would be a good idea to which I couldn't think of a reason not to and exclaimed "absolutely!".  We talked about knitting with handpainted yarns and how she wanted to help with spreading the education of how to knit with them. It warmed my heart to hear because little did I know it then but now it fits in entirely with my business vision of uniqueness. Beth had already started thinking about sock clubs and their uniqueness before I had even solidified my vision. Serendipity!

Now, following my previous blog posting, I am going to quote from Beth because she sums up sock clubs and sock club knitting so well:

One of the special blessings of our process was the significant number of designs that came from sock clubs sponsored by independent dyers… Their yarns are striking and unique — most of the samples pictured are one-of-a-kind yarns. You may be able to order yarn that is similar; though it’s likely that no two hanks will be exactly the same. Variation is to be expected and variety is the spice!

Variety is indeed the spice of life. Variation is indeed to be expected and it is indeed a blessing to discover this with sock clubs. For all the dyers out there following their vision, don't ever feel deterred - let's keep creating! When you hear someone say "that's a shoddy dye job" just take it as fuel for your creative fire and keep doing what you do! There is always someone who will appreciate the beauty you are creating.

And in the spirit of the quote from Buddha, I give you a picture of the roses Mr. Zen brought home for me for my birthday last week. Take a moment to breathe in the beauty around you. It's everywhere!

"If we could see the miracle of a single flower,
clearly our whole life would change."

Unique.

If you've read my new slogan on my website, you will notice the words immediately:

Create something unique. everyday.

It's a vision I take quite seriously as a dyer and for my business. What does it mean? It means that every single skein of yarn I dye will be unique.  It means that every colourway I create will be unique.  It means that every knitted item created from my colourways will be unique. 

The word unique runs through me daily and is a theme I take quite seriously when I'm creating colourways for everyone.  However, every once in awhile, I have to sit back and re-assess my vision in the wake of comments such as "you dyed this wrong!" or "I'm so disappointed!" or "it's not what I expected!" or "there's too much white!" which, as a dyer, are very hard to hear but if you are open to listening to them will also teach you to re-affirm what your vision is.

I remember the early days of dyeing where I tried to dye yarns the way people might expect or the way that the commercial yarns were dyed because that's what I thought people wanted from me. Then one day, the light bulb went off and I freed myself from all these pre-conceived expectations. I'm an artist! If I'm an artist, how can I express myself if I'm busy trying to fulfill someone else's expectations? Isn't being an artist about expressing what is inside me? As a dyer who applies colour to a white canvas, how could that be different from what other artists do? It was at that moment that I let go of trying to fulfill other's pre-conceived expectations of what I was supposed to be and embraced the notion that I truly am an artist and that every skein I create is absolutely unique.

For those of you who get that, I thank you! You are my inspiration and in the face of the most recent negative comments, I have had the chance to re-affirm yet again that I am an artist and in so being one, I will remain committed to my vision of uniqueness. After all, for those who appreciate that side of my business and what I offer, it is what you come to me for. You are not expecting me to fulfill your expectations but rather, you are excited to see the creation that I send you so you have the pleasant experience to explore what I created.

If you've read this far, thank you! I'm humbled by all of you who support my artistic endeavours and for those who don't understand what unique means in terms of artistry, I truly hope that one day you will see the beauty of what is being done by handdyers everywhere.

So in the end, I'll leave you with a quote from Buddha that sums up very well what I am trying to say:

"If we could see the miracle of a single flower,
clearly our whole life would change."

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.

click image to embiggen

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

 

click images to embiggen

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.

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.