Tropical Sunrise - Rambouillet Wool Combed Top

I took this picture of the sunrise on the last day of our beach vacation. I couldn’t help but bring the bright, fresh colors of Florida to life in fiber. I didn’t try to capture this picture, but rather created a fantasy of a Tropical Sunrise, capturing the impressions of the brightly colored homes, and the amazing changeable colors of light and sun and ocean throughout our trip.  Color include neon orange, sea breeze teal blue, neon pink, bright purple , warm peach, deeper blues, soft greens, and sandy tan.

The fiber is my favorite of the merino types, Rambouillet. The white color shows off these neon colors beautifully, and the shorter staple will keep them from bleeding into each other as much when spinning. You can strip this down closer to your finished yarn weight to also minimize blending between colors. Or let it go and enjoy the new colors that form at each transition. Ply with a white or navy yarn to make this calmer or to pop the colors respectively, and to stretch this to a longer project…..or try a 2 ply technique to match or barberpole, or 3 ply. Or rip it up and reprocess into the colors you want….so many possibilities!

The gorgeous neon dyes used are not as washfast as my usual Lanaset dyes (ironic, since the brand is Washfast!), however if you use a bit of care and wash these using cool/cold water and a bit of vinegar in your wash and rinse water (and be brief about it….don’t let the water have too much of a chance to bind with the dye) it will look bright for many washes.

100% Rambouillet Wool Combed Top
Hand Dyed with Neon Washfast Dyes, and some Lanaset Professional Dyes
Hand wash cool with pH neutral/Wool safe wash, briefly, with a splash of vinegar in wash and rinse.  Dry flat.

Each braid is about 4oz