Stripes and Gradients

Hope you are all keeping warm, it has been quite the cold snap here. The paper tells me it hasn’t been this cold for two years! Anyway, staying inside has its perks….I’ve had time to work on a long time project…..making rainbow self striping yarn. Once upon a time, I made a rainbow stripe, but the stripes were only about 2 rows wide, and it was extremely labor intensive to make. I’m proud to say I’ve finally figured out how to make a wide striping version (about 8 rows per color), and in a method that is a bit more efficient. I present to you, Tropical Rainbow Stripe:

Plus, I made it on our newest sock yarn, Journey. It is a lovely round bouncy 4ply of 75% Superwash Merino and 25% Nylon. It shows off these bright colors marvelously.

Speaking of stripes, I also have a few skeins of Grand Old Flag up.  Both yarns are eligible for our Stripey Sock KAL on Ravelry.

And on to fiber…..I have a couple of colors of Targhee that escaped the last update…..Raspberry Mocha, and Campfire.

I’ve also been working hard at dyeing up this bump of Superwash Merino wool. The stuff just does not behave and stay in the bag….it just keeps growing, and growing, and growing!!! So the best plan is to dye it all up! Most of these are gradients, which I love to make and use as they are so versatile. Spin straight and chain ply…..or split in half or thirds and ply those together for blended transitions. Or split unevenly and make a fractal! (Have you seen our Fractal SAL/KAL on Ravelry? You can still join with any gradient from TPT.) Anyway, on to the wool!

First, I needed to replenish the rainbows. I have regular Rainbow and Tropical Rainbow.

Next up is more Raspberry Mocha, and a lovely complex blue I call Out of the Deep.

I have a little nature hike with Cascade, VerdiGris, and Autumn Splendor.

And finally a trip to the kitchen, with Vanilla Spice, Cinnamon Spice, and Citrus Splash.

I’ve been keeping busy this week dyeing club.  It’s a nice perk in the winter to have your job produce heat and moisture when the house is cold and dry!