Inspiration this month came from my backyard….we have a rather steep hillside that is not fun to mow, so a number of years ago I over seeded it with wildflower mix. Over the years many of the species have been crowded out, and now it is mostly Purple Coneflower and Goldenrod….with an occasional Black-eyed Susan. It’s very pretty and bright at it’s peak, but as fall comes on the colors dull a bit, and the Goldfinches descend to eat all the seeds. The colors this month reflect that ‘Fading Summer’ of the pink, purple, green, blue, gold, and neutral greys and browns of this landscape.
The yarn this month is Safari, and while I wanted to do a gradient so each color could shine, I also wanted it to be appropriate for socks. So I made you two matching 50 gram skeins. I used my own ‘kink free sock blank’ method, and came up with this:
Here are the finished skeins….one wound each direction.
The wool for August is Cheviot. This Scottish breed is characterized by its helical (spiral) crimp structure to the wool. This keeps the wool top open and easy to spin, and your finished yarn will puff up in the finishing wash. It is a little coarser than the fine wools, at 27-33 microns. The staple is generally 3-5 inches.
I’m thinking cozy, yet sturdy, mittens….I’d strip this down lengthwise into 4 parts and spin two matching skeins of 2 ply in the sport weight range. Want to mix up the colors? You can do that, too….pull it apart and draw bits out of a bag, or make faux-lags….or use hand cards or a blending board for true rolags. These colors are all of similar value and will look good however you combine them!
Want in on the fun? Tiger Club is still open for September subscriptions through today!
