Inspiration for July’s sock and fiber clubs came from this picture of a mountain desert. I loved the interplay of the dark and light purples with the grey, and the contrast of the gold and red, plus the possibilities of blending between the colors.
And that is how things played out on our Polwarth wool combed top. I decided to keep the colors more distinct and in ‘order’, but allowing them to blend with each other in the transitions. The dye method led to dark and light shades within each, much like the picture. I love how the red and gold lend their warmth to the grey and purples which are traditionally cool colors. The gradient style is very flexible….spin straight, split for plies, fractal, separate the colors and do your own thing…..it’s all here for you to decide how you want to use the colors of the palette.
For the yarn, I’m introducing a ‘new’ yarn…Titanium Tiger Twist. I’ve had a version of Tiger Twist from my early days of dyeing, and while I love the string-of-pearls look of the 2 ply yarn, I’ve never been pleased with the yardage or the wear of it. This new Titanium version takes care of those problems….each skein is about 460 yards, which should give you plenty for most sizes of adult socks. The blend is 75% Superwash Merino, and 25% nylon, so while it is nice and soft, that nylon content means your hard work won’t wear through so quickly. For the dyeing, I took a ‘controlled chaos’ approach to hand painting. As expected, the superwash nature of the yarn made the colors bolder and more distinct, despite the dye being exactly the same as what was used on the fiber above. Each skein was dyed approximately the same, however how the dye settled and blended is different in every single batch. They are a cross between a variegated yarn and a more random speckle method….so if you see pooling, hang in there, it’ll change soon enough!
Would you like to join in the fun of Tiger Club? I have openings in all the Clubs to begin in August. Stop by and select the club that sings to you….try for as little as a month, or stay as long as you like.
