For a little September inspiration, I chose this picture taken at Bear Mountain in New York. The picture has a really wide range of colors, though, and I was looking for something a little less wild. A tight crop, and bit of fun with the color picker, and I narrowed it down to this:
And then I pushed the colors a bit further in the dye, making the burgundy much more purple, and the dark green a bit more evergreen. Welcome to Dappled Autumn!
The yarn I chose for this month is thick and bouncy Targhee Sock, which is 90% USA grown Superwash Targhee Wool blended with 10% Nylon. It’s a nice smooth 3 ply, and about 460 yards per 4 oz skein.
I dyed these in a ‘scrunch and dapple’ method, so while it may pool for a bit, it will change up, making an interesting marbled pattern. If you aren’t finding the way it is pooling to be pleasing, try increasing or decreasing a stitch or two (or more), and/or your gauge. Slip stitch patterns are also nice for taming wild pooling. Each skein is unique despite using the same dyeing method for 3 at a time in each pot. I really love how the colors played with each other, and how the yarn brought out new colors as it acted as a resist to the differently sized dye particles.
The fiber for this month’s subscription box is a blend of 80% Superwash BFL Wool (Blue Faced Leicester) and 20% Nylon. It’s perfect for socks. Spin worsted with middling twist, then create a great hosiery twist using a lot of ply twist. If you find this to be slippery and want your handspun yarn to be a little more fluffy, I’d suggest pulling off tufts and spinning from the fold. I dyed this combed top in a back and forth variegated, and the colors could get muddy if you spin as is, if you’d like the colors more distinct, try stripping the fiber down into narrower pieces (or into color chunks as in the spinning from the fold).
Want in on the fun? As of now I have 2 sock spots, and a pound and a half of fiber spots open. Drop by the shop and check out Tiger Fiber and Sock Clubs. Thanks, and enjoy the transition into fall….I think it might arrive here shortly!
