For January’s Sock and Fiber Clubs, I wanted to use naturally grey base yarn and fiber, as I really love the depth it adds to the dye, and it makes it easier to get good dark colors. This speckled plate and its sueded background provided inspiration, however I didn’t use the suggested colors this time. Blue Plate Special seemed to be a good tongue-in-cheek name for this one.
The yarn is Yakkity Yak, a blend of soft superwash Merino, Yak, and nylon. It is very soft, and a beautiful warm grey. I dyed much of the skein a semi-solid navy, then drizzle dyed the remaining part with all the other blues. I spent quite a bit of time with the planned pooling calculator to see if I could design the yarn and have it turn out how I planned. Since I’m already late with this reveal, I’m going to save most of that for another post, but here’s a picture of the swatch I made…..
This is a 64 stitch tube knitted on my Brother 930 knitting machine. I started at tension 10 (the largest) at the bottom of this picture, then tightened a tension number every 20 rows or so….and you can really see the difference in the patterning each time. I’m working on a pair of socks, and I’ve knit a half leg, full heel, and half foot to see if my gauge calculations are right (spoiler: not so much). Mostly, I’m working out a heel that fits better, I’ve been following the directions in my patterns, and they are much too shallow, which leads to the yarn wearing more in spots where it is being pulled. (Ok, ok, wait for the post on that!)
Our Club Fiber is Masham, a nice medium wool. This will be great for mittens (that Spin Off Mitt challenge is still going on!) or socks or a hat, or maybe something lined or boot toppers for those more sensitive to more wooly wools. I dyed this in a gradient from the natural grey through navy, but you divide it up and spin it however seems best to you.
Tiger Club has a few sock spots open if you are interested. Fiber Club is full for February, and likely March, but do use the contact form on the main site to get on the wait list.
