Sometimes I try to match the picture and dyes perfectly, and sometimes…the inspiration is just a suggestion. I loved the title Blueberry Pie in the Sky, and all the blues in this pictures. I ran with it, but leant a bit of a tropical flair by using Sea Breeze as my blue base rather than the pale grayed blues shown. I also wanted to stop at that blurple of blueberries and not go all the way plum. I’m pleased with how it turned out.
Our fiber is a fun blend I’m calling Hoof and Leaf, it’s a blend of Llama, Whiteface Woodland, Ramie, and rayon of Bamboo. The two plant fibers don’t take the dye and leave a nice streaky look and a lot of shine. The llama and wool are both bright white, and were happy to show off these delicate tones of blue from barely there to deep navy with a purple undertone. I dyed this in a true gradient, painting each of the 5 color sections on and encouraging blending at the transition points. You might like to spin this from the fold to add a little loft and to keep all the fibers drafting together. You can spin this worsted also, just watch that you keep moving across the fiber and don’t let too much of one type of fiber to draft out.
The yarn this month is a new version of one I enjoyed dyeing, Silver Lynx. It’s a lux blend of Superwash Merino, Tussah Silk, and bits of sparkling silver Stellina. It’s tough enough for socks, but also great for other projects like a cowl or shawlette. I may try winding this for my loom, getting the colors to line up, yet travel down the cloth. To dye this, I pulled out a technique I loved to do in my early dyeing days….dip dyeing. Color is added to the hot dyepot, the yarn dipped and lifted out, a new layer of color is added, and the yarn is dipped again, but not quite as far. It’s a workout, but a great way to get these smoother color changes as each layer overlaps the last.
My apologies for the tardy reveal, I put these in the mail before Christmas so that I could enjoy a break with my family, and hopefully the packages would hit the sweet spot of shipping between gifts and returns. Of course, 2020, so one was stuck for quite a while, then the crew working on pulling underground wires dug up our internet, and we were without for about 5 days until they sent the tech out (it’s still a temporary fix until spring, but mostly works). It’s rolling right into 2021…I put in my SD card to edit these pictures, and my computer didn’t even register that it has a card reader! Turns out the problem was static… a shutdown, unplug, discharge, and start up fixed it. Yay, Google-fu. We’re having another ‘weather event’ today, and we’re hearing and watching cars slip and slide on the rain that has now turned to snow. This storm is going across the country, so if you are in the path, stay safe!
Tiger Club will open up for a limited number of new subscriptions in February, we’d love to have you!
