Here is the Blessed Damozel Collection
I hope you will enjoy the Blessed Damozel Collection.
Genesis of a Colorway Part III
This is the final part of Genesis of a colorway. After I left you last, I went ahead an played with dyes, and as always, as I was playing, changed my direction slightly. Each colored circle became it own colorway, and the results are amazingly rich with subtle variegations.I name each skein after a verse from Dante Gabriel Rossetti's famous poem, the Blessed Damozel.
Here is the Blessed Damozel Collection
I hope you will enjoy the Blessed Damozel Collection.
Here is the Blessed Damozel Collection
I hope you will enjoy the Blessed Damozel Collection.
Selbu Modern KAL
This fall I'm extremely busy with many freelance food articles, some knitwear designing projects, and I'm even considering doing another cookbook proposal for a local publisher. I finally decided I would rather have the money than the time so I'm pushing myself as much as possible to be productive. Because of that, I made a decision to only work on worsted weight colorwork projects for my personal knitting so I could finish things quickly enough to show here.
So what do I do? I start yet another fine-gauge project. This is the Selbu Modern hat (free pattern HERE) knit on size 0 and 2 dpns with Elann's Alpaca Peruvian Pura Fina. (Their web site says it is a sport weight but I consider it a light fingering weight.) I'm using kind of a periwinkle and a navy heather.
There is a Selbu Modern KAL currently in progress on Ravelry's Stranded Forum. It isn't too late to join either as it runs through the end of October. It is fascinating seeing all the different yarn weights and needle sizes being used for this hat - mine looks pretty tiny so far but I trust it will stretch out nicely.
The Sandia Mountains received a dusting of snow this week. Even on dark days here the New Mexico skies are pretty spectacular.
So what do I do? I start yet another fine-gauge project. This is the Selbu Modern hat (free pattern HERE) knit on size 0 and 2 dpns with Elann's Alpaca Peruvian Pura Fina. (Their web site says it is a sport weight but I consider it a light fingering weight.) I'm using kind of a periwinkle and a navy heather.
There is a Selbu Modern KAL currently in progress on Ravelry's Stranded Forum. It isn't too late to join either as it runs through the end of October. It is fascinating seeing all the different yarn weights and needle sizes being used for this hat - mine looks pretty tiny so far but I trust it will stretch out nicely.
The Sandia Mountains received a dusting of snow this week. Even on dark days here the New Mexico skies are pretty spectacular.
Genesis of a Colorway Part II
I left you yesterday as I was about to grab my sketchbook, and my colored pencils.
I like to have all my pencils available, and after some serious sharpening, I draw about 18 circles on page.
I love working with the colored pencils as they can be layered to create subtle color variations.
Before I continue, let's look at the Blessed Damozel again.
The first color I saw was the one in her robe. I saw a deep green with a navy undertone. So I started to decline ( a word I use referring to the process of Latin and Greek declensions in which a root word is modified) the greens making them gradually more green, and leading them towards the gentle greeninsh greys.
Next I saw the browns, rusts and oranges. I started with the deepest brown and added rust as an overtone, again as for the greens I declined the browns to their simplest orange.
Next, it was the turn of the pinks and corals. I started with a red with a coral undertone, and went gradually towards the lighter pinks, adding a coral cast to all of them. Finally came a touch of yellow, and a pinch of pinkinsh beige.
This process left me with 18 colors, way too many for a skein of yarn. That is the hard part, to simplify the color range while at the same time keeping the colors true to their inspiration.
I narrowed the colors to 5 main colors with 4 in-betweens. The five main colors will become my main colors on the skein, and the in-betweens will be the areas where 2 colors touch and in the process create a variation.
Next stage, selecting the dyes, and mixing them precisely to obtain the desired colors. I love that stage, this is when my colors come to life.
This will be Part III!
I like to have all my pencils available, and after some serious sharpening, I draw about 18 circles on page.
I love working with the colored pencils as they can be layered to create subtle color variations.
Before I continue, let's look at the Blessed Damozel again.
The first color I saw was the one in her robe. I saw a deep green with a navy undertone. So I started to decline ( a word I use referring to the process of Latin and Greek declensions in which a root word is modified) the greens making them gradually more green, and leading them towards the gentle greeninsh greys.
Next I saw the browns, rusts and oranges. I started with the deepest brown and added rust as an overtone, again as for the greens I declined the browns to their simplest orange.
Next, it was the turn of the pinks and corals. I started with a red with a coral undertone, and went gradually towards the lighter pinks, adding a coral cast to all of them. Finally came a touch of yellow, and a pinch of pinkinsh beige.
This process left me with 18 colors, way too many for a skein of yarn. That is the hard part, to simplify the color range while at the same time keeping the colors true to their inspiration.
I narrowed the colors to 5 main colors with 4 in-betweens. The five main colors will become my main colors on the skein, and the in-betweens will be the areas where 2 colors touch and in the process create a variation.
Next stage, selecting the dyes, and mixing them precisely to obtain the desired colors. I love that stage, this is when my colors come to life.
This will be Part III!
Knitty Tam
A girlfriend from Colorado I'm seeing this weekend asked me to knit her a beret in "her colors." I'm not exactly sure what she meant by that but her favorite color is purple and she wears a lot of black. Her winter coat is bright red so I doubt this hat will work with the coat but obviously the solution is to buy a new coat to go with the hat.
This is Tam C in the Three Tams pattern from Knitty by Angela Sixian Wu. I think this is a terrific pattern for those new to colorwork and because you use worsted weight yarn, it is really fast to knit as well. I used 8 colors of blues and purples with the black background - mostly Cascade 220 but I believe there is some Lana D'Oro in there as well.
I blocked it over a dinner plate as per instructions.
It is a little darker than this photo.
I used my German twisted cast on variation which helps keep 2-color ribbing from curling. The K2P2 corrugated ribbing I did in lieu of the K1P1 corrugated ribbing called for in the pattern was just a mistake, pure and simple.
This is Tam C in the Three Tams pattern from Knitty by Angela Sixian Wu. I think this is a terrific pattern for those new to colorwork and because you use worsted weight yarn, it is really fast to knit as well. I used 8 colors of blues and purples with the black background - mostly Cascade 220 but I believe there is some Lana D'Oro in there as well.
I blocked it over a dinner plate as per instructions.
It is a little darker than this photo.
I used my German twisted cast on variation which helps keep 2-color ribbing from curling. The K2P2 corrugated ribbing I did in lieu of the K1P1 corrugated ribbing called for in the pattern was just a mistake, pure and simple.
Genesis of a Colorway Part I
People often ask me how I come up with my colorways, so I thought it would be so much fun for you to follow my color creations this week, from the start to the moment I update them on the website.
So back to the question. How do I come up with my colorways? Like everything else I do in life, impulsively.
Every Monday morning, I literally let my mind wander. I let myself feel the world around me. Like this morning for example. The idea actually came to me on my early morning walk. The air was crisp, and the sun gave a rich glow to everything, the landscapes looked like paintings, I looked at my emerald green coat, I felt my hair gently pushed by the breeze, and then my favorite painter's name filled my mind. Dante Gabriel Rossetti. I almost felt hunger for Rossetti's colors.
So as soon as I returned home, I started working... The blessed Damozel will be my first colorway.
So I have my inpiration, and I have chosen my first colorway. It is time to grab my pencils and my sketchbook, and play with colors... I will write about my colorplay in the next post.
So back to the question. How do I come up with my colorways? Like everything else I do in life, impulsively.
Every Monday morning, I literally let my mind wander. I let myself feel the world around me. Like this morning for example. The idea actually came to me on my early morning walk. The air was crisp, and the sun gave a rich glow to everything, the landscapes looked like paintings, I looked at my emerald green coat, I felt my hair gently pushed by the breeze, and then my favorite painter's name filled my mind. Dante Gabriel Rossetti. I almost felt hunger for Rossetti's colors.
So as soon as I returned home, I started working... The blessed Damozel will be my first colorway.
So I have my inpiration, and I have chosen my first colorway. It is time to grab my pencils and my sketchbook, and play with colors... I will write about my colorplay in the next post.
Natural Beauty
I have been really fascinated by my work with natural dyes. This week I pushed my work even further, and worked on variegated colorways using natural dyes. I was scared that I would not succeed, but at the same I was excited. I set up the pots and pans, brewed my dye stocks, mixed, and played...
I chose colors inspired by the movie the Last Emperor, and in each skein worked to capture the boldness of the colors, and at times their subtlety.
To create my Last Emperor colorways, I chose brazilwood, cochineal, osage orangs, walnut, and sumac.
I hope you will enjoy the Last Emperor Collection .
I chose colors inspired by the movie the Last Emperor, and in each skein worked to capture the boldness of the colors, and at times their subtlety.
To create my Last Emperor colorways, I chose brazilwood, cochineal, osage orangs, walnut, and sumac.
I hope you will enjoy the Last Emperor Collection .
Sandnesgarn Tema 12 Booklet
If there ever was an award for best customer service in the knitting world, Bea Ellis would really have to be a finalist. I swear it felt like this Sandnesgarn pattern book arrived the day after I ordered it.
The booklet is Tema 12 Tilbehor and it is priced at $11.50. I counted almost 80 patterns including a few sweaters. (BTW, I also have the #0115 Christmas book on that page and it has a lot of cute stuff for kids.)
I love that hat and mitten set - what a brilliant idea about reversing the color design on the front and the back of the mittens. I'd have to remember to switch which yarns are in which hand for each side to get the best look though. And look there are gloves! This booklet has lots and lots of glove patterns for men, women, and children.
Lots of the usual fun Nordic patterns.
Truth be told I bought this booklet just for the pop-up mittens. I've never seen a pair of pop-up mittens that were stranded and DH even said he'd like me to knit these for him. I SERIOUSLY doubt he'll ever wear them but they look like such a fun knit. As soon as I figure out what to do about the Whistler sweater I'll start the mittens. (If I decide to just go ahead and order the recommended Dale of Norway Heilo yarn to knit Whistler then I can use the yarn I originally bought for Whistler that was way off in my row gauge for the mittens.)
Next time I will have a tam using 9 colors of Cascade 220 to show you.
The booklet is Tema 12 Tilbehor and it is priced at $11.50. I counted almost 80 patterns including a few sweaters. (BTW, I also have the #0115 Christmas book on that page and it has a lot of cute stuff for kids.)
I love that hat and mitten set - what a brilliant idea about reversing the color design on the front and the back of the mittens. I'd have to remember to switch which yarns are in which hand for each side to get the best look though. And look there are gloves! This booklet has lots and lots of glove patterns for men, women, and children.
Lots of the usual fun Nordic patterns.
Truth be told I bought this booklet just for the pop-up mittens. I've never seen a pair of pop-up mittens that were stranded and DH even said he'd like me to knit these for him. I SERIOUSLY doubt he'll ever wear them but they look like such a fun knit. As soon as I figure out what to do about the Whistler sweater I'll start the mittens. (If I decide to just go ahead and order the recommended Dale of Norway Heilo yarn to knit Whistler then I can use the yarn I originally bought for Whistler that was way off in my row gauge for the mittens.)
Next time I will have a tam using 9 colors of Cascade 220 to show you.
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