Exploration, & Radio Silence

'Best of Yarn' Compilation

I can make as many plans and lists as I like, but I certainly didn't think there would come a point where I hadn't managed to blog for almost a year.  A year!  It certainly doesn't feel like so much time has passed, or like I've been idle in the interim.

It would be too much to hope to catch up with all the lovely experiences I've had over the past 8 months, but I shall try to give you an overview:  There has been travel, living in campervans and exciting adrenaline activities.  New places, new scenery, new languages and ways of living.  There have been (and are) new people, both those met fleetingly, and those whom I now work with.  People who have taught me to embrace the joys in life, small treasures and simple pleasures, and also the inherent traits of those who I'd like to hope I would not emulate.  New studies, moving onto the next part of my diploma.  New work, settling into a new environment and way of thinking, new colleagues.  Last but not least, exciting knitting projects.

It is this last thought which finally prompted me to return to blogging.  I was listening to Jo (of Shinybees) on her podcast earlier whilst knitting - though we shall save *what* I was knitting for another post, hmm?

Jo talked about organising your stash when moving house, and shared her idea of 'Active Stash Exploration'.  When moving from Scotland in September, I rummaged through my stash.  I organised it, re-organised it, split it into purposeful piles and mixed it up again.  I carefully laid some yarn in storage bags, other skeins were gifted to friends.  I organised and re-organised the stash again.  The photo above is the final take.  My half-a-suitcase of yarn (plus 4 balls and 6 skeins bought on my travels...).

Active Stash Exploration (according to Jo), is the act of going through what you have, and appreciating it.  I feel I happened upon doing this by accident, but didn't think about it at the time - hearing Jo chat really rang bells with me.  I thoroughly enjoyed sorting my stash, and whilst I felt a small regret about having to leave most of it behind, I certainly brought more than enough...  And it's my favourites, it's the ones I have plans for, and the ones I might *actually* knit over the next 12 months or so!!  It's a 'best of stash' compilation, if ever there was one.

I realise all the labels aren't visible, but the pile includes Dye For Yarn silk, Eden Cottage Titus, Baa Ram Ewe Titus, Unicorn Tails from MadelineTosh (gifted to me by the beautiful Lauren @walkyouhome), Rainbow Heirloom, Skein Queen, La Bien Aimee, some glorious yarn from Iona where I went with my mummy before I left Scotland, some handspun, Triskellion, and lots of 'souvenir' yarn from my driving around NZ.

Currently, I'm seaming together something special for a wonderful collaboration with Clare (@knitsharelove).  This wee project is extremely exciting and I can't wait to share it with you!!  For the time being, I'll share this little sneak preview with you :D

 

 This magnificent shade was created by Helen (@thewoolkitchen), and as far as I understand, she has quite an exciting shop update coming tomorrow with lots of one-of-a-kind skeins!!  Due to moving countries I'm not currently able to indulge, but will definitely be sending someone with a shopping list to her stand at Edinburgh Yarn Festival!

What are you currently knitting?  Have you taken a new approach to your stashing recently?

Edinburgh Yarn Festival 2016

Once again, Edinburgh Yarn Festival was incredible.

I'll try not to gush too much about all the beautiful, intricate and amazing items I spotted - so, as you read this, just keep a general feeling of yarny awe in the back of your mind to create the best sort of woolly mental atmosphere. 

As with last year, the Edinburgh Yarn Festival was held in the Edinburgh Corn Exchange.  It's a great venue, and was a pleasure to visit again.  

I trundled through from Glasgow in my little yellow car with a few friends, arriving at 09:50 for doors at 10am, and miraculously found a nice wee parking space across the road from the main entrance.  It was so good that Pip had doubts about whether I had parked illegally - I definitely wasn't, but the lack of a ticket on the car when I returned at 5pm confirmed my wondeful parking luck.

 

First stop - coffee.  The EYF entrance hall is lined with stalls and coffee.  There was some sort of crazy order in which to ask for/buy/pick up coffee so I was rather confused for a while, though blame that on the decaffienated state in which I stared my day.

Now, I entered EYF quite tired and with an idea of what I wanted before I started.  I thought this might save my bank account.  It sort of did and sort of didn't.  My aim was to buy things I can't usually get elsewhere, so let's see if I stuck to that :p

On one hand, I have yarn which I have intended projects for, each with a lovely bag, and the combination of which I adore.  On the other, good intentions do not make anything cheaper.

In the top picture, is two skeins from La Bien Aimee - this was a stall I had wanted to visit because I've never smooshed this yarn before!  As per another promise to myself, I'd only buy a minimum of two skeins which are either the same or matchymatchy - no more one skein 4-ply stashes for me. 

I've yet to decide but these two glorious merino singles 4-ply skeins are destined for a summer top or cowl, I'm sure they'll let me know once they've been knit into swatches.  

And the pouch underneath?  The glorious, herrinbone tweed, pocket of sheer perfection?  It's a little project bag from Woollenflower, whom I adore.  I've been eyeing these little bags and hoping quite a lot for a herringbone one, so when I spied this lying on the table I couldn't help myself.  

 As I say, everything I bought this year appears to be a complete project (bag included).  So second purchase was from Kettle Yarn.  Linda has recently released a new line of yarn named Baskerville, which is 60% exmoor blueface, 25% gotland and 15% silk.  As will all yarns in the collection, quality is guaranteed, and I'll admit I'm very curious about the process of indigo dyeing!  

Linda was lovely, and whilst I was heading to her looking for some Baskerville (because this purchase was planned!!), I also spotted this incredibly cute little forrest cabin pouch, and picked that up too.  

Next, I popped into the Easyknits stall and was caught unawares by some 'Mochoo' - mohair.  Who knew I liked this, because I didnt?!  Though I'll admit, I left this behind initially as I had no plans for it - look how good I was being!

Jess of Ginger Twist Studio, an adorable little yarn shop in Edinburgh, was always a joy to see, as ever.  Her energy is infectious and after several moments squeeing over my favourite yarn (the Splendour 4ply 50/50 silk blend in the Hocus Pocus colourway - have a look at my project page on Rav and you'll soon see what I mean), I ended up with two more skeins of the stuff and a round trip back to Easyknitter to pick up that mohair.  A plan was born - I was going to knit a boxy with 4-ply splendour and lace mohair held together on 5.5mm needles.  It is squeeful and I terrified to admit, but since then (5 days ago), I have finished and am wearing my boxy.  I will devote a separate post to it, as it is amazing.  My wrists hurt. 

I met several amazing people throughout the day, and will no doubt forget to list some, so I won't name you all! 

Bumped into several of my facourite podcasters: Louise of Caithness Craft, Louise of Knit British, Jo of Shinybees to name a few!  I had a lovely long chat to them whilst hosting my little pop-up stall in the podcast lounge, which was lovely. 

Last, but obviously not least, I returned to La Bien Aimee for a cardigan quantity of this yarn...



The dates for EYF 2017 have even already been released!  It'll be the Corn Exchange again, on 10th / 11th of March.

What did you purchase?  Did you miss EYF - what did you do instead??

Tea-riffic Night Out

I can only apologise for title-punning, but I'm really rather excited about an upcoming event which I wanted to share with you!!

Pictures (c) Clare Devine

Last year, Clare Devine launched a 'Tea Collection' containing several yummy hats.  This autumn she plans to complete the collection with some new hats, which are created in beautiful yarn (as always) hand-dyed by Jess of Ginger Twist Studio in Edinburgh.  

The pair are hosting a Tea Party at Pekoe Tea in Edinburgh.  It'll apparently involve tea, tea cocktails(?!) and nibbles.  The owner of Pekoe tea will be telling everyone about the tea, where it comes from, interesting things etc.  Yarn wise, there'll be lots of hat samples, yarns and patterns to play with!

There are two options to attend, the 'with yarn and patterns & baggie' version, and the tea only version.  I'm tempted to tell you not to be mad and that the second isn't a real option, but in the spirit of equal chances and all that, the two tickets are as follows:

Without Yarn:

 “Tea Tasting Experience” (or a Tea Cocktail of your choice) and plenty of chance to chat to Jon about the magical world of tea.

With Yarn:

• Your choice of pattern from The Tea Collection (or another of Clares patterns if you have it already)
• A fabulous skein of yarn from Ginger’s Hand Dyed to knit your very own “Tea Hat” - you can read more about the skeins and colours available over on Clares blog.
• A Neighbourhood Sheep Society tote bag

The Tea is between 7 and 9pm on the 17th of October, and tickets are available via the Ginger Twist website.   If you'd like more details about the event you can find a lovely blog post by Clare. 

I'll need to make sure I clear the needles before the middle of October...  

Is anyone else going??

Many Knitted Things

I haven't had much knitting to show you lately, because it's all supposed to be secret!  I've also got to get a move on, because it's all supposed to be out soon.  Since I can't show you exactly what I'm knitting, perhaps I can bleat on about the yarn a little :D  

Above, in glorious orange, is Malabrigo Rios, which is a superwash DK, in colourway 'sunset'.  It's very soft, very shiny, very smooshy.  There's ~190m per skein, and it is listed on Ravelry as a worsted weight yarn.  Currently I'm knitting it on 4mm needles and it's making quite a nice fabric in stockinette.  It's ~£11 per skein so doesn't break the bank, and is 100% superwash merino wool. 

Below is The Knitting Goddess Britsock - it's so soft!  The pattern for this yarn will be appearing around March, so quite a wee wait, but I can promise it'll be worth it (and well worth getting the yarn too...).  This is 400m per skein, made up of 40% BFL, 20% wensleydale, 20% nylon & 20% alpaca.  It's high-twist to make it ideal for socks, and comes in some lovely hand-dyed shades.  It's £15.50 from the Knitting Goddess website, which seems very reasonable for such a yummy hand-dyed skein. 

More even than knitting (shock horror), I've had quite a lot of fun putting the photos together.  There was a post recently on the A Playful Day blog about taking time to enjoy taking photos, which I can definitely agree with!

What have you been knitting lately?

For more sneaky peeks and snippets of yarn I'm currently using, I tend to pop projects onto Ravelry under something conveniently ambiguous such as 'secret socks' or 'coming soon cardigan'. 

At the moment I also have a couple of test knits on the go for an upcoming collection, there's a shawl, cardigan, and two hats.  Do get in touch at owlprintpanda@gmail.com if you'd be interested in any of these:

Hat: 1/2 x skein DK
Hat: 1 x skein Worsted
Shawl: 150g 4-ply
Cardigan: approx. 300-400g DK

Also this week, I've started a postgraduate diploma in Medical Education!  Quite looking forward to being a 'student' again, not least for the 15% discount at Office.  It's a distance learning course from Dundee (though maybe I'll need to find an excuse to make it less 'distance' and pop into Fluph more often).  If you've never been to Fluph, I'd definitely recommend a visit.

We're also ALMOST over the flat-upheaval, and the only person we're waiting on is the tiler!!  The kitchen is done, the new shower is done, I've painted all of the windows and doors and cleaned all of the flat (boy helped yesterday, very much appreciated help).  We'd be tempted to leave the plaster bare but unfortunately it only covers one wall and some choice hole repairs so we'll also have to get choosing some paint!


So what are you up to?  Exciting weekend plans?  Much knitting?  No knitting at all?

 

Inspired by: Rainbow Heirloom

Rainbow Heirloom yarn is dyed by Emily Wessel (the lady who brought you half of Tin Can Knits) & it is glorious.  I'm particularly excited, though, because Rainbow Heirloom has launched a yarn club.

It's called the Nostalgia club; inspired by fond memories and important moments.  The Tin Can Knits books are among my favourite, and it's down to the little details - the pretty family photos, the well thought out inspiration essays and the simple yet very pretty knits that the pair produce each and every time.  For the same reasons, this club has really grabbed my attention. 

Every time I attend a yarn show at which Rainbow Heirloom has a stall, I melt at all the brilliant colours.  This time, as they're accompanied by stories, I simply couldn't resist having a good look.   Each month is a unique colour, on a different base - so lets you try lots of different kinds of Rainbow Heirloom yarn!

If you're signing up before the end of June for the whole 9 month club, it's 20% less than you'll be paying later, so something to think about :p 

Junes yarn is already here - meet Verdant DK merino.  It is LUSH, I can almost feel the forresty places used inspiration for this one.  The other thing I find appealing about RH yarn is that all of their one-off 'experiment' yarns are also for sale in the shop, so you can find truly wonderful one of a kind colourways floating around in amongst the reproducibles.   

Last month I listened to Emily talking on the Shinybees podcast, about her yarn journey and how she began designing patterns.  It was all very interesting, and such a pleasant chat.  You can hear how much she adores creating beautiful yet functional garments and accessories from yarn, & I suppose that's why her knitting patterns always look so wonderfully simple yet interesting.

In my own patterns I often aim for the 'pretty yet practical' look, and sometimes worry that I'll never quite get there!  Each new pattern is a wonderful experience but also carries all the innate stresses which probably cross the minds of most knitting designers.  Will people like it?  Is it clear & concise? I hope it fits the way it's supposed to!  And a million, million other thoughts.   

But what's to gain if it's too easy, eh?!  Maybe there'll just have to be a little creative venture with some of this yarn in future :p

The yarn story aspect really appeals to be because of my love of a good tale!  My happiest knitting is spent listening to audiobooks.  

Most recently, I've been listening to Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch.  It's about a London copper who discovers magic whilst trying to fight crime.  Yes, yes, I realise this sounds ridiculous, but it's really good!  This is the 5th book in the series & I'm hooked.  Also, I ADORE who they've cast to read the story for the audiobook.  I read the first book whilst on holiday a couple of years ago, and have listened to the next 4 on audiobook.  The directors have completely captured who the main character is.  The narrator just sounds exactly as I had imagined the main character to sound; accent, inflections, sarcastic tone and all.  I hope I never see a picture, because I've decided what he looks like in my head and don't want that taken away!

What yarn have you been coveting recently?  Do you have any good book recommendations for me?!

'Inspired by' is a new blog section, in which I'll try to feature a yarn or designer once a month who really inspires me to knit & design.   Who do you feel inspired by?

A Protracted Yarn Hunt & A Trip To London

With both myself & my partner working in jobs where our annual leave is allocated, it can often be difficult to arrange breaks away together.  This time we didn't manage so, following a weekend in London volunteering at the London marathon, I continued my week off work with trips to several wonderful yarn shops.

my (very restrained) haul

By recommendation (and due to limited time), I visited two yarn shops in London.  The first was Loop.  This was a beautifully appointed, two storey shop on a very sweet street.  It's filled from top to bottom with shelves upon shelves of beautifully curated yarn.

Downstairs was filled with yarn, accessories & a beautiful window.  The button collection was adorable, and sat alongside threads & knitting accoutrements.  Squeezing up the tiny back staircase, you emerge into what looks like a yarn-collectors living room.  There's a large dining table covered in all kinds of yarn books, wool-filled shelving around the walls.  Over by the window, a cute little couch beside which stands a very well dressed mannequin sporting the sous-sous sweater.  I became very excited when I spotted a little pile of 'dyed for loop' angora/wool, which is the little yellow cake of yarn I ended up leaving with (along with a handful of wooden duck buttons!).

Loop upstairs

Loop window

Loop London

Second, was Wild & Woolly.  This little shop was incredibly welcoming, & I spent a very happy morning having a good nosey at all of the yarn!  There's a great range, including a beautiful 100% linen yarn (I think there's something similar at Ginger Twist now, too).   The shop displays some beautiful samples, & has a great range of classes which you can browse on the website. 

There were some brilliant shelves of travelknitter yarn, & I simply had to leave with some.  Orange, of course.  I'm beginning to wonder if I should've bought two for a nice squishy shawl, but there we go, I'm sure I'll find a use for it :D

Wild & Wooly samples

Wonderful display at Wild & Wooly

Also!  You can now buy my stitch markers at Wild and Wooly!  She now has beautiful denim project bags, which I am *very* tempted to make a return trip for one day.  If you can't make it there, the markers are still available in my etsy shop. 

the buttons & yellow yarn from loop, travelknitter from wild & woolly, & bag from fluph

Around marathon-ing & yarn-ing, we managed some general wandering around London, & decided to visit the site of the Olympics. This red fiasco is some sort of giant olympic tower construction with upside-down mirrors at the top.  It was a dreary day so no spectacular photos from the top, but the boyfolk couldn't resist interfering with the metalwork.

On the morning I visited Wild & Woolly, I travelled with the boy (man? boyman? partner? 26 yo companion?) to his station on the marathon trail, then left in an endeavour to find myself somewhere to sit with a coffee & a bit of knitting before I headed on a yarn trip.

Being very early, everywhere was closed, my phone was dead, I walked for miles, they started shutting the roads, I still couldn't find coffee, I needed to pee, the one place I did find was full *deep breath* - long ramble short, I wedged myself into a little seat in the window of a tiny coffee place & bought a coffee (mainly to use the facilities) only to discover that the coffee was great and that I had positioned myself right on the edge of the race road, as I realised once wheelchairs started whizzing past. 

Croissants were also 40p.  Really couldn't complain.  I'm a bit of a worrier.

Having not learned any sort of lesson, I then proceeded to tweet about how lost I may or may not be on my way to the yarn shop.  I did get there in the end (as evidenced by yarn purchases). 

 

 

The marathon really is such an undertaking, the sheer amount of people flocking to the race route in the morning is enormous.  Each mile there's a first aid station with lots of staff, police along the whole route, volunteers pointing onlookers to mile markers as they desperately search for spots to wave from somewhere vaguely matching where they had discussed being in pre-race waving-to-runners planning.   Volunteers in all of the subway, train & bus stations.  Marathon t-shirts everywhere. 

Outwith the ridiculous hustle & bustle of London, I visited Leona at Fluph in Dundee! Leona is an absolute gem, & I ended up spending several happy hours chatting & eating pastry from the local bakers.  Her shop is lovely, her puppy dogs very sweet & her friends who popped in were amazing too!  Apparently she has a trunk-show event happening on Wednesday the 27th with Yarns from the Plain, which should be interesting, if any of you live closer.

 

As an aside, I spent a wee bit of time watching Craftsy classes during my time off, and there's currently a sale on the classes during this bank holiday weekend.  I've found them pretty useful, and they might be worth a nosey :)

 

Did you visit london for the marathon?  Or have you been to any great yarny places recently?  DO share :p

 

Glorious Gradients Roundup

 

Recently I've found I just can't get enough of gradient yarns. 

1. Knitting Goddess - I first found these beautiful little packs of yarn at YarnDale last year.  Composed of 75% superwash british wool, 25% nylon, they'll suit most projects.  Pictured above, these packs come in sets of seven 10g mini-skeins, each a slightly different shade from the last. I've split each in half because I plan to knit little mittens out of this set, and they're knitting up wonderfully.

2. Namolio - these cakes were found at a yarn festival, but Namolio also has an online shop.  The yarn is simply stated as 'wool', so I'm not entirely sure how it'll knit up or behave.  The colour changes are nice & gradual, and the yarn does feel nice - I imagine it'll soften even more with washing.  It's approximately 4-ply / DK, and I do look forward to knitting with it, though haven't found a perfect project yet!

3. EasyKnits Sushi Rolls - I adore these.  My roll is in the Peach Pie colourway.  These sock blanks are dyed symmetrically by Jon of easyknits, and unravel as you knit.  I'm planning on making some socks, knitting from both ends toward the middle to make use of as much of this yarn as I can, would be a shame if any of it went to waste! 

4. Kismet Gradient Packs - these are big packs!  They're made up of 5 skeins of 50g each, meaning you can make a significant project out of these little beauties and composed of superwash merino & nylon, so would suit a range of projects.  

I've used Kismet yarn recently in my Talavera pattern published in this quarters Pom Pom Magazine, and it was a delight to knit with.  The t-rex colourway is SO GREEN, the depth and consistency of colour is absolutely marvellous.  so a set of these pretties might just have to find their way to me too.

 

5. Wollelfe - having never ordered from Wollelfe myself I can't describe the yarn, but they do look pretty. My favourite from the etsy shop is this 'Granny Green', which would make a beautiful summer shawlette.  Most of these gradients are in superwash merino but there are some other fibre types available. 

6. Countess Ablaze has some amazing sock rolls, but unfortunately they disappear in minutes, so I can't find you a pretty picture :(  Her website is here regardless - you can sign up to her newletter to find out when the shop will be restocked.  

7. Natali Stewart -  whose stall I noticed at the Edinburgh Yarn Festival.  It was filled with beautiful silks, and the cakes are no exception.  Being silk they aren't cheap, but most are also laceweight so will go a long way.  I'm very tempted to move into the realm of laceweight knitting just to make use of a yarn like this one. 

 

8. Saras Texture Craft - last but not least, I've knit with this lovely yarn before too, and it made a yummy pair of socks.  Sara has now begun dyeing gradient cakes, and they're good.  

 

As for fibre?  I adore the gradient fibre from Hilltop Katie.  For example, this gorgeous braid, which I spoke about in this previous blog post, and am spinning up today (it's currently soaking, but I'll keep you updated!). 

What's your favourite gradient yarn?  Have you managed to knit anything with it yet or is it still sitting as a squishing ball on your desk?

A Trip To Gingers

 

It should seem like a bit of a dream to nestle in amongst all of this glorious yarn, but it's a very real possibility at Ginger Twist Studio in Edinburgh.

Recently, I was very flattered to be asked if I'd like to take part in 'Designer of the Month' at Ginger Twist Studio - of course, I said yes; resulting in a wonderful day spent knitting, drinking tea, chatting to some amazing ladies who popped in for a wee visit, and a serious amount of yarn smooshing. 

As some of you know, though most of you don't, I lived in Edinburgh for 5 years whilst attending university.  Edinburgh is beautiful; it is unique, cobbled, romantic, surprising, massive yet tiny, comforting and awe-inspiring in equal measure.  And, as that train pulled into Waverly train station, a ridiculous sense of joy permeated my being.  You may think, at this point, I'm being melodramatic.  I can assure you, I was genuinely overwhelmed (+/- having some sort of location crisis). 

I love Glasgow as well, but for such very different reasons.  It's huge, filled with music venues & art exhibitions, has a character which can't quite be defined and never fails to surprise me in some way or other.  You CAN be in love with two cities at once.

Jess' store is adorable; perfectly appointed for it's purpose.  Along one wall hangs hand-dyed yarn of all types of colours & fibres.  They're hung lengthways rather than skeined to give a better appreciation of colour and texture, creating a dream-like wooly waterfall wtretching wall to wall.    Along the other rests balls of commercial yarns, ripe for picking.  Stitch markers and knitting accessories are shelved neatly above the yarns, below rows of knitted items Jess has lovingly put together herself.   The smell is one of fibre & tea - cinnamon, this morning.

Jess herself is delightful, welcoming and entertaining, and made me feel right at home.  Even little Fox was quite at home with his cup of tea.

Whilst we chatted, some of my designs were on display around the shop, including the newest addition - Braeriach socks (here on Rav), knit from Jess' own hand-dyed yarn.  Her mannequin was also very fetching in the Ashton Lane beaded circular shawlette & the Ardence Scarf. 

 

Of course, I didn't leave empty handed and now have two new sets of needles and a ball of yarn to show for my visit...

Apart from in her gorgous little shop, you'll find Jess at the Edinburgh Yarn Festival this March, too. 

Have you been yarn shopping lately?  What did you buy?  I'm desperate to get knitting with this lovely skein from GTS!

Guest Post: Don't Be Afraid of Bold Colour Mixes by Sara Millis

This week we have a guest post from the lovely Sara, whose gorgeous yarn is also up for grabs for you to win over here!  

Hi, My name is Sara and I run an indie dye business called Sara’s Texture Crafts. I am delighted to have been invited to write a short piece for Amanda on her lovely blog OwlPrintPanda. I hope you enjoy what I have written and if you have any questions, please ask.

A very brief bit about me… I studied fashion business at the London College of Fashion, which lead to my working for a number of British Fashion Designers and a few Textile houses. It was here that I became drawn to wool as a fibre and so Sara’s Texture Crafts was born. I started out supplying felt makers, which led to learning to spin and weave so that I could extend my ranges. Recently my yarn range has taken off and so I‘m learning lots of different dye techniques to provide interesting colourways for you to knit with too.

So while thinking about what I wanted to write about, I was also planning my yarn giveaway with Amanda and so it seemed only right to concentrate my efforts on one of the questions I am most often asked by yarn buyers at shows… How does that (yarn colourway) knit up?

As an indie dyer I have probably close to 65/70 colours for yarn alone; available in variegated, semi solids, two tone, gradients and colour blocks… with some new ideas on the way. So it is impossible to swatch every colourway and display it on my stall clearly. I try to work on swatching ideas from each main dye technique instead, so you can see how an example of that might look.

Now given that this is a big subject with lots of dye techniques to cover, I thought it best to start us off with my tips for looking at bold colour mixes in variegated yarn.

I find occasionally that buyers shy away from bright bold mixes in variegated yarns, especially if they haven’t knitted something similar before.

I am here to say… Don’t be afraid of bold colour mixes!

Let me first show you an example from my range… colour Rosemoor (inspired by RHS Rosemoor Gardens).

Rosemoor is made up of bright pinks, greens and a mix of those to make teals. It can be quite a shock to see it in the skein like that… it’s very bright and bold.

When you start knitting with Rosemoor you can immediately see that this particular mix softens down.

From a distance the finished project culminates into a fabric that reminds you much more of the swaying sprays of flora in a garden on a summer’s day (as intended in this case) and less like the bold pop art interpretation that the intensity of the skein originally gave off.

Let’s think about that for a minute… going back to that beautiful garden on the summer’s day… from a distance a flower bed seems blended and harmonious, but up close in actuality the flowers are bold and unforgiving in their colour to attract insects. It’s the planting design that gives that blended feel from a distance.

This is the same with variegated yarns… They are designed so that bright skeins can often be more muted and blended in the knitted fabric.

It is the art of diffusion.

This is how I design my variegated colourways… to allow the colours to blend in a harmonious way.

So don’t be afraid of bold colour mixes!

Here are some Tips to Consider When Buying Variegated Yarns;

·       View the yarns in natural light where possible. This will help you see clearly how the colours look and if they might suit you. On-line shops will do their best to show you a good representation of those colours on their website, if you aren’t sure about colour tones then ask before you buy.

·       Ask to see a sample of that dye technique. Stall holders and shop owners do try their best to show examples. Depending on the base the example is knitted in, compared to the yarn you are looking to buy they will be able to give you some guidance.

·       Remember; the more colours in the yarn then the smaller the number of stitches each colour will travel across in your knitted row, allowing for more colours per row and creating a more diffused ‘space dye’ effect. Generally dyers seem to produce variegated skeins with 3-5 different colours, or blended colours they have chosen to work together as a harmonious knitted effect.

Tips on Pattern and Stitch Choice for Variegated Yarns;

·       Experiment with smaller accessories projects. If you aren’t used to such bright colours, then play with knitting socks and mitts to start with… bold pops of colour can really make an outfit stand out. If you are unsure of such bold colour choices, then knitting garments that sit away from your face will help you learn to get used to their intensity and also hide the colour choices that didn’t quite work for you.

·       Experiment with sock blankets and home décor. A skein of variegated yarn would make a wonderful addition to hearts in Amanda’s Heart Garland pattern. Equally it would break up solid shading in sock blankets too. This is a great way to use bursts of colour… you might find an affinity with variegated yarns through working projects like this.

·       Keep stitch choice simple. Simple stitch patterns, like a stockinette, garter or slip stitch will make the best of the colour… but remember intricate lace will get lost in bold colour variation.

Tips on Wearing Variegated Yarns;

·       Think Simple. Wear variegated yarns against softer or neutral shades to help soften the colours further and wear it against a black or charcoal to intensify the colour.

·       Print or not to print. Paired with simple colours and shapes the variegated yarn becomes the star of your outfit… but pair it with a very clever print and it will fade the intensity of your knit and give you a diffused colour element to compliment the colours in the print.

From here I plan to take this further in one of my new Tutorial Series over on my blog Crafts of Texture. Pop over if you’d like to learn more.

I hope you have found this useful… Happy Knitting and thanks for having me!

Sara x