These are the unclaimed yarns from the collection shown below. They have now been added to the Blog Reader Specials page:
Happy Monday all around!
I woke to discover it was 31º outside and 48º inside. The central heating unit is “finicky” at the worst times, but I turned on both space heaters and it is now about 58º inside, so it’s getting better. But this is nothing compared to what others are dealing with in other parts of the country, so I’ll keep my complaints to a dull roar. <*grin*>
Moving on to the yarns. I always enjoy playing with color, but last night’s dye session was particularly fun. No Twinset was made with dye straight from the manufacturer’s jar. Between last week’s leftovers (most of which were blended in the jars) and this weeks new dyes, every Twinset has multiple dyes applied; some were splattered, but several were blended in the dipping bowl and appear quite solid.
One of the thing that intrigued me about dyeing yarns was the way indie dyers could create small batches of bright multi-colored yarns. Big commercial mills have to plan their palettes and color schemes months or years in advance, often consulting color experts and fashion trend planners, and then manufacturing thousands of the same skeins over and over. I remember many years ago a particular custom colorway in memory of a beloved member of the old KnitList — there were 7 shades of purples, blues, violets, plus teal, and over 6 dozen skeins were created as custom orders. I swore I would retire the “Aunt Gail” colorway. I shudder to imagine creating hundreds or even thousands of the same thing. Not for me.
Indie dyers could change of their own accord and work in small batches. Much of my dye work was finding various ways to apply multiple colors, like segmented, splattered, or overdyed. I tried for years to create solid colors and only just recently figured out how to get solids that weren’t overly splotchy, which makes me quite happy. But taking dye powder straight from the manufacturer’s jar and putting it onto yarn isn’t exciting; after all, there is a limited number of dyes from the manufacturer.
So in the coming months I plan to spend at least part of my dyeing energies into creating unique solid colors by blending in different ways. I am pretty sure the folks at Pantone have identified and named far more colors than I will ever create, and they have formulas and recipes for all of them. But I want to create my own colors, one at a time. I will still make multi-colored yarns as well, of course, but now that I am close to perfecting my technique for dyeing solids in little operation, I want to apply that to creating unique solids one Twinset at a time. At least, for the Blog Reader Specials.
In this week’s collection, I can’t identify a single Twinset that doesn’t please me, but I am particularly tickled with the Teal and Brilliant Blue (Twinset #9-10) and also the Red and Brown (Twinset #21-22), which reminds me of a brick red. I can think of several patterns to make “brickwork” with this red and a skein of gray to act as the mortar. If nobody claims the reds I just might have to make a bias brickwork scarf. Both of these Twinsets seem well saturated. I didn’t use any straight purple dye this week, so all the various purples you see are blended reds and blues. I also notice that my Silver Gray sometimes seems to have a pinkish cast.
All of these are on Phydlbitz Sock (75/25 Superwash Corriedale/Nylon, 430 yards each) and will be $27.50 after tomorrow. For Monday and Tuesday, you may claim any matching Twinset for just $50.00.
To claim the ones you want, just send me an email with your numbered selection. I’ll mark your request off from the Available Yarns tally chart (below) so others can see what remains available when they visit here later.
Available Yarns:
Rack 1 – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Rack 2 – 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
Don’t need more yarn, but want to help support my work?
You can always Buy Me A Coffee.
