2013 Yarn & Fiber Colors – Weeks 29-31

Aloha and Happy August! Here are the colors for weeks 29 – 31, available on the shoppe.

I’ll start with an oldie but a goodie: GLACIER BAY in merino/bamboo/nylon roving, sw merino/nylon batt&bump and merino/silk lace yarn.

And the inspirational photo taken in Alaska

CALICO GHOST TOWN in corriedale cross roving and sw merino/nylon fingering yarn.

SUNSET SEA ALASKA in mixed BFL/silk roving and sw merino lace yarn

and the inspirational photo

COOL JEWEL PLAID in black alpaca/silk roving

DARK AVALON in Falkland British merino/nylon fingering yarn

WOLF IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING batt

And a couple more ballet/pointe shoe bags

Lastly, I’m working on a couple spinning projects.

The first is a spindle-spun lace yarn that I started a couple weeks ago. The fiber is merino wool in my FOG colorway that I carded on my drum carder then pulled the wool off as a center-pull bump of roving.

The spindle itself has an interesting story. It is a picasso jasper stone flower top spindle from ZebisisDesigns. In the fall of 2010, I was heartbroken when I hesitated to buy this spindle and it was sold on her shoppe to someone else. Instead I purchased another beautiful spindle from her over the Thanksgiving holiday and when my spindle arrived, this was also in the box as a gift! I literally stared at this amazing gift and could not believe my eyes. Apparently the seller gave everyone who ordered from her during that season an extra spindle. Of all the spindles she could have given me, she gave me the ONE that I really wanted! To this day I’m truly amazed at how it has come to pass that I own this amazing work of art.

The second spinning project I’m trying to finish is plying the last bit of wool from Tour de Fleece. It’s 6.2 ounces of Falkland wool that I spun in a laceweight single and am now Navajo-plying. For you crocheters, N-plying is basically looping the single strand as if making a single crochet and twisting the yarn together to form a 3-ply (strand) yarn. N-plying will give you long sections of the same color, and with 6.2 ounce that I’ve just started I’ll probably be done plying in time for next year’s TdF . . .

Enjoy!

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Yarn & Fiber Colors for Weeks 39-40

Aloha All! We actually had some rain last week and cooler temperatures for a few days. Then it was back to the 80s. This week it’s supposed to hit in the 90s, so so much for Fall weather 🙂

Here are some fun creations for the last couple of weeks.

This is FOG in BFL/Silk

ZION 2 in Targhee

GLACIER BAY in Superwash BFL

GRINCH in Corriedale

WATERMELON AQUA FRESCA in superwash merino fingering yarn

VIEW FROM FURIGEN in Merino/Tencel fingering yarn

FIREPIT in Merino/Bamboo fingering yarn

QUEEN’S WHARF AT NIGHT in Merino/Nylon/Stellina fingering yarn

AHI POKE in Superwash Merino fingering yarn

FOG in Merino/Tencel lace yarn

UBE in handspun Corriedale

HANDSPUN FUN in Greens – small skeins

HANDSPUN FUN in Purple/Reds – small skeins

More to come 🙂 enjoy!

A Room With a View

During a recent trip to Alaska, our cruise ship traveled through Glacier Bay National Park and spent considerable time at the Marjorie Glacier. After  taking photos on deck, we retreated to our room when we realized the captain was turning the ship around so each side of the ship can catch a view. I took this photo of the glacier from our the warmth of our cabin.

(Alaska | August 2010)

I thought this photo would be great color inspiration for wool dyeing and wanted to emulate the different shades of blue. A ROOM WITH A VIEW represents the bright turquoise of the ice, deeper turquoise of the older portions of the glacier and the waters around this massive formation as seen from our room.

Available @ AlohaBlu.Etsy.com

Fog

Every morning while on vacation in Alaska we awoke to beautiful scenery with a layer of fog laying low on the mountains and glaciers and hovering just above the waterline. Though it was probably too overcast for someone who is used to the sun, it breathtakingly serene and a nice way to start the day.

(Alaska | August 2010)

I was inspired by the different shades of green and blue/green and created a colorway based on the photo. FOG is available @ my shoppe.

Glacier Bay

Cruising through Glacier Bay National Park, one can’t help but take as many photos as possible. One of my favorite photos, I particularly love the color of the water and the ripples caused by the ship’s motion and the tiny piece of ice in the lower right hand corner.

(Glacier Bay, Alaska | August 2010)

The colors in this photo are really subtle, but there are shades of teal and gray and I tried to capture these in some fiber I dyed. I named this colorway Glacier Bay.

Alaska Glaciers

A constant fan of our 50th state, Hawaii, this was the first time I have ever visited our 49th state – the breathtaking state of Alaska! I was on a cruise that took us from our launch out of Seattle, to Juneau – Scagway – Ketchikan, Alaska, and a final stop at Victoria, British Columbia.  Truly and trip of a lifetime and after over 1300 photos, here are a few to share.

This first photo is during a river raft tour on the Mendenhall River in Juneau.

Cruising through Glacier Bay National Park, we stopped at the Marjorie Glacier, which had a piece of ice break off right in front of us!

The Johns Hopkins Glacier:

There are hundreds more and I’ll post a little at a time. It was quite cold overall, but we had a lovely time.

(Alaska, USA | August 2010)