2012 Yarn & Fiber Colors – Weeks 25 & 26

Aloha everyone and Happy Summer!

Here are the colors for weeks 25 and 26. This time we start off in New Zealand for some oldies but goodies.

QUEEN’S WHARF at NIGHT in superwash merino/nylon fingering yarn and merino/silk roving:

On another part of Wellington comes the inspiration for LOVE SHACK in sw merino lace yarn, merino/bamboo roving and merino/nylon/stellina fingering yarn:

Traveling across the Pacific, we make a quick stop in Hawaii to watch a HONU CROSSING. This was inspired by an image that a fellow spinner posted on Ravelry.com and she thought it would be a fun colorway for me to recreate in wool.

This is her version in merino/bamboo:

And a couple more I couldn’t resist dyeing up in polwarth roving and merino/tencel fingering yarn:

And lastly we head farther east and south to beautiful Asheville, NC for another oldie, MORNING AT BILTMORE INN in sw merino/cashmere/nylon fingering yarn and BFL/silk roving:

enjoy!

2012 Yarn & Fiber Colors – Weeks 19 & 20

Aloha! These past 2 weeks have flown by and I’ve got some some fun stuff to share.

This week I received the May 2012 Knitpicks.com catalog and sat on the couch next to the hubby one night leafing through the pages when I stopped and saw . . . they added my photo to their catalog! Holy Schnikes! Really?? Here’s page 15 with my Hawaiian Tattoo Socks pattern being the first one on the second row. And they put me next to Camille Chang’s pattern (for me, that’s like being next to Picasso) which is just an honor to be on the same page. Yes, Mom, I’ll get a copy of the catalog for you 🙂

And the colors for weeks 19 and 20 are oldies, but goodies – starting with BEACH UMBRELLA PASTEL in Falkand British Merino/tencel lace yarn and Polwarth roving:

More purples with LAVENDER FIELDS in 80/20 Merino/Silk roving, superwash Merino/nylon fingering yarn and Cashmere/Merino/nylon fingering yarn:

This colorway is a somewhat new one and brings back fond memories of a mid-afternoon snack. This is PRETZELS & BEER in English Shetland roving and superwash Merino/nylon fingering yarn:

The last two colorways come from my favorite place on earth, Hawaii. This is LANIKAI in Cashmere/Merino/nylon fingering yarn and Merino/tencel roving:

And from the island of Kauai, WAILUA FALLS in Mixed BFL/Silk roving and superwash Merino/nylon fingering yarn:

This weekend I’m participating in a virtual Spin-In where a bunch of us all over the US are taking the weekend to spin as much we can and post photos of our work. We are also doing a yarn swap of our handspun yarn – how fun! I was already working on some cormo yarn prior to the Spin-In so I had to finish that first. Here are the results so far.

This is 3.83 oz of Cormo roving | 32 WPI (lace weight) | 606 yds | 2 ply

After plying that, I started on my first real piece for the weekend. This is from my very first drum carded batt using gray merino wool and peach-pink merino/silk wool:

off for more spinning! enjoy!

2012 Yarn & Fiber Colors – Weeks 17 & 18

Aloha Everyone!

Thanks to all to took advantage of my MAYDAY sale last week 🙂 I was able to clear out a bunch of yarn and wool to make room for new wool lines. Please check the shoppe shortly for new listings.

Here the the colors for Weeks 17 & 18.

A new colorway, COFFEE BEAN & TEA LEAF, named for my favorite mainland coffee shop. This is superwash merino lace yarn and superwash merino/nylon wool.

Another new colorway, EIFFEL AT NIGHT. I took this photo just before we rode the elevator to the platform for a spectacular view of Paris. This is superwash merino fingering yarn and 21.5m merino wool roving.

PURPLE OVERLAY, another new colorway, is based on one of my first experiments with dyeing. I, like most dyers, started with kool-aid and food coloring and dyed up a skein with electric orange, green and blue. This was so bright that I could hardly knit without wearing sunglasses! So, I frogged my knitting, wound the yarn back into a skein and overdyed with a medium purple and it came out similar to this. (As an aside, I ended up knitting myself a pair of socks with the overdyed yarn and love them!)

In honor of the coming summer, this is PEACH COBBLER in merino/silk lace yarn and BFL/silk wool.

I did a bit of spinning and spun up about 200 yds of fingering weight targhee yarn. CALICO, named for the old ‘ghost’ mining town in the California desert is just under 2 oz.

enjoy!

Yarn & Fiber Colors for Weeks 43-44

I’m actually ahead of the weekend for once and thought I’d share the latest dye session results. I have a couple new colorways that I’m excited about!! You can find these on the shoppe.

So, this summer/fall I was commissioned to re-create some colorways in wool based on a company logo or customer photo. I was so thrilled about the prospect to creating such pieces which was also accompanied by the occasional “GASP! Can I really do this?”. So I pondered on the images supplied to me, got my dyes out and went to work . . . and they came out lovely. (I’ll post these after I get permission from the logo/photo owners).

That got me thinking – maybe I should do a colorway for ALOHABLU! Then the pressure really started because I do LOVE my logo and love the person who designed it even more, my artist hubby. I wanted to make sure I did his artwork justice and for the first time since I started dyeing yarn for the shoppe, I actually created one skein for me.

This is ALOHABLU, in Falkland British Superwash Merino/Tencel fingering yarn:

based on my pineapple logo

This version is available on the shoppe, whilst the Merino/Bamboo version is mine.

Another new colorway is STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE, after my childhood dolly who smelled like the dessert and had other fragrant friends with similar scents and names.

Since we’re getting close to the THANKSGIVING holiday, I created some in yarn and wool.

Here’s the yarn version in  superwash BFL/nylon:

Another version of ROMAN CHURCH in superwash merino

PEACH BLUSH in merino/silk lace yarn

MORNING AT BILTMORE INN in merino/nylon/stellina

LAVENDER FIELDS in superwash BFL/nylon

HANALEI in self-striping superwash/merino yarn

A NUTTY SUGGESTION in superwash BFL/nylon yarn

WAIMANALO STORM in superwash merino lace

And VENETIAN THUNDERSTORM in merino/silk lace

Some recent handspun yarns . . .

This is FIREPIT – 64 ct merino wool that I hand-dyed, then blended on my hackle

GRINCH is hand-dyed and hand-spun Corriedale

KAANAPALI BEACH is hand-dyed and hand-spun merino/silk

and lastly, the wool rovings

AVALON is merino/bamboo/nylon

BLOOD ORANGES in superwash merino

LAVENDER FIELDS in merino/tencel

A blue-ish version of MORNING AT BILTMORE INN in merino/alpaca/silk

PEACH COBBLER in Colonial wool

and THANKGIVING in merino/tencel

enjoy!

Yarn & Fiber Colors for Weeks 41-42

Aloha! Here are some fun colors for Weeks 41 & 42 🙂

THANKSGIVING is always a fun holiday for us kids growing up. We always look forward to Dad’s turkey, stuffing and fixings. Mom would make candied sweet potatoes while Dad insisted on having cranberry sauce that only he ate! This version of Thanksgiving is a yummy Alpaca/Merino/Silk blend.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, I’m reminded again of a non-tradition Thanksgiving day a few years ago. After visiting King Louis XIV’s palace in the city of Versailles, we walked to a nearby restaurant for lunch and I took a photo of a city street showing the fall trees and surrounding buildings. STREETS OF VERSAILLES in Targhee is a fantastic reminder of that special Thanksgiving in France!

Another vacation photo was the inspiration for SUNSET OVER TITLUS, a BFL/Silk blend. Though we won’t be spending the holiday season in Switzerland, I do think about our trip often and wonder if all sunsets over Mount Titlus are breathtaking. My hunch is yes . . .

A fellow fiber enthusiasts – Peggy S – presented a beautiful photo she took in her home city of Park City, Utah.  Peggy commissioned me to create a custom colorway based on her photo. This is Superwash BFL wool as AUTUMN IN PARK CITY.

I took another pass at MEDIEVAL WALL and it came out with more yellow than the last versions, but it then reminded me of another photo I took of the famous Lucerne wall with yellow leaves covered with snow. This is BFL wool.

Some days the mad scientist (aka colorist) in me goes crazy and I mix a number of different dyes together and see what happens. I mixed some greens and something else and it came out with this beautiful green/teal color. This is MERMAID in corriedale.

ST. PETER’S DOME in South American Wool is named after a photo I took while climbing the stairs to the top of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.

I really love Merino wool and this is a wonderful 64 count roving called FALL HARVEST!

I thought I’d try SUNSET OVER TITLUS in yarn and am thrilled at the outcome. This is a superwash merino/nylon fingering yarn.

I’ve been handspinning more yarn lately and this one is a oatmeal BFL wool base dyed in blues and greens, so the yarn has these subtle hits of color.  This is BEACH ROCKS.

I was also inspired this past week by my KnitPicks Community pals to try my hand at self-striping yarn. I’ve always shied away from trying because it seems too complicated. After much encouragement, I did my first skein yesterday so I’ll post the outcome after it dries. Yay!!

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!

Yarn & Fiber Colors for Weeks 37-38

Happy Fall Season everyone! I can’t believe summer is already over though the weather has been turning out here in LA. It’s a nice change for sure. I haven’t posted too much this week on the shoppe as I’ve been working on custom orders, but here are a few for your viewing pleasure:

This is FALL in merino/bamboo roving:

and in Tweed fingering yarn:

Another colorful creation is PORTOFINO, in merino/silk:

based on a photo I took of this famous town

and  RAINY DAY EIFFEL in luxurious alpaca/merino/silk (gasp!):

enjoy!

Yarn & Fiber Colors for Weeks 35-36

Some weekends I do really great with organizing my time to dye/paint and crank out a good amount of dyed wool. It also helps when the creativity hits me just right. Week 35 was one of those weekends for me and I was able to dye up 11 skeins of yarn 🙂 That was so much fun, and I didn’t even mind the re-skeining (by hand!). Here are some of the colorways:

VIEW FROM FURIGEN in merino/tencel lace:

THANKSGIVING in merino/tencel fingering:

SURF ‘N’ TURF in merino/silk lace weight:

TEQUILA SUNRISE in superwash merino lace weight:

SEA DRAGONS in merino/bamboo fingering:

PEACH COBBLER in merino/nylon/stellina fingering:

MORNING at BILTMORE INN in superwash merino/nylon fingering:

BILTMORE BENCH in superwash merino, fingering:

COMET TRAIL in sparkly merino/silk lace weight:

EIFFEL AT DUSK in superwash merino lace:

HALONA in a tweed fingering:

Some handspun fun . . .

GOLDEN PINEAPPLE in Peruvian wool:

HIEROGLYPHICS in superwash BFL

enjoy!

Yarn & Fiber Colors for Weeks 33-34

Aloha All! Here are my yarns/fibers from weeks 33-34!

This is AHI POKE in superwash merino wool lace weight. The Fiber Fairy (she-who-will-not-be-named) secretly gifted this skein to another fiber enthusiast. How cool is that?

WINDWARD WATERS is a merino/cashmere/nylon blend fingering yarn that reminds me of the waters off Hawaii.(yes, i know, what doesn’t remind me of Hawaii . . . )

AQUA OVERLAY is also a mer/cash/nylon blend. This was dyed with a beautiful bright aqua, then overlayed with black. I love how the aqua bits poke through here and there.

BEACH UMBRELLA is named for all those colorful umbrellas you see on any given day at Waikiki Beach. A lot of the hotels will rent out these large umbrellas to offer a bit of shade to sun worshipers.

A couple versions of RAINY DAY EIFFEL in Falkland British Merino/Tencel lace and a “Sparkle” fingering weight.

More LAVENDER LEMONADE in mer/silk lace and mer/bamboo fingering weight.

And some wool!

This is FALL HARVEST, a South American wool top.

Oh, sigh and WAIMEA CANYON in merino/tencel. Swoon. . .

WAIMANALO STORM in targhee!

PEACH COBBLER in BFL/Silk:

STREETS OF VERSAILLES in merino/silk:

and the inspirational photo taken on a street in Versailles, France

a quick note on this photo, this was taken Thanksgiving Day 2009. we were trying to find a place for lunch and i knew exactly where i wanted to go. since i allow myself only ONE Big Mac sandwich per year, i always wait until i’m someplace special to have it. i made my family have Thanksgiving lunch at the McDonald’s in Versailles and it was the BEST Big Mac i’ve ever had! when i see this photo i actually don’t think of King Louis XIV’s grand palace, but of two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun. . .

SUNSET OVER TITLUS in superwash merino:

and the inspirational photo taken atop Mount Titlus, Engleberg, Switzerland @ 10,000 feet up

SURF ‘N’ TURF in BLF/Alpaca:

and THANKSGIVING, in merino/bamboo:

Also, a couple weeks ago, I found a great site with instructions on how to blend fibers using hand carders so I thought I’d give it a go. I took about 1/2 ounce of merino/silk fiber dyed up in my Ka’anapali colorway and blended them in about 2 passes through the hand carders. I did pull the roving out just as in the website and it worked. Here’s a quick photo of the pulled roving ‘nest’ on top of the original non-blended wool. Fun!

enjoy!

Yarn & Fiber Colors for Week 26

Whew! Summer is here! After a very hot 4th of July weekend with lots of time for dyeing and all things yarny, here are a few colorways for ya:

WATER & MOONBEANS is a handspun yarn made from fiber from 2 etsy artisans. Water is a cashmere/silk blend from CorgiHillFarm, and Moonbeams is a merino/bamboo/silk/sparkle blend that ws part of a “fiber club” shipment from SosaeCaetano. Both were beautiful on their own but together made a beautiful 2-ply yarn.

LAVENDER LEMONADE is named after a drink found at a local vegetarian/vegan restaurant. I must admit at first I was skeptical to try an all-vegetarian place since I am such a carnivore, but this particular restaurant is awesome.  Native Foods is a chain so I would definitely recommend trying their Lavender Lemonade if you have one near you.

This one is a superwash merino/nylon wool roving:

While this one is a merino/bamboo fingering weight yarn:

HAWAIIAN RED DIRT, named for the famous dirt from the island what will never come off your white clothes no matter how hard you try, is a superwash merino lace weight yarn:

LIGURE SUNSET 2 is a Targhee Top roving – so bouncy!! This time around the black dye didn’t break as much as I liked so I added some brown to add more color.

LOVE SHACK is also a superwash merino wool named for a bus stop in Days Bay, Wellington, NZ.

And lastly, AHI POKE, named for one of my favorite Hawaiian dishes of raw tuna fish, onions, seaweed and spices!! Yummmmmers!

This one is a superwash merino wool fingering yarn:

And this one is a Peruvian wool roving:

Wheeeee!! Happy Summer everyone 🙂 Enjoy!