Fearless Fibers Yarn

Back to Knit Talk

I’ve settled back into my routine after my recent vacation followed by the Saga of the Swallowed Partial, and so it’s about time we get back to some knitting and yarn talk!

Let’s begin with a photo of the new Superwash Sock Yarn colorway that I mentioned in a recent post. It’s called Thoroughbred and it’s oh-so-delicious! I love the rich brown tones, with further warmth and visual interest added with touches of sun-kissed, bronzy tan.



I’ve listed the first skein for auction on eBay and will be adding more to my eBay store inventory sometime tomorrow. There will be more listed on Etsy as well, after the first couple of skeins were snatched up within minutes of listing earlier today.

As to knitting news, I’ve been very, very, very slowly progressing on the knee-socks I talked about some weeks ago. I’m now halfway through the second sock, so the end is in sight. I’ll be sure to post a photo when I’m done.

My progress on these socks has been slow partly because of my time off for vacation during which I found no time at all to knit, but also because I’ve been savoring the knitting a bit – dragging it out like the last 50 pages of a good book that you just don’t want to end – because I had no next project firmly in mind and simply couldn’t handle the thought of having nothing at all on the needles!

The good news is that my next project is beginning to take shape in my mind. I suddenly have a burning desire to do some interesting work with colors, but this time using solids and color-charting rather than a variegated handpaint. There are now six 4-ounce skeins – each a different color – of sport weight superwash merino that will become my next sweater project, drying in my workshop. A Fair Isle sweater is beginning to materialize in my mind’s eye. Hmmmm … this should be fun! (Or horribly frustrating, depending on how well it goes!)

As I contemplated this new project, I began to think about the days before I dyed my own yarns and how frustrating I found it to buy multiple solid colors to work together. This frustration arose when I wanted to work with five or six colors but found my LYS lacking in enough variety of colors in any one yarn type to satisfy my needs. Usually, a shop will carry no more than eight to ten colors of any one yarn type. When one has grand visions of complex colorwork, that palette may not provide enough options. Can one really find five or six colors that work well together within a variety of only eight or so? Online options were not much more appealing either because of the variation that can exist in the way colors appear on one’s monitor. That slight variation of color from monitor to the real-thing is not troublesome when dealing with a single color or colorway, but when trying to coordinate multiple shades into a harmonious medley, a small variation can throw the whole plan askew. A shade of red that has more orange than expected can entirely destroy the palette. A blue that is more purple than expected may still be beautiful but may violently clash with another color selected. What is one to do?

I pursued this line of thought while dyeing my own set of six colors for this new project and it suddenly occurred to me that folks might find coordinated sets of semi-solids, such as the set I created for myself, an appealing idea. Imagine the possibilities? A Fair Isle sweater of your own, perhaps. Or how about a number of coordinated and complementary mix and match smaller pieces? What about mixing and mingling the colors using mitered squares or other modular shapes? The possibilities are seemingly endless!

And so, of course, I dyed an extra set of the six colors I’ve chosen for my own next project, which I will add to one of my stores when they’re finished. You can expect to see a photo of them here soon.

I’m so intrigued by this idea that I think I will create a few more color sets and test the waters to see if folks are interested in this. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Does the idea of coordinated sets of this sort intrigue you?

Happy Knitting Everyone!