What’s up in the studio
I have been working on lots of new handpainted colourways on our bulky weight single ply. I dye three skeins of yarn at a time and mostly I dye in groups of three colours. I usually start with two colours on opposite sides of the colour wheel (complimentary colours) and then the third is the intermediary. Sometimes this third colour literally gets placed in between the other two and sometimes it acts as a background colour (I add the dye to the bath and stir it around before adding the yarn). And sometimes I add it at the end as an overall swish effect or as little highlight spot-sprinkles.
Also in the studio at the moment: I’m almost done washing a gorgeous black Romney fleece that I bought from a neighbour last year. It is huge and soft. Not especially crimpy but I think it will card up beautifully to create a gorgeous woolen hand spun yarn. I’m allso considering making some hand carded batts for sale, possibly blended with silk. I enjoy washing fleece and I don’t mind carding but picking (pulling apart the fibres after washing and before carding) is extremely slow.
I am trying out a first pair of knitted and felted slippers. I have always wanted felted slippers. It just seems like the perfect warm tough material to have on your feet. So far, I’m two thirds of the way done knitting the first slipper. In this pattern, you knit the slipper, add decoration, felt them together and then stretch onto the foot of the intended wearer. I’m a bit worried that the two won’t be quite the same, though I did use a row counter to keep track!
I am also working on several garden design projects at the moment. I have a garden design and installation business based out of Victoria, BC. I LOVE designing gardens, however the draw of working with wool and textiles offers more instant gratification, so I have to push myself to sit down and focus on measurements and precise drawings and plant varieties.
Lastly, I am making a shirt for my partner. It is a naturally dyed (with goldenrod) cotton shirt. The pattern is Twig and Tale’s Breeze shirt. The dyeing is done. Now I’m piecing together the pattern that I printed out from the digital file. The pattern is really well written with lots of advice for modifying the fit and the finishing. It also includes instructions for French seams, which is super exciting!