Good morning and happy Friday to you. Last week I mentioned that I was going to be moving to fall colorways, new and old, and I got a good start this week.

There are lots more colorways to come, but I thought I would show you what I’ve got so far.

Show and Tell

Before I do that though, I have a request. I’d like to do a Show and Tell newsletter next week, so if you have any WIPs or FO (works in progress or finished objects) made with Purple Lamb yarn or fiber to share, please do email me a photo and any pattern details. It’s such a joy sharing what all of you are making!

Odyssey Collection

Let’s start with something that is both old and new. Three years ago, I created an Odyssey collection with Odysseus, Penelope, and Telemachus. They were block variegated colorways. I decided it was time to bring back the collection, but this time I used almost all the same dye colors in splashed and speckled colorways, and they look completely different.

Each color I used is representative of some facet of their personalities, so Penelope and Odysseus both have gold and royal purple while Telemachus has copper and royal purple. I give a longer explanation of the colors and the symbols I had in mind in the listing. Meanwhile, here’s the set right here:

I dyed The Odyssey set on Sock Perfection, and for once I have them as a set instead of listed individually. If you have your heart set on just one colorway, though, let me know and I can make more or split up a set for you.

It occurred to me last night that these would be a fantastic match for Joji Locatelli’s Odyssey shawl, so I’ll be dyeing up these colorways on Squoosh DK soon with that in mind.

I made hats from each colorway on Wonderful Worsted so you can get an idea of how they’ll work up. Here are the three hats together:

While it isn’t specifically a fall colorway, I did want to mention that I dyed up a new batch of A Little Princess this week on four different yarn bases.

I especially love the way A Little Princess looks on Stained Glass Fingering:

Stained Glass Sock –> Stained Glass Fingering

Speaking of Stained Glass yarn, I did want to mention that I changed the name of Stained Glass Sock to Stained Glass Fingering. I normally avoid using the term fingering for yarn because it isn’t a word to be used in polite conversation in much of the English-speaking world even though it’s innocent enough here in the US. However, I made an exception because I’m going to be bringing in a new Stained Glass base that has 20% nylon. The one with nylon will be the new Stained Glass Sock while the current one–made of 100% superwash merino–is now Stained Glass Fingering.

I’m hoping that’s not too confusing, and I’m also hoping it won’t get me banned on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest.

I Thought We Were Talking about Fall Colorways, Not Bad Words

Oh, yes, we were. I have a few other new colorways I want to show you. This one is Yellow Columbine:

It’s just a very soft creamy yellow with darker yellow speckles and a few green speckles too. It would go beautifully with Sleepy Hollow, which I’ll show you in just a minute.

Here is Evergreen, which is a new colorway very similar to my Forest Green but even darker:

…and here is The Winedark Sea, back again from last fall:

I dyed The Winedark Sea on Sock Perfection, Sparkly Merino Sock, and Squoosh DK (shown above). I’ve mentioned this before, but apparently the ancient Greeks did not have a concept or name for the color blue, which I find mind-boggling, don’t you? Instead, the phrase, The Winedark Sea, is frequently repeated in The Iliad and The Odyssey when Homer describes the sea.

Evergreen and The Winedark Sea would make a great Christmas project, don’t you think?

I saved my favorite new colorway for last:

It’s called Sleepy Hollow. To tell the truth, I was aiming for an elegant Halloween colorway when I made it, but the way the colors blended together makes me think more of autumn in general and less of Halloween specifically, so I decided to split the difference so to speak and name it after Washington Irving’s short story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”

Here’s a closeup of a hat I knit using Sleepy Hollow on Wonderful Worsted to give you an idea of how it will work up:

As I write this, I’m in the process of dyeing Sleepy Hollow on Sparkly Merino Sock, Stained Glass Fingering, Squiggle Sock, and Squoosh DK, so those will hopefully all be listed by the time you read this.

Other New Colorways to Come

I have several new semi-solid colorways that came from last year’s Advent calendar. We were in the middle of assembling the kits when I snapped this photo last year:

There are five of these I plan to add for fall. I think I will just leave which those are as a surprise.

Advent Calendars

Speaking of Advent colorways (I really am shameless when it comes to segues, aren’t I?), a friend and customer of mine (thank you, Natalie!) had a glorious suggestion of making a Jane Austen themed Advent calendar this year. We started going through characters together to make sure there would be enough, and that shouldn’t be a problem at all.

I’m fairly sure that’s what I’ll be doing, and if so, I’ll be using the Jane Austen heroine colorways I already have and adding all the heroes and perhaps some less heroic but really fun characters too. I’m still working it all out, but I plan to have them ready for preorder in September.

I have had a few of you ask if I am planning on making a fiber Advent calendar too this year. The answer is yes, but instead of mini art batts like last year, I’ll be using hand-dyed top.

Spin Together

Spin Together is coming together again. It’s a week-long spinning competition that we started in 2019, and we’re now on our third year. It will take place the week of October 2nd. This year I’m just helping out instead of being in charge, which is really great. For the first time, I plan to be on someone else’s team as well as helping out behind the scenes.

If you are interested in creating a team, you can do that all throughout this month, and you’ll be able to join a team throughout the month of September. You can learn more on the website at spintogether.org and in the wonderful, kind, supportive Facebook group.

Two New URLs

I have just one more tidbit I want to tell you. I got two additional domain names. The first is www.purplelambyarn.com. That one goes to the shop just like www.purplelambfiberarts.com. I got it because it’s shorter and maybe a little easier to remember and type, but it leads to the same place as always.

The other is purplelamb.blog, and that is just a faster way to get to my blog and gallery page so you can find old blog posts or see what the club colorway was a few months back. The other way to get there is still www.purplelambfiberarts.com/blog.

I think that’s everything for today. I hope you have a great week and that you find some time to knit, crochet, weave, spin, felt, or all of the above.

Stay well!