Today I am officially launching my fall collection. I thought I would share the collection with you as well as some of the creative process that goes on behind the scenes.

I also have a couple other things to share with you as well having to do with a giveaway and a sale that are both going on, so I’ll mention those at the end.

I have loved great literature for as long as I can remember, and my idea of a perfect Sunday afternoon is one spent knitting, spinning, or weaving while listening to a great novel. For the last couple seasons, I have combined my love of literature with my obsession with fiber arts to create a new literary collection on a particular yarn base. For spring it was the Jane Austen Silky Sparkly Lace collection. For summer it was the Odyssey Collection on a Merino/Silk/Cashmere base. Now it’s time for Moby-Dick, that greatest American novel with depths as deep as the sea.

I dyed these on a new yarn base which I’ve called Sock Perfection. It’s a 4-ply yarn made of 80% extra-soft superwash merino and 20% nylon. I chose that yarn after an extensive search because I wanted something that would be strong enough for socks but also really comfy. Of course, there’s nothing at all saying it can only be used for socks!

For the Moby-Dick colorways, I spent a long time thinking about the characters and which ones to include. Then I began looking them up in a dog-earred copy of the book as well as referring to a neat guidebook through Moby-Dick that I had the honor of proofreading. The book was called Seascape-Soulscape: Moby-Dick, and it was written by Dr. Curtsinger, my college professor for a class we fondly called Moby-Dick Trad instead of Literary Tradition IV because so much of the semester was spent on Moby-Dick. So now you know something else about me. I debated long and hard when I started Purple Lamb about whether to do this or start a proofreading and editing company. I may do that too someday!

Anyway, the first colorway I created for the Moby-Dick collection was November in My Soul, based on the description Ishmael gives of himself at the beginning of the book. The colors are dark and somber, like Ishmael’s mood. Near the beginning of the book, Ishmael says:

Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off–then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can.

(Melville, Moby-Dick)

Do you ever feel that way? I know I do!

 

November in my Soul is my attempt of an interior look at Ishmael. It contains gray, dark green, purple, sea blue, a bit of chartreuse to add a little brightness, magenta speckles, and a bit of white as well. The sea blue is a common color in all five colorways.

The next colorway I made was Captain Ahab whose very name has come to mean monomania. I took his colors most of all from the physical description of him when he finally allows himself to be seen on deck:

His whole high, broad form, seemed made of solid bronze, and shaped in an unalterable mould, like Cellini’s cast Perseus. Threading its way out from among his grey hairs, and continuing right down one side of his tawny scorched face and neck, till it disappeared in his clothing, you saw a slender, rod-like mark, lividly whitish. (Melville, Moby-Dick)

 

Captain Ahab went through several attempts. The first time I made him, I allowed the colors to blend together, which turned into a very pretty pink but nothing like Ahab. The second time, I left too much white, so I ended up putting him back in the dye pots for another layer. Just like in the description, his colors are bronze for, well, for his being; sea blue for the sea that is his natural habitat; red for his skin; gray for his hair; and white for the scar that no one dares to ask him about.

The third colorway I made was Queequeg. I actually had so many difficulties with Queequeg that I ended up going to a group of friends who all studied Moby-Dick for their insights, which were great. Queequeg is a harponeer Ishmael meets near the beginning before finding a ship to take him to sea. Queequeg was totally outside of Ishmael’s experience, but once he learns to look beneath the wild exterior, he finds a kindred spirit in this tattooed South-Sea cannibal. Here is his first impression:

“…good heavens! what a sight! Such a face! It was of a dark, purplish, yellow color, here and there stuck over with large, blackish looking squares….” (Melville, Moby-Dick)

And here is my impression of Queequeg:

This is definitely one my craziest yarn colorways ever! Queequeg has bronze, red, purple, black, bronze, and gray as well as the sea blue that is in all of these.

Next up was Call Me Ishmael. I actually already have a Call Me Ishmael handspun and art batt colorway. The inspiration for Call Me Ishmael came from the very beginning of the book:

“Call me Ishmael. Some years ago–never mind how long precisely–having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world.”  (Melville, Moby-Dick)

 

The colors are several shades of blue, teal, white, and the same bronze color as Captain Ahab. This is a lighter, brighter take on Ishmael’s personality, inspired by the beginning but also taking into account the very end of the book. If you’ve read it, you’ll know what I mean. If not, you should!

The last colorway was the easiest. It was Moby-Dick himself. He is referred to as the white whale, but in the book Melville says his head and top were white but with gray sections as well. To the white and gray I added blue speckles for the sea. Here he is:

Is Moby-Dick evil? Is he a symbol for God? I will not venture any interpretations here.

Here is the whole collection together:

That’s it. A lot of time and creative energy went into this collection, but I loved every minute! I hope you enjoy the yarn. It certainly won’t be dull to use!

In other news, the Choose Your Yarn giveaway I started last week is still going on for another couple days. If you haven’t entered it yet, you can do so here. The winner will receive his or her favorite colorway and favorite of three sock-weight bases.

Also, I’m having a sale on the remains of my Soft & Strong Sock base. I’ve replaced it with Sock Perfection, but there are still some nice colorways available at a big discount. I’m also offering my hand-dyed top at a discount as well. Here’s a screenshot of the sale page, which can be found here:

Last but not least, I’m dyeing up a rainbow of lovely 100% superwash merino 20 gram mini skeins so you can create your own gradient. I hope to have them in my shop in another couple of days. Here they are drying:

Happy fiber artistry!