Happy spring! I have quite a few things I want to mention to you today. I have some new spring colorways to show you, I’m getting ready for a knitters’ retreat this weekend, and I want to announce the March club colorway too. I’m also opening up a preorder for a very popular colorway.

Spring Colorways

I have several colorways I am bringing back for spring. First up is Bouquet, which I dyed on So Silky Sock. It was inspired by a little oil painting we have. The colors include rose, purple, lilac, green, and white, and there are plenty of lovely speckles as well.

Here’s a closeup of Bouquet on So Silky Sock:

Next up is Ball at Netherfield, inspired by the elegant dresses of the ladies at the wonderful ball given by Mr. Bingley in Pride and Prejudice. I dyed it on Sparkly Merino Sock as you can see.

I also wanted to show you Spring Wedding, which I dyed on Sparkly Merino Sock as well.

I dyed half the yarn in a soft antique blue and dyed the other half in splashes and speckles of blues, purples, and rose, leaving lots of white as well.

I have lots of other beautiful new colorways here.

Knitters’ Retreat

As I mentioned above, I’m going to be selling my yarn at a knitters’ retreat this weekend. The plan is for my family to come with me to the other side of the state and go visit the petrified forest and the painted desert while I am at the retreat. I’ll be using tables instead of my usual grid wall, so I took some time to do a practice setup earlier this week.

I think the knitters will have plenty to choose from, don’t you? Many thanks to my son, Joseph, who figured out how to get more yarn on these tables than I would have thought possible.

Swatches

As you know, I try to make swatches of new colorways as I make them, but I have never been quite satisfied with how I have them displayed at fairs and festivals. I’ve been searching for a better way and just got all the supplies to make them today in time for this weekend.

On the front is the swatch, and on the back is the colorway and base information. I have made one of these rings for each yarn base. I still have a couple more swatches to finish before Saturday–or maybe on the drive there if my husband ends up driving.

I also wanted to show you this cowl I just finished. It’s called the Slash Dot Cowl by Sarah Hood, and it’s free on Ravelry. It’s a brilliant but simple 4-row repeat with slipped stitches. I used my Quick and Cozy Bulky yarn to make it with Purple Heather as the main color and La Boheme as the coordinating color.

I’m really pleased with the way it turned out. Here’s the outside:

…and here are the little dots on the inside:

March Club Colorways

I promised to tell you the painting that will be the inspiration for the March 2020 club colorways. One thing I have learned in the 13 months since I started these clubs is how difficult it is to choose paintings that will “translate” into great yarn and art batt colorways. One of the difficulties is the predominance of muted tones between the end of the Renaissance and the beginning of Impressionism. I have a deep love for the chiaro-scurro paintings of Caravaggio, for example, but all the brown tones tend to make for rather dull yarn. Maybe I’ll find a Caravaggio painting with a little more variation that I can use in the fall.

Meanwhile though, I have once again moved into a more modern realm for March. I chose Franz Marc’s painting, “The Large Blue Horses.” He was a German expressionist, and he painted this in 1911.

I find the painting really intriguing, and I think the bright delineated colors are going to make some fabulous yarn and art batts. If you are interested in joining one of my six yarn or art batt clubs, you can do so here. The deadline is the first of the month to receive that month’s colorway.

Beautiful Universe

Before I go, I wanted to mention one more thing. I know some of you wanted a skein or two of Beautiful Universe on Sparkly Merino Sock, but I actually used the last of my undyed Sparkly Merino Sock making them. I do have several more skeins available on Dream Sock and Alpaca Lace Cloud. You can find all of those here.

However, if you have your heart set on getting it on Sparkly Merino Sock, Sock Perfection, or Cashmere Sock, you can. I set up a preorder for Beautiful Universe. I’ll leave it open until next Wednesday or Thursday. By then I should have the bare yarn so I can get it dyed up and mailed out to you. You can order as many skeins of it as you would like here.

I’ll leave you with one more pretty picture. Normally I photograph during the day with natural light, but as I was twisting this skein after the little ones were in bed, I was struck by the particular colors that were next to each other, so I took a photograph of it. I think it lives up to its name.

Until next time, happy fiber artistry!