You know the Christmas song, “Let It Snow” and the line that goes, “Oh, the weather outside is dreadful?” Well, that would be accurate right now. It’s unusually cold for North Texas with an expected low of 9 degrees Fahrenheit! For those of you in Canada and the northern USA, that may seem quite normal, but for those of us in the South and Southwest, it’s pretty crazy.
My plan for this week’s newsletter was to come up with some new yarn pairings, but I almost had to abandon the plan because it was too cloudy to take photos.
Still, I was able to find a short window of opportunity when the sun came through the clouds and the sky brightened up enough to get some good photos.
Three-Skein Sock-Weight Yarn Pairings
Let’s start with the 3-skein sets. I have a few on Stained Glass Sock, a few on Sparkly Merino Sock, and a few on a combination of Sock Perfection and Splendid Sock, which are so close that they can be used together with impunity.
These yarn pairings would be great for a multitude of different projects, but I had 3-skein shawls in mind when I put them together. This first photo shows four different color combos on Sock Perfection and Splendid Sock.
The top left photo shows Javert, Murder Mystery, and The Winedark Sea.
The other three photos all include Galadriel’s Gift, which I love so much for this time of year. The top right shows Galadriel’s Gift, Turquoise, and Girl with a Pearl Earring. It’s a bit of a daring combo, but I think they will look great together.
The bottom left is Galadriel’s Gift, Annunciation Blue, and Enchanted Forest. I love these together!
The bottom right shows Brilliant Blue, Galadriel’s Gift, and Forest Green. It’s just the perfect combination of bright and calm.
This next photo shows yarn pairings with three skeins of Sparkly Merino Sock. As I have mentioned before, my sparkly yarn has lurex instead of the more common stellina. What I love about that is how beautifully the sparkle shows on darker colorways.
The top left photo shows Call Me Ishmael, Copper Roof, and Dreams of the Sea.
The top right photo shows Ochre, The Hands of the King, and my new Starlight colorway. I think this will be an especially unique and wonderful combination.
On the bottom row, the photo on the left shows Purple Delight, A Little Princess, and Epiphany.
The photo on the bottom right shows Seashell, Copper Roof, and Cinnamon together.
Next up are a few yarn pairings on Stained Glass Sock. I should mention that I just have a little bit of this in stock, but I am hoping to dye up some more soon.
The combo on the top left has North Wind, Monet’s Cathedral, and Purple Delight.
The combo on the bottom left has Seashell, Monet’s Cathedral, and North Wind. After I lost my light for photos, I realized that The Hands of the King would be great as an alternative to Monet’s Cathedral here.
The photo on the right is probably my favorite. It shows Rosy-Fingered Dawn, Paris, and Purple Delight Together.
Stained Glass Sock is fairly new to my shop. It is made of 100% superwash merino that is especially squishy and soft. It’s a 2-ply yarn. One ply is white, and the other ply is half white and half black. The black makes the yarn look like leaded glass. I love it!
I have not had the time to make a whole project out of it yet (though I’m dying to), but here is a little sample I worked up in Wonderful World on Stained Glass Sock:
Three-Skein Shawl Patterns
Before I move on to 5-skein yarn pairings, I wanted to share a little list I have compiled of some great knitting patterns for 3-skein fades on sock-weight yarn. You can find all of these on Ravelry and lots of other places too.
- 3 Color Cashmere Shawl by Joji Locatelli
- Changing Light by Jennifer Weissman
- Ewe La La! By Lesley Anne Robinson
- Free Your Fade Shawl by Andrea Mowry
- Hale-Bopp Shawl by Ambah O’Brien
- Imani by Tamy Gore
- Impressionists Shawl by Helen Stewart
- Izzy’s California Fade by Ariane Gallizzi
- Juniper by Libby Johnson
- Magic Spring Shawl by Katerina Bobkova
- Oranjestad Shawl by Lavanya Patricella
- Riotous by Jessica Correa
- Shake It Up by Anna Johanna
- Suburban Wrap by Joji Locatelli
Five-Skein Sock-Weight Yarn Pairings
In addition to the three-skein sets, I also put together a few five-skein sets.
This first one is the epitome of spring. These are all dyed on Sock Perfection or Splendid Sock, and they make a great fade from purple to blue to green, alternating between semi-solids and variegated colorways.
I dyed the colorways in the next photo on Stained Glass Sock.
This next yarn pairing was dyed on Sparkly Merino Sock.
I should mention that Wonderful World is a one-of-a-kind colorway. All the others are repeatable.
Seven-Skein Sock-Weight Yarn Pairing
I’ll leave you with one seven-skein combo in case you’re ready to make a new Find Your Fade shawl or something equally fabulous and cozy. I dyed all of these on Sparkly Merino Sock.
After I took this picture, the sky returned to steely-gray and a little too dark to take any more photos.
My hope is that all this cold, cloudy weather will indeed result in the first snow of winter so we can put on our warm woollies, sled down the hill, and sing “Let It Snow” at the top of our lungs with our kiddos. Speaking of snow and kids, here’s a photo of our oldest kiddos playing in the Texas snow when they were little. They’re just a wee bit taller now (okay, a lot taller), but they are still just as cute!
Happy fiber artistry!