like i said the other day, i’ve been a little busy with blocking as well as obsessed with finishing my last two pine and ivy shawls (and really, i think should stop after that—four of them is probably enough . . .).
the white shawl that arrived in the mail from karolyn got its final stretch and pin on thursday. i just love how delicate it is, translated in fibre isle porcelaine (colorway ivory)
a bamboo, merino, and seacell blend. this is a new yarn from fibre isle that i believe will be offered for sale starting in june at TNNA.
i’m really happy with the shoulder area—the opacity and texture of the garter stitch yoke makes the shoulder detail stand out and provides a nice contrast for the delicacy of the body stitch.
the issue with the yoke is that once the shoulder shaping is begun, the area remaining is not large enough to lay out the body stitch for a pretty effect in all the sizes. in the mini size, especially, a lot of patterning gets lost and there are large “blotches” of stockinette as those triangles get smaller. not only does it not look neat, but it becomes confusing to the eye and the pine cone panels lose their crispness. nor are the stitch counts compatible for sensible pattern writing—with a choice between offering three sizes OR having lace that runs all the way to the neck, i went in favor of sizing (i know you like that).
besides, i love how the garter stitch adds a “period” detail and some contrast at the top; it’s very much in keeping with my vision of how it should look.
here’s a peek at the red one in size tall, knit in woolen rabbit tranquilo, colorway black velvet—isn’t it rich? i believe kim will offer a kit for this piece—we’ll let you know.
while those were drying, i worked away at my green/brown/blue version.
since i now own two finished ones with shoulder shaping (the rose and the red), i decided i would try to make my handspun yarn stretch to make this one a regular triangle shawl, without the shoulder shaping (eliminating the shoulder shaping requires more yarn, since the body section is now extended to the neck).
i put a lifeline in where the shoulder shaping should have begun and repeated the body section two more times to the neck. unfortunately, on thursday night i was stopped dead in my tracks
when i ran out of yarn. naturally, at that point, i did not want to go back to the lifeline after all—i was so close!
i thought of all sorts of possibilities for a fix—i could put it aside, order more fiber, and spin some additional yarn. but that would take a lot of time and i only needed about 40 yards to finish.
i could look through my stash and see what else i had that might work—yeah right. like i actually have another handspun laceweight in a nearly-correct color, HA. but i took a stab at it anyway—denial has no bounds.
there wasn’t anything even close. however, i did come across this
remember this? it’s a sample skein i spun in my luxury fiber class at rhinebeck. i plied one strand of pure fawn cashmere with one strand of white cashmere/silk and the resulting yarn is very similar in construction to the handspun i’m using in the shawl (they were spun within a close timespan last fall).
i thought i might be able to dye this little skein to blend in with what i had going on the needles. my thinking was that the two-tone yarn would take dye in a varied way that might mimic (somewhat) the barber-poled sections of the handspun. and i knew i could live with it if it wasn’t perfect, since the finishing section is small and up near the neck, where it will likely get folded under often enough.
mind you, this was at approximately 1 am—the witching hour, indeed; the time when anything seems possible, or at least, not at all crazy. i grabbed the skein and put it in a bowl to soak, so that when i woke up in the morning, i’d be all set to start.
and i knit on my french quarter sock til it was time for bed (no sense wasting good knitting time).
in the morning, i got my dye supplies out from the mud room pantry, where they’ve been languishing for a while (i haven’t had time to spend on dyeing in the last year or two).
now, i want to preface this by saying that what i was about to do is in NO WAY related to the fine artistry of people like kim and deb and chris and tina and roxanne and all those other expert dyers we love who probably cringe whenever they hear about us dyeing our own yarn at home (sorry friends . . . if you are reading this, please just cover your eyes and scroll past)
i’m merely a hack with a painting background, but obsessed, and in the deep of the night, i thought i could make a passable effort at creating a color that came close to blending (since the shawl yarn is so varied).
i mixed up a few colors that i thought would work together to get a tonal variegated yarn. i didn’t want anything with too much color change; i thought this should resemble something that might exist as part of the series of long color runs throughout the “real” shawl yarn.
i laid the presoaked yarn in a bucket of hot water and poured the dye colors in at different spots around the perimeter, so they spread from the outside in toward the center, hoping this would create areas of blue, green, and brown that mingled at the edges, but had some distinctness, too.
i covered the bucket with plastic wrap and cut a small slit in the film, then microwaved it for two minutes. the water was still dark and murky with dye and the white strand with the silk content had not taken up much dye yet. so i gave it a rest, then cooked it for another two minutes.
as you can see above, that still wasn’t enough time for all the dye to strike. i let it cool for a bit, then cooked it once more for 2 minutes.
that seemed to work well—the water was much more clear to the naked eye. i decided a color check might be in order so i ran to get the shawl. i spooned some yarn out of the bucket and compared it o the dry, knitted piece, trying to compensate visually for the wetness
it seemed like a fairly good result—the color doesn’t match, but it definitely looks like it belongs in the same family as the yarn in the shawl.
i let it cool completely, then rinsed and was glad to see that no color ran from the yarn. phew—nothing is worse than neverending dye runoff, which can happen with silk fiber; it often needs more cooking or steeping time to absorb dye fully.
once i was able to squeeze the rinse water out in a towel, i had a much better idea of whether my yarn would work for my project. i traipsed all over the house at that point, trying to get accurate color photos of the shawl and the new yarn—the light was dim that morning and did not want its picture taken. here’s one from downatairs
and here’s one from upstairs just a few minutes later. the yarn is still wet in these photos, but not sopping.
the new yarn actually matches one of the color runs in the old yarn almost exactly—the green one that spreads across the hem. i like the idea that the colors at the hem and the neck are almost the same, but does it blend with the spot where i left off?
not too bad. the color of the new yarn is more clear and brilliant than the shawl yarn, probably because the shawl yarn had some natural undyed cashmere content. and i’m just not a good enough dyer to make a subtle handpaint that would transition perfectly.
the new yarn will make a line in the work where i join it on and start knitting, but hopefully not too much more noticeable than the other color changes throughout the shawl.
i would tink back and alternate the skeins, but i don’t want to “carry” yarn up the side of the edging, with its points that need to be blocked out. as i said earlier, i was prepared at the outset to embrace anything that came close.
last night i finished up the knitting and looked at it under artificial light, i wasn’t so sure about that embracing part—where i changed yarns, it appeared to have a very hard line and a harsh color, worse than i expected. after binding off and weaving in my ends, i balled it up and moved on to another project.
but then today, after linda left for the afternoon, i unfolded it to take some pictures for this post and you know what?
i’m not at all unhappy now. seeing it in daylight and then through the camera’s eye at some distance was a good change in point of view. i photographed it upstairs in the same spot i did on friday and then
i took it outside to photograph it in natural light. i could really see better how the new part works in context along with the other color runs throughout the shawl—some of which also have distinct lines of change.
and once it’s stretched during blocking, all the colors will disperse and blend even more as the stretched stitches move them about. i’m hoping to block it sometime tomorrow, if i can fit it in.
well, that was an adventure for sure. i was very glad to get back to my regular knitting, for which i have plenty of commercial yarn, haha.
one last P&I in fibre isle magique, then i’m quitting—i swear.
61 thoughts on “a little adventure”
Your dye job is amazing.
You are brilliant! I think the finished product is stunning – and no sign whatsoever of a patch job. This just goes to show that sometimes you have to be bold and take a leap!
Wow I’d have been panicking.
The dying is fantastic, I’ve not tried dying yet.
Pattern please!!! Don’t you think I need one for Sock Camp? It’s going to be damp cold there in April! Actually, I’m back to working on Maplewing….finally!
I agree with you about the shoulder detail of the shawl. I like it very much.
Love that pattern in every shade. Can’t wait to see the new dyed one. Color looks great from here!
No cringing over here! Super job.
I would absolutely order a Woolen Rabbit kit for ivy and pines, and wouldn’t dream of substituting a different color — I looooove Kim’s black velvet colorway!! but I might ask her to email me the pattern right away, so I can start the first one with something in my stash 🙂
You are a genius.
This is such a pretty shawl! Lovely in all the different colurs and sizes. We wants it!
Congratulations on your dye job! What a relief to get it just right 🙂
Wow, that was an adventure all right! I admire your persistence! And really, I think the end result doesn’t show that you used a different yarn at all!
Also, I love the “period” detail on the shawl.
YIKES! You are one brave and brilliant fiber artist! Thank God all that effort and care resulted in such a lovely product. I am not as trusting with any ideas that happen in the wee hours. You have killer fiber instincts, Anne!
What a remarkable piece of blogging–the way you unfold the process, the excellent photos, the literate text, the gorgeous knitting and patterns. I’m always happy to see a new blog entry from knitspot, but this one is particularly well done. (The trip to CIA was another favorite.) Thanks for your excellent work.
I held my breath while reading about the dye process, then exhaled after seeing the result. Congratulations!
Anne- I’m laughing, because I think we can all relate to the 1am bursts of genius.
In this case- it worked beautifully.
Wow, Anne, do you ever sleep!? I’d say excellent dye results – I love the color (and the shawl, another one to add to the queue).
Picking my jaw up off the keyboard here… The shawl is just beautiful, and I’m in awe of your 1am inspiration and how perfectly it worked. Would love to make this shawl!
Wow! You are braver than I am! But I do like how it worked out for you…it really does look good. I can’t wait to see it in all its blocked glory! You take the fearless knitting award on this one!!
Wow. I would have never managed that, you are a genius Anne! It is a lovely shawl.
Either you are even more amazing than you think you are or just incredibly lucky! It’s great that the fix worked out so beautifully. I just love the one with the shoulder shaping–it is so elegant.
That previous comment should read ‘more amazing than WE think you are’. 🙂 If you find yourself amazing, at least you are pretty humble about it…lol.
Love the on-the-fly problem solving and your ability to draw a deep breath (instead of going directly to pulling it apart). Can’t wait for this pattern.
You are AMAZING and inspiring!!
Just Brilliant! love the pattern
My goodness! I can’t believe how amazing this looks. I could never think of just dyeing something up to match even reasonably well. Your level of expertise is marveling.
I just think you’re well and truly blessed: everything you touch works beautifully! That’s amazing!
(((hugs)))
I’m Impressed, you have the heart of a dyer and the determination of a terrier. Congrats on a beautiful dye job!
WOW. That was exciting to read — the dye job came out great! I’m sure it can be attributed to skill, but you still must feel pretty lucky. It really does look of a piece with the rest of the (beautiful) shawl!
I think it looks great! And if I just saw the shawl alone, with out knowing all of this background info, I would never have known there was a substitution.
KUDOS!!
Wow – that dye job came out perfectly!
It’s beautiful–just beautiful!
oh, what a lovely dye job! nice going!
I’m speechless and so impressed!
You did an amazing job on the dyeing, Anne! Is there anything in the fiber world that you don’t do exceedingly well? 🙂
I think you’re the only one that would notice the difference in the added yarn….looks perfect!
You are so incredibly creative. But here’s the thing. If you had just shown the photo of the finished shawl, without blogging about the process (though I love that you did!) your readers never would have known that the neck was knit from a different yarn. And remember, that part of the shawl will be on the BACK of your neck. So people will only see it when you leave the room. At which point, who cares?
It’s so exciting watching all these variations come along! I think it really gets us all fired up for the pattern! ^_^ Do you think it would work well on a fingering-weight yarn, like Woolen Rabbit Kashmir? I’ve been dying to try that out, and the Ribbit colorway is such a gorgeous deep green on that blend…
Your blending looks perfect to me. I’d never have known that it wasn’t the same yarn if you hadn’t shown us the process of dying the yarn for the additional bit to finish.
Watching the process on pine and ivy has been such a treat. I’m glad that you went to the trouble to get a mini size out of it. I’m usually not one for the mini shawls, but Pine and Ivy is particularly stunning in that size and I’m sure I’m going to have to have one in that size for work.
I’d cross that one off as a victory, for sure! Awesome job! Perfect!
Re the dye job – Nice Save!!! Congratulations.
Great dye job! It blends in very well, and the marled yarn looks like it belongs there.
When’s the pattern come out? That shawl is absolutely lovely.
Lovely lovely shawls – and fantastic dyejob for the toning yarn. I completely agree about the garter stitch section – it looks like it should be there, and really gives the contrast to the pattern.
Any further doubts, give it to someone who hasn’t seen the blog, and ask if they can see where the yarn changed! Bet you they can’t…
You are amazing. What can’t you do? I think that the colors look great together — I’m very impressed with how well you got that all to work!
What a thrilling tale. To see the process of how your mind works and how you created such an amazing dye job. Don’t tell me you have no talent in the dying department. I LOVE this shawl. You really do pay attention to detail. Thank you for sharing your process with us. It is really a treat!
Well, I think your dye job is excellent! Couldn’t have done better myself. 😉
Your dyeing is great & I can tell if there’s any difference in colors. You are so amazing!
Love Ivy and Pines! You out do yourself every time! Just waiting to start it.
You’re a freakin’ color magician! And the pattern is stunning in all it’s sizes and yarn choices!
The shawls are just beautiful….and YOU are a magician…If I ever need someone to match some dyed wool or silk, I’m gonna call on you…LOL Just unbelievable. 🙂
You were brave to dye that beautiful-on-its-own handspun. You had me cringing, watching the progress. But I have to admit you pulled it off beautifully and the shading is lovely.
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