Crochet
Crafternoon Treats Etsy update 10th August 2017
Tomorrow is Etsy update day and its also the ninth day in August that I’ve managed to blog… Today I though I would do a little post about what’s coming up in my Etsy shop but before it happens on Thursday 10th August at 7pm UK time. This means there are no links through the photos direct to the item but the new colourways will appear in their own section and at the top of the shop list once they go live.
Last week I launched my new Fabulous Four base but only the laceweight skinny singles. These have been going down really well and I’ve started a shawl project in one of the colourways, which I’ll show you in my next podcast. I’m planning to record tomorrow morning (the same day as the update!) but I think it will work out because I’ve got the listings mostly ready for the Etsy update today, ready for this post. Crikey, could I be getting the hang of this at last?
The new Fabulous Four yarn base
This is the new woollen spun base that I’ve developed with my local mill. Its 25% Masham lambswool, 25% Bluefaced Leicester, 25% Romney lambswool and 25% British white alpaca. I’ve been preparing a separate info page about the base and you can read all about Fabulous Four here when its ready.
I’ve dyed up 13 new colourways in total and all of these will be available tomorrow. I have six skeins available for most of them, although I did say a fond farewell to some of them the other weekend when I went to Fibre East.
This is such a beautiful base to dye on and I’m so proud that its totally unique and that I had a bit of a say in its development. I relied heavily on the expertise of the mill owner and spinner, who has a lifetime’s experience in blending different fibres to create gorgeous British woollen spun yarns. I must remember this month to write a post really explaining what woollen spun means and how its different to worsted spun. I’ve touched on it in the podcast, but it would be good to have a point of reference on my website.
Anyway, less waffle and let’s get to the colourways in this week’s Etsy update!
Preen – all the colours of a peacock display
I love this colourway and it goes so well with Emerald and with Passerine blue, or maybe a really rich purple would be good too. I’ll have to revisit Purple rain in this base I think…
Emerald and Passerine blue
While Preen is a highly variegated and speckled colourway, Emerald is a rich and tonal one while Passerine blue is a delicate, pale and interesting shade.
Emerald is a repeat of a colourway that I developed on the 100% Teeswater lambswool base that I also have in the Etsy shop at the moment. I used the Mulberry colourway as the deep, rich border in my Majura shawl. Passerine blue is a very pale duck egg blue, with a hint of grey. It was inspired by the paler starling’s eggs that you sometimes find and the starling is a member of the Passerine family of birdies, hence the name.
Blue moon
Passerine blue would go perfectly with Blue moon, which is a little bit like Mint julep but with the lovely deep blue speckles…
Forbidden fruit
I’m not sure how I came up with this name but I love it and I love the colourway even more… definitely one of my favourites of all time. I am hoping (although not giving any details yet) that this colourway will feature in a new shawl design by a designer that I’ve been in touch with… exciting.
Spice breaker
Forbidden fruit is jam packed full of autumnal shades and these are really my favourite colour palette. Spice breaker is very Halloween and Bonfire night… just lush.
Pansy and Mulberry
Autumn colours are a bit favourite but so are purples and these two colourways also go so well together…
Pink is cool and Summer breeze
This pink is actually very hot, hot, hot, so the name is a little play on words. I’m not too sure that my colourway names hit the spot sometimes, but I do try!
Summer breeze is more delicate, with some lovely green tones. I only actually have one skein of this dye batch left but I do intend to make this again soon.
Perdita
Another colourway for lovers of pink, this is a colourway that I first dyed up on the 100% Falkland merino base. Its named after the female dog in 100 and 1 Dalmations, which I found a re-read a few weeks ago. Perdita is actually not the mum dog, as I had misremembered, but the female liver-spotted dog who is a nurse for the puppies in their very early days. I love that book but the film never really did it for me…
Best silk lingerie
This has been one of my most popular colourways and I’ve dyed it in several bases, so it had to be done in Fabulous Four.
And finally for this week’s Etsy update… Tutti Frutti
I love this one… its more delicate and very speckly with many different colours. I did only two skeins but I’m going to try to do another batch very soon.
Etsy shop update 10th August 2017 at 7pm UK time 🙂 Please favourite my shop to see the Etsy update each week and to get alerts when I add extra listings throughout the week.
Basket kits are going to be a little while yet as I need to do some working out regarding how to package them for posting.
xxx Kathryn