Estrella Colorway Handpainted Laceweight Yarn

Estrella Colorway Handpainted Laceweight Yarn, originally uploaded by confections.

I'm heading back into the dye studio this week. This skein is one that I handpainted last summer for a shawl project for my sister.

Handpainted Laceweight Wool Yarn in Peony Colorway

Handpainted Laceweight Wool Yarn in Peony Colorway, originally uploaded by confections.

This is a laceweight skein of yarn that I handpainted for a good friend last summer. She has moved to New Hampshire and I miss her dearly. I am comforted by the fact that she will knit something yummy out of this skein and its fuzzy companion to keep her warm during that cold New England winter.

To distract me a little from the novel writing, a shipment of undyed wool yarns arrived on my doorstep yesterday. I'll be in the dye studio off and on throughout the month as an antidote to the intensity of writing at least 2,000 words per day (and my blog entries do not count!).

Shawl of Many Colors

Shawl of Many Colors, originally uploaded by confections.

This mitered triangle shawl is one my favorite wraps, created by me from the yarn on up! It tells a story of my life over the last twelve years or so since I've been collecting fleece and prepared fiber and spinning it. Some of this handspun yarn was spun on a drop spindle, some on my Lendrum spinning wheel. Some of it was hand-dyed with Kool-Aid. Lots of the raw material was gathered at weaving conferences around California, local and far-flung yarn shops, and a special place in Pennsylvania called Autumn House Farm, where I bought my most favorite drop spindle in the fall of 1994. Most of the mini-skeins used here are my early attempts at spinning, and they are very textural and bulky, slubby, thick and thin--all characteristic of a beginning spinner's yarn. I have progressed a bit as a spinner in the last four or five years, but this shawl is a romantic testament to the beauty of first attempts.

Have fun! Here is the pattern for your knitting pleasure!