Like Playing In Fibre Clouds

 There's something new happening here at Yarn vs Zombies.
Look at these clouds. So fluffy. So squishy. So... what? That's not yarn. That's fibre!
And not just any fibre. Oh no. This is some of the finest, softest and most scrumptuous fibre locally available.
It's superwash merino from sheep that live on a little island just south of the mainland of Australia, called Tasmania.
Tasmania is a gorgeous place, and it seems their sheep are just as gorgeous.
This fibre has to be touched to be believed!
I may have spent an hour patting a piece of fluff.
And oh my goodness, does this fibre love dye. It's so vibrant and fun and a completely different experience than playing with yarn!

There will be several braids of this gorgeousness up in the shop on Tuesday, so make sure you give them a look if you love spinning (or just want a fluffy fibre pet).

Wet Winter Cheery Lace

Wendy Johnson, of sock and lace fame, is having a mystery knitalong called Summer Solstice Mystery Shawl KAL over on Ravelry.
And of course, I love to play.
Clue 1 came out last week and clue 2 just two days ago.
It's fun so far.
I'm using a bright, pink Shibui yarn that I've been admiring as decoration for months, waiting to figure out the right project. It had to get on the needles.
I'm also hoping that the bright, poppy colours will counteract any potential old-fashioned-ness of the Estonian lace of this mystery shawl.
Love it.

Shop Update 26/6

 This week's shop update is live! Inspiration came from my travels, both past and future, as well as nature itself.

Come take a look!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/yarnvszombies

Playing with colours

I love colours. I love yarn.
Combining the two is one of the great pleasures I'm discovering since I opened my sweet little Etsy shop. It's given me an opportunity to really assess what colours I like, how I like them, and how to translate this vision into something visible.

In a lot of ways, to me, dyeing is like writing. You start off with an idea, and you don't know if it's a good one. You start out. Sometimes, things go great. Often, you have to change tracks. Most of the time, you need to touch up and edit. And then eventually, you're done. Or done-ish, at least.
Then it's time to release your work into the wild and hope that others will love it as much as you do.

Which is why I love when you all tell me you love the yarn I dye for you, or share with me the projects you're thinking of making, or show me your wips.
It makes me feel like my little dreams in colour are growing up and gaining wings on your imagination. Like I'm part of your vision.
And that's a very special feeling.

Hole In The Wall (But Not The Sole)

 I had some greyish-blueish sock yarn my mum sent me. I wasn't sure if it was variegated or self-striping, so I wanted to do something straight-forward with it.
I was just going to vanilla my way through.
Instead, I went for Anne Campbell's Circle socks, a fun pattern that's just entertaining enough to make vanilla into more-ish knitting. At least for me.
These are slightly larger than my usual socks, but the structure of the holes makes the cuffs stack and stay up by themselves.

I think this pattern would be fabulous in the right kind of striping, or a loud variegated, too.

Shop Update

The shop update for this week is live!
Have you ever been curious how some of the self-striping knits up?
Well, wonder no more.

It Came From The Deep

Spring Garden

Tabby Cat

Vintage Videogame Blue Blob Hat

I've been wanting a fingering-weight hat. I've been wanting a hat in a greenish blue. And I wanted to knit a Woolly Wormhead pattern.
So that's exactly what I did.
The Arkanoid (yay video game reference!) knit up quickly, and the finished result is an awesome, wearable beanie that isn't too warm or thick.
Perfect for the not-so-cold Melbourne winter. And that's really all I can say about it.

My Girl Robot Shawl

Yarn love.
Sometimes, a yarn comes along that so perfectly encapsulates what you need right at that moment. Then it's a matter of pairing it up with the perfect pattern and make something glorious.
With this Camp Loopy project 1, I have achieved the yarn, if not the pattern. It's Akimbo, by Stephen West.
It's a fine pattern, don't get me wrong. I'm just not excited by triangular patterns. They're kind of eh to wear for me.
But the yarn.
Ooooh, the yarn.
It's Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in the much-coveted Steam Age colorway. it's not only brilliantly named (who doesn't love a bit of steampunk romance?), it's also gorgeous. It's a complicated blend of purplish grey with blue and pink throughout. So gorgeous.
I've added some Malabrigo Finito in the Archangel color to the bottom. So wonderfully soft and luscious. it s a shame tha the yarn's softness gets lost in the edging, but I've got a bit left over to make something else. methinks some tiny wristers, perhaps?
Overall, I'm not madly, deeply in love with the end product, but it's turned into a wardrobe staple simply because the colors go perfectly with both me and many of my essentials. It's just fabulous with my Best Hoodie, which is a muted, cool yellow.

Requin Vert

 The first pattern in Stephen West's inaugural shawl club pattern series didn't blow me away at first. I thought those teeth things at the top were rather odd.
I am a sucker for twisted stitches and knits through the back loop for their wonderful three-dimensional appeal.

The yarn was a loyalty gift from the Loopy Ewe, a complicated Madelinetosh sock yarn called Green With Envy. Again, not love at first sight, but it just kept calling to me.

I knew I wanted to put these two together when a special opportunity prompted me to.

I enjoyed the pattern, I adore the feel of the yarn, and I love how classy they look together. It reminds me of the patina found in structures from the Art Nouveau era. in fact, someone commented on the lines of this shawl and that it reminded them of the Eiffel tower, for some reason.

It's a great finished project, and I hope the recipient will enjoy it, too.

Shop Update for June 5th

Calico Cat

The shop update is live!

A Dragon Ate My Homework

It's got some of my favourites in it, including my new Steampunk collection and a self-striping sock yarn inspired by the feline overlord herself.

Momiji

Steampunk Collection

Life Blood

Slacker Rainbow

Sometimes, you just need a hat. When you're me, this need strikes often, and it strikes quickly.
I loved the Starving Artist hat I made back in April, so I felt it was time for another rainbow beret. Enter the Slacker Rainbow. It's a nice hat, and certainly very bright, but it's a great example of good, not great.

The yarn wasn't as wonderful either in color or texture. The pattern was pleasing, but not OMG-awesome.

The result is fine.

I still love my Starving Artist hat more.But don't tell this hat that. He might get sad. And sad rainbows just aren't right.

Casting On: Wanda Nell cardigan

Something new on the needles today!
After the mixed success of the awesome-but-not-done Vivian cardigan, I'm changing things up with a gorgeous, fingering-weight cardi, the Wanda Nell by Jennifer Hagan.
I'm using Wollmeise in Wolke, a colour I've been in love with most of my life (I have a pen in that colour, and a dress in a couple shades lighter).
I think I want to add darker stripes and edging to it, but I'll see how I go.
It's a top-down, raglan cardi.
I swatched and measured and calculated. Hopefully, it'll all work out.
This will also be my Nerd Wars dissertation this round, drawing inspiration from BBT's Bernadette and her ubiquitous (and cute!) cardigans.