Colour and the seasons

You would think I’d go for green when spring peeks up its head but nope, I turn to red.

Everyone has their own relationship with colours and I am no different. I love colour and I love expressing myself with it. With knitting that was one of the big things that drew me to the hobby (or obsession).

In the summer I knit and wear every colour indiscriminately because the sun is out and the air is clear and I have a huge number of pretty skirts to swoosh about in.

Come autumn I switch to purple. This is not a conscious choice but looking back on those later months of 2014, it is undeniable. I wore purple shirts with my purple bag and knitted with purple yarn.

Winter is a grey time. I knit myself a pair of grey socks and wore grey almost every day. I don’t hate this, but I am getting tired of it.

It’s spring! At least the calendar says so even if the weather gods aren’t quite in agreement yet. Somehow spring makes me swing into a world of red. I have bought myself some cashmere sock yarn (it is the best, and you shall see it soon) and it is a lovely rich shade of crimson. My spring coat is red, although I love my purple bag too much to abandon it yet – this is acceptable as the colours combined make me feel like a sentient fuchsia.

And lawd knows I love fuchsias.

 

What colours do you pick for seasons, or haven’t you noticed a pattern? Am I just odd? (Yes.)

Renaissance Dyeing

Natural dyers of fine embroidery threads – Renaissance Dyeing.

Once in a while I’ll come across a site I simply have to share. It’s not because I’m sponsored by them or anything – this blog is purely free range – but because I’m so stunned by what they have to offer that I keep the tab open for days just to occasionally flick through and see the gorgeous things they produce.

This is one of them. Renaissance Dyeing is a company that uses traditional dyes to produce modern yarn. Their reasoning sounds pretty sensible:

Plant and natural dyes give a light and tonal vibrance to your work that cannot be matched by staid chemical dyes and they help not only protect you and yours but the environment as well.

I have to agree with them. Their colours are sublime. Take a look at some of their designer knitting kits such as the Urban Troubadour which is a gorgeous pattern with rich yet not overpowering colours suited perfectly to one another.

2012 is the year I’m going to learn to spin and dye my own yarn, just you watch; sites like this inspire me. I can’t promise I’ll be starting out with vegetable dyes but it’s certainly not something I’d considered much before and this company has changed that. Especially since you can order the extracts online to dye this way!

I stumbled on the site looking for yarn made from Poll Dorset sheep’s fleece, a breed that originated in my county. I stayed for the beautifully rich colours and the ethos of the entire site.

Since I can’t afford these wonderful goods on such a small budget right now, I’m hoping someone can buy some so I can live vicariously through you!