Oct
Our Socktober MKAL is up and moving, and I’m loving seeing pics of peoples work on Instagram and the Ravelry forums. If you missed the excitement, you can get all caught up with the first clue. Now that it’s time for the second clue, I realized that there is a really fun side effect of running an MKAL:
I can filibuster and people will put up with it, because they need the next clue!
I’ve gone made with power. BWAH HA HA HA HA HA.
Ahem (If you want to ignore my filibustering, scroll to the end of this post.)
So what’s been on my mind recently, is choosing the right yarn for your project. Ever since I went behind the curtain and became part of the yarn manufacturing process, I have a love/hate relationship with that notion. Whether I’m dying or knitting, I want to take risks with colors. A less explored idea though, is taking risks with fibers. It’s not a secret that Jac and I are obsessed with Bluefaced Leicester. It appears in the vast majority of the blends we make.
My torrid relationship with BFL isn’t going anywhere. It’s a superior fiber. It’s warm like Merino, but more resistant to felting. Sometimes it isn’t as soft in the skein as your high end Merinos, but man, when you block it, it becomes soft and smooth as silk. All the same, I’ve been itching to take some fiber-filled leaps of faith. So I treated myself to a yarn tasting. Kraemer Yarns has some really fun blends that you can buy as individual skeins, so they are perfect for playing around with dyes. I’m an old friend of Kraemer, I used their yarn for my wedding shawl, and they were kind enough to walk us through the milling process. For my dark blended fantasies, I went with Sophia, which is a blend of cotton, linen, and silk, and Beth, which is an alpaca, silk, and merino. Just like you would choose the right color for your projects, you need to choose the right dyes and processes for your yarns. I wanted to play with how the different blends would react, so I decided to give them the same dye treatments.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BKDsYqngRGk/?taken-by=doctor_llama
My inspiration was an oil slick. I wanted something dark and edgy, and just a little outside of my palate comfort zone.
The alpaca definitely took the dye more vibrantly, but that wasn’t much of a surprise. Linen can be a really tricky fiber to bend to your will. I over saturated both lots, and I’m really happy with the results. I may tinker with it and eventually add the colorway to our catalog. But for now, these four are the only Megan-Anne Oil Slick yarns out there.
The other day, Mr. Llama found my bottom drawer stash and has since started to notice my yarn hording. He thought it would be shirts and instead it was a drawer full of yarn. I’m not sorry. But all the same, I think that I’d better not keep these. Then, the next time I can tell him what a good compromiser I am. ;) So I’m having a giveaway! Two lucky fiber-fanatics will each win two skeins. I decided not to break up the blends, so each winner will get two of the same yarns. That way you’ll have enough to make a full project.
I’ll select winners through a random drawing. To get entered, go follow Lattes & Llamas on Instagram. Comment on the giveaway picture with which blend you prefer (linen or alpaca) and tag three friends.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BLyg3SWDjks/?taken-by=lattesandllamasyarn
I’ll choose a winner next Thursday when we post the final MKAL clue. Oh, hey, speaking of clues, I bet you’re wondering where clue two is?
Wonder no more, your second MKAL clue is RIGHT HERE.
~Megan-Anne
Proud to be a nasty lady. #NeverTrump