let's talk about yarn...

In a recent interview on the Sunspun blog, I was asked about the selection of yarns used for the Oceanside collection.  It was a great question and I thought we could open up the discussion a little further here today.

My love of textures extends to my yarn choices, and I enjoy combining both yarn and patterns to showcase unusual or interesting surfaces. Sometimes process dictates design and other times it's the opposite. 

The combination of two Shibui yarns - Cima and Pebble - in Woolamai gave me the opportunity to create a lightweight, soft fabric with the combination of multiple fibres which is a luxurious combination of silk, baby alpaca, merino and cashmere.  Pebble has a soft tweedy texture on it's own and when paired with a contrasting colour in Cima (baby alpaca/superfine merino) it creates a lovely marled appearance. When the yarns are combined they also form a delicate, supple fabric that is a pleasure to both knit and wear.

I have been working another version of Woolamai this week using Pebble 'Sidewalk' and Cima 'Pollen' as the main with Cima 'Ivory' as the contrast.   It's delicious and lovely but it wasn't my first choice. 

Originally I had thought the Pollen would be the contrast but a quick swatch showed my the error in that thinking.  Isn't it funny how the plans often turn out differently but better?  Colour combinations can completely change the look of this beanie and that's another thing I love to play around with. 

 I'm looking forward to seeing what combinations people come up with for this pattern.  There are already a couple of others up on project pages, and they look wonderful.

Have you joined the WBW Ravelry group yet? You can also follow us on Instagram and Facebook.  It's a great way to keep up with the news and to share your projects, and be inspired by other people's too!

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