Colors that soothe

Finding just the right shade to express a longing for spring

I’m not a spring person.

I am much more a fall person: the bittersweet feeling of falling leaves and falling in love, tucking into coziness, days growing shorter, anticipating the grief and hibernation of winter with one last burst of indescribable, aching beauty.

But, just like the pandemic has changed so very much about life, it seems that, this year, I am anticipating spring in a way I can’t remember ever anticipating spring.

I check my houseplants every day to see if they’ve begun to burst. The answer is no; they are still being coaxed to stay alive through a grey, cold San Francisco winter.

I check my outside plants to see if their foliage has started to pop. The answer is yes: the plum trees are simply glorious this year, and the hydrangeas and nasturtiums are also pushing.

One of four flowering plum trees in my back yard that make dyeing outside in February feel like a party. Blossoms fall all around me like confetti.

My knitting and dyeing is on the cusp between winter and spring, too, and I find myself searching for just the right shade to express this particular moment when the cold and quiet becomes a longing for energy to start surging again.

on my needles

I’m at work on a drop-shoulder, vee-neck pullover in my favorite sweater yarn: Targhee Sweater (it’s my 100% non-superwash Targhee wool base, worsted weight, grown and spun in the U.S.). The colors are three of a new, permanent palette I’ve been working on for what feels like forever. These three shades (Foxtail, Moonlight, and Dogwood) have been hanging on my in-stock rack for a while and I couldn’t resist using them together. (You may remember Foxtail and Moonlight got an early debut for sweater kits for Aimee Sher’s Building Blocks Drop pattern.)

I created a mood board for the upcoming installment of my Kindred Spirits club. If you’ve got an open order for the February/March skein, this is what’s coming your way!

My yarn dyeing has also been at this juncture of winter and spring, as I’ve quickly segued from Bookmarked preorders to dyeing and shipping my Kindred Spirits yarn subscription club.

Right now, my studio is full of drying yarn, yarn in the process of being reskeined, and packages ready for the post office. I’m still working on a more limited schedule, but also more regularly than I was a year ago at this time. It feels like I, too, am in that liminal place between wintering, setting buds, and bursting with energy.

How about you? What colors are capturing your imagination right now? What are you longing for?

A perfect song for this mood

This beautiful tune from musician Joy Oladokun showed up in my Instagram feed this morning, and it feels so perfect for this quiet Sunday morning:

joyoladokun

A post shared by Joy Oladokun (@joyoladokun)

Wishing sun for you, too, whether it’s actual literal warmth on your face sun, or a bloom of sunshine in your heart.