Spring colors that have been longing for you

Just as we long for spring, I think spring is also longing for us, and I want to wrap myself in all the soft pinks and peaches the world has been showing me.

This color has captivated me, and I can’t wait to finish my current sweater, so I can cast one on in this color. It’s Minuet in Peach, and just look at how soft and speckled it is!

tl;dr version: new things are in the shop and you can get a 15% discount on my four-skein color set of the season with the code NEWSLETTER.

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I’ve been gently moving towards creating a color (or color set) of the season, which I’ll be dyeing in my open calendar space between Kindred Spirits yarn club creations. For the next week (closing next Thursday), I have preorders available for a soft and scrumptous set of early spring colors. They’re the shades you want on your needles and hooks now (they’re the actual shades on my needles), and they contain all the wonderful feelings of blossoming.

I have increased the number of bases each color is available on, as well, to give you greater access to my catalogue of really exquisite yarn bases. Things you don’t see as often, like Targhee Sock (a super-bouncy and energized 100% US-grown and spun Targhee wool, blended with just a tiny bit of nylon for strength) and my Harvest Sport (a round 3-ply with a razor-sharp twist, perfect for texture and cables, and with all the best earth-friendly credentials).

For this next week only, you can pre-order:

Minuet in Peach
in Targhee Sock, Cashmere Blend, Harvest Sport and/or Mohair-Silk Lace

Apple Blossom
in Cashmere Blend, Harvest Sport (new option!) and/or Mohair-Silk Lace

Apple Blossom on Cashmere Blend, with an actual branch of blossoms from the tree in my back yard. (Plum, not apple, but you know what I mean 🌱)

Jersey Cow
in Cashmere Blend, Harvest Sport (new option!) and/or Mohair-Silk Lace

On my needles right now: Jersey Cow in Targhee Sock held together with Mohair-Silk Lace. I’m knitting yet another Uniform Cardigan, with a gauge of 20 sts to 4 inches. I’m also working behind-the-scenes to get this pattern available again for y’all, and graded up to a size-inclusive range. Keep your fingers crossed for me! I want this sweater for all of you, so so much.

What would you make?

I think that buying yarn for one’s stash is a perfectly wonderful option. (I have my own stash of 100+ skeins of yarn from my own favorite dyers.) That said, I also find it helpful, especially when my stash is plentiful, to buy yarn with specific patterns in mind. That doesn’t mean I don’t repurpose yarn or fall out of love with a pattern. But it gives me a starting point and helps me buy enough of a colorway, if I have a sweater in mind.

I thought you might enjoy a ramble through a few patterns and how you might indulge in these spring colors.

• Andrea Mowry’s new sweater, Brume, has been dominating the Ravelry “hot right now” list this week (today is the last day for her newsletter subscriber discount). It has a gauge of 17 sts to 4 inches, and it would be a perfect match for any of my colors on offer (on Harvest Sport or Cashmere Blend) held together with Mohair-Silk Lace.

• Ainur Berkimbayeva is one of my favorite sweater designers and her Astragal (a 2019 Pom Pom magazine selection) is a gorgeous, round-yoke, sport-weight sweater that would be perfection in my Harvest Sport.

• How gorgeous would Ainur’s Dayspring Pullover (another Pom Pom selection) be with all three of my colors on offer? All, on Harvest Sport.

• For my fellow vest-lovers, I have my eye on Noma Ndlovu’s deep vee, subtle check fabric, Hlumelo Vest (links to Ravelry). This one also calls out for Harvest Sport: Jersey Cow as the background and Minue t in Peach for the check pattern!

• And my standby recommendation if you don’t have a specific pattern but still want to buy a sweater quantity: Stashbot (PDF or app) to help you determine how much yardage you would need for a sweater (or vest) of most any style, based on gauge. For my yarns, use:

  
  Cashmere Blend (held alone): 6.25 to 7 sts per inch
  Cashmere Blend + Mohair-Silk Lace: 4.5 to 5 sts per inch

  Harvest Sport (held alone): 5.75 to 6 sts per inch

  Harvest Sport + Mohair-Silk Lace: 4 to 4.5 sts per inch
  Targhee Sock (held alone): 6.25 to 7 sts per inch
  Targhee Sock + Mohair-Silk Lace:
  

New things that are (literally just now) new this week:

I’ve expanded the bases on offer for Jersey Cow and Apple Blossom to include Targhee Sock and Harvest Sport. Right now really is such a perfect time for these bases.

New and with a discount: This four-skein set of Cashmere Blend, in colors I originally paired for a long-time customer, and that I can’t get out of my head.

I have put up preorders for this four-skein set of Cashmere Blend yarn (colorways, left to right: Toad Hall, Apple Blossom, Minuet in Peach, and Foxtail) because I can’t get them out of my head.

I initially photographed this set for a customer who is away from her stash and needed a color to pair with her club skein of Apple Blossom. But these four together. Oh gosh, I keep thinking: striped sweater, giant four-skein shawl. (You know this set would be scruptious as any of the big shawls from my friend, Tyne Swedish | Cleverest Stitch, links to Ravelry).

If you, like me, want all 4, you can order them as a set (only) with 15% off for newsletter subscribers. Use the code NEWSLETTER.

As a reminder, these are all preorders and will ship in 4-6 weeks and earlier if I can.

Thanks for being here, friends, and I hope this more traditional newsletter finds you enjoying your stash, buying if your budget and heart says yes, and feeling happy and content.

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