I am just gaga over Katsara Yarns lately. I just received Andria's April yarn samples (pictured just above) and they are just the most soft and beautiful hand painted cotton, I think I have ever seen! It's all organic too- I'm thrilled about that and I know you'll love it when you see it in your April box.
Since meeting Andria, I have been extremely impressed with her professionalism and all around poise as an individual. I am excited to have her be a part of Phat Fiber.
Andria specializes in hand painted luxury yarns. Confused about hand dyed vs hand painted?
Remember, I don't dye yarn- I am just a voracious consumer so, if I mislead anyone it is because I have not sewn the seeds of experience myself. Hand painting is a dyeing technique that artisans use to create a "rhythmic" pattern repeat of color. There are different reasons for doing this, mostly to prevent "pooling"- which is the big blotches of one color that can sometimes happen with variegated yarns.Handpainted yarns can "pool" though- that is why test swatching is important! There are times when it is easy to tell when a yarn is a hand-painted one. You will notice that the whole yarn seems balanced and colors blend effortlessly into each other without un-dyed gaps between. Feel comfortable knowing any purchase from Katsara Yarns will net you a carefully thought out colorway.
I am quite smitten over the Katsara Yarn kits. I think I will convince my older sister to do a KAL with me. We could be the same sisters! Jill- if you're reading this, I like the Valhalla Cardigan and the Shrug and the simple cotton pullover. Which ones do you like? Andria has even gone the extra mile and matched her colorways to compliment your "seasonal" color. I am so confused about that though- I have green eyes but darkish brown hair- does that make me a winter? *grin* I"m sure once I figure it out, I"ll grab Jill and get clicking on one of those kits.
Thank you Andria, for being such an asset to the group! You're a peach!
6 comments:
VALHALLA, sister! When are we co? Ok, need to finish this grape sweater first. Wanted to do a shawl sometime, but we can definitely do this one! I couldn't find where you can do the "season match" but the one in the picture is beautiful!!!
I was thinking Valhalla too! I am probably going to have to wait until May because I have at least 3 projects to finish first, but you're ON like Donkey Kong!
Some handpainted yarns pool very very well (Check out the STR FO's on Ravelry) but there are ways of doing it that minimize and break up the repeats so the pooling isn't quite so severe.
I think a lot of it has to do with what you are knitting so that is why swatching is important. I will edit my post to reflect that.
oooooooh!!!
Thanks, girls, for the lovely stuff you said about me :) I agree with the pooling comments, and the main thing the indie dyer can do to avoid unsightly pooling is to plan the transitions so the colors create the rhythmic, repeating streaks mentioned by Jessie. (Random splotches are the curse of machine-variegated yarns or unbalanced application of color.) Width of the knitted piece has a big impact on how the colors will repeat. Also, to more evenly distribute some of the randomness, some knitters like to work back and forth from two balls (alternating every two rows or so) which is a great solution when your test sample tells you there might be pooling or dyelot variations.
Cheers, Andria
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