I have always believed that some of my best dyeing techniques, like many life skills, come from learning to fix mistakes. Overdyeing, for one. I have very well-developed skills in that area. One of my favorite techniques is dyeing my Paintbrush Yarns, a technique that evolved out of a disaster many years ago. As far as I can tell, the earliest Paintbrush Yarns I sold were in 2007, although the technique started as a skein-saving measure several years earlier when I discovered playing with a toddler and silk ribbon painting were two things that shouldn't be attempted at the same time! Typically, I consider my paintbrush-style dyes to be one-of-a-kind because of the way they are created, although there are some dye color pairings I like and repeat with results that resemble each other, particularly when skeins are alternated during knitting. This week, for the first time in a long time, I set up my process table for Paintbrush dyeing and had at it.
This is "Feeling Frisky" dyed on Elliebelly Big Blue Bulky, a 100% Blue Faced Leicester (BFL) yarn. Although multi-colored yarns can require thoughtful project selection, I've had good luck with them and am going to start with a pair of Melissa LeBarre's new Bearberry mittens with a skein of this yarn.
One of my all time favorite Paintbrush projects is this Lente Cowl, which I knit during the annual Elliebelly Knitalong, Adventurous April, in 2014. Monika Sirna's brilliant pattern was a perfect choice for this style yarn.
These yarns are all Paintbrush Colorways using variations of the same base colors. The cashmere on the left became this gorgeous Liebevoll shawl.
© ck510
On Ravelry, there are only a few Paintbrush Colorway projects and stash uploaded. I'm looking forward to dyeing a few of these yarns and seeing what new projects I haven't envisioned that people will come up with for them.
