3 Things That Remind Me of Handpainted Yarn

The Mediterranean, Amalfi, Italy

I took the above photo because the color of the shallow water with the sun on it reminded me of how the Briar Rose Kindness knit up in Voluta. I can’t wait to get that sweater back next fall.

Thinking about my sweater led me to thinking about yarn, particularly handpainted yarn. Like many knitters, I have a difficult relationship with handpainted yarn. I often love the colors in the skein, and admire the color sense of the dyer, but have no idea what to knit with the yarn.

In my travels recently, I have seen a few beautiful things that made me think of handpainted yarn, and inspired me to boldness in their use.

Wall painted to look like marble, Palazzo Altemps, Rome

This one seems especially bold. It also made me think of a brilliant series of posts by Yarnista on complementary colors, specifically red and green. Actually the whole series is thought provoking, both for everyday fashion and as a designer. (As a side note, I recently discovered her very interesting and often hysterical blog – it’s become a must-read). Because the green is a little bit teal-y, and the red a little bit rusty, the red and green really pop without bringing to mind a certain holiday.

I could see a sweater in these colors though, with some kind of motif inspired by the marble effect.

View of the sea and sky from our agritourism, Agerola, Italy

I’ve had visions of ombre sweaters floating around for about 2 years now, but I can’t figure out how to make the yarn work. I want a mythical skein of yarn with super long color stretches that will knit up to the same proportions in 10 different sizes…..Which is impossible. I’m thinking about different techniques of blending colors so that I could get an ombre effect that could be controlled with only 3 to 5 colors – either through color work or by holding multiple strands.

From a distance it would all blend together, just like the sea and the sky.

Any thoughts on handpainted yarns in sweaters?

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