Friday, August 31, 2007

YPF-the Fruity Version

Courtesy of Freshisle Fibers! About a year or more ago, I came upon the top cake o'yarn below at Yarn Harlot 's blog. (can't find her post though, oh well!) It peaked my interest and I contacted the dyer about ordering a skein. At that time I was put on a long waiting list and a bit later I had my hands on 2 of these.

Freshisle Fibers
Fast forward to this past winter/spring and she's done it again. Hence the two bottom cakes.

What you may not know is that the wool from these yarns is from the sheep on Freshisle's Island. Everyone on the island gets together and shears all their sheep and together they send it all to be processed. Talk about a community effort. Then Freshisle get's hers back and dyes away. I've been following her blog since first finding the watermelon and have learned so much. She does a lot of natural dyeing of her wools with flowers, nuts, etc. from around her house.

Suffolk Wool-Self striping The Watermelon self-striping that started it all! You can see it knit up here. Mine will definately be started this winter, yes I know it is more of a spring/summer colorway, but this yarn is warm! Besides, in the dead of winter, think of how cute they'll look!

Suffolk Wool Self-Striping Kiwi self-striping, I watched her as she experimented with different greens until she found one she liked. You can see it knit up here.

Single Ply Mixed Breed Kiwi Single Ply, Mixed Breed. No pictures, but it's dyed the same way as the one above. I'd like to get all 3 knit up in the near future. Most likely around November time frame.

Here's her blog if you want to follow her adventures in knitting and dyeing Manitoulin Island Suffolk wool. I'm happy to say for her, she doesn't keep waiting lists any longer, and updates the shop with various yarns when she can. She also has free patterns for these yarns.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh! I remember seeing that watermelon yarn back in the day, but I wasn't obsessed with socks yet. I may have to go buy some!

IrishGirlieKnits said...

So pretty!!! I love the Kiwi color...perfect for fall!!

weezalana said...

That is SO cute how those knit up just like the fruit's they're named after! And I love how the wool comes together. *sigh* Another yarn to add to the must-try list!

Bezzie said...

Very cool yarn! She nailed the kiwi vibe with those colors!

KnitPastis said...

Lovely! I totally appreciate natural handdyed yarns.Can't wait to see these knitted up. Very nice.

Anonymous said...

You're a sweetie, Z! Thanks! I'm having a mad dyeing weekend before school starts so there'll be more in bit.

sgeddes said...

Love the watermelon yarn! It even has the seeds in it!

Very nice choice - looks nice and soft.

Karen said...

Those are so cool - I've never seen anything like them before. I love the little "seeds" when they are knit up. I'm adding her blog to my Bloglines right now - it sounds so interesting! Thanks for the tip.

Knit Masala said...

That's amazing how they actually knit into the fruits for which they are named, seeds and all. Lovely colors.

Anonymous said...

Small world, my friend Spinnity made those watermelon socks last year! They are super cute in person.

Anonymous said...

I just love that Kiwi colorway!

Lauren said...

I love how the watermellon knits up! I MUST have some of that yarn... someday.

gilraen said...

What a wonderful find!! The colours are mouth watering!! :)

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous yarns! I love how that watermelon knits up. I think they will be just the thing to chase away the winter blahs.

soapy said...

Ohhh Lucky you!!! I'm on the waiting list for some watermelon yarn!!! What pattern are you going to use for them?

Anonymous said...

I must live in a hole because I've never even heard of that watermelon yarn? I may have to get myself some, it knits up so cute!

Ragan Knits etc... said...

Yummy!

MissMorbus said...

Wow...thanks for the links! Those yarns are gorgeous, and I love the story behind them.

LadyLungDoc said...

Oooh! And it's a Canadian vendor, so I don't have to pay duty charges! Thanks!!!

Anonymous said...

Those are gonna be wonderful when they're all knitted up. What a great idea!