From Dusk to Dawn

This project was my first attempt at spinning and knitting a gradient project. It turned out more color block-y than gradient but an interesting experiment nonetheless.

The yarn was spun during Tour de Fleece 2015. I got about 200 m (220 yd) of aran-weight yarn and I wanted to use every last bit of it. I chose this really simple stockinette shawlette with garter-stitch leaves on one edge, worked sideways and on large needles.

I started with a striped Corriedale — four different colors carded side by side into a single top. But because I wanted to do a gradient, I separated the colors lengthwise into four nests, then spun them back to back, and finally navajo-plied the single.

Back in 2015, I wrote

spun each sliver end-to-end, drafting from two colors at the change points

which you can sort of see in the finished shawlette if you look closely. To me the change points feel too abrupt and the colors don't flow as seamlessly from one color to the next as I'd hoped. But the shawl does look like the changing colors of the sky at dawn.

#knitting #gradient #shawl #shawlette #leaves #lace #garterstitch #Corriedale #handspun #Ashford #TDF2015 #TourdeFleece