Illumination

Yarn BasesShop UpdateProject Inspiration
Written By Megan Granger

My love affair with hand dyed yarn began with a single-ply silk and merino blend yarn that I picked up on a whim from a local yarn store while traveling through scenic New England. It had a lustrous shine, was incredibly soft, and crocheted into the most elegant lace shawl that I had ever made to date. Single-ply yarn quickly took over my stash and was the first yarn that I ever dyed and stocked in my shop. 

I had been wanting to carry a single-ply silk & wool blend in my shop for years, but up to now I had not found the right match as I needed to ensure that the yarn had the right balance of wool and silk for versatility, was ethically sourced, all while meeting my high quality standards.  

Two years ago, at the start of the pandemic and stuck at home and with all the time in the world, I came across a listing offering a very small lot of undyed single ply, silk and Merino blended yarn that met my exact criteria. 30% silk was the perfect amount to achieve a stunning luster, drape, and shine while not being so much silk to risk garments losing their shape. Additionally this was spun using a higher twist than traditional single ply yarns to ensure that your projects remain resilient over time.   

Even in the very small listing picture, I could see how lustrous this yarn was and needed to have it for the shop as well as for myself. The purchase was made and into my yarn stash it went as I waited for that perfect opportunity to design a collection with this yarn. Fast forward two years later, and this treasure was still sadly languishing away, just begging to be created into something beautiful that I had yet to find the time or to be completely honest, the courage for.  

By Early March, the arrival of fingering weight season was here and I came to the realization that it was now or never, so into the pans she went without a real plan and relying on faith that my color loving heart would know what to do.  I only had enough yarn to dye a very limited number of colors, so selecting the right colorways to include in this collection was paramount. I also knew that I wanted vibrant and lively splashes of speckled color to take advantage of the illuminating quality the silk brings to this yarn. The result was 8 speckle filled colorways that were meant for each other. Each color chose the next as if by magic so that every color in this collection has a partner to blend, fade, or contrast with.   

Illumination was named for the luminating shine the addition of silk gives to this single ply yarn. To say that is it stunning is an understatement. The speckles seem to just pop off the yarn in a dance of color unlike any other yarn. It calls to be caked up and created into something beautiful.  

Working with this yarn has renewed my love affair with single-ply yarn especially silk blends. For now this small collection will be all that is available, but I am hopeful that you will fall in love with this yarn as much as I have so that I can perhaps make this a permanent member of the yarn shop.  

 

Inspiration Gallery

As I continue to find the perfect patterns and projects to use with Illumination, I will add them here.



Megan Granger
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