NEW YARN: Fireweed Fibre Co
Every once in a while there is a yarn that just takes our breath away, and this Canadian dyer from Winnipeg does just that. Erin from Fireweed Fibre Co plays with bold colours and doesn’t shy away from unique dye techniques and combos. Her semi-solids give a depth of tone that makes my heart pitter-patter and her speckled yarn is fierce.
The beauty of hand-dyed yarn is found in its subtlety. Not that colours need to be subtle, mind you, but rather that the colours in the knit fabric flow smoothly. Sometimes hand-dyed yarn just gets it right, and what we are seeing in Fireweed’s colourways is a delicate sprinkling of colours that work together, regardless of how unique the colour combo.
In September, we quietly opened a box of beauties purchased sight unseen and our entire staff did a collective gasp. From then on we were hooked! Erin attended Knit City in October and we were able to pick up even more of her gorgeous colourways. Today we happily launch a refill on some of our favourites, as well as the entire line of seven of Erin’s Valentine’s Day inspired spring sock sets. Join me and my team as we knit our way through this entire collection!
Hand-dyed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sweet Pea Sock is a delightful sock yarn made from soft, springy merino with a bit of nylon for strength. The two firmly twisted plies plump up together to make a nice round yarn perfect for shawls, socks and lightweight garments. It’s soft enough for babies, and weavers, it’s strong enough to be used as a warp!
Fibres: 80% Superwash Merino / 20% nylon
Gauge: 28 sts = 4” / 10 cm
Weight: 2-ply Fingering (1)
Length: 100 g / 399 yards (365 m)
Machine washable or hand wash cold. Lay flat to dry.
Almost every staff member picked up a Valentine’s Day set. Meghan took the unique approach of doubling up the yarn that not only knit up twice as fast as standard socks, but also as a way of using up the whole skein of sock yarn! Here’s what Meghan had to say about hers:
“How did I find knitting with the Valentine’s sock set? I typically lean more toward sheep shades and earth tones, but I could not resist the “Sweet Romance” colourway. It’s pink but not cloyingly so, y’know? Count me as a Fireweed convert.
I went for Summer Lee’s Thicksgiving Socks pattern, which uses fingering weight yarn held double for a super quick and satisfying sock knit. The pattern was designed with mismatched scraps in mind, but using two strands of the same yarn held double yielded a lovely result! Doubling up a variegated yarn produces a marled fabric; subtler than single-strand splotches but still eye-catching. And by using up the entire skein, I had no new itty bitty pretty scraps to languish in my stash!
Sweet Pea Sock is super soft and puffy, but still feels nice and sturdy – essential for a wearable sock! I didn’t find it at all splitty, even though I was even using bamboo needles (don’t tell the other staff)! Whether you hold it double or go traditional with a single strand, give Sweet Pea a try; you’re gonna love it! “
