When it comes time for a new Purl Diver colorway, I usually look over a few pics that Susan has narrowed down from Murray’s files. We discuss what base we intend to dye, what color(s) we haven’t done in awhile, the season and/or a theme for that shipment. For the final shipment of the 2019 Purl Diver Club, Susan preselected a photo and she had a clear idea for the yarn. She’d chosen Murray’s photo of a Whitetip Shark and said she’d like one bare spot and the rest tonal gray. I did the test skein in a pot and it did came out a very pretty tonal gray. Although Susan approved it, I had an urge to complicate the colorway (I do this to myself often). I decided to use more than one gray and to hand-paint them for more color impact. This colorway is even more tedious, when you add in using rubber bands to keep the bare spot bare. I purposefully picked a variety of grays, but the resulting colors included a happy accident (something my Art teacher, Mrs. Topp, always said). In any craft, there are “rules”. Certain rules are constants that cannot be changed. But there are others, that when not followed, can lead to pleasant surprises. The green that shows up in this colorway is a perfect example. The green is the product of a reaction in the process, I do not apply that color separately. This means that there can be a bigger variance in this colorway, than with others.
You almost can’t truly appreciate this colorway, until you see it worked up. And that’s where the Reid Cardigan comes in. One of the fabulous customers from A Good Yarn Sarasota, Storm, had a brilliant vision. She decided to knit the Reid out of Whitetip. Many of us think she has created a masterpiece! We are in absolute love! Watching how the white pops in and how that changes in different areas is fascinating. The first time I saw the project on her needles, I truly couldn’t believe I had a hand in any of it. The yarn itself is DK weight and 75/25 Extrafine Merino/Silk. It is very smooth and has lovely drape.
Storm’s project is beautiful and because many have shown interest in recreating it for themselves, I just dyed a new batch of Whitetip for Reid Cardigan Kits. The kits will be available from A Good Yarn Sarasota.
For more pics, visit the Ravelry page for Reid Cardigan HERE.
Whitetip is only available from A Good Yarn Sarasota HERE.
