Something strange is afoot...

So we went away for the Bank Holiday weekend, and on the Friday I found myself in a bit of a quandry: I had finished my current portable WIP (the Coffee Date Shawl by C. C. Almon), had a test knit on the go that turns my hands blue (not suitable for travel knitting) and was facing the prospect of lots of time in the car coupled with a weekend away from the real world with No Knitting Project! Clearly the endtimes were near...so I boldly rallied forth and,

picked up a crochet hook. 

This may seem a bit off piste, but I do crochet, and clearly my newly rediscovered fascination with crochet (as detailed in a recent Yarn in the City Podcast episode) has not gone away. I started making Bear's Rainbow Blanket for Dev not long after finishing a Sock Yarn Blanket for Boo, using the left over scraps of fingering weight yarn and some gorgeous alpaca Himself brought me from Peru many years ago. It was the perfect project to take up north with us - small pieces, easy to pick up and put down, and also very gratifying - one center takes me about half an hour, ditto for the edging.

Over the course of the weekend, I played Yarn Chicken both successfully and unsuccessfully,

Crocheted with yarn matching the Wee Ridiculous Dog,

And managed to finish a pile of squares, leaving only a few left before assembly can start. Eldest is suitably pleased!

And the frenzy has continued. There's a ripple baby blanket happening for one of Himself's work colleagues (pattern from Lucy at Attic24) and last night I swatched for the Kippen Cardigan by Kat Goldin.

And got gauge...will miracles never cease?

Fibre Club Quarter 3 sign ups

All the Lab Goddess FIbre Club colours to date:
Top right corner: Cortus on Wensleydale; Mutable Loci on Cheviot' Dark Lady on BFL
Bottom right corner (clockwise from top left): A Life Aquatic on Corriedale; Core Shift on Humbug Jacob; Cacophony on Shetland; alpha, beta, gamma on Finnish
Bottom left corner: Blue Lias on Merino d'Arles

It's a grey rainy day here in London to celebrate the end of May, so I've been amusing myself by making photo collages of all the Lab Goddess Fibre Club colourways to date. It's very interesting to see them all together and I'm finding myself brainstorming about what colours are missing from the pallet so far and looking ahead to the upcoming months. Dyeing for the June club will start this week, and be out to Club members by mid-month.

This brings me to my next announcement, which is that spaces in the third quarter of the Fibre Club will open tomorrow at 9:00 am London time, and be available both on the Lab Goddess Fibre Club page and in the Shop. The club will still be £45 plus shipping costs for each space - this includes 4 oz/113 g of fibre dyed in an exclusive colourway inspired by a female scientist and a leaflet with some background on the scientist, as well as information about the base chosen and the development of the colourway. Royal Mail has increased their shipping costs slightly but this will be absorbed into the cost of the club for the time being - shipping costs will be as currently listed on the Fibre Club page.

I've picked the inspiration sources for the rest of the year, and I am really excited to see what colourways come out of it, so please do come and join us! 

Lab Goddess Fibre Club May 2016

Blue Lias on Merino d'Arles

This month the fibre club was inspired by a very famous British scientist who had no formal scientific training: Mary Anning (1799-1847). Born at the end of the 18th century into a working class family, Mary Anning made her first major paleontological discovery at the age of 12, when she discovered the complete skeleton of an ichthyosaur. She spent the rest of her life as a fossil hunter, and reading as much of the available scientific literature as she could, making a name for herself as a fossil expert.

Despite her broad knowledge and expertise, Mary Anning's discoveries were almost entirely attributed to the gentlemen scientists of the day who published on her finds. Only after her untimely death from cancer at the age of 48 were her contributions acknowledged publicly. She is now recognised as having contributed to the establishment of paleontology as a field of study, and her finds were critical in proving extinction.

If you've read this blog at all over the past few weeks, you'll know all about the base I used for this month, which is also the base for the limited edition 2016 Tour de Fleece colours. Bouncy and elastic, this merino makes fabulous yarn for hats and cowls. The colourway inspiration comes from the beaches of Lyme Regis, where Mary Anning made many of her discoveries. Blue Lias is the name for a particular geologic formation that held many of her major finds, and dates to approximately 195-200 million years ago. The specific colours are meant to invoke the variety of shades of rocks seen on the beaches and in the cliffs of England's Jurassic Coast.

Fibre club will open up again on 1 June, in just about a week, so if you've missed out on the fun and want to join up, keep your eyes peeled for announcements on Twitter and Instagram when the slots go live!

One last shot...

2016 Tour de Fleece colourways: The Giant

There are a number of iconic mountains that have featured heavily in the Tour de France since it's inception. This year's Stage 12 finishes on the top of one of these quintissential peaks: Mont Ventoux.

Mount Ventoux by Jean-Marc Rosier from www.rosier.pro

Although geologically part of the Alps, Mont Ventoux stands quite isolated, rising out of the plains of Provence to a summit of 1,912 meters (6,273 feet) and dominating the local landscape. The top of the mountain is bare of trees and vegetation, inspiring comparisons to the surface of the Moon. This isolation makes it an interesting ecological niche, and there are some species that are unique to this peak.

From the historical side of the race, Mont Ventoux is considered one of the most grueling climbs on the Tour, and it has been included 15 times since 1951. Coming this year at the end of 185 km on Stage 12 and averaging between 6.6 and 10.1% for 11 km, this climb is sure to play a role in determining the final victor of the race. The mountain's challenges came into stark relief in 1967, when British cyclist Tom Simpson died within a half a mile of the summit from heat exhaustion brought on by dehydration, amphetamines and alcohol. Since then, there have been many great battles fought up the slopes of the Giant of Provence, but none have had such a tragic outcome.

The Giant on Merino d'Arles

For this colourway, I wanted to use a gradient to mimic the landscape that the riders pass through on their way from the lavender fields up to the mountain summit. A bright violet gives way to greens before passing into the bare rock hues of the summit. I'm hoping to spin some of this up to work a beautiful half-circle shawl, if I can get some good laceweight.

Don't forget, all these exclusive, limited edition Tour de Fleece colourways will be available in the shop update going live tomorrow morning at 10:00 am. Please note that there may be a bit of delay if the demand for a particular colourway is high, but I have plenty of the base and will get it out to you ASAP!

2016 Tour de Fleece colourways: Mageva

Mageva on Merino d'Arles

The ski resort town of Megève makes two appearances in this year's Tour de France: the finishing point of Stage 18 (the second individual time trial) and the starting line of Stage 20, the last stage before the final jaunt down the Champs-Élysées in Paris.

The name of the town comes from the Celtic name of the original ancient settlement, Mageva, which means village on the water. The estimated date of founding for the local parish is 523, with the Benedictine monks setting up a priory in 1085. The current incarnation as a destination for tourists and skiers began in the 1920s, when the Rothschilds funded a purpose-built ski resort.

This colourway was inspired by the many streams and rivers that flow through the area, draining snow melt away from the mountains during the summers. It combines various blues with the browns of the streambed, and includes flashes of white for the sun reflecting off the waters surface. Cool and refreshing, the undyed sections of the top will blend with the dyed, creating a yarn that is more muted and blended then the fibre might appear at first glance.

Like the first two colourways, Rosé d'Anjou and Chauvet, Mageva is dyed on Merino d'Arles, and will be available starting with the shop update this coming Saturday (14 May) at 10:00 am, and running through the start of the event on 2 July 2016. Stay tuned for the last colourway on Friday!