Saturation

In my first workshop last weekend at Knitters Connection, one of the students was oo-ing and coo-ing about some yarn that she’d purchased.  She showed the class the yarn.  It was fabulously rich in color.  I knew that I’d need to make a bee-line to that booth when I hit the Vendors Hall.

It was the first booth I saw:  Fiber Optic Yarns.  

Kimber Baldwin is the dye artist behind Fiber Optic Yarns.  She is a PhD trained chemist who left academia to spend more time with her family.  Her husband helped her set up a dye studio, and she was on her way!

She is located in Cincinnati, and so far has sold mostly either locally or by etsy.  She told me her stuff sells out FAST!  This fall, she’ll be featured in Spin-Off magazine as one of a group of up-and-coming indie dyers.  Recognition of her work is well deserved.  Her colors are strong and satisfying:  saturated!

Resistance was futile.  So I bought.

Here’s a picture of a combed top (85% Bluefaced Leicester, 15% silk) that she dyed in a colorway she calls, “Garnet”.  She describes this as a “faux Batik”.

Here’s a picture of a combed top (100% Bluefaced Leicester) in colorway “Orchid”.  Mmmmm…

And another BFL combed top.  Kimber has started to dye up some of her fiber in what she calls “Once in a Lifetime” colorways.  These colorways are essentially limited editions, never to be repeated.

Kimber is best known for her “layered gradient” dyeing.  I got two gradient colorways:  “Blackberry-Raspberry” and “Bitter Lime-Rose” (both are 80% Merino, 20% silk).  Aren’t they something!

My plan is to make two skeins in which I ply one layered gradient colorway with the other.  I can hardly wait to get to this project!

By the way, Kimber and her fibers will be at Spin-Off Autumn Retreat  this fall.  And I’m planning to use some of her fiber for the classes I’ll be teaching.