#exlibrisfibers

[dreamsinombre]

Just a quick end of the year love letter to two old and new favorite dyers, since I recently got more yarns from them:

Ex Libris Fibers!! I saw the Atwood base and immediately was struck by heady visions of a striped sweater. All that's missing is the wayward Morrigan (I'll get them in good time). (This also doesn't include the sweater quantities I've gotten from Rita before, like the Stale Patchouli+Drawing Blood/Early Grave combo from her Fin de Siècle collection, or Varney the Vampire, or the previous ones (Leviathan and Antiquarian) I've gotten from years ago—needless to say, big and longtime fan.

Nerdy Knits Yarn!! I quickly have come to absolutely adore her yarns and absolutely HAD to get sweater quantities for some Night in the Woods-inspired yarns (this doesn't include the OOAKs and marled Spiritfarer, Stray, and Ganondorf colors I got which may also all end up becoming sweaters lmao). I also can't stop thinking about her whole Gris collection and have visions of a fingering+mohair design, but I want to solidify that more in my head before I leap (I might leap first anyway, knowing me).

Anyway, I love all these yarns and the people behind them are just wonderful human beings whom I appreciate being able to not only support but get to know! I just wanted to show some appreciation and love because they deserve it 💜💜

ps - I love a whole lot more dyers than just these two, but I just got the Atwood colors in today and recently got more Witchdagger, and realized I have been super remiss in sharing the wonderful yarns I've been getting to work with, so I decided to start with these

[green-juice-and-yoga]

This is our studio space, up the stairs from @heirloommarketpgh. It’s one of the first big projects @ahoppitt and I took on together. I won’t bore you with the nitty gritty details of how we rehabbed the radiators and exposed the brick accents. Let me just say that as much effort as this old building has required of us, it has also been a solid investment of our energy and it’s always a pleasure to meet the extraordinary people being drawn through its doors. Thanks to @heirloommarketpgh’s creative director @amem77, there are all sorts of opportunities popping up for you to spend time in our sunlit space. As I write this from the counter of @heirloommarketpgh, there is a crochet workshop going on upstairs led by @shelby_comin. Upcoming events include digeridoo heart chakra mediation with @jbcarringer, progressive Saturday knitting classes with @exlibrisfibers, yoga with @allbodieswelcomeyoga AND @yogafactorypgh and a mother’s day inspired hair braiding workshop with @schatziehair. You can always check out @heirloommarketpg’s page and website to see what’s next on the agenda and if you have an idea for a community-oriented collaboration in our space, reach out to @amem77. She’s liable to make your idea shine even brighter. 💫 (at Heirloom Superfood Market) https://www.instagram.com/p/BvrfdJfh4sV/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1tfsdypxf2xul

[dreamsinombre]

So, a while back, I started designing a shawl inspired by the City of Tears in the game Hollow Knight. I originally used a colorway I got from @exlibrisfibers on IG that was discontinued on a base that was discontinued (the smaller, lighter version in the last four photos), and while I absolutely loved the perfectly moody color scheme… not enough yarn. So I reached back out to Rita to see if I could get the colorway special in a similar base, and boy did she deliver.

The final, absolutely massive version is on her Anaïs merino/silk base and the drape is absolutely divine. It feels like spider silk, which is so perfect for a shawl inspired by a game plumbing the depths of an ancient bug kingdom. It's moody and melancholic, like the rain-filled cavern of the dead City of Tears, with its leanly arched windows, ornately spiked elevators, and elegant, sleek-pillared corridors with sentry husks still patrolling with empty carapaces—all elements that are represented in motif panels in the shawl.

It calls for somewhere in the neighborhood of 1000-1100 yards of fingering weight single ply, and should result in a wingspan of about 58"-60"/147cm-152cm.

Biggest thanks to Rita of Ex Libris Fibres, for feeding both my addiction to amazingly soft yarns with brilliant colorways and my love of good books (and book recommendations), and to Team Cherry (@TeamCherryGames on twitter) for creating and sharing with the world a game that has become one of my absolute favorites that contains not just stunningly gorgeous art and delightful-feeling movements and mechanics, but also a layered and complex story and world that is one I love to revisit over and over again.

This is a pattern I'd love to eventually translate into something others can follow, among a small handful of others, especially if there's interest. I'll be sure to share it here if I ever get around to doing so.

[dreamsinombre]