Friday, May 14, 2010

3 of a kind, but no pair

These are all the same original earring design (that I'm trying to prepare the pattern for) in different samples of my own hand dyed thread. From left to right: Midnight Oil, Blue-green Pastel, and Aqua Bay. No problem with finishing the sets, eventually - I have enough beads and HDT, for sure!

Aqua Bay is a new (intense!) color experiment that I just dyed a small batch of, to see how it would look. It has short color distances, with bright aqua between various variations of darker turquoise and a little blue. I guess I was trying to give the effect of dappled waves. You can see how it works up in the earring in progress.

Lola is another mini-batch that I dyed at the same time. This colorway is making it's 3rd appearance, I think. Because I mix fresh batches of dye each time, and hand paint the dye on the thread, no two batches are ever exactly alike, and even skeins from the same batch can vary from each other. That's just part of the serendipity of hand dyed thread.

11 comments:

God's Kid said...

Your colors are beautiful! I think my newest desires are Blue-green Pastel, and Lola. Hmmmm....now, how to come up with more money to spend :D
Have a great day! :)

Miranda said...

I especially like the earring in Midnight Oil. Aqua Bay is a gorgeous colorway.

Suztats said...

Love the earrings! Gee, I wish I'd seen these gorgeous HDTs before I placed my last order (and spent all my money!) Well, I can hope some will still be available once I'm flush again.

Unknown said...

Oh, gosh...they are gorgeous! Well, they'd make lovely pendants!
~TattingChic ♥

Deb in WV said...

Marilee, I love the blue-green pastel thread - gorgeous!!! The earring design is beautiful and looks great in all three colors, but the blue-green pastel really caught my eye.

You're very talented.

Deb

Lace-lovin' Librarian ~ Diane said...

Lola remains one of my favorites. I haven't made anything with it yet, but I love to take it out of my Yarnplayer Treasure Box and fondle it!

Marilee Rockley said...

Gee, thanks everyone, I'm glad to know that you like the colors. I haven't made the Blue-green Pastel for a long time, so maybe I should dye that one next. There is a brighter version that once was called, "Cool Waters" which I made a few years ago, before I started keeping records of my "recipes". I think now I may be able to reproduce that one as well.

Anonymous said...

wow..d earrings r so beau!! where can i purchase d pattern? i m jus a beginner, thgt no tatters out there & whew.. u ladies r so great!! :) cheers Lynda

Marilee Rockley said...

Thanks, Lynda, I am still working on getting the pattern ready. I plan on putting it into my next book.

Marilee Rockley said...

BTW, I think that Tatman's "Tatting Patterns for One Shuttle, Book 1" is a good book for a beginner:
http://www.tat-man.net/tatterville/tatshop/tatpatforoneshuttle.html

Carolivy said...

Oh! Those are gorgeous! I love the colors as well as the pattern! Think I better start saving my pennies for that book!