Introducing our new May Secret Stash Club yarn colour, Life of Plants! Inspired by the idea of vitality and vibrancy in fresh, healthy green plants, we tested and talked about multiple rounds of green colourways for our May Club release. We looked at darker, more variegated options… warmer options… brighter options. Some with lime green and dark grey. Some with warm moss green. One word, “plants” can conjure a massive palette of greens… which green would best convey the idea of “growth”? Which colourway complements the soft wool and cashmere blend yarn base for this month?
THE STORY BEHIND LIFE OF PLANTS
In early 2020, when we first began getting ready to move to our previous studio, our Production Manager, Hubert, and our Assistant Production Manager, Charlotte, mentioned that they wanted to keep some plants in their office. The production team office was a corner room that was filled with east- and south-facing window light. The room was warm and sunny… pretty much an ideal little greenhouse. Excellent. Go for it.
Over the three years we were there, I didn’t think too much about the plants that were living out their best life in the dye studio. Finally, last month, as we’ve been collecting our remaining things from the old dye studio and moving them to our new studio, I noticed the tray of brilliant, vibrant, and thriving potted plants that were growing in the dye production office. The leaves were full and fresh, plump and well-fed. The colour ranged from pale chartreuse to lime to deepest ivy green. And I wondered about the secret life of these plants.
These plants have been living in parallel with us all these years. Listening to our conversations. Soaking in the energy. Waiting to be noticed. And I just wondered, what made these plants so resilient? What made them thrive? What made them happy and willing to grow? Was it just light, warmth, and sustenance?
We designed the Life of Plants colourway to be soft, subtle, and lush to complement the gentle texture of cashmere in our CashLuxe Fine base, the yarn used for our May yarn shipment. A bouncy, soft yarn perfect for one-skein shawls, cowls, hats or socks, it begs to be worn next to the skin.
PROJECT IDEAS
We talk a lot about mixing colours together to make new colours, even with yarn. You can hold two strands of yarn together to create new colour mixes.
The beautiful thing about green is how it can shift towards teal or turquoise with cool colours. Or it can shift towards grassy, warm greens with subtle golds. You could deepen the green by mixing it with a darker green shade, or lighten it up by knitting it with a pale green. Move the colour in a direction that you love. Just like in nature, green goes with everything.
For our May colourway, SweetGeorgia Team member, Charlotte, paired Life of Plants with one skein of our Silk Mist in Foggy Dew. The pattern woven on her rigid heddle loom was Kathryn Steely’s Drifting Snow design. You can read more about the process of weaving this sample, along with information on how to make your own, at the Life of Plants in Drifting Snow project page »
With the soft hand of this yarn, this colourway would also work beautifully knit or crochet into a simple or textured hat or cowl design. You could take a look at Siesta, North Wind, Lana, or Tallin. It can also be held doubled for a beautiful worsted-weight substitute in projects such as the Barbara Cowl or Ferndale Set. *Please note the additional yardage requirements and modifications which may be required for each pattern.
JOIN THE CONVO
Whether you knit, crochet, weave, or something else, join us over at our crafty community at the SweetGeorgia Discord server. We would love to hear your thoughts on this colour of the month, and to see what you make with it. We’ve created a special section just for Secret Stash and we’ll create a new thread for each new delivery.
You can find all samples of our Club colourway projects at the Project Index »
As well, you can see a closer look of this colourway reveal at our May SweetGeorgia livestream »
