Meet a New Colorway: Donna

Hello, and welcome!

Today I'm introducing a fabulous new colorway, inspired by Donna Noble (so far my favorite companion of the one and only Doctor Who). Do you want to see it? Of course you do!

Ahh, Donna. Throughout her time on the show, she's forever yelling at people, the Doctor included ("Oy, Space-Man!"). Though it seems like she's mad at the world, we know she's got a heart of gold underneath; after all, it was Donna who saved that family in Pompeii and wept with the Ood when she heard their song of captivity.

Toward the last few episodes of series 4, the Doctor figures out that Donna doesn't really value herself. She's always yelling at people because she thinks nobody would listen to her otherwise. She doesn't realize how special she is. Then, for one bright, shining moment, she gets to be the most important woman in the universe. The Doctor-Donna is born and she is fabulous.

I created this colorway in honor of that bold, sassy redhead. It's a combination of deep red, fiery orange, rich gold, time-traveling peacock blue, purple and teal. This is a kettle dyed colorway, so each skein will come out slightly different from the last and I never quite know what I'm going to get from the dye pots (a lot like Donna herself, don't you think?). You can see in the following photo that these two skeins are a little bit different from one another, even though I dyed them in the same pot:

Since I believe that character-inspired colorways add depth to your knitted and crocheted items, I'd like to offer some suggestions for these skeins, if I may. I think a skein of this Donna colorway would make a gorgeous lace shawl for a time when you just need that little extra "pow" in your outfit. It might also create a fabulous hat to transform your outlook on life or the most amazing pair of socks to lift your spirits from head to toe.

Knit with Donna to make something for a woman who needs to be reminded how wonderful she is; maybe that woman is YOU, so knit something pretty for yourself! I think we all have a little bit of Donna inside of us - we all have the capacity for her boldness and bravery as well as her self-doubt. Let your inner Donna come out to play when you need a fiery redhead on your side, and use this yarn to remind you that sometimes YOU'RE the most important woman in the universe, too! ;)

In case you're wondering, these skeins are available right now in the Storied Yarns shop and Donna is a repeatable colorway available for custom order on any yarn or fiber base.

Thanks, everyone!!

XOXO,
Jess

Meet My Characters: Haymitch Abernathy

Hello, and Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Today I'm going to introduce you to one of my "characters" and explain the back-story of the creation of that character.

May I introduce you to Haymitch Abernathy?

Haymitch is one of the leading characters in Suzanne Collins's "Hunger Games" trilogy, and this colorway was inspired by him.

Haymitch serves as a mentor to Katniss and Peeta, but in the beginning of the series he isn't much of one. He's the town drunk, and a bit of a joke. There are times when he pulls off being lucid, but you just never quite know which version of Haymitch you're going to get in any situation.

As the books go on we learn that there's a lot more to Haymitch than meets the eye. After all, he wouldn't be a mentor if he hadn't won the games in his youth; this is a fact it can be easy to forget during one of his drunken episodes.

For this colorway, I chose to play up Haymitch's strength and his unpredictability. This is a kettle dyed colorway, so no two skeins will be identical (though they will of course be as similar as possible). Haymitch is a blend of grey, rust, olive green and purple. I love the way the different colors work together; this is definitely one of those colorways where I think we'll all be surprised by how it knits up, too!

Knit Haymitch when you need some sage advice or someone to lean on in a tough situation. Knit this colorway for someone who has been a mentor to you or supported you on a hard day.

In the film version of the first book, Woody Harrelson will play Haymitch, and I'm really excited to see how that turns out! I think he will be great.

Haymitch is only one of my many Hunger Games inspired colorways; you'll see more later this month when I debut them after my Hunger Games KAL/SAL ends. If you want to get in on the action, I have listings available for roving, yarn, batts and mini skeins!

Thanks for visiting for Fiber Arts Friday everyone! Now head on over to Andrea's place and check out the rest of the fun!

Meet My Characters: Peeta Mellark

Welcome back for another edition of "Meet My Characters" here at Storied Yarns Central! This is the type of blog post where I showcase one of the colorways I have created and explain the back-story behind my inspiration for that colorway.

Today I want to introduce you to Peeta Mellark, the male lead in Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games trilogy.

I should warn you that there may be some SPOILERS for the whole series in this post. I will try to be somewhat vague, but I don't want to totally gloss over anything, either.

Anyway, here is Peeta:

In the novels, Peeta has blonde hair, which separates him from Katniss and Gale because the kids from town are blonde whereas kids from "The Seam" have darker hair. As a younger boy, Peeta's blonde head sticks out in Katniss's memory because of an act of kindness he shows to her after her father dies.

The blue in this colorway comes from the mental image I have of Peeta's culinary talents. During one scene in the third book, Peeta decorates a cake to look like an ocean scene, and his beautiful icing decoration shows Katniss that the Peeta she knows is still inside of him somewhere.

The orange is there because it's Peeta's favorite color; not bright orange, but darker like the sunset.

I wanted the overall feel of this colorway to be one of bright colors, like the camouflage paintings that mark one of Peeta's many skills as a Tribute. Over the top of that, though, I have added a grey overdye to symbolize Peeta's experiences in The Capitol and the ways he changes between the books. Though he's still Peeta underneath, he's not that boy with the bread any longer.

I hope you like my tribute to Peeta in colorway form! Come back next time and I'll introduce you to the third member in the pseudo-love triangle from The Hunger Games: Gale! :)

In the meantime, check out my Hunger Games Spin-Along and Knit-Along on Ravelry! I'm offering packages for yarn, roving, batts or mini skein sets so you can stitch and spin along with us! We'll have competitions amongst the participants and the final Victor will win a prize! :)

Meet my Characters: Katniss Everdeen

Sometimes I like to share the back-story and inspiration involved in creating my colorways. This month I'm going to be doing a little character bio for each of my Hunger Games colorways, in preparation for my Hunger Games Knit-Along/Spin-Along and the movie debut.

Today, meet Katniss Everdeen: The Girl Who Was On Fire.

Katniss is the lead character in Suzanne Collins's YA series that begins with The Hunger Games. I fell in love with these books, and Katniss herself, from the first minute I read them. Katniss was actually one of the first colorways I ever created; she has been with me for the long haul.

I don't want to spoil too much for people who haven't read the books (Why haven't you read the books?!? Do it!), but I will say that a main part of the novel series is the idea that Katniss comes out of nowhere to become a symbol and a leader for a revolution. The novels are set in a dreary dystopian, post-World War III future and Katniss lives in a community known for mining. When she participates in the Hunger Games she shows what happens when you light coal on fire: you get a flame.

For Katniss's colorway, I started with a base of charcoal grey for District 12, her home. I then added splashes of flame colors: red, yellow and blue (which sometimes blend together to give a rainbow effect; an added bonus/side effect). This colorway reminds me of a phoenix rising from the ashes, much like Katniss does in the novels.

I once sent a skein of this colorway to a friend of mine who had survived a house fire that destroyed, among many other things, her entire stash of yarn. I think this is a great colorway for representing our ability to survive hardship and come out stronger and brighter on the other side, don't you?

I have crocheted this colorway once before into a spiraling scarf:

I definitely love this colorway as a scarf, but I think it would make an amazing shawl, too. I hope someone knits one in the KAL! :)

Thanks for visiting me today and getting to know Katniss. I hope you love her as much as I do, and that you'll stop by later in the week as I introduce more of my characters!