Mineral Monday - Yarn bases

Well that weekend went by quick!  So here we are with another Mineral Monday.  Instead of covering one particular mineral I thought I would tell you all about the yarn bases we carry now.  Of course there is some rock talk involved!

We carry 4 bases at the moment so without any further ado here they are!

First of all we have our Metamorphic yarn base.

Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock types, in a process called metamorphism, which means "change in form". The original rock (protolith) is subjected to heat (temperatures greater than 150 to 200 °C) and pressure (1500 bars), causing profound physical and/or chemical change.

Our Metamorphic yarn is a worsted weight with 218 yards of 100% Superwash merino wool per 100g skein.   It is an 8 ply yarn that is super springy and squishy and would be wonderful for all of your winter accessories, including hats, mitts, scarves....the list goes on!

Next we have our Igneous yarn base.

Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. Igneous rock may form with or without crystallization, either below the surface as intrusive (plutonic) rocks or on the surface as extrusive (volcanic) rocks.

Our Igneous yarn is a single ply, bulky yarn with 76 yards per 100g skein.   It is made of 80% soft superwash merino and 20% nylon.

Perfect for those big chunky knits!

Now onto our fingering weight yarns!

First of all is our Pumice yarn base. 

Pumice /ˈpʌmᵻs/, called pumicite in its powdered or dust form, is a volcanic rock that consists of highly vesicular rough textured volcanic glass, which may or may not contain crystals.

Our Pumice yarn is a light and super soft yet strong single ply fingering weight yarn with 400 yards of superwash merino wool in every 100g skein.  When dyed this wool has such depth, it just draws you right in.  Perfect for lightweight shawls, sweaters, t-shirts....to be honest this is my fave yarn we carry!

Lastly we have our Quartz sock base. 

What do you get when you combine the strength of granite and the beauty of marble?  You get quartz, a very strong and gorgeous mineral. 

Our Quartz base is a fingering weight yarn made of 75% Superwash merino wool and 25% nylon. It is a soft, springy yarn that shows stitch definition really well. Whether you want long lasting socks or a well wearing cardigan, this is our strong, long wearing fingering base.   It will be available in multiple colourways and makes a great first introduction into the yarn bases we carry at Seawall Fibres. 

We plan on expanding into other yarns in the future including some sport and Dk weights.  Some silk and cashmere will be available soon!

Have you checked out our new Etsy shop yet?  There are some really beautiful yarns still available.  If you follow our shop you will be one of the first to see the new yarns in the next update!  

Also, if you haven't had the chance yet there are still a couple of days left to enter our big giveaway on Instagram.  A pack of 3 skeins of our sock yarn is up for grabs!  Don't miss out!

Seawall Fibres etsy shop is now open!

Okay, you can stop the emails!  After an incredible amount of prodding our etsy shop is now open.

You can find us at Seawallfibres etsy store.  Now you can stay in your pjs and enhance your morning coffee ritual while shopping for some of the most beautiful yarns available.  Can't make it to The Artist's Mark in person?  No worries, now we bring this incredible yarn to you on your screen!  The only thing you can't do is burrow your face in the soft yummy goodness that is Seawall Fibres.  Well you can try...no one will judge you!  One thing though, damage to computer monitors is not covered by the seller!

One of the many yarns listed 

So far the shop has various yarns in three bases (Quartz sock, Pumice fingering and Igneous bulky) with more coming soon!  

Seafoam on Quartz sock 

See something you like but it isn't in the base you want or you need more than is available?  Please just message us and we can put together a custom order with a special listing just for you!

So sit back, relax and shop to your heart's content!  And please feel free to let us know what you think, we are always trying to improve and make Seawall Fibres the best little indie yarn shop on the face of the planet!

Mineral Monday - Malachite

Copper burns with a green flame.  I know this because my dad's friend Ted Lazare melted his glasses proving this point in the Mansfield Tavern 50 years ago (he was using the frames to hold the penny in the flame - evidently forgetting another copper trait - it's an excellent conductor of heat!)

This is important because malachite contains a lot of copper and that leads to its beautiful green colour.  It is so beautiful that it is used as a gem stone and to produce awesome pieces of art.

Malachite vase in Hermitage museum, Petersburg, Russia

Since malachite is formed by chemical precipitation it often contains amazingly intricate patterns of various shades of green, constantly varying from dark to light, creating spectacular colourways!

I have to admit I am quite partial to the colour green so I challenged myself to find a way to express this gorgeous stone in yarn. 

Malachite Trio on Pumice base

The three yarns pictured above make up our Malachite trio.  The variegated Malachite is supported and enhanced by the lighter oxidized copper (bright green) and the Midnight.  The three work spectacularly together but each are stunning enough on their own to stand alone.

What do you think?  Did I do it?

Mineral Monday

Happy Monday everyone!  Here at Seawall Fibres we are planning on showing a new yarn colourway and it's inspiration every Monday so you all can see the workings behind how we come up with our unusual colourways.

This being our inaugural Mineral Monday we decided to tackle our signature trio called Seawall Flame Agate.  This set includes Banded Seawall, Seawall Beach and Seawall Sand.

First of all a little history on the area!

Nova Scotia is full of iconic landmarks- Peggy’s Cove, the Cabot Trail- and the Seawall on St. Mary’s Bay is right there with them.

Think about it, 300 million years ago, if you had been standing in front of the Seawall, you would have been in Africa AND near the equator! Then the continents started drifting and eventually part of Africa slammed into Nova Scotia.

The seawall is a reddish brown area of sandstone sediments, butting up against the basalt massif that formed when part of the sediments sank to form a rift valley.

Today, the Seawall stands as a silent sentinel for mariners plying the waters of St. Mary’s Bay and creates a spectacular colour palette that changes with the position of the sun. In the early morning, it is dark and mysterious but in the afternoon, it is defiantly red showing all its details.

With our seawall trio, we attempt to capture a small part of the beauty which presents itself during a typical day.

We hope that someday you will be able to experience this awesome destination first hand but if not, this beautiful yarn will let you knit its natural beauty.

How do you think we did?

Exciting News!

Good morning fibre lovers! 

Before I get into the exciting news I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all for the amazingly warm reception Seawall Fibres has received.  We do truly appreciate you taking the time to check us out and we hope you enjoy the blog as we go forward!

Ok, so everybody ready for the exciting news today?  Here at Seawall Fibres we totally understand the tactile nature of yarn.  Yeah, it is nice to see pretty pictures of gorgeous skeins on your screen…but nothing can beat touching, squishing, yup even burrowing your face in a nice big pile of soft luscious yarn.  And knowing that, we wanted to kick things off with a bang and give one fortunate person the chance to do just that at no cost to them!  So we are having a giveaway over on Instagram where we have put our signature colourway up for grabs.  That giveaway includes 3 skeins of our wonderful 75/25 fingering weight in 1 of each of our Seawall Sand, Seawall Beach and Banded Seawall colourways, pictured below.  All you have to do to enter this contest is go to Instagram, start an account if you don't already have one, like the picture, follow Seawall Fibres on Instagram and tag 5 friends.  Sounds pretty easy eh?  Well what are you waiting for?  Follow the link above and head on over!  Contest runs until the end of the month with the winner being chosen June 1^st.  The winner will be announced on Instagram and the blog on that date. 

 

Other exciting news!  Our etsy shop will be opening very soon with limited stock so keep checking here for the grand opening announcement so you don’t miss out!  Until then, if you are in the area, feel free to hop in and check out our exclusive Canadian retailer The Artist's Mark.  They are an adorable little shop in Digby Nova Scotia with some real gems for you to pick up.  They carry something for everyone, whether you are into fibres, rocks, art, clothes, knick knacks…you name it, they got it!  Plus if you need it they are an authorized Addi dealer with a nice selection of needles and notions.

Coming up in the next little while in the blog we are going to start showing you some of our delicious colourways and tell you about the rock or mineral that inspired it! 

Till next time!

The Adventure Begins

Take an obsessive knitter, add a geologist and award winning artist living in a spectacular area and what do you get? Seawall Fibres- amazing, luxurious hand dyed fibres reflecting the   beautiful setting of The Seawall on Digby Neck in Nova Scotia.

Digby Neck is a spectacular slip of nature perched precariously between the rugged waters of the Bay of Fundy and historic St. Mary’s Bay- waters whose colours are constantly changing and whose world famous 20+ foot tides dramatically resculpt the landscape twice daily.

The imposing Seawall towers over all, standing as a silent sentinel to days long past, simpler times when local wool was spun and hand dyed. Her deep red sandstone contrasts with the grey basalt massifs and treasures of amethyst, jasper and multicoloured agates found in the sand and driftwood of the beach below.

This is the inspiration for Seawall Fibres- unique, hand dyed yarns reflecting the enchanting beauty of natural Nova Scotia.

It starts with the obsessive knitter, Lisa Pakosh. She decided that to get the interesting (or sometime totally crazy!) colours  she wanted to knit with she was going to dye her own.  So she embarked on a wonderful journey of discovery, learning to dye yarn, starting with food colouring and yarn she had around the house and graduating to acid dyes with beautiful yarn bases.  She had so much fun, coming up with interesting colourways that were so scrumptious  she couldn't stop squishing and cuddling the skeins. 

Move on to the artist.  Lisa's mom, Vickie Turner, was the one who initially taught Lisa how to knit years ago.  She had taken a hiatus from the needles but got sucked back in when she saw the beautiful yarn palettes available today that her daughter kept waving in her face.  What artist can not get lost in the vast ocean of colour in a well stocked yarn store or stash!  So she started again, dragging out old projects and getting hooked all over again.  But she too wanted specific colours that she wasn't always able to find.

Now the geologist. Lisa’s dad, Peter started to find beautiful agates and amethyst near his home and decided to become a lapidary- turning rocks into beautiful specimens and jewelry. One day he issued Lisa a challenge- produce fibres that captured the beauty of the rocks he was finding. The rock he had in mind was rare, Golden Flame Agate found only in a few spots. Having visited the area a year previous, Lisa decided to go one better. She would produce colours that reflected not only the beautiful rocks but also the spectacular natural beauty of the Seawall area.

And so Seawall Fibres was born. Each colour is named after a specific mineral or natural material found in the area. It has been a long journey and it isn’t over yet! After a lot of trial and error, we have a line that we are proud to offer to the world of knitters.

We hope you will follow us as we continue on this journey.  Lots of exciting things are in store......starting with the grand opening of our etsy store in a couple of weeks and an amazing contest to get everyone involved!  Right now Seawall Fibres is exclusively available at The Artist's Mark Shop on Digby Neck so if you are in the area please take a moment and drop in. We promise you will enjoy it!  And while you are fondling all of the squishy yummy goodness that is the yarn, Peter promises to commiserate with your husbands and non knitting friends and will keep them entertained!

Hopefully, you will be able to experience this unique part of the world for yourself but if not, our yarns will enable you to enjoy its beauty.

We are including a hot link to the blog for the Artist’s Mark Shop and we encourage you to take a few minutes and check it out. You will see our product on display and it may just trigger your next vacation.