Five pair of socks are currently in progress. I watched Battlestar Galactica stuff for about 4 hours and got maybe 2 inches of the Viper Pilots done. I guess I must've put my knitting down a few times to make sure I didn't miss anything. It was good. I'm not the sort of person who watches, let alone cheers, when someone is strangled. I was last night (she'd chucked the guy's wife out an airlock, for frack's sake!) Also, I think Starbuck was actually a Cylon.
Back on Paula's Planet, more fibery goodness arrived in the mail yesterday. The batt pictured here came from Alaska and is a blend of superfine merino, bamboo, and angelina. I wish the puter had smell-o-vision because it smells really good. One of my cats stuck her head in the middle of the batt to get a good sniff. The colorway is called Dolly Varden, which is a fish. In the same swap with this delicious fish was kit called Culinary Colors. It was an undyed skein of Douceur et Soie, which is baby mohair and silk. It's almost as soft as the Dolly Varden. It came with some green kitchen-safe dyes. This kit is the carrot. Five pair of socks are the stick. When all of the socks are done, I can dye this stuff and knit a purty shawl.
7 comments:
Hello, I have often asked knitting friends if they have ever come across the use of 'Dolly Varden' to describe randomly dyed yarn. No-one seems to have heard of it. My Mother used it and it has always stuck with me from being small. I am so glad to have found your post and now know that I am not the only person to have heard of Dolly Varden wool. Many thanks
Linda, Caithness in the far north of Scotland
Linda, I knew that the fiber I was sent was named for a type of fish that is found in the waters off Alaska. I went to Wikipedia to find out more about it. It looks like both the fish and the yarn got their names from the same place. There's a Charles Dickens character called Dolly Varden. Wikipedia quotes a letter that says, "also the vogue in fashion for women at that time (middle 1870s) was called "Dolly Varden", a dress of sheer figured muslin worn over a bright-colored petticoat".
Yes I know Dolly Varden as a yarn, my Mum used to knit me socks and cardigans with it 'cos it went with everything'!
My mother always called multi coloured knitting yarn "dolly varden" . She was from the north of England .
Dolly Varden is a Dicken's character who wore multicoloured clothes and I imagine that this is where the phrase comes from.
Liz Hunter
I was so pleased to read the references to Dolly Varden wool. I am from the North East and my grandma always knitted with multicolour Dolly Varden wool
So pleased to find other folk who remember Dolly Varden wool. I’m from NE England and my Nana taught me to knit with multicoloured Dolly Varden wool
in the early 1950s
Multicoloured wool used to be called Dolly Varden when I was a child too. My mother was from the north-east of England but we lived in Wiltshire, where my grandmother and aunt also called it Dolly Varden. So it doesn't seem to be regional.
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