There is nothing like the thought of a looming retreat weekend for knitters for us to get creative and start experimenting with colour. We will be in the little fishing village of Ahuriri near Napier from 27th to 30th August for “Knit August Nights”. It will be a long drive from Geraldine in South Canterbury, but we will travel in the Maniototo Wool van with all our lovely South Island wool.

I discovered sprinkle dyed yarns on Instagram and have done a few skeins. They look weird but people say they knit up surprisingly well with no pooling. I couldn’t wait to make this lacy headband to try it out. It is very pretty and I like the spread of the colours.

The design is free on Ravelry. My username is “Uovos”. Look for it under my projects

I’ve also had a go at gradients, but haven’t really mastered the technique yet – lots more practice needed. Here is a pullover for 4 yr old Lachie using a blue to grey gradient for the yoke. The design is “Conscious” on Ravelry.

Gradients and sprinkle dyed yarns are enormously time-consuming to make, but they are very individual and special. I hope the knitters at KAN are keen to try some of ours.