Bird-Themed Knitting is Coming!
This summer will be the sixth year that Catherine of Gauge Dye Works and I have collaborated on knitting patterns and yarns and I think a couple years since I started photographing birds for fun. So naturally, as has been requested, we’re finally going to combine those two things! Get ready for a bird-themed knitting pattern and yarn!
This project started with a dropbox folder full of colourful local birds to get Catherine inspired about yarn colours. Here are a few!
A great blue heron is standing serenely in a leafy oak tree. Their feathers are shades of grey and their eye is bright gold.
A northern flicker woodpecker is perched on a bare branch. Her feathers are beige with black spots, a big black patch at her throat, and orange and black feathers in her tail.
A male Anna’s hummingbird sitting on a branch. His intense bright pink feathers feathers are visible on his head so it looks like he’s wearing a sequinned hood.
A bright yellow American goldfinch is perched on a bare branch. Their wings have black and white feathers and their beak is orange.
Male mallards soaring in front of a forest. Their heads are vivid green, their wings are mostly brown, and they have big rectangular purple patches on their wings.
We decided to try something new this year, so our collaborations this summer aren’t secrets, though of course we’ll keep you in a little bit of suspense. But the lack of secrecy has meant that we’ve been having a really fun time asking you, knitters and bird-lovers, for input on our project. So Catherine shared her process on Instagram with some very fun results. Here’s the initial post, as she was just starting to explore the idea.
Flat lay of a book entitled ‘Birds of Coastal British Columbia’, a loose hank of colourful yarn, and a striped knitted tube for colour inspiration.
Since we both love being outside and exploring the natural world here in Victoria, we decided to focus on local birds. (This informs the pattern design too, so stay tuned for that fun!) Here’s where Catherine is at with the colours right now thanks to lots of fun bird-lover feedback on Instagram. See if you can guess the birds before you scroll down!
8 colour palettes labeled A-H with the title, "Birds of the Pacific Northwest" at the top.
Some of these are birds I’ve never managed to photograph, so you know I’m going to be very much looking out for Steller’s jays and varied thrushes!
A knitted tube with colourful stripes. The Colours were chosen to represent different species of birds, Varied thrush, Anna’s Hummingbird, Northern Flicker, and Steller’s Jay.
A knitted tube with colourful stripes. The Colours were chosen to represent different species of birds, American Goldfinch, Rufous Hummingbird, Great Blue Heron, and Mallard Duck.
And what’s the design going to be, you ask? Well, I have to save a little something for closer to the launch date, so you’ll just have to wait and see. Want to be sure you don’t miss it? Subscribe to my newsletter, Gauge’s newsletter, my Insta (@AndreaRangelKnits) and Catherine’s/Gauge’s Insta (@GaugeDyeWorks).
If you’re into bird photos, here are a few blog posts you might like:
Where all the Hummingbirds Hang Out
Curious about previous collaborations me and Catherine have worked on together? Here they are! Oh, and go look at this fun behind-the-scenes video of our most recent photo shoot for this summer’s other collaborative project, a shawl I designed for my sister’s wedding!
And as alway, you can also follow me on my nature Instagram account @AndreaRangelOutside.
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