Melissa Jones May 6, 2022Work hard and play hard, right? My husband retired at the end of the year, so after working since he was 14, we decided to spend some time traveling. Our 40th wedding anniversary was March 20, so the trip was a double celebration! We were actually called Unicorns several times on the trip after being married for 40 years. Lol, it wasn’t 40 years of rainbows and ice cream, but it has all been worth it. We’ve raised a family of five children, 9 grandchildren and truly grown together as adults, parents and in our relationship. Time to celebrate right?
We spent 8 glorious days in Isla Mujeres, Mexico. It’s a beautiful island 5 miles long, sometimes narrow enough to hit a baseball across. We fell in love with Isla, the people, and the food! We had so many amazing dishes, from nice restaurants to taco and churro stalls. My husband, Brett, was in heaven. He’s a foodie for sure. And I must be too, if you see me ask to hear the cricket and mescal story!
We started playing a little search and find game on our many walks, looking for colors to photograph that matched my hand dyed yarns. I can go on vacation, but my obsession with color never leaves me! My mind has been buzzing with ideas since we returned, but I haven’t dyed a thing as I just can’t decide what to start with for my next hand dyed yarn!
1. Purple Rain!
This first color was the hardest one to find. There was not much purple to be found! Finally, we found this photo on the wall of a hotel that reminded me of April’s colorway, Purple Rain. It was a perfect match! Deep purple, pink, charcoal grey and just a splash of turquoise. Such a pretty colorway and looks so gorgeous knit up.
1. Yoga Green!
The first three days we had coffee at a little beach side restaurant, and I’d see people walking over with yoga mats. Then I noticed this sign on a pole, you could go do yoga in a treehouse on the beach! Did I join them? What do you think? I loved the sign and of course the idea, beautiful deep green colors, turquoise and some gold. These are always fun colors to work with for hand dyed yarn. This combo was a perfect match for my Hand painted colorway Agean. Goes so well with Tide Pool and Silver Sprinkles too. I think I should grab a skein of Agean for myself and get to knitting wool socks and maybe the warmth of the Caribbean colors will keep my feet even warmer next winter
3. Colors from the Beach!
Oh, this was a great day! Our first beach day, sitting in lounge chairs enjoying the amazing view and a couple Dos Equis XX. Who knew a Mexican beer can and this view would match Tide Pool so well?
4. Lipstick Pink And Tide Pool!
This plant, whatever it is, was stunning!! It was on the hotel grounds and so beautiful when the sun showed through the pink leaves. I paired it with Lipstick and Tide Pool. Both colors look amazing on Lotus Garden wool and silk yarn. Would make a lovely shawl, and Lipstick is the perfect pink/red!
5. Isla Mujeres and its Many Colors!
Position the point of a triangle shawl at the front like a kerchief, wrap the ends around your neck crossing them in the back, bringing the ends forward to hang loosely. Or knit your shawl as a kerchief style cowl for easy wear!
6. The Ah-May-Zing Color of May!
This may be my favorite! There were so many bright, beautiful, tropical colors and these multi-colored Isla Mujeres signs were in several places on the island, all different. This had to go with my Rainbow dyed double sock blanks. And yes, I took my knitting with me, despite Brett rolling his eyes at me. In fact, two different projects. Local hand dyed yarn on location! This project was cast on in KCI airport and finished a day after we got back. It’s a super quick, easy knit with DK weight yarn. The pattern is Dobroskza by Abba Lipinska. I love the finished shawl. Simple, not too big and easy to wear. It’s perfect for the time of year. And did you notice the color? It’s Ah-May-Zing! May’s colorway of the month!! (Special sneak peak for those of you following). Ah-May-Zing is hot fuschia, plum, gold and copper and is matching so many things in my wardrobe! Be sure and check it out in my online yarn store on the online yarn stores. The listing is up now but will only be available in May!This may be my favorite! There were so many bright, beautiful, tropical colors and these multi-colored Isla Mujeres signs were in several places on the island, all different. This had to go with my Rainbow dyed double sock blanks. And yes, I took my knitting with me, despite Brett rolling his eyes at me. In fact, two different projects. Local hand dyed yarn on location!
