Colourway // Odyssey
At SweetGeorgia, we are blessed with a great team of dyers, many of whom are also artists working in other media. One of our dyers, Ray Tse, is also a very talented ceramics and wood artist originally from Hong Kong. Ray has just completed a year-long artist-in-residence position for ceramics and will be returning home this summer. This month, we feature a colourway designed by Ray about his journey in Canada:
After graduating from Emily Carr in Vancouver and then completing a ceramics teaching stint in Hong Kong, I returned to Vancouver early last year to begin my Post-Grad Work Permit as I wanted to explore and experience the art scene here in Canada. I arrived with nothing except a load of confidence that I would be able to land a gig in no time at all. However, reality was out of step with my expectations. I sent out applications to over 100 organizations and nevermind attaining a position… I did not even get so much as a response. This period of waiting was very challenging. It raised some hard questions regarding my faith, my career direction and my response to life’s challenges on a spiritual, emotional and social level.
Then all of a sudden, everything changed exactly a year ago last July. I got teaching positions for ceramic classes at two different community centres, landed a dyeing position at SweetGeorgia and most importantly, secured an Artist-in-Residence position at the (cont.)
Port Moody Arts Centre. All this allowed me to support myself while doing what I enjoyed. These amazing opportunities eventually opened the door to an Art Teaching position at a high school in Hong Kong which I will start in next month.
Looking back, I have learned much in this Odyssey — It was because of the difficulties I experienced that I was better able to savour the blessings that followed. The colors painted on the yarns and fibres chronologically details the state of my well-being through this journey. And just as the colors will be beautifully blended when it gets knitted or spun, so has my experiences here formed an important piece of the tapestry of who I am.
— by Ray Tse (follow him on Instagram @raytse_art)
Yarn // Superwash Sport
Odyssey // July 2016 Club Colourway // Superwash Sport
Superwash Sport is 100% superwash merino spun with a tighter twist into a 3-ply sportweight yarn. Each 100g skein has approximately 328 yards. We wanted to introduce this yarn to our Club members because it is so new and because often, knitting socks with a slightly fatter weight can make for faster project completion!
Fibre // Superwash Merino + Nylon
Odyssey // July 2016 Club Colourway // SW Merino + Nylon
Superwash Merino + Nylon is a blend of 85% superwash merino wool with 15% nylon, making it a beautifully soft, easy-care, and nylon-reinforced fibre ideal for spinning into sock yarns! Note that the superwash quality to it makes it easy care, but can also make it a little more slippery to spin. If you are having trouble holding onto this fibre, perhaps consider spinning it from the fold. Breaking off chunks of fibre and folding it over the index finger of your fibre supply hand can help you manage this slippery fibre!
Interested in seeing what some of our Club members are making with their yarn and fibre? Check out Rachel’s spinning posts about what she’s been spinning from our monthly fibre. And welcome Katrina, who has been knitting up each month’s yarn into something spectacular!
— Enjoy colour, Felicia
Each month, we dye a brand new, unique colourway for our Spinning Fibre and Sock Yarn Clubs. This post is all about what we sent out to our members in July 2016.