Monday, February 7, 2011

The Ruby in the Smoke

I'd like to present one of my latest art yarns, inspired by a book called The Ruby in the Smoke (by Philip Pullman).



The book is the first of a series called The Sally Lockhart Mysteries, and it's about an emancipated young woman in 1872 who solves the case of her father's murder, and the mysteries surrounding it. Apart from the main plot, the books deal with the difficulties of gender roles in Victorian London. Sally Lockhart, whose mother had died when she was very young, and who learned everything she knows from her father, is good at accounting and at shooting pistols. She is strong-minded and brave. I really like her, and have enjoyed the books very much :-)
There's also a movie, with Billie Piper (who some of you might know from Dr. Who) as Sally Lockhart. I think the book is far better, but I also enjoyed the movie.

The yarn was inspired by the title of the book more than its contents. I spun it from black wool/silk blend, soft merino wool of anthracite and ruby red, grey alpaca fibre, and a bit of sparkling angelina. I added unobtrusively sparkling thread and many jewels: flat garnet discs (rubies would have been too expensive), freshwater pearls of a shimmering grey/peacock colour, and sparkling facetted crystal quartz beads. It is elegant and beautiful, and the jewels glitter mysteriously in the dark fibres.
305 m / 68 g, 17-19 wpi (light fingering weight, nearly laceweight). To be listed in the shop soon :-)

3 comments:

  1. Beautiful yarn and such an alluring name "Ruby Smoke". I am definitely going to have to check out the Sally Lockhart Mystery's! Let me know when you list this yarn in your shop :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I hope I'll have the time to list it tomorrow morning, but I can certainly drop you a note when it's done :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. yep, I read the books some years back and liked them all! and the yarn:))

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