So... we have a beautiful new Milburn colourway!! We have been planning and working on replacing four colours for quite a while now - at least 12 months I think; possibly more (I've lost track). We have now done three!
First to sell out was Dogwood which was replaced with Crocosmia, as this seemed like a close-ish swap. Crocosmia was a tried and tested colour that proved popular on the mill dyed Askham 4ply and as a hand dyed colourway. Plus I love orange and there wasn't an orange on the palette so this felt like a no-brainer.
Autumn Fields DK was the next to sell out and 4ply has done since. I've said it many times but browns can be so hit and miss. Walnut was the last shade left of mill dyed Askham 4ply up until very recently and there are still a few balls of Whitfell DK in Ebony. I feel like Autumn Fields was never as popular as it should have been but thought it was important to have a brown shade in the palette. Perhaps the problem was that it wasn't the right brown? Anyway, the hope is that Compost will be the right brown! It is already a very popular colourway on hand dyed yarn and it works so well with other colours I would class it as a neutral!
The limiting factor with bringing in the next shade has been remaining stock of Damson and Moss continuing to linger (which is why we're replacing them!) but as 2020 drew to an end DK stocks of both shades were running low, giving us space to order 4ply and DK in the next colourway. So technically this new colour is a replacement for Damson. With hindsight Damson and Black Tulip were far too similar, with Black Tulip having the benefit of being moody and muted. Sadly it edged Damson out of the running as it worked so much better with many of the other colours. But you know I love purple right? Well here is the replacement....
DUSK!
Dusk is an ECY classic on our hand dyed yarn. It is a beautiful soft greyish purple that works really well with lots of other colours. The first samples we received from the dyers weren't quite right but they got the next attempt spot on. I couldn't be happier with the result and I hope you will love it too. Dusk is to purple what Althaea is to pink. Soft, delicate, muted and moody.
My first few attempts at photographing it (as soon as it came out of the box) proved tricky. The light really affects how it comes out. In sunlight it looks pink but when I moved the yarn indoors it looks very grey.
As I was making space in the stock room I pulled out a couple of colours of Milburn to see how they look together and again was surprised at how the pairings affected how Dusk looks.
With Wicker and Natural it looks soft and muted (this is 4ply):
With Damson it has a deeper, richer look to it (this is DK).
This may not be the most appealing definition but Laura suggested that it is a 'sponge colour' - that means it takes on elements of whichever colour you pair it with. It can look warm when paired with warm shades, and it can look cool when paired with cool shades. It can also look washed out when paired with certain other colours (as you'll see in the pics to follow).
Before you go any further, here's an interesting point - I photographed the combinations of 4ply and DK at the same time, with each on a wooden stool on the garden table. So they are photographed in the exact same light, just about a foot apart. Check out how the colours change between the 4ply and DK *just* from being sat in slightly different locations!! Also the colour gradually changes over the course of the whole photography session, due to the change in the cloud cover above me. Here's my set-up so that you can see what I'm talking about: those are honestly *literally* the same colours! Charcoal, Black Tulip and Dusk.
Here are a few more combinations:
Milburn 4ply in Dusk and Tea Rose
There are already a few new projects using this colourway in our queues and we can't wait to see what you make with this fab new colour! We will be adding lots more combination suggestions into the Milburn flickr albums, 4ply HERE and DK HERE.
That leaves one more colour to come! We have already decided on it and think you will agree it is a necessary addition. Sadly we can't start production until the remaining Moss and Damson 4ply is gone. It is on sale so would be ideal for larger projects - and Damson looks amazing with Dusk! 😉