Background:

This was spun for a themed project, and the inspiration was the character Uni the unicorn from the wonderful Dungeons and Dragons cartoon of the 80s. Now here’s something you may not know about me: I have a master in physics degree. So I have studied light and it fascinates me. Colour mixing is one of the interesting elements, working via colour addition for light and colour subtraction for inks. We perceive colours as a mixture of 3 primary colours of light. Broadly speaking these are red, green and blue and are derived from the 3 light-sensitive types of cone cell in our retinas which are activated by short, medium, and long wavelength photons in the visible light spectrum. A curious consequence of our biology is that when only the short- and long-wavelength cones are activated, the colour we see is one that doesn’t actually exist anywhere on the visible light spectrum.

Story:

How apt! To be crafting a mythical creature

From colours that shouldn’t exist.

Light’s a curious thing, and the colours therein

Are defined by our senses as three.

Fire red cones and blue, and magenta’s the hue,

With pink just a pale variation.

Yet green, in between, is not to be seen

So magenta’s nowhere on the spectrum.

Information:

Title: Unicorn Fluff

Composition: 100% unicorn*

Weight: 100g / 15 WPI / Sports weight or ‘5-ply’

Length: 321yd / 294m approx

Care: Hand wash only. Dry flat.

Details:

Date: March 2015

Skein code: 0010

Fibre: 50g of Standard rainbow merino (70%) & silk (30%) and 50g of 50% baby camel & 50% tussah silk

Source: Wingham Wool Work – (RMS/BP) & (BCAMS)

Status: Gifted

Notes:

This yarn was ‘Z’-plied to improve crochet stitch definition.

* Just kidding! 40% silk, 35% merino & 25% baby camel