The inspiration for our skeins comes from People of Color
in historical manuscripts and paintings.
MEDIEVAL COLLECTION
OUR YARNS
A deep red, with gold flecks, and added layers of turquoise/navy and sea-moss green make this medley a kaleidoscope of color. This colorway represents the trio of beautiful Theban legionnaires.
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The manuscript image comes from: Georgius Jehner von Orlamünde, ca. 1480.
Image held in the Moritzkirche (St. Moritz/Maurice) church, founded in 14th century. Used with permission.
This colorway captures the figure on the right of Georgius Jehner von Orlamünde's painting which features the three Theban legionnaires. This inspiration comes from the rich navy/turquoise blue outfit with black shading.
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The manuscript image comes from: Georgius Jehner von Orlamünde, ca. 1480.
Image held in the Moritzkirche (St. Moritz/Maurice) church, founded in 14th century. Used with permission.
This design resembles the gorgeous center figure of the Thebans, who wears a rich crimson red outfit while adorning striking orange accents in the manuscript image.
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The manuscript image comes from: Georgius Jehner von Orlamünde, ca. 1480.
Image held in the Moritzkirche (St. Moritz/Maurice) church, founded in 14th century. Used with permission.
This colorway represents the leftmost figure in the Theban trio. It features a vibrant, mossy green with blue undertones, complimented with a regal gold blend.
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The manuscript image comes from: Georgius Jehner von Orlamünde, ca. 1480.
Image held in the Moritzkirche (St. Moritz/Maurice) church, founded in 14th century. Used with permission.
This variegated yarn is predominantly red and blue with slightly lesser yellow/gold accents to represent John Blanke's trumpet and fleur de lis on his heraldry flag. This inspiration reflects the French version of John Blanke's vibrant outfit. The loud colors capture his boisterous musical talent in fiber arts form.
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This image is from a tapestry of Le Camp du Drap d’Or, the meeting of Kings Henry VIII and François Ier, ca. 1520, probably Tournai. The tapestry is called "Wrestling at the Field of the Cloth of Gold.”
The stunning reddish-orange blend of colors on both sides of this skein fades softly into an off-white in the middle. The middle of the skein is speckled with a beautiful emerald green and sun yellow to offer dimension, and to reflect the green on the beautiful medieval trumpeter's dress along with the gold strand on her head.
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The manuscript image comes from: BnF: Français 22971, fol. 2r. Used with permission.
The intense vermillion with fiery red undertones reflects the Moor's beautiful tunic with slight variation in coloring. It's one of those colors that's difficult to capture in pictures but is a deep, rich, lush red you will surely adore.
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The manuscript image comes from: British Library: Royal MS 16 G VI, fol. 167r. Used with permission.
This colorway is a gorgeous medley of colors from a deep pink to a powder blue, transitioning to a deep navy blue and finally an emerald shade. The transitions from one color to another are soft and blended, not abrupt. It's truly a balancing act that makes the yarn really look lush and regal like Balthazar. This colorway represents Balthazar giving a gift to Jesus in a nativity scene painting.
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The painting is a late medieval painting by Dutch artist, Gerard David, c. 1515.
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The base color is variegated flamingo-like pink with speckles of sapphire, emerald, and navy blue. This gives a lively, bold look and also works as a glorious galaxy medley. A regal blend fitting for King Balthazar!
The painting is a late medieval painting by Dutch artist, Gerard David, c. 1515.
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This is a stunning blend of deep forest green and blue-green and chartreuse. St. Maurice was the most well-known of the legendary Theban Legionnaire army, particularly because he was said to have led a rebellion which ended in his martyrdom. Being canonized, he was represented throughout the Middle Ages and early modern period often. This rich green blend suits Maurice's bold, vivacious, and striking presence gloriously.
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The manuscript image comes from: Anonymous German Artist Martyrdom of Saint Maurice and the Theban Legion Germany (c. 1500). Brühl., Katholische Pfarrkirche St. Margaretha. Used with permission.
The vibrant complimentary blue and orange colors are dispersed throughout to give almost a "tiger-like" look to the yarn with some of the yarn remaining white to reflect Domes Day Man's striped tunic, as depicted in the The Domesday Abbreviato from c. 1241.
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The manuscript image comes from: The National Archives, ref: E 36/284. Used with permission.
This muted soft blue, white, and gold colorway creates a delicate looking yarn inspired by the beautiful maiden who adorns the flowy white gown with hints of blue and gold.
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The manuscript image comes from: Publius Terencius Afer, Comoediae [comédies de Térence] ca. 1411;Bibliothèque de France, Ms-664 51v. Used with permission.
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This colorway is based on the Black wizard, Noiron, who is referenced in a medieval French legend involving the heroic knight Renaud de Montauban. Noiron inspired a rich medley of gorgeous rusty red and deep golden yellow with grey specks reflecting his silvery-grey armor.
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The manuscript image comes from: Vivien envoie un enchanteur noir auprès de Maugis. Renaut de Montauban by David Aubert, enlumineur, Bruges, 1462-1470. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, Ms 5072 Rés., f. 319v. Used with permission.
This gorgeous versatile deep navy colorway with lighter turquoise inflections is inspired by the Black knight and his vibrant blue tunic in this 13th-century manuscript image.
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The manuscript image comes from: The Murthly Hours. NLS MS21000, f. 14r. Used with permission.
This exquisite colorway is inspired by the mythical Black king, Agolant who battled King Charlemagne in a series of legendary conflicts. King Agolant's gorgeous colorway gives mermaid-like vibes with this turquoise/teal, red, golden yellow, and orange medley.
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The manuscript image comes from: British Library: Royal MS 16 G VI, fol. 167r. Used with permission. Used with permission.
The colors here are inspired by John Blanke in the 1511 English manuscript. The dominant greys and mustard, golden yellows represent the interconnection between his new and old homelands, while the red and green specks reflect the extra stories (sometimes hidden parts) that add depth and complexity to those from the diaspora.
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The manuscript image comes from: The 1511 Westminster Tournament Roll. Used with permission.
This solid emerald green with deeper inflections is perfect for so many projects, especially clothing. You can pair this gorgeous deep green with a Balthazar's gift for a colorful mix and match or offset it with one of the solid greys from the Renaissance collection.
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The manuscript image comes from: The center image of the Triptych by Geertgen tot St Jans. This figure is one of the Magi in the Adoration of the Magi. c. 1485. Národní galerie, Sternbergpaleis, Praag. Used with permission.
This is a beautiful minty green shade that represents the stunning and regal Black queen of Sheba, as she was often depicted in medieval manuscripts. Minty green was her colorway and this shade isolates the gorgeous mint color exquisitely.
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The manuscript image comes from: The Queen of Sheba from a manuscript (Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen, 2 Cod. Ms. Philos. 63, Cim., fol. 122r) of Bellifortis by Conrad Kyeser. Used with permission.
This blend of three soft pastel colors, pink, light blue, and light periwinkle plays together to create transition colors to connect the 3 dominant colors together. This is inspired by 3 Ethiopian women from a 14th-century Austrian manuscript.
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The manuscript image comes from a panel of the first folio in Evangeliarium by Johann von Troppau, 1368. Department of Manuscripts and Rare Books (HAN). Sammlung von Handschriften und alten Drucken. Cod. 1182. Used with permission.
Inspired by the dress of the maiden who comforts Ethiopian Queen Candace in a 14th-century Austrian manuscript, this soft navy colorway almost replicates a cornflower blue. It's a beautiful pastel solid shade that will go with so many other colors or work beautifully on its own.
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The manuscript image comes from a panel of the first folio in Evangeliarium by Johann von Troppau, 1368. Department of Manuscripts and Rare Books (HAN). Sammlung von Handschriften und alten Drucken. Cod. 1182. Used with permission.
This solid lilac colorway is a soft pastel inspired by a Black figure that has a purple tunic on in a 15-century French manuscript. The colorway plays off of the purple tone with this lush soft pastel variation. Pair it with other pastels or deeper shades, a variegated colorway or neutrals like black or grey.
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Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry, Folio 28r - David Foresees the Preaching of the Apostles the Musée Condé, Chantilly. Open Domain image.
This pastel medley pulls together the blue, green, orange, pink, and yellow hues found in a 15th-century German manuscript depicting Moorish knights battling Moses' forces in an updated medieval scene. One side of the skein is a light orange and soft pink blend with soft yellow undertones and the other side a light green and blue mix with golden undertones. The transitions and blending is soft as the gold works throughout to give balance to each color. The knights may be in mud, bu there is no muddiness to the skeins, just beautiful soft tones that would work great in the Spring or Fall.
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Image from Moses Defeating the Moors from Rudolf von Ems’s World Chronicle, about 1400–10, German. Tempera colors and gold leaf on parchment. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Ms. 33, fol. 66v.
It's not often to come across the Ethiopian Queen Candace in medieval manuscripts, but here she is sprawled out in a story where her son comes back to life. Her beautiful indigo dress is softened to a pastel periwinkle. This solid color has some slight variation, not just to match the manuscript but to give your projects a little more dimension and will look glorious when the light hits your work.
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The manuscript image comes from a panel of the first folio in Evangeliarium by Johann von Troppau, 1368. Department of Manuscripts and Rare Books (HAN). Sammlung von Handschriften und alten Drucken. Cod. 1182. Used with permission.
This soft pink colorway is a solid that is perfect if you need a pastel tone. A very muted pink flamingo shade, this colorway works great with so many others. The inspiration comes from a panel image of a 14th-century Austrian manuscript depicting Ethiopian Princess Ephigenia. The colorway is a muted version of her beautiful dress and flowing arm sashes.
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The manuscript image comes from a panel of the first folio in Evangeliarium by Johann von Troppau, 1368. Department of Manuscripts and Rare Books (HAN). Sammlung von Handschriften und alten Drucken. Cod. 1182. Used with permission.
Inspired by a Black knight in an chaotic medieval war image depicting Moses battling Moors, this pastel green colorway has a very subtle yellow and light cool blue undertone to add some dimension to your projects. Think of soft sage and fern greens. This is a beautiful variation of that imagery. Perfect for blankets, sweaters, baby items, and toys.
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Image from Moses Defeating the Moors from Rudolf von Ems’s World Chronicle, about 1400–10, German. Tempera colors and gold leaf on parchment. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Ms. 33, fol. 66v.
This is a solid light yellow colorway that is a beautiful addition to the pastel collection. The pale yellow color is not intense and not too washed out, it's a rather perfect balance. Yellow is a lovely neutral tone that works well on its own or paired up. Especially good for baby items. The colorway is inspired by one of the gorgeous Black figures in pale yellow who is part of Balthazar's entourage in a 14th-century “The Adoration of the Magi" painting.
Image from “The Adoration of the Magi,” held at the Met Museum. The unknown artists is an Italian follower of Giotto, c.1340-43.
This neutral tone is inspired by a figure of a Moor wearing a dark, camel colored tunic, as depicted in a 15th-century German tapestry. The tonal colorway has warm, earthy undertones that lift the brown color. This is great paired up with warm colors like red, orange, or cream, and would work really well for amigurumi lovers who love making little cute bears.
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Detail from Tapestry with Wild Men and Moors, Alsace, Strasbourg, ca. 1440, linen and wool slit tapestry, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Charles Potter Kling Fund.
This beautiful tonal is a rose color with a very light dusted brown to give it that "dusty rose" look. It reflects the various rose shades of Raimondo de Cabanni's tunic he wears in his wedding portrait. This tonal color has some lighter inflections to give depth and dimension but is a strong colorway that will work with so many other colors from blues, pinks, yellows, browns, and neutral creams, blacks, and greys.
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The public domain image comes from The marriage of Philippa of Catania and Raymond of Campania (c.1345). From Jean Fouquet, ''Des cas des nobles hommes et femmes'' (1458), folio 347r, now in Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek.
Inspired by one of Sheba's entourage in a stained glass window image, this variegated colorway is a blend of light neon blue and a blend of deep and light purple. The mix creates a beautiful indigo that flows in and out of each other to create a lovely variation. The cool and icy tones of this are still vibrant, and work wonderfully on their own or can be mixed with solid tones like purples, blues, greys, pinks, blacks and more.
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Detail from stained glass comes from Canterbury Cathedral depicting Sheba visiting Solomon.
This warm toned palette is based on a stained-glass window of Balthazar, one of the magi from the nativity story. This is a fiery blend of neon and crimson red, orange, and bright yellow along with a hint of ecru and fawn. The colorway will create a variegated blend which you can offset with warm solid tonals to create beautiful projects. ​
This beautiful neon rainbow colorway is inspired by the gorgeous colorful outfit that adorns one of the Black Magi in a c. 1510-20 Flemish painting of the Nativity scene. One side of the skein starts out with a bright red that blends into a neon orange, yellow, bright green, neon blue, electric purple, periwinkle, and ends with a bright fuchsia. It's a fun colorway that will brighten up your stashes. It als comes in a bundle package with Alessandro Midnight Black if you want to create beautiful projects with a black accent.
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Inspiration for this vibrant neon cyan colorway comes from a classical Iranian piece which was a mix of Persian and Hellenistic influences, and eventually influenced art in medieval Europe. This image is from a fresco of Conon, a chief priest in the 1st century C.E. His beautiful bright cyan outfit and hat are interpreted here in this tonal solid. A bonus is that this neon blue glows under black light. How fun is that? ​
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This beautiful solid blue is a deep delphine blue that you find in parts of Grecan mosaics. The blue is inspired by the beautiful delphine blue represented in this medieval manuscript depicting an ancient Black Chaldean. This solid tone is a more middle of the road blue that will work well with other blues like navy, and also neutrals like greys, browns, creams and black. You can also pair it up with soft pinks, yellow, and even orange of of course complimentary colors like soft sage would also work beautifully with this. The variegated colorway seaweed sage-blue would compliment this colorway well.
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Image from BL: The Bristol Psalter, 223r: Three Chaldeans with Israelite captives. Origin Istanbul (11th Century). Used with permission.
This tonal solid is an addition to the Red palette situated in the middle of the red tones. Not as deep as Le More Velvet Red and not as bright as The Moor, this middle of the road red is a lush and intense red that is the deepest red pulled from the "Red Theban" gradient colorway. That way if you want to offset the gradient with a solid color this is a perfect match.
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The manuscript image comes from: Georgius Jehner von Orlamünde, ca. 1480.Image held in the Moritzkirche (St. Moritz/Maurice) church, founded in 14th century. Used with permission.
Behold, a Black figure, a Saracen, in a 14th-century manuscript who has some crusader prisoners on hand! This medieval figure is our inspiration for this colorway, as the colorway is pulled from his sage tunic. The solid color has a light lichen undertone and overlaid with sage to lift the color. You'll be able to create beautiful foresty projects with this colorway and mix and match with ones like seaweed sage, blues, silver, black or cream.
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Public Domain Image: Les Livres du Graunt Caam, XIVe siècle, BL MS Roy. 19 D I, f. 107.
This lushly deep brown colorway has burgundy undertones that lift the brown and create a rich earthy tone you'd find deep in the forest. This is a solid colorway that you can pair up with warm or cool tones and the richness of the brown will enhance whatever color you pair it with. The figure of inspiration it is based on was a real 15th-century Euro-African man who was a rare Black donor of a painting commemorating the Virgin Mary. He is seen at the bottom of the religious painting.
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The painting is by Italian painter David Ghirlandaio, and is held in the Keresztény Múzeum in Hungary.
This gorgeous soft persimmon yarn has long variegated soft yellow that increases and decreases in intensity throughout. You'll end up with a beautiful orange/yellow variation in your work which will add dimension and depth. This will work wonderfully on its own but also could be paired up with black, grey, and looks especially gorgeous when paired with blue-steel.
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The colorway is inspired by the Ethiopian King Egippus' son shown in a medieval manuscript being baptised.
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The manuscript image comes from a panel of the first folio in Evangeliarium by Johann von Troppau, 1368. Department of Manuscripts and Rare Books (HAN). Sammlung von Handschriften und alten Drucken. Cod. 1182. Used with permission.
A gorgeous pastel rainbow of soft turquoise, purple, pink, yellow and green that works up in knitting and crochet like an iridescent dream. The colorway is based on a beautiful tapestry image of Balthazar the Magus dated to the mid 1550s. He is adorned in a magnificent and intricate rainbow colorway. The tapestry is found in the Musée de l'Oeuvre Notre-Dame in Strasbourg, France.
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This luscious deep purple is a rare find in medieval manuscripts and a perfect addiction of a violet colorway to Yarnia. The intense violet has an underlayer of hyacinth with added layers of purple to create this deep purple that pays homage to the Black figure in this early 15th-century Bohemian astrological codex. This purple will go with blues, neutrals, and will work especially well with Maiden of the Violet Sky.
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The manuscript image comes from King Wenceslaus’ Astrological Codex. Bavarian State Library. Used with permission.
A variegated blue blend that works up like a blue geode based on 3 Black Chaldeans in an eleventh-century Turkish manuscript. The cool tones are a mix of sapphire, peacock and baby blues that fade in and out of each other to create a blue whirlwind of color. This is great for projects that require a little more dimension to projects.
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Image from BL: The Bristol Psalter, 223r: Three Chaldeans with Israelite captives. Origin Istanbul (11th Century). Used with permission.
This smokey blend of brown's, grey, and a splash of indigo looks a little bit like fur. The blend of warm and cool colors works well to create a smokey blend of earth and dusky sky. The colorway is inspired by a c. 1416 image of a Black Ethiopian monk wearing a brown robe, indigo tunic and grey hood. The colorway works well for sweaters, hats, mitts and scarves, especially. You can even pair it up with Pageboy Steel Blue, Valiant Grey Maurice or a brown.
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Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry, Folio 193r - The Exaltation of the Cross the Musée Condé, Chantilly. The painting is from c. 1416.
Inspired by a Black maiden in a soft lilac dress with some indigo highlights, this colorway reflects her dress with a variegated indigo/hyacinth and lilac blend with some white areas that add depth and dimension. The manuscript image is part of a decan of astrological symbols that places this beautiful Black maiden in company with zodiac signs. The colorway will work well with indigos, violet neutrals and as a beautiful stand alone colorway.
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The manuscript image comes from King Wenceslaus’ Astrological Codex. Bavarian State Library. Used with permission.
This delicious muted pastel colorway is a rainbow delight. From soft mint, to pink, yellow, light purple and blue, the colors flow in and out of each other with soft transitions in a random way on the skein. To top it off, this beautiful colorway has some periwinkle and red specks to add some depth and dimension and bring out the soft colors. It's a perfect colorway on its own but would really stand out with black, bright yellow, various blues, indigo, or silvers. This colorway is inspired by the royal Ethiopian family dressed in a rainbow of colors witnessing a miracle.
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The manuscript image comes from a panel of the first folio in Evangeliarium by Johann von Troppau, 1368. Department of Manuscripts and Rare Books (HAN). Sammlung von Handschriften und alten Drucken. Cod. 1182. Used with permission.
Screens are difficult to properly pick up on the soft purple and pink on this silvery base that creates a lovely platinum shade, but that's exactly what this is! A little more purple than you would find in the other grey shades, this colorway is great if you want a little more depth or if you want to mix this with a suri silk haze to create an iridescent palette using Pastel Rainbow Haze. ​​​
The colorway is based on a Black knight on a pilgrimage.
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Image from The travel account of the knight Arnold von Harff (c. 1471–1505), held in Bonn, Germany. The digitized manuscript is here. The image is on f. 91aV. Bonn, Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek, S 447