May Yarn Club is inspired by Mitch Miller
Mitch Miller is an Australia abstract artist located in Sorrento, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria. Along with his wife, Deborah, they own and run Curate & Design Gallery, where they showcase other Australian artists. Mitch is the artist in residence at their gallery.
Mitch is a self-taught painter who embraced abstraction later in his career. His art is a testament to the boundless possibilities of imagination and colour. His pieces are characterised by dynamic movements, vibrant hues, and a profound sense of depth, inviting viewers into a dream world of shapes and light.
In his own words: " I move and I work and it presents itself to me and tells me where to go. Or, it just sits quietly, making me ponder and guess the next move. With abstract expressionism there is nothing to guide you. There is always a beginning but never an end. Hours of agonising thought and vulnerability are mixed with hours of joy and confidence. One moment I'm lost and standing at the edge of failure, and the next, a single brush stroke or splash of colour, has shown me out of the darkness". (taken from an article in the Queenscliff Herald 2021).
What I love about his works
There are two things that I really love about his work: firstly I love the freedom in his brush strokes. Laid down with thought but also a level of joy! Mixing colours together is sometimes hard. When I was painting at uni I would stand in front of my paintings and my biggest challenge was deciding on the right colour and right brush stroke. My little inside voice was always there talking to me about my colour choices and making sure I was adding the right colour in the right place. I know this happens to all artists, as I'm sure it does for Mitch when he is painting, but he seems to lay the colours down with so much confidence. It brings a lot of joy just admiring his paintings!
Secondly, I can place myself in his shoes. Standing in front of his paintings and me in front of my yarn in our dye trays, pondering colours and allowing the colours to take me on a journey to a place where creativity give joy! I LOVE dyeing yarn and sometimes I have thoughts of where I want a colour to go but then the colour itself takes me in an entirely different direction!
What colours are planned for May?
Our exclusive yarn colourways for May will mirror Mitch’s love of brightness and abstraction. Think lively splashes of cool turquoise, pops of citrus, highlights of blues and purple, and confident streaks of bright magenta and emerald - colours that don’t whisper, but sing - and loudly! The palette is fresh and modern, full of contrast and movement, designed to reflect the unrestrained creativity in Mitch’s art.
How does it work? Our Blackwattle Sock Club is a 'purchase as you go' type of club. Love January's colours? Snap up your favourites from the January collection. Prefer August’s palette? Pick from the August selection.
No subscriptions, no pressure - simply order the months you adore.
Pack options available for your mix and match:
- 2 x 100 gram solids (light + dark)
- 2 x 100 gram variegated (light + dark)
- 2 x 100 gram solid and variegated (medium + medium)
- 1 x mini skein
- 2 x mini skeins
- 3 x mini skeins
- 4 x mini skeins
- 5 x mini skeins
The mini skeins will be solid colours that will contrast/coordinate with the 100 gram skeins. The 3 variegated colours and the 3 solid colours (100 gram skeins) will fade into each other: light, medium and dark.
Each month we will create new colours....insert excited Angela here! Fun fact about me.....I LOVE creating new colours!!
Painting the right is called: Jubilee painted by Mitch Miller. Check out his other works here.
When do they open and when do you post them to us? Sock Clubs open on the 1st of each month and will remain open for 2 weeks. Clubs will be posted at the end of each month. If you order other products at the same time, we will hold your order until the Sock Club yarns are ready to go. All packages will ship with tracking. You will receive an email letting you know the club has shipped with a tracking number (Australia Post Tracking Number).
Looking for sock pattern ideas? Here are a list of FREE sock patterns, available through Ravelry, that we think would work with our hand dyed yarns:
- Beauty and the Beast Socks by Elina Maaria
- Confetti by Karin Fernandes
- Twisted Lace Socks by Jennifer Anne
- Lemon Drizzle Socks by Debbi Ford
- Rickrack Socks by Nicole Simmons
- Krufka Socks by Comfort Zone Knits
- Sank Socks by Lotta H Lothgren
- Pine Tree Socks by L'oro unico
- Villiviini by Tiina Kuu
- Extranilla Socks by Meaghan Schmaltz