If you were headed to a deserted island and could only bring one author’s complete works, whose would you bring? I think I would choose Tolkien, but if I got two choices, Jane Austen would probably be next. She’d keep up my spirits on that deserted island, especially after I ran out of yarn. Or maybe we get great books and an unlimited supply of yarn on my lovely deserted island? That sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?

Anyway, enough about deserted island fantasies. If you are looking for some lovely pastels to knit or crochet with this summer, you’ll be happy to hear that I have six new Jane Austen colorways.

A few years ago, I made Block Variegated colorways inspired by Jane Austen’s heroines. This time around I decided to make them Splashed and Speckled colorways, which means they are not likely to pool since there’s just a stitch or two of each color before the next color shows up on your hook or needles.

Each colorway is inspired by one of Jane Austen’s wonderfully complex heroines, and I used a set of color symbols for each character trait.

Here’s Lizzie from Pride and Prejudice:

Lizzie has yellow to represent her cheerful demeanor, blue for loyalty, lilac for romance, pink for femininity, and green for hope.

While Lizzie is my favorite Jane Austen heroine, Anne Elliot comes in as a close second. Despite her narcissistic father, hypochondriac sister, and spendthrift sister, she is sensible, kind, and capable.

Next we have Emma, the character who changes the most from beginning to end. While she has a good heart at the beginning, she’s also a little too sure of herself. The biggest problem is that she does her dear friend no favors by playing matchmaker. However, she’s also cheerful, kind, and loyal. Here’s Emma:

Emma’s counterpoint in the novel named after her is Jane Fairfax. While Emma’s life is carefree, Jane’s is far from it. Jane’s poverty and secret engagement cause a great deal of suffering and uncertainty, especially because her betrothed is, to put it bluntly, a selfish and vain jerk. At least I share that opinion with Mr. Knightley, the hero of the tale.

Here’s Jane Fairfax, right after her betrothed teases her at the picnic on Box Hill:

The last two are sisters–Marianne and Elinor Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility. When their father dies, their older step-brother inherits the estate, and they are left almost penniless. The fact that women could not inherit property in Regency era England comes up in every one of Jane Austen’s novels.

The two sisters could not be more different. The ultimate romantic, Marianne feels everything deeply.

She says everything she feels and assumes that, since her sister is more reserved, she must not feel anything at all. When the man she loves scorns her, she becomes deathly ill.

Elinor, meanwhile, is the one who holds the family together after their father dies. Elinor also finds love, only to discover that the man she loves is engaged to someone else. Vowed to secrecy, she can tell no one. Contrary to Marianne’s assumptions, however, Elinor feels her disappointment just as deeply as her sister.

I think of all of Jane Austen’s heroines, Elinor may be the most selfless. Here is Elinor:

All six Jane Austen colorways look great together, so you can mix and match your favorite characters and colorways.

If I were to pick three for a three-color shawl, I think I might choose Lizzie Bennet, Marianne Dashwood, and Jane Fairfax.

If you need some pattern inspiration, here’s a bundle I made on Ravelry for 3-color shawls and ponchos.

If you would like to pair some of these with semi-solids, I have suggestions in the listings for each one, but generally speaking Lilac and Burgundy Rose would be good choices with all of them.

I dyed each of the six colorways on Sock Perfection, but I also set up dyed to order listings for each one, so you can get as many Jane Austen colorways as you need on any of my twelve yarn bases.

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Flowering Tree Stitch Markers

My daughter was able to make more of the gorgeous Flowering Tree Stitch Markers.

These are made with real dried flowers. The clasps can open and close, so they work well for both knitting and crochet. You can find the Flowering Tree Stitch Markers along with lots of other stitch marker sets right here.

Have a wonderful weekend!