I love dyeing yarn in summer! It dries so quickly which means I can get it up in the shop within a couple of days rather than a week or more.
On Friday morning I got the dye pots out in order to restock the shop with two popular colourways, Bracken Woodland and Swallows and Amazons. I had been having a look at my sold out listings the previous day and realised that these colourways had been out of stock for well over a year.
Both yarns are now back in stock and listed in the shop. I thought I'd tell you a little about the inspiration behind each of these yarns because as you know my yarns are about more than just throwing colour in a pan, there is a story and inspiration behind each one.
Swallows and Amazons
If you have followed my homeschooling blog for any length of time you will know that we followed a Charlotte Mason approach to our homeschooling so lots of living books was a staple in our homeschool. When my girls were much younger we discovered the delightful Arthur Ransome books after watching an insert about this famous author and his noteworthy book Swallows and Amazons which was set in the Cumbrian Lake District on Countryfile.
We fell in love with the story of Swallows and Amazons and with the engaging characters. We only live a couple of hours from the Lake District so one weekend we decided to visit Windemere as it is home to not only Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons but also to my educational heroine Charlotte Mason and the much loved (by us) author Beatrix Potter. Again, I have many yarns inspired by Beatirix Potter, if you visit the shop you will see some familiar names jump out.
Carefree childhood days spent sailing on 'The great lake of the north' in the Cumbrian Lake District is what a group of children did in Arthur Ransom's adventure book 'Swallows and Amazons'.
Having visited the Lake District and Lake Windemere I was thrilled to see that it was just as I had imagined it would be while reading the story aloud to my daughters.
One afternoon we stopped by for some lunch at a delightful shore-side restaurant and watched the sailboats tacking across the lake with their colourful sails and the sun glistening on the water. I felt that little had changed since the summer of 1928 when John, Susan, Titty and Roger set off on their summer sailing adventure in the "Swallow".
Swallows & Amazons - the yarn - is inspired by the lake and the colourful sailboats that sail merrily across its waters with their colourful sails, often looking like specs on the big expanse of water.
Bracken Woodland
This colourway of hand-dyed yarn was inspired by some winter walks.
My family and I love to visit our local woodland. On a cold November day a few years ago, we took a walk through a woodland that was predominantly Birch, below, bracken wore its autumn cloak, rich in oranges and browns.
The mingling of the colours was simply stunning and the image is still burned into my memory. The landscape and seasons are a source of inspiration for my yarn and thus 'Bracken Woodland' came to be. A celebration of the season and of nature.
Giveaway!
If you have been following me on Instagram or Facebook you will know that I am having a giveaway to celebrate the launch of my new website which has my blog and shop all in one place.
I am giving away a sock set to each of 4 subscribers to my newsletter. I've been overwhelmed by the response so far so a big THANK YOU to all who have signed up and to those who have been with me for a few years already.
Every one of my subscribers will be entered into the giveaway and the winners will be announced on Monday.
Have a WONDERFUL weekend my yarny friends. I shall see you back here on Monday for a Weekending post and to announce the winners.