macro~meadow – september
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Wandering through a meadow is one of my favourite things to do, and we've been lucky enough to live in and amongst meadows for the last twenty or so years. In Suffolk it's very easy to spend most of the time looking up at the huge skies but this year I'm going to focus on exploring what's closer to hand/eye. I'm going to hunt down the amazing micro-palettes in the blades of grass, the berries, the fence posts and field gates, and create shades that show another aspect of the fields all around us. I'm going to be looking at the textures and detail up close but most of all, I'm hunting for fabulous colour combinations to inspire beautiful yarn!
Each month I'll use one photo to create two shades; one variegated ~flash~ shade and a complimentary/contrasting semi-solid. I'll be focussing on fingering/4ply weight yarn and often the two shades will be on the same base but occasionally I might take liberties and dye something fluffy!
September – summer persists but the signs that the season is shifting are there. The last few swallows left last week, the mornings are cool, the grass (which has returned!) is heavy with dew, and the hedgerow treasures – the hips, haws, and berries – are ready to feed the winter birds.
My inspiration this month could, honestly, be my inspiration every month. A patch of worn post and rail fence dotted with tiny jewels! Little tufts of rich green moss and icy-aqua toned lichens. Worn wood fading to grey with a tawny terracotta patina. All the colours of the season that's arriving. The variegated shade ~ cusp ~ combines cool aqua, deep pine green, hints of tawny peach, terracotta, and ochre, while its semi-solid companion ~ deep ~ combines layers of olive, rich forest, ochre, and chartreuse to create one of my favourite shades, a deep swampy, earthy green that contains lots of tonal variation.
Both shades are dyed on hoo | sock, a blend of 75% superwash merino and 25% nylon and spun from upcycled fibres that would otherwise be wasted so we love this yarn! It has 425m per 100g skein and is fabulous for socks (of course!) but also for lightweight garments and accessories.
We use professional acid dyes with good light and wash fastness and do our best to exhaust every dye bath and reuse water wherever possible to reduce any further environmental impact. Occasionally a small amount of 'loose' dye may remain in the yarn after rinsing (most likely with deeply saturated shades) and we always recommend hand washing in very cool water and pre-washing your yarn separately if you are intending to mix light and dark shades in a single garment/project.
We recommend hand washing your finished projects in cool water to preserve the vibrancy of the dye and, as with all small-batch, hand-dyed yarn that doesn't have dye lots, we also recommend knitting alternate rows from two skeins when working on larger projects to avoid noticeable changes between skeins.