yarn from the meadow - november
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#YarnFromTheMeadow takes inspiration from the small hay meadow that we live next to. A few acres of tussocky grass, grown to be cut for hay or silage, depending on the weather, and occasionally used as grazing for the cattle that are raised on the fields all around us. Bounded by an avenue of sweet chestnuts on one side, ancient oaks on the other and with a scruffy hedgerow bordering the lane, it's home to rabbits, mice, shrews, and voles; a hunting ground for a beautiful barn owl and untold kestrels and buzzards. Adjacent to fox earths, and badger setts, and criss-crossed with the well-worn tracks of the muntjac, fallow, and roe deer that pass through, I walk it with the dog, with Chris, and sometimes just to breath in the air and turn my face to the sun. And I take photos, endlessly. Of the views, the sky, the weather, the flora and fauna, the changing of the seasons.
I'll be using all of the above as inspiration for this year's limited-run series. Two shades each month throughout 2024, dyed on a variety of fingering weight yarn bases, using the dye technique that creates our gorgeous ~flash~ shades.
November – our inspiration this month is particularly poignant, as by the time this yarn lands in the shop, we will have moved away from the meadow! After eleven years in the little farmhouse we've called home, we are moving on. So, it felt right to take inspiration from the 'big picture' - the sky - one last time. Part of me was hoping for one of those spectacular take-your-breath-away sunsets that fills the sky with every hue of red, orange, and violet but early November was shrouded in grey for the most part. So, the setting sun I captured was a subtle, gentle affair; the sort that we often just take for granted but if we stop and look, it still takes our breath away. I've called this combination of soft aqua, mole, peachy pink, and violet one last sky.
The second shade is all about the everyday 'close-up'. There is lots of bracken around the meadow, under the oaks and along the uncut margins, and in summer its fresh green frames the changing meadow grass but in autumn it really shines - quite literally! I took this photo on a clear bright morning after a night of rain and the range of hues and tones in just one single bracken frond is quite amazing! It's called fairy lover after an old folk song that finds a small fairy falling in love with a girl who is collecting bracken. I love the combination of soft gold, rich rust, and warm conker brown.
Both shades are dyed on cooms | fingering, our bouncy 3-ply superwash merino base that is perfect for scarves, shawls, and lightweight garments.
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.