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Much of my spinning nowadays is what I call Island Dreams yarn. This is made from dyed wools, in a riot of colours, spun thick and thin then plyed. By making rainbow batts to spin and only putting them through the drumcarder once, I create textured yarns that are soft but warm and full of bounce. The colour combinations are sometimes planned, to achieve the subtle palette of the Falklands landscape, or a particular sunset, maybe the sea... (see also Colour - And sometimes I just let serendipity have its head...
By dyeing and plying rainbows, I can create some wild yarns with
brighter colours. (For the more adventurous customer, who likes to
wear zany hats...)
I am hoping to produce a Rustic range too, using just the natural wool shades with the addition of lichen-dyed shades - carded lightly then spun. This should produce some nice results.
Island Dreams might equally well be called Happy Yarns, since they
are fun to produce and make me smile when I see them in the skein -
ready to knit or crochet into hats etc.
My friend Stella Middleton and I set up a group called
Falkland Folk some six years ago, she did the admin work
to begin with and now Carol Cant is responsible for that as well as being a key
knitter. See the relevant page for more information. This little group produces high quality handcrafted items from my Island Dreams
and naturally coloured handspun yarns, all using DHF wool.
I do sell my yarns in the skein when I have enough, but prefer to see them go
through to finished items. Falkland Folk enables this to happen and
is also financially rewarding. Well, I have to justify ownership of all those wheels somehow...
However, money isn't my sole motivation. Spinning Island Dreams is
something that helps me to relax, unwind and mellow out. I love to
watch the colours pass by as I spin. Every batt I make or rainbow-dyed top is different,
and the yarns reflect this fact. And I love the spinning process,
which is so tactile. This process links me to everyone else around
the world who hand spins, and all those in centuries past who have done
so. (see also Why Spin?)
It's a never-ending delight to me. And I love what I can produce, just with simple tools.
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Last updated 1st August 2006
