North Ronaldsay Aran wool

This year I ordered a small amount of Aran wool to dye from North Ronaldsay as well as their 2ply wool. It's so chunky and satisfyingly squishy; I've really enjoyed working with it. Like the 2ply it comes in roughly 100g skeins, approximately 160m pre dyeing.

A selection of what I've dyed along with the inspiration tags.

"Hoxa rocks"

"Inganess"

"Mirrie dancers"

I may have kept a couple of the "mirrie dancers" skeins for myself to knit hats...

back at the dye-pots

Wayhey, I'm dyeing wool again! My North Ronaldsay wool order finally arrived last month but I was a bit slow getting near it as I spent some time setting up a dedicated dyeing space, separate from my painting. I've spent just over a week in my new space and it's much more efficient, I love it.

Here are the first few batches to come out of my pots:

There are four 100g skeins of each colour available at the moment. They're all North Ronaldsay 2ply pure wool, which works up like a fingering weight/4ply.

Somewhat typically my digital pocket scales broke as soon as I went to use them (to weigh out dye powders) so I couldn't refer to any previous colour "recipes." As a result these batches are one-off colour mixes, although I plan to recreate them once I get new scales as I really like how they turned out.

 "wet sand"

 "crashing waves, Hoxa"

"midsummer sunrise"

"blue Horizon, Hoxa"

 "Sand O' Wright beach"

"Birsay shoreline"

 "Warbeth rocks"

More colours to come soon! I also ordered some North Ronaldsay aran weight wool which I'm looking forward to dyeing.

North Ronaldsay hand-dyes

Last week I dyed my first batch of locally sourced yarn from North Ronaldsay, Orkney's most northerly island and famous for its seaweed-eating sheep.

It's a 2ply 100% wool in 100g hanks and similar to the 2ply Shetland wool I've dyed in that it's more like a fingering weight/4ply. It has a charming, hairy appearance and an almost lustrous sheen. So far I'm really enjoying working on this base and keen to keep a hank for myself!

Inganess

 Birsay

 January sky

Mirry dancers

Scapa Flow sunset

West Mainland

 Puffin riot

 Sand and pebbles

new: Orkney landscape inspired wool

I'm delighted (and slightly nervous!) to announce my latest creative venture: hand-dyed yarn inspired by the Orkney landscape.

Each skein is individually hand-dyed with acid dyes, resulting in one of a kind colour blends which reflect the Orkney landscape. So far I have dyed on 100% Shetland 2ply wool, although I plan to start dyeing on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) wool soon.

It's fair to say I grew up surrounded by wool. Between my Mum being a tapestry weaver and my maternal Granny knitting colourful socks and stunning Fair Isle patterned gloves, it was hard to avoid! I've always had an appreciation for wool, however since becoming a keen knitter in the last few years my interest has definitely heightened. Towards the end of last year it led me down the exciting rabbit hole of hand-dyeing.

My hand-dyes very much feel like a natural extension to my artwork as I treat the wool like a blank canvas: blending tones and colours in exactly the same way as I would when drawing or painting. Each hank becomes a little landscape reflecting the light, colours and character of Orkney. Every label is then personalised with an inspiration reference.

I have chosen to work with acid dyes for their vibrancy, colour range and mixing ability. Contrary to what the name implies, the dyes themselves are concentrated pigment/powder and the only acid involved is citric acid for the setting the dyes. Nothing harmful or dangerous :)

At present I have skeined the wool into 25g and 100g hanks. Although I am aware people are keen to have yardage amounts stated on labels I'm afraid I cannot give an accurate amount as I do not own the necessary equipment to calculate it. What I can say however is that 100g of 2ply Shetland wool is approximately 400m in length before dyeing and that you'll need to allow for a small amount of shrinkage during the dye process.

In terms of care instructions I recommend a cool, gentle hand-wash only, as with any pure wool. Due to the nature of hand-dyed wool please be aware that colours may bleed slightly after the first wash.

I really hope you like this creative development as much as I do. My wool will be available to purchase at the gallery this year. We open for the season on April 1st (this Sunday) so I'm currently busy getting all my wool and artwork organised for display. Not long now!