Local Natural Sustainable Beautiful

Hello and welcome to my world of wonderful single breed and blended wool, all 100% grown on British farms, spun in Britain and dyed using plants in my kitchen on the banks of the river Pang in rural West Berkshire, England.

I’m passionate about using plants to produce my colours; there are no synthetic nasties here. To produce my colours, I use plants grown in my riverside cottage garden, foraged from the woods and hedgerows that surround my home, and from botanical extracts. I love the serendipity that comes from using plant colour; you can never be absolutely certain what you are going to get. So many variables such as richness and type of soil, availability of water and sunlight, and even the season of picking, all have an impact on the colour inherent in the plant. Extracting that colour and applying it to wool feels like a magical process to me, connecting me with skill artisans from centuries ago, breathing new life into a craft almost forgotten in our busy, modern world.

I’ve crafted for ever. I knit a lot, and crochet, quilt and sew my own and my children’s clothes. I am a conscious (non) consumer, and re-cycler and re-user of things. I gently restore old furniture and repair my family’s clothes.

I’m inspired by my walks with my little dog Marlin, through the woods and along the hedgerows that surround our home, and by the river and its wildlife.

This blog is a window onto my dyeing and more general crafting life. Please do sign up for updates but, be assured you won’t be bombarded with lots of messages. I’m pretty busy with my yarn dyeing, my family and my home, so I never get to write more than once each week, and usually not even that. Most of all, I love to hear from you. Please tell me what you like, what you want to hear more about.

With love

Alison