As an artist, I know that creativity comes in many forms, and for me the joy of dyeing is a chance to play with colour in a different way to painting. I still have to pay attention to composition and texture – the composition is deciding whether a yarn will be stripey, a subtle tonal blend, a variegated mix or something else. The texture comes from the yarn bases I choose, from versatile merino to super snuggly alpaca and cashmere to more robust blends that include linen, cotton or silk in the mix. But the fun really is in the colours, inspired by the local landscape and beautiful gardens in my area. So I am thrilled to announce the arrival of an exclusive collection of over 60 stunning new yarns which are now in the Dye Studio section of the shop. It was my love of crochet that led me into dyeing my own yarn when I couldn’t find the colours I wanted to work with. Before we moved to our current house, I converted the garage into a dye studio and built up an Etsy shop where I sold my hand dyed yarn.  But six years ago when we moved here, it soon became apparent that I was not going to be able to continue with that until I could get a dedicated dye studio somehow. So I scaled it right back and closed the Etsy shop, but I carried on doing custom orders and dyeing for myself.  Initially I used a little camping sink on castors (I could wheel it over to a drain to empty it) and did my dyeing outdoors. In the winter I put a hose pipe through the cat flap – much to the disgust of the cats – to work in the conservatory. My new studio has given me the option to dye in bigger quantities again and I have really been indulging myself creating these gorgeous new yarns. Thank you for sharing this exciting journey with me. I would absolutely love see the beautiful creations you’ll make with our new yarns, so do feel free to email me your photos or tag me on facebook and instagram. Visit the Dye Studio section of the shop to see all the new yarns. Happy crafting!