Linen Lace by Artisan Yarns

To walk into a garden, or country lane; take a handful of petals and leave them in a sun warmed jar with a hank of silk or wool for a couple of weeks; take out; rinse; leave to dry and then knit or weave yourself a magical golden shawl: that’s alchemy!

A new batch of Linen Lace recently landed on our shelves, and the range is just sublime, if we may say so ourselves. We caught up with Anne Shoring of Artisan Yarns to talk natural dyes and love for linen. With her 40 years of experience with natural dyes, you can trust Anne to deliver with excellence and expertise. If you’ve ever seen – or even better – felt one of these skeins for yourself, you’ll know how they simply ooze of quality and craftsmanship.

“Natural dyes are comprised of many pigment variations. They are subject to the temperature, the rain, the sun and moon and the mood of the dyer and the times of day. That is what makes them harmonious and can also make them unpredictable. Every single hank has its own character; every hank is unique.”

Linen is a true classic; a durable fibre that only gets better with wear. Those crinkles will smoothen out with blocking and your creation will get softer with every wash. Take your time on this one; let the Linen Lace work its magic and before you know it you’ll have an heirloom piece on your needles.

“I have dyed everything from wool, silk and alpaca to dog hair and leather, but my all- time favourite material is linen. I not only dye it but wear it, and surround my home with it! I love it because it ages so gracefully, and although it is the slowest yarn to dye, it takes the colour in a way that is sympathetic to the nature of the plants used to colour it. The process can take up to seven days of soaking, dyeing and drying to achieve the shades that end up in the shop, but like slow cooking, it is worth spending the time on. It’s definitely a labour of love and once you have knitted with it you never look back. Nothing else gives the stitch definition or texture that works in summer and winter.”

It’s hand crafted yarns like Linen Lace that make us love what we do! It’s just perfect for shawls, wraps and open cardigans. We think it’s an ideal match for our Beginner’s Lace Shawl by Juju Vail, and the pattern is right here on our blog. Or why not make an airy summer version of Swoon from Juju’s Loops?

When she’s not deep in the dyes, Anne works with the National Trust at Berrington Hall in Herefordshire to develop a dye garden to be used for dye workshops in 2017.

And finally we would like to thank all of you who entered our Shelter Marls giveaway last week, we really loved hearing all of your ideas. The winner this week is Jacinta – Congratulations!

That’s all for this week folks. Happy knitting!

P.S. Don’t forget there is still time to vote for us in the British Knitting Awards 2016! Please show your support by clicking on the image above to vote for Loop to win best knitting shop in the South East! Thank you!