Over the past few weeks, my studio has been filled with skeins of wool, dye pots, notebooks and colour experiments.
What began as a simple idea soon became a much larger exploration: how do you capture the feeling of a Highland landscape in yarn?
This new collection is built around a beautifully soft British Shetland Aran, chosen for its character, warmth and versatility. From the beginning, I wanted the colours to feel connected to place. Not just individual shades, but a palette that reflected the hills, glens and changing light of the Scottish Highlands.
Many of the colours were inspired by an evening landscape in Glencoe. Looking closely, I found myself drawn not only to the golden light, but also to the quieter colours that make that light possible: mountain shadows, weathered stone, distant blue hills, heather-covered slopes and the soft greens of the glen.
Rather than creating dozens of unrelated shades, I developed a collection designed to work together. The colours can be combined and layered, allowing makers to create their own interpretations of the landscape through knitting, crochet, weaving and embroidery.
Alongside the full 100g skeins, I have also created curated mini-skein bundles. These little colour palettes are intended as studies of the landscape itself, bringing together carefully selected shades that echo the colours found in the Highlands.
One of the things I enjoy most about developing yarn collections is the way ideas travel between different parts of my practice. The same colours that appear in a skein of wool may later find their way into a tapestry, an embroidered panel or a larger textile artwork. In that sense, the yarn is not separate from the art. It is part of the same conversation.
This first collection is a limited run and is now making its way to Drum Farm Gallery. I am looking forward to seeing which colours people are drawn to and where these skeins eventually find their homes.
Thank you for following along with the process.
Samantha
Highland Magic Fibre Arts
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