As you know my yarn is inspired by the English countryside, literature, art, customs and traditions. Each of my colourways is inspired by something very specific so I thought that it would be nice to do a little series telling you the story behind each of my yarns.
I count myself so incredibly lucky to be living in Britain. I was born in a British African colony, so my formative years were largely British but with sunshine. We left once the country gained independence and moved to South Africa which always felt strange to me.
When we finally immigrated to the UK in 2011 I felt like I had come home. The landscape was familiar because I recognized it from the vivid descriptions in favourite childhood books.
Have you thought about the power of a good book? The power to take you to far off lands, to escape, meet new and fantastic people, go on adventures that you never in reality could dream of going on.
I was extremely privileged to be able to have living books included in our Charlotte Mason homeschooling years. One such book that took us on an epic adventure of the English Lake District was Swallows & Amazons by Arthur Ransome.
We traveled on an old steam train with a mother and her children to holiday in a cottage along the lakes. Where we collected fresh bottles of milk from a local farmer down the lane with the children, ran through fields barefoot and then went along with them on their epic sailing and camping adventure on a small island in the lake.
It inspired us to head out one summer's day to visit this wonderful place in our book, to gaze upon the landscape that we had become familiar with in the pages of the book, and to dip our toes in the gently lapping water of the lake.
It was JUST as we had imagined. The author's love of the lake district had shone through in his descriptive writing and there we were, we stepped out of the pages and straight into the location of Swallows & Amazons!
After a bit of exploring, we sat beside the lake. It was a warm summer's day and there was a regatta on - just like the one described in the book. We ate our ice-creams, feeling the sun warm our backs as we watched the coloured sails dotting the lake as the little boats tacked back and forth.
And that is what inspired this skein of yarn. The glittering lake with the dotted colours of the sailboats on that summer's day.
If you have not yet read Swallows & Amazons or watched the delightful 2016 film, you are missing out on a treat! Even though I'm an adult I simply love escaping into a time and place where family and simplicity was treasured.
I think that's what appeals to me in this book and if you are a kindred spirit then I think you will enjoy this book and film just as much as I do!
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