About
Living for the love of yarn
Dyeing and knitting brings me calmness and joy.
I was taught basic knit and purl as a child as well as sewing. My mum liked to create and sew mainly children’s clothes for us and the neighbour’s children – dresses, coats and, occasionally, cotton swimsuits (all pre lycra!). In my early teens mum passed away and, as the eldest of three, caring took over and knitting was put on the backburner. I didn’t start again until I joined the Women’s Royal Air Force.
On a RAF base near Salisbury Plain, sat in the communal lounge most evenings with only 3 TV channels, I took up my needles again. I knitted jumpers and cardigans for myself and my younger siblings (whether they wanted them or not!), buying commercial yarn from a wool shop in a nearby village. Long winter evenings were spent in the company of other girls, knitting or crocheting, sometimes mending a hem, or if we really had to, polishing a shine onto our leather shoes.
From then, I dipped in and out of knitting depending on where I lived and what job I was doing – many and varied jobs after leaving the WRAF.
Finally, I became a ‘very mature’ student nurse, qualified and spent time in different nursing roles, finishing as a Bowel Cancer Screening nurse.
In my spare time, relaxing came in the form of sewing and knitting, learning new skills as I went. it was at this time I came across hand dyed yarns. Beautiful colours; individual bundles of squishiness.
And that brought me here, from natural dyes steaming in the kitchen to a small, converted studio at the end of the garden.
Nowadays, you can often find me down in the studio, often accompanied by Eva the Terrier and Georgie the Dane sitting outside the door, where I love to create my hand dyed yarns.
Gerry Wood
Founder
