Thursday 12 November 2009

BEACH COMBER.

November, it's cold and damp outside, and I'm glad I went beach combing in the summer. The funny bits of string tangled in weed, which shone in the sunlight, are dried out on the book case, but the smell takes me back to that warm, special day. I've spun the nearest I could get to that memory, except it smells really nice, because it's been felted in the washing machine.
North Ronaldsay is a breed of sheep which only eats seaweed. It comes from the island North Ronaldsay, in the south Orkneys, where the owner of the isle built a wall all the way round his island to stop the sheep eating all the plants. Over time, they have developed a tummy which can't handle a copper based diet, and a fleece wich is soft and slightly waxy. Ronaldsay forms the base of this chunky yarn, by felting it's way around scraps of washed up fabric, and is smothered in a light coating of green mohair.
The label is from a painting given to my Grandpa by I don't know who, and it's slightly expensive at £2.30 / 10g.

1 comment:

Tito said...

The painting is by Arthur Bumfungus, RSA, a great uncle of Spike Milligan.