Hannah Jones of the Camel's Yarn is a new indie hand-dyer whose beautiful colours caught our eye on Instagram. When we ordered some of her yarn for the shop we were delighted with the attention to detail and wonderful quality of Hannah's work. Each skein is a joy to behold, and the care Hannah takes in her work is evident in the quality of her yarn!
When we asked Hannah to dye a Kingfisher-inspired skein for our Spring 2021 yarn club she really impressed us! The skein captures all of the vibrant colours of the bird's feathers, worked together in a subtle way with gentle tonal variations and speckles. It shows such a high level of skill and an advanced understanding of colour that it's easy to forget how recently Hannah started dyeing yarn!
Here Hannah has told us more about her yarn dyeing story and her inspiration from the colours of Cornwall.
Hello I’m Hannah, a yarn dyer based in Camelford, Cornwall! Growing up along the beautiful North coast has given me a strong love of the sea and the outdoors. In my free time I love to go wild swimming in all seasons, walking my dogs, and of course knitting! I am also a fully qualified Podiatrist, graduating from Plymouth University in 2019. I love travelling and have been lucky enough to see a great deal of the world, including living in New Zealand for a year, and more recently, a trip to Africa to hike up Mount Kenya with my Boyfriend. Of all the places I’ve been, the South West really is the best and I’m so grateful I get to call this place home!
I have always loved crafting and creating. My Mum taught me to knit when I was a child, and I grew up with a keen interest in a range of other arts including music and dance.
My love of knitting grew whilst at University, and so did my yarn stash (much to the displeasure of my student budget), so for my 21st birthday, my Dad bought me my first box of undyed yarn, allowing me to create my own hand dyed beauties. And so my yarn dyeing journey began! It wasn’t until a few years later, with the arrival of Lockdown, that I found the time and opportunity to open my own shop - The Camel’s Yarn.
My business takes it’s name from The River Camel which runs through my village. I have recently updated my logo to better represent my brand. The dark blue line represents the hills of Bodmin Moor (Roughtor) which sit behind my village, and the light blue line represents The River Camel, but also the shape of a camel’s hump! My brand colours, blues and oranges, are for the sand and sea of the beautiful coastline nearby.
Living by the sea has hugely influenced my favourite colour palettes, and naturally led to many coastal themed colourways. Currently working from my kitchen, I love to dye easily wearable colours in subtle shades, but frequently dye brighter, eye catching colours too. My favourite things to knit with my yarns are jumpers! I have recently become obsessed with using my Merino DK and Suri Silk held together for a quick knit, resulting in a gorgeously soft fabric.
One of the most important values of my business is to operate in an eco-friendly, sustainable manner wherever possible. I therefore only use 100% recyclable packaging, and my yarn is sourced via ethical and sustainable practices. As of September 2020, a percentage of every order is donated to edenprojects.org to help plant trees. They are a non-profit organisation working in developing countries, reducing extreme poverty and restoring forests. It’s fantastic to know there are hundreds of extra trees growing in the world thanks to all my lovely customers!
Now a little bit about the exciting Spring Yarn Club colourway - Kingfisher! Blues being my favourite colours to work with, dyeing this colourway was an absolute treat! This skein showcases soft transitions between deep teal and turquoise with pops of orange both subtle and rich. Delicate speckles are also dotted over the blue sections to represent the speckled feathers of this beautiful bird. I am thrilled to be working with Wool on the Exe to bring you this gorgeous Kingfisher inspired colourway, and I hope you all love it!
I am soon to be moving to a new website, so to keep up to date with all the news, follow me on instagram @thecamelsyarn or get in touch via email thecamelsyarn@gmail.com
You can find Hannah's yarn at Wool on the Exe here and the Spring 2021 yarn club is available to order until 29th March here.