A Study in Reds
It’s been a little while since my last update here, but the Craft Spin lab studio has been far from quiet. For the past month and a half or so, I’ve been completely absorbed in red.
Not the easy, singular red of a paint tube, but the layered, living spectrum of it, from the velvet depths of rose and Bordeaux through to the soft breath of blush and Spring cherry blossom. It’s been a study in passion, warmth, and light, and the way colour can shift from intensity to tenderness with just the smallest change in balance.
Study in Red - Spring 2025
Even though I’ve stepped away from natural dyes for this chapter, the inspiration has come directly from them, from the reds of suōh (sappan wood), cochineal, madder, and even the soft, dusty pinks that sometimes bloom from Eucalyptus cinerea. Those natural hues linger in my mind; they shape the way I see and mix, even when I’m working with Lanaset.
Over the past weeks, I’ve built a whole palette from these reds - deep, classic, passionate rose reds with that soft, velvety shadow; cherry and peach-reds that catch the light like petals; and Bordeaux, that rich, wine-dark tone with a hint of magenta. Then came the blending, exploring how the reds move and settle together. I used Bordeaux and Red to create a family of earthy, mineral tones: sunset embers, iron red, terracotta glow, colours that feel ancient, grounded, and quietly radiant.
It’s been an immersion, each dye bath a new variation on warmth, a conversation between fibre, light, and time.
Now, as spring tips into summer and the days start to brighten with that unmistakable Australian heat, I can feel my palette beginning to cool. My thoughts are turning towards the sea tones, teals and blue-greens, a kind of breath after the intensity of red.
For now, I’ll let the photos do most of the talking. These are some of the colour families that have come out of this red season, a glimpse of what’s to come in the shop, and a celebration of this long, glowing study.
The white dapple dyed wool, stripped into thin sections ready to spin, and the final spun singles yarn on the right. The single yarn is ~26 wraps per inch. Great for weaving, but since I’m not weaving currently, it will be lovey knitted perhaps held with very fine silk/mohair yarn.
