
Announcement
International parcels are now being sent via Royal Mail, and I have now re-opened my international postage options. However at this time we are only able to send 'Tracked and Signed' for world wide packages. If you are ordering from outside of the UK, please only selected that option at check out. Any questions, please message me. Thank you for your patience!
My shop focuses on the following;
Natural dyes, on hand spun and commercially spun yarns, roving, fibres and locks, and a selection of vintage bobbins and patterns. Entirely bio-degradable non- plastic packaging. No super-wash yarns (it's not bio-degradable). I spin and dye selected wool from small farms all over the UK, focusing especially on rare breeds.
All postage over-payments will be refunded through Etsy after dispatching items. Postage can be difficult to calculate because I use the post office postage 'bands'. Your item/s may cost less to mail, so if you end up paying more than it costs me, I will refund through Etsy because I don't make profit on post. Postage upgrades available at checkout. Please feel free to contact me with any questions about shipping costs.
Items
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Reviews
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Yvonne on Jan 24, 2023
5 out of 5 starsThe spool was exactly as I expected and I am very happy with it
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C on Jan 24, 2023
5 out of 5 starsThe bobbins are so nice, beautiful color and in great condition. Sarah always has great buys and the yarn is so nice to knit with. Considering the distance between us, the shipping was very fast! Thank you so much!
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Teeswater on Jan 16, 2023
5 out of 5 starsAbsolutely top quality clean curls well presented and packed. Will be buying more from this seller. Thank you!
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Tanja on Jan 4, 2023
5 out of 5 starsVery very nice, high quality and an extremely friendly contact
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About HighlandColours
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Lock-spun hand-spun yarns dyed with plants
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Smooth spun hand-spun yarns dyed with plants
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Vintage Bobbins
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Hand spinning and Felting fibres, dyed with plants
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Plant dye Teeswater and Wensleydale locks for spinning, felting, & dolls hair
Highland Colours
My name is Sarah Matthess and my work focuses entirely upon natural fibres and natural colours. Nothing in my shop will be dyed with chemical dyes and all my fibre is all natural and bio degradable. For that reason I do not sell any super-wash products. I grow, harvest and collect dye plants from the land where possible. All my fleeces are sourced from Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. I purchase my fleeces from small flocks and I like to focus on rare breeds. Packaging is entirely bio-degradable, even the cello-bags that I package the locks in can be popped on the compost heap afterwards because they are made from plant based materials. I wash my fleeces in natural soap and recycle the water into a grey-water-butt outside my back door, for the plants. Spent dye-baths are also recycled in the same way.
My first exposure to the hand spinning process was aged 4 at a recreation day. Many years and many spinning wheels and weaving looms later, I find that the raw beauty of the wool and plant dyes is what makes me tick. Plant dyeing is a more time consuming process and can be quite unpredictable. There is a lot to learn about natural dyeing, but it is rewarding.
When I take posession of a new greasy fleece, I will spread it out on the floor and get my inspiration on how to process it right from that point. I will evaluate the softness, the staple length, colour and texture of the fibre, and make a decision on how best to use it. But the goal with coloured fleeces is always to preserve as much of the natural raw wool in the look of the yarn, as I can.
I have now relocated with my business back to where my family originated from and I work from my workshop & home, in the medieval village of Ixworth, Suffolk. 600 years ago this area led the whole of the UK in wool production, and was a major export. The village was an important Roman junction with a fort and road network. There have also been anglo saxon finds within the village and the land adjacent to my workshop. Not so far away is Lavenham which was a major hub for cloth during the Tudor times, and the fabulous medieval Guildhall is a big tourist attraction. Lavenham and surrounding areas became extremely wealthy on their wool exports. 'Lavenham Blue' was a blue cloth dyed with the local plant of woad, and was exported from the town, to as far away as Russia.
I have been hand- spinning, knitting, crocheting, weaving, and dyeing for over 40 years whilst raising a large family, so my work started with making our own clothes. The fibre journey began with some angora rabbits and harvesting their wool. I have kept sheep and spun dog hair, grown flax and dabbled in all-things-fibre. Over the years I have also taught hand-spinning and dyeing at a local college and worked on commissions. But now with new opportunities online, I'm thrilled to be able to market my craft from home, to a wider audience.
For more on my work please visit my youtube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9IPQQ_1mAGXfPWL1z5e2PA
Also my website https://www.highlandcolours.com/
Or Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest!
Thank you for looking, and to all my customers who have given valuable feed-back over the years.
Shop members
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Sarah Matthess, 'Highland Colours'
Owner
Shop policies
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Cancellations
Cancellations: not accepted
Please contact the seller if you have any problems with your order.