Colour Collab // Kim McKenna: River Walk
Back in January, we launched five colourways inspired by photographs given to us by our spinning instructors at the School of SweetGeorgia. We called this new series Colour Collab: Winter Inspirations. Each instructor received their own colourway to spin in whatever way they liked. Over the next five weeks, we will share these yarns with you along with the stories behind how they were spun. Whether inspiration comes from a photograph, a colourway, or a finished yarn, we love sharing that creative spark with our fibre arts community. Kim McKenna: River Walk is the first post in the series.
Please check back to see all five posts as they are released:
- Kim McKenna: River Walk
- Diana Twiss: Shadows on Snow
- Rachel Smith: Wesley’s Field
- Katrina Stewart: Sprinkles of Joy
- Debbie Held: Winter Skies
Colourways shown on fibre: the top is SweetGeorgia BFL+Silk; the bottom is SweetGeorgia Corriedale.
River Walk Colourway
The Inspirational Photograph
“Ancient Greeks had a legend about a bird they called the Halcyon bird, halcyon meaning “conceiving at sea.” They believed Halcyon birds bred far from land and built floating nests from fish bones. It was said that for a few weeks every January, the god Aeolus calmed the winds and the sea so his daughter, Alcyone, who had been transformed into a Kingfisher bird, could safely build her nest. Since then, any periods of peace and calm are referred to as Halcyon or Alkyonides days.”
The Fibre: BFL+Silk & Corriedale
BFL+Silk: This blend of 75% Bluefaced Leicester and 25% Tussah Silk is truly luxurious. Bluefaced Leicester is a longwool, known for its durability in items like socks, but soft enough to be worn next to the skin. Silk brings additional strength, softness, and adds an incredible glow to this already lustrous wool fibre. Both fibres have a natural sheen and a structured drape, making for a stunning finished fabric.
Corriedale: Corriedale is a favourite among many spinners, and for good reason. It’s easy to manage while spinning, takes colour beautifully, and is durable and soft enough for next-to-skin use. Many beginners start with Corriedale because it leads to satisfying results right from the start.
The Handspun Yarn
As with most of Kim’s handspun yarns, every gram is thoughtfully planned. You’ll find step-by-step details further down in this post.
Skein #1: Offset Technique
Kim: “One goal I had when designing this skein was to use a straightforward fibre preparation method. Minimal fibre prep would allow me the simple pleasure of watching the vibrant handpainted colours run through my fingers while enjoying the rhythm of the spin; a Halcyon* spin if you will. (*Halcyon refers to the inspirational quote above.)
Handpainted braids in two different bases, Corriedale and BFL+Silk, were used to create this skein. I chose the BFL+Silk to give a subtle nod to the light seen in the photo; the light reflected off the water, the Kingfisher’s feathers, and the wet fish freshly plucked from the water.”
Skein #2: 2/1 Marled Yarn Technique
Kim: “This skein used the cool sky blue for two of the strands and the warmer aquamarine blue for the third strand. The two darker-valued sky blue strands alongside the lighter valued aquamarine strand resulted in a beautiful, luminous blue* skein. Because the values of the sky blue and aquamarine were not too far apart from one another on a value scale, the effect is a marled yarn that is very pleasing, not jarring, to the eye.” (*Alcyone is a giant blue star, also known as Eta Tauri. It is the brightest star in Pleiades’ hot-blue, luminous seven star cluster.)
Skein #3: Fractal Technique
Kim: “Lengths of brown tipped with aquamarine on either end were pulled from the braid and divided into three equal piles. The three piles, one for each singles, were then prepared for a fractal spin.”
Kim McKenna
Kim McKenna’s fibre journey is a harmonious blend of science and art, driven by curiosity and a love for colour. For her, no day is complete without dedicating time to fibre preparation, spinning, weaving, or knitting. She constantly challenges herself to learn new skills and refine old ones, remaining mindful and attentive as she works. When questions arise, Kim researches and experiments until she uncovers the answers. This balance of knowledge, intuition, and observation allows her to understand the unique qualities that fibres and yarns contribute to knitted or woven fabrics.
Kim also finds joy in sharing her expertise. As a contributor to Spin Off and PLY magazines and as an educator, she delights in helping others grow their skills. Her greatest reward comes from seeing her students improve and experience the thrill of spinning yarns that speak to their hearts.
Kim McKenna’s Courses
Tension Systems
Poor take-up, yarn pulling out of your hands, or over-twisted singles, sometimes it’s not your technique, it’s your wheel. Kim walks us through the three main spinning wheel types: flyer-led, bobbin-led, and double drive, explaining their mechanisms and how to adjust them so they work with us, not against us.
Spin-In Clinic
Wherever you are in your spinning journey, this course offers gentle guidance. Kim works with beginner, intermediate, and advanced spinners, observing how each one spins and offering helpful suggestions to refine their technique and create different yarn outcomes.
Spin a Hand-Dyed Braid Five Ways
Hand-painted fibres are a joy to spin, but we can sometimes feel stuck with new ways to approach them. In this course, Kim shows us five ways to spin a braid, fractal, gradient, raindrop, rill, and marled, using traditional and creative fibre prep methods that highlight new possibilities.
All spun on the SweetGeorgia BFL+Silk fibre in the Beachside Brunch colourway.
Nuances to Spinning Better Yarns
Want more consistent yarns or to spin something very specific? Every choice we make along the way, from fibre prep to spinning style to finishing, shapes the yarn and, in turn, the final fabric. Kim walks us through these subtle decisions and how they impact our yarn so we can spin with more purpose and intention.
Working from Fleece
Dreaming of starting with a freshly shorn fleece and taking it all the way to finished yarn? Or maybe you brought home a bag of washed locks from a fibre festival? Wherever you begin, Kim is here to help. From selecting fleece and scouring to using hand cards and wool combs, this course offers guidance through every stage.
Spinning Bast Fibres: Tow Tops & Blast Blends
Curious about spinning non-animal fibres? Plant-based fibres like flax, hemp, ramie, and Himalayan nettle offer new textures and properties. Kim introduces us to spinning bast fibres using tow combed top as a soft entry, then explores blending them with wool for yarns that combine the best of both fibre characteristics.
Not yet a member of the School? We invite you to come and see what it is all about! Use the code: EXPLORETHESCHOOL to save 15% on an All-Access monthly membership! All-Access gets you access to knitting, crochet, dyeing, spinning, weaving, tapestry, punch needle, and more! Or, choose to sign up for just the Spinning membership. Come take a look, we have something for everyone!
More About Kim McKenna
Kim also creates content on the SweetGeorgia site. Browse Kim’s articles to discover techniques, refine your skills, and spark creativity.
Colour Collab // Kim McKenna: River Walk
Equipment
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1 Spinning Tool of Choice
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1 Diz
Materials
- 1 braid SweetGeorgia Yarns BFL+Silk Fibre River Walk colourway
- 1 braid SweetGeorgia Corriedale Fibre River Walk colourway
Instructions
Skein #1: Offset
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To view the colour repeats, I laid out the Corriedale braid on a table with the brown positioned in the middle and the sky blue on either end. I then pulled two lengths (length A & B) of the colour repeat from the braid. Next, I laid out the BFL+Silk braid and repositioned the colours to offset the colour repeat. This time, the blues were positioned in the middle, and the brown to either end. One length of this colour repeat was pulled from the braid.
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Strands 1 & 2: • Each length of Corriedale was divided into two. • Half of length A and half of length B were prepared using a hand card* and spun end to end for the first strand of the 3-ply yarn. • The second strand was spun the same as the first strand.
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Strand 3: • One length of the BFL+Silk colour repeat was removed from the braid. • The length was divided into two lengthwise, prepared using a hand card*, and spun end to end to create the third strand.
Skein #2: Marled
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Strands 1 & 2- Sky Blue: • The sky blue sections of the BFL+Silk braid were pulled from the braid and divided into two piles, one pile for each of the two strands in the 3-ply yarn. • The sky blue lengths were stripped into baby-finger widths and spun end to end. Spinning directly from the thin BFL+Silk instead of dizzing the lengths before spinning resulted in changes in value along the strands’ length. This made for a lovely subtle contrast when the two sky blue strands nestle against the aquamarine strand, which was blended prior to spinning.
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Strand 3- Aquamarine: • After blending the fibre on a blending board, it was doffed from the board as a batt. • The batt was rolled, chunks of rolled fibre were pulled from the batt, re-loaded in strips onto the hand card*, and doffed using a diz.
Skein #3: Fractal
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Strand #1: The lengths from pile one were kept intact, secured to a hand card*, dizzed from the carder, and then spun.
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Strand #2: The length was divided lengthwise in two. Each length was secured on the hand card*, dizzed from the carder, and spun end to end.
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Strand #3: Each length was pulled in half widthwise. This resulted in two shorter lengths with aquamarine on one end and brown on the other. The lengths were divided into thin baby finger-width strips. The thin strips were spun end to end, starting with the aquamarine tip.
Notes
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The post Colour Collab // Kim McKenna: River Walk appeared first on SweetGeorgia Yarns.
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