Colourways

Here you can see pictures of the colourways on offer and read the stories behind them. All the colourways offered on the full skein bases are here. The mini skein set colourways will be added as soon as possible

Gullinbuste

Gullinbuste is a boar with golden bristles. The dwarf brothers Brokk and Sindre forged him as a gift to Freyr as part of a bet with Loki. Gullinbuste pulls Freyr's chariot, and his golden bristles glow in the dark.

"[...]to Freyr he gave the boar, saying that it could run through air and water better than any horse, and it could never become so dark with night or gloom of the Murky Regions that there should not be sufficient light where he went, such was the glow from its mane and bristles."

Skáldskaparmál

The colour is a deep golden yellow, inspired by the colour of old gold.

This colourway is dyed on all full skein bases.

Dragon Gold

Fafnir was a great wyrm. In true dragon style, he guarded a legendary gold hoard in a desolate land where no men dared to go. Fafnir was once a dwarf prince, but a long series of events involving Odin, Loki, shape shifting, murder, blood-money, kidnapping for ransom and a cursed gold ring turned him into a great dragon laying on his golden treasure. In the end he was slain by the great hero of Germanic mythology, Sigurd the Dragon Slayer. Sigurd rode boldly into the wilderness and by hiding in a deep pit, he was able to stab the wyrm in its soft underbelly and thus kill it. He loaded the dragon's cursed treasure onto his horse Grane and rode onwards to other adventures that all ended unhappily. The tale of Sigurd is a long and complex one, and the slaying of Fafnir is but a small part of it. The tales of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer come in many variations across the northern parts of Europe.

This colourway is dyed on all full skein bases.

Irish Gold

One popular destination for Vikings to sail to on their longships during raiding season was Ireland. Ireland had many religious houses that were rich with gold and poorly defended. There are many examples of brooches and other jewellery found in graves excavated in Norway that had been made in the workshops of Irish monasteries and used there to adorn religious books or other reliquaries. The Vikings changed these beautiful pieces into jewellery to adorn themselves with.

A pale gold colourway inspired by beautiful gold jewellery seen in museums.

This colourway was made especially for a collaboration with Julie Knits in Paris, a wrap called Filigree for Woollinn, Ireland’s festival of Yarn 2019.

The Vikings are coming!

The Vikings were famous for their longships. They were graceful, lightweight, symmetrical wooden ships with shallow keels that had both sails and oars. They were built to navigate rough seas as well as to be quick to manoeuver and light enough to carry across land for a bit. And thanks to their shallow keel, they could go up rivers and manage beach landings. These traits made them perfect for making lightning quick attacks: the Vikings were off before forces could be gathered against them. These ships made the Vikings able to travel far and wide to raid, trade or settle down. Many ships also had beautiful carvings of dragons and other fantastic beasts.

This is a rich dark golden brown inspired by the tarred wood the longships were made of. This colourway was made especially for a collaboration with Julie Knits in Paris, a wrap called Filigree for Woolinn, Ireland's festival of Yarn 2019.

Ægir’s feast

Ægir is a god of the sea in Norse mythology, but he also is responsible for another important activity: The brewing of ale. Ægir brews ale for the gods and holds a feast for them in his halls. What happens when the gods assemble to feast in Ægirs hall is legendary

Loki spake:

"In shall I go

into Ægir's hall,

For the feast I fain would see;

Bale and hatred

I bring to the gods,

And their mead with venom I mix."

Loketretta (Loki's Wrangling)

The colour is that of a good strong ale. A golden orange with brown and chestnut overtones.

This colour is dyed on all full skein bases.

Ratatosk

Ratatosk is the name of the squirrel that lives in Yggdrasil, the “world tree”. It relays news and insults between the serpent Nidhogg, who lives in the roots, and the eagle, who lives in the top branches of Yggdrasil.

Ratatosk is the squirrel

who there shall run

On the ash-tree Yggdrasil;

From above the words

of the eagle he bears,

And tells them to Nithhogg beneath.

Grimnesmàl (the sayings of Grimnir)

The colour is a reddish brown, inspired by the colour of a squirrel's fur. Chestnut mingles with other hues of brown and red.

This colourway is dyed on all full skein bases.

Benedik and Årolilja

The folk song «Benedik og Årolilja» is a Scandinavian example of a courtly medieval ballad. Its motive is the classic tale of two star-crossed lovers, as found in more famous European tales like those of Tristan and Isolde, Abelard and Héloise, Lancelot and Guinevere, and Romeo and Juliet.

The song tells of the young knight Benedik, who travels to the King's court. There he falls in love with the King’s daughter Årolilja. He is not regarded as good enough for her, so by day he hunts the wild deer and by night he visits her bower in secret. A young serving boy betrays the couple to her father the King, and he has Benedik executed despite Årolija's and the Queen's pleadings. After Benedik is dead, the King sends the young serving boy to fetch Årolilja to appear before him. But the boy comes back, saying that he has found her dead from sorrow. The Queen blames her husband, and in the end he laments that he now has neither daughter nor son in law. Benedik is buried in the North part of the church, and Årolija in the South part. From their graves, there grow two fair lilies that intertwine across the church roof and stand as a lasting judgement on the King’s mistakes.

Benedik rode to Sølondo

He went to find a wife

It was his fate that he never return

and so he lost his life

– Årolilja why are you sleeping so long

Benedik and Årolilja

A sweet medium-intensity pink, over-dyed with gold to make this a warm pink colour with a lot of depth.

This colourway is dyed on all full skein bases.

Hagbard and the King’s daughter

The classic recipe: Feuding families + two young lovers + (in true Norse saga style) a lot of violence = a tragic outcome. This story is regarded as the background for the tales of tragic lovers in Norse culture.

The tale of Hagbard and Signe, the King’s daughter, begins with Hagbard and his brothers killing Signe’s brothers in a blood feud. Because of this, Hagbard can not come openly to visit Signe at her father’s court, so he dress up as a shield-maiden to go there. But her maid gets suspicious about his looks and betrays them to the King. Before men come to take him, Hagbard asks Signe what she will do if her father kills him. Signe answers that she will not live without him. The maid had stolen Hagbard`s weapons and armour while he was in bed with Signe before she betrayed the young lovers to the King. The King sends his household men to seize Hagbard, but even without weapons he kills a whole lot of them. In the end Hagbard is tricked and taken, and the king sentences him to death by hanging. The Queen, in mock ceremony, offers him the parting glass as he is walking up the hill to the gallows. When he gets to the top of the hill where the gallows stand he sees that Signe’s bower is going up in flames. Then he allows himself to be hung, claiming it was all worth it.

«Oh, how should I ride with hawk on hand

To thy father's court so free ?

Full well I know thy wrathful sire

Would hang me to a tree !»

The ballad of Hagbard and Signelil

This colourway is dyed on Singles - Merino/Silk/Yak and Lace - Kid Silk

Darradarljod

It was on Good Friday and the place was Caithness on the northern tip of the Scottish mainland. Darraðar saw twelve women ride to a stone hut. He spied on them through a crack in the wall and he saw them setting up a grizzly loom. Men's heads were the weights, men's entrails were the warp and wed, a sword was the shuttle, and the reels were arrows. The women were Valkyries deciding the outcome of the battle of Clontarf outside Dublin in 1014. As they wove the fabric they sang a song that Darraðar memorized, so it is called Darraðarljóð. When they were done they tore the loom done and ripped the fabric into pieces. Each Valkyrie rode of holding on to the part she had in her hand. Their song ends:

"start we swiftly with steeds unsaddled—hence to battle with brandished swords!"

Darraðarljóð, Njàls Saga chapter 157

The colourway is a very dark burgundy wine red

This colourwy is dyed on all full skein bases

Valkyrie

The old Norse word valkyrja means something like chooser off the slain. Valkyrie are women sent by Odin to choose whom should fall in battle. In Odin's hall, Valhalla, Valkyrie brings mead to the warriors chosen to dwell there in their afterlife. In many myths Valkyrie also play a more human role at daughters of kings or lovers of the hero.

On all sides saw I

Valkyries assemble,

Ready to ride

to the ranks of the gods;

Skuld bore the shield,

and Skogul rode next,

Guth, Hild, Gondul,

and Geirskogul.

Of Herjan's maidens

the list have ye heard,

Valkyries ready

to ride o'er the earth.

Völuspá

The colour is an intense red with overtones of magenta and pink. This colourway is dyed on all full skein bases.

The Emperor of Miklagard

Miklagàrd means the great city in old Norse. Miklagàrd was the Norse name for Constantinople the capital of the Byzantine empire that today is called Istanbul. Some Vikings travelled as far as Miklagàrd and there went into the service of the emperor as his personal bodyguards. This elite core of soldiers was known as the Varangian Guard. King Harald Hardrada (the hard ruler) was a captain of the Varangian Guard in his youth before he returned home to take the crown of Norway. Today you can still see rune inscriptions if you visit the Hagia Sofia.

This colour is an attempt to copy the extremely exclusive fabrics dyed purple with dyes extracted from shellfish for the Byzantine emperors. Before synthetic dyes were invented purple was the most exclusive colour in the world.

Ari:k

Are made (these runes)

Possible interpretation of one rune inscription in Hagia Sofia

This colourway is dyed on all full skein bases

I’ll be your bitch, Gyda!

Gyda was the daughter of the Norse king of Dublin, and she had been married to an English earl. Her husband died and she ruled his lands. Gyda was rich, young and beautiful, so many men came asking for her hand in marriage, including a man called Alvine. He was a great fighter and his favourite hobby was challenging people to duels. Gyda did not fancy him, so she sent out messengers all through the land, for all men to come to a general assembly so she could pick herself a new husband.

At the assembly was Olav Tryggvason, future king of Norway. He was living the life of a Viking chieftain at this point, spending his time raiding around the British Isles.

Gyda went around the assembly, looking closely at all the men available to choose from. Olav stood a bit apart and he hadn't dressed up for the occasion, unlike most of them. But Gyda liked what she saw and asked him who he was. Olav gave a false name and said he was a stranger in the land. Gyda then said «I choose you if you will have me». Olav said; sure, I will not say no to that. Then they talked a bit and were betrothed.

Alvine got really pissed off at this, and naturally challenged Olav to a duel. Olav was not the kind of man to refuse a fight, so a time was set for the duel. Olav kicked his ass, bound him, took all his goods and kicked him out of the country.

That is how Gyda both got to marry the man she fancied at first sight and got rid of her bothersome suitor.

.

Bergtatt

There are many stories, presented as fairytales, myths and songs, that tell of young men or women who are taken into the mountain by the wights who dwell beneath the earth. Normally, the motif in this kind of tale is that the young man or woman meets a beautiful stranger who brings them into the mountain to marry. When a man is taken into the mountain, he's normally been caught by the Huldra, while it's normally the Mountain King who ensnares young women.

The stories of the earth dwellers, like Huldra, trolls, gnomes, dwarves, fairies and elves, have deep roots going back to the heathen Norse beliefs. The Norse myths form the foundations of all the supernatural creatures who survived in folklore long after everyone had stopped worshipping the ancient gods.

One of the most famous folk songs about being taken into the mountain, is «Margit Hjukse». It was made famous through an interpretation by the popular, Norwegian folk-rock band Gåte. The tale tells of proud Margit, the daugher at the largest farm in the county. On her way to church, she chooses the route by the foot of the mountain. Along the way, she meets the Mountain King, and he brings her into the mountain. He gives her lavish presents, and sires three sons and three daughters with her.

To be taken into the mountain can also be used idiomatically, as being head over heels in love with someone or something.

«Then came the mountain king with his long white beard»

Margit Hjukse, trad. song

A cold, pale, purplish pinks, like the shades on a distant mountain. This colourway is only dyed on Singles - Merino/Silk/Yak

The Mistress of Seidr

Seiđer is an art of religious magic. It can be used for good both and evil purpouses. This brand of magic was mainly the women's domain; there where male practitioners, but they did not enjoy the same respect as the women did. For men, seiđ carried a social stigma, as it was seen as feminine and thus not proper for a man to use, as he ought to be as masculine as possible. Freya, who was of the Vanir gods, taught the rest of the Æsir gods to use seiđ. Odin became a master of the art, transcending the taboo human men were subjected to.

"Njǫrðr’s daughter was Freya. She presided over the sacrifice. It was she who first acquainted the Æsir with seiðr, which was customary among the Vanir."

Ynglingesaga

A dark and mysterious colourway, blending hues of deep violet. This colourway is dyed on all full skein bases.

Song of Grotti

There once was a king of Denmark called Frode. He had a grindstone called Grotti that would make unlimited amounts of what the persons operanting it wanted. King Frode had two slaves called Fenja and Menja he forced to make gold on the qrindstone and they never got to rest. To get revenge they made an army led by the Sea-king Mysing come and kill King Frode. After that Mysing tookFenja and Menja and the grindstone away on his ship, but he also forced them to work for him making salt. Then they made so much salt that the ship sank. And now the qrindstone is at the bottom of the sea forever making salt and that is why the sea is salt.

Frodi, we have ground to the point where we must stop,
now the ladies have had a full stint of milling![

The song of Grotti

A medium to pale blue leaning a bit to the purple side.

Thor’s wrath

Thunder is the sound of Thor travelling across the heavens in a chariot pulled by two rams. Thor has a volatile temper and uses his famous hammer Mjôlnir in his frequent struggles against giants and other enemies of the gods. Thor is a god for thunder, lightning, war and fertility, and he is the protector of mankind. The amount of Thor's hammers amulets found is a clear sign of how important Thor was.

Wild was Vingthor

when he awoke,

And when his mighty

hammer he missed;

He shook his beard,

his hair was bristling,

As the son of Jorth

about him sought.

The lay of Trym

Dark blue as ominous thunderclouds gathering in the horizon. This colourway is dyed on all full skein bases.

Midsummer Night

Midsummer night is magical in the northern lands. It is so short and it hardly gets dark, even as far south as southern Norway. It is a time for being outside and enjoying the half light full of navy shades. Midsummer celebrations are still important in Scandinavia.

In Norse times, midsummer was likely was marked with one of the main Blòts of the year. Blòt was a religious ceremony. Animals, and perhaps also people, were sacrificed to the gods. They sacrificed to Odin, the god of war and wisdom, for victory, and to fertility gods like Freyr, Freya and Njord for a good year and peace. Kin and friends were important at these occasions when people came together. It is likely that offerings were also made to the ancestors and that they drank to both those that had been and to those who were yet to come.

This colourway was made as a 70th birthday gift to a very dear friend.

A dark navy blue like the darkest part of the summer night.This colourway is dyed on all full skein bases

Skadi

Skađi is a Norse goddess of skiing, mountains, winter and bow-hunting. Skađi is the daughter of the giant Þjazi. The gods killed Þjazi. Skađi went to the gods seeking weregild (blood money) for her father, and as part of the settlement she got to pick one of the gods to be her husband. The catch was that she was only allowed to see their feet before making her choice. She picked the one with the prettiest feet, hoping to marry the beautiful Balder, but she got Njorđ. He loves the sea as she loves the mountains, and neither is happy in the marriage.

Thrymheim the sixth is called

where Þjazi lived, the terrible giant,

but now Skadi, shining bride of the gods,

lives in her father's ancient courts

Grimnesmål

A pale ice blue, like the colour of a snow on a mountaintop. This colourway is dyed on all full skein bases execept Single - Merion/Silk/Yak

Fimbulwinter

The world will end with Ragnarok. One of the signs that the end is near is that there will be three very hard winters in a row, with no summer between them. Brother will kill brother, kinsman will wage war upon kinsman, and life on earth will be hard. It will be a time of swords and shattered shields, of wolves, storms, and evil deeds. Only two people will survive, hiding in Hodmimi's forest. They see the new world rise up after the old one has gone down in battle and flames.

 There feeds he full

on the flesh of the dead,

And the home of the gods

he reddens with gore;

Dark grows the sun,

and in summer soon

Come mighty storms:

would you know yet more?

Voluspå

A pale blue-green ice colour. This colourway is dyed on all full skein bases.

Volva

To the north lies Nifelheim, a place of mist, ice and frozen rivers. It is the deepest parts of the realm of the dead. Odin once rode there to consult a dead Volve, a seer or sorceress, on the fate of the gods. She rose up and told Odin about what had been as well as on what was yet to come.

Her prophecy is told in one of the most famous poems in the poetic Edda. This poem is called Voluspå, meaning literally the Volva's prophecy.

Hearing I ask

from the holy races,

From Heimdall's sons,

both high and low;

Thou wilt, Valfather,

that well I relate

Old tales I remember

of men long ago.

Voluspå

This colourway is dyed on all full skein bases

Ice one night old

The old Norse poem Håvamål (the sayings of the high one) contains advise on a lot of things. The high one means Odin, the chieftain of the Norse gods. Odin was linked to battle, death, sorcery, poetry, runes, magic, wisdom, the gallows, and royalty (the old line of Norwegian kings begins with Odin himself, according to the myths). It was not only the Norse that worshipped him, Odin was an important god to all the Germanic peoples in the Iron Age. In old English, his name was Wôden and in high German, Wuotan.

In Håvamål, Odin gives advice on many things, including how to behave as a guest, friendships, gifts, not being lazy, not drinking too much, seducing women and a list of things no-one should trust. On this list is ice one night old, amongst a lot of other things. Some of the things on the list are very archaic, some are a bit hard to understand, but many of them make very good sense not to trust. Ice one night old is one of these. It does not take very much common sense to understand that even if going across the frozen body of water is a substantial short cut, it is a very bad idea if the ice is only one night old. Going across ice can be dangerous if you do not know for certain that it is thick enough and about any local conditions that can create weak spots. The tale of the death of the petty king Halfdan the Black around the year 860 shows this clearly. According to the King’s Saga, Halfdan the Black had been to a feast at Hadeland in the spring and on his way home, he rode across the ice on a lake called Randsfjorden. Near a place called Røykenvik there was a weak spot in the ice due to a watering hole for livestock. The ice broke under the king and his company as they rode across. King Halfdan and a lot other people drowned.

[No-one should trust]

a flying spear,

a falling wave,

ice one night old,

a coiled snake,

a bride's bed-talk

or a broken sword,

a bear's game

or a king's son

Håvamål, Stranze 86

A blue-green colour inspired by ice on deep water. This colourway is dyed on all full skein bases.

The daughter’s of Ràn

Rán is a Norse goddess of the sea. She catches drowned men in her net, and everybody lost at sea belongs to her in the afterlife. Rán's husband is Ægir, the god of the sea and of the art of brewing ale. Rán and Ægir have nine daughters. They are the wild waves. All nine are named after different types of waves. As a group, they are referred to as either of their parents' daughters, or by poetic descriptions like “the nine skerry-brides”.

Helgi ordered the high sail to be set,

his crew did not fail at the meeting of the waves,

when Ægir's terrible daughter

wanted to capsize the stay-bridled wave-horse.

First poem of Helgi Hundinsbani

A deep blue-green, like waves on the wild and deep sea. This colourway is dyed on all full skein bases

Midgardsormr

Out in the sea, the great serpent, Midgardsormr, lies wrapped around the world. It is one of the three children Loki had with the giantess Angrboða. Odin threw the serpent in the sea right after it was born. There it has grown so large that it surrounds all the world and bites its own tail. When the end times, Ragnarok, comes, the god Thor and the serpent will fight until they both die.

The venomous serpent

swiftly up

To the boat did Thor

the bold one, pull;

With his hammer the loathly

hill of the hair

Of the brother of Fenrir

he smote from above.

The monster roared,

and the rocks resounded,

And all the earth

so old was shaken;

Then sank the fish

in the sea forthwith

The lay of Hymir

An almost black blue-green. This colourway is dyed on all full skein bases

Lord of the Isles

The Vikings went far and wide in their mighty longboats. From the late 8th century, Vikings started raiding the British Isles. After some time they settled several places, establishing towns and ruling dynasties. The Lords of the Isles started as Viking chieftains ruling the isles on the west coast of Scotland and mixing with the local Gaelic rulers, forming a Norse-Gaelic dynasty. Their power was largely based on their ships, and they had a system of requiring their subjects to man and maintain ships for military service very similar to the Norwegian Leidang. They were largely independent rulers of the region, even though they at various times swore nominal fealty to the kings of Norway, Ireland and Scotland. At the height of their power, the Lords of the Isles was among the mightiest and richest lordships in the British Isles.

A bright cold emerald green, inspired by the intense green colours made possible by a very wet climate. This colourway is dyed on all bases

Yggdrasil

In Norse mythology Yggdrasil is the world tree. Yggdrasil is evergreen, it has branches that stretch over all the world and it has roots that go all the way down to the deepest places. Many mysterious things make Yggdrasil their home. Opinion is divided on whether Yggdrasil is supposed to be an ash or a yew

An ash I know,

Yggdrasil its name,

With water white

is the great tree wet;

Thence come the dews

that fall in the dales,

Green by Urth's well

does it ever grow.

Völuspá

The colour is a rich woodland green a little on the cold side inspired by the pines of a yewtree. This colourway is dyed on all full skein bases.

Freyr

Freyr belongs to the group of gods called the Vanir. He is the son of Njord, and Freya is his sister. Vanir are associated with fertility, love, nature and magic. Freyr himself is a god of harvest, fertility, rain and sunshine. At the autumn and midwinter blòts, sacrifices were made to Freyr for a good year and peace.

Til árs ok friđar

For a good year and peace

A fresh young green, as the first new shoots in springtime. This colourway is dyed on all full skein bases.

Mistletoe

Balder was the most beautiful of all the gods. He was one of Odin's sons with his wife Frigg. Balder started having nightmares that he was going to die. Odin summoned a dead volve, or sorceress, and she confirmed that Hel was preparing to welcome Balder to the realm of the dead. To try to avoid fate, Frigg went around to all things, making them swear an oath not to harm Balder, but she left out the mistletoe because it seemed too young to understand the meaning of an oath. And when it seemed that Balder could not be harmed by any weapon, the gods had an excellent new form of entertainment: Throwing any weapon they had at him.  But the trickster Loki, who always  seem to be at the bottom of every plot in Norse mythology, found out about the mistletoe and made himself an arrow out of it. Then he tricked Hod, the blind brother of Balder, into shooting the arrow at Balder. So Balder died and great sorrow came to the gods. After Ragnarok, the world’s ending, Balder is one of the gods that come back from the dead and start a new and brighter world.

This is a pale spring green, inspired by the colour of the plant mistletoe and other small woodland plants and new life in springtime. This colourway can be dyed on all bases other than luxury fingering

Underearthers

Norse folklore is full of creatures living hidden in nature. In Norwegian they are called underjordiske meaning literary underearthers. In the mountains and hills there are the trolls and the hulderpeople , nisser, elfs and dwarfs. Have you ever meet a beautiful woman when walking in the mountains? Check to make sure that she does not have a cows tail before you follow her anywhere or she might take you into the mountain. And in the quiet little lakes in the forest ,under the water lilies, lives Nøkken waiting to lure you in. He can take the shape of a beautiful white horse and if you touch him he will drag you with him to the bottom of the lake.

A deep dark forest green. Underearhers can be dyed on all bases

Draug

A draug in the old Norse meaning of the word was a dead person come back to haunt the living. They could dwell in the borrow where they had been buried but could also roam free to do their haunting. Another word for them was haugbúinn that translate into borrow-dweller. Later it changed meaning slightly and in modern Norwegian it refers to a person who has drowned at sea and their body been lost so it has not gotten a Christian burial. This unfortunate soul is according to folk lore doomed to haunt the coastline in half a boat trying to drag others with him to his watery grave

A pale ghosthly gray with plum overtones. This colour can be dyed on all the bases without yak.

Dyflin was the Norse name for the beautiful city we today know as Dublin. People have had settlements in the area around Dublin since prehistoric times. When the Vikings came to Dublin in 841, it is believed they took over an earlier Christian settlement named Dubhlinn, which means dark pool in Irish. It was named for a tidal pool where the rivers Poodle and Lieffy flow together. The Vikings built their town centre in this area, modern-day Wood Quay, and built a prosperous trading community. Vikings had continual conflicts going on with the local Irish people that had a settlement not far along the river, but they held on to Dublin and styled themselves kings of Dublin for a long time, until they where thrown out when the Normans (who themselves had Viking origins) invaded in 1169.

A medium gray with lavender overtones. This colourway is inspired by the beautiful, almost lavender or plum hue in the stone I saw used in many old buildings when I visited Dublin for the first time for Woollinn 2019. Dyflin can be dyed on all full bases

Fenrir

The giant wolf Fenrir is a son of the trickster god Loki and the giantess Angrboða. The gods went to great troubles to bind Fenrir on a lonely islet. Part of the reason for this, is the role that is foretold for Fenrir in Ragnarok, the ending of the world. When Ragnarok comes, the great wolf will break his bonds and kill Odin. Odin's son Vidar will then slay the wolf in order to revenge his father

Brothers shall fight

and fell each other,

And sister` sons

shall kinship stain;

Hard is it on earth,

with mighty whoredom

Axe-time, sword-time,

shields are sundered,

Wind-time, wolf-time,

ere the world falls;

Nor ever shall men

each other spare.

Völuspá

The colour is inspired by a wolf's fur. Grey with overtones of brown and yellow. This colourway is dyed on all full skein bases

Feigdfulg

Many birds of the crow-family were considered birds of omen. Ravens, crows and magpies were considered what was called «Feigdfugl». To be feig means that that person is going to die. In Norse beliefs, these birds are linked to Odin and they can foretell many things, both good or bad. People who could speak the language of birds could learn many useful things.

It is predominantly with the introduction of Christianity they get there their bad reputation. After that they are considered definitively evil, in league with the devil himself, the companion of witches and the poultry of those who dwell underneath the hills (a group of creatures in folk-tales that have a lot in common with the Fairy-folk).

"In Frode's hall the fearful word,

The death-foreboding sound was heard:

The cry of fey denouncing doom,

Was heard at night in Frode's home.

And when brave Frode came, he found

Swithiod's dark chief, Fjolne, drowned.

In Frode's mansion drowned was he,

Drowned in a waveless, windless sea."

Ynglingasaga

A dark, cold grey, like the feathers of a crow. This colourway is dyed on all full skein bases

Hugin & Munin

Hugin and Munin are two ravens belonging to Odin according to Norse mythology. Odin was the chief of the gods and he was linked to linked to battle, death, sorcery, poetry, runes, magic, wisdom, the gallows, and royalty. Odin was also known by many other names like All-father, father of the slain and the gallows god. Hugin and Munin flew all across the three worlds and came back to Odin to tell him about all the things going on.

A cold black with blue overtones inspired by raven feathers

Tussmørke

Tussmørke is a Norwegian word for the special light of the long northern twillight that will make you image you are seeing trolls and other hidden peoples. Scandinavian folklore is populated by many strange beings that dwell beneath the world we see. They are deeply rooted in Norse mythology and were simply adapted to the changing times and beliefs, and lived on as superstition. The first part of the word «tuss» is a collective term for all the hidden people, and the second part simply means darkness.

A gradient set in grayscale, from a slightly warm light grey to a colder dark grey.

Giant causes anguish to women;
 misfortune makes few men cheerful.

Norwegian rune poem

Brisingamen

Brisingamen is a necklace owned by Freyja. It was forged by the four dwarves Alvrigg, Dvalin, Berling and Grerr. Freyja spent one night with each of them in order to pay for Brisingamen. One of the many possible interpretations of the name Brisingamen, is 'the fire necklace'. Brisigamen plays an important role in many of the myths featuring Freyja.

A gradient colourway from the colour of old gold to a hot reddish pink.

Njord

Njord was a Norse god of fertility, the sea, ships and riches. Njord loved the sea and had a hall right on the cost called Noatun. But his wife Skadi, the goddess of mountains and hunting, is not happy at his house. She objects to the sound of gulls and waves. She has a hall up in the mountains, but Njord is unhappy there, because he can not stand the wolves howling. So they are not a very happy couple, but maybe that shows that picking a partner based on the looks of his feet is not the most sensible way.

This is a mini skein version of the full skein fade Fimbulwinter, Volva, Ice one night old, The daughter’s of Ràn and Midgardsormr

The Nine Billow-Maidens

«The Nine Billow maidens» is another name for the daughters of Ràn. Heraldic poetry makes frequent use of such periphrasis. Rán is a Norse goddess of the sea. She catches drowned men in her net, and everybody lost at sea belongs to her in the afterlife. Rán’s husband is Ægir, the god of the sea and of the art of brewing ale. Rán and Ægir have nine daughters. This gradient set is a take on the foam on waves, which is described as the hair of the nine maidens.

A gradient set from the palest blue-green to a clear emerald green.

«When hard gusts from the white mountain range teased apart and wove together the storm-happy daughters of

Ægir, bred on frost»

Nordrsetudrapa

Leidangr

Leiđangr was a form of conscription typical for Scandinavia, where all free men had to contribute to bulding, maintainig and manning a ship in order to defend the land or in offensive action abroad. Norway was divided into skipsređa. Each skipsreiđa had to provide one ship, complete with equipment and crew.

A gradient colourway inspired by the landscape of the Norwegian fjords, from a dark blue-green via sea greens to a clear emerald green.

Well, he's ... he's, ah ... probably pining for the fjords.


Monty Python – the Dead Parrot sketch

Freya’s Flowers

Freyja belongs to the Vanir clan of gods. She is the sister of Freyr and the dauther of Njord. The Vanir are all fertility gods. This gradient colourway is inspired by Freyja as a godess of sexuality, beauty and fertility. Her other side, as a godess of magic, war and death, has inspired the gradient colourway Seidr, that moves from the most violet colour in this set towards a dark midnight blue, and the colourway The mistress of Seidr, that is a full skein colourway in a deep purple that fits well with both Freyja's flowers and Seidr.

Freyja's flowers is a gradient colourway that moves from a bold hot pink via plum and purple to a deep violet.