Nocturne
Samhain - Empyrean
Samhain - Empyrean
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Samhain is a variegated orange-red-yellow colourway, with dark brown streaks and brown speckles.
Samhain is a Gaelic festival on 1 November, marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter, or the "darker half" of the year. Celebrations begin on the evening of 31 October, since the Celtic day began and ended at sunset. This is about halfway between the autumnal equinox and winter solstice.
The early literature says that Samhain was marked by great gatherings and feasts, and was when the ancient burial mounds were open, which were seen as portals to the Otherworld. Some of the literature also associates Samhain with bonfires and sacrifices.
The festival was not recorded in detail until the early modern era; It was when cattle were brought down from the summer pastures and livestock were slaughtered. Special bonfires were lit, which were deemed to have protective and cleansing powers. Like Bealtaine, Samhain was a liminal or threshold festival, when the boundary between this world and the Otherworld blurred, making contact with the aos sí (the 'spirits' or 'fairies') more likely. At Samhain, they were appeased with offerings of food and drink to ensure the people and livestock survived the winter.
The souls of dead kin were also thought to revisit their homes seeking hospitality, and a place was set at the table for them during a meal. Mumming and guising were part of the festival from at least the early modern era, whereby people went door-to-door in costume, reciting verses in exchange for food.
Empyrean
Fiber contents: 68% Non-superwash Merino (16,5 micron), 22% Silk, 10% Cashmere
Weight per skein: 50 g / 1,7 oz
Running length Fingering: 420 m / 459 yds
Yarn Weights Available: Lace
Empyrean is a deliciously soft, fluffy lace-weight yarn base, perfect as an alternative to mohair or suri alpaca. It is excellent as a complementary thread to be held with a different yarn, or just by itself, and it is also wonderful to be used for adding subtle colour accents to your fabric.
I chose the name Empyrean for its incredible, divine softness.
In ancient European cosmologies inspired by Aristotle, the Empyrean heaven, Empyreal or simply the Empyrean, was the place in the highest heaven which was supposed to be occupied by the element of fire (or aether in Aristotle's natural philosophy). In medieval Christianity, the Empyrean was the third heaven and beyond "the heaven of the air and the heaven of the stars."
Empyrean can also mean "heavenly" or "celestial".
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Essential Information for buying our Hand-Dyed Yarns
When purchasing hand-dyed yarn, we recommend buying enough for your entire project.
Our yarn is handmade in small batches. While we follow precise recipes for repeatable colorways and carefully measure our materials, slight variations between skeins are inevitable. No two skeins will ever be identical, as is the nature of handcrafted products.
We take new photos for each dye lot, so images on our website may differ from skeins you’ve purchased in previous batches.
For a more uniform appearance in knitting, crochet, or weaving, alternate skeins every few rows.
We ensure all dyes are fully exhausted before rinsing our yarn. However, mild color bleeding can still occur, especially with bright, dark, or speckled skeins. To prevent unexpected color transfer, rinse your skein in cold water with wool wash and let it dry before starting your project.
For detailed care instructions, please follow this link.
This listing is for one (1) skein of yarn unless stated otherwise. Photos of multiple skeins are for comparison purposes, showcasing differences between yarn bases and/or skeins.
Please note that colorways may appear slightly different due to display settings on your device. Especially keep this in mind if you are using apple devices, which are known to alter colours. While we optimize our photography for color accuracy, viewing images on a monitor provides the most reliable representation.