Great Balls of Hemp

Just unpacked a box from Kathmandu of the most fabulous tight, stringy, hard, handspun balls of hemp. 8 wonderful kilos of exactly what I was looking for. A tough thread of a rich, undulating, natural colour – love it! The smell ‐ simultaneously a fresh deep hay barn and Nepal. A few years ago, coming back from leading a trek in Bhutan, I came across a small shop selling bags that I thought were made from nettle fibre (allo). I sought to buy just the thread and managed to secure three beautifully wound balls hidden in a dark corner. So perfect were they – three sculptural spheres ‐ I knew I would never use them. A sumptuous hank bought on a later trip is currently lazily curled in one of the display cabinets of gallery 101 in the V&A. How many of us have such thread treasures to touch, smell, see and constantly inspire. I do intend to weave with this consignment!