the fairy road

'Over hill, over dale, through bush, through brier,

over park, over pale, through flood, through fire, 

I do wonder everywhere, swifter than the moon's sphere;

And I serve the fairy queen . . . '

Shakespeare : A Midsummer Night's Dream

My idea of fairies probably doesn't jive with yours.

I mean, when I was a kid, I used to imagine that they were all nice and sweet and lived in strawberry patches with wild rabbits, but now I have a different picture of fairies in my head. 

This picture has been informed by the novels of Charles De Lint and Holly Black. My fairies could be nice, or they could trick you out of life and limb. They could beguile you off the beaten path and into a nasty patch of poison oak or an endless bog. 

I guess you're wondering why I would think about naming a skein of yarn after a bunch of rotten fairies. 

Well, I like the idea of magic and risk. 

I like imagining that if I walked a fairy road by moonlight I might run into a few minor problems, like an old woman with an apple or a trio of cloaked fairies trailing nightshade blossoms, but, that I would return home safely to snuggle into my bed. Perhaps with a fairy charm to tuck under my pillow and stories to tell my grandchildren. 

So, I'm naming this skein of yarn the fairy road. This is one of the skeins that I spun while sitting and chatting with people at Shepherd's Harvest. I have 270 yards here, worsted weight. I plan on combining it with some of my other hand spun to make a shawl. Something simple, yet intricate. 

Something to wear for a twilight walk on midsummer's eve. 

(And I hope I won't provoke any fairies.)