Shooting Kilauea was definitely an adventure. Our guide told me to get the camera ready while he kicked open a lava tube. When it opened, it was a blast from an oven like I had never felt before. Just about blew off my eyebrows ;)

I got my shot, I was in such awe, staring into the heart of the earth. Then I got heatstroke and Tito had to haul me back, The tread on our sneakers was melted, and it was a 6 mile walk back to the car.

This one differs quite a bit from the original; I've deepend the orange, removed the bright yellow, and added charcoal instead of navy.

This colour actually used to be called Bloom, and it was much pinker. The original Succulent colour was a tonal. I decided to steal the name back, and add a dustier subtlety to the colours, to bring the yarn back to the calming tones I had originally intended for it.

Highway 11 is where it all started for us. We had decided to take a road trip through North Ontario. Highway 11 is long and lonely, passing through some of our French townships, as well as towns like Longlac, Heart and Kapuskasing. You can go hours without seeing another person, or another car.

It was the first time we saw Eagles in Ontario, and we pulled over to the side of the road for a shot. I happened to catch this tiny, isolated church off the side of the road as well. This would go on to be the first time that I painted a yarn based on my photography.

I crouched in a thigh-cramping positiong for almost an hour to get this shot in the Costa Rican rainforest. I had made a sort of photography blind out of vines, and was working with a very strong zoom lens so I didn't need to bother mama.

The nest was the size of a tennis ball. I was so in love already, with the little sounds, the delicate construction, but when that tiny baby beak popped up, I knew I had my shot.

This is more delicate and nuanced than the original, with earthier tones throughout the greens.

Cape Spear, Newfoundland, is the easternmost point of the North American continent, and thus the first place where you can see the sun rise each day. I had the camera on a pretty slow shutter, to create that smooth, foggy effect over the water and the rocks. The day was largely overcast, and about 30 minutes later would be bland and grey. However, for the moment that the sun peeped out, above the horizon and below the clouds, it was pure magic.

I have intensified the red and deepend the slate on this colour to provide more contrast than the original.

Willow is an old favourite of mine, even though browns aren't everyone's cup of tea. For me it's a perfect rustic neutral, that I know I can wear with everything. Denim? Perfect. Leather? Yes please. Boots? A Canadian tuxedo? It works for everything. Add a sparkle base and golden beads and you have an evening piece.

This is a warmer brown than it used to be, with grey at the top instead of the original cream colour.

Iceberg is a true Blue Brick heritage colour, and another one that hails from Newfoundland originally. We shot these bergs over 10 years ago, jsut outside of St. John's. I love the names that Newfoundlanders give their different types of Icebergs. The dirty berg. The bergy bit (also known as the growler).

The berg itself was massive, but I was drawn to the shaded textures, and the way the water turned turquoise where it was shallow, and then deepend into ocean blue. This is definitely a much more subtle colour than the original was, with muted tones and a grey top.

I'm sure every dyer has a colourway that they, personally, don't enjoy. For me that was Aurora in its original form. Folks loved it, but even though it matched the photo and was popular... I couldn't get my head around it. I had another colour named Daisy, that happened to go from Lime green to Violet that we discontined years ago.

Last year, the aurora were so strong that I was able to take a new and striking image. That photo is taken across Lake Ontario, from the Hamilton side. That bright glow on the horizon is Toronto. The aurora were so powerful that I got the city lights of a massive city AND a beautiful colour spectrum, all in one shot.

And when we were dyeing it, we couldn't help but notice.... it looked just like Daisy :)