Stories
Letters from Donegal
Written by Emma Fitzgerald
We spent a week in the north-west, in the kind of weather that arrives four times before lunch.
Why go at all
The point was to see the yarn where it is spun rather than where it is sold — to stand in the room and hear the machines. A specification sheet tells you a count and a colour. It does not tell you that the spinner slows down when the damp comes in off the hill.
The notes
These are the notes we brought back, mostly written badly, in a notebook that got wet. In order of legibility:
Monday: rain. The mill is warmer than the hotel. Nobody mentions the weather once.
Wednesday: watched a bobbin change take ninety seconds and a cup of tea take twenty minutes. Correct priorities.
Friday: asked how long he had worked here. He said he would have to think about it.
What we came back with
A wet notebook, a better forecast, and an order we could actually commit to. The cloth from it runs through the everyday collection.
Cormac Byrne
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Donegal?
Because the yarn is spun there. We wanted to stand in the room and hear the machines rather than read about them.
How long was the trip?
A week, in the kind of weather that arrives four times before lunch.
Are these notes edited?
Lightly. They were written badly, in a notebook that got wet, and we have left most of that intact.
