We are so please to be welcoming Fi Oberon back again this year. Last year Fi Joined us for the first time, which was a great success. We spent the first half of the week learning about fleeces, sorting, washing and carding them. We went foraging in the woods for dye plants, including, Bracken fronds, … read more…
I have spent the last week sorting through all my fleeces, unwashed, washed, carded and dyed. I managed to get rid of a lot of the old stuff, fleeces that were too old to use now, which felt brittle and dry when pulled. They are now lying on my compost heap, ready to mulch the … read more…
We have had a great weekend felting in the barn. We used a mix of fleeces, but mostly Shetland and Blue-de maine all the colours were naturally dyed using plant dyes. We carded the fleece using hand-carders and a drum carder. Guests made large wall hangings; Kate’s below was an abstract design she plans to … read more…
Hand shearing This week it was definitely time for Winnie and Frank (our tame cheviot sheep), to lose their fleeces and the perfect opportunity for Alex and I to have our first lesson in hand shearing. Bruce did a fantastic job and straight away it was obvious to me what a skill it is. He held … read more…
Next weekend we are running a natural dyeing weekend at Crochail woods. As much of the weekend as possible will be spent outdoors, making dyes over a fire. It is a great weekend for really getting started in natural dyeing. We combine foraged local plants, imported ancient dyes and houshold items, to create a full palette of colours. Naturally Dyed … read more…
For the last few weeks Alex and I have been getting ready for the season. Our friends Ele and Craig have lent us thier Mongolian Ger (Yurt), which we put up with the help of Julie last weekend. It was a last minute decision, as it looked like the weather was going to turn for the rest … read more…
Last week I finally got around to sorting some more of my fleeces. I had been waiting for a sunny dry day so I could get them out and really work out what was worth washing and what was best to compost, I had a real mix. Ottie not very impressed! Most of my fleeces … read more…
