It was lovely to have Aileen over last week.  We tackled some over dyeing of “horrid” yarn, which was actually an ok Terracotta if that’s a colour you like, and some extra colours on some “string” as my husband called it.  It was actually dishcloth cotton but let’s not split hairs!  So the one dye covered two base colours and … Read More

These pictures are all of a dyeing day at Serena’s earlier this year.  We were using madder and lichen; Serena’s special one. Mary Paren

I enjoy seeing what everyone has been up to and I think that you must too so, under a little pressure from Aileen (who wishes not to be the only one seeming to share anymore) I’m adding my scarf to our Members Projects. If anyone else would like to contribute (and I know there are wonderful things being made out … Read More

Aileen writes: “A pic of my Stay A While shawl pattern by Louise Zass-Bangham.  It’s about a 4 ply.  Dark purple is Merino and silk.  Light colour is a 100gm bag of mixed fluff with a wrap of a thin boulle from a cone.  As usual I enjoyed spinning it, and this time I didn’t have to be clever to … Read More

Aileen has been at it again! This cushion has turned out beautifully, and I do like the large button. Woven on the rigid heddle loom.

I always weave on a rigid heddle, which I love.  It is quick to warp up and it is easy to produce fabric easily.  With my “landscape weaves” I try to mainly use Aran or chunky weight wool.  This makes a reasonably heavy weight fabric which holds a cut (when washed at 30 degrees or hotter), is easy to work … Read More

I’ve been trying in my own way to work out how to use techniques which seem to appear by accident, in an intentional, and eventually creative way. When I like an effect, I need to be able to do it again! Easier said than done. Tablet weaving seems a bit like understanding computer- code, and there ‘s not a chance … Read More

I’ve been wanting to try my hand at natural dyeing for some time and last summer I finally put aside 2 weeks of sunshine to have some fun. Granted some of the dye pots were inside (like the madder) because I wanted finer temperature control than the open fire could give me, but most of the pots were done outside. … Read More

Aileen, like quite a few of us, has been experimenting with weaving, and asks “Can we use waste for weaving”.  It’s the sort of question we pose to ourself that can spark a myriad of answers.  She  has experimented using nibs and some of the poorest of wool to produce 8 bobbins worth from the Joy, and then set off weaving with … Read More

This is a detail of a Fair Isle jacket made with Jameson and Smith top spun to 4 ply. The spinning and fair isle was good.  Unfortunately I chose a bad pattern.  It took an age and I never where it.!

Hand woven on 16″ rigid heddle.

Hand dyed 100% wool pencil rovings (food dyes and a microwave!), hand spun and 2 plied.

Aileen Wilby has sent me this lovely project to share.  I’m most impressed with the soft feel of this (yes I have stroked it !) and how those bright colours added into the blend give the finished piece a lovely zing.

… to share what you’ve been doing creatively. When you’ve got your site access from the admin, by making a request in our “contact us” form, you’ll be able to log in and tell us about your recent project. It would be good to add in a picture to let us see ! I’ll give you full directions of how … Read More