My First solo attempt at Eco dyeing

Following on from the fantastic Ecodyeing workshop I went on , I decided I would try and put what I learnt into practise with plants from my own garden. First I made up a dye bath with Elderberry leaves and stems. I think it would have been better if I had not included the woody stems , as I felt they were just taking space and not really contributing. I made fours bundles, one silk noil, two from mordanted cotton and one from a piece of felt that had previously been dyed with alder.  Here are three of them waiting to be untied.  My results are not very fantastic , but it was only my first attempt. This is a cotton piece with a copper rod , quite bright greens , from the copper I think and lots of blotches from  the onions pieces. Here the piece dried. One of the cotton…

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Woolfest 2016

This is my fourth visit to woolfest and it's as vibrant and colourful as ever .  I thought this year I'd try and focus on the sheep.  They of course being the star attraction. There are the real sheep, see these beautiful herdwicks- my favourites. And then there are the knitted sheep. The printed sheep The sheep puppets. And me trying my hand at being a sheep puppeteer. I loved these puppets , which were from the production of a 'Shepherd 's Life', at the theatre by the lake in Keswick.  Very interestingly the sheep puppets had no legs ! On a slightly smaller scale needled felted sheep.  A crocheted colourful sheep. And finally to finish, a dark wendesleydale sheep, relaxing and showing off her curls. As you can tell I had a great time as usual and will sure to be returning next year. 

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Eco dyeing here I come 

I am delighted to be taking part next week in a workshop with  Fabienne Rey,  organised by  From the Earth Textiles at Art Van Go .  So this week I have been getting organised.    First I need lots of silk and wool fabrics .  I made a couple of felts myself , and had the good luck to come across a silk shirt in a charity shop.  It's also possible to eco dye mordanted cotton , and I have a number of different cotton fabrics mordanted with a variety of mordants , including alum and gall nuts. Then of course lots of  cotton , linen and wool threads . I have had to scrounge among my friends for sufficient tin cans but I did have a nice collection of rusty iron, collected on my wanderings in the Lake District . These are complimented by a small length of copper pipe which…

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Rocks

I went to Australia last November and one of the things I became entranced by was the rocks. Of course the koalas, penguins and kangeroos were lovely , but nothing like the rocks.  With moving house I have not had time to look back at all the rock photos I took until this week .   They give me lots of ideas for felted , natural dyed pictures. Firstly at the coast , pounded by the South Pacific seas, I loved the strata and circular patterns, and the repeating nature of the marks .            Moving inland to the Grampians I thought the scenery was stunning.     And when you got up close so were the rocks              I am inspired again.  I hope I will have time soon for some drawing and felting based on these photos.

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Leyburn Exhibition

I belong to a cooperative called 'Box of Beatiful things ' made up from the students and staff of ArtyBird Carnforth and yesterday we set up our latest exhibition in Leyburn , Yorkshire.  It's at TOSH , The Old School House and our exhibition is in a lovely airy room on the first floor.       It was the first time I had ever helped set up an exhibition and Chris, Jo, Chris and I had great fun choosing  what pieces went well together and which walls to put them on.  We had a hanging system which was great but there was lots of  climbing up and down stepladders trying to position the pieces and make sure they were level.     In addition to all the pictures and wall hangings we had bowls and cushions , lamp shades and cards , lit pictures and brooches , a feast of wonderful work .…

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Away from home

This week I am away from my studio visiting family and friends so I have not been doing any felting .  A bit of stitching but no felting .  I have had some time to do some walking and photographing in one of my favorite places.  Far Easedale is a valley north of Grasmere.  I find its isolated hills and streams very beautiful and I have often been the only person walking in the valley.  Easter weekend was not quite so quiet but it was still peaceful and serene .  There is one spot where the beck cascades over some ancient rocks .  It is a perfect spot for relaxing and enjoying the scenery .  I am particularly drawn to the colours of the rocks with the lichens and the reflections. Here are my favorite images from my last visit.               I hope I can capture some of these ideas in felt soon.…

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Dyeing problems

I made this little wet felted and stitched pot to be dyed.  I decided to collect some nettles to dye it.  I thought this would be difficult but in fact armed with my gardening gloves it was really easy.  I just went to a local small wood and there they were waiting to be harvested .   I chopped them up with a knife also wearing my gardening gloves and left them to steep.  At this point I did wonder , how small should they be chopped.  The scientist in me said as small as possible, the practical  person in me said that is just not possible using a knife with gardening gloves and I thought I should not use my hand blender on nettles.So I steeped and boiled my nettles  and then with  mordant included added my little vessel.  More simmering and standing overnight resulted in this. I was  disappointed.  Was this the…

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