Shetland Wool Week 2018: Day 7

Arriving in Shetland Sat 15 Sept

The boat journey went well, although there was some swell during the latter part of the journey and for the first time ever the shower water  completely flooded the  whole shower room in the cabin. We had a nice breakfast and then collected the van and made for Tesco to fill up on provisions for the week ahead. 

This is made easier by having ‘the list’ which is little modified from visit to visit. Next we parked on the quay and after visiting Tourist Information - just because we always do - and the Shetland Times bookshop just because there is always a Christmas Present to buy and give to DH to give back to me at Christmas. (This works  well as I usually forget which books I am going to receive by then, as long as he remembers where he puts them!)

We were introduced to the Dowry when we were up in the summer and loved it and it was a real treat to get one of the prize seats at the window. We knew this was unlikely when wool Week was in full flow. 

From a window seat in the Dowry

Normally at this point we would be ready to drive up to Unst, however we had some rather unusual things on our shopping list today. During the journey up I had arranged with one of the ladies from the Heritage Centre  in Unst that I would do an interactive demonstration of madder dyeing as I do it, whilst we were staying. I had brought the madder with me, a thermometer and some mordanted wool just in case it might go ahead. I realised that I did not have my ‘dyeing clothes’ with me and so after visiting a couple of ‘charity shops’ I had a rather tasteful shirt that only needed the buttons moved to tighten up the cuffs. I had managed to buy soda and white vinegar in Tesco. I was now searching for copper sulphate... as I had failed to get this at a garden centre on the journey. They would normally have had some but the Christmas Decorations were destined for that space..... Well I failed to get the copper sulphate but I did manage iron sulphate from the pharmacist.  The only uncertainty was the lactose coating and the still to be mastered method of crushing them. Fortunately I always carry a small balance accurate to 2 decimal places, useful for weighting rice but actually brought to measure the weight of my fine spun yarn. 

We drove up to Toft and made lunch while waiting for the ferry. It was a glorious day and just two short journeys away from our favourite island, Unst. It felt as if we had not been home as it was only two and a bit months since we last waited so impatiently.  

I had set myself a challenge, today was National  Spin in Public Day and I decided I would try and spin on the three ferries I would be on. I spun early on the North  Link Ferry, this is in the cabin before 5.45. I intended spinning in the lounge  having breakfast but that didn’t happen.... too much eating to do. 

spinning on the ferry to Shetland  

We had an uneventful crossing to Yell, enjoyed the scenery on the drive through and then there was the short hop and we would be in Unst again. We were here for a full week in which we hoped to relax, walk, look for birds, take photos, knit a bit, eat a bit, enjoy the Heritage Centre lace again and meet with the lovely knitting and spinning ladies there. 

I did manage to spin on all three ferries but did not leave the comfort of the Van on the two inter island ones so it is debatable as to whether this was in public but the thought was there. If you look very carefully you can see a slightly different background on each ferry. I am spinning Norfolk Horn very fine, I worked out that it is at least 19m per g, J and S Supreme is 15m per g. 

 spinning on Toft to Unst ferry

and Gutcher to Belmont 

I fell into conversation with a couple of American ladies on the beach when we drinking tea, they were not going to be able to stay for Wool Week as they were off to the Hebrides. However, they had hand knitted their Mirrie Dancer hats and had naturally dyed the colours, so it was great to talk to them about natural dyeing. 

We also had a redshank and heron on the beach which was going to be our view for the week. 

So it felt we had finally arrived at the place we love. 

Tomorrow was going to be a rest, admire the view and knit lace day. 

Maker's Month at Norwich Forum

Last month the Forum in Norwich ran Maker's Month again this year. It is a month long event in a large space in front of the wonderful library and this year was throughout the month of February. Volunteers and others are invited to take part. The main aim is to show our crafts to the public and enthuse visitors to consider taking up or finding out more. Diss Weavers, Spinners and Dyers, along with the other Norfolk WSD Guilds took part last year but I wasn't really well enough to be involved, the migraine was still vicious. 

This year the 5 Guilds were there for 5 days and there was a real buzz about the place. Personally, despite misgivings of not feeling in control before it started it worked well. The 5 Guilds had met during the year but I wasn't quite sure what would happen, and having organised exhibitions before it is much easier, for me, to know exactly what will happen when. I spent 2 full days there and was also involved in the setting up and taking down of the Diss Guild contribution. For me it worked brilliantly, lots of really interested visitors and lots of communication with other guilds with mutual exchange of tips. I even began a journey on  a completely new skill, spinning with a Bavarian Spindle. 

The Bavarian spindles are on the left. These were on the sales table.

 

I demonstrated on my 8 shaft Katie Loom and took my little rigid heddle lap loom one day so that it could be used by a visitor to see how it worked. I had with me long samplers for both the Katie - it was a 4 shaft sampler but long and gave an idea of the scope of 4 shafts, and mesmerising thoughts of what 8 shafts could yield in terms of pattern. 

Honeycomb on the loom at the Forum, the wool warp will shrink when washed to accentuate the honeycomb pattern. 

 

The  rigid heddle sampler was a 'pick up' sampler that I had made in preparation for teaching a workshop when based in Cheshire. This in particular caused a lot of interest with many owning rigid heddle looms were surprised that it was produced on what they thought was such a simple system. ( am going to blog about this soon) 

Our main display piece was Diss Miss - a mannequin fully clothed in knitted and woven items, complete with socks, boots with inkle woven laces and with a half mannequin showing some possible underwear for our Miss! 

 

It was a real talking point. We were continually involved in talking to the public, demonstrating and teaching or letting people have a go on an ad hoc basis. 

I also had my natural dyeing with me so spent  some considerable time talking about that and reassuring people that all that was there was naturally dyed, despite the strong colours! 

We had the opportunity to run a longer workshop for up to 6 people during this 5 day period. After much thought I decided I would give it a go and choose to teach 'Natural Dyeing by solar dyeing ' for complete beginners. Not doing this at home, but in the confines of a part of the Forum meant lots of preparation in advance and also much list checking to ensure we had everything with us. I had a group of 6 very keen participants  so that was great. The workshop was over subscribed and I got some lovely feedback so I feel it was a real success. 

 

A lot of preparation was involved as in all successful exhibitions but all well worth it. The Forum team were fantastic, calm and very flexible and seemed able to respond to any request from the 5 Guilds as personnel and activity varied over the 5 days. Unfortunately I was also running a workshop for Diss Guild the day after this 5 day event so I missed going to see the Costume and Textile Association ( there was a talk on Chanel!) but I hope to catch up with that again soon - in Norwich Fashion Week. When I went to the Guild on Thursday we had a new member - and she had been to the Forum and decided to learn spinning and weaving- how great is that? 

My mind is already full  of ideas for next year....where's the list? 

  

 

Day 24 Creativity - Dyeing with Apple

I have seen a friend obtain beautiful soft shades of peach and yellow from dyeing with Apple. I have never tried to dye with Apple so thought I would give it a try. I am going to try sample skeins with the bark and the leaves- separately.
So the first job is to get enough bark to dye with. Usually increasing the surface area helps and another friend also suggested bark chips. So that is what I will try with soaking over 2/3 weeks.
Jill Goodwin, a dyer who I respect suggests soaking in soft water and also adding 1 tablespoon of vinegar to each batch while soaking so I will try both there tips. I guess the acidity from the vinegar is to help the rotting process. She notes pinks, browns, buffs and yellow so that is a wider range than I was expecting.
The leaves might be less useful, I have read that leaves in spring are what is needed.... But the leaves are looking healthy so I am going to have a try.
That was the theory, the practicalities of getting 100 g of Apple bark from my lovely old tree has proved more difficult than I thought! The large branches are all covered in lichen which I decided would affect the dyeing. So I stuck to your branches about a third the width of my little finger so getting 100g of bark from them turned out to be a laborious task. I thought I had a lot but when weighed it was 20g!! But I was surprised that after 3 hours soaking in water it looked like below. I think this must be a good sign.

Once this has had a good soak I will go about shredding leaves for the dyeing session.

The friend has just told me that she has tried apple skin and core too....something else to think about as I gather the windfalls.

Day 14 Creativity- my favourite two spindles

This box doesn't quite go with me everywhere, but it does go most places. eg. It went to the hospital with me on Friday when I accompanied my husband. ( He went in on time and was out, all completed in 15 mins though so the box didn't get opened!)

The box is a bit like a Tardis. It contains: my two spindles, 3 sorts of fleece, woollen tops, comb for combing the fleece, scissors, talcum powder ( for when I spin in hot weather), leader yarn, pen, labels and 2 kebab stick plus stick for spinning round in case I am called upon to show anyone how to spin just using a stick.

I have two favourite spindles. The first is the 80 mm Turkish one. I love it because the dark wood at the bottom is English Bog Oak approx 3300 BC and I do like how you get little balls of yarn building up. It is from IST Crafts. For those that don't know, the slats at the bottom pull out easily when you have a big enough ball so you have a little ball of yarn ready for plying.

My other favourite, and if I could only have one this would be it. It is a Bosworth and the top is in Canarywood and weighs 17g. I use this one by adding twist to the yarn by rolling it up my leg.

Both are super at spinning very fine yarn, which I so love. Why the Bosworth in preference to the East Anglian bog oak one? Well, I do find it a bit of an effort to add the spun yarn to the cop around the basein the Turkish spindle. I am definitely NOT one who worries about doing things fast, but I do find stopping to do this breaks the flow more than winding the yarn on to the Bosworth.

What am I spinning? It's hand carded rainbow dyed fleece ( acid dyed) from Blue faced Leicester / Swaledale cross. The rainbow dyeing was from an experiment to see whether microwave dyeing or steaming was better for the fleece when dyeing small amounts. The lace weight yarn will be used to knit ear rings. More about that at a later time.

The kebab sticks - why are they in the box? Well the box when empty is my Lazy Kate. The cops of wool each sit on a kebab stick which goes through the sides of the box so I can ply.

So this is the story of my portable spinning box. It was actually a ballet pumps shoe box! A good thing to accompany one on journeys- I recommend it!

Day 12 Creativity - Inspiration from the garden

Since moving to Norfolk, our new garden continues to be a delight. There is SO much I can use for dyeing and then there is so much for inspiration for weaving. These are some of the photos I have just taken.
This is the Lily that is now in one of the solar dyeing jars.

 

The Golden Rod is just coming out  into flower behind the Japanese Anemone. Golden Rod  is a must for one of the two jam jars I have repurposed from the fridge!

 

I wonder if this Dahlia is worth trying for dyeing....

 



This Crocosmia is such a delight that I would like to weave something as a tribute to it.

Oh for more hours in the day!

Lace collar

If you've looked at my web site recent you'll have seen that I've used yarns in this lace collar  that I prepared as demonstration for a cochineal dyeing workshop.  The yarn is wool (commercial) and I knitted the collar to see how the colours would work together. I was intending to use the yarn to dye a sufficient amount of yarn to knit a Fair Isle jumper or probably cardigan – using my knitting machine. (This is over 30 years old and a Brother KH830 for those who understand these things!)

This has been a very useful exercise – not least because I do not like how the yarn stitches sit together – this is due to the structure of the yarn. I will knit my fair isle jumper/cardigan in Shetland wool, which ‘fulls’ when washed and the oil is removed and gives a much better finish. The yarn in this collar moves too much & the threads don’t mesh together – it seems unlike wool!

Then, really out of character for me I used a pattern just as it was - not a wise move in this case! The stitch is cockleshell lace, a beautiful traditional Shetland stitch. The pattern is from Kate Davies. I chose to knit the smaller cowl and although the tension sample appeared spot on the finished item is a collar rather than a cowl. I would have preferred a wider cowl that fell in soft folds with a smaller depth. Hence I am calling it a lace collar.

 
I am disappointed that the amazing lace design doesn't show up as I feel it should. There's a competition between the colours and texture. There's a lot to said for using one colour - a plain neutral- to really show up an intricate design. Item 10 [see later post] is the cowl I designed to finish the month.

It was an interesting exercise and shows how little bits of yarn can be used– there was 10 g maximum of each colour!  It has really helped me know which colours to use (& which not to use) in my dye session  for the  projected fair isle jumper/cardigan.

Preparing the fleece

The fleece is from a local farmer who overwinters the sheep by arrangement with a farmer in the High Peak. The fleece is a Swaledale x Blue faced Leicester cross and it is beautiful. This was washed.
Obtaining the colours
Some of the fleece was mordanted with alum & then dyed to produce the colours for the yarn:

Charcoal grey – this was first dyed with elder and iron as additive which produced a medium olive colour. This was then overdyed with logwood which has produced the colour I am using. (Experimenting went on before this decision!)
Orange – this was obtained by solar dyeing (for a month in my greenhouse) using meadowsweet which I gathered in Cumbria.
Yellow – again this was solar dyed using sorrel seeds from my garden.

Carding
The natural, charcoal grey, orange and yellow fleece was combined on a drum carder by forming a sandwich with the colours as the filling. I estimated the ratio of the colours from my source photo, keeping some of the charcoal grey separate.

The carded batt which I will spin looks like this.