organic wool project...

...i am very excited to be taking part in a new and wonderful project along with other designer/makers

the project is a collaboration between two organic Welsh companies

 Llynfi Textiles and Ystrad Organics

 Funding has also been provided by Better Organic business links Wales.

the aims are; (to quote Llynfi Textiles)

*to raise the profile and explore the potential of organic wool

*to establish a broad community of interest that spans wool producers, designers, makers and the general public

*to showcase the potential for organic wool and the quality, innovation and commitment to sustainability of designer/makers in the UK

all sounds really fantastic to me and shows a forward thinking approach to how wool can be promoted.

wool is no longer something that your granny knitted....

with new organic fabrics and yarns...wool now has a funky modern twist

any project that helps promote this has my whole hearted support.

all designer/makers items for the Organic Wool Project will be showcased at WonderWool Wales

 27-28th April 2013

for more information please go to Llynfi Textiles or Ystrad Organics

here are a couple of my mood boards for the project...that's the organic fabric I will be using...gorgeous isn't it?

Xxx

welsh wool...

...rug

just finished this rather large rug

measures in at a hefty 5 x 8 feet

made from Welsh Jacob wool using a peg loom

washed, carded and woven by hand

very large egg...

...from a little hen

wow, one of the biggest eggs I have ever seen, laid today

think it is from jubilee, one of our rescue hens

it weighed 100g!

I have put it next to an average size egg and one from a newbie layer...

a hen we reared from last season

will get together some pictures of our hens sometime soon

weaving workshop...

...today

using an old Harris table loom

the lovely Alice Evans showed my spinning and weaving group

how easy! warping up a loom can be...

once we had got our heads around dents per inch and simple maths

time to set about wrapping yarn around a warping frame

this took a lot of concentration

and an exercise involving my 8 times table

then time to put this yarn on the loom

now this took a lot of patience, good eyesight and a few cups of tea

just to ease off the back!

its a fairly long process before you can weave

but like most things, the preparation is about 2/3rd of the work

but then it was time to weave a first piece of yarn through shafts 1 and 3

and away you go

surprisingly it grows very quickly

and by the end of the day I had the beginnings of a sample piece of woven fabric

Thank you Alice for your expert tuition and patience

had a great day

just hope I remember it all!