on Keen-eyed WOVEMBER readers will have noticed the prominence of WOOLFEST amongst our writings on WOOL, and the many times we have referred to this wonderful annual fibre festival in discussing how gaps between producers and consumers of WOOL might be closed. WOOLFEST started in 2005 and now attracts over 100 stallholders and 4000 visitors every… Continue Reading Marion Woolcott on Working with Wool & WOOLFEST
on Following on with our woolmill theme, we thought it would be nice to feature this blogpost submitted by Monique Boonstra to our competition. What is interesting is how the whole experience of travelling to Shetland to see the Jamieson’s of Shetland Mill inspired Monique to knit a cowl. Her observations on the place, the landscape,… Continue Reading Monique Boonstra on Working with Wool…
on At the start of this phase of WOVEMBER (Working with Wool) we mentioned Knockando Woolmill as a fantastic example of what can be achieved when one works both with wool and about wool. Working with Wool can of course be a purely practical decision based on its special material properties, but as we learnt from… Continue Reading Peter Roy from Knockando Woolmill on Working with Wool…
on Working with wool also means taking care of your woollen items during their lifetime. Some people consider hand-washing wool an onerous chore! Here Elizabeth Zimmermann explains how to look after your handknitteds – needless to say, she only discusses woollens! [Handknitted sweaters] take time and care ot make, so wash them with time and care.… Continue Reading WOVEMBER WORDS #22
on The Prick Your Finger haberdashery, with hand-crocheted signage made of Rough Fell wool Yarn [soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/68272572″ iframe=”true” /] The Prick Your Finger jingle, made by Felicity Ford during the first KNITSONIK residency, 2011 Last year during WOVEMBER we featured this piece about Rachael Matthews and the Prick Your Finger haberdashery, highlighting some of the ways… Continue Reading Rachael Matthews and Louise Harries on Working with Wool… AKA ‘Louder than Bombs’
on This evening’s post is a submission to our competition from Cathy Wright, a hand spinner who runs the Lazy Kate website. In her email to us, Cathy explained that she wanted to explore the issue of obtaining British fibre for a UK hand spinner, and to offer a balanced perspective on the acquisition of prepared… Continue Reading Cathy Wright on Working with Wool…
on Deb Robson has already shared some of her wonderful sheep photos with us here, as well as her thoughts on ‘Processing Wool‘ and ‘Harvesting Wool…‘. What is lovely about so many of our fantastic WOVEMBER contributors, is the hand they have in all stages of WOOL’s life… from it’s growth on the back of a… Continue Reading Deb Robson on Working with Wool…
on Yesterday’s Wovember Words gave us some advise from Elizabeth Zimmermann. Here she is again, and this time Zimmermann tells us about how she felt that there is a shared memory, that skills seemingly lost in history actually lingers in ‘memory in the fingers; memory undeveloped, but still alive.’ A few years ago Christmas was enriched… Continue Reading WOVEMBER WORDS #21
on We have heard from Lesley Prior on ‘Growing Wool‘, ‘Harvesting Wool‘ and collaborating with Finisterre to ‘Process Wool‘. Today we shall hear about Lesley’s experiences of working directly with the wool from her Bowmont Sheep! Lesley is – as well as being a shepherd and an amazing ambassador for wool – a weaver. This is… Continue Reading Lesley Prior on Working with Wool…
on Building on from this morning’s Q&A with Sue Blacker about designing with breed-specific yarns for her book, Pure Wool and the afternoon’s tantalising glimpses of Kate Davies’ superb colour-knitting designs created with Shetland wool, this evening we shall be learning about the specific features of designing with another distinctive breed – the Lincoln Longwool. Louise… Continue Reading Louise Fairburn on Working with Wool…