Dyed, Printed, Stitched & Spun #1

The cotton is dyed using onion skins, a lovely orange brown colour. I've printed onto another piece of fabric. And the wool, is from my first attempts at spinning using a drop spindle! Not fit for knitting with, but very useful for adding texture to a fabric piece.
Not sure quite where this piece is going yet. I need to do some machine sewing on it. I tried handstitching, but it will just take too long, despite the added control it gives me with my mark-making. I'm hoping I'll be able to do some handstitching embellishment over the top of the machine stitch.

Today is bright and sunny, although cold; and we've reached the Equinoxial time of the year, so I shall be utilising the daylight that we have, and stepping out into my studio across the patio, to work on my canvases. After today, we'll be slipping inexorably into the dark. Winter is ahead of us. 
And I have begun knitting my very first pair of socks! Rather appropriate for the dark winter nights! Though too late for xmas presents! No, I think my first pair will be for me. I can iron out all the mistakes then!

Spinning; with a drop-spindle!

Well hat's off to the ladies (spinsters!) of any parish who used the drop-spindle as they were doing other things! The above is my very first attempt at spinning wool using a drop spindle! it looks more like my friend, Paul's, dreadlocks, than a skein of wool!
I made a bit of a 'mullack' (mess) with varying thicknesses throughout the length of the wool, rather than a nice uniformity.
As the electricity was off (builder and electrician working in the garage!) it was something I could do without needing power...except my own hands that is. Took a while to do; and was quite complicated....I thought maybe if I had 3 hands, it might be easier to manage the fleece!


But what has pleased me, is that the fleece I used, was the one I brought back from Islay last summer; that I dyed using procion dyes from my textiles course; and that I've now spun, into 'wool'....or the nearest thing to 'wool'! I'm going to use it on one of my textile prints, rather than knit with it.

Dye-ing, Spinning & Weaving

Today I've spent a lovely afternoon, in gorgeous sunshine, at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. There was a demonstration from the Hallamshire & District Guild of Weavers, Spinners & Dyers.

Some photos I took, show the plant-dyed wools from North Yorkshire Wool; spinning using wheels (it was like being in the middle of a fairy tale!) and drop spindles; and weavings done with a peg loom, and a back strap loom. It was a fascinating afternoon, and I longed to get my hands and feet on the spinning wheel, and have a go!

Understandably this wasn't encouraged!

 

I had an interesting conversation with the woman from North Yorkshire Wool, who told me about using Cow Parsley as a dye.

I remembered when I was a child, cow parsley was known as 'mother die', and that if you picked it, your mother would die!

Well, I had the realisation that I'd go the word wrong; it was Mother DYE! Cow parsley is the mother of all dyes! Quite a few other people remember this folk tale from their childhood, so I'm not the only one.

The whole afternoon begins to take on more and more of a fairy tale experience!

                             

Spinning the Whorl

It's been such a busy summer. I've not had a chance to write up all the things that have been happening. And now here's September again, and things are cranking up back into action with work.

A while ago, Jon and I went to East Yorkshire when it was Archaeology Week, and visited a farm near Driffield where they were holding a display and activities to be part of the celebrations.

They have a replica of the 'Wetwang Chariot' on display, and a video of it being pulled by a horse, and a woman riding/steering it. It's an amazing reproduction, and I was reminded of the Ferrybridge Chariot which was dug up when the the 'new' M62/A1 connection road was being built. I saw it when it was on display at Pontefract Museum. Sadly it's now in storage, as there isn't enough space to keep it on permanent display.
These finds make me wonder what is beneath our feet that we know nothing about; mysteries which only turn up when roadbuilding occurrs.

Still; the day out in East Yorkshire was fun. And I got to see a replica Anglo-Saxon loom, with loom-weights made from the holed stones found on the east Yorkshire beaches. I had a go on that.

I also found someone to demonstrate how to spin using a drop-spindle. We had a real laugh as we experimented! It's harder than it looks! And those women using the drop-spindles would do it at the same time as they were doing something else!
I have utter respect for them!