I was recently reading on the web a description of how some shearers mistreat sheep. It has been haunting me, coming myself from an organic farming background I had no idea that these things could happen, What follows is an e-mail 'discussion' I had with Sheila Hendry the shepherdess of the Poll Dorset flock who provide our wool.

Sheila and her Gloucester Old Spots

Some shearers mistreat the sheep. I suspect this happens more on big farms where the sheep are bred as in a factory and where perhaps the shearers are not trained or selected with care.

We select ...

We would like to celebrate this happy family orientated time with all our friends no matter on which side of the pond by offering from Thursday 22nd November to the end of Sunday 25th a special 20% discount on the Gitane kits.

The code is : turkey

That't it.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Nous tenons à célébrer ce moment orienté famille heureuse avec tous nos amis, peu importe de quel côté 'the pond' en offrant du jeudi 22 Novembre à la fin de Dimanche 25 une remise spéciale de 20% sur l'kits Gitane.

Le code est le suivant: turkey

C'est ...

Et voila, plus de détails sur les premières Journées de la Laine Ariegoises.

Nous espérons vous y voir.

Les associations Atoutlaine et La Maison de Montbrun sont heureuses de vous convier aux premières Journées de la Laine de Montbrun Bocage, les 1er et 2 décembre 2012. Ces journées ont pour objectif de présenter au public la filière laine dans son intégralité, du mouton sur pied au pull-over ou à l'isolation d'un toit, et d'échanger avec lui sur les différents savoir-faire et pratiques existants dans ce domaine. L'évènement se tiendra sur le stade municipal, sous des yourtes ...

Les Journées Internationales de la Laine in Felletin is a whirlwind of wool every year but this year it surpassed itself in every way. The organisers were friendly and helpful, even helping to carry in our wares for us and smilingly providing lunch and pancakes against the odds all week-end. Our fellow exhibitors were many and varied showcasing every aspect of wool and a good slice of the million creative things you can do with it.

Les Journées Internationales de la Laine à Felletin est un tourbillon de laine tous les ans mais cette année, il s'est surpassé dans ...

Bastet the Egyptian Cat Goddess was not the goddess of cats but a woman/cat goddess who protected the Pharaohs. She is usually depicted with a multicoloured collar.

Marylene Lynx has taken 5 autumn colours and with her magic crochet hook conjured up such a circular collar or cowl for us to wrap ourselves in this autumn and for many autumns to come. The Bastet Cowl is crocheted in hounds tooth stitch with a picot edging. It's super easy and quick to make and can be worn in several different ways such as short or double loop, close around ...

This week the 9th. Ethical Fashion Show will open in Paris. Can you spot our 'Wall of Colour' on the Ethical Fashion / labels page? Over the years this series of shows has built up a much needed and ever more popular awareness of the sustainable sources of the clothes we choose to wear. This year there will be a small but important stand from the wool workers of France, a bright flag to slow fashion. This has been organised under the collective banner of ATELER by the indomitable Marie-Thérèse Chaupin.

Renaissance Dyeing is proud to be one of the 9 ...

The new batch of Blue-faced Leicester has now been mordanted and cured so it is dyeing time. First on the list is the Cherry Coloured Twist. Once dyed, washed and given an initial rinse it needs lots of extra rinsing to get rid of the fine ground cochineal particles that stick to the wool. This is usually done winter and summer in the river at the bottom of the hill. We are very lucky to have this river at the bottom of our hot and dusty hill, in January Adriaan rinses the wool here, but in heatwaves Fleur and I ...

Marylene Lynx the designer of the Bohemian Rhapsody has done it again with our fine lace-weight merino. I am extremely pleased to be able to present to you: GITANE a bolero cardigan designed in two colour ways Mid Pink and Sea Green.

The colour-ways were inspired by squares from her own Bohemian Rhapsody, one chosen by her and the other by her daughter, Ingrid, who models her choice in main shade mid pink and madder. This is an exciting knitting adventure resulting in a very original garment that has a soft feminine feel with a very bohemian twist. Utterly stunning ...

While we are sweltering in the heat that the summer has finally offered us, down-under in New Zealand designer Kate Wallace is enjoying herself by the fireside creating excitingly original naturally dyed accessories for us to knit in preparation for the woolly season ahead. We can titillate our toes and heads with the bright and appealing colourwork of the Frivolitée sock kit and Frovolitée beret kit. Let your knitting fingers create in the long gypsy tradition of colour and lace and your toes will tap out their thanks. The frill on both these and the Impudence socks can easily be ...

Just to give you a peek of what is going on in the dyehouse.

There are three things on-going at the moment - dyeing for the new 10 coloured Shawlette from Cécile Balladino aka Eclectic Gipsyland; dyeing of some turkey-work wool for a project that has spanned 5 years for the Merchant's House in Marlborough, England and the endless job of keeping the crewel wool stock at a level that doesn't cause panic. Lampion is one of the Poll Dorset shades that will go into Cécile's new crochet shawl, this is made, among other things, with onion skins ...